Sell me on Tome of Horrors II

[Grazzt]

Did Leif Jones mutilate any more 1e favorites?

He didnt work on the book.

 

[Grazzt]

I haven't seen the book yet, but I was of the belief that none of these were going to be updated monsters from previous editions of the game; these were all going to be brand-new critters.

Johnathan

Correct sir. There are two updates in there though..one is the Inphidian. I tossed it in with the two new inphidians so they could all be one big happy family.

The second is the Piercer. It appears as a sidebar (its now a hazard) in the Crag Man entry (since the Crag Man can summon a piercer storm to wipe out its enemies).

 

[Grazzt]

So I picked up the first, and loved it.

Now the second is out, but I know almost nothing about it (save that all the monsters are new, and that there's a lot of them).

So, what are some examples of the stuff that'll be in there?

Before I get into answering your questions...here's the ToH2 preview, if ya haven't seen it:

http://www.necromancergames.com/pdf/toh2_sample.pdf

Now, onto the questions....

Demons, devils, undead, etc. Examples....how about the Crucifixion Spirit, an undead creature that pulls an opponent's soul from its body and basically nails it to a translucent cross in front of its friends? The Murder-Born, an undead formed when a pregnant lady is murdered (the murder-born is the spirit of the unborn child). It has the ability to lay a curse on a foe that induces an XP penalty.

Hellstoker devils - stoke the fires of Hell and Infernus (Lucifer's plane where he went after leaving Hell). They fight with large bellows which can shoot fire (if they light them with their burning hands ability).

Time Flayers - powerful outsiders from the Plane of Time. They have the ability to push an opponent forward in time for a few rounds (thereby removing them from combat). Oh yeah, if you are slain by a time flayer, you suffer the Unmaking ("No memories or recollections of the unmade creature exist anywhere in reality. Past events the creature was responsible for are now attributed to an unknown—even if they recently took place. For example, suppose a great hero saved a kingdom from certain doom and then suffers the unmaking. The kingdom is still safe, but no one can quite recall who saved it.")

Just a few examples, there are a few hundred more in the book.

Is it as thick as the original?

Nope.

As OGC friendly?

Yes- everything about the monsters is 100% OGC: names, text, abilities, descriptions, etc. The only thing I closed in the book was certain Proper Names (such as the name of Lucifer's palace which is mentioned in Xaphan's entry...who btw, tried to set the Heavens on fire before being cast into Hell).

Are all the drawings B&W sketch-style like in the original, or have there maybe been some improvements in theh area?

Black-n-White. Wouldnt have that 1e feel if they werent. Tons of improvement. The art is a lot more solid this time. And there are one or two demons/devils (female) that are really hot (no pun intended).

Am I going to be looking at 30 pages of demons and devils again?

Nope.

Has this made any leaps and strides, or is it the same thing, with new beasties?

I personally think its better than the first one. Yes, the first one opened a ton of 1e monsters into the world of d20, but I just generally feel, new monsters or not, that ToH2 kicks ToH1's ass. New monsters, better artwork, more solid monsters with much more "fluff" text. Better layout....just a better book all the way around.

Make me want it!

You want it.

 

[Kanegrundar]

Two quick question: How many PC-suitable races are in the book? Do they have Level Adjustments and PC information?

Thanks,
Kane

 

[Olive]

One word: Appendix.

This kaes no sense to me. Why?

 

[johnsemlak]

Thank you very much for the info Grazzt. Mine is already ordered

Personally, I still would love, and pay for, a true sequal to Tome of Horrors, with some more OD&D/1e critters. Just converting the modules x4-x5 shows me a lot of great monsters that could be done.

But books of new monsters are great too.

 

[Treebore]

Olive,

First off this book actually has one. Second, when you read it you will be so intrigued you will get the book.

It is a good, if not great, monster book. Like any MM, some of the monsters will hit a home run with you, some will strike out, some will hit base runs. Over all it is one of the better MM's out there. Who knows, for you it may be the best. Check it out.

Plus, if I remeber things you have posted elsewhere correctly, you will like that these monsters have a more detailed description/ecology/history section than most MM books.

 

[Wycen]

This kaes no sense to me. Why?

Olive, as Treebore said, the Appendix isn't just a bunch of names and page numbers. Plus, flipping through the rest of the book to get there will show you some of the art and monsters.

The Appendix has a whole section on not just monsters, templates and feats, it has a section on the alternate planes mentioned in various monster entries. So rather than read a single instance of "his palace in the Inferno", you can read a few paragraphs about the Inferno plane as well.

 

[Grazzt]

Two quick question: How many PC-suitable races are in the book? Do they have Level Adjustments and PC information?

Thanks,
Kane

Top of my head I dont remember how many PC-suitable races we put in there, but rest assured, all such races have LA and PC info included. Some of the ones I can remember off the top of my head are: Barbegazi (Ice Gnome), Cave Giant, Huggermugger, Inphidians (Common, Cobra-Back, Charmer), Ogren, Ryven, Troblin...

 

[Grazzt]

Olive,

Plus, if I remeber things you have posted elsewhere correctly, you will like that these monsters have a more detailed description/ecology/history section than most MM books.

Yeppers. That was one of the biggest complaints we got with Tome 1....short or very short descriptions and "fluff" for a lot of the monsters. (My fault actually...I wanted to put as many monsters in the book as we could so you guys could have everything ). But, I learned my lesson, listened to the feedback from playtesters, fans, friends, family, etc...so, we fleshed out the monsters this time. Descriptions, history (in some cases), ecologies, reproduction stuff, and so on.