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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2011495" data-attributes="member: 1129">Template Troves is a new series by Silverthorne Games. In terms of templates, they made their mark with their Book of Templates, which was revised into the Deluxe Book of Templates. Volume I: Serpents, Spiders & Godlings, is written by Sean K Reynolds, an author who needs no introduction. Clocking in at 42 black and white pages, the book provides twenty new templates and includes rules on how to use templates in general, as well as example creatures that already have the template applied to them.The book is listed out in straight alphabetical order. It might’ve been a little easier to use if the book had been segregated by type. That would allow someone who say, just purchased the Serpent Kingdoms, to flip through the Serpents section.In terms of Godlings, it looks like Sean went to the Norse well for his material. We have templates like Fenrirrin, Jormugandrin, and Sleipnirrin. The first, Fenrirrin, is related to Fenris, one of Loki’s sons, a monstrous wolf. The Jormugandir, are the spawn of Jormugandir, the serpent son of Loki. This is the creature that is supposed to kill Thor in the final battle with a reflexive spray of his venomous breath. It’s interesting to note that this template is applicable to not only reptiles and serpent creatures, but also giants. The last, the Sleipnirrin, are spawn of Odin’s horse, Sleipnir, another offspring of Loki.Interesting and useful with a slight renaming, but a little too stepped in Norse myth for everyone’s use. Of more use might be something like the Behirling. One behir, Tsirlatak, fought dragons and his spawn tend to share that quality. The sample base creature, an ogre, is a good example of a lower level creature. More interesting is the true breeding Ankhir, a relative of the ankhegs and behirs that has a draonscent ability and hunts for dragon eggs.Another example of long-term utility is the very next monster, the chemdrake. These creatures were spawned from alchemists who tamped with black dragon ichor and other ingredients. The example here is a monitor lizard with the template, but the longer use would be the chemodol, a race of kobols whose dragonic heritage is more evident. Racial traits are also provided so that they can be used as a standard race. In terms of innovation, one of the common ideas I’ve seen before given to specific creatures is given template form here. Does anyone remember the yellow, orange and purple dragons? These are the results of various crossbreds of dragon. Instead of having new and unique creatures for each crossbreed, the author has provided us with the Dragonmongrel, a cross between two dragons, and provides a sample that’s half red and half copper.One creature, the Oxeph Host, reminded me a little too much of Phil Reed’s Possessors in that it’s a creature that takes over another by attaching itself to the head of a body. The new ‘head’ if you will, looks like a squid, which in turn, looks like a mind flayer. It’s not a bad idea to have more than one, and it follows some of the other material here like the skoth, another servant of the aboleth, but I felt that the Possessors had more detail and depth to them.The interior artwork is handled by Cara J. Mitten. Having one artist provides the book with a unified feel. The art is solid and showcases the templates well. One of the most unique illustrations is of the Murmouth, an entity that looks like a humanoid gibbering mouther. Suffice it to say that the creature looks like an entity from Hellraiser. Another great picture is Hobart’s Greyman, a template that is put atop a zombie. This illustration resembles a pirate but with no hands, his arms ending in longswords.GMs looking to augment their standard encounters and surprise their players will enjoy the many varieties of options here. The fact that the author goes beyond merely providing templates by making new creatures and even a new race, showcases the utility of the book and provides readers with ideas on what can happen when the gene pool goes bad.</blockquote>

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