THE ECOLOGY OF CANTON VOLUME ONE
By Jason Vandenberg, Jon Misevicz, Jeremy Aldrich, Justin Vandenberg, and David Woodrum
Geeks Cubed product number GEK0003
158 pages, $27.00
The Ecology of Canton Volume One serves as the
Monster Manual to the "Pantheonic Dreams" campaign setting, detailing 75 unique creatures for use in such a campaign. As such, it might have been a better idea to call it "Monsters of Canton" or something, to attract the casual viewer's attention that this is a monster book. (I know there are quite a few gamers who pick up just about any monster book they can get their hands on.)
The cover artwork, by Christopher Pickrell, shows an elven ranger tracking some large creature through the snow-covered forest. Detail is pretty good on the elf's clothing and equipment, but everything else is pretty much muted. (I do question the appropriateness of a skirt/kilt in the wintertime, but who knows? Maybe the elf has a healthy Constitution bonus.) The "Pantheonic Dreams" logo is the same as on the
World of Canton Main Realms Book, where the letters are made to look as if they're constructed out of stone blades. The caption on the bottom of the cover reads: "A rangers guide to things that bite: A treatise on Canton's unique fauna and flora" Note the lack of an apostrophe in the word "rangers" - it's just a foreshadowing of what to expect in the book. The back cover, incidentally, is a painting of the planet Canton, apparently meant as a tie-in to the
Main Realm Book. I should also point out that the edge of my back cover was cut crookedly; it sticks out a bit more than the pages do.
The interior artwork consists of 129 black-and-white illustrations by 5 different artists. Some of these appeared in the
Main Realms Book, and some of them are little more than pencil sketches, but all in all I rate the artwork higher here than in the previous book. I appreciate the fact that nearly all of the monster illustrations matched their written descriptions fairly well, which is an important point for me. You might have noticed that there are 129 illustrations and only 75 monsters - that's because of the layout of the book. With one or two exceptions, each monster gets two pages devoted to it: on the left side is an illustration of the monster (with a smaller map showing the areas of the world of Canton it can be found in, a nice touch), while on the right page is the monster's stat block and description. However, many of the right-hand pages do not fill up the page, so additional illustrations are added to fill up the white space. In a few cases, these additional illustrations are another depiction of the monster in question, but more times than not the picture has very little to do with the actual monster. That's where the captions come in: most of the right-hand illustrations come with captions, where the authors stretch their creativity muscles to try to justify their inclusion. As an example, pages 30-31 are about the deg'varn, a grizzly bear with two humanoid arms sticking out its shoulders. The small "filler" illustration on page 31 is of an enormous tree with a tiny hut between its roots; the caption reads "Elven Deg'varn training camps" - that seemed like kind of a stretch to me.
The funny thing is, though, that while I can at least appreciate the effort that went into filling in the excess white spaces on the odd-numbered pages, I'm astounded that there was no similar effort for the even-numbered pages. Even with the little map showing where each creature can be found, most of the even-numbered pages are less than 75% filled; white space simply abounds. The book has 158 pages, but I have little doubt that it could have been dropped down at least to 120 pages with a little effort - why not drop the "filler art," double-up on the monster illustrations (2 to a page), and set it up as "page of monster text, page of 2 monster illustrations, page of monster text" or something similar? That would not only drop down the page count, but also (one would hope) the price; as it is, $27.00 for 75 monsters works out to 36 cents per monster. Compare this to, say the
Monster Manual (417 monsters, $29.95, 7 cents/monster) or
The Tome of Horrors (289 monsters, $29.95, 10 cents/monster), or
Monster Geographica: Underground (200 monsters, $20.00, 10 cents/monster) - although granted, that last one had no artwork. In any case, I found all of the white space to be disappointing.
One last thing about the art: Clayton Bunce's 2-page map of the world of Canton is reproduced on pages 4-5; this was a good idea, as it helps the reader to see what countries and regions are being discussed in the creature descriptions, and the little insert maps are too small for any great detail (you'd never be able to read place names off of them, for instance).
I received
The Ecology of Canton Volume One as a review copy at the same time as I received the
World of Canton Main Realm Book, so when I complain again about the horrendous job at proofreading and editing, I don't want anybody jumping to the conclusion that they're still putting out bad products. Yes, this book is pretty bad, but it came out before they had any feedback on any of their products, and I've been in contact with Jeremy Aldrich since my last review - he seems very dedicated to fixing the problems they have with their current releases. I won't go into a whole lot of detail here, but the level of effort put into their first book is about the same as it is in this one; that is to say, not much at all. This time I
did go ahead and annotate each error I noted, and while I won't bore you with a breakdown, it came to 4 full sheets of legal paper (8 pages). Oy!
As for the monsters themselves, there are some really cool ones in here, usable not only in a "Pantheonic Dreams" campaign but in just about any fantasy-based game world. The Flayed and the Ssnrav that I enjoyed from the first book are here in full detail, and would be a welcome addition to any campaign. I also really liked the Fire Ants (flaming ants), Blade Bones (undead with blades attached to their bones), Death Claws (spidery creatures that bury themselves under loose earth), Dusk Hound (undead dogs who were killed by neglect), Volpen (a sort of winged eel), and Zalchradi (portal-guarding outsiders). Some of the others are pretty cool, although there are some real clunkers in here, too; King Spoon, a 6-inch-tall fey who slaps opponents on the nose with a rusty spoon leads that particular list. I was a bit surprised to see that the allocation of creature types in the book was so lopsided - there are no dragons, for example. Here's the breakdown:
- Aberrations - 15
- Animal - 3
- Beast (yes, beasts, even though there is no beast creature type in 3.5) - 8
- Construct - 1
- Dragon - 0
- Elemental - 0
- Fey - 2
- Giant - 1
- Humanoid - 7
- Magical Beast - 5
- Monstrous Humanoid - 8
- Ooze - 2
- Outsider - 6
- Plant - 1
- Template - 1
- Undead - 9
- Vermin - 5
The reason the numbers don't add up to 75, by the way, is that two of the entries here have no game stats. The Bladder Plant is just an excuse to have a table of weird effects from inhaling its gas, and Porkinar's Children entry is just "fluff" text describing a malformed creature who creates monstrosities on an island.
Unfortunately, the proofreading and editing problems crept into the monster stats as well. I'm a big stickler when it comes to monster stats, so I'll be pointing out all of the changes that need to be made to each creature's stats in a bit, but first I want to make some "generic" comments. The first problem with the monsters' stats - and this is a universal one - is that the authors are apparently not sure whether they want to be in 3.0 or 3.5 format. They have "Attacks" and "Damage" entries (as per 3.0) instead of "Attack" and "Full Attack" (as per 3.5), yet they provide touch and flat-footed Armor Classes (as per 3.5) - well, most of the time, except when they forget to. They use "Face/Reach" (3.0) instead of "Space/Reach" (3.5), and even then give the values in the form "X by Y," where "X" is the space (a square-foot measurement) and "Y" is the creature's reach. None of the monsters has a "Base Attack," "Grapple," or "Level Adjustment" entry (as they would following 3.5 guidelines). And then, just for fun, the Geeks Cubed guys go off on their own and decide to list flat-footed AC values before touch AC values. They also bump "Special Attacks" and "Special Qualities" to fall after the "Feats" - weird. They also seem a bit confused about the formula for a saving throw, as almost all of them are messed up. The correct formula is: Save = 10 + (1/2 the creature's Hit Dice) + (the relevant ability modifier). In almost all cases, the authors use the following formula instead: Save = (relevant ability score) + (1/2 the creature's Hit Dice). Where they came up with that, God only knows. Finally, their italicized creature descriptions too often fail to describe the monster, but rather focus on too-specific things going on in the situation (for example, referencing a halfling companion getting eaten, or describing the party as facing an army of undead and outsiders in the Hellpit).
Going through my list, there isn't a single monster in this book that we won't be touching on. Ready? Then grab your red pens, and we'll begin.
- p. 7, Fire Ant: First of all, it's a Beast, which doesn't exist in 3.5. Even if you stick with it as a Beast, though, its HD should be 1d10+1, not 1d10+3 (it has a +1 CON bonus). The Danger Burst Reflex save DC should be 12, not 16.
- p. 9, Aram: With HD of 5d8+25, average hit points should be 47, not 49. "Attacks" line should specify "melee" after the values. With STR 22 and DEX 15, Weapon Finesse is a useless feat - you should drop that and replace it with something else. Reference is made to long periods out of water reducing their Constitution scores, but no details are given. (How long out of water? How much of a reduction? Is there a saving throw involved?)
- p. 11, Astacides: There's a chart showing what body part the astacides can snip off of its opponents, depending upon a percentile roll. However, a roll of "40" indicates both "elbow" (31-40) and "fingers" (40-70), a roll of "80" indicates both "ankle" (71-80) and "knee" (80-90), and a roll of "90" indicates both "knee" (80-90) and "hip" (90-98). Reflex save to escape an astacides' claw should be DC 14 (if Dexterity-based) or DC 16 (if Strength-based), not DC 18.
- p. 13, Crypt Beetle: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Beetle, Crypt." The text says that they're incapable of fear, but that doesn't appear anywhere in the creature's stats, nor are there any details given. Otherwise, this one's pretty well done.
- p. 15, Bexzot: Attacks should specify "melee." Only one feat is listed; with 3 HD, there should be two. Why no advancement? As an orc offshoot, you'd think they could at least advance "by character class." Since bexzot (apparently) have no eyes, there should be a write-up describing how they're immune to visual-based illusions, blinding, and so on.
- pp. 16-17, Bladder Plant: Why are there no stats for this plant? Even if they wanted to do it up as a "hazard" (like green slime and brown mold) it would at least provide a Challenge Rating listing. Why does healing magic have no effect upon the plant's acid-based damage? Even with all of the plant's other weird gas effects, I find it difficult to believe that one possibility is restoring (nonmagically, no less!) 2d10 years of aging from the creature inhaling its gas. As for the allergic reaction (a roll of 20 on a d20), how soon does the victim die, and is there a saving throw involved?
- p. 19, Blade Bone: With only 7 HD, it should have 3 feats, not 5. (If you want them to have the extra two, they should be annotated as bonus feats.)
- p. 21, Fisher Cat: Another Beast. Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Cat, Fisher." HD should be 1d10+1, not 1d10 (it has a +1 Con bonus). Touch AC should be 13, not 14. Assuming you're keeping it as a Beast, claw attacks should be at +0 melee, not +3. Bite attacks should be at -5 melee, not +1. Why no advancement? It's a hunting cat, similar to a jaguar or cougar. Also, why doesn't it have a rake attack? Most great cats do.
- p. 23, Changelings: Attacks should specify "melee." Otherwise, the stats are okay (besides the formatting anomalies mentioned above, which affect all of the entries in the book). However, the description says that changelings "inhabit one of the islands to the north of the Hellpit," yet the map insert shows pockets of them throughout the entire world of Canton.
- p. 25, Chewvar: With HD 5d8+10, average hit points should be 32, not 37. Touch AC should be 14, not 4. (That one was probably just a typo.)
- p. 27, Dathceatu: HD should be 8d8, not 8d8+24 (it has no Con bonus). As a result, average hit points should be 36, not 60. Slam attacks should be at +10 melee, not +12 (+6 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR). Should have 3 feats, not just the one. It already has 8 HD, yet Advancement starts at "6-10 HD." If they developed from fungus-men, why aren't they Plants instead of Humanoids? Blinding Gas Fortitude save DC should be 14, not 18.
- p. 29, Death Claw: "Speed 3 ft." generally isn't a good idea; that should be 5 ft. (Always try to keep Speed values as multiples of 5.) The description says that the death claw is "unique to the Targou Jungle," yet the map says otherwise. Strength check to escape a death claw's clutch should be DC 15, not 14. Disease Fortitude save should be DC 11, not 18. I like the fact that the disease (called simply - and quite unoriginally - "The Sickness") has multiple stages, but it boggles my mind that at 19-25 days after infection the victim suddenly can fire off burning hands, magic missile, and shocking grasp spells twice per day. Huh?
- p. 31, Deg'varn: Another Beast! Bite attacks should be at +6 melee, not +8 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR, -2 for secondary attack with the Multiattack feat). The "Organization" line mentions a "mother and family," but neglects to mention just how many that might be.
- p. 33, Dimensional Puddle: With HD 4d8+8, average hit points should be 26, not 28. No touch or flat-footed values given; should be touch 10, flat-footed 14. Tentacle attacks should be at +9 melee, not +8 (+3 BAB, +6 STR). Missing one feat; should have two. Why no Advancement? Most oozes advance to have more Hit Dice, even if they don't change size categories. Drag Through Reflex save should be DC 12, not 18 (unless it's Strength-based - it doesn't specify, but most Reflex saves are Dex-based).
- p. 35, Sea Dragon: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Dragon, Sea." It's a Beast! Why not a Dragon? There are monsters of the dragon creature type that don't have the "true dragon's" size categories - take the pseudodragon as an example. Anyway, bite attacks should be at +15 melee, not +12 (+10 BAB, -2 size, +9 STR, -2 for secondary attack with Multiattack feat). Why does it have the Multiweapon Fighting feat? It has neither three or more hands nor does it wield weapons. It should have 5 feats, yet only has 2 (actually you should pick 4 more, after dropping the useless Multiweapon Fighting). Sonic Roar Fortitude save should be DC 23, not 18.
- p. 37, Dusk Hound: Carcass Rot Fortitude save should be DC 14, not 15.
- p. 39, Ebon Sand Raider: Weapon attacks should be at +5 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, +2 DEX due to Weapon Finesse). Has 4 feats, but should only have 2 since it only has 3 HD.
- p. 41, Ethereal Amoeba: With HD 8d8+16, average hit points should be 52, not 50. Tentacle attacks should be at +13 melee, not +12 (+8 BAB, -1 size, +6 STR). Ethereal Vacuum Reflex save should be DC 14, not 20. What's the DC of the Strength check to break free of the amoeba's ethereal vacuum? - none is given.
- p. 43, Eydu: HD should be 5d8+13, not 5d8+10 (taking into account the Toughness feat). Should have 3 feats, not just the one. Why no Advancement?
- p. 45, Flayed: HD should be 3d8+12, not 3d8 (it has a +4 CON bonus). Falchion and dagger attacks should both be at +7 melee, not +6 (+2 BAB, +3 STR, +2 weapon enhancement). With 3 HD, they should only have 2 feats, not 4 as listed.
- p. 47, Flesh Craver: With HD 9d12, average hit points should be 58, not 74. Flaying touch attacks should be at +5 melee, not +11 (+4 BAB, +1 STR). Flaying touch damage should be 1d6+1, not just 1d6. Should have 4 feats, not just the one. Knife and garrote attacks are described in the "Combat" section, but neither attack is listed in the creature's stats.
- p. 49, Flesh Crawler: Flat-footed AC should be 12, not 13. Has 4 feats, but should only have 3.
- p. 51, Plague Ghast: Alphabetically, should be listed as "Ghast, Plague." HD should be 8d12+3, not 8d12 (to account for its Toughness feat). The Advancement line is blank. Gray Plague Fortitude save should be DC 14, not 12. Also, apparently the creature was originally called a "Plague Sprayer," but they forgot to change its name in one instance.
- p. 53, Gibber: AC should be 21, not 22. Flat-footed AC should be 20, not 21. Bite attacks should be at +9 melee, not +8 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR, +1 Weapon Focus). Claw attacks should be +3 melee, not +8 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d12+5, not 1d12+7. Draining Stare Fortitude save should be DC 20, not 16.
- p. 55, Garbage Goblin: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Goblin, Garbage." Bite attacks should be at -2 melee, not +3 (+1 BAB, +1 size, +1 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Should only have one feat, not 2 as listed. Stench Fortitude save should be DC 14, not 15.
- p. 57, Hafferin: Touch AC should be 11, not 12. Should have 2 feats, not just the one.
- p. 59, Ice Monkey: With HD 4d8+12, average hit points should be 30, not 34. Spike attacks should be at +8 melee, not +6 (+4 BAB, +4 STR). Cold Blast Reflex save should be DC 15, not 17.
- p. 61, Ivory Beast: Another Beast! With HD 4d8+16, average hit points should be 34, not 32. (Of course, in 3.0, beasts had d10s for HD, but that's another story....) Bite attacks should be at +6 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, -1 size, +4 STR). Claw attacks should be at +1 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, -1 size, +4 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d4+4, claw damage should be 1d4+2. Missing one feat; should have 2.
- p. 63, Keron: No INT value listed. Stench Fortitude save should be DC 17, not 22.
- p. 65, Killer Rodents: For a template, this one's pretty odd. All Killer Rodents' Hit Dice are automatically increased to 4d8, and they all have exactly the same ability scores: STR 16, DEX 18, CON 14, INT 4, WIS 10, CHA 12. I've never seen a template plug every square peg into the same round hole like that.
- p. 65, Killer Rat (sample Killer Rodent): Claw attacks should be at +2 melee, not +7 (+3 BAB, +4 DEX due to Weapon Finesse, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d6+3, not 1d6+4. Claw damage should be 1d4+1, not 1d4+3. Missing one feat; should have 2. No details given on Poison attack (poison effects, saves, etc.) given. "Organization" line is blank.
- p. 67, King Spoon: With HD 5d6, average hit points should be 17, not 25. Spoon attacks (yes, you read that right!) should be at +11 melee, not +10 (+2 BAB, +4 size, +5 DEX due to Weapon Finesse). Spoon damage should be 1d4-5, not 1d4-3. There are WAAAAY too many at-will spell-like abilities for a diminutive fey, especially considering that King Spoon can cast wish at will as a spell-like ability - if he can cast wish, he has no need of the other 24 (24!) spell-like abilities (and why was limited wish on that list if he can already cast wish? Basically, King Spoon really doesn't need any stats, as he's basically there for the DM to screw with the players. When his turn comes up, just have whatever you want to happen, happen, and explain it away as a wish. Loads of fun. Yeah. Next!
- p. 69, Knocayn: Flat-footed AC should be 21, not 22. Touch AC should be 16, not 9. Greatsword attacks should be at +21 melee, not +22 (+14 BAB, -1 size, +8 STR). Greatsword damage should be 3d6+8, not 3d6+14. Missing one feat; should have 5 total. Infernal Wound Heal check should be DC 23, not 22.
- p. 71, Bone Leech: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Leech, Bone." Flat-footed AC should be 18, not 10. No Advancement is given.
- p. 73, Levit: Claw damage should be 1d6+6, not 1d6+9. Bite damage should be 1d4+3, not 1d4+9. Rake damage should be 1d6+6, not 1d6+1. Missing one feat; should have 2.
- p. 75, Wilderness Lurker: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Lurker, Wilderness." With HD 3d8, average hit points should be 13, not 16. Bite attacks should be at +4 melee, not +8 (+2 BAB, -2 size, +4 STR). Bite damage should be 1d8+6, not 1d8+4 (it gets 1.5 its STR bonus for a sole attack form).
- p. 77, Mastermind: HD should be 12d8+24, not 12d8+10. Average hit points should be 78, not 95. No Attacks or Damage entries listed - it never attacks? Should have 5 feats; only has 1.
- p. 79, Mathton: Another Beast! HD should be 3d10+12, not 3d8+12 (this is true if you keep it as a Beast or convert it to a Magical Beast). Bite attacks should be at +5 melee, not+4 (+2 BAB, -1 size, +4 STR). Claw attacks should be at +1 melee, not +4 (same as before, but -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d8+4, not 1d8+2. Claw damage should be 1d6+2, not 1d6+4. No feats listed; it should have 2. Has 3 HD, yet Advancement starts at "3-17 HD." The same problems on the "Sever Body Part" table as listed above under "Astacides" - not surprising, as it's the same table! Sever Reflex save should be DC 15, not 18.
- p. 81, Men-Menu: First of all: what a dumb name! With HD 25d10+250, average hit points should be 387, not 375. Bite attacks should be at +39 melee, not +23 (+25 BAB, -2 size, +13 STR, +1 Weapon Focus). Should have 9 feats; only 6 are listed. Acid Breath Weapon Reflex save should be DC 24 (if DEX-based) or DC 32 (if CON-based), not DC 22. Bestow Curse Breath Weapon Will save should be DC 23, not 28. Frightful Presence Will save should be DC 23, not 24.
- p. 83, Mesvan: Dagger attacks should be -2 melee, not +1 (+1 BAB, -1 STR, -2 for secondary attack with Multiattack). Should have only 1 feat, but is listed as having 3 (the first one to drop would be Multidexterity, which does not exist in 3.5). Has 2 HD, yet Advancement starts at "2-4 HD."
- p. 85, Metallithur: Bite attacks should be at +11 melee, not +16 (+12 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 2d6+2, not 2d6+7. Missing one feat; should have 4. Poison Fortitude save should be DC 20, not 24.
- p. 87, Mong Kong: Missing one feat (should have 2). Has 5 HD, yet Advancement begins at "5-14 HD." Map shows it living in more than "two separate locations," as indicated by the text.
- p. 89, Black Powder Moths: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Moths, Black Powder." No AC values given; should be AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14. Why isn't this a Swarm (vermin) creature type? (Well, other than the authors apparently had a limited grasp of 3.5 at the time of the book's creation.)
- p. 91, Mountain Fury: With HD 13d8+78, average hit points should be 136, not 130. Should have 5 feats; only 3 are listed.
- p. 93, Obsidian Hound: Why does this creature have a deflection bonus component to its AC? Shouldn't that be a natural armor bonus? No size given; I assume it's Medium from the description. Claw attacks should be at +1 melee, not +6 (+4 BAB, +2 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d8+2, not 1d8+3. Claw damage should be 1d6+1, not 1d6+2. Why no Advancement? Absorption Energy Wave Reflex save should be DC 15, not 18.
- p. 95, Orange Mist: The AC breakdown should read "+6 deflection," not "+6 incorporeal." Also, as an incorporeal creature, it shouldn't have +6 natural armor. This changes it AC values to AC 19, flat-footed 16 (touch is still correct at 19). Shouldn't there be a save against the INT drain?
- p. 97, Perelic: With HD 4d8+12, average hit points should be 30, not 29. Claw attacks should be at +7 melee, not +5 (+4 BAB, +3 STR).
- p. 99, Petruskel: HD should be 5d12+3, not 5d12 (to account for its Toughness feat). Shouldn't there be a save against the CON drain?
- p. 101, Porkinar's Children: This whole entry simply astounds me. Why is even here, when it has no stats at all, not even for a template?
- p. 103, Rak'azar: Another Beast! With HD 8d10+16, average hit points should be 60, not 61. Initiative should be +0, not +2 (either that, or it should have a DEX of 14 or 15 instead of 10 as listed; since it gets a +2 DEX bonus to AC, I'm guessing this is the way to go with this one). AC is okay if DEX = 14 or 15. Bite attacks should be at +9 melee, not +11 (+6 BAB, -1 size, +6 STR, -2 for secondary attack with Multiattack). Bite damage should be 1d6+3, not 1d6+9. Should have 3 feats, not just the one listed. Poison Fortitude save should be DC 17, not 23.
- p. 105, Tusker Rat: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Rat, Tusker." Reference is made to "improved grabbing capabilities" in the text, but there's nothing in the stats about it having Improved Grab.
- p. 107, Marsh Raven: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Raven, Marsh." As an Animal, HD should be 1d8+1, not 1d10+1. As a result, average hit points should be 5, not 6. Should only have 1 feat; has 2 listed. Poison Fortitude save DC should be 11, not 14. Apparently, this was originally called the "Western Raven."
- p. 109, Rockfish: Another Beast! AC shouldn't include both a "carapace" bonus and a "natural armor" bonus; plus, 3.0/3.5 have both gotten away from creatures having one AC value on one part of their body and another one elsewhere. Bite attacks should be +6 melee, not +8 (+3 BAB, -1 size, +6 STR, -2 for secondary attack with Multiattack). Bite damage should be 1d6+3, not 1d6+9. Missing one feat; should have 2. Sounds like it should have Improved Grab. Poison Fortitude save should be DC 13, not 19.
- p. 111, Sconsins: Again, this would work better as a Swarm (vermin) creature type. Note the corny name: it's a giant mosquito, and it's called a "sconsin." Get it? Does it help if I mention that Geeks Cubed is headquartered in Wisconsin, where mosquitoes are known to be a problem? No average hit points listed; should be 6. "Bite melee" should be "Bite +0 melee." Poison Fortitude save should be DC 12, not 16.
- p. 113, Shadow Seductress: Shouldn't there be a save against the STR damage?
- p. 115, Shrivn: HD should be 10d8+30, not 10d8+10. Has 2 feats listed; should have 4 total. Why no Advancement?
- p. 117, Sickened: Wouldn't this work better as a template? Claw attacks should be at +9 melee, not +7 (+3 BAB, +6 STR). Bite damage should be 1d4+3, not 1d4. Text says they're found in the northeast, yet the map indicates the northwest. Contagion Fortitude save should be DC 15, not 14.
- p. 119, Midnight Sludge: Alphabetically, this should be listed as "Sludge, Midnight." HD should be 10d10+30, not 10d10+80. As a result, average hit points should be 85, not 135. Slam attacks should be at =10 melee, not +12 (+7 BAB, -2 size, +5 STR). Slam damage should be 2d6+7, not 2d6+10. Is Hover supposed to be a bonus feat? Since the text description has "Hovering Flight" and says that it's different from the Hover feat, why not just get rid of it? Acid Reflex save should be DC 18, not 12.
- p. 121, Sand Sludge: Alphabetically, should be listed as "Sludge, Sand." With HD 8d10+24, average hit points should be 68, not 83. Has 8 HD, yet Advancement starts at "8-16 HD." Acid Reflex save should be at DC 17, not 12.
- p. 123, Toffer Sprite: Alphabetically, should be listed as "Sprite, Toffer." AC should be 16, not 18 (it only gets a +2 for Tiny size, not +4). Touch AC should be 16, not 18. Flat-footed AC should be 12, not 14. Vial attacks should be at +9 ranged, not +11 (+3 BAB, +2 size, +4 DEX). Should have 3 feats, not just the one. Advancement line is blank. Detonation Reflex save should be DC 17, not 18.
- p. 125, Ssnrav: Bite attacks should be at -1 melee, not +2 (+3 BAB, +1 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Missing one feat (probably Multiattack); should have 2.
- pp. 126-127, Tenye: Fortitude save formulas for medusa snake/monstrous scorpion poison and the troglodyte glands are incorrect; should be 10 + (1/2 HD) + (CON bonus).
- p. 129, Tree Toad: Missing one feat; should have 2. On a personal note, reading this passage (about escaping from a tree toad's stomach once swallowed whole) made me actual cry aloud with joy: "If someone is able to cut his or her way out of the toad's stomach, the creature dies." Is anyone else bothered by monsters with self-sealing stomachs? I for one was glad to see this written up in this fashion.
- p. 131, Trolling: Touch AC should be 13, not 11. Aresan axe attacks should be at +8 melee, not +9 (+4 BAB, +1 size, +3 STR). Light crossbow attacks should be at +7 ranged, not +4 (+4 BAB, +1 size, +2 DEX). "Tribe" size is described in the text, but it's not found in the "Organization" line of the stats.
- p. 133, Tyjean: Claw attacks should be at +15 melee, not +12 (+9 BAB, -1 size, +7 STR). Bite attacks should be at +11 melee, not +9 (+9 BAB, -1 size, +7 STR, -5 for secondary attack, +1 Weapon Focus). Gore attacks should be at +15 melee, not +12. Bite damage should be 1d8+3, not 1d8+7. Should have 5 feats; only 3 are listed. Has 12 HD, yet Advancement starts at "12-16 HD."
- p. 135, Unfinished Construct: HD should be 4d10+20, not 4d10+16 (and it shouldn't have a CON value!). No AC breakdown or touch/flat-footed AC values given; should be AC 21 (+1 Dex, +10 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 20. Attacks entry should specify "or." Claw damage should be 1d8+5, not 1d8+7. Slam damage should be 2d6+5, not 2d6+7. Treasure entry is blank.
- p. 137, Vemonera: Venom Fortitude save should be DC 15, not 18. Ditto with the Stench Fortitude save.
- p. 139, Volpen: HD should be 3d8+3, not 3d8. No average hit points given; should be 16. "Attacks: Bite melee" should be "Attacks: Bite +4 melee." Bite damage should be 1d6+2, not 1d6. No feats listed; should have 2. Has 3 HD, yet Advancement starts at "3-8 HD." Poison Fortitude save should be DC 12, not 17.
- p. 141, War Barony Elite: No size given; I assume it's supposed to be "Medium." Touch AC should be 14, not 17. Scythe attacks should be at +12 melee, not +10 (+6 BAB, +4 DEX with Weapon Finesse, +2 weapon bonus). Has 9 feats; should only have 5.
- p. 143, Watcher: Electricity ray attacks should specify +11 ranged.
- p. 145, White Waste Worm: Breath Weapon should be listed as a Special Attack, not an Attack. Bite damage should be 4d12+15, not 4d6+22. Has 2 feats, but should have 7. No details are given as to the breath weapon's "draining off living essence" - is this talking about negative levels? How many? Is there a saving throw allowed?
- p. 147, Wither Oak: Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 18. Disease Fortitude save should be DC 17, not 19.
- p. 149, Xogretha: Claw attacks should be at +16 melee, not +18 (+9 BAB, -1 size, +7 STR, +1 Weapon Focus). Bite attacks should be at +11 melee, not +18 (same as previous, but with a -5 secondary attack penalty). Bite damage should be 2d6+3, not 2d6+10. Why no skills?
- p. 151, Yetra'al: With HD 4d8+20, average hit points should be 38, not 40. Bite attacks should be at +3 melee, not +8 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +5 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Claw damage should be 1d8+5, not 1d8. Bite damage should be 2d6+2, not 2d6. No feats listed; should have 2. Has 4 HD, yet Advancement starts with "4-18 HD."
- p. 153, Yzin: 346 lbs falls under both a light load and a medium load. 692 lbs falls under both a medium load and a heavy load. Poison Fortitude save should be DC 21, not 27. Quills Reflex save should be DC 16, not 17. No specifics given on the Trap the Soul mechanics for the winged version, the yzin'chrati.
- p. 155, Zalchradi: Bite attacks should be at +12, not +17 (+10 BAB, -1 size, +8 STR, -5 for secondary attack). Slam damage should be 2d6+8, not 2d6+12. Bite damage should be 1d8+8, not 1d8+2. Why no skills? Has 6 feats; should only have 4. The "Speed" listing says the creature's tether is only 10 feet long, but the description says it's 30 feet long. Which is it?
Now, I'm not guaranteeing that those are the only errors made in the monster stats; I don't generally break down Skill points (too convoluted to do in my head), for example, and it's quite possible that something slipped by me - after all, this is just what I found with one read through. I would have hoped that the editors of this book (two are listed on the credits page) would have done at least as much as I did reviewing this book, and caught a good chunk of these errors before publication. Sadly, Geeks Cubed is going to have to add fixing up
The Ecology of Canton Volume One to their workload if they want to dig themselves out of the hole that their premature rush to publication dug for them. I wish them luck; despite their poor showing so far, it's apparent that they put a lot of enthusiasm into their campaign world. Now they just need to put in an equal amount of effort and polish.
I give
The Ecology of Canton Volume One a "(2) Poor" rating, with the hopes that future releases will warrant a much higher score.
