Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="negativtoo" data-source="post: 2010269" data-attributes="member: 1918">Appearances :A 240 pages hardcover with glossy full-colour exterior artwork ( some friendly undead-steamtech hybrid staring out at the prospective buyer from behind a partially busted steeldoor, fitting the setting quite nicely ). Interor art is black and white drawings on slightly greyish paper. The interior art (by Brian Snoddy and Matt Wilson ) is exceptional to outstanding in quality, both in terms of decorative quality and depicting the relevant subject. As it is all done by the same two artists it has a very unique and cohesive quality. Some of the artwork is rather graphic and not for the "oh-so-faint-of heart" types, though, but nothing too gory.The paper is of heavy stock, giving the book a truly "tomish" feel. The price is US$ 29,95 , so it is not the the cheapest of bargains.The Works :As yet another monster compilation ( for which the D20 market seems to have an insatiable appetite ) the "Monstronomicon  is also the first non-adventure title/publication for Privateer-Press' Iron Kingdom setting, an atypical, if  volatile, mixture of classic fantasy with a hefty dose of steampunkish technology and some gritty warmongering - so the "Monstronomicon" is also aimed at establishing the feeling privateer angles for in this setting. It contains 80 plus creatures, most of them either adapted varieties of fantasy stables, interestingly reworked for the Iron Kingdom setting, some are truly new creatures with a steamtech twist and some are unique beings which leave/have left deep marks on the IK setting.. You also have the Iron Kingdom variants of certain character races in here, like Winter Elves, Gobber (Goblins), Farrows and Trollkin .Each monster has a 2 page or more length entry, two or more illustrations depicting it in action or in its environment ( and some of these illustrations alone make an encounter or adventure come to mind ), a "to-scale" illustration depicting its relative size to a standard human (cookie points for this !) a short vignette/story describing how and where the monster may be met, told by a fictitious narrator, a "legends and lore" block listing commonly and not-so-commonly known  facts about the creature, some uses for its carcass besides as roadkill and a short "adventure hook" section...... Wow ! Every publisher out there intend to publish/republish a monster collection should take hints from this - this is masterwork quality stuff ! The mixture of low and midlevel, along with some high CR beings seems reasonable. Very few outsiders (as befits the setting ) but a bunch of constructs and parasites/vermin.Into the first category of monster fall old stables of D+D  like Gatormen (Lizardmen a la IK ), Mechgargoyles, Warpwolves (lycanthropes) Thralls ( Zombies) and Trolls (with a bunch of subspecies, and for once, a great idea for trollish "offspring"). Most of these have unique twists, both regarding environmental effects, habits, powers and or traditions, making them both a surprise for the players and interesting to employ for the GM, and it is quite surprising how Privateer Press pulls new uses from old hats.The second category contains a lot of creatures which are new and unique, both for urban adventure and deep wilderness encounters. For most of them there is both a short vignette describing how and why they may be encountered, which, while not answering every question possible about a creature, gives the GM solid ground to build upon. Many of these creatures are spirits or wayside hazards like the Rusalka, the Boatman, the Old Man of the Swamp or simply dangerous animals like Dracodils (crocodiles with a vengeance ) and Hull Grinders ( the bane of fishermen ). Some new NPC races like the Black Ogrun ( dark but smart Ogre blacksmiths of superior, yet dangerous, arms), the Satyrix (humans changed by living in the proximity of dragons ), Bog Trolls (think "the thing from the black lagoon" ) among others. Some interesting "not-a-golem" constructs and rather undead thingies make their appearance here as well. Usually, each and every on of them has one or more nasty twists up their sleeves.The third category has unique beings of the Iron Kingdoms - such has the three known dragons, all of which have extreme CRs (think 49 to 66...hehe ), but as they have both magical and political influence on the world around them (among other things ruling a certain nation, causing widespread mutation through their sheer presence and being a environmental nuisance for travels ) it makes sense listing them here. Also you have a bunch of creatures with CRs in the teens and lower which make great and terrible foes for characters, or are very useful for putting some real fear into their hearts. My favourite among these is the Deathjack, though,  a deadly contraption from hell, eternally stalking the lands of the kingdoms fueled by consuming the souls of those it has defeated in its infernal furnace... closely followed by  the doppleganger-fiend "Grizzle and Flay".Simply put - almost each and every creature listed in the "Monstronomicon" will give you a unique ( especially if used in another campaign-setting ) and memorable encounter - and in many ways some of the scariest creatures in this tome are the tiny and silent ones. Most creatures, while having a strong Iron Kingdom flavour, will be easy to transfer one on one to any other fantasy campaign, even the steamtech monstrosities or the one undead being with handguns - unless you like your monsters cute, furry and pinkish, that is.It should be noted that almost 30 pages of this book are devoted to additional Iron Kingdom rules for Monster hunting characters ( 3 prestige classes included ), with sample zoological books providing information on certain monstrosities, minster hunting equipment, rulesfor applying "Legends and Lore" in a campaign, rule son writing such tomes oneself etc etc etc. also you find stats on the "narrator" of the book, a daredevil scholar eccentric in the tradition of Dr. Jones and some hard and fast information on the Cosmology/planes of the iron Kingdoms, plus 4 pages on the Stats, limitations and attitudes of the Iron Kingdom player character races ( notably = no Gnomes, Half orcs or Halflings ). This is nice stuff, especially if playing/contemplating an IK campaign. about the value of it being found in a monster collection I am uncertain - while it is great stuff, I would have preferred another 10 or 12 monsters. Still, not bad.Resumee :Excellent value for the money - while not cheap, the "Monstronomicon" delivers in spades. In my opinion, while the monstronomicon is arguably not the Monster collection with the most new monsters, no other monster collection on the market for the d20 system right now does even approach the high percentage of useful, original (!) and interesting ones in the Monstronomicon, nor does any other book give so much intriguing and inspiring details about its "specimen". Its exemplary presentation, black-humoured writing and truly exceptional artwork are simply the icing on the cake. If you look for a creature collection to expand your campaign, get this one. You might even consider buying it for the sheer entertainment/inspirational value.straight 5/5</blockquote>

Verification