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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dok" data-source="post: 2010532" data-attributes="member: 12780">Whenever you purchase a book, you want to believe that you, the intelligent consumer, have bought a product of unsurpassed quality, because otherwise, you feel stupid. That was my feeling in purchasing the Tome of Horrors, but after a little time has passed, I'm willing to look more critically at the contents...First, it is a BIG book. In terms of monster-per-dollar, you get a lot. And the content is widely varied, from traditional 1st edition monsters that are utterly nonsensical (the trapper, the piercer) to a host of animals (need stats for a bison?) to a nice range of templates. If you're not a fan of the strange & odd monsters that populated 1st edition (Wolf-In-Sheep's-Clothing, anyone?) there is going to be some content you won't like. Additionally, a modest portion of monsters appear elsewhere, primarily in WotC's Fiend Folio and the Book of Vile Darkness. However, for DMs whose players own as many books as they do, the variant monsters are good to have. The next point is a minor one, but important to some. Not only are ALL the monsters Open Game content, but the last appendix quite nicely shows you, in simple instructions, how to use them & keep it OGL compliant. A nice touch for anyone wanting to publish a module with Orcus or another demon lord. So why not 5/5? Because once you get past the volume of monsters, and the incredible variety from pure Gygaxian fantasy to folklore to just plain wierd, the book has some technical issues. Small, Tiny & Diminutive creatures with Improved Grab have their grapple checks modified incorrectly for size. Many creature abilities have that "1st edition feel" of giving a description of flavor text without rules data to back it up. For example, the Air Elemental Dragon has a breath weapon of "superheated air". Does a ring of Fire Protection prevent that damage? Is it half fire, half buffeting (impact) damage? Other examples of this "missing/wrong game mechanics" mar what is an otherwise awesome creature collection. Missing also from the book is a listing of creatures by type & subtype. While I have no issue with the book's layout & organization otherwise, the absence of such a list makes the book harder for immediate use. I can't simply pick up the book & look for an Undead, I have to search each page.Overall, the book is very, very good. It's a great buy for the price, it has a lot of varied content which ensures something will fit in your game, and is a fabulous resource for anyone thinking of publishing their own work. It's not perfect, but it does come close.</blockquote>

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