Who has picked up "Dragon: Monster Ecologies"?

[Glyfair]

I saw this was out at my FLGS this weekend.

I have all of the articles in their original forms (if you count the Dragon Archive as such). However, I'm considering picking it up just to encourage publishers to put out quality projects in the more affordable softback from.

It is easily the equal of any WotC product in production quality. Great art, great feel, and great price (only $19.95). To me, I don't feel the need to pay an extra $10 or more just to get a hardcover.

Glanced at the displacer beast history. I admit, I didn't realize it developed from a science fiction novel creature.

Has anyone received their copy and read it yet?

 

[chaotix42]

No, I haven't acquired my copy yet, but I plan on ordering one this week. I too own most (if not all) of the ecologies inside but there seems to be new art and new monsters so I'm sold.

 

[RichGreen]

I don't think it's out in the UK yet but I'm thinking of getting it even though I own all of the original articles. Can anyone who has it list the new bits?

Cheers


Richard

 

[Glyfair]

I don't think it's out in the UK yet but I'm thinking of getting it even though I own all of the original articles. Can anyone who has it list the new bits?

I know several game designers gave their favorite monsters of D&D. A couple mentioned they got their advance copy because of this (at least one thought the question was for an upcoming issue of Dragon). IIRC, Chris Pramas and Wolfgang Baur are two of them.

 

[Nlogue]

I got this book right before I went on my honeymoon and it's the only book I brought to read on the beach...It is truly awesome! Got me so very excited about so many monsters!!! The extra material is outstandingly insightful and fun too. Excellent quality book too...great art, great paper quality. I highly recommend. It made me write an entire Draconian focused adventure on the back of a napkin at a coffee shop while my wife was doing some internet work. Inspiring book.

 

[RichGreen]

I got this book right before I went on my honeymoon and it's the only book I brought to read on the beach...It is truly awesome! Got me so very excited about so many monsters!!! The extra material is outstandingly insightful and fun too. Excellent quality book too...great art, great paper quality. I highly recommend. It made me write an entire Draconian focused adventure on the back of a napkin at a coffee shop while my wife was doing some internet work. Inspiring book.

High praise indeed!

 

[Ant]

I got this book right before I went on my honeymoon [...] It made me write an entire Draconian focused adventure on the back of a napkin at a coffee shop while my wife was doing some internet work. Inspiring book.

That must've been one heck of a honeymoon.

Seriously though, I haven't got this yet but I'll definitely be picking it up when it arrives Down Under.

 

[HiLiphNY]

Got it, and it's going to be my main read on my upcoming cruise next week!

"Flumphs of the Caribbean!"

 

[Cam Banks]

It made me write an entire Draconian focused adventure on the back of a napkin at a coffee shop while my wife was doing some internet work. Inspiring book.

You realize of course that draconians made me write that article at knife-point, don't you? The scaly bastards.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Festivus]

I got this Friday but haven't had much time to go through it. I do like the quality of the paper over the dragon magazines that housed these originally, far more durable.

Memoirs from E. Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz were nice reads, and I guess China Mieville is appropriate (though I don't like him from a D&D standpoint I do from a novel reader standpoint, and he is some kind of uberfan).

There is an index of all the ecology articles that appeared in Dragon over the years, which is very helpful.

In all, Choker, Chuul, Dracolich, Draconian, Inevitable, Kenku, Kobold, Kraken, Lizardfolk, Night Hag, Rakshasa, Rust Monster, Shadar-Kai, Spawn of Kyuss, Spell Weaver, Will-o'-Wisp all get ecology articles. Seemed to me like most of these are rather recent articles.

There are also some tip of the hat short one page articles on the evolution of iconic monsters: The Beholder, The Githyanki, The Mindflayer, The Displacer Beast

Lastly, Erik Mona brings us the monsters of suck, those critters we all would have been better without: Achaierai, Carbuncle, C.I.F.A.L., Enveloper, Dire Corby, Flumph, Ogremoch, Gorbel... all in two paragraphs.

I am puzzled how there is a blue dragon on the cover but no blue dragon ecology article.

So, overall, good quality, nice articles though mostly reprints from Dragon magazine, it is nice to have collected in one place. and the index is fantastic (in fact index goes to issue 359 (Tarrasque), 358 (Kaorti), 357 (Titan), 356 (Linnorm). So you will truely have a complete index on your hands.