Would you spend $100 for a monster book?

[Aeric]

I can't imagine spending $100 on any gamebook, much less a book of monsters. I also can't imagine a thousand-page gamebook being at all practical. I would much rather see it as a fully indexed and bookmarked PDF or even in an .html format with hypertext links and the like. Slap that puppy on a CD or sell it on Drive Thru RPG and we'll talk.

First WLD and now this. Is Mongoose going for the Guiness Book of World Records or something?

 

[Krug]

No way.

 

[Mouseferatu]

You know, as often as you see me crusading through various threads, reminding people that the price of RPGs hasn't kept up with inflation and that we should get used to higher prices...

This is far beyond what I'm talking about. Put me down as another check in the "no way" category. I can't think of any RPG book I'd pay $100 for, and certainly not a monster book coming from a company that--no offense intended, but let's call a spade a spade--has a strong reputation for major editing and stat block errors.

 

[Sammael]

No. No way.

First (disregarding the price), because I have yet to use all the creatures from MM, MM2 and MoF, and I can't justify bying a book which I won't have the time to use.

Second (still disgregarding the price), because I do not buy Mongoose books. Period. Some of the most ridiculous d20 crap I've ever seen came from Mongoose books.

Third, I would never, ever spend $100 on any single RPG book, regardless of content or page count.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

I would have to see it first. Though I barely use the monster books I already have, much less get use out of a 100 monster book that would likely contain a crap load of varients and weird creatures.

 

[Thanee]

I'm not keen on monster books, so probably not.

It would have to contain highly detailed information (not just combat stats and one paragraph, but detailed cultural information, detailed appearance description, and such) about a huge amount of monsters, which are as useful as those from the MM 3.5 and not only weird stuff as in 99% of the other monster books out there, rather typical monsters (that fit perfectly to D&D) on the same level as the MM 3.5, with some weirder creatures mixed in for good measure. Of course, the illustrations/printing/layout would have to be (at least) on the MM 3.5 level as well. As it's not even color, that alone is reason enough not to buy it.

Bye
Thanee

 

[philreed]

For me to spend $100 the book would have to:

1. Be produced by a company I trust to give me a high-quality product. Companies like Privateer or Green Ronin are examples of people I would trust to do a good job on something like this.

2. Beautiful.

3. Packed with unique, interesting monsters. A 50-page section of variant goblins is NOT what I'm looking for.*

4. Well designed. Such as every monsters fits exactly on a page and/or spread.

5. Heavily indexed, cross-linked, and usable.


* NOTE: I have no clue what's in Mongoose's book. I just made up the goblin bit as an example of what I don't want.

 

[MonsterMash]

In a word NO, I don't have many monster books, but I've got enough to do the stuff I need with and find little point in having a 'monster of the week' in my games.

 

[Hand of Evil]

IT really depends on what this term presents and amount of reference is useable.

The conceit is of a botanist's journals and scientific papers, which record fantasy creatures in a reference guide.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

WHile I could see myself spending $100 on an RPG product I seriosuly doubt this would be the one. I'd be looking more for something like World's Largest City due out sometime this year.