Nickbergquist
Mongoose
Better than I expected, and I am really very impressed. The book has a wide range of creatures, provides stats that cross settings for many beasts (such as Gloranthan versions of elves and dwarves as well as more conventional fantasy versions). The illustrations are are fine mix of new art and some of the best of the previous MRQ Monster book. I especially love the harpy and the lamia illos...both races are suddenly going to figure prominently in my upcoming games just so I can show them off when time for visual props arises. Overall I really like the b/w artistry in this book.
I know SIZ tables were brought up elsewhere but I appreciate the current level of abstraction to be found with the SIZ charts; they provide a general emphasis on a creature's dimensions without locking down its overall measurements in some codified manner....I've actually found the SIZ charts in other BRP games to be less useful than one would imagine; as a fine example: a 40 foot tall stone giant vs. a 40 foot long Roc with hollow bones. How do you assess an accurate size/weight measurement for the two based on the SIZ trait? It seems that codifying SIZ in this manner raises more issues than it solves, and leaving it as a modest abstraction....like all the other attributes are....is not a bad idea.
The arena fighting chapter at the start of the book is a nice little "extra" and certainly justifies the name of the compendium, but it was a bit shorter than I expected. That said, it's still more than useful for doing what it does, and is a nice tribute to the Monster Coliseums of yore. There's also a final chapter with a sample arena and relevant NPCs, which includes suggestions on integrating it in to different official RQ settings.
All told this book has 112 monster entries with a total of 139 (give or take) specifically statted entries and subtypes. Yes, it still has the winged manticore (the monsters from the short section in the main rulebook are reprinted here) and no that is not an errata/artist's error, but in fact a depiction of a chaos-tainted manticore with stubby wings
(Stan lee calls them No-Prizes and I'd love to have one for that solution!)
All in all I'd say this is the best iteration of a monster book for RQ yet, and I do own the 3rd edition creatures book for Glorantha, the UK-produced Monsters book for that same edition, MRQ's last two monsters books, RQ2 the original and I think I still have a couple "All the World's Monsters" lying around in storage somewhere waiting for me to ebay them.
I have had a few hours to read though the book so far, so I haven't caught any specific typos or errata, but nothing has popped out, either, so that's a good sign. So far the RQII books have all been about industry average or better, I feel, for those curious/concerned. These books show a lot of effort and I definitely appreciate it.
EDIT: I should note that unlike certain other venerable games, the Monster books for RQ just get better with time.....other survivors of the 70's seem to grow slimmer and slimmer on content, but not RQ; good flavor text, arena suggestions and such..more! :twisted:
I know SIZ tables were brought up elsewhere but I appreciate the current level of abstraction to be found with the SIZ charts; they provide a general emphasis on a creature's dimensions without locking down its overall measurements in some codified manner....I've actually found the SIZ charts in other BRP games to be less useful than one would imagine; as a fine example: a 40 foot tall stone giant vs. a 40 foot long Roc with hollow bones. How do you assess an accurate size/weight measurement for the two based on the SIZ trait? It seems that codifying SIZ in this manner raises more issues than it solves, and leaving it as a modest abstraction....like all the other attributes are....is not a bad idea.
The arena fighting chapter at the start of the book is a nice little "extra" and certainly justifies the name of the compendium, but it was a bit shorter than I expected. That said, it's still more than useful for doing what it does, and is a nice tribute to the Monster Coliseums of yore. There's also a final chapter with a sample arena and relevant NPCs, which includes suggestions on integrating it in to different official RQ settings.
All told this book has 112 monster entries with a total of 139 (give or take) specifically statted entries and subtypes. Yes, it still has the winged manticore (the monsters from the short section in the main rulebook are reprinted here) and no that is not an errata/artist's error, but in fact a depiction of a chaos-tainted manticore with stubby wings
(Stan lee calls them No-Prizes and I'd love to have one for that solution!)
All in all I'd say this is the best iteration of a monster book for RQ yet, and I do own the 3rd edition creatures book for Glorantha, the UK-produced Monsters book for that same edition, MRQ's last two monsters books, RQ2 the original and I think I still have a couple "All the World's Monsters" lying around in storage somewhere waiting for me to ebay them.
I have had a few hours to read though the book so far, so I haven't caught any specific typos or errata, but nothing has popped out, either, so that's a good sign. So far the RQII books have all been about industry average or better, I feel, for those curious/concerned. These books show a lot of effort and I definitely appreciate it.
EDIT: I should note that unlike certain other venerable games, the Monster books for RQ just get better with time.....other survivors of the 70's seem to grow slimmer and slimmer on content, but not RQ; good flavor text, arena suggestions and such..more! :twisted:
