Monstrous Mondays: Monster Manual II (3.0)

The Monster Manual II for the 3.0 version of 3rd Edition appeared in 2002, just before the big transition to 3.5.  Like its namesake from 1st Edition, this MMII brings us some new monsters, but it also gives us a number of updated old favorites. 

Monster Manual II (3.0)

For this review, I am considering both the PDF from DriveThruRPG and the hardcover version I bought back in the early 2000s.

In the the 2 years since the Monster Manual was printed the designers of the 3rd Edition game had gotten a lot of feedback from players and also have seen the designs that other monster books have been able to do.  They knew what the players and the DMs were saying about monsters.  So the MMII has two overt purposes. The first, and the obvious one, is give us more monsters to use in out games. The second, and likely more helpful one, is to help clarify how the monster stat blocks are used and can be altered.  I want to discuss the second one first.

The first section of the book covers the monster stat blocks. How to read them and what sorts of details you are likely to find in them.  This is largely similar to the list to the MMI but there are a lot of additions, like the table of typic creature damage types by type and size.  Each creature type is broken down into what makes that type different than the other types with much more detail than in the MMI.

There are new guidelines on advancing monsters. This really is the reason to get this book. It expands greatly on the rules and lets you know how to do it with an example.

On the back side of the book, there are also new templates to apply to monsters to make other monsters.

In the middle, we have the reason that most people pick up the book, the monsters.  There are over 130 monsters listed here and some are new, others are old favorites.

We get some 1st Ed. MM1 favorites like the banshee, the catoblepas, the sylphs, the water weird (though now expanded into elemental weirds), and ixitxachitls.  There are a good number of Fiend Folio monsters too in the hook horror, grell, death knight (as a template), meenlock, dune stalker, Son of Kyuss, and needleman er needlefolk.  

The Daemons return, but this time they keep their 2nd Edition name of Yugoloths. Actually, I am good with that. Yugoloth always was cooler sounding than daemon anyway.  There are more demons and devils too and even some weird Lovecraftian beasts like the Moon Beast and more.

This addition to the Monster Manual line feels like it was more completing the MMI than it was a second book. I consider it a must-have book for any 3.x DM  with even a slight interest in monsters.

The art is great throughout and you can see the design is leaning into what will become known as "dungeon punk" later on.

Is this one of my favorite monster books? No. But it is a great work-horse book that has great designer information and a few really great monsters on top of that.

#RPGaDAY2022 Day 8 - Who introduced you to RPGs?

That one is a little harder to figure out.  I feel like that in the late 70s and early 80s D&D was all over the place. I knew of it as far back as 77 or 78. I didn't read any of it until 1979 though.

I borrowed the Monster Manual from my classmate Geordie Herald. I got a copy of Holmes' Basic from someone. My first real DM was Jon Cook. 

In truth, there was this critical mass of D&D in my town in the late 70s. I DO remember I almost didn't get involved with it due to my interest in video games. But reading mythology and "The Hobbit" and watching all sorts of horror movies I think made my involvement in the game at the time rather inevitable.

All roads lead to the Keep on the Borderlands it seemed.

100 Days of Halloween: Witchology 101

Now for something a little different. Pathfinder is great, but it is not the only 3.x-based game out there not named Dungeons & Dragons.  For a while there I did a lot stuff for D20 Modern and I still like to pick up material for it.  Though today I think a 5e-based Modern might be the way to go.

As always I will be following my rules for these reviews.

Witchology 101

PDF. 60 pages, $2.99. 1 page cover, 1 title page, 1 page introduction, 3 pages table of contents. 3 pages Creative Common license, 1 page OGL.  Rest content.

This book is punching way above its weight class, to be honest.   The organization is a bit odd, but nothing I can't navigate. 

We get a Glossary at the start, which I guess works to help people unfamiliar with some of these terms.  An introduction to a Who's Who of magical people and places. This includes the various school of magic as if they were actual schools. Each school gets its Latin motto, its center of studies, and titles. It is a pretty cool idea really.  Spells by school are listed with their appropriate colleges. 

There is a whole implicit setting here that can be used in conjunction with any Modern d20 game that also has magic, say like Urban Arcana. It can also be used with other modern games that are built on a d20 system.  I am not 100% sure, but I bet it would work with Mutants and Masterminds for example.

This is a d20-based rule book so there are some features of that. What am I saying? There are Feats! Quite a few in fact. There are spells, some new, some we have seen before (this is fine).  Also to my pleasure, there are new creatures or some reskinned ones. This is a must I think.

It has a Creative Commons License and the OGL. I am not really sure if you can mix the two.  But that does not detract from my enjoyment of it.

So for just under $3 you get 50 pages of solid content. There is no art to speak of, but that is fine really.

Solid work.

#RPGaDAY2022 Day 7 - System Sunday: Describe a cool part of a system that you love

I have to admit, I am a big fan of the "Rule of 2" we use for NIGHT SHIFT.

From the rules:

The rule of 2: this is my name for a sub-system in D&D that has never been precisely codified, but is buried deep in the bones of the game. Any time a situation needs to be adjudicated in D&D for which there is not another system, throw a die, and on a result of 1 or 2, it happens. Listening at a door (and not a thief)? You hear noise on a 1 or 2. Looking to notice a secret door (and not a dwarf or elf)? Roll a d6 and you find it on a 1 or 2. Surprise? 1 or 2. The only thing that changes, for the most part, is the type of die--rangers, for example, use a d8 surprise die--and some character types may adjust the probability (elves noticing a secret door without searching is a 1 on a d6).

A nice simple rule that covers a bunch of situations. 

100 Days of Halloween: Witch Feats

A couple of PDFs tonight. Both giving me some new feats for the Pathfinder 1st Edition Witch.

As always I will be following my rules for these reviews.

Witch Feats
from Island Of Bees

PDF. 5 pages, PWYW, suggested $1.00. No cover. No OGL.

This one is oddly presented and I had to go back and make sure I had the right file. But once I got into it then yes it is the right PDF.  The cover to the right is not in the file (as a cover) and it jumps right into the content. The art takes up half of every page, so not really 5 pages, but 2.5 pages of content (more like 2). The art is good, very visually striking and I like it (our cover girl here is on page 4 for the Witch Brew), but there is one of what looks like a young girl in a Civil War-era Union uniform with a rat familiar.  It is good and I rather like it, but it looks very out of place, to be honest.

While presented as feats, these are really patron pacts.  So you get these if you take the feat. The text is mostly fluff. The advantage to this is you could use them with Pathfinder 2nd Ed or D&D 5th Ed warlocks too. It's just not what I thought it might be.

Fantastic Feats Volume XXVII - Witches
from Ennead Games

PDF. 5 pages. $1.25. 1 page for cover, 1 page for Preface/Table of Contents, 1 page for the OGL. 2 pages of content.

This file has seven witch feats presented in the traditional manner for the Pathfinder 1st Edition RPG. There are some interesting ones here too. The Stable Spell gives the witch more control over the damage she can do while Unstable Spell adds some randomness. Aura of Menace should be taken by all witches I think!

Certainly some fun ideas here. 

#RPGaDAY2022 Day 6 - How would you get more people playing RPGs?

In the past, I would have focused on the adventure, the excitement and the interactivity of it all. Today I would still do that, but I would also focus on the things that mean more to me these days; playing with family and friends.

I'd also point out how it is a great creative effort.  Want to write an 11 backstory for your character? Sure! Go ahead. But keep in mind they might die at any point.  What to do then? New character and new backstory!

There are so many reasons people get into RPGs now and so many different kinds to choose from. Getting people into RPGs may not be the right question. Instead, how do we help people find the right RPG for their needs and wants?

100 Days of Halloween: Witch Options (PFRPG)

More Pathfinder material tonight.  

Full disclosure, I am friends with the author, Robert W. Thomson. Also, I will be following my rules for this to remain fair.

Witch Options (PFRPG)

PDF. 10 pages, 1 cover, 2.4 pages for OGL. 6.6 pages of content. $2.00

I like Purple Duck Games. They produce a lot of material so it is a good chance there is something out there that you will enjoy.  This book has a lot of different options for the witch class as the title says. 

There is a little bit of everything in this book too.

There are five new hexes. Five new Major hexes and four Grand hexes. Six New Patron Themes. Ten new feats.  I am rather fond of the Triple Moon Tattoo feat to be honest.

Ten new spells, including "Summon Hag."  Four new pieces of equipment.

There is the hagborn template to add to any monster for creatures born to hags.

There is not a lot of any one thing here, but a lot of different things. For $2.00 how could I say no?