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DM Jeff
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, GameMastery Maps Subscriber)
Wow, I needed those points, too. Oh well.
Still, this is a book that sort of has me interested. But I already have enough monster books to fill two bookshelves and easily fiddle around with stat blocks and the like to mix up my beasties. So I will need to flip through this one first, or hear a good reliable review before purchase.
-DM Jeff
This sounds interesting as an idea generator but since it's "system neutral" I'm not sure how much of a time saver it will be for the DM. The time consuming part of creating new monsters is creating the stats to run them at the table, making sure they're balanced, etc. Still, in terms of fluff this sounds promising and I like what Goodman Games has done for the most part to date.
L
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How many times has this happened to you?
GM: The mass of vegetative matter rises up before you, its branches flailing like the tentacles of a squid being sucked into a whirlpool, its gaping maw revealing nasty, throny teeth. Roll for initiative!
Player: Hey guys—that's a tendriculos. It regenerates, but if we use bludgeoning weapons and acid, we'll be fine. Don't waste your mind-influencing spells—they won't work. And don't bother trying to flank it—it's immune to crits.
I can hear your collective sighs. Of course, you could combat this with a collection of monster books that takes up two bookshelves, or you could nerf the Knowledge skills to make sure the PCs can't know everything your players do.
...or you could actually grow a spine as DM! Yes! With our new line of DM self-help books, you too can develop what it takes to make clear statements like:
1) And how the hell does your character know what a Tendriculous is??
2) Do you have the required Knowledge: Religion ranks to know a lich' weakpoint is his phyllactery?
...and our writers' favorite
3) Metagamers will get no XP for the rest of the adventure, the DM has spoken.
Yes! You too can grow a pair, order your copy today!
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Parodies apart... I love the idea of guidelines for creating my own monsters, I'd buy the book, but the advertisement can't be more SAD, as if characters developing expertise was actually a bad thing.
Sure, every table has a player that will try to metagame his way beyond what his character knows (ie his personal experience and/or knowledge skills), but if the DM can't stop metagaming in his table himself, then his problem is not players knowing, it's spinelessness.
"We all shout, 'November!'"
"The click-clicks fall over dead."
Give yourself five grognard points if you recognize the reference....
Don't ya mean Thursday? ;) And yeah, there were certain things I just wouldn't have ever gotten back in the old days playing Infocom adventures, for instance, if someone I know hadn't bought the hint book at let me in on all the Easter eggs.
Have a look at the ten sample monsters posted on the author's blog—though those were made using a previous edition of the book, when it was a small-press product. I don't know whether the new Goodman edition has changed things significantly or not.