Monsters of Sin epitomize the very worst of our natures—and they prey on others’ weaknesses. This third book in the Monsters of Sin series for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is devoted to Gluttony, the irresistable desire for pleasures of all sorts, so there’s bound to be one to tempt any character.
It includes:
The Bottomless Pit, a creature that can swallow a village with a little effort.
The Gnarljak, an eating machine that can be as dangerous to its owner as it is to his enemies.
The helpful, nonthreatening Trap Bush, that can change its nature at the pluck of a berry.
The voracious Embodiment of Gluttony itself, a walking gelatinous outsider forever eating, forever expanding...
Detail on Gluttony within the Midgard Campaign Setting.
Rules for incorporating Gluttony into your NPCs and monsters.
Whether you’re running a Campaign of Sin, or simply want to add a little gluttony to your game, Monsters of Sin: Gluttony is stuffed full of possibilities! Be sure to check out Monsters of Sin: Avarice and Envy as well!
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This pdf is 10 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page advertisement/SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 6 pages of content, so let's take a look!
As has become a tradition in the series by now, the pdf kicks off with a short introduction and a simple template (this one clocking in at CR+1) for the respective sin before going into the details regarding the new monsters.
-Bottomless Pit (CR 5): A disgusting somewhat pig-like aberration of fat masses, this ugly creature comes with a swallowing ability that hastes it and a sectioned stomach that can contain multiple humanoids .
-Gnarljak (CR 6): An animated bear-trap-construct, this thing attacks anyone coming close, even its creators and are quite deadly - if it trips someone, the things chomps down hazard with multiple additional attacks. It also comes with 3 variants, from CR +0 to CR +2 and all information necessary to create the things yourself - and it's a brilliant take on one of the concepts of gluttony - mindless, unnecessary and futile consumption that doesn't nourish (a soul), but rather consumes for any kind of consumption's sake.
-Trap Bush (CR 10): These bushes have goodberries and punish gluttonous - anyone who tries to pick too many of the berries are subjected to a fight with a porcupine-like, rather lethal thorn-dart flinging plant. Another winner indeed.
-Embodiment of Gluttony ( CR 18): A fleshy, unintelligent ooze that gobbles everything mindlessly up, growing larger and larger, this embodiment destroys food, potions etc., regenerates, staggers foes with its acid and comes with a dual aura. A terrifying blob-being with unique, cool signature abilities.
The pdf closes with the embodiment of sin- monster type and a side-bar on gluttony in the upcoming Midgard Campaign setting.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to a full-color two-column standard and the disturbing b/w-artworks are top tier quality. The pdf has no bookmarks, but doesn't necessarily need one at this length. I'll make my ramble short - the thematic focus is tight, the signature abilities rock hard and we even get variations on one critter. What's more to want for? I have nothing to complain about apart from that I would have loved for the Bottomless Pit to have one more unique ability. Thus, my final verdict will be 5 stars.
Monsters of Sin returns with its latest installment, Gluttony. Weighing in with 10 pages, we've got roughly half going to covers, OGL and credits/TOC, leaving of course, roughly half for the new material. Internal art is handled by Aaron J Riley and is all B&W, with the fantastic cover piece done by Cory Trego-Erdner. Format continues to follow the basic layout for a pathfinder creature entry (there really is only so much wiggle room there, lol), with the single page, single creature approach including artwork in the bottom corner of the page. Only the Embodiment spills over to a second page with its abilities descriptions. So, lets peruse Mr. Costello's offerings shall we?
First up we get the Monsters of Sin standard opener discussing sin, the purpose of this series, and defining (for the purposes of this collection) gluttony in all of its glory. As previously done, the template offering for this PDF is handled here, and I like the template this time out...I would really like to see these templates get to the point that we see some abilities added as well, but this one at least gives more than a one line write up. Both Quick rule and Rebuild rules are given, laying out the adjustments to ability scores for a Gluttonous Creature, as well as the CR adjustment.
Our first monster on the table is the Bottomless Pit, a swine headed pile of flab that is the epitome of eating machine. Able to swallow creatures up to its own body size, and graced with an insane metabolic rate, this thing will literally digest a meal in a matter of rounds. Add to that its sectioned stomach, and this thing could easily turn a goblin village into a ghost town in a matter of minutes. And, like any good sugar junkie, the more it eats, the more energy it gets...unfortunately this is where the mechanics fail the fluff for this creature, as the only thing mentioned in regards to this burst of energy is a haste effect as long as it still has a living target within its stomach. Would have been cool to see the creature perhaps gain more powerful abilities if it managed to eat X amount as combat continued, something more challenging to the playgroup than haste. And I have to say, the art really let me down on this one, as it would have been awesome to see the creature with its mouth open, to better understand where the mouth is on this thing, lol.
The Gnarljak, whereas is a cool critter is essentially an animated bear-trap...I've seen it before, several times...and I am failing to see what it has to do with gluttony. If the connection is the biting, I'm sorry, that's really stretching the concept of gluttony, as the sin is far more about the consumption than the physical act of biting, and an animated construct is not biting for personal consumption (although, this creature having some form of inter-dimensional “stomach” so that it was in fact consuming the pieces it bit off of foes would have taken this creature to that level for me). It is offered with three variants to allow you to customize your gnarljack torturing of your playgroup though, and variants are always a good thing.
Which brings us to the third creature, the Trap Bush. A goodberry producing bush that will allow any to pluck one berry per day from its branches, but only one. Able to alter its shape and uproot to attack and pursue, this creature's only downfall in my opinion was its art. The overly dark artwork just doesn't convey well for this creature in my opinion. And yes, I know, you're thinking why is this creature in a gluttony collection right? Simple, it punishes gluttons, and that's just flat out cool.
The Embodiment of Gluttony is an excellent offering, seriously, this is what I have been waiting to see from the embodiments. A large ooze that grows as it eats, and eats everything it can touch, my mind immediately went to The Blob, this thing is dangerous, its deadly, and ultimately really gross (lol) which is perfect for this sin. An enemy that continues to grow in size and danger the longer it is allowed to eat, with a starting CR of 18, what more could you ask for?
As always, a quick tie in to Midgard closes us out, this time telling us of a sheepherder in Zobeck, and a mage who was enslaved by his own appetite. Not so much to work with for a hook with the first perhaps as it is, but the hungry wizard certainly gives many a thought for hooks and seeds.
Final thoughts on this addition to the Monsters of Sin series, The embodiment was the best yet in my opinion as far as representing the sin while being a worthy challenge and interesting encounter. The template again was my favorite of the three so far offered. But the creatures, the gnarljack did not fit the theme of this PDF for me, the bottomless pit really could have used some more abilities tied to a sliding scale of “food” consumed but was otherwise an interesting creature. The trap bush was an excellent concept design wise, and I can not hold art against design, as the art issue is purely a personal choice. But, hands down, the embodiment sold me on this PDF, as it is so perfect for the sin of gluttony, and makes up for a few shortcomings elsewhere. So, balancing the pros and cons, I am going with a 3.5 for this one, rounding up to a 4 for the purposes of this forum.
Thank you for the reviews, KTFish7 and Endzeitgeist. I've enjoying comparing your likes and dislikes in the Monsters of Sin series. I believe so far at least one of the two of you has liked each monster.
I'm very curious at vanity, I always love the vain monsters, characters (vega from streetfighter) and even smurfs!
Vanity should contain a mirror monster (that hunts vain persons by pulling them through mirrors and replacing them), a creature that steals beauty/charisma and some mr.hyde type monster, very pretty female/male turns into very monstrous ugly being. And the vanity embodiment, a creature that turns all creatures around it arrogant and vain and selfish.
