Adventurers have been battling these creatures for more than 30 years—weird monsters born and bred to destroy heroes. You recognize them on sight: bulettes, cloakers, gelatinous cubes, mimics, otyughs, owlbears, purple worms, ropers, rust monsters, and shambling mounds. Some were created by the experiments of mad wizards, made to guard lonely towers. Others live exclusively in sewers and dungeons, products of niche evolution amid humanity’s forgotten filth. All are fodder for the blades and spells of adventurers. But there’s more to each of these beasts than meets the eye.
Within this 64-page book is detailed information on the motivations, tactics, ecology, and history of these classic monsters, all reimagined for the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting while staying true to their roots as iconic elements of the game. Learn about rare and deadly variant creatures, and the best ways of separating them from their treasure. Buy customized equipment for hunting them, and learn new magic using pieces from their strange corpses.
All your old enemies are here, and they’re just as monstrous as you remember!
By Sean K Reynolds, Joshua J. Frost, Rob McCreary, Jason Bulmahn, Richard Pett, Greg A. Vaughan, Nicolas Logue, James Sutter, Jason Nelson, Clinton Boomer
I've posted a full review of the book at GM Oracle -- read the review at http://www.gmoracle.com/?p=319 -- but basically this is a fun, well-crafted book that's loaded with enough cool twists and details to get my brain wheels spinning around just a tad too fast. A great addition to any GM toolset.
I am incredibly impressed with the handling of this book's content. Paizo has truly outdone themselves! I can recall my first (last and ONLY...thank the Gods) encounter with a Roper. It was nothing like what it could have been had we had this book at the time! Each monster has received enough background to render them unique and flesh them out beyond the stat block. Instead of a "You see a *blah*, roll initiative" I now look forward to having my group encounter a cabal of Nick Logue's Ropers, thus sealing their fates.
This book was a pure pleasure to read. Not only is it at the usual high standard for art and book bounding but the writings and options offered within for the listed dungeon denizens blew my mind. The mutations of the generic monster should be come a regular feature for all future monster ecology books. I have purchased a few monster ecology books and this one has left me feeling the most excited.
I would highly recommend this book for DMs wanting to add some spice to their encounters. Sidetrek material is supplied for all the monsters. Only downside in my eye is a lack of a DC check table that could be used by DMs to used to relay what characters would know.
I own all the Pathfinder Chronicles books, and this one is my favorite so far. The "Revisited" line is as strong as ever, offering original, creative stories for some of D&D's most memorable beasties. As with its predecessors, Dungeon Denizens Revisited is rules-light, though what rules we have are certain to spark anyone's imagination; for example, there are feats for making creepy, ooze-friendly druids. The bulk of the book, however, is "fluff". And boy is it ever... fluffy.
I liked the mimic chapter the most. The author has given these formerly two-dimensional menaces a complex lifecycle, as well as a psychological impetus for sitting in a dungeon looking like a treasure chest. For the first time ever, we even get to see what a mimic looks like in its natural form! (Ugly as sin, if you're wondering). I also enjoyed the cloaker entry, wherein the creepy bat-things are revealed to be worshipers of HP Lovecraft's "Mythos". There are plenty of cool cloaker variants as well, including ones covered in dangerous symbiotic mold and primitive cloaker/manta ray halfbreeds. Heck, even the gelatinous cube (and to a lesser degree, oozes in general) gets some much-needed love. Ever wonder what happens when you toss alkali on acid-based slime dudes? Well now you'll know.
Not all the chapters are gold. The owlbear and bulette, for example, seemed lacking. Perhaps I'm biased, as I was never a huge fan of either monster to begin with, but I doubt it; I still don't like rust monsters, but I enjoyed their entry nonetheless. These chapters are by no means bad, mind you. They just don't measure up compared to, for example, the purple worm or roper. (Fans of Nicholas Logue will not be disappointed by his take on the roper, btw).
The illustrations range from adequate to awesome. I particularly liked the baby gelatinous cube. It somehow manages to be cute, even with the human skull suspended inside.
All in all, a fantastic product. I can't wait for the next installment.
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