Pathfinder and the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path famously reimagined goblins, detailing their culture, mannerisms, and tactics in a way that made a boring old monster one of the most hotly discussed foes in fantasy roleplaying. Now, the minds that bring you Pathfinder have applied the same method to ten "classic" monsters, providing complete ecological discussions and adventure ideas involving orcs, ogres, goblins, hobgoblins, trolls, bugbears, and more in this lavishly illustrated, full-color 64-page overview that is both fun to read and fun to use at the gaming table.
Designed for use with the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting but easily portable to any fantasy campaign, Classic Monsters Revisited is a resource gamers can turn to again and again.
Devido ao pouco conteúdo de regras (até porque ele é do período de indecisão se a Paizo aderiria a quarta edição ou não) esse livro só é recomendado a quem não quer utilizar os humanóides clássicos do dungeons and dragons como meras buchas de canhão. Algumas das novas características e personalidades das criaturas podem render ótimas histórias ou pelo menos adicionar profundidade a raças que nunca tiveram nenhuma (mesmo os artigos mais rasos dão muitos detalhes sobre a sociedade e cultura desses povos que hoje em dia não são encontrados em muitos lugares). Para aqueles que se interessam em tratar os humanóides como culturas antagonistas, o livro e excelente e mesmo não fugindo do maniqueísmo clássico do D&D, pelo menos ele torna esses monstros e monstros verdadeiros que merecem serem mortos ao atacado (e não apenas porquê tem um circulo vermelho embaixo do pé deles).
I just got this book today, and, though it only contains 10 of the most basic and generic monsters found in any Fantasy RPG, it has leaped to an undisputed position at the top of my list of favorite monster books - nothing else comes close.
This should be required reading for writers of RPG monster book "fluff"! It seems that RPG writers have been pretty lazy about these sorts of monsters, giving a token nod to the likes of Goblins and Orcs as "oh, there's also some generic Tolkien-inspired cannon fodder... now, let's move on to some interesting stuff!" But in this book, the writers give these monsters the attention they deserve.
My favorite entries are for Goblins, Bugbears, and Ogres, which seem particularly alive and vivid as images from effective and memorable horror films, so that these monsters become unforgettable and vividly nightmarish.
This book, light on stats, would be right at home on the shelves of DMs running anything from Pathfinder or D&D (3rd and 4th), to Call of Cthulhu, and a number of these monsters can even be adapted to stories for RPGs based on Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, X-Files, and Supernatural.
This book should have been produced a long time ago, and should have been built into D&D by now :)
Plenty of information to make a whole adventure or campaign arc revolving around any one of the monster types included. This gives each of the generic monsters its own flavor and motivations, and the whole thing was just a fun read. Make more of these for other monsters!
...because it contains so much useful flavor. I can't think of any other book, beyond the CS or the Gaz, that would be more helpful to a GM in making Golarion come to life. (*****)
Just when I had written off Kobolds as useless and pathetic, this book comes along. It breathes new life into monsters we all know and love. There's a reason this won an award!
You know what my problem with humanoid monsters was ? I could never tell or describe the difference between Goblins, Bugbears, Gnolls... All low-CR cannon fodder.
This book solved that problem. It's full of really great ecology information that really helps bring these critters to life. It's not just about Gobilns and Ogres, several "poor mans" monsters like Bugbears or Lizardfolk get a quality makeover.
A truly great book !
Inspirational and the ground breaking book for a new line
Goblins... the cannon fodder of any fantasy game. Lame and boring... BUT NOT ANY MORE!
This book revolutionizes the classic monsters of fantasy RPGs. Almost no new rules and mechanics. Instead, these monsters are reinvented with new concepts. Using the same old mechanics as before, these boring old staples of the industry are brought to new life and a new viciousness that has been missing for decades.
This book has inspired scores of fans to demand more Revisited books to pump new life into a game gone stale after decades of the same old ideas.
At some point I browsed the MM and tried really, really hard to see some meaningful difference between a Bugbear, an Orc, a Hobgoblin and an Ogre. Couldn't find any. Brutish low CR cannon fodder...
And then I got this book.
And now my life makes sense ! ;) Seriously, this book is pure gold, it makes these insofar generic monsters come to life. After an evening with CMR I have a clear vision about what makes an Ogre such feared opponent in Golarion. I believe any fantasy GM can profit from this volume, it contains plethora of plot hooks and cool trivia. One of the best Chronicles products so far !
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