Marc Radle |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hey everyone!
The Tome of Beasts is officially here!!!
Order your goodness today!
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Blue_Drake |
Hey Marc, I posted the review on Paizo's site:
http://paizo.com/products/btpy9jba?Tome-of-Beasts-Hardcover
I tried to copy my review over to the Kobold Press store, but when I go to reviews it just says, "Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review."
I am logged in, and I redeemed the code for the pdf through the Kobold Store (actual purchase was through backerit), but it won't let me post a review.
Lorathorn |
This is amazing. If I have one complains... and its minor... is that there appears to be about 4 water themed dangerous dames. I thought this was interesting from Pathfinder too. Now I get my choice of (*ahem*) watery tarts. Just no scimitars to lob.
I kid though. Really it is an amazing book, and the creatures are all intriguing both as encounters and for the purpose of campaign planning.
Zmar |
Hey everyone!
The Tome of Beasts is officially here!!!
Order your goodness today!
... and it's GLORIOUS! :)
marv |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I really appreciate that in addition to the hard bound, I also am getting a PDF and the pawns. This standard, set by Paizo, is nice to see in 5th edition by Kobold Press.
This is no small thing.
I wish WoTC understood how important it is to support their books in this way.
I am very Impressed with these monsters and highly recommend this book.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
I've only skimmed about the first 4 letters of the PDF, but I like what I've seen so far.
My only quibbles are some minor spelling errors, and I think one monster has a Pathfinderized poison ability, which looks like it causes 1d4 ability damage per minute until you finish a long rest, which is something like 480d4 points of ability damage.
But other than that, it's really good so far. I like how there is a written description for a lot of the monsters. It really helps clarify what is a detail specific to a monster, and what is just an artist's interpretation.
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Marv and Smilodan, thanks for noting corrections! We'll roll them into the revised PDF for September release.
If you find other things or have a list of the spelling/other issues, feel free to send them to Koboldpress@gmail.com with a "TOB Typos" subject or similar. We do want to update and improve this book over time.
Marc Radle |
Marc Radle |
You can really get a sense for just how massive this book is!
Tome of Beasts in the Wild #2!
In fact, if you scroll down a bit, you can also see some great pics of the Pawns and even one of the amazing looking Special foil-stamped leatherette edition!
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Yes, "processing" means it has likely already been shipped. The shipper eventually goes through and hits "completed" on all those, but when you are sending out 2,000 packages or so...
You should see it in the next few days. A few have hit Massachusetts today, so they are definitely trickling into the NE.
Marc Radle |
Awesome! Once you have a chance to digest it ... maybe post a short (or not so short :) review?
Oh, if you haven't popped up to the Tome of Beasts Product Page lately, be sure you do so - there are now a number of preview pages you can check out AND an awesome video!
Also! Looks like Paizo just added the Tome of Beasts Pawns, so be sure to check them out as well!
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
I just got to the Demon Lords.
So far, the only major issues I have are:
1. There seems to be a lot of 3.5/PF-style ability damage, which is very rare in the original MM (I think just the shadow does it, and they specify how it can be removed/repaired). Recalculating attacks, saving throws, damage, and skills each time you take ability damage can be kind of annoying. A better method would be to apply disadvantage to the ability score, or just use the poisoned condition. A lot of monsters seem to give the poisoned condition AND ability damage, which is pretty harsh. Alternatively, give a penalty to a specific ability, similar to the bane spell. Maybe something to consider for future products.
2. Some of the math looks a little iffy. Might just be arithmetic errors or typos.
3. A lot of the swarm-type monsters seem to be following the PF rules for swarms instead of the 5th Edition ones.
But overall, it's very imaginative. And a lot to digest! I skimmed the PDF already.
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Smilodan, that's a quick read and a keen eye. Some responses just these.
1. Correct, there is. It's deliberate, though I realize it's not to everyone's taste, and it is different than the MM on this point. Some of it is just our naturally cruel designers and developers. Agree that poisoned condition could get more of a workout in a couple places, though math-wise it's more-or-less a -4 penalty.
2. We checked our math more than once, but errors can certainly creep in. Please send in any suspicious cases, so we can update them for the PDF version!
3. That's.... A problem. I'll take a closer look.
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Quick question: When designing beasts, was there any thought put into how it would affect the druid's wildshape options? The Dogmole is CR 1, but has a decent AC, lots of HP, and a pretty nasty melee attack.
Also, I've seen several mentions of vermin that seem to refer to the PF vermin monster type, but there isn't a vermin monster type in 5e. Am I missing something?
And returning to the dogmole, it looks like its "Wormkiller" rage is based on the 3.5/PF rage mechanic, not the 5e's Barbarian's rage mechanic.
dariusu |
I agree that the dogmole rage seems patterned on 3rd edition version of rage, I personally dont think that is bad really. I cant find any swarms in the book that are made like 3rd edition swarms though. I thought 3.5/pathfinder swarms auto-hit basically. All the swarms in tome of beasts have an attack bonus.
Wolfgang Baur Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge |
Wolfgang Baur Kobold Press |
Wolfgang Baur Kobold Press |
Aleron |
Got my physical copy last week and have been testing the new monsters for the last few sessions now. I'm extremely satisfied, perhaps one of the best kickstarters I've backed to date. Which begs the question, when will be seeing Tome of Beasts 2?
I require more 5e monsters! This has but whet my appetite.
*edit* PS: Never thought I would like using pawns but these are gorgeous! I sincerely hope they did well enough to warrant a revisit too!
Marc Radle |
Excellent review of the Tome of Beasts over at EnWord
This one is nice because it has a number of great images accompanying it :)
Wolfgang Baur Kobold Press |
Marc Radle |
It'd be great to see a couple more reviews up in the main product thread - guess it takes folks a while to fully digest 400 or so monsters :)
Speaking of reviews, please also consider posting a review over on EnWorld - we only need a few more reviews for the Tome of Beasts to be officially ranked.