Which Monster Manual?

Yesterday's Monster topic and Seth's comment about the 2nd Edition Monster Manual really got me thinking about the differences between the various editions Monster Manuals.  From edition to edition the books vary a great deal while containing most of the same core group of monsters.  So my question to you, noble reader, is which Monster Manual do you like best and why?

There are plenty to choose from, here are pictures of your options to jog your memory a bit.  Noted that I've included Pathfinder as many (including myself) see it as D&D 3.75, and I included two covers of the AD&D 1st edition MM because one is near and dear to my heart and the other is the one that most people owned.  

George R. R. Martin Finishes A Dance With Dragons

Writing is not easy, especially when you have millions of fans clamoring impatiently for your next book.  There has been a lot of pressure on George R. R. Martin to finish his series, A Song of Ice and Fire.  Many have feared that he will, "Pull a Robert Jordan" and leave the series unfinished, but Martin has constantly expressed his commitment to finishing the series.   

Today he took a big step toward doing just that by finishing his fifth installment, A Dance With Dragons.  There has been quite a long wait for this book, but I think the wait will be worth it when we finally get our hands on it.  

A Dance With Dragons is set to be released July 12th of this year. 

EVERY Monster from the Monster Manual?!

I was an RPG forum the other day and I came across a guy talking about how it was "unfair" that his DM didn't include every monster in the Monster Manual.  My head very nearly exploded.  His argument essentially boiled down to the fact that the Monster Manual is a Core Book and everything in the Core books must be included.

The ridiculousness of this is just staggering so really take a minute to let that one soak in.

Thankfully the fact that this particular player was taking this bullshit complaint to a message board meant that the DM did the right thing and rejected the players assertion that all monsters should be included.  I'm going to go a step further and say that all monsters should NOT be included.  

Depending on edition you are talking about hundreds of monsters, some as ridiculous as this guy.

That is a Giff.  Yes, it is a Hippo-Man with a gun.  

But aside from the really stupid monsters one can find in the core Monster book (to say nothing of the plethora that can be found in the books beyond) you have to deal with over-saturation, unnecessary additions, overlaps, and monsters that are just flat out of place in your campaign world.  

Gamemaster often spend countless hours meticulously crafting a world from their imagination.  They consider a whole host of factors often spanning thousands of years of history.  Those who go to that level of effort do themselves a disservice by forcing every single monster in the core books just to appease a player.  I'm certainly not saying that you couldn't craft a world that fit all of these monsters, but given creatures like the Giff and the Shedu (seen to the right) that is a tall order.

Monsters are an important part of the world that you as a Gamemaster build and run.  Don't just throw one in on a whim and don't try to fit too many varieties in.  Doing so can be counter effective in your quest to create a rich fantasy setting. 

Mobility and Plate Armor

There are a lot of misconceptions about Plate Armor that exist among the modern population, Gamers included.  Many believe that a Knight when knocked over was rendered all but helpless, unable to stand back up because his movement was so restricted by by his armor.  That just isn't true.  Was their movement and vision impaired because of their armor and helm?  Of course.  But if it restricted it to that degree a Knight would have had a different set of Plate commissioned.  Remember Armor smiths made the armor to fit the man.  It was precision work. Many pieces on the armor were articulated so that the Knight could stay mobile even when fully armored.  A Knight needed to move and be mobile on the battlefield, and that mobility could mean the difference between life and death. 

Here is a video demonstrating what I'm talking about.  Mike Loades is a noted military historian and in this video he demonstrates how quickly a Knight can be knocked from his horse, stand back up, and be ready to fight all while wearing Plate Armor.

Dungeons & Dragons Prefumes

What does a Lawful Good Elven Cleric smell like?  Now you can find out with the RPG series by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.  It isn't just a perfume in a normal sense.  Rather than just getting a bottle of a single sent, you built your sent just like you built an RPG character. 

In most pen and paper fantasy RPGs, three of the primary attributes that you must choose for your character are race, class, and alignment. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s RPG scent series was designed to emulate the character creation process, and are meant to be layered in order to create a character concept. In short: you layer your class, race, and the two fragrances that compose your alignment to construct your character scent. RPGs in all their myriad forms – CRPGs, MMOs, and old school pen and paper – have brought me immeasurable joy. This is my homage. This series is dedicated to my first DMs – my parents – for laughing off the nutter-perpetuated AD&D Satan Scare of the 80's. Thanks for taking the time to play with your little girl. I miss you, and I love you.

Elf, Dwarf and Orc are among the "Race" components, but there are also an assortment of options for alignment and class.  A plethora of different scents can be made from all of these components, just like a plethora of characters types can be made. Each different component has a brief description of what it has to offer.  Building a scent seems a lot like gourmet cooking in a lot of ways.  Each component bottle is 5ml and costs $17.50.

This is strange, but I'm sure it can also be a lot of fun to the right person.  Though somewhat pricey it could be a great gift for the geek girl in your life. 

Monday Map: A Free Island Map For You

For this week's free map I thought I'd throw some islands at you.  As with all of our Monday Maps, this map is totally free for your use, and has been left completely without labels.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this week's map, but then I remembered that some time ago someone had asked if we would ever do an island map, and so here we are. 

This map takes a break from the normal muted color schemes I typically use.  Though the map has a lot of browns and golds the saturation on them is very high.  It has a somewhat pirate-y feel to it, given the parchment look, but looks a great deal different than the Goonies map I did for Fal-Con last October.  Overall I like colors and the map, hopefully you do too.  

Feel free to leave ideas for upcoming maps, you may find we pick it up and run with it in the coming weeks. 

Gen Con 2011 Event List Is Out

Last night Gen Con released the Event list for 2011.  You can download it in the obnoxious .csv file and open in Excel, scrolling through 8171 rows trying to find what you are looking for, but my suggestion is just to use this much better website for browsing events. 

I've got to say I'm a little disappointed with the event list.  There are a couple of games I really wanted to play at the convention that just aren't available.  Aces & Eights is probably the biggest of these.  Last year there was only one game and this year none... Very disappointing.  I really wanted to play Pendragon as well, but that is also totally unavailable.  Hackmaster Basic is finally getting some love this year, so that is good, but there are no Song of Ice and Fire RPG games.  It's good to see more 1st and 2nd editon D&D games being played this year.  The two 1st edition games we played last year were a blast.  We will definitely be signing up for more of those.