Pantagruel from Teratic Tome

For those who don't know, the Evolved Grottoes & Griffons Teractic Tome, is a Monster Manual style book. The PDF I have weights in at 120 pages, but that doesnt' count things like the cover or table of contents.

While I haven't fully read the Teratic Tome, I am impressed by the cover. It reminds me of the original Manual of the Planes with punny adventurers facing something very mighty.

Looking through the book, that mighty creature is Pantagruel. No, not that Pantagruel although it could very easily be described as that one. After all, this one is returning from a journey gone horribly wrong.

No, the things that struck me about this Pantagruel were it's 'epic' use. It's presence is enough that any creature with 2 hit dice or less that looks upon him dies.

His physical abilities, hit points, magic resistance, and other bits, are on par with the other 'big boys' from the day. It's been a while since I've looked but Orcus 120 hit points and Asmodeus either 199 or 200 right? He's at 216 or so.

Those things, while impressive, didn't strike me as nifty as another bit. See, before Pantagruel shows up, there are numerous signs. Knives hurling themselves at people for example. Animals exploding from insects building hives within them. Things of horror.

It gave me a 'good' feelign. I don't know if it was a deliberate nod to Elder Evils but in feel, that's exactly what it is. This makes Pantagruel something more than just another monster to fight. Before he's even seen, before he's even known, there are signs of his approach.

The interior illustration, if that is indeed Pantagruel on the cover, doesn't live up to that full color awesomeness, but that would be a hard sell. If you can give your players a 'chill' through such an image, it's well worth the fight.

I wonder if the authors will hire someone to do a Pathfinder version? It's not as if Pathfinder has a lot of epic level foes in it's ranks either. That would be nifty. Hell, 4th edition anyone? If Kobold Press can do a Kickstarter to get a 4th edition version of their Midgard Bestiary out, might be worth checking to see if the demand is there.

Looking forward to seeing how many other monsters stand out with some nifty bits that can be incorporated into the campaign.

Nostalgia

I get to kill two birds with today's posting. As I've noted on a few spots, I'm trying to work less this year and enjoy life more. We'll see how long that last as my work situation could change or any number of factors outside my control can smash my plans. But until that happens...

So today was clean house day. This may not sound interesting, but if you're a gamer who has played and collected for a long time, it can lead to some interesting times. While due to space constrains I've lost, sold, traded or otherwise lost much of my collection, I still have a lot of things like my old Polyhedron magazines that I stumbled across or some maps by one of my friends.'

Jason is a great artist and a good guy and I haven't talked to him for years but hell, that's part his fault and part my fault.

I also came across some photos of my friends and I when I used to live on Mozart playing some second edition. Good times.

But on another front, nostalgia hits from a completely unexpected source; Wizards of the Coast is going to reprint the first three Advanced Dungeons and Dragons books with new covers and provide some of the cash for the Gary fund.

I noted over on RPG.net that I'm of two minds. The first is the cynical aspect that looks at this as a ploy by WoTC to sell some books at an inflated cost and notes that they completely ignore Dave, the other founder of Dungeons & Dragons. There are other bits that go clink clink in my head, but really, I'm trying to be the gamer who goes, "Wow."

WoTC probably isn't going to make much money off this. It's a limited print run that is going through local gaming stores only and no chains. They'll also be donating some money. I think that its a good move because it allows those who want the 'shinny' but also the old, to get a look at it. Mind you, if anyone really wants to get those books e-bay and used book stores probably have them at a much cheaper price. It also allows some good will to shine through thanks to the nature of the product.

There are those who see it as a money grab and as an excuse for Wizards of the Coast to strike out as games like OSIRIC and it is possible. Me? I'm hoping that its an experiment that goes well and that Wizards of the Coast does something like this for Dave and that they keep building what could be good will be doing things fans want as opposed to being a corporation.

We'll see.

Game on folks.