Pyramid Review
Monsters of Faerūn (for D&D)
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo
96 pages; $21.95
Dungeons and Dragons has long had a tradition of making a lot of Monster Compendiums, a showcase of new and exotic monsters to add to the creatures in the Monster Manual, for settings from the Forgotten Realms to Dark Sun. The first Monster Compendium made for the Third Edition of Dungeons and Dragons continues this old tradition, and does it well.
The first ten pages of the Compendium reiterate the basic organization of the Monster Manual; it presents the basic rules for reading and understanding the various entries in the Manual, describing the various elements from Hit Points to Challenge Ratings. This allows Monsters of Faerūn to be used as a stand-alone source of monsters, without constantly referring to the Monster Manual for detailed information. There is a new element in the descriptive text, however: "In the Realms," which inform the reader how that creature fits into the Forgotten Realms setting. This is added separately from the main text of the description, adding world-specific information which spices up the creature, but makes it easier for a Dungeon Master to adapt the creature to any other D20 setting.
The actual monster entries have a large variety of interesting and distinct creatures, from the almost classic Peryton, stag-headed hawklike Beasts who hunt humanoids to devour their hearts, to the more . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: February 9, 2001
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