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Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts

Somewhere between the campaign neutral work of the Monster Manual and the campaign specific work of the Creature Collection books or Monsters of Faerûn lives Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts.

LB is not Eden Studios first foray into the D20 world, but it is there most impressive one yet. Ok the details first. This hardcover book looks great and has the level of art and design I have come to expect from Eden’s George Vasilakos. Like the Creature Collections from Sword and Sorcery, the monsters are in black and white. Also like the CCs, the LB limits on monster per page, but many of the monsters listed here span across many pages. The detail give to each monster description is phenomenal. While many of the monsters are related campaign wise, such as all the critters from the Great Swamp or the Beast Lords of Kham, there is enough information and flexibility to drop them into any campaign world with no problems.

LB also introduces several interesting additions to the typical D20 monster listings. First is PC Suitability. How can you use this race as a character race. Several are detailed and suitability is given in terms of zero, low, medium and high. Elves, Dwarves and the like would all rate High. The book includes PC races like the intelligent goblin-like Zugs, the martial Nage and the former slaves the Dakeen.

Usage and adventure hooks are also listed. So you can see how to drop these little nasties into your game. Many include several short adventure hooks that can be fleshed out into full blown adventures.

The most interesting addition is the “instant Bad Ass” section. Ten of the monsters come with a pre-made NPC personality that you can use as foes or allies of the PCs. While the idea is hardly an original one (note TSR’s Rouges Galley from the late 70’s) this is the first time I have seen it in a D20 monster book. It is a great addition and one I would like to see others follow.

Plus there are some good “crunchy” bits as well. A couple of new feats, a new spell or two. Many appendices with tables to help you find the right monster for the right job.

At 153 pages with over 60 new monsters the book is fairly priced (list) at $27.00. Comparable in my mind with Monsters of Faerûn which is soft-cover and has 90 monsters at $21.95. But MoF is a high level product, LB is still a long way better than most of the D20 monster books you will find.

For the D20/OGC people out there, there is plenty of open material and the monsters are original enough to merit use in other books.

There is a small problem with me being able to read some of the sidebar text. The background is very dark, but YMV.

All in all, a great product and a useful addition to any DM’s arsenal.

Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts
Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts Capsule Review by Timothy Brannan on 22/07/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) All in all, a great product and a useful addition to any DM’s arsenal. Product: Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts Author: Matthew Colville Category: self-review of RPG Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Line: Eden Odyssey Cost: $27.00 Page count: 160 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1-891153-56-0 SKU: EDN7000 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Timothy Brannan on 22/07/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts Somewhere between the campaign neutral work of the Monster Manual and the campaign specific work of the Creature Collection books or Monsters of Faerûn lives Liber Bestarius: The Book of Beasts. LB is not Eden Studios first foray into the D20 world, but it is there most impressive one yet. Ok the details first. This hardcover book looks great and has the level of art and design I have come to expect from Eden’s George Vasilakos. Like the Creature Collections from Sword and Sorcery, the monsters are in black and white. Also like the CCs, the LB limits on monster per page, but many of the monsters listed here span across many pages. The detail give to each monster description is phenomenal. While many of the monsters are related campaign wise, such as all the critters from the Great Swamp or the Beast Lords of Kham, there is enough information and flexibility to drop them into any campaign world with no problems. LB also introduces several interesting additions to the typical D20 monster listings. First is PC Suitability. How can you use this race as a character race. Several are detailed and suitability is given in terms of zero, low, medium and high. Elves, Dwarves and the like would all rate High. The book includes PC races like the intelligent goblin-like Zugs, the martial Nage and the former slaves the Dakeen. Usage and adventure hooks are also listed. So you can see how to drop these little nasties into your game. Many include several short adventure hooks that can be fleshed out into full blown adventures. The most interesting addition is the “instant Bad Ass” section. Ten of the monsters come with a pre-made NPC personality that you can use as foes or allies of the PCs. While the idea is hardly an original one (note TSR’s Rouges Galley from the late 70’s) this is the first time I have seen it in a D20 monster book. It is a great addition and one I would like to see others follow. Plus there are some good “crunchy” bits as well. A couple of new feats, a new spell or two. Many appendices with tables to help you find the right monster for the right job. At 153 pages with over 60 new monsters the book is fairly priced (list) at $27.00. Comparable in my mind with Monsters of Faerûn which is soft-cover and has 90 monsters at $21.95. But MoF is a high level product, LB is still a long way better than most of the D20 monster books you will find. For the D20/OGC people out there, there is plenty of open material and the monsters are original enough to merit use in other books. There is a small problem with me being able to read some of the sidebar text. The background is very dark, but YMV. All in all, a great product and a useful addition to any DM’s arsenal.