Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

The Book Of Dragons is a supplement for Fantasy Hero (5th Edition) by Hero Games. It was penned by the illustrious Steve Long. The Book Of Dragons was released in January 2009.

The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. It is 8.5? x 11? and is 144 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I bought. I have not used the material in my campaign…YET! :}

-== What I Like ==-

I really enjoyed the more exotic and esoteric entries in the book. Making up stats for your run of the mill fire breathing dragon is not that tough. It gets a bit more interesting when you introduce things like undead dragons or dragons based on various animal crosses. For example the Dragon-Bear is a cross between a Dragon and a Bear.

One section of The Book Of Dragons is dedicated to dragons from international cultures and myths. This section includes entries from Aztec, China, India, Norse, and Vietnam to name just a few. I really enjoyed these entries as they are often very different than the standard “fire lizard”. Steve Long’s infamous research library really shines here.

There is also a few pages dedicated to dragon personalities. Although some of this information is new a portion of it is pretty standard stuff.

There is a section of The Book Of Dragons which is dedicated to dragon related weapons and armor. I thought this section was a really nice touch…I actually wanted to see a few more entries in this section. 😉

The Book Of Dragons is not only about dragons. It actually has entries for several large baddies for Fantasy Hero. In this vein there is a section of the book on combating gigantic monsters. This section is really fun. It gives rules for climbing on gigantic creatures and how they can be beaten. It really reminds me of the PS2 console game Shadow of the Colossus. Awesome! 🙂

The wrap around color cover by Anthony Cournoyer is a bit dark but it is VERY well done. The style is vaguely reminiscent of the work done by Last Unicorn. Sweet cover.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Early on in the book many of the dragons are extremely similar with something like 25% of the text at most being different. When I read these entries I felt it might have been nicer to see some type of shorter notation which could have been used to save space or to potentially combine entries. For example, the various dragon ages could be combined into a single smaller entry. It is not a big issue and is more complete in it’s current form.

With some of the extra monsters in The Book Of Dragons it sometimes seems like the author is trying to stat out a god where maybe the stats should simply be left out. One of these entries is a giant castle creature. Do you really need the stats for a castle that is really a creature? (Note that I could not find a map for the throne room for this entry even though it is mentioned several times in the text and is critical to the encounter.)

The interior art in The Book Of Dragons is a mixed bag. It is VERY hit or miss. I really enjoy the pieces by “CNS” which I think must be Christian N St. Pierre. He did the killer Mummy Dragon picture and one at the end that shows a group of characters taking down a flying dragon.

-== Summary ==-

I was pleasantly surprised by The Book Of Dragons. When I first started reading the book I felt it was not that interesting. As the book progresses it gets more and more esoteric and quite fun. If you are looking for some big beasts for your Fantasy Hero campaign look no farther.

You can pickup the supplement at Noble Knight Games at this URL for $22.95. Amazon has The Book Of Dragons for $26.99 at this URL. You can get a PDF copy at DriveThruRPG for $18.99 at this URL.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.

My Spirit Storm campaign has recently switched from Hero 5th edition to Hero 6th edition. I have uploaded new copies of the Hero 6th edition characters to the Spirit Storm campaign site. It was a pretty painless move although three of the characters went through some changes during the transition. One tough decision that I made was to reset the Total Points. I used a bit below the Total Points of the PC that transitioned with the highest cost as the baseline then had everyone reset to that level. I think it worked out fairly for everyone although some folks probably lost some experience as they had not spent everything and their PC may have transitioned over at a lower total. Overall I think it will all come out in the wash. 🙂

Date At Start Of Game: 10/21/206

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 19th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Temple – Level 2

As Malotoch walks away his Rook minions advance. As the Rooks and Rook Acolytes flood through the broken doorway to the forge the avatars start attacking. Bilby jumps down from the roof killing a Rook with an assassin’s strike. Cillian takes some damage but manages to fend off the creatures long enough to get healed and get some help. Kanga lets arrows loose felling Rooks with single shafts. Po casts healing spells on his companions while staying back out of the melee. Oren pounds Rooks with the Granite Head Forge hammer and near the end of the combat goes enraged! When the last Rook falls Oren rushes out of the room in a rage looking for more Dark Lord minions to slay.

At the end of hallway Oren finds two more Rooks who are escaping up the stairwell and attacks. Bilby follows Oren closely with Kanga behind. Cillian looks through the walls and sees the man in the gray coming around the far end of the hallway with a strange amorphous blob following behind him. With that Cillian sneaks up behind the man in gray. Po follows Cillian carefully. The frail man in gray then tells the blob to attack Oren, Bilby, and Kanga at the end of the hallway. He stands and watches the combat for a bit until Cillian sneaks up and covers him with his sword. To Cillian’s surprise the man laughs out loud at being covered. Po then closes and attempts to take away the spirit mages fetishes. The man in gray backs away and tries to cast so Cillian stabs him. The wound cuts extremely deep and the evil spirit mage seems surprised by the amount of damage done. Oren closes and knocks him out with a solid blow. With that the PC tie up the man in gray then search him. They find a chain mail shirt and a strange black key that Po says is magical. Po also burns the mages fetishes in the forge before the PC head towards Malotoch and Narduhl.

At the end of the hallway the PC catch two Rooks escaping the west. There is an obvious black door to the east so the PC head in that direction. The key from the man in gray fits the lock and opens the door.

The Temple – Level 3

As the PC progress into the next large chamber they find Malotoch and Narduhl. Narduhl is begging with Malotoch to flee claiming that the Great Tree avatars are just too powerful. Malotoch silences Narduhl with a wave and beckons for the PC to enter the room. As they enter the chamber they find it lined with braziers that have been knocked over due to the earthquake. In the roof is a huge natural chimney. Narduhl waits behind a stone altar while Malotoch sits on the throne on a small balcony. When the PC close Malotoch once more addresses Po. He says that since Po will not join him that he will have to “force” Po to join the Dark Lord and starts casting. With this the PC enter into combat with Narduhl and Malotoch. Po starts dodging spells from Malotoch while the rest of the PC approach. Kanga starts opening fire felling Narduhl in one shot to the head. Oren reaches the dais then jumps into the balcony. When he lands a blow on Malotoch he is surprised when a defense spell sends him reeling. Behind Oren two of Narduhl’s Shadow Mantis appear and start attacking. Bilby engages with the creatures. With a single shot from a lightning arrow Kanga put a hole in Malotoch’s midsection. As Malotoch falls he whispers that he and Po could have ruled the world…then expires. The Dark Lord’s high priest and one of the Great Tree avatars’ recurring “pests” have fallen!

Date At End Of Game: 10/21/206