This mini-bestiary is 10 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD/advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 6 pages of content, so let's take a look!
Second in the series on sin-themed monsters, this pdf kicks off with a short introduction as well as the envious creature CR+2 simple template. After that, we're off to the monsters:
-Bone Swarm: A CR11 undead swarm, this conglomerate of undead parts can not only deal painful distraction damage, it is essentially a mode-creature that can lose its swarm-traits when grappling a foe and instead move them at up to their speed - nice when paired with environmental hazards and generally a cool creature, though not one I'd get a particularly strong envy-themed vibe from.
-Emerald Eye: This CR 2 crystal is essentially a psicrystal of an envious nature and utilizes the Dreamscarred Press rules, but comes with all necessary information to run it even if you don't feature psionics in your campaign. Trying to inspire jealousy in others, these twisted crystals can even mimic ioun stones and make for cunning foes indeed. Great to see some psionic love from Open Design.
-Echo Doppelganger: CR 14 brutish doppelgangers that can adapt to a specific fighting style, copying not only appearance, but also feats, proficiencies and even spells, making its mimicry almost flawless. Cool creature, though I think that the lack of sophistication on part of the Echo Doppelganger detracts slightly from its appeal.
-Embodiment of Envy: This CR 19 incorporeal immortal wisp of envious thoughts is the most brilliant adaption of the concept conceivable - lacking everything, even a body, this thing seeks to possess any that cross its path and combined with the power to create an aura that compels those subjected to it to attack it with their most formidable array of powers and attacks, this being is a rather deadly, cool predator and makes for the best of the creatures, at least in my opinion. The pdf closes with the embodiment of sin monster subtype as well as a sidebar on envy in the upcoming highly anticipated Midgard Campaign setting..
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to a beautiful 2-column full-color standard and the original pieces of b/w-artwork rank among the best I've seen in any monster manual. The pdf has no bookmarks, which is a minor bummer, but on the other hand, the length is not such as to warrant a downgrade in the final score.
After reading the first installment on Avarice, I knew that I would be enjoying this series and while the second had some technical difficulties (hence the late review), the content is top-notch indeed - the new creatures are all well-designed, have at least 2 signature abilities each and come with some awesome mechanical innovations and choices and especially the embodiment of envy is simply stunning. However, I also maintain that unlike the first pdf, most of the creatures herein have a rather tenuous connection to the deadly sin they're supposed to be aligned with. While "envious" abilities are there, e.g. in the doppelganger's case they feel rather like a survival strategy, not a malevolent intent on the powers/abilities/social status/identity of the person they're replacing - the writing of the fluff could have done a better job of aligning theme and crunch of the book. Since that's rather important for me and since the creatures herein, at least to me, felt slightly less iconic (Yet another undead conglomerate of bones? Yes, the crunch is awesome, but the critter-concept per se? Boring.) than in the predecessor, I'll rate this slightly lower, at 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4.
Endzeitgeist out.
|