Creature Collection
d20 monster compendium
Product Code: WW8300, ISBN 1-56504-487-8
Swords Sorcery Studios, $24.95
Creature Collection was one of the first monster compendiums for the d20 system, and the first book from Swords Sorcery Studios. It contains over 200 new monsters for 3rd edition D&D.
The book starts with a small introduction to the Scarred Lands, which is Swords Sorcery Studios campaign world. The intro is short and to the point, being only one page in length.
The rest of the book, minus a few pages at the end, are devoted to 200+ new monsters for the d20 system. The monsters vary quite a bit in quality, from some really interesting creatures like the Alley Reaper and Bone Lord, to some rather uninspired ones such as the Harpy and Tanil’s Fox. However, most of the creatures are of reasonable originality and above average quality in their descriptions, and vary enough to challenge any player level.
Artwork in this book does vary quite a bit. While most of the drawing are good or even better, some are just plain dull or almost comical in nature. This gives the book a somewhat unprofessional feel, or shows that it was rushed to press.
At the end of this book is a small two-page appendix on the Gods of the Scarred Lands. While it’s interesting material, it isn’t much more than a small peek at what the company might have in store for the Scarred Lands campaign.
If you are a DM looking for even more creatures for your game (especially if your players have Wizard’s Monster Manual), you should take a look at this book. Most of the monsters here are original enough, but there are quite a few of these type of books already saturating the d20 market. This one ranks higher than average, but I would advise any prospective buyer to skim through it first before making a purchasing decision.
(review (c) July 2002 / David Flemming)