Review & Commentary On Summoning 'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' By James Mishler, & Jodi Moran-Mishler From Mishler Games For Your Old School Campaigns

"Have you ever wanted to go out into the wilds and capture and train Magical Beasts as companions, friends, and your helpful bodyguards/prize fighters?

Have you ever wanted to show up that snarky friend of yours who said you just didn’t have what it takes?

Have you ever wanted to be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was?"

 So today has been a hot, blistery, and coma inducing heat wave here in the Northwestern corner of Connecticut. But last night James Mishler contacted me with a new product to review & now I've got a certain animated children's show from the 90's humming through my head. Anyhow, Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit By James Mishler,  & Jodi Moran-Mishler clocks in at sixty four pages of OSR goodness. 
This must have been a labor of love for the Mishlers because he covers everything from the PC summoner class to every aspect of magical beast ownership, training, and overlap.  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit hits literally all of the aspects of the class & running a magical beast campaign. Here's what's behind the PC class itself: 
Starting Magical Beasts
Binding Magical Beasts
Healing Magical Beasts
Summoning Magical Beasts
Training Magical Beasts
Companion Magical Beasts
Bonus Special Abilities
Summoner Specialties
Beast Master
Beast Lord
Building a Summoner Organization

Mishler has been running a full on OSR style campaign using his  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit & the crazy thing is that it could well work as a full on add in to your own OSR campaigns. And here's exactly which old school book I would use  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit for and that's the AD&D first edition Fiend Folio.

The idea of a pack of trainers joining adventurers in the campaign wilds and then trying to cope with the murder rage of something like a devil dog or some of the other nasties in the Fiend Folio is great. 
 Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit gives all of the guidelines as well as the weirdness factor in spades for a full on expedition into say Greyhawk to go and collect em all. 

Sorry please forgive me but in sixty four pages  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' is both frightening and awesome to think of this supplement's applications. Imagine heading into the dungeon to collect your magical beasts and things go either very wrong or very right depending upon your perspective. On the one hand there's more then enough information to integrate this supplement into your old school campaigns. And on the other hand  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit'. 

Sky is the limit when it comes to using  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' because there are several OSR campaign settings where this supplement could easily be dragged and dropped. First of all  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' could easily be dropped into a LoFP Carcosa campaign where the guidelines provided for 'magical beast or monster' creation could have entirely different blend. A more insane Lovecraftian bent to be exact.   'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' could also be used for a down right crazy Castles & Crusades rpg campaign. The foucs turns on itself & now the player's PC's  are running for their lives! They're  trying to deal with the consquences of screwing up in a dungeon whist running for their lives from a dragon after waking it! 

And the third option is to use  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' for a Mutant Future or Gamma World style post apocalyptic game campaign & man would absolutely insane. 

This could easily work with either Mutant Future or Gamma World as the mutant animals are taken through the Magical Beast Ability Scores,  mutated through the 14 Energy Types. 
Magical Beast Experience vaule is calculated and then  Magical Beast Experience Value is worked through. And then  Magical Beast Loyalty & Morale comes into play with 
Breeding the Magical Beasts. 
And there's going to be a lot of mayhem & death with a campaign like this making it all the more fun. And deadly among the irriated ruins of  your favorite post apocalyptic landscape. 

And further given how much work the Mishler's put into  'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit'  it's easy to see further campaign options. But is it worth the eight dollar price tag?! Well yes because there's even a 'magical beast PC class as well. And yes I know what your thinking but the Mishlers have created a whole book load of options for the class & it works! The levels, experience charts, campaign options and more are well done and easily droppable into your favorite OSR game system. Get this if your into a quirky off beat and easily playable OSR option. 

Summoning 'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' By James Mishler,  & Jodi Moran-Mishler From Mishler Game For Your Old School Campaigns Is Available Right Here!