Saturday, March 19, 2016

Review & Commentary On Mutant Bestiary One: 173 New Creatures for The Mutant Epoch RPG & Your Old School Campaigns



Good day folks today we're going to change it up a notch and look into the Mutant Epoch rpg  book Mutant Bestiary One which I got courtesy of my wonderful other half when Lulu was having one of its myriad of sales. Just encase you haven't figured it out this is like other Mutant Epoch titles it runs the gamut from NSFW post apocalyptic imagery to adult subject matter.  Mutant Bestiary One isn't for the kiddies or the panty waists. This is an adult title for a mature post apocalyptic game some of the subject matter could be upsetting.
You Can Grab The Book Right Here

 So why I'm I all excited about a book that came out in 2014? Well, this is essentially an extension of the Mutant Epoch rpg book's monster section. It contains three types of creatures mundane animals, their mutated counterparts, and independently created mutant horrors of all types. Everything is keyed here into an almost perfect science fantasy North American campaign detailed fully in the Crossroads Region campaign setting. So what's the book about besides monster and mutants?


The book details a host of additional races, rules, mutants, monsters, biological leftovers and strange inhabitants of the world of Mutant Epoch throughout; "Keep your post-apocalyptic game players on the edge of their seats with 173 all new creatures from Abhorra to Ziagota. Your players are gonna ask “Now what the hell is that!?” Welcome to the much anticipated Mutant Bestiary One! Have your Mutant Epoch players seen it all? Looking for more than the 104 monsters found in the hub rules book? Well this richly illustrated tome is the answer. Dive in and get ready to throw some surprises their way! This is the seventh book in the Mutant Epoch role-playing game line, using the Outland System game mechanic. Of course, any GM can easily convert the stat blocks of these critters to another system. This collection of nasty freaks, from the blood mole to the earth shaking mobilamortus tree, will to challenge and intrigue excavators of low to high ranks. Also included are humanoid and bipedal specimens that can be played as new character types, if the GM allows it, including krenth cat-folk, diminutive devilkins, dog-boys, anthro-tortoises, bipedal raccoons and haughty, pale skinned underfoot. Featured in this book: - 173 creatures, from animals such as sheep and deer ¬- that often exhibit mutations - to terrifying off-shoots, predatory plants, bio-engineered organic weapons, and hyper evolving monsters of the wasteland, bog, ruins and reef. - The majority of these creatures have their own random mutation lists, so making up unique beasties is a cinch! - Encounter tables are broken down into terrain types as well as the difficulty ratings for low, mid and high rank character parties. - Each creature is depicted in either a group or individual illustration with a total of 167 images. - PDF aspects: Fully bookmarked table of contents, clickable page number references both in creature descriptions as well as the extensive encounter tables at the back of the book. - SOE ONLY CONTENT: Online player handout directory. For Society of Excavator Members only, we’ve placed ALL the art in this book as downloadable sheets that you can print off or present on your tablet and show your players when you need to declare “This is what you see!” - Just some of the creatures you’ll meet in this 148 page collection: 16 humanoids 68 Animals of old and their off-shoots 5 new predatory plants 3 Whales 11 New insects 12 Slugs, snails and mollusks 8 Crustaceans 7 New cats 6 New dogs 4 Ape variants 30 Assorted monstrous fiends Demo link shows the first 8 pages of this 148 page book
Keep your post-apocalyptic game players on the edge of their seats with 173 all new creatures from Abhorra to Ziagota. Your players are gonna ask “Now what the hell is that!?” Welcome to the much anticipated Mutant Bestiary One! Have your Mutant Epoch players seen it all? Looking for more than the 104 monsters found in the hub rules book? Well this richly illustrated tome is the answer. Dive in and get ready to throw some surprises their way! This is the seventh book in the Mutant Epoch role-playing game line, using the Outland System game mechanic. Of course, any GM can easily convert the stat blocks of these critters to another system. This collection of nasty freaks, from the blood mole to the earth shaking mobilamortus tree, will to challenge and intrigue excavators of low to high ranks. Also included are humanoid and bipedal specimens that can be played as new character types, if the GM allows it, including krenth cat-folk, diminutive devilkins, dog-boys, anthro-tortoises, bipedal raccoons and haughty, pale skinned underfoot. Featured in this book: - 173 creatures, from animals such as sheep and deer ¬- that often exhibit mutations - to terrifying off-shoots, predatory plants, bio-engineered organic weapons, and hyper evolving monsters of the wasteland, bog, ruins and reef. - The majority of these creatures have their own random mutation lists, so making up unique beasties is a cinch! - Encounter tables are broken down into terrain types as well as the difficulty ratings for low, mid and high rank character parties. - Each creature is depicted in either a group or individual illustration with a total of 167 images. - PDF aspects: Fully bookmarked table of contents, clickable page number references both in creature descriptions as well as the extensive encounter tables at the back of the book. - SOE ONLY CONTENT: Online player handout directory. For Society of Excavator Members only, we’ve placed ALL the art in this book as downloadable sheets that you can print off or present on your tablet and show your players when you need to declare “This is what you see!” - Just some of the creatures you’ll meet in this 148 page collection: 16 humanoids 68 Animals of old and their off-shoots 5 new predatory plants 3 Whales 11 New insects 12 Slugs, snails and mollusks 8 Crustaceans 7 New cats 6 New dogs 4 Ape variants 30 Assorted monstrous fiends Demo link shows the first 8 pages of this 148 page book"

But does the book live up to its reputation as a first rate book of mutants and horrors from the irritated blast lands of Mutant Epoch? But is the book actually useful? In a world? Yes because the entire book has one purpose that is to help the dungeon master fill his or her game adventures with the types of mutants and animals that you want to lay down into your ruins. The index and resources of the book are keyed perfectly to line up with your post apocalyptic adventures. Here's a video break down of the book from the creators to give you an idea of the depth of monster and mutant ecology that we're talking about.


Everything here from stat blocks to layout is done with an eye toward utility and actual adventure design. This is something that designers, writers, etc. need to keep in mind with the other OSR titles. The index is clear cut and actually useful, a fact that I've come to appreciate and use time and again. This book gives you literally everything you need to create mutant menaces from the ground up.  Then drop them into your post apocalyptic adventures. Many of these are mutant versions of existing wild life that have been weaponized over the years after the apocalyptic events of your campaign. This gives a sense of history present within these monsters as each one has a wide variety of variations available to the dungeon master.



But it isn't simply animals that are present within Mutant Bestiary One, humanoid mutants are well represented within the pages as well. This gives the book a well rounded feel as the DM is presented with all kinds of nightmarish variations of humanity and modified bio engineered horrors from the pages of science fantasy as well the author's twisted imagination. There is something very unsettling about seeing every ecological post apocalyptic wasteland niche filled not only by a mutant or mutant monster but one which hails from some branch of the human genome.



This is a book that fills a very nasty and specific need within the Mutant Epoch game; it adds and expands the roster of mutant menaces and wasteland horrors within the gaming system. It does this one three fronts; one it adds a wide variety of garden variety animals back into the wastes. Second it adds in a vast array of humanoid species which the game needs seriously there really was a need for more humanoids in Mutant Epoch. Third it adds in some very decently highly weird horrors from the wastelands that are not easy to classify. These horrors and monsters are not to be taken lightly for many of them will end a party of adventurers quite nicely and adds a certain bit of uncertainty to the Mutant Epoch adventures.




So is Mutant Bestiary One worth the price of admission? Yes it most certainly is! This book is excellent value not only for the Mutant Epoch rpg but also adds another batch of mutant horrors and humanoids to the Gamma World game which this book works very well for. So wait for the next Lulu sale and grab this one for your old school post apocalyptic campaigns.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.