Creature Collection A d20 Sourcebook for the Scarred Lands fantasy setting White Wolf Publication WW8300 Hardback, 222pp, b/w illustrations throughout ISBN 1-56504-487-8 SRP £14.99

Swords and Sorcery Studios (www.swordsorcery.com) have produced an alternative 'monster manual', published under the Open Gaming License through White Wolf. It is fully compatible with 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons, although it is designed for the Scarred Lands setting (due soon, no doubt...)

Big, thick, hardback, good cover...... Well, so far so good. I was expecting a quality publication, at the usual high production standards of White Wolf, but could they match Wizards? First glance, no. The book is black and white throughout, with line drawings (and the occasional halftone) that are not up to the recent standards set by the Wizards team. But art is only half of it. More importantly, what are the creatures like? First, lets remember this sourcebook is aimed specifically at the fantasy world of Scarn, known as the Scarred Lands. Then, lets remember that the D&D3E Monster Manual covers most of your standards, from Orcs and Goblins to Dragons and Demons. What we end up with are many new and interesting creatures tied quite closely to a specific milieu, but with enough depth to drop into most fantasy settings.

Getting into the specifics, we find all kinds of mundane creatures native to Scarn, along with beasts and monsters from the myths and legends of the lands, through to some of its main deities and their minions. As such, it will provide a wealth of information to GMs playing in the Scarred Lands settings. There are re-workings of some old favourites (I found at least three Hellhound like monsters, and the Slitheren are Skaven by another name...) but with just a twist that puts players ill at ease, after all, they don't quite know what they are up against.... There are also sub races of some standard creatures, such as the Brewer Gnomes, the Coal Goblins and a few assorted Dragons and Giants. They are not really new, but they do provide you with a bit of detail and atmosphere and again, supply a twist for your jaded players to mull over just before they launch an attack.... Taken one step further are some of the undead. Anyone killed unjustly in Scarn comes back as undead (or so it seems!). Whether you drown in a well (Well Spirits), die with blood on your hands (the Alley Reaver) or starve in the frigid Northern Wastes (Ice Haunts), odds on your spirit remains in this world.

The illustrations are not as classy as those in the full colour D&D3E core rules, but the book is packed full of them. Every single entry is illustrated, so you are not left guessing what anything looks like. The creatures are, on the whole, well thought out, well described and suited to many fantasy genres. There is just enough tantalising history of the Scarred Lands woven into these descriptions to rouse your interest in what will probably be a great fantasy setting.

A good resource for the D&D3E games master, and Im sure it will prove invaluable to anyone running a Scarred Lands campaign

8/10

Andy Warner
October 2000