From: West End Games
Reviewed by:Ron McClung
d6 Fantasy: Creaturesis a new RPG Sourcebook from West End Games.
As in most other fantasy games,d6 Fantasyhas spawned its own Monster Manual ind6 Fantasy: Creatures.A lot more reasonably priced than books of its nature, it contains more than 80 creatures one can use in the new d6 system.
From the back cover:
“Over the sea … and narrowly escaping the giant squid pursing a giant eel …”
d6 Fantasy: Creaturescontains a wide range of creatures, from the mundane to the fantastic. The mundane creatures include bears, birds of prey, cats, horses, and toads. Standard fantasy creatures include dragons, goblins, elves, werewolves and Vampyrs. There are several more unique creatures based on more obscure mythologies as well as some creatures carried over from theCreaturesofAysleand theAysleSourcebookfromTORG.
Not being a diehard fan of fantasy, I can not comment too much on the quality of the creatures. In my opinion, it is more than enough to get started on ad6 Fantasyadventure. There is a wide variety and plenty of detail laid out in the text. Some creatures have multiple species listed, like the dinosaur has four specific dinosaurs listed and elemental has four different elemental types. Of course, the dragon also has several different types listed. In addition, some creatures have the mundane creature listed as well as the “giant’ version, like scorpion, toad, and snake.
From the back cover:
“Through the woods … and past Glade Fairies cavorting with hawks…”
Interesting to note are the block comments in some of the more obscure entries educating the reader on where the particular creature came from in Earth mythology. The appendix includes conversion notes for the other d6 genres (Adventure and Space). It may be important to note that when one says conversion from one d6 to another, its is not an arduous process at all; it is simply a renaming and reordering of certain skills or attributes, with little to no math involved.
In conclusion,overall, I’d say this is a good book for people strongly intent on running some kind of d6 Fantasy game. It is also handy if you are going to run an d6 Adventure or d6 Space because the conversion is so easy. For instance, I plan on running at least one d6 Bloodshadows (d6 Adventure) game at a convention, and these creatures would be handy. My only complaint is editing. It takes a lot for me to notice editing mistakes, and I found a few. Good book, though, with a good layout and a complete table of contents. It is reasonably priced and a good value.
For more details on West End Games and their new RPG Sourcebook “d6 Fantasy: Creatures” check them out at their website http://www.westendgames.com and at all of your local game stores.
d6 Fantasy: Creatures
From:West End Games
Type of Game:RPG Sourcebook
Editted by:Nikola Vrtis
Contributing Authors:Mark L. Chance, Steve Crow, Tony DiGerolamo, Patrick Flanagan, Ron Fricke, Randle Hodge, Jr., John Jamieson, James Leffert, Kevin MacGregor, Steven Marsh, Greg Nagler, Robert Quillen III, Aaron Rosenberg, Nikola Vrtis
Game Design by:Wet End Games
Cover Art by:Eric Gibson, Eric Lofgren
Additional Art by:Thomas Baxa, Paul Daly, Earl Geier, Daniel Gelon, Jaime Lombardo & Ron Hill, Aaron Nakahara, Lee Smith, Chris Watkins, Tyson Wintibaugh, Adobe Illustrator Creative Suite Premium
Number of Pages:96
Game Components Included:One soft back source book
Game Components Not Included:Core d6 Adventure rulebook
Retail Price:$ 12.95 (US)
Item Number:Type Manufacture’s Item Number
ISBN:1-932867-03-1
Website:www.westendgames.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung