Monstercology: Orcs - Goodman Games



They thrive live in the shadow-lands. Where we are weak, the orcs are cruel. When we offer mercy, they give no quarter. They howl at the border of our kingdoms, raze our villages, and slaughter our people. And when the last city falls into burning ruin, the orcs will stand victorious, their grisly war-banners and bloody spears raised in triumph.

The first in a series of master tomes that illuminate the strengths and weakness of the foes that prey upon the kingdoms of good, Monstercology: Orcs brings mankind’s oldest enemy to light.
Know thine enemy: Monstercology.



Monstercology: Orcs is a great new 4E sourcebook by Rick Maffei. If you don't know Rick's work, you should ... and you will. Rick's one of the great unsung gaming writers I know. His adventure "The Scaly God" is one of the best DCCs ever published; he's written some of the best and most fiendish encounters for the various Dungeon Crawl Classic tournament adventures; and his most recent DCC, "Thrones of Punjar", is a must-have if you're playing a 4E game.


Monstercology: Orcs balances fluff with crunch effortlessly. Better still, it gets ideas for games flowing as you read it, and flowing easily. I picked it up this morning - and although I'm only about halfway through its pages, I've already gotten ideas for a great 4E campaign just by reading this book. I can't really say the same for many other 4E sourcebooks ... so kudos to you, Rick, for a job very, very well-done.


Although it's perfect for 4E, I think it's a good sourcebook for any sort of fantasy game. I know I'll be importing some of its concepts into my Warhammer game.


Rick's one of those writers whose stuff I love to read, and who always makes me want to be a better writer myself. He always makes me shake my head and go "... man, I wish I'd thought of that." And for a writer, I don't have any higher compliment than that.


So pick up Monstercology: Orcs, and get familiar with Rick's work.

I get the feeling that you'll be seeing his name on more and more books in the weeks and months to come.

Which is fantastic indeed.


BY Mike Ferguson


Rules Set: 4E (GSL).
Writer: Rick Maffei
Cover Art: Ben Wootten
Graphic Design: Erik Nowak

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gnolls in Dungeons & Dragons

Image
Gnoll flind Physical description In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , gnolls greatly resemble hyenas [1] . They are usually between seven and eight feet tall, weighing around 250 to 320 pounds, [2] and use armor made of horn, metal, or leather [1] . Gnolls are generally depicted in the game world as feral nomads who kill and pillage without warning [3] . Their whole bodies are covered in reddish-brown fur which becomes shorter as it surrounds their faces and clawed hands to reveal grey colored skin. Their pelts vary from mono-colored to spotted and their eyes are either yellow or black. Subraces Within the context of the Dungeons & Dragons game, one notable subrace of gnoll is the flind (alternately spelled flynd ), which is shorter, broader, and stronger than other gnolls [4] ; flinds are often found leading a tribe or settlement of gnolls [4] . Flinds use a nunchaku -like weapon called a flindbar , which consists of a pair of metal rods linked t
Read more

Frost Giants - Heavy Support

Image
A frost giant’s hair can be light blue or dirty yellow, and its eyes usually match its hair color. Frost giants dress in skins and pelts, along with any jewelry they own. Frost giant warriors add chain shirts and metal helmets decorated with horns or feathers. An adult male is about 15 feet tall and weighs about 2,800 pounds. Females are slightly shorter and lighter, but otherwise identical with males. Frost giants can live to be 250 years old. Combat Frost giants usually start combat at a distance, throwing rocks until they run out of ammunition or the opponent closes, then wading in with their enormous battleaxes. A favorite tactic is to lay an ambush by hiding buried in the snow at the top of an icy or snowy slope, where opponents will have difficulty reaching them. Rock Throwing (Ex) The range increment is 120 feet for a frost giant’s thrown rocks. Frost Giant Characters Many groups of frost giants include clerics. A frost giant cleric has access to two of the following dom
Read more

ORCS: THE BAD GUYS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S MIDDLE EARTH

Image
I started doing historical reenacting in 1980, and have been involved in the Middle Ages, the American Revolution, the English Civil War, Roman (very intensely since 1991), Ancient Greek, and a couple other things on the side. (See links at bottom of page for evidence.) And now I want to be an ORC! Well, not really BE one, just assemble all the clothing and gear, an "impression", as we say in reenacting. It's only fair, since Tolkien was a big part of the reason I got into reenacting in the first place. So it's kind of like coming home again! Actually, I will be doing at least two impressions for starters. The Uruk-hai were always my heroes, and I loved the ones in the movie. But they do not match Tolkien's admittedly vague descriptions in the books. So, thought I, Do both! With my usual dedication to accuracy, I am attempting to recreate an Uruk-hai based closely on the movie, and an entirely different outfit following the books . Along the
Read more