Fantastic bestiary and where to find it
- Æinär
- Nov 6, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2021
Eoth Khalstan's Revised Encyclopedia of Great Animals and Draconic Beings is a unique bestiary for 5e available now on the DMs Guild.
What an excellent Pay What You Want product. The author clearly dedicated a lot of time and effort into making it, and you can really see their passion on every page. And I mean every page. Even the credits page includes some heartfelt insight into the author’s motivation.
In Eoth, there are around 30 beasts and monstrosities, many of which have some unique lore provided by the fictional author of the tome. Among these creatures, I believe my favorites are the swarm of jellyfish and the astral fish. The jellyfish includes a side note that states, quote “Despite a far too common insistence that you should urinate on a body part that gets stung by a jellyfish, this is a complete myth. Urinating on the area does nothing to help the pain or remove any venom. What you should do instead is remove any tentacles with an implement that isn't your fingers, and then soak the sting in hot water.”
Meanwhile the astral fish includes helpful tips about cooking and eating it. Quote “Seen as a delicacy to some (mostly nobles), these fish fetch a high price if they're brought to a market. If you find yourself buying or catching one, there are ways to cook it. . .The best way to prepare astral fish for consumption is by grilling them. For the best results, grill the fish in banana leaf.” Of course I can’t fail to mention the cheetah, which includes advice about caring for cheetahs. Even penguins are included in this bestiary.
Part 3 of the bestiary covers dragons and all sorts of draconic things. The fictional author starts off the introduction to the section by saying: “I am sure that including dragons in the same publication as animals would offend the more prideful of dragons (as it probably should!).” There are so many fascinating dragon types and dragon creatures here. My favorite is probably the Gloom Dragon which can inflict a disease. “Grey wasting disease has an incubation of 1 day and deals … Charisma damage at the end of each long rest.”
There’s also a rust dragon and an Eastern inspired dragon.
Part 4 of the book includes some helpful tables that list the creatures in the bestiary based on terrain and challenge rating. My only complaint here, and it’s minor, is that including a page number next to the monster would be really useful. Also, if these were random tables that would have been neat.
Part 5 is all about the subclasses. The subclasses are well thought out and interesting, although, in my opinion, don’t really bring a whole lot of new concepts to the genre. Something of note are the Circle of the Old Ways Druid subclass ability called Reckless Resilience which lets a player half an attack’s damage as a reaction each round. Another thing that stood out to me is the Way of Nature’s Warden Monk subclass ability called Scent Sensitivity, which grants a player bonuses to smell. This ability has great rp possibilities. The Animal Lord Ranger subclass has a massive list of options, suffice it to say, you can be a Bird Lord. Who doesn’t want that. Overall, the 5 subclasses included are a nice addition and stick very well with the theme.
Part 6 is a few pages worth of magical items GMs can add to their worlds. My favorite is the Obsidian Penguin Figurine. The best thing about these items is that they look like a lot of fun without being game breaking. I don’t think any game master would regret giving their players any of these items, and yet, the players will no doubt love them.
14 points
Content: 3
Originality: 3
Design: 2
Essence: 3
Value: 3
GMs should certainly pick up this product right away. It’s worth every cent that it’s listed for. If you’re a marginalized individual, or just can’t afford it right now, at least give the author a rating to let the world know you support their work. Plus, some of their proceeds go to wildlife charities as well.
Thank you for stopping by! Until next time, let’s adventure together.
You can find the author on Twitter @DungeonsAndDans
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