Ok, got the Creature Guide.

Overall, love it. Great layout, the monster index and the summary pages for the monsters are great. Love the card index just like as in the Character Guide. The creature group cards are a great idea and the random encounter generator suggestions are pretty slick (and a great use of the cards, imo).

What I am disappointed about (and I guess I missed this in the other posts about the guides) is how the suggested additional action cards for each monster are NOWHERE to be found in this book. They are listed on the creature cards in the vault (according to, ironically enough, the Guide where the instructions on what they are and how to use them are located). Since the Tome of Faith had these in the creature entries I would have expected them to make an appearance in the entries or summary index as well. Alas, not to be.

I sad.

This isn't (completely) true, and I don't blame you for not seeing it Keltheos, but the creatures guide is the only place you DO have a complete list. I've mentioned it in a couple threads but I wish we could get something stickied because its often overlooked.

In the back of the Creatures Guide, where they list all the actions ... in between the conservative and reckless side descriptions is the only definitive listing of what creatures use each card. Some day when I have more time I'll make a list of what card each creature type gets, but if you want to know the action and what creature can use it look in the back of the Creatures Guide.

Also note, that what is listed on the cards is not the full list.

Hope this helps, it seems obvious they need a master list but don't miss this other info too,

Gully

It's really annoying that they haven't made proper references on the monster cards AND book monster entries. The monster cards could very well have the list of suggested actions.

I am also disappointed in the lack of clarity and synchronicity of data. BUT, it is a minor disappointment, for me at least, because I don't feel necessarily constrained by those tags or descriptors to determine what action cards a given creature or NPC has access to. If it sounds cool + makes sense thematically how they could use this action card, I give it to them.

@Hedge, 100% agree, but sometimes I like to go with the rules flow.

@Gully, wait...so it's reversed? I mean where, say a Black Orc (using the example creature card from the Guide) shows it can be given an additional combat action card (the sword icon). Not what creatures can use what creature items (keyword greenskins for the Black Orc/etc). Maybe I wasn't clear on what I had expected to see. Like in Tome of Magic the Lord of Change entry indicates it can be given two (or three) spell action cards and one support card (or whatever the combination is, don't have it in front of me).

keltheos said:

Yeah that's the whole issue. The reversed logic to looking up creature and which cards they have. You have to look through all cards to find the entries matching the NPC/monster. Really silly.

I hope that FFG will make a list on the download page. And soon! A list where you can look up, what creature actions each creature usually has or might have, sorted by creatures. It's just annoying to go through all the cards in order to find (for example) greenskin actions, especially when you have no time to prepare an encounter before the session but are forced to improvise during the play (ups, my group suddenly wants to stroll into the forest. ****, where are the boar/beastmen actions?).

I am really amazed that FFG do such a great job on such a lot of things and in the same time they miss the most obvious things lilke that list.

I was very interested about this book, and not totally disappointed, but still...

I think first part of the book (the descriptions of monsters) is not even close to level of WFRP2 "Old World Bestiary". If people have change to get that - check it out. Another thing that was amount of monsters. Book has good collection of bestiary, but could there still been little more finally and with much more details (stasts) ?! And also more variations and more NPC (they dont take that much room). Also basic animals might have been nice addition...

Overall - Creature Guide is just average product. Now, Creature Vault is probably more interesting, because creature cards seem to be handy.

jackdays said:

I do easy variations by just using an Orc+1 for instance. This means it has +1 to all it's key characteristics, one skill rank trained, an extra action card, +1 in all A/C/E, extra wounds (usually I take the bonus times 3). It's easy to do on the fly.

Not to be flip, but isn't that what the Black Orc is for Gallows?

Rorschach Six said:

Hehe it was just an example. Perhaps a Priest+1, soldier+1 or whatever would have been a better example. But if the orc isn't a black orc then it isn't a black orc. It's just an easy way to create more powerful NPCs on the fly. For organizing it's nice as well, because the creature cards give you a place to put the wounds and tokens.