YO! folks just wondering I had heard thar' was a monster manual for anima in the works couple of years ago did that ever pan out or no?
anyone know? if so where can I find this...

I haven't heard anything about a monster manual. I will point out that Anima is a Spanish game that FF has the rights to translate into English. If you want to know what book are comming out soon in America you can see what has already come out in Spain. I know there a lots of book in Spanish that we are waiting for translations too.

The "monster book" you're referring to is actually out in spanish by the name "Los Que Caminaron con Nosotros" (Those who walked among us. It does not only feature a wide bestiary, though, it also offers 5 new playable races (3 pure races and 2 nephilim races), quite a bunch of pretty interesting new Essential Abilities and Creature Powers, rules for dramatic and mass combat. Since it came out after the Dominus Exxet rulebook (soon out in English, out in Spanish since 2008), it also contains a table with the "summoning seals" necessary for each creature described.

Interesting, this book is Vol. 1, meaning that Anima Studio has projects to print a Vol. 2, but since we haven't seen a Gaia Vol. 2 yet, and that it seems they have a few other rulebooks on their mind, I believe it will be a very long time before we see the "Los Que Caminaron con Nosotros Vol 2". Personally I'm just more curious about the Gaia Vol. 2, which should feature the New Continent and few more histories of Gaia, organizations (if any), and other interesting things...i suppose...

It's so unsetting that rulebooks come out at a really slow pace (1 per year actually...).

Elric of Melniboné said:

For involved GMs, this kind of content would take a yearmore to develop for custom campaigns. By the time the official canon is available in english, will we even bother buying it? For this kind of thing, I really don't think so. I need all that content right up front when we start playing. If the game doesn't offer it, I have two choices as a GM:

1) The campaign is a soap opera of dialog, ordinary events, intrigue,duels among the player charactersNPCs I roll up

2) I make up my own new playable races (3 pure races2 nephilim races), quite a bunch of pretty interesting new Essential AbilitiesCreature Powers, rules for dramaticmass combat, as well as summoning sealsall the rest of the content required for summoners to be playable.

Most GMs who run a regular Anima campaign are going to wind up with Option 2,will be lessless likely to buy future supplements. Those books will be great for a fresh startnew people discovering the game, but to speak for myself - once I build a game world, I don't want to trash my work. I keep using it.

And this indeed is a game...so have it your way.

do you dare me?

What if I do?

By the way, I was just answering to the question about the existence of any Anima Monster Manual...saying it's worthy or unworthy buying was beyond the point of the discussion to me.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Understood - I wasn't trying to hassle you about that, I was just venting a little on the subject of a Monster Manual. Specifically, all the work required to build enough creatures for a complete game world. But, I suppose I shouldn't complain.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Elric of Melniboné said:

Understood - I wasn't trying to hassle you about that, I was just venting a little on the subject of a Monster Manual. Specifically, all the work required to build enough creatures for a complete game world. But, I suppose I shouldn't complain.

I quite agree with you, by the way, that manuals are being pubblished at an excessively slow rate. It's really annoying. I was lucky enough to start playing few months ago, so I could include all material in my campaign soon after it began...oh, and I can somehow understand Spanish.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Elric - - do you have Los Que Caminaron con Nosotros? If so, would you be willing to share essential stats for some or all of the new playable races? I am in a situations where I am going to have to adapt the GM versions from chapter 26 (main book), but before re-engineering this material for play, I thought I would seek out a more appropriate version first.

Any help, hints, or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Here they are (sorry if I'm late):

DEVAH:

+1INT, WIL, POW

+2 Size

-1STR, -2CON

-10PhR and DR

+10 Summon, Control, Bind, Banish

+15MR and PsR against mind reading and emotion meddling effects.

Can see the spiritual world (no matrix), spirits and by fixing their stare on a creature between-worlds they learn its true name within 3 turns (not on Gnosis>30)

Can communicate by staring each other in the third eye transmitting thougths, memories, emotions.

Must buy either the Gift or Access to Psychic Disciplines.

Natura: 5

Levels: +2

DEVAH NEPHILIM:

+10MR and PsR against mind reading and emotion meddling effects.

If they close their eyes, they can see the spiritual world (no matrix), spirits and by fixing their stare on a creature between-worlds they learn its true name within 3 turns (not on Gnosis>30)

+10 Summon, Banish

-10PhyR and DR

-3 exp per session.

VETALA:

+1STR and POW at night.

+4Regeneration if they drink blood regularly.

Immune to Criticals that don't decapitate them.

Can affect by ultrasound any number of natural animals Level0 and INT3 or lower with hearing acute senses or higher Level animals with INT3 or lower and hearing acute senses whose complessive Presence is inferior to double the Vetala's Presence. Looks like they're muttering at very low voice. Characters with PER11+ may make Notice check at Absurd to hear the Vetala emitting the ultrasound.

If they drink lot of blood they can get for 5-30 min (depends on quality/quantity) +10 All Action bonus, +1 to an attribute (players choice at creation) and halve penalties for fatigue and pain. After time elapses for 5Xtime they got the bonus, they get -30 All Action penalty.

When skin is exposed to pure and intense light they must make PhR check against 80-160 (depends on exposure/intensity/purity) or suffer damage equal to failure. On 50+ damage they're On Fire.

-2 exp per session.

Nature: 5

Level: +2

VETALA NEPHILIM

+1Regeneration if they drink blood regularly.

+50PhR against Criticals.

If they drink lot of blood they can get for 1-5 min (depends on quality/quantity) +10 All Action bonus, +1 to an attribute (players choice at creation). Afterwards they develop Addiction to Blood (as per Disadvantage). If they already have it, they double the malus if they don't satisfy their addiction.

-20DR.

When skin is exposed to pure and intense light they must make PhR check against 40-140 (depends on exposure/intensity/purity). On 30 or lower failure they suffer 10 damage and -20 All Action Penalty. On 30< failure, they suffer 20 damage and -40 All Action Penalty. Penalty remains until 3 turns after they get away from light.

-3 exp per session.

TUAN DALYR:

Natural Weapons while transformed with 40 base damage. Must develop the ability to use them as per other weapons.

Can transform in Bestial Form getting +3 bonus to the following stats (players choice at creation): STR, DEX, AGI, PER. STR bonus affect size. A single stat cannot gain more than +2. While transformed they also gain -2INT, -2WIL, -10MR, and -10PsR.

+1PER (always).

If they have Acute Senses the bonus is +40 and not +30.

At creation may choose a particular Moon Phase to be their power apex AND a Moon Phase to be their nemesis. During the Apex night they get extra +1 to all Attributes affected by their transformation. During Nemesis night they can't transform and loose all race powers.

Although perfectly human while untransformed, when they're affected from strong emotions their eyes assume animal features.

Nature: 0

Level: +2

If you have particular BG curiosity ask.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Thank you for those, Elric!

I'm not sure what exactly these races look like (big, small, features, etc), and any lore regarding the other races that should be known (enemies, etc). I'm guessing that Vetala are vampire-like. Are the Tuan Dalyr able to change into any were-type, or are there limits to what creatures (wolf/bear/etc)? Also, how are the Devah different from Ebudan? Their abilities make them sound spiritualized.

Thanks again!

Okok...

DEVEAH:

Thin guys with a third eye on their forehead. Same racial origin as Jayan, probably, but very very different. The increased size is so that their size is comparable to that of a human despite their -1STR and -2CON. The Devah are a race of natural-born summoners. Their culture quite obviously is against direct violence and substanding to emotions (they're pretty much cold and calculative). It's not lie they don't have emotions, they just believe you shouldn't live by them and take the important choices of your life based on them. They also believe themselves to be the natural born leaders who should somehow dominate the rest. It's just because they're more rational so they can ensue peace and tranquillity to others. They feel superior in a way similar to many elven races in most fantasy worlds. Ah, yes...they don't get old. They die by age as normal (at about 200 years) but they don't age past 40 years old (sometimes their growth is blocked even at young age like 10-12 years old). They also grow very fast and tend to be very mature. They don't have aristocracy or monarchy but a senate of chosen people who are considered the best of them. As for their story...they were the third most powerful empire of old (after Duk'Zarist and Sylvain) but they had a civil conflict that wiped-out 90% of them in the past. That was the first war were Aeons (supreme elementals...stuff like Lev15 with 3km approximate diameter) were used as weapons. Los Que Caminaron con Nosotros has rules for one of the Aeons, Rudraskha, which is Electricity/Storms. If they used that stuff to battle each other is no wander they almost wiped-out themselves from Gaia. Their territory of past was Baho (which somehow inherited part of their culture) and if you have Gaia, there you may find a bit more about their story. As for pictures of "famous" Devah...

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs43/f/2009/099/7/8/Anima__Covel_the_summoner_by_Wen_M.jpg

http://phildeb.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/anima__gemna_by_wen_m.jpg

VETALA:

Yeah, they're pretty much the vampire guys...BUT they're not undead by any mean. The're just like that. They actually mate and procreate as normal. The particular thing is that if they mate with other races either a Purebreed Vetala is born or a dead child (so no crossbreeds...EVER!). Actually the Vetala are the origin of many vampire miths in Gaia. They only feed on blood. They don't die by age, they get old, so their bodies start to become almost useless. Once they're too old they can't even move (just think about having a 2000 years old body!). Their immortality is their prison, actually. They get old at 500 years and after 200-300 years they enter a sort of coma due to body and mind degeneration. Enormous amounts of blood can actually palliate this state giving temporary vigor and youth to the Vetala. The older they are, the more blood they need, the shorter they benefit from it...They always lived separated from other races, much like te D'anjayni. They have nice power and considerable culture BUT their frailty to light and very low number (they give birth to lots of dead childern even when they mate between themselves), they never became a power. Their society is based on noble houses dominating on city-states which are constantly covered by clouds by supernatural means. They make extensive use of members of other races as slaves and food...but I believe the last too bits of information should refer to the time BEFORE men hunted down most of the supernatural races... They used to conserve some of their ancient members on special tubes where they influx sufficient blood to make them live. This ancient ones were called upon to mae great decisions. Among the ancients the most powerful were called Vrykolakas. These were awoken in time of great need by pouring enormous blood quantities and depending on the quality of the blood they got unique powers and ability to transform their bodies. Here's one of them, by the way:

http://www.brueckenkopf-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Anima-Tactics-Kerberos_Art.jpg

TUAN DALYR:

These are descendants of men who made pacts with Beast Spirits in the past. In their normal form they're human. They can shapeshift to the form of any predator, but it seems that most of them assume the shape of some big predator. Substantially the last survivor of the race inhabit Alberia. They're usually meddled within the humans, but if you read Gaya, you'll discover that there is a village called Faolan which is a big Tuan Dalyr community. Of course there are a few Tuan Dalyr in other places around the world. They were almost exterminated by Zhorne Giovanni's forces and never had any contact with Samael, since other races consider them "almost human". They tend to be a bit more edgy than average human due to the influx of their animal soul. They don't produce Nephilims since their souls are practically human. Here's the picture of a couple famous Tuan Dalyr twins:

http://hokuwo.de/wp-content/uploads/Anima______No_26_by_Wen_M.jpg

Hope you find this interesting and/or useful for your games!

Wow, that is more than I could have asked. Thank you very much, this will be a GREAT help to my evil machinations... campaign! I mean campaign.

You are welcome...By the way...do you have any idea what your Avatar represents?

Elric of Melniboné said:

I got the impression, recently, that it may be a technological creature. If that is true, I may change it...

Your avatar is actually a pretorian...if you have Gaia manual read about Kirdan Isle.

Pretorians are most powerful "agents" of The Machine. The Machine is some sort of "intelligence" that originates from the Mothers (big indestructible unmovable things, there are only 5 between Gaia, Lunaris and Khalis) that spread their mechanical "infection" like a plague. In the past they were about to devour everything, but they were somehow stopped. Most people contaminated by The Machine (larvae enter the bodies) become drones (the techno scarabs in the picture above). Sometimes more than one person are bound together to become a Carrier (the big mean floating thing in the picture above) with the role of carrying drones around.

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs37/PRE/f/2008/269/2/d/Anima__The_Carrier_by_Wen_M.jpg

A few chosen ones become somewhat "favourite servants" or Technocrites. More powerful and somewhat human like...like that:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bVtGlUaW-tA/TBJghonX3tI/AAAAAAAAHdA/XsVlIdWO_vE/s640/Anima__Zealot_by_Wen_M.jpg

Finally, only a few men (or other intelligent races?), have such compatibility to become what your avatar is, a Pretorian. They have some sort of independency (the rest of the beings work with a swarm-like structure). Pretorians are the elite agents, able to give different "points of view" to the machine. Nevertheless they're absolutely devoted to The Machine. For an entire picture of your avatar, look here:

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs37/f/2008/265/9/c/Anima__The_Pretorian_by_Wen_M.jpg

Just to let you know, it seems the mothers (and their best servants are accomplished psychics, but they're really vulnerable to magic, which is their nemesis, alythough Technocrites and Pretorians (and I guess Mothers) can somehow syphon magic).

By the way, I can't give much more information...that's what rulebooks are for, after all...

That is... absolutely hideous.

Thanks for the info, I will see what I can dig up on these things. Wouldn't The Machine be part of the Technocracy? The characters in this campaign really have no hope of facing things like this yet, but if they keep making waves, the Shadow powers will come for them eventually...

Nope, origins of The Machine are still completely unknown. By the way consider Drones are Lev2, Technocrites are Lev6, Carriers are either Lesser (Lev7) or Mayor (Lev8) and Pretorians are Lev9. Most of them benefit from being around each-other since they work like a fully powerful swarm.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Oh.... very interesting. That explains (to me) what their origins are then. I won't say it on the forums though.

Why don't you post your idea about it? It's just speculation and I believe this forum should be used much more for "mere speculation" on the setting than it is by now...

I even tried a while ago to create a speculation topic about some "misteries" of the setting, but it seems that most forum users are more interested about rules than the fluff of the game...which is prevalent to me.

I'm really interested about your opinion on The Machine, by the way.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Ok, since I haven't personally read about the Machines in They Walked Among Us , some of what I am going to say could be contradicted in that book.

At the end of the Chaos Era, using the knowledge he gained from "The 30 Strange Pieces of Metal" , Solomon built a great and terrible machine. His purpose was to “destroy God” aka: the Powers of the Shadow. He did not finish the machine, and passed it on to his son Rah, who also inherited this purpose.

As you know, the War of God took place in 223, waged by Rah's supernatural army called Judas, complete with wizards and demigods. During the war, Rah's machine “an artifact that channeled the souls of all the victims of the war” was damaged, but he activated it anyway as a last resort.

The machine created a giant hole in reality, which constantly consumed magic. C'iel and Gaira intervened and stopped the disaster (creating the Barrier and resulting in The Separation).

In the current era, no one knows where the creatures called The Machine came from, yet coincidentally, Rah and his machine disappeared completely at the end of the War of God. Seems to me, they are one and the same thing – Rah's machine became The Machine. All those souls and all that magic took on a semblance of life, in the image of their new creator.

Whether or not this could be undone somehow, Rah and the machine or the Machine itself collectively, might stand a chance against against the Powers of the Shadow. Things as they are, nothing else ever has or ever will.

Ya know, the "Christian" Faith is a badly done parody of the real deal, and having an army called Judas sorta makes the parody worse.

Also, if I recall correctly, Rah's dad wasn't Solomon, but Iscariot. The start of the current era was when Abel was put into existence and with Iscariot getting from the citizens of the future Archangel the 30 Black Metal Pieces for his betrayal of Abel.

Anyway, hope to speak more on the subject later, because this is rather interesting.

Oops, yes your totally right - my use of Solomon should be swapped with Iscariot. Sorry about that. However, Iscariot's usage of the 30 Pieces is stated to be personal. He retreats into the Wake to learn as much as he can about them, and then constructs the machine -> our era begins.

But yeah I concur about the Christianity thing, it has become rather confusing because it conflicts with names and events that many people already understand as something else from the bible.