"Go to the sign of Marvel's Axe, a dubious inn on the edge of the Thieves Quarter, in the City of Greyhawk, and look to your own wrist. If you perceive a bracelet and dangling dice, watch for the next throw in the war between Law and Chaos and be prepared to follow the compelling geas." -Signal

Sunday, February 26, 2012

All the Worlds' Monsters Vol.3, Strength In Numbers


The third volume in the All the Worlds' Monsters line picks up right where the  previous two editions left off. The mixture is hit or miss as is most of the art. This volume adds another 238 monsters to the DMs arsenal. The issues with the combined tables are there as well. This one adds a table  for creatures by location which was absent in the other two but only includes  the entries from this volume.

There was only one printing of this edition where the others had multiple  printings. The introduction to this volume mentions the upcoming fourth volume  and that there would be some delays. To date that delay is either 32 years or just short of it. I still hope it might make it out this year! This issue  includes how to convert the monsters to RuneQuest which had been released  between the previous volume and this one. That might explain the delay in  getting the latest volume released.

As much as I have picked at these I still appreciate them for what they were. In  the early days of the hobby there was not the wealth of information out there  that there is today. There was also no means of sharing as openly and as freely  as there is today via the Internet. Often time we here that it is quality over  quantity but in a case where there may only be one of something then quantity is  king and items like this were few and far between. I may never ever use anything  in them in any game or campaign but having them is a pleasure and reminds me of  how much the things have changed and in some cases not for the better.


Published: 1980
Pages: 112

From the back of the book:

"Now! The long-wanted 3rd volume of the All the Worlds’ Monsters series is  here-112 pages packed with monsters and play-aids. Included are 238 new  monsters, an all-series index, a RuneQuest stats conversion essay by Steve  Perrin, and grouping lists by monster type, level, and appearance. The stats  were created by dungeon masters from across the United States and Canada. Each  monster is rated for hit dice, armor class, movement, whether and how well it  swims and flies, its intelligence range, dexterity, alignment, normal habitat,  the probability of it being present in its lair. by a die roll for number  present, the probability of the presence of treasure and its type, how it  attacks, and a description of general appearance and special characteristics."



Spell:

Strength in Numbers


Level: Fourth
Range: None
Duration: 1 Turn + 2 Rounds/Level
Area of Effect: 3" Radius
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user causes all in the area of effect to be  granted bonuses that they can distribute in any way they desire. The total of  the bonuses granted is based on the number of friendly beings in the area of  effect.

The total of the bonuses granted can not exceed the level of the caster or be  greater than the intelligence of the caster (limit of 18). The bonuses can be  divided anyway the recipient may want with some limitations. A single point must  be applied to each of the possible slots and that no more than four may be  applied to any given slot. The slots for the bonuses are as follows:

To Hit
Damage
Saving Throw
Armor Class
Hit Points
Attributes (one or more)

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last,  were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not  appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then  it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells  that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to  comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these  in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper  credit.

1 comment:

Jason Zavoda said...

The cover art is fantastic. I think the black on the mustard yellow is the most legible of the three.

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