1 Book to Rule them ALL

[Lobo316]

OK, cheesy subject line aside, out of curiosity, if you had to pick only one non-C&C monster book to use for reference or conversion, be it OD&D or Pathfinder, whatever the book or system may be, what would that one book be (no online collections or reference please, single book)?

For me, it's the AD&D Monster Manual.

[docdoom77]

I really have no answer to that. AD&D 2nd edition has great nostalgia value, but 3rd edition and Pathfinder have great utility and sexy art. I don't know if I could pick.

[Shadowslayer]

For me its no contest. Necromancer's Tome of Horrors.

[Rigon]

I have to go toss up between AD&D 2e Monstrous Manuel or ADD Bestiary.

R-

[Lobo316]

OK, cheesy subject line aside, out of curiosity, if you had to pick only one non-C&C monster book to use for reference or conversion, be it OD&D or Pathfinder, whatever the book or system may be, what would that one book be (no online collections or reference please, single book)?

For me, it's the AD&D Monster Manual.

Figured I'd expand just a bit on why...It's got the "classics", the Mind Flayer, the Beholder, etc, as well as a great collection of demons and devils and, one of the most classic entries..."Men" (berserkers, buccaneers, bandits, etc, gotta love it). The art is very invocative of that "classic" feel and they are already in a format that is VERY easy to port over to C&C

[Buttmonkey]

Tome of Horrors. It's massive.

ETA: The S&W version, NOT the Pathfinder version.

[Omote]

S&W version of Tome of Horrors Complete. Without a doubt. Hundreds and hundreds of monsters, plus hundreds and hundreds of micro-adventures. Perfect monster book.

~O

[Shadowslayer]

The S&W version....can you actually buy that as a book? - thought it was pdf only. Hope I'm wrong.

[Arduin]

For me, it's the AD&D Monster Manual.

I would pick that one except most of that book has been converted to C&C...

[Omote]

The S&W version....can you actually buy that as a book? - thought it was pdf only. Hope I'm wrong.

I own the hardcover, dead-tree version of the S&W Tome of Horrors. Not sure if it's still available or not, but I own one.

~O

[alcyone]

Yeah, Tome of Horrors Complete, SW version FTW. Though ADD Bestiary is a runner-up, except mine is softcover so it wouldn't last as long. But I have two of them for some reason!

[Fiffergrund]

It would have to be the AD&D 1E Monster Manual for me.

But I could be contrary and say that I enjoy *reading * MMII much more. And FF has its charm.

I vacillate between liking the 2E Compendium format and loathing it. I don't think I used it enough to really appreciate how annoying a binder is when compared to a book, or how the punched holes rip. Mine is practically cherry.

It didn't help when Planescape issued some monsters for the binder, and others perfect-bound. That was the only reason for me to get the Compendium in the first place.

I tend to avoid monsters from any d20 source, save old TLG stuff. (Which is no longer necessary given that it has all been converted. ) I just don't consider things with 3x the words I need to be "sources" anymore.

So I guess that's a long-winded way of saying MM1.

(Mentzer basic has some great monsters. Living statues, for instance. A nice twist on the golem idea.)

[Litzen Tallister]

Depending upon the players (and the campaign), I'd either go with the 1st edition Monster Manual or the 1st edition Fiend Folio. The former for a more traditional campaign, the latter if having to deal with players that have already memorized the standard monsters and their abilities.

[Treebore]

The 2E MM Hardcover, with soft cover supplements. I also have to Tome of Horrors S&W version, that things is just a little too thick for me to want to carry around, but I do agree it is packed full of monster goodness!

[Snoring Rock]

Tome of Horrors, 2 1/2inch thick greatness...S&W of course.

[serleran]

From the Lab: Fiends and Freaks I and II (A Compiled Resource of Madness), Atomic Clock Enterprises.

[Lobo316]

(Mentzer basic has some great monsters. Living statues, for instance. A nice twist on the golem idea.)

LOL, I pulled some stats for "living statues" (or animated, whatever) from an internet source not long ago, and in fact, just ran the party against them last session! Here's the stats I found...

Animated Statue (Construct)
AC: 16; HD 5(d8); MV 30; Saves: P; ATTACKS: slam (1d6) or by stone weapon; Size: M
Special: Hard as Stone: Animated statues only takes 1 point of damage from piercing or slashing weapons, and fire. Takes normal damage from bludgeoning, acid and force attacks (such as magic missiles). If an attack with a non-magical weapon rolls a natural 1, the weapon breaks against the stone.

Note: these stats were kicked up just a bit for my game, think they were 3HD when I found 'em.

[Geoffrey McKinney]

James Raggi's Random Esoteric Creature Generator for Classic Fantasy Role Playing Games and Their Modern Simulacra:

http://www.goodman-games.com/4375preview.html

As the back cover of the book says, "this is the last monster book you will ever need."

[Lobo316]

OK, so I ran through real quick and tallied these as best I could, just for fun. I did not count any submissions where someone went with more than one title, but could not decide, etc.

Tomb of Horrors S&W got 6 votes (far and away the leader of the pack)
AD&D MM got 2 votes (weak hold on 2nd)
The 2e MM, Fiends and Freaks and the Random Esoteric Creature Generator all garnered 1 vote each.

So, what does that tell us? One thing...I have way to much time on my hands, lol!