[RPG]: Lord Erbian's Stellar Bestiary, reviewed by Carnivorous_Bean (1/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12612.phtml

Rhian Hunt's Summary:

Lots of potential, squandered by the feebleness of the monsters and some cartoonish or sophomoric entries.

Go to the full review for more information.

[C.W.Richeson]

That does sound amazingly bad

Thanks for writing up a review!

[DMH]

It does suck and I sold it a long time ago. Most of the creatures are bog standard from what I remember. The only monster book I think is worse is the one for Darwin's World.

[Dan Davenport]

Calling some of the entries you describe "sophomoric" seems rather generous. I'd call the yummydung monkey "freshmanic" in its stupidity.

In any case, great job, Rhian. For me, the bestiary helps capture the mood of the setting -- or, in this case, destroy it utterly.

[RPG_Wombat]

Can't answer to any complaints about d20 rules, since I don't like them and would only use VPS, but I can understand the issues the reviewer has with the product.

Keep in mind that the book was largely a compilation of fan-designed creatures, rather than the products of professional designers. To be honest, one of the few weak spots of Fading Suns was the alien design, far too many earth-analogs. Though I suspect that was done on purpose, for an "echoes of Earth Past" feel. It doesn't always work well.

This is about the only book in the line that I wouldn't give a high rating - only the d20 stuff gets ignored by me as well, but that's just because I don't like d20 rather than any technical issues. I think the reviewer here may be a bit harsh, but I can certainly understand his complaints. I know I expect more from a Fading Suns book than this one offered.