The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk

[John Cooper]

The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk
By Andrew Kenrick
Mongoose Publishing product number MGP 0027
32 pages, $9.95

The latest in the (soon to be finished) "Slayer's Guide" line, The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk takes a look at one of the D&D races that always appealed to me, even though I have to admit I preferred the old "lizardman" terminology from an older, less "politically correct" time. I don't recall seeing Andrew Kenrick's name before, so if this is his first book he's off to a pretty good start.

The cover is by Mongoose veteran Anne Stokes, and this is a very nice piece, with four lizardfolk crossing a swamp. Anne does a nice job with the lizardfolk, giving them appropriate musculature and a nice scale pattern (although the one on the right side looks a bit "off" as far as his posture goes; it looks like there should be some more chest showing below that right arm of his). The lighting effect is well done, as is the water and the fallen logs, although the trees in the background all seem a bit uniform, almost as if they were telephone poles. In any case, Anne does a great job in ensuring the lizardfolk look like they should, and that's always appreciated.

The inside front cover is the expected anatomical diagram, but there are two surprises: one, it isn't a Chris Quilliams piece (rather like Pavlov's dog, I've become operantly conditioned: he salivates when he hears a bell; I expect to see a Chris Quilliams piece when I open up the front cover to a "Slayer's Guide"), but rather a nicely-done piece by..."AS + RCH." (I'm going to guess that's Anne Stokes and Ralph Horsley.) The second surprise: there's a bit of color, not in the anatomical diagram itself (which is drawn as a drawing on a sheet of parchment on a desk or table), but in the other items accompanying the drawing: a shell, a bottle of ink, and a feather. The anatomy is nicely done, although the calligraphical notes accompanying the diagrams are a bit hard to read. (There's also a typo - inko? - "humans" should be "human's" as it's in relation to a human's ribcage.) The inside back cover is the same ad for Dragon and Dungeon magazines we've come to expect.

The interior artwork consists of 13 black-and-white illustrations by only two artists this time around: Vitor Ishimura and Tomasz Jedruszek. Normally, you'd expect a more or less unified "look" to the creature in question, but these two give all sorts of interpretations to what a lizardfolk should look like. I tend to prefer my lizardfolk looking rather real-world lizardlike (as they do on pages 7, 8, 11, 12, 25, and 26, some sporting an iguanalike head, others having crocodile or even velociraptor features), not like some of the other interpretations in this book, which almost look like caricatures with exaggerated features: wide snouts, long tongues, etc. (I particularly disliked the "ears" on the lizardfolk on pages 21, 28, and 31, and I can't help but think that lizardfolk on page 31 bears more than a striking resemblance to a dwarf!) All in all, the artwork averages out to...about average, I'd say.

The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk is laid out as follows:

• Introduction: a brief description about the "Slayer's Guide" line and this book in particular, followed by a page of fiction
• Lizardfolk Physiology: sections on lizardfolk cold-bloodedness, diet, lifecycle, and mentality
• Habitat: one page on lizardfolk nests (both in swamps and underground)
• Lizardfolk Society: tribal composition and patriarchal structure, resolving conflict within a nest, relations with other creatures, druids and shamans, religion (including the new Reptile domain), and language
• Methods of Warfare: ambushes, raiding and hunting, weapons and armor, and the force of nature (lizardfolk druids and their animal companions)
• Roleplaying with Lizardfolk: lizardfolk PCs, typical lizardfolk names, 5 new feats, and 2 new prestige classes for lizardfolk: the Stillguard and the Scaled King
• Scenario Hooks and Ideas: 6 simple ideas around which an entire adventure can be built
• The Boneyard: a description of a lizardfolk lair and the human town nearby, complete with the makeup of the lizardfolk Dragonbone tribe, their defenses, the legacy of the black dragon who once ruled them (and whose skeleton currently comprises the core of their nest), and the stats for the leader, a 6th-level lizardfolk sorcerer
• Lizardfolk Reference List: 7 ready-to-use lizardfolk game stats, each with different class levels

As far as I know this is Andrew's first Mongoose work (it's certainly his first "Slayer's Guide"), so I'm willing to cut him a bit of slack on the areas I found some trouble with. First of all, he has the irritating (to me, at least) habit of self-referencing during his writing: he likes to use the phrases "your author hopes..." and "your esteemed author." I personally find it distracting, and it rather "pierces the fourth wall" for me. The other thing that really bugged me was the little lizardfolk "fact" he dropped into page 4: lizardfolk, it seems, have "three fingers and two thumbs on each hand." Oh they do, do they? Funny, that contradicts lizardfolk/lizard man lore going all the way back to the original D&D game. Furthermore, the illustrations in the book - including the anatomical diagram! - do not support his "fact." Finally, Andrew does nothing with this "fact" in the rest of the book. (In contrast, he takes another lizardfolk "fact" - that they use their tails in a multitude of ways - and deftly incorporates it into the Draconic language the lizardfolk speak (their tails and body postures are used to add nuances of meaning to their speech), plus devises four different feats based on how some lizardfolk use their tails.) I'm left with the feeling that Andrew probably watched the "Alien" movies once too often and thought, "Hey, that two-thumbs-per-hand deal is pretty neat! I think I'll slap that concept onto lizardfolk!"

However, those complaints aside, I really like for the most part what Andrew's done with the lizardfolk. Sure, in many respects he comes up with what you'd expect of a race of humanoid lizards - they lead a primitive existence, the males are dominant, the strongest rules the others, etc. - but I don't see that as a problem; I'd much rather read an intelligently-written and well-thought-out discussion on some "obvious facts" about a given race than have the author go out on some wild tangent just to do things differently and "shake things up a bit." Furthermore, he "spices things up" in a wonderful manner, by creating two very different and yet very logical lizardfolk prestige classes. I tend to be somewhat difficult to impress with prestige classes, yet I think Andrew's hit both of these smack on the head. The Stillguard is a type of lizardfolk sentry capable of remaining perfectly still and hidden from sight for hours at a time, while the Scaled King gives a nod to the old "lizard king" race of the old 1st Edition AD&D days. (Remember when they used to be considered a separate race, and wielded those silly tridents that for some reason only they could use? The Scaled King is a much better concept, I think - basically, a type of swamp druid/tribal guardian.) I also appreciate that the two prestige classes were given their own abbreviations (StG, ScK). I wish more companies would do that.

Another thing: it's always kind of bothered me that D&D reptilian races (or at least those that aren't inherently magical in nature, like dragons) were never really "cold-blooded" - you'd expect a lizardfolk or naga to be sluggish after being hit with a cone of cold, for example, but that's not really in the rules. Andrew added boxed text covering this very issue, and I think his (optional) rules for cold-bloodedness do the job quite well.

Proofreading and editing continues to be a problem area, but fortunately none of it is too difficult to figure out. Besides the standard stuff I normally point out (extra spaces between words, incorrect punctuation, typos, misspelled words, 3.0 formats/terminology still being used, etc.), there was one entirely new error I've never seen before: for some reason, many of the individual bits of punctuation ended up either in bold or one font size bigger than the rest of the sentence in which it appears. There are commas, colons, semicolons, and apostrophes scattered throughout the book with this strange anomaly. (Perhaps somebody at Mongoose has been feeding the punctuation some growth hormones?)

Then, of course, there are the game stats for the various lizardfolk. Many of these had some problems, and in the interests of ensuring that game stats should be as accurate as possible, here are my "corrections," for those who are interested:

• p. 28, Abbasu: Should be referred to as a "Half-Black Dragon 6th-level Lizardfolk Sorcerer." Hit points should be 42, not 51. Initiative should be +0, not +6. No Base Attack/Grapple line given (because Abbasu's stats are entirely in 3.0 format, not 3.5) - should be +4/+9, by the way. "Attacks" and "Damage" lines are in 3.0 format; should be "Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d4+5), Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d4+5) and bite +7 melee (1d8+2)." "Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft." should be "Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft." Breath weapon should deal 6d8 acid damage, not 6d4, with a save DC of 16, not 17. Missing "Hold breath" as a Special Quality. CR should be 9, not 10.
• p. 29, Tribal Leader: HD should be 11d8+11 (60 hp), not 11d8+11 (71 hp)
• p. 29, Stillguard: HD should be 2d8+8d8+20 (65 hp) or 10d8+20 (65 hp), not 2d8+8d10+20 (63 hp) (Rangers have d8s as hit dice, not d10s.)
• p. 29, Lizardfolk Shaman: HD should be 2d8+6d8+16 (52 hp) or 8d8+16 (52 hp), not 2d8. Ability scores should be in the following order: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma - this creature has his Dex and Con in the wrong order. Since he has Initiative +1, it looks like he should have Dex 12 and Con 15, not the other way around. Claw attack should be +8 melee, not +7 (in the "Attack" line; the "Full Attack" line is correct).
• p. 30, Lizardfolk Sentry: HD should be 2d8+4d8+6 (33 hp) or 6d8+6 (33 hp), not 2d8+4d10+6 (37 hp) (Rangers have d8s for hit dice, not d10s.)
• p. 31, Lizardfolk 'Raptor Rider: Ability scores should be in the following order: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma (fortunately, even though his Con and Dex are switched, they're the same values)
• p. 31, Tribal Hunter: HD should be 2d8+1d8+3 (16 hp) or 3d8+3 (16 hp), not 2d8+1d10+3 (17hp) (Rangers have d8s for hit dice, not d10s.)
• p. 31, Tribal Guard: HD should be 2d8+1d10+3 (17 hp), not 2d8.

That first lizardfolk, Abbasu, is a member of the Dragonbone tribe in the Lair chapter. I should point out that the Boneyard section is pretty cool, but it suffers a bit from not having an associated map, diagram, or illustration. This is particularly disappointing, since the lizardfolk nest is built around the skeleton of the black dragon who once ruled the tribe, and would have made a really cool picture. I was also slightly disappointed that the named lizardfolk members of the Dragonbone tribe all use names from the "sample names" boxed text in the Roleplaying chapter; I always thought that by giving the NPCs in the Lair section different names, you're giving the reader a bigger selection to choose form (or be inspired from). Oh well, no major problem, just an opportunity lost.

All in all, despite a few problems, I still think The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk has a lot to offer. I give it a rating of "4 (Good)." Normally, I'd say I'm looking forward to seeing more of Andrew's work, and while that's still the case, sadly it doesn't look like he'll get an opportunity to write any more "Slayer's Guides," as the line is being discontinued later this year. (Pity, too, as I've enjoyed these books immensely.) Still, I expect that Andrew's writing abilities will only improve with time; as it is, he's off to a fine start.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The most blasphemous of scholars would place the creation of the world not in the hands of the gods, but in the hands of nature herself. In such a creation myth it was not the elves or the dragons who came first, but the reptiles – the dinosaurs, the crocodiles, the lizards and the lizardfolk. Of course, such a myth has little basis in the truth of things, but it is an interesting aside. There is no doubt that the race of creatures known as lizardfolk, or lizardmen, is an ancient one indeed. Often overlooked because of their savagery and animalistic tendencies, the lizardfolk people are as much a part of the history of the world as men, dwarves and elves.

Lizardfolk appear much as a crocodile would if it were crossed with a man – a scale covered humanoid 6 or 7 foot in height, with clawed hands and feet, powerful jaws filled with teeth and a long muscular tail capable of propelling it through water as it swims or through the air as it jumps. Lizardfolk are a primitive people, banded into small extended family groups known as tribes. To lizardfolk the survival and propagation of their tribe is all, and all are prepared to give their lives to ensure this.

As a reptilian race, lizardfolk prefer to live in the warmer parts of the world, in swamps and marshes throughout such climates. They often build settlements of dome-like mud huts deep within swamps, hidden away and guarded against outsiders who would harm the tribe. Lizardfolk are unpredictable within their habitat – sometimes dealing peacefully with outsiders, sometimes attacking them ferociously. Players travelling through swampland should be ever vigilant – their passing will almost certainly be known to the near invisible lizardfolk sentries but they may never realise that they were being watched. If provoked into a fight, lizardfolk are a very dangerous people indeed.

This series of supplements, designed for use in all fantasy-based d20 games systems, takes an exhaustive look at specific monster races, detailing their beliefs, societies and methods of warfare. Typically, these will be the races all but ignored by Games Masters and players alike, who view them as little better than cannon fodder.

This outlook just has to be wrong. An entire race does not just suddenly materialise in the campaign world, and very few exist solely to wage war. What are they doing when the player characters are not around?

Each Slayer’s Guide features a single race, in this case the lizardfolk. You will find a colossal amount of information on lizardfolk physiology, habitat and society, giving you a fundamental level of understanding on how this race exists and interacts with the rest of the world. Players can learn the sort of combat tactics the lizardfolk are likely to employ against them, and Games Masters are presented with guidelines on how to introduce this race into their existing campaigns. Finally, a complete lair is featured to be used as either an extended encounter, the basis for a complete set of scenarios, or just an example of what the lizardfolk are capable of.

After reading the Slayer’s Guide to Lizardfolk, you may never view this race in quite the same way again.

 

[Heyoka_James]

I'm familiar with Andrew's work. This may be his first d20 material but hes not a new face on the block. Andrew has contributed to "Promised Sands" from BBRACK, "Red Dwarf: The Roleplaying Game" from Deep7 and well as "A Cast of Thousands" from his own company, Steampower Publishing.

 

[andrew_kenrick]

[No message]

 

[andrew_kenrick]

[No message]

 

[andrew_kenrick]

Thankyou for the great review John! It's my first "solo" review, just as Slayer's Guide to Mongoose was the first solo book I wrote, way back in January 03.

 

[Bottled Imp Games]

Yay. Go Andrew.

Interestingly enough *whistles*, Andrew's next book is the rather fabulous The Lords of the Night: Zombies, which is out in July.

Stuart

 

[John Cooper]

Really? Now I look forward to checking out "Lord of the Night: Zombies" on the strengths of both Andrew's writing and the good things I've heard about the "LotN" series in general.