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Thanks so much for featuring our Bestiary, Ben! We should get you to write some monsters for volume 2 😊 Hope you're feeling better. Getting sick in the summer isn't fun.
Hi! I´m from the Basque country! What a pleasure seen a Basajaun here, which in Basque means something like Forest Lord (Baso-Forest / Jaun-Lord). And the adventure hooks are also based on local tales like the Witches of Zugarramurdi!!! Welp, gonna buy this one for sure!!
OMFG!! Even Tartalo is here!!! The tale of Tartalo and the two brothers is the one my kindergarden teacher used to tell us whenever we went to the countryside!!!!!
That's really cool. I believe there's an Alex de la Igelsia movie about the Witches of Zugarramurdi. I have no idea how close it is to "reality" but it was an interesting film lol
@@o_enamuel You're correct, it's supposed to be Boitatá And the pronúncia would be more akin to bo (as "bo" in "bow") - i (as "e" in "eat") - ta (as "ta" in "Tartarus") - tá (as "ta" in "Tartarus")
The cool thing about the DAHU (prononced with the French U) it's that it's a dumb joke we tell to naive people to mess with them. Very popular in french Switzerland.
This book reminds me of a childhood favorite book, _The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts_ by Joseph Nigg. A richly illustrated text that presented all manner of monsters from all over the world. The creatures were a bit more standard for folklore, like dragons and unicorns, but it would occasionally look at some more obscure beasts. Like the Cinnamon Bird or Barnacle Goose.
Bestiaries of all kinds are such a delight to just have lying around and skim through from time to time. One of my favourites is Jorge Louis Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings.
So much gems from basque country / France ! Bringing those monsters into dnd was my dream project. Well, someone did it ! I'm glad they will have some recognition in the community !
Folklore is always a great source for new monsters. Most D&D fans are familiar with the re-written and modified folklore monsters that are part of D&D, but going back to the original sources can bring in a new twist for adventures. I love monsters like Skinwalkers, Hags, and Kobolds from folklore. Thanks for this.
QB- I love the flavor these type of creatures add. I’m stealing the giant serpent with the history of the world written on its scales for my campaign. In game its already established that an impossibly huge, ancient serpent dwells in a ruined city in a desert and is a sage that is known to help and hinder, seemingly on its whim. The extra bit with its scales being a literal record of events could provide an awesome plot hook
I can't overstate how valuable it is to just watch a person flip through a book, even if they don't say much. There are so many books I can only get via ordering online these days, and people rightly fear just making the PDF public and losing any sales.... so I frequently resort to finding a pirated PDF merely so I can _see_ the inside of the book. Because I'm a _book_ buyer, and my original mode of book buying was walking around Barnes & Noble and flipping through stuff
As a Cailofornian, I'm curious about that "Holy City" thing. I wonder if that was based on any particular real historical thing, like I think the Moonies (Reverend Sum Yung Moon) had a huge ranch compound in far Northern California back in the 80s. The northern end of the state--especially on the North coast--is the misty lands of the giant Redwoods, where the landscape is very evocative and mysterious, the trees make you feel Lilliputian, there are giant ferns and toadstools, the furry locals sometimes act more like gnomes or trolls, and organic psychotropic drugs grow on trees, lol....
Plenty of genuine weirdos in that neck of the woods. A little bit north in Oregon, you had Rajneeshpuram, which was a yoga cult that attempt to poison the nextdoor town's water supply to facilitate a political take over. Down The Rabbit Hold (youtube series) has a good video on it
Holy city?? I used to drive past there all the time! I had no idea there was some weird folklore attached to it. That makes me want to buy this even more
This is fantastic. You really could run Hellboy-like one-offs with this book. There's nothing better than wandering into a new and mysterious hex only to encounter something strange at the crossroads at night; something which defies torchlight or tries to lure you off into the depths of the wilderness.
I'm literally writing my own setting right now where the fey and shadowfell collapsed onto the prime material and this is PERFECT for that, thank you for highlighting it!
Oh this is awesome, I just got my hands on the 5e version and was tempted to get both editions since I'm getting more and more into OSR. Really Like the Merry Mushmen products. Very high quality and it seems like they are jam packed with awesome stuff.
Ben! I was afraid you had vanished. Yahhoooo! Still want to buy your Kickstarter ('Knave 2 & stuff') set and would love to know how / when / if someone can do that (specifically me). The internet sends hugs, keep up the good work. Glad to see you (or your hands) again.
I got sent these books by mistake when I ordered The Black Sword Hack. They sent me the book I wanted in PDF form tho, so I'm not mad. 2 for one really.
Got in on the Kickstarter for this (as well as anything from The Merry Mushmen). It's an amazing / bizarre / fantastic addition to my collection of books, and I agree that it could be very cool for people who aren't that into RPGs.
Looks amazing. I wish they had a Swords and Wizardry or Shadowdark version as I'm not a fan of OSE. I'll probably grab one or the other and just use it for inspiration.
I was first made aware of the merry mushmen thanks to professor dungeon master and backed theie nightmare over ragged hollow kickstarter. I've been eyeing this book for a while and so happy you did a review!
That Holy City thing is intriguing, but is there really folk lore behind it? I'm from the other coast, and I'd never heard of the cult, or the ghost town they built. It's interesting stuff, and I feel like I could use that to build something cool. A n adventure along the way to an adventure, or a permanent and mysterious hazard along the high road. It's quicker travel, buuuuut....
I ordered this book in print based on your review. The PDF is great. Merry Mushmen, however, doesn't seem very responsive. Since placing my order I've sent them e-mails, messages on Facebook, Instagram about a shipping notification for my order and they have yet to respond.
just to point that the pronunciation of Boitatá is incorrect on the book. there's a comment here explaining how to say, if the people of the book could see just to put the correct pronunciation.
I am saddened by a serious lack of slavic folklore representation. Slavic creatures are usually not a good fit for a combat focused DnD experience, so I thought if any book would include them it'd be this one.
Hey Ben, could you give the non backers of Knave an update on the progress? I am curious to know at what stage of the writing or production you are, but did not back the Kickstarter unfortunately.
Oof, really unfortunate start with the pronunciations in the book. The s in Basajuan is pronounced as s or sh in English. The sound in basque is in between the two, but definitely not ch, unless you're French.
Sigh... Sounds great, but I am really tired of that cartoonish art style so conspicuous in modern D&D. It makes me feel like I shouldn't take these monsters seriously.
