Bestiary of Krynn¸ Revised (3.5e)
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The Bestiary of Krynn returns by popular demand! The sourcebook for the creatures of the Dragonlance game world is being reprinted in an expanded¸ revised edition. All errata from the previous edition has been incorporated into a book that has been re-organized for easier reference. The original artwork that won awards is back¸ along with creatures useful for Dragonlance campaigns but could be easily ported to other d20 System campaign worlds. Also included are encounter tables and the rules for racial acceptance.
he Bestiary of Krynn returns by popular demand! The sourcebook for the creatures of the Dragonlance game world is being reprinted in an expanded¸ revised edition. All errata from the previous edition has been incorporated into a book that has been re-organized for easier reference. The original artwork that won awards is back¸ along with creatures useful for Dragonlance campaigns but could be easily ported to other d20 System campaign worlds. Also included are encounter tables and the rules for racial acceptance.
Product History
Bestiary of Krynn (2004)¸ by Cam Banks and André La Roche¸ is a monster manual for Dragonlance. It was published by Sovereign Press in April 2004.
Continuing Sovereign's Dragonlance Saga. After producing the Dragonlance Campaign Settng (2003) for Wizards of the Coast late in 2003¸ Sovereign Press ended that year with their first licensed release¸ the setting Companion¸ Age of Mortals (2003). They then hit the ground running in 2004; from here on¸ they'd reliably publish four to five Dragonlance books a year. The first of these was Bestiary of Krynn.
At the time¸ the d20 industry was heavy with monster manuals. White Wolf's Creature Collection (2000) appeared first and was followed by other notables like Wizards' own Monster Manual (2000)¸ Privateer's Monsternomicon (2002)¸ Necromancer's Tome of Horrors (2002). However¸ Sovereign rightfully believed that they could stand out from the crowd¸ thanks the depth of the Dragonlance setting.
As far back as DL14: "Dragons of Triumph" (1986) and Dragonlance Adventures (1987)¸ Dragonlance publications had featured the unique creatures of Krynn. The world had even enjoyed two previous monster manuals all its own: MC4: "Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix" (1989) and The Bestiary (1989) for SAGA. Bestiary of Krynn would be the third.
Origins. The Dragonlance Campaign Setting had already included about 20 pages of monsters. It was a highlight reel of the world's best known creatures¸ including death knights¸ the original 5 draconians¸ the dragonspawn of the New Age¸ spectral minions¸ thanoi¸ and a few others. Banks and La Roche were asked to bring together all the other Dragonlance monsters.
Sources. The authors extensively combed through all of Dragonlance's history for monsters. Monsters from well-known RPG sources like the original "DL" series (1985-1986) and Time of the Dragon were obvious¸ but they also sought out the more obscure supplements such as DLR1: Otherlands (1990)¸ which contributed the rodent funno¸ the twinned tayfolk¸ and the bear-people ursoi.
Dragon magazines were similarly consulted¸ revealing Krynnish monstrosities such as the Graygem-tained gray dragon in Dragon #146 (June 1989) and the goblinoid cave lord and Malystryx's desolation giant in Dragon #256 (February 1999). Of course¸ the Dragonlance SAGA (1996-2000) system was used as a source too¸ bringing monsters like the mewling troll over to D&D for the first time. The most obscure source that the authors consulted was probably Wizards' short-lived Legends of the Lance newsletter (1998-1999)¸ which yieled the dark thrall of Onysablet.
The Dragonlance novels were also a source for Dragonlance most comprehensive bestiary ever¸ again resulting in many monsters being statted up for D&D for the first time. The feeder was drawn from a controversial short story called "Dagger-Flight" by Nick O'Donohoe that originally appeared in Kender¸ Gully Dwarves¸ and Gnomes (1987); the skorenoi debuted in Dezra's Quest (1999); and the dragon vassals appeared thro