Denizens of: The Iron Kingdom
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This high quality book sets a standard against which other d20 products (or even RPG books in general) need to be compared. The presentation and illustrations are superb.
'The Monsternomicon Volume I: Denizens of the Iron Kingdoms' is a compilation of monsters¸ obviously¸ and it also begins detailing the 'Iron Kingdom' campaign setting. The book is constructed with a background theme; it is the collected work of an adventuring-scholar¸ a specialist of Extraordinary Zoology. Each one of the more than 80 creatures is introduced by an anecdotal entry by 'Professor Viktor Pendrake of the Royal Cygnaran University'¸ followed by game-term descriptions. A 'treasure' entry specifies what can typically be found on the creature¸ such as special weapons¸ products of its crafts or merchantable body parts. Adventure hooks are suggested for each creature. A little silhouette of the monster next to the silhouette of a human being helps us gauge the creature's size.
A notable particularity of this book is the 'Legends & Lore' entry¸ detailing four degrees of information about each creature. A few sentences describe common¸ uncommon¸ rare and obscure knowledge. A section on knowledge skills and research methods suggests ways to put this information in the hands of the players.
Another noteworthy idea is the 'Quickplates'¸ templates that can quickly be applied to a base creature to tailor it for particular circumstances. For example¸ the Alpha Hunter quickplate can make an animal more dangerous. The Bloodthirsty quickplate offers a creature the possibility to rage. You also have quickplates such as Tough¸ Holy¸ Maligned. A pretty nifty idea.
The book also describes three prestige classes and a few character races that are specific to the Iron Kingdom campaign setting. It also skims into the setting's cosmology.
The Iron Kingdom campaign setting includes gunpowder and firearms¸ as an exotic element of the setting. We also find here some magical/mecanikal amalgams that give rise to steam-powered golems with magical artificial intelligence. A pretty idiosyncratic element of this book is the mixture of undead and mechanikal parts¸ such as with the Iron Lich¸ an undead with a soul-fueled furnace. Still¸ most creatures in the book can be used in traditional D&D settings.
Again I want to insist on the high quality of this book's illustrations¸ and its presentation in general. I am looking forward to delve deeper in this setting once more books are out.