Baby Bestiary Handbook Vol. 1

by Andreas Walters, Ben Woerner, Brie Sheldon

In a world of myth and magic, great heroes vanquish terrible monsters and earn a place in legend. But what about the babies left behind? This book is the first exploration of a new kind of adventure, the raising of young monsters to become loyal companions, beloved friends or fearsome guardians. If you are looking for something novel to spice up a fantasy roleplaying campaign, or simply want to see a different side to the creatures of fantasy art, the Baby Bestiary Book has all the monstrous cuteness you could want. Funded by over 600 aficionados of animal affection on Kickstarter in 2014, this book joins the Baby Bestiary 2015 Calendar in a new line of products by Metal Weave Games. The Baby Bestiary Handbook will add some 'awww' to your coffee table ornaments and 'squee' to your players' squelching through dank dungeons.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Dungeons and Dragons, Gaming, Dragons, Fantasy

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[K.T. Katzmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, my favorite place was the library periodicals section. They knew me by name there, for they were the keepers of the Dragon Magazines.

Four issues at a time, I poured over all the fantastic knowledge I could, and my absolute favorite articles were those whose title started with "The Ecology of . . ."

I was spellbound by intricate details about the life cycle of monsters, from the way satyrs treat friendship to how a detached hydra tongue can be used to predict the weather. I'm guessing that a lot of that helped shape me into becoming the author of Murder With Monsters.

And that's why I love this book.

Baby Bestiary Vol. 1 is entirely that kind of ecological and societal looks at monsters, as if David Attenborough started lecturing about chimera and griffins. Half the book are the single page write-ups on the lifestyles of the beasts, how easy they are to tame/raise as adopted children, and how they treat their human masters/parents when they grow up.

The other half of the book is the staggeringly beautiful artwork.

If you've followed my reviews at all, you know I love dumping large swaths of scanned artwork. I'm not doing that because I've communicated with the author, and I know he doesn't like his art reproduced without the proper logo. Still, here's one image he wouldn't mind me posting.



Every single art page is that detailed, that lush, and that adorable. It's worth the price of admission to see how beholders, nightmares, and the friggin' D&D tarrasque are made cute.

The Bestiary test, as I've said before, if whether or not I'll pick up a book whenever its within arm's reach and lose five to ten minutes on it. This one passes with flying colors.

I can't wait for volume two.

Don't worry, nongamers. There's not a single block of algebraic stats to be found. Just amazing world-building.

[Jeremy Blum · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not an exaggeration to call the Baby Bestiary series two of my favorite system-neutral fantasy RPG books. A charming duology, these tomes focus on baby monsters, how cuddly they are, and what happens to the little ones of beasties slain by so-called "lawful good" heroes. A few of my favorites in this volume include the owlbear cub, the cerberus puppy, the elementlets and the dodomeki eyelings (basically a baby Beholder). Needless to say, I've introduced baby monsters, Pokemon-style, into all of my D&D campaigns since getting these books, and you should too.

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awwww... they are sooooooo cute.
And deadly in some cases.

[Stephen Richard Planalp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially an entire book of flavor text for the whole family to enjoy. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the factoids are funny and enjoyable. Even if you have no familiarity of DND, this book takes all of the creatures and brings them to life in an amazing way.