Warlords of the Accordlands: Monsters and Lairs

I started reading Warlords of the Accordlands last weekend. For some unknown reason I started with the Monsters and Lairs book, I suspect it has something to do with general laziness and the fact that it was on top of the stack.

I'm impressed. The game has gotten a fair amount of bad press, which I find surprising. The art may not be to my personal tastes, but it's consistent, and seems to convey the feeling of the setting. The book itself (speaking of only the monster book at this point) is well-make and easy to read.

As for content, I like it. I've always enjoyed monster books that give you a brief encounter example, and Warlords definitely does that. Each of the books also comes with nice pull out maps, which is a good touch.

The monsters themselves are very good. The traditional monsters have been re-imagined (like short-lived necromantic elves), and the new monsters are good looking and well balanced. I like the fact that there are a lot of "cool" monsters at low levels. When your players see these things it'll scare the bejeezus out of them. 1st level characters expect goblins and kobolds, not abyssal creatures spawned from the essence of a dead dragon responsible for the creation of the world.

See. Cool.

Anywho, it's a great book. I give it a 7, maybe an 8 out of 10. As much as I like included encounters, they take up a lot of space in the book, and it's not like you can use them over and over again.