The Nightmares Are Real...

Listen, I can't talk long. They know that I've found it and they're watching. Take this information. Commit it to memory. It may save your life...

Launching on Kickstarter January 15, The Cryptid Manual is the 5th rpg Kickstarter for Bloat Games. Written by Josh Palmer and Jodie Brandt, the physical book will be approximately 90 pages, full color, and digest sized. It will be available in hard cover and softcover. The pdf and physical copies will be delivered via DriveThru RPG. 

I have been fortunate enough to have received a preview pdf and I wanted to let folks know what they have to look forward to. Production wise this is hands down the best looking Dark Places & Demogorgons book. The layout and art have been done by Runehammer and he knocked it out of the park! While I love the art in previous SURVIVE THIS!! books having one artist makes it feel more unified. 

While the book is designed for DP&D (and other SURVIVE THIS!! games), the stat blocks are simple and old school. They can be used to bring unique creatures to any OSR game. Stat blocks include AC, Hit Dice, Move, (# of) Actions, Attack Damage, Special (special abilities), Bonuses (things like bonus to hit and damage), Morale (which is new to DP&D), Terror (a feature of DP&D, basically a fear saving throw for seeing the creature), and HDE (Hit dice equivalent... a challenge rating system, sort of).  This is followed by a chart that you roll on if characters fail their courage/terror roll.

The meat of the book is the cryptids and monsters themselves. There's a wide variety of creatures from around the world, not just J'town KY. There are some interesting variations too. For example, there are seven different varieties of Bigfoot from around the world... eight if you count the Sheepsquatch. There are five different types of extraterrestrials. I personally loved the inclusion of the several unique cryptids, such as the Jersey Devil, Mothman, and the Pope Lick Monster (which gets expanded upon from the core book). There are 54 creatures total in the book and they range from the weak to incredibly strong. 

After the monster stats blocks there are six monster templates. I really like templates and I think they are one of the better things from the 3rd edition era of D&D. The templates presented greatly expand what you can add to your game. They are dire, giant, rabid, radioactive, were-beasts, vampire, and zombie. With these you can take these monsters, creatures from other SURVIVE THIS!! books, or any OSR monster book and create some fantastically dangerous things.

The book ends with several useful charts. First there's a Cryptid Enhancement chart to ramp up encounters and Cryptid Weakness chart to give your players a chance. It's an OSR monster book, so of course there are some random encounter tables. As previously mentioned, morale is a new stat for DP&D and it's given a bit more explanation. Finally there are pages that feature updated and useful game terms. These are very handy and I assume if there's ever a revised printing of the core book they will be included. 

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of DP&D. This is a must have for Dark Places & Demogorgons players. That being said, even if you're not really familiar but still like OSR gaming, this is a book you should back when it launches. The creatures are unique, the artwork and layout is phenomenal, and the book has a lot of offer gamers. 

Bloat Games has created a Facebook event to spread the word, check out the DP&D Cryptid Manual Kickstarter Launch Party! 

Oh no. They're coming. Watch your back and stay safe. 

Update: You can purchase it here.