You know how it is, I get something on my mind and I have to pour it into a blank post. Yesterday I looked at a collection of monsters and humans from Never Going Home as well as its mini expansion Book of Whispers. Its a game about an occult world war 1, where beings from beyond the veil are whispering secrets to soldiers to tempt them to tear at its fabric. Its mud soaked trenches, ritual chants ringing out at night among the artillery shells and otherworldly eager beings stalking no mans land.
As with the previous post I'll be looking over their encounters and give a rating between 1 and 5, based on how evocative they are, how well its expressed mechanically and if they are unique enough. This time my attentions will be shifted towards the Tome of Corrupted Beasts, which is in itself a bestiary. So lets take a gander and see whats on offer and if they bring enough new things to the table.
The Defiled Circle
But there is an angle I haven't considered in my previous post, that may have me reconsider a few scores. Namely that Veil Callers can actually seize control over corrupted beings and even attempt summoning them. Something that'll probably be the case for most of this book, but it does leave me briefly reconsidering previous profiles under this new lens.
Cackling Horror
Still a great candidate for summoning if you want to spread pain and misery. And its state as a rampant sadist just biding its time during your uneasy alliance is such a mood builder, its not just a dumb beast you've reined in, but a intelligent being that WILL hold a grudge. 5/5
Corpse Feeder
Their timid nature and limited power doesn't put them high on the list of cool things you'd want to summon and bind. They stay at a 3/5
The Disfigured
Cant really be summoned as its something that happens to a human, but the potential to try binding and perhaps cleansing them to recover their lost comrade is great narrative, fuck it 6/5
Nightfiend
I mean yes they are gonna be nasty things to send at your foes, but they don't come into their own as much as other creatures will. Still a 2/5
Rot Breeders
While plenty cool on their own they gain nothing new here, they're not summon-able and while a battle of wills with a villain sure would be interesting they don't seem likely candidates for bound servants. 4/5
Skin Thief
Is gonna be a fun one to summon and sic upon your foes, sadly they are unable to speak. Having a timid but sadistic underling just begging for some of your comrades skin would've seen it elevated, since they're lenient enough to work out an arrangement with even without spells. 4/5 or 5/5 if you decide to let them voice their desires and give eerie compliments on peoples skin.
Slug Mule
Hahaha yes! Friendly neighborhood Veil Caller can summon mounts for the party, and these dumb things only need blinders and a saddle to do your bidding, no need for binding spells. 5/5
Trench Gremlins
Oh my yes! They would so fun and weird to have as familiars, sending a tide of grubby little hands to disassemble equipment and pull pins from grenades. Everyone would enjoy them returning with nicked trinkets, car parts and clips. Especially those that cast Machine Bonds as they need materials for their spells. 5/5
Trench Stalker
Who wouldn't want to see their foes driven before them by a giant frog, or humiliate enemy personnel by having it swallow them hole. 4/5
The Unfallen
They're there, but why would you want to bind them into your servitude when there are so many cooler alternatives? 3/5
The Tome of Corrupted Beasts
Time for the real meat and potatoes, this publication boasts 24 new monsters, its just been a warm up so far. Lets go!
Abomination
A super strong start for the book, this is a giant psychic obelisk of a beast that needs a cult to sustain it on their psychic energies. A great example of that big bad thing you brought through the veil after it taught you countless secrets. I love the scope and size of this thing, a bloody phenomenal center-piece for a story. I wanted to start off conservative with this scores but, yeah. 5/5
Hellfighter Tank
A demon tank made of black metal, spikes, snapping mouths and roaring internal blazes. Initially I was apprehensive, I mean look at the Flaming Aces. But instead this thing comes into its own character completely as howling fire-belching machines with crushing threads. It is always interesting to have large set piece bosses where players can get to play around with things like artillery and vehicles to fight it. And I love its omen count down, they never just arrive you can tell by the signs and prepare before it comes crashing from a flaming crater in the earth. Plus it would be so badass to summon one of these. 5/5
Hive Rats
Swarms of rats linked by some unknown intelligence, they get smarter in larger groups and will carry out attacks with coordination unlike regular animals. I'm interested in seeing how their swarm mechanics work out since they're meant to get weaker as the swarm takes damage, but something like that is already happening since your stats lower when you take damage. Anyhow its unionized rats, of course the trenches needs vermins, but they seem a little bland unless you take Planescape Torments lead on it. 2/5
Hungry Tree
Natural plant-life that has gotten nutrients from some corrupted source, they end up growing quite twisted with a charred exterior and blood-like sap. They're essentially trees that want to eat you when you get close enough. I see them kind of like the Corpse Feeders, they're needed there and provide good ambiance, but some rather limited interactions with players. I would love to hear what happens when a tree reaches full maturity, saturation or whatever, what if they underwent a metamorphosis or something? 2/5
Mad Brute
Hulking super soldiers doing smash and grab raids on trenches and the like. Its nice to see that they aren't portrayed as mindless brutes but more like a coherent unit. I like seeing cases like this of how the army reacts to and improvises from the corruption spreading. 4/5
Mustard Wraith
Something I had been missing was a reference to mustard gas, and here we have it, in living malignant form. I love that it can be rendered almost useless by simply wearing a gas mask, and that you can disrupt its form with Elemental Rites by creating strong enough winds. I would absolutely catch one in a canteen and unscrew the lid as a surprise for my enemies. 5/5
The No-Men
This is a straight up replacement to the Unfallen in my eyes. These are roaming companies of dead soldiers joining together in a mock of actual companies. They aren't clumsy or stumbling, they are capable of wielding firearms and operate vehicles. And just like Unfallen they tend to congregate towards more powerful Veil beings to serve them. Finally I got my gun zombies, and if they got a bi-plane they could even replace the Flaming Aces too. Also I love that they're rightful inhabitants of the no-mans land 5/5
Rag-Bats
Large bats with raggedy wings flapping in the wind, they sit still resembling old flags and banners until prey is close enough to swoop down upon. They look cool and I'd love to have one suddenly dissapear once the light returns. They have rules for falling damage, because of course they pick up prey and drop it from dizzying heights. If I were to have an ambush predator lurking somewhere I would prick these over Hungry Trees and Crater Maws for sure. 4/5
Raggedy Dolls
Oh you again. Seemingly a copy paste from the Book of Whispers. Still 2/5
Rancid Slitherer
A wiggling wormy mass that secretes acids and smells excruciating. I am happy to see some smaller creatures from the Veil ecology and this is likely a minor scavenger. I like that its boils can be popped, to much despair for others and that you can actively harm it by pouring salt and soap on it. 4/5
Ravens
One of my gripes with enemies like the Hungry Tree or Hive Rats is that they're pretty generic and widely applicable, they don't feel specific to this world or setting. But the Ravens on the other hand. They've been hearing the whispers too and begun making bargains, they get a share of the feast if they help speed along the chaos. So they hound the living taunting and mocking the sane into reckless, dangerous and self-destructive behavior, to sacrifice them on the battlefield in the name of the veil beings. 5/5
Slorgung
Another weird veil being a large bipedal deathly fast predator with a mane of stingered tentacles. What really sells them to me is their constant need to stay in motion, they will claim territory and patrol it relentlessly often creating beaten circular paths under their feet. And not only that but they have an overwhelming impulse to gather and arrange things in piles, that any player worth their salt is going to disturb. 5/5 for the beautiful OCD roadrunner.
Stalking Shadow
Hinted at in my last post the Stalking Shadow is an immaterial assassin, it slips under doorways and finds lone or injured people it can envelop in its form. Its another great boogieman that puts the Nightfiend to shame, especially since this bugger is pretty much invisible in complete darkness. And to make it more interesting it has a very weak but non-corporeal form, so you gotta banish it with arcane tricks. Bound to be a very interesting foe to have infiltrate the unit, and a hell of a minion to bind to your service. 5/5
Terror Orphan
Another case of a veil being attempting to manifest itself. These things stalks soldiers in their dreams through recurring nightmares of distorted children, each nightmare strengthens the creature until it gains enough power to gain a corporeal form and finish of what it started, meeting its victim under circumstances where there is no more escape. 4/5
Vathek
Final one of the lot, meant to be a big terrible adversary. The Vathek is a vaguely humanoid figure standing tall and imposing. It pierced the veil to sample what humankin passes for warfare and prove its superiority. Lesser beings, especially No-Men are drawn in by its power and serve as its pawns. Its a dangerous megalomaniac seeing it all as a mere game or pastime. 5/5
As with the previous post I'll be looking over their encounters and give a rating between 1 and 5, based on how evocative they are, how well its expressed mechanically and if they are unique enough. This time my attentions will be shifted towards the Tome of Corrupted Beasts, which is in itself a bestiary. So lets take a gander and see whats on offer and if they bring enough new things to the table.
The Defiled Circle
But there is an angle I haven't considered in my previous post, that may have me reconsider a few scores. Namely that Veil Callers can actually seize control over corrupted beings and even attempt summoning them. Something that'll probably be the case for most of this book, but it does leave me briefly reconsidering previous profiles under this new lens.
Cackling Horror
Still a great candidate for summoning if you want to spread pain and misery. And its state as a rampant sadist just biding its time during your uneasy alliance is such a mood builder, its not just a dumb beast you've reined in, but a intelligent being that WILL hold a grudge. 5/5
Corpse Feeder
Their timid nature and limited power doesn't put them high on the list of cool things you'd want to summon and bind. They stay at a 3/5
The Disfigured
Cant really be summoned as its something that happens to a human, but the potential to try binding and perhaps cleansing them to recover their lost comrade is great narrative, fuck it 6/5
Nightfiend
I mean yes they are gonna be nasty things to send at your foes, but they don't come into their own as much as other creatures will. Still a 2/5
Rot Breeders
While plenty cool on their own they gain nothing new here, they're not summon-able and while a battle of wills with a villain sure would be interesting they don't seem likely candidates for bound servants. 4/5
Skin Thief
Is gonna be a fun one to summon and sic upon your foes, sadly they are unable to speak. Having a timid but sadistic underling just begging for some of your comrades skin would've seen it elevated, since they're lenient enough to work out an arrangement with even without spells. 4/5 or 5/5 if you decide to let them voice their desires and give eerie compliments on peoples skin.
Slug Mule
Hahaha yes! Friendly neighborhood Veil Caller can summon mounts for the party, and these dumb things only need blinders and a saddle to do your bidding, no need for binding spells. 5/5
Trench Gremlins
Oh my yes! They would so fun and weird to have as familiars, sending a tide of grubby little hands to disassemble equipment and pull pins from grenades. Everyone would enjoy them returning with nicked trinkets, car parts and clips. Especially those that cast Machine Bonds as they need materials for their spells. 5/5
Trench Stalker
Who wouldn't want to see their foes driven before them by a giant frog, or humiliate enemy personnel by having it swallow them hole. 4/5
The Unfallen
They're there, but why would you want to bind them into your servitude when there are so many cooler alternatives? 3/5
The Tome of Corrupted Beasts
Time for the real meat and potatoes, this publication boasts 24 new monsters, its just been a warm up so far. Lets go!
Abomination
A super strong start for the book, this is a giant psychic obelisk of a beast that needs a cult to sustain it on their psychic energies. A great example of that big bad thing you brought through the veil after it taught you countless secrets. I love the scope and size of this thing, a bloody phenomenal center-piece for a story. I wanted to start off conservative with this scores but, yeah. 5/5
Barbed-Wire Worms
Does exactly what it says on the tin, imagine animate bloodsucking barbed wire and you're on the right track. I love that they get into feeding frenzies, and like mimics their very existence makes players question every patch of barbed wire they come upon. 4/5
Blightworms
Already a cooler alternative to the Unfallen, Blightworms are parasites that lay eggs inside corpses then pilot them around to find new food sources for their hungry young. I'm a huge fan of parasites, but the profile is only for humanoid corpses. I would have loved to see an applicable template or the like with variants that nested inside birds, rats, Slugmules etc. Slightly wasted potential. 3/5
Carrier Pigeon
Skull-faced birds that brings messages of longing from the departed. They present themselves at the side of wounded, lonely or hopeless and talks about how enjoyable the embrace of death would be. Should characters agree, their soul will be taken to the beyond to rest. So yeah, grisly telemarketers offering you a deal on the afterlife and needing some serious convincing to leave. Love it! 5/5
Comfort Siren
Ghostly creatures who lure others in with mirages and sensory illusions, they take the form of forgiving mothers and long lost lovers, while actually feeding on the blood of their victims. Among their cooler aspects is that they sometimes serve as spies for greater powers, and that their true selves are revealed in mirrors. There is some great storytelling possibilities in these, especially if they show up in like a town, and they'd be very cool minions for Veil Callers. 5/5
Corpse Monger
A huge humanoid mass of interwoven corpses. That in itself is pretty vanilla, but what makes them really interesting is that these aren't roaming creatures or whatever they're momentary phenomenon. Which is to say a sufficiently large pile of corpses might attract the "soul" of a corpse monger, and then be used to manifest in hideous form for a few minutes before dissipating. I love the concept that its an alien sentience that stretches into our world and constructs a temporary body for itself. I would want to explore them further! 5/5
Crater Maws
Ambush predators somewhat resembling a Sarlacc, they dig out false craters and hide at the bottom awaiting prey stumbling in. Its a cool concept seen in nature a lot, but for what is essentially terrain hazards with stats I am not too enthusiastic for them. 2/5
Flaming Ace
Haunted blazing bi-planes carrying off erratic attack runs as they shoot across the sky. I love the idea of vehicles of war also getting corrupted and affected, but I feel like these could have been fleshed out a little bit more. Are they captured vehicles blessed by cultists or tormented spirits reliving their last blaze of glory? The game already has stats for bi-planes, but this is just a burning version of that. 2/5
Gauntstrider
An additional potential mount. They are pale horses with sagging skin and a long leech-like tongue. To broken in you have to restrain their long tongue. They reek of carrion, bad enough for most non-corrupted being to not consider them as mounts. Its a cool being from beyond the veil offering enough lore and gameplay to warrant itself. 4/5
Gut-Mawed Gallu
A towering bull-horned humanoid with a mouth that serves as a prison. It will pick people up, bar them behind its needle-like teeth and simply walk off with them. Over all it seems a tad shallow. I get the point that mysteries are always good, but something to indicate their role within the Veil ecosystem would be very welcome. The art is what saves them for me. 3/5
Hellfighter Tank
A demon tank made of black metal, spikes, snapping mouths and roaring internal blazes. Initially I was apprehensive, I mean look at the Flaming Aces. But instead this thing comes into its own character completely as howling fire-belching machines with crushing threads. It is always interesting to have large set piece bosses where players can get to play around with things like artillery and vehicles to fight it. And I love its omen count down, they never just arrive you can tell by the signs and prepare before it comes crashing from a flaming crater in the earth. Plus it would be so badass to summon one of these. 5/5
Hive Rats
Swarms of rats linked by some unknown intelligence, they get smarter in larger groups and will carry out attacks with coordination unlike regular animals. I'm interested in seeing how their swarm mechanics work out since they're meant to get weaker as the swarm takes damage, but something like that is already happening since your stats lower when you take damage. Anyhow its unionized rats, of course the trenches needs vermins, but they seem a little bland unless you take Planescape Torments lead on it. 2/5
Hungry Tree
Natural plant-life that has gotten nutrients from some corrupted source, they end up growing quite twisted with a charred exterior and blood-like sap. They're essentially trees that want to eat you when you get close enough. I see them kind of like the Corpse Feeders, they're needed there and provide good ambiance, but some rather limited interactions with players. I would love to hear what happens when a tree reaches full maturity, saturation or whatever, what if they underwent a metamorphosis or something? 2/5
Mad Brute
Hulking super soldiers doing smash and grab raids on trenches and the like. Its nice to see that they aren't portrayed as mindless brutes but more like a coherent unit. I like seeing cases like this of how the army reacts to and improvises from the corruption spreading. 4/5
Mustard Wraith
Something I had been missing was a reference to mustard gas, and here we have it, in living malignant form. I love that it can be rendered almost useless by simply wearing a gas mask, and that you can disrupt its form with Elemental Rites by creating strong enough winds. I would absolutely catch one in a canteen and unscrew the lid as a surprise for my enemies. 5/5
The No-Men
This is a straight up replacement to the Unfallen in my eyes. These are roaming companies of dead soldiers joining together in a mock of actual companies. They aren't clumsy or stumbling, they are capable of wielding firearms and operate vehicles. And just like Unfallen they tend to congregate towards more powerful Veil beings to serve them. Finally I got my gun zombies, and if they got a bi-plane they could even replace the Flaming Aces too. Also I love that they're rightful inhabitants of the no-mans land 5/5
Rag-Bats
Large bats with raggedy wings flapping in the wind, they sit still resembling old flags and banners until prey is close enough to swoop down upon. They look cool and I'd love to have one suddenly dissapear once the light returns. They have rules for falling damage, because of course they pick up prey and drop it from dizzying heights. If I were to have an ambush predator lurking somewhere I would prick these over Hungry Trees and Crater Maws for sure. 4/5
Raggedy Dolls
Oh you again. Seemingly a copy paste from the Book of Whispers. Still 2/5
Rancid Slitherer
A wiggling wormy mass that secretes acids and smells excruciating. I am happy to see some smaller creatures from the Veil ecology and this is likely a minor scavenger. I like that its boils can be popped, to much despair for others and that you can actively harm it by pouring salt and soap on it. 4/5
Ravens
One of my gripes with enemies like the Hungry Tree or Hive Rats is that they're pretty generic and widely applicable, they don't feel specific to this world or setting. But the Ravens on the other hand. They've been hearing the whispers too and begun making bargains, they get a share of the feast if they help speed along the chaos. So they hound the living taunting and mocking the sane into reckless, dangerous and self-destructive behavior, to sacrifice them on the battlefield in the name of the veil beings. 5/5
Slorgung
Another weird veil being a large bipedal deathly fast predator with a mane of stingered tentacles. What really sells them to me is their constant need to stay in motion, they will claim territory and patrol it relentlessly often creating beaten circular paths under their feet. And not only that but they have an overwhelming impulse to gather and arrange things in piles, that any player worth their salt is going to disturb. 5/5 for the beautiful OCD roadrunner.
Stalking Shadow
Hinted at in my last post the Stalking Shadow is an immaterial assassin, it slips under doorways and finds lone or injured people it can envelop in its form. Its another great boogieman that puts the Nightfiend to shame, especially since this bugger is pretty much invisible in complete darkness. And to make it more interesting it has a very weak but non-corporeal form, so you gotta banish it with arcane tricks. Bound to be a very interesting foe to have infiltrate the unit, and a hell of a minion to bind to your service. 5/5
Terror Orphan
Another case of a veil being attempting to manifest itself. These things stalks soldiers in their dreams through recurring nightmares of distorted children, each nightmare strengthens the creature until it gains enough power to gain a corporeal form and finish of what it started, meeting its victim under circumstances where there is no more escape. 4/5
Final one of the lot, meant to be a big terrible adversary. The Vathek is a vaguely humanoid figure standing tall and imposing. It pierced the veil to sample what humankin passes for warfare and prove its superiority. Lesser beings, especially No-Men are drawn in by its power and serve as its pawns. Its a dangerous megalomaniac seeing it all as a mere game or pastime. 5/5
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