Game: Lunar Knights
Publisher: Interactive Design Adventures
Series: d20
Reviewer: Tetzel
Review Dated: 16th, February 2004
Reviewer’s Rating: 10/10 [ Breathtaking ]
Total Score: 31
Average Score: 7.75
Do you fear the bite of a wolf when you hear a howl during a full moon? For centuries the legend of the werewolf has lived in stories, books, and film.
This month I get to review a product with which I am very pleased – Lunar Knights. While I’d be very pleased to own a copy regardless of its origin, it’s nice to know that it is produced by a company right here in Independence – Interactive Design Adventures. All of their high quality products are available for online purchase through the Web at: http://www.idadventures.com.
Project director Shaun Horner was happy to send me a copy of Lunar Knights for review. Although it’s not the first publication for this small game publishing company, it’s definitely their best written work. It’s also not their newest project as they just released a great line of printable standee miniatures with excellent quality, finely detailed artwork.
If you’ve ever had interest in the moon and werewolves, then you’ll be very happy with Lunar Knights, a “must have” 64-page game supplement. Lunar Knights is a standard D20 supplement, but is designed with the Dungeons and Dragons core rulebook in mind. It also has enough material to allow you to run a group of lycanthrope heroes through any campaign setting, and includes prestige classes, skills, feats, and most importantly lycanthropic lore.
Lunar Knights is the best, and most comprehensive gaming supplement on lycanthropes I’ve had the pleasure to delve into.
Lycanthropy is an ancient mythological condition that is a mixture between man and beast. While a werewolf is the best known form of lycanthropy, Lunar Knights covers more than 35 forms of lycanthropy. You’ll find werecheetahs, weregriffons, wereblink-dogs, werecrocodiles, and outsiders such as the weregorgon. It covers these numerous races and the condition of their lycanthropy whether they are afflicted or it is a condition of birth.
Interestingly, this book covers much of the lore from mythology involving werebeasts, and gives possible explanations for how and why these things occur. It also delves into lycanthrope interaction with humans, and fantasy humanoid races.
Vulnerability of the werewolf has always been the silver bullet. Lunar Knights talks about traditional vulnerabilities as well as alternatives to the traditional. Immortality, regeneration, the moon (or moons), and campaign settings are discussed in detail. Lunar Knights also includes a generous Bestiary that can be used as a Monster Manual of lycanthropy, and includes templates for quick generic villains.
If you lack familiarity with this breed of friend or foe, Lunar Knights also presents a suggested list of reading and film to familiarize yourself with the genre. One of the other nicer things about the book is that when you purchase it online you get two copies. One is a printer-friendly version, and the other is a PDF filled with excellent artwork done by the talented writer of Lunar Knights Jacob Blackmon. A hard copy of the book is also available.
