Misfit Studios gives us another fantasy race for Savage Worlds. This time we have Dragonmen, humanoid dragons. The document is not large, but does exactly what it needs to do. Description of the race, point values as a race and ways to use them in your game.

Good product for the price.

If I wasn't afraid I was going to have to "buy" this again when the new Spiros Blaak setting came out this product would get a 5 star rating.

This is a totally new way of using and getting power points in SW.

It has rules for Arcane Background specific places of power. Man made or Natural places of power. How to make a place of power (you better have some time and plenty of power points!) These places of power have their own edges and hindrances.

The product lists several that should get a GMs juices flowing.

There doesn't seem to be any pesky missing pieces. You get a great idea fully fleshed out. I think the price may be a bit high (yeah its just three dollars), but I don't want to buy this product again if it is later part of a complete setting I intend to purchase.

Unlike some of the other products I have bought from Misfit (Monster Briefs) this one is a great product to add by itself to SW Fantasy.

This is a good product but not great.

First, I don't like the idea that if I later want to buy the setting that I'll have to pay for this again. So far the setting sounds fun, so I probably will buy it.

Next, it is a bit confusing. The Beast Wrangler should have Beast Master, not Beast Bond. Plus, he is using a critter from an obscure SW tool kit which is not stated for the brief.

I liked it more than the Dark Elf Monster Brief, not because it was better or Dark Elf was bad, but because Goblin culture is dealt with a bit more in other SW products and I am not having to start at square one with Goblins like I do with Dark Elves.

It's too expensive for what you get (75 cents to a dollar would be good). This is my take on the brief because I know I'll probably be "buying" this material all over again later.

Good.

However, some of my old beefs and some new ones.

First, when Spiros Blaak comes out I am going to have to pay for this material all over again. Misfit is very upfront about this. They don't try to trick you. So that is definitely a plus to their side. I think the price is a bit high (yes I know it is just a buck fifty!) still if I have to pay for this twice when the setting comes out it's too steep. Also if I don't buy the setting it is too steep because...

Savage Worlds doesn't have a great deal on Drow/Dark Elves in any of their products. Actually I have the Fantasy tool kits and the companion and there isn't anything about Drow/Dark elves. So this product is a step in the right direction, but it assumes you understand Dark Elf culture, environment etc. That doesn't exist presently and will only exist if someone spends the time to produce it.

So I have to say overall its good for what it is (read the other review for details) however, it leaves a lot of work for the Game Master.

Great Price!

Great Material and gobs of it. You can read the other review to get the idea.

Very evocative. I have always loved playing Crusader/Paladins so this is a great product for Savage Worlds. Really puts some meat on the bones...but.

The only reason that I give this product a 3 star rating is that I keep being told that if I buy the Spiros Blaak setting later on that I'll be paying for it all over again.

If you don't plan on buying the SW version later on this will probably be a great value, or if you can't wait again a great value otherwise its ok.

I don't want to have to pay for something twice, no matter how good the material.

Now, for all of my apprehension about Dragon Men as a PC race, I have zero problem using them as monsters.

Half a dozen variations on Dragon Men for use as antagonists...and you will want the Player Races PDF, because it references some of the Edges and Hindrances from there.

They are split pretty evenly among fighter types and arcane types (with one being a priest), with an even split of two extras and a Wild Card for each type.

Probably the most interesting variant is the drakeherd...a flightless dragon man who uses a saddled drake as a mount in order to take flight.

The Sorcerer Lord is particularly scary, boasting an impressive slate of Powers.

These could make for some good, interesting adversaries in the right campaign, although I definitely think the spellcasters are far scarier than the warrior types.

On one hand, I am not a fan of "dragon men". On the other, this was apparently the runaway winner of a poll on the Misfit Studios blog about what race should get covered next, so there you go.

This is six pages on playing Dragon Men in Savage Worlds, who may or may not be directly descended from dragons.

Dragon Men, by default, gain flight, but they also gain "Breeding Hindrances"...a defect that the Dragon Man is born with. In addition to some of the common Hindrances, this can include having Thin Armor or blunt claws and teeth...or being unable to use their breath weapon without a Vigor roll first.

There are guidelines for Dragon Men variations based off of the dragons that have appeared in previous Misfit Studios Savage Worlds supplements as well.

A whopping 23 new Edges are present, which can tweak the PC's powers and abilities as desired, though some of them are "merely" Improved versions of other Edges.

The Small Cone Template makes an appearance here as a potential template for a Dragon Man's breath weapon (they can take on different shapes and sizes depending on the Edges purchased).

Finally, Dragon Man Scourge Armor is statted up.

I'm still not a HUGE fan of the idea of Dragon Men, but I cannot deny that this is an impressive amount of material, bringing a race in completely from scratch and dropping it alongside other Savage Worlds fantasy races, and still for the same $1.55 price tag.

The last set covered most of the "Standards"...while there are some classics here, they are of the slightly non-standard variety.

Written in the same format as the first set, this supplement adds doozies such as Acid Spray and Rolling Rocks (think Indiana Jones). A few of these are mostly set-ups for something else, like Wind Rush and Reverse Gravity. There are even Folding Stairs that collapse as you are nearly at the top and send you hurtling down.

Also included in this PDF are Small Cone Templates, designed to work with the Wind Rush trap.

My only gripe with this product is that, unless I am HORRIBLY mistaken, the font seemed to change in the entries, sometimes even in mid-sentence.

Still, if you like traps in your fantasy games, this is going to be an invaluable source of fun for your game.

Misfit Studios doesn't reinvent the wheel with dwarves here, but they do provide some very cool options nonetheless. It is little secret that I have become a huge fan of their additions to Savage Worlds, the racial and professional expansions, certain classic monsters returning and so on, and this is no different.

My favorite Edge in this supplement HAS to be Grounded, where a dwarf can "ground" himself against damage-causing magic, gaining protection against the effects. Giant Defense goes hand in hand with the already existing Giant Killer, giving a dwarf higher parry against a giant.

If it were Edges alone in this supplement, it would be cool...but we also get a dwarven alcohol for a bit of flavor...and the very cool dwarve waraxe. What makes a dwarven waraxe special? Well, the two-headed axe is actually two axes in a single haft...that can be removed and turned into throwing axes!

Not enough for you? How about famous fantasy metals Adamantine and Mithral, and their costs and properties?

Round that out with rules for playing half-dwarves, as well as the Earth/Stone trapping for Powers (a few of the Edges tie into this trapping), and you have another packed addition to the Savage Worlds line-up.

Steven Trustrum pretty much gets to the point with his product names.

This is 10 Fantasy Traps, as it sounds. Note that they are not written in the same format found in books suck as The Savage World of Solomon Kane, but if you're not a fan of that system, then this may be a plus.

Every trap has a Stealth rating, a Trigger, Disarm mechanism, Attack rolls, Effect and a Cost to purchase/set it up.

These cover most of your basics: You have arrows shooting from the walls, swarms of needles, pits opening in the floor, pendulum blades and bear traps both big and small.

Important notes are made, such as how the needles in and of themselves are rarely the real threat...most of the time they are also poisoned, for instance.

If you are incredibly anal about everything new fitting everything already in existence exactly, you might be disappointed by this. If you are already 100% happy with the traps system already in place, you might not have a need for this...otherwise, this is a pretty swell addition to the Savage Worlds line-up.

Paladins are one of my favorite "classes". Ever since a friend of mine played The Best Paladin Ever in AD&D2e years ago...a guy who held himself to impossible standards, but understood that people around him were fallible. This starts with the Champion Edge from Savage Worlds and provides options to make a character a truly force of righteous power in the world.

Seven Edges, spread from Seasoned to, yes, Legendary are included for your Champions, and some of them will certainly feel familiar to people who had have Paladins in their D&D games. In fact, one Edge - Champion's Mount - can be taken multiple times, with each selection allowing the player to add a new power to the mount, such as allowing the mount to use any of the PC's Combat Edges!

The Legendary Edge, Crusade, allows the Champion to summon a fighting force for a holy crusade...calling out to people every day that he continues to make the associated Faith roll! There IS a growing penalty each day, so while it's POSSIBLE to keep making rolls indefinitely, it's certainly not likely.

A very cool set of Savage Worlds options for one of my favorite character types.

First off, I buy all the Misfit Studios briefs for Savage Worlds. I generally like them a lot as they provide some cool ideas.

This product has some troubling problems, though.

First off, the Beast Wrangler has the Beast Bond edge, yet he is not a wild card, so he has no Bennies to give his pet. I believe this should be the Beast Master edge instead. Secondly, it mentions that the wrangler uses his pets to "keep foes at bay." So you think he would have a bow. Nope. Another reviewer mentioned the use of an obscure creature as the preferred companion for a Beast Wrangler. How about using some of that negative space on the first page for a brief write up of a rabid rat or something, so that you can run the creature right off the page? That would be very useful.

The wolf rider, a classic concept, mentions that each rider must steal their vargr cub. I see how the lack of Notice on the vargr could open up a possibility for a goblin to steal a cub, but I'm not buying that the vargr has no notice skill. But that's the only way a goblin could steal a cub, because the beasts are so much more deadly than the goblins themselves. A more minor issue is the contradictory statement that goblins breed the vargr for mounts. Which is it, steal or breed?

Other than the Beast Bond issue, these are pretty minor complaints. How often are you actually going to deal with how the goblins get their steeds? But even at the minor price of a buck-fifty, I'd like a tighter product. The special mushrooms are pretty cool, but most of this is not really anything that an experienced savage GM could not create in a few moments. And an inexperienced one is going to be scratching his head when he tries to use the first creature because of the edge error and the use of an obscure creature.

Like I mentioned, I enjoy this line of products, but when I went to use this one, I felt let down.

The Good: Interesting villains, an organization that can be dropped into most any campaign and a slew of adversaries at just about every power level.

The Bad: Still can't shake a few d20isms...namely in some of the stock monsters. Not sold on the Immortals.

Conclusion: This is one of those products that makes me want to really like ICONS...a lot. For my full review, please visit: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2010/11/tommys-take-on-doom-icons.html

This name is about as descriptive as it gets. Misfit Studios covers more dragons for Savage Worlds.

Ice Dragons have a couple of breath weapon options, the first being a cone of frost that is handled like a typical Savage Worlds cone attack...but the second is a cold fog that utterly blocks all vision in the area. They are also easily baited with warm flesh. In fact, it's probably easier to trick one than to kill one.

The Mountain Dragons is gigantic and scary, spewing hot gravel from its mouth and having a massive treasure hoard. There is a hefty payoff for killing one...but this one will make you work for it.

Sea Dragons are interesting creatures in that they have tempermants as violent as the sea...that is, you can't guarantee what you'll get from one each day. While individual Sea Dragons tend towards malicious or benevolent (adding a modifier to their reaction roll, it is possible than a normally vicious and destructive creature shows up feeling quite helpful.

Swamp Dragons are acid spitting beasts whose scales can somewhat meld into their surroundings. Rather than kill people and creatures around them, they prefer to torment them, getting more joy from inflicting terror and harm rather than outright slaughter.

Another great entry in the line-up, with some obvious D&D inspiration, just tweaked a bit so that these dragons stand out on their own merits.

Mind Flayers and Beholders...I'm sorry, Though Flayers and Watchers.

This may be the single best release by Misfit Studios thus far, bringing two true classics to Savage Worlds, with serial numbers filed off.

The two famous aberrations are dangerous...in fact, given that Thought Flayers have a BONUS to grapple the heads of their targets, rather than a called shot penalty, they may be TOO dangerous.

The Watcher's eye stalks are also represented, with cruel and harsh effects including petrification present and accounted for. Seriously: These guys are SCARY...some of the scariest Savage Worlds write-ups I have ever seen...so fair warning.

We also get three new powers: Charm, Mind Reading and Telepathy, to properly model our beasties.

Oh, Cloakers and Mimics are also here, but let's be honest: Mind Flayers and Beholders are the draw here, and rightfully so.

Just a tremendous addition to the Savage Worlds bestiary.