In this review, we will talk about the Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts. First, I want to say thank Free League Publishing for sending us a physical copy of the manual so we can review it.

You can find this supplement in their official store for just over 33 euros. As with all the other products, there is a module for Foundry Virtual Tabletop, purchasable together with the physical copy thanks to a practical bundle.

If you don’t know the game at all, I recommend you read our review of Forbidden Lands Core Boxed Set, so that you can then fully appreciate this supplement.

A Bestiary of Great Value

Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts is effectively the bestiary of this award-winning survival fantasy game, winner at Ennie Awards in 2019; but, as always happens with the productions of the Swedish publishing house, we cannot limit ourselves to this basic information to describe the product they sent us.

The supplement contains 28 monsters in addition to the 23 that were present in the Core Set, making the Forbidden Lands an even more dangerous and fascinating place in which to travel and try to survive. Each creature, in addition to being beautifully illustrated, has 4 pages that explain its characteristics, habits, attacks and treasures. Adding exciting elements is the option to collect resources from slain beasts and the ability for player characters to use their Lore skills to gain information about a monster’s strengths and weaknesses. This mechanic will help them defeat or hopefully survive the creatures presented.

Of the many creatures presented, I find the Shapeshifter very interesting, versatile enough to be included in almost all adventures; capable of taking the form of any creature he has devoured, he has in his arsenal both physical attacks and strategies to confuse and torment those unfortunate enough to encounter him.

Among the sandblasted pages of this volume, we also find the legends that concern each monster, a non-negligible detail when it comes to narration. Andreas Marklund’s pen expertly outlines every page of this precious volume.

Not Just Monsters

Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts is not a supplement solely reserved for introducing new monsters to face; its pages also contain a series of tables for random encounters. The GM will thus be able, using two 6 dice, to indulge in offering terrible events or fascinating events to the players. Some of these encounters may lead to combat, while others allow you to meet new NPCs or describe strange mysteries or possible places to explore. The table offers enormous variability as it is designed to provide different results, depending on the place where the characters are located.

Each encounter is presented with a part to narrate to the players even simply by reading it, the part dedicated to the GM for managing the event and any statistics of the creature to face.

To add variability and that pinch of tension that can never be missing, we also find a full-page table of traps. Also in this case we will be able to range from the classic poisoned dart to teleportation.

Tables for All Tastes and Every Occasion

The tables in Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts, however, do not end here. To complete the variety of the game there is one that expands the possibilities offered by the Gamemaster’s Guide.

In the tables of Valuable Objects Transported and Valuable Objects Transported in the master’s manual, the result of 61 on the die allowed finding a rare or unique book. Well in Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts, we can find out what book it is: a ballad, a practical text or a grimoire. Each of these types of books guarantees different advantages.

Solo Mode

For some time now, many publishing houses have chosen to also include the single-player mode among the game options of their products. Free League is no exception and introduces Solo Mode in Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts. In approximately fourteen pages, suggestions, details and tables are provided to be able to tackle the Forbidden Lands as single players without the guidance of a GM.

In addition to the pages of the supplement, to be able to dive into the adventures of this wonderful game on your own, all you need is a deck of playing cards without the jokers.

Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts Aesthetics Review

This supplement consists of approximately 200 pages which adds to the 500 of the two basic manuals, making this triptych one of the most interesting of the classic games. The format, as for the other volumes, is A5, which proves to be extremely practical and easy to transport.

The cover, in a beautiful dark blue, maintains the gold frieze typical of the other manuals and the same soft touch sensation to embellish it.

All the illustrations, of which you can see a taste in this review, are of the highest level. The old-school style characterizes each image, but the level of detail is extremely high. Henrik Rosenborg manages to transform every single page into a small work of art.

Conclusions of the Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts Review

Book of Beasts is the perfect complement to complete the tools available to GMs and players who love the classic fantasy of Forbidden Lands. The quality of the volume and its solidity are undoubted. It is practical to handle and at no time was I afraid that it might get ruined when leafing through it and consulting the many tables available.

The aesthetics are very refined and although it is a black and white volume it is extremely elegant. The chosen font is perfectly legible and the single-column mixed double-column printing does not disturb in the slightest.

If I have to find a flaw in this extremely well-finished and interesting product, it is that it doesn’t find space in the Boxed Set box. A bit of a shame in my opinion not to be able to also add this manual to the box to be able to transport everything together.

If you already have the basic manuals you can’t miss Forbidden Lands Book of Beasts. Don’t know the game? It’s time to fix it!

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