Is libris mortis a good book? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Is libris mortis a good book? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
eca
07-12-05, 01:18 PM Is Libris Mortis a good book? i was thinking of picking it up but im not sure how well i will be able to use it in my campaign, (i have a cool idea but want more varity) so i wouldn't mind a few good opinions.

p.s. what i want from the book is some really cool and powerful undead, and a few new PrC's to control the undead. :cool:
RumRogerz
07-12-05, 03:00 PM Do yourself a favour and pick it up. I was drooling through each page. It's full of great presteige classes, AMAZING spells and the like.
I'm a huge undead freak so i loved every second of it.

Necrotic Cyst!!!!!
GothicDan
07-12-05, 03:00 PM On the other hand, if you want anything that's actually creative or good for lore/fluff, then don't get it.
RumRogerz
07-12-05, 03:16 PM Hey now, it's way more creative than what i could contrive. And i didn't really find that much wrong with it. I'm the kinda guy who wants to just open the book and say "ohhhhhh that's cool, i'ma use THAT"
eca
07-12-05, 04:37 PM Does the book have any new (undead) monsters? thats one thing i really need.
RumRogerz
07-12-05, 04:40 PM Hells yea it does!
or else i would have never purchased it!

do yourself a favour and jet down to your local book store and peruse through it. Lots of really cool stuff in there. Lots of cool stuff to really screw up your party with ;)
Darrian
07-12-05, 04:48 PM I gotta agree with GothicDan. The book did not do much for me. I was hoping to have it help me flesh out a Lich wizard and it was almost exclusively focused on clerics. Not much flavor either.

Oh well, there is always the next new book.

Darrian
Paladin3475
07-12-05, 05:16 PM Of the generic supplemental books I would say The book of the Undead and the Book of Dragons are must haves....

Reason being that they do add alot of flavor to the game that you otherwise would not know. Plus it has the walking dead... walking dead I tell you...

Paladin
Zanan
07-12-05, 06:14 PM Well, it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want NPC stuff and monsters, fighting techniques for undead and sample creatures, this is your book. You get updates of the Master of Shrouds, True Necromancer and others, amongst others Master Vampires and Half-Vampires plus a fair selection of spells your players don't want to come accross.

For DMs who look for that sort of stuff, I'd rate it 8,5 out of 10.
Faraer
07-12-05, 06:29 PM To switch this thread on topic: Predictable gratuitous rules content aside, what kind of synergy does Libris Mortis have with the Realms, by design or accident?
Link182
07-12-05, 06:36 PM I liked it. Can definetly add alot of flavor and power to your undead
Raymond Steel
07-12-05, 06:43 PM IMHO a must have to all Undead loving folk
GothicDan
07-12-05, 07:03 PM I love Undead, and I really disliked this book. It was one of the reasons I decided to just stop buying 3E products due to my constant disappointment.

I'll take the Complete Necromancer's Handbook any day, thanks. In that, they had an entire chapter dedicated to an actual campaign dealing with Necromancers, and they had actually inventive types of Necromancers like the Philosopher and the Anatomist.

Libris Mortis is just, "I kill/raise/command Undead real good!"

Not very creative, really.
Bullet-proof Monk
07-13-05, 12:32 AM I'll take the Complete Necromancer's Handbook any day, thanks. In that, they had an entire chapter dedicated to an actual campaign dealing with Necromancers, and they had actually inventive types of Necromancers like the Philosopher and the Anatomist.

Agreed. The Complete Necromancer's Handbook is an excellent book. Between the new kits, generic deities, new spells and excellent character cast and story ideas...its a great piece of 2e material. It would act as a great reference piece for you 3-3.5e DMs that enjoy undead and creative storylines & ideas.
RumRogerz
07-13-05, 02:25 AM ^

I never really played 2e before. I was a tragic late bloomer and started just as the 3e sprouted. THACO still confuses me ;)

This Necromancer book you speak of DOES sound pretty hype though

Ignorance IS bliss
Shemeska the Marauder
07-13-05, 02:32 AM I liked it. Can definetly add alot of flavor and power to your undead

The book is a barren wasteland, devoid of flavor compared to 'Draconomicon' and 'Lords of Madness'. It's the odd man out in that series of books, like their retarded, drooling brother who ate lead paint as an infant but tells everyone it meets, 'I'm speshul!!!'. The other two books in the series are chock full of flavor, and by comparison LM is a book of nothing but stat blocks and feats.

And for this reason alone, the book is underwhelming: undead elementals.

*wince*

The king of that barren wasteland I mentioned before. Plus the fact that it all but took the negative quasielementals from earlier editions, renamed them, called them undead elementals, and presented them as somehow new and special and better.

The book disappointed me sorely. I expected better. Thankfully Lords of Madness brought quality back to the series after that dreadful of a hit.
Demetrios
07-13-05, 06:46 AM THACO still confuses me ;)

THAC0 gave me headaches, and I played 2e for well over a decade! IMHO, the best thing about 3e was dropping that abomination and replacing it with the much simpler (yet exactly the same, mathematically!) attack bonus system.
Milo_Shishkabibble
07-13-05, 12:58 PM To be honest, I liked it for evil characters more than I liked the BoVD. It's got some good prestige classes and the feats are wonderful!
Zanan
07-13-05, 01:35 PM Thankfully Lords of Madness brought quality back to the series after that dreadful of a hit.

Well, I never touched LoM and if the loth-faction around these parts of the boards like it, the choice must be right. :cool:

As you can seee eca, the opinions vary greatly and it might be a good idea to have a look first.

BTW, Draconomicon, while a gem to behold, have PrC who make those of other books pale by both power as well as lack of requirements.
Faraer
07-13-05, 02:14 PM OK, what kind of synergy does Lords of Madness have with the Realms?
LichSathas
07-13-05, 04:59 PM I'm an undead freak by far and actually enjoyed the book though I was hoping to see something like Lords of Maddness where they gave a general overview of most undead but then focused in on a primary type (Vamp, Lich, Mummy for example) each chapter. Even though that's not how it's set up I still think the book holds a lot of merit for spells, undead feats and PrC's as well as player PrC's. I guess if you're looking for lore and what not, just a cool read, any of the old Van Richtens guides (NOT the compendiums...you want the originals) will do just that. You can find most at a game shop for real cheap (the one I never bought, Vampires, I found at a store for $2.50 and in mint condition...go figure).

Lich Sathas
GothicDan
07-13-05, 05:47 PM And for you undead fans out there, also check out Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Guides, too. Combined with the Complete Book of Necromancers, it's all of the undead goodness you'll ever need. I weep at the memory of my eyes melting out of their sockets as I slowly paged through Libris Mortis. Particularly when I beheld about 3-4 pages of just sample skeleton stats, compared to the all of 2-3 paragraphs on the 'NPCs.'
BrianCritchley
07-13-05, 08:34 PM the undead book seemed lacking the focus of the draconacon and lords of madness, this to my weay of thinking is because undead is such a broad catagory..

I think the writer just couldn't really figure out how to best approuch it.
Alac Luin
07-14-05, 12:09 AM Dose Libris Mortis contain anything about the "undying" type?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
eca 07-12-05, 01:18 PM	Is Libris Mortis a good book? i was thinking of picking it up but im not sure how well i will be able to use it in my campaign, (i have a cool idea but want more varity) so i wouldn't mind a few good opinions. p.s. what i want from the book is some really cool and powerful undead, and a few new PrC's to control the undead. :cool:
RumRogerz 07-12-05, 03:00 PM	Do yourself a favour and pick it up. I was drooling through each page. It's full of great presteige classes, AMAZING spells and the like. I'm a huge undead freak so i loved every second of it. Necrotic Cyst!!!!!
GothicDan 07-12-05, 03:00 PM	On the other hand, if you want anything that's actually creative or good for lore/fluff, then don't get it.
RumRogerz 07-12-05, 03:16 PM	Hey now, it's way more creative than what i could contrive. And i didn't really find that much wrong with it. I'm the kinda guy who wants to just open the book and say "ohhhhhh that's cool, i'ma use THAT"
eca 07-12-05, 04:37 PM	Does the book have any new (undead) monsters? thats one thing i really need.
RumRogerz 07-12-05, 04:40 PM	Hells yea it does! or else i would have never purchased it! do yourself a favour and jet down to your local book store and peruse through it. Lots of really cool stuff in there. Lots of cool stuff to really screw up your party with ;)
Darrian 07-12-05, 04:48 PM	I gotta agree with GothicDan. The book did not do much for me. I was hoping to have it help me flesh out a Lich wizard and it was almost exclusively focused on clerics. Not much flavor either. Oh well, there is always the next new book. Darrian
Paladin3475 07-12-05, 05:16 PM	Of the generic supplemental books I would say The book of the Undead and the Book of Dragons are must haves.... Reason being that they do add alot of flavor to the game that you otherwise would not know. Plus it has the walking dead... walking dead I tell you... Paladin
Zanan 07-12-05, 06:14 PM	Well, it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want NPC stuff and monsters, fighting techniques for undead and sample creatures, this is your book. You get updates of the Master of Shrouds, True Necromancer and others, amongst others Master Vampires and Half-Vampires plus a fair selection of spells your players don't want to come accross. For DMs who look for that sort of stuff, I'd rate it 8,5 out of 10.
Faraer 07-12-05, 06:29 PM	To switch this thread on topic: Predictable gratuitous rules content aside, what kind of synergy does Libris Mortis have with the Realms, by design or accident?
Link182 07-12-05, 06:36 PM	I liked it. Can definetly add alot of flavor and power to your undead
Raymond Steel 07-12-05, 06:43 PM	IMHO a must have to all Undead loving folk
GothicDan 07-12-05, 07:03 PM	I love Undead, and I really disliked this book. It was one of the reasons I decided to just stop buying 3E products due to my constant disappointment. I'll take the Complete Necromancer's Handbook any day, thanks. In that, they had an entire chapter dedicated to an actual campaign dealing with Necromancers, and they had actually inventive types of Necromancers like the Philosopher and the Anatomist. Libris Mortis is just, "I kill/raise/command Undead real good!" Not very creative, really.
Bullet-proof Monk 07-13-05, 12:32 AM	I'll take the Complete Necromancer's Handbook any day, thanks. In that, they had an entire chapter dedicated to an actual campaign dealing with Necromancers, and they had actually inventive types of Necromancers like the Philosopher and the Anatomist. Agreed. The Complete Necromancer's Handbook is an excellent book. Between the new kits, generic deities, new spells and excellent character cast and story ideas...its a great piece of 2e material. It would act as a great reference piece for you 3-3.5e DMs that enjoy undead and creative storylines & ideas.
RumRogerz 07-13-05, 02:25 AM	^ I never really played 2e before. I was a tragic late bloomer and started just as the 3e sprouted. THACO still confuses me ;) This Necromancer book you speak of DOES sound pretty hype though Ignorance IS bliss
Shemeska the Marauder 07-13-05, 02:32 AM	I liked it. Can definetly add alot of flavor and power to your undead The book is a barren wasteland, devoid of flavor compared to 'Draconomicon' and 'Lords of Madness'. It's the odd man out in that series of books, like their retarded, drooling brother who ate lead paint as an infant but tells everyone it meets, 'I'm speshul!!!'. The other two books in the series are chock full of flavor, and by comparison LM is a book of nothing but stat blocks and feats. And for this reason alone, the book is underwhelming: undead elementals. wince The king of that barren wasteland I mentioned before. Plus the fact that it all but took the negative quasielementals from earlier editions, renamed them, called them undead elementals, and presented them as somehow new and special and better. The book disappointed me sorely. I expected better. Thankfully Lords of Madness brought quality back to the series after that dreadful of a hit.
Demetrios 07-13-05, 06:46 AM	THACO still confuses me ;) THAC0 gave me headaches, and I played 2e for well over a decade! IMHO, the best thing about 3e was dropping that abomination and replacing it with the much simpler (yet exactly the same, mathematically!) attack bonus system.
Milo_Shishkabibble 07-13-05, 12:58 PM	To be honest, I liked it for evil characters more than I liked the BoVD. It's got some good prestige classes and the feats are wonderful!
Zanan 07-13-05, 01:35 PM	Thankfully Lords of Madness brought quality back to the series after that dreadful of a hit. Well, I never touched LoM and if the loth-faction around these parts of the boards like it, the choice must be right. :cool: As you can seee eca, the opinions vary greatly and it might be a good idea to have a look first. BTW, Draconomicon, while a gem to behold, have PrC who make those of other books pale by both power as well as lack of requirements.
Faraer 07-13-05, 02:14 PM	OK, what kind of synergy does Lords of Madness have with the Realms?
LichSathas 07-13-05, 04:59 PM	I'm an undead freak by far and actually enjoyed the book though I was hoping to see something like Lords of Maddness where they gave a general overview of most undead but then focused in on a primary type (Vamp, Lich, Mummy for example) each chapter. Even though that's not how it's set up I still think the book holds a lot of merit for spells, undead feats and PrC's as well as player PrC's. I guess if you're looking for lore and what not, just a cool read, any of the old Van Richtens guides (NOT the compendiums...you want the originals) will do just that. You can find most at a game shop for real cheap (the one I never bought, Vampires, I found at a store for $2.50 and in mint condition...go figure). Lich Sathas
GothicDan 07-13-05, 05:47 PM	And for you undead fans out there, also check out Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Guides, too. Combined with the Complete Book of Necromancers, it's all of the undead goodness you'll ever need. I weep at the memory of my eyes melting out of their sockets as I slowly paged through Libris Mortis. Particularly when I beheld about 3-4 pages of just sample skeleton stats, compared to the all of 2-3 paragraphs on the 'NPCs.'
BrianCritchley 07-13-05, 08:34 PM	the undead book seemed lacking the focus of the draconacon and lords of madness, this to my weay of thinking is because undead is such a broad catagory.. I think the writer just couldn't really figure out how to best approuch it.
Alac Luin 07-14-05, 12:09 AM	Dose Libris Mortis contain anything about the "undying" type?