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As a DM, no matter what kind of fantasy campaign you?re running, chances are good that sooner or later your players are going to encounter a group of humanoids. It might be goblins, it might be orcs. If it happens to be bugbears, then Clockwork Golem Workshop?s new Masterworks Monsters: Bugbear Feats & Throwbacks can help you make that encounter a little more memorable.
I?ll admit that bugbears have never been high on my list of favorite foes. I?ve always been more of an orc and goblin man myself. However, after reading through MM:BF&T I found myself wanting to take these bear-like Goblinoids for a spin, just to see what they can do with the new toys detailed in this short PDF.
And I mean short. With a one page introduction, and a page of OGL, only seven pages of actual game material are contained in this tightly focused PDF. There is a distinct lack of artwork in this file as well. Aside from the CGW logo, the d20 logo, and a single line drawing of a mace/club, the PDF is all text. On one hand, this is good, as it means the bulk of this product is dedicated to new gaming data. However, I really would have liked to see at least one illustration of a bugbear in a product specifically about bugbears. An illustration of the new Bugbear Throwback class would also have been a welcome addition. And while the fact that there were no bookmarks in a file this small doesn?t bother me at all, I?m sure there are gamers out there who will be disappointed by their absence. And seeing as the file is quite small, it shouldn?t have been too difficult to include them.
After a short one page introduction where Ball spells out his concept of what bugbears are all about, we dive right into the crunchy bits. Twenty-five new feats are presented to help tweak bugbears into more flavorful and effective adversaries. Several of these feats, like Bear Paws and Ursine Grip focus on bugbears similarity to real bears, and enhance that similarity to great effect, giving bugbears powerful claw and crush attacks respectively. Even better is the fact that many of the rest of the feats described could be easily applied to any humanoid, or even PC?s.
One small detail here is that the feat Craft Savage Magic Item seems a little bit too strong. With no other requirement than a spellcaster level of 5+ someone with this feat gains all the benefits of the Craft Wondrous item feat, as well as the Craft Magical Arms & Armor feat! Granted, they are limited to only making certain types of items, weapons and armor, namely those most suited to a tribe of savage humanoids, but strictly speaking, this feat could quickly become superior to either Craft Wondrous Item, or Craft Magical Arms & Armor ? kind of a design ?DON?T? when designing new feats. DM?s should think long and hard before allowing this feat into their games, as it may have the potential to unbalance things. Additionally, I would have liked to see these feats properly split into categories. What feats are general feats? Which ones might be appropriate choices as fighter bonus feats? Which feats are strictly bugbear only?
The last new bit of crunch outlined in this file is a four level prestige class called the Bugbear Throwback. The Throwback is a bugbear that becomes more and more bear-like as he ages. In many ways, this class is similar to the racial paragon classes seen in Unearthed Arcana. In addition to being a great compliment to a bugbear barbarian, the throwback class offers a DM a way to really individualize a bugbear tribe. No matter how many bugbears your PC?s have encountered, they are sure to remember the tribe whose elders have all degenerated into powerful bear-like throwbacks! While it certainly isn?t a necessity, I would have liked to see this class applied to a fully-statted NPC. It?s always interesting to see just how the designer intended the class to be used. While I may feel that the throwback would work best with a barbarian build, maybe the designer really intended is to work with the bugbear?s favored class of rogue?
If you already have large numbers of bugbears in your campaign, then Masterwork Monsters: Bugbear Feats & Throwbacks will be money well spent. It might be a real help to a DM using any kind of savage humanoids, as many of the feats are general enough to be used with other races. If bugbears aren?t your cup of tea, then this product will see little to no use.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Loads of good crunch. Some very flavorful feats. The Racial Paragon class is a great touch.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I wanted to see more of how the author intended to use the product. Some NPC's using this new material would have been helpful.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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