Lords of Madness – The Book of Aberrations

First off, great title… Nothing subtle about it… LORDS OF MADNESS…Sweet!

The book actually covers more than the dreaded Mind Flayer. As the title suggests, Lords of Madness covers all the strange monsters that live within the Dungeons and Dragons universe. Any creature that doesn’t quite fit into the standard archetypical monster can be found within this book, with a chapter being dedicated to each one. Chapter 1 presents the reader with a basic introduction as to what an Aberration is within the D&D world. As expected, the chapter is fairly short as it is simpler to describe what an Aberration isn’t in stead of what an Aberration is and gets the reader prepared for the creatures being presented in the following chapters.

Chapter 2, titled The Deep Masters gives insight into the sea dwelling monster: The Aboleth. Oldest of all the D&D races, the Aboleth is presented as a race that has existed before the gods and will continue to exist long after the divine spark has gone out. It doesn’t matter how many gaming sessions the players “win†against the terrible Aboleth. That was simply part of the grand plan; the Aboleth knew and allowed the players to win, in the end it doesn't matter. The PCs will lose, as will all humanity.

Chapter 3: The Eye Tyrants reveals the society of the vile Beholder. A stable of fantasy role playing games, chapter 3 presents the Beholder as a living virus that simply exists to cause death and destruction and only it’s own arrogance prevents them from literally disintegrating the world.

Chapter 4 exposes this DM’s favorite monster, the dread Illithid. As expected, the Mind Flayer is presented as a coldly logical race bent on changing the world to fit their unearthly desires. Their history is revealed in an interesting and completely surprising manner. Strange as this may seem, I don’t wish to reveal that history here, it is really something that should be read (or discovered) by other gamers. Feel free to drop me a line if you simply MUST know.

Chapter 5 breathes fresh life into the big baddies of the now defunct Spelljammer setting: the Neogi. A race of spider-like slave merchants, the Neogi travel in massive spider shaped crafts, flying from one place to another stopping only long enough to trade and steal whatever they please. I will admit that I had little exposure with the Spelljammer setting, but I can see how a creative DM could use these monsters to create…ethical problems for their players. Would you be willing to deal with the devil to save the world? Any time you work with the Neogi, you are doing just that.

Chapter 6 presents the reader with the ravenous Grell. In my opinion, this is the weakest entry in the book. There is little to the Grell other then the need to feed and destroy. While I understand the basic fun in creating D&D monsters such as this, I saw them as rather redundant when compared to the rampant destruction of the Beholder. That’s not to say the chapter was not well written, which is very much was. But, out of all the chapters within the book, this was the only one I found myself skimming over.

Chapter 7 allows the DM to create their own version of John Carpenter’s The Thing or Robert A Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters. The Tsochar are a disturbing worm-like monster that work their way into civilized kingdoms one nervous system at a time! The DM that wants to create paranoia within the party need look no further then chapter 7.

Chapter 8 gives the reader the expected new listing of monsters to throw at the players. Very few of them could be the basis for an ongoing campaign, which makes sense since if they were, they would have a chapter dedicated to them. Most of the creatures presented in chapter 8 serve one or more of the races presented in the previous chapters. Unlike most monsters found in a D&D book, the bulk of the ones presented in chapter 8 are not good for your random run of the mill wandering monster. Used correctly, the monsters in chapter 8 will help any DM create a more real and utterly terrifying world for the players to interact within.

Finally, as has become standard in so many of the new D&D books, chapter 9 deals with heroes that live to challenge the horrors of the various Aberrations. I found all of the Prestige Classes presented with this chapter to be balanced and very interesting. While not unexpected, most of the classes in the chapter have little value outside of a non Aberration centric campaign although the authors do provide rules for altering the classes in non Aberration games; however, the very nature of an Aberration makes that point moot. Anytime you decide to use Aberrations they become a focal point of the game. Many of the new Feats are also in line with the theme of the book, as most of the Feats a PC can learn come at the price of their sanity or acceptance within normal society. As with the Prestige Classes, the new spells presented in chapter 9 only make sense in a game where Aberrations have been encountered and have significant influence on the game.

Much of this book focuses on the maddening effect that Aberrations have on the natural world. It is clear the authors were heavily influenced by the writing of HP Lovecraft and his horrific mythos; (with a respectful nod given to said mythos and a quick paragraph in which “Lovecraftian gods†can be used in the game). Unlike the classic RPG, The Call of Cthulhu, Dungeons and Dragons has no hard and fast rule regarding madness. Much of that it left to the DM and the individual players. Madness and sanity are simply one of those concepts that must played out by a mature gaming group. (I know that sounds like an oxymoron to you non-gamers, but its true…Besides, how many non-gamers are still reading this review)? Speaking of maturity, Lords of Madness is one of the few gaming books that should only be read by older more experienced gamers. Not because there is anything “bad†within the pages or that it covers a topic that parents may find offensive, but because to properly use the concepts and creatures presented in the book requires a significant amount of experience. The book is not “stat heavyâ€. Very few of the monsters and campaign ideas presented in the book come “ready madeâ€. The authors have wisely chosen to present the reader with very broad and perfectly moldable concepts. Lords of Madness takes some work on the reader’s part. This is not a book that can be used the day it is bought. I for one am glad to see that. While the Undead are the stuff of nightmares, an Aberration is the nightmare given thought and form and they should be treated accordingly.

It’s been a good long time since I found myself reading a game book cover to cover, most of the time I flip through them, only grabbing an idea, monster, or variant rule to use that coming weekend. This was not the case with Lords of Madness. The book was well written and made for an enjoyable read as well as being ripe with usable gaming material. Although the book is built around the D&D 3.5 rules, it is meaty enough in its concepts that it could be adapted to any game system. Pick up a copy; I think you’ll enjoy it.