Bestiary 4e

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Langy

(having several different types of canines, for example, could be very useful).

C. lupus, C. latrans, and then what? There aren't several different extant species of Canis to begin with.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

C. lupus, C. latrans, and then what? There aren't several different extant species of Canis to begin with.

There aren't different species, but there's a hell of a lot more variety than that, and in this case it can really matter. A Pomeranian should not utilize the same statblock as a German Shepherd.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Langy

There aren't different species, but there's a hell of a lot more variety than that, and in this case it can really matter. A Pomeranian should not utilize the same statblock as a German Shepherd.

Pomeranian's generally aren't wild on the Grasslands. How many different Grassland critters are going to matter? How is that any different from caves?

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

C. lupus, C. latrans, and then what? There aren't several different extant species of Canis to begin with.

Lycaon pictus (African wild dog)
Cuon alpinus (Asiatic wild dog)
Chrysocyon brachyurus (Maned wolf)

And so on and so forth. Canis isn't the only kind of canine.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Canis isn't the only kind of canine.

Are you sure? I'm pretty sure "-ine" is generic and "-id" is familial.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Pomeranian's generally aren't wild on the Grasslands. How many different Grassland critters are going to matter? How is that any different from caves?

Because there are a lot more grassland critters than cave critters. For example: lions, elephants, gazelle, zebras, horses, giraffes, hippos, buffalo, bison, rabbits, prairie dogs, etc., etc., etc. You could go on damned-near forever.

Underground has: Bats. Moles. Mole rats. Some insects. And that's about it.

In any case, I wasn't talking about grasslands when I mentioned canines, and I'm a fan of putting multiple biomes into the same book.

[Faolyn]

Originally Posted by Langy

Underground has: Bats. Moles. Mole rats. Some insects. And that's about it.

Giant dire olms?

[Humabout]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

DF 8 (for example) doesn't repeat the text for items from other sources. It just says "Helmet Lamp, DF1 p xx" Or whatever. Why can't GURPS Bestiary 3: Grasslands just say Wolf, Bestiary 1 p. xx?

As a consumer, if I purchased a book of arctic animals and it actually had the balls to list "Wolf, see Plains, p. X" I'd be ticked off enough to not buy any more. If I purchase a book on a biome, I expect a complete book. DF 8 is a book of treasure tables, and it is true to that. A bestiary is intended to have stats on animals, so if it lacks stats on animals, it's just lying about what it is.

That aside, I would totally go for books that cover all aspects of a biome, including animal stats.

Perhaps a mixed approach would work best. Start with a basic bestiary that has a bunch of common templates, like Wolf, Elephant, Ape, Snake, etc. Animals that are in common demand. Then follow up with biome-books that can reference that one for lenses or adding templates. Frex, "Leopard" might be in the main book, Jumgles has a Jaguar lens, Swamplands have a Panther lens, Plains references Leopard directly, and Mountains has a Puma lens. That way it's the best of both worlds with minimal buyign of extra books based on random release dates.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Humabout

Perhaps a mixed approach would work best. Start with a basic bestiary that has a bunch of common templates, like Wolf, Elephant, Ape, Snake, etc. Animals that are in common demand. Then follow up with biome-books that can reference that one for lenses or adding templates. Frex, "Leopard" might be in the main book, Jumgles has a Jaguar lens, Swamplands have a Panther lens, Plains references Leopard directly, and Mountains has a Puma lens. That way it's the best of both worlds with minimal buyign of extra books based on random release dates.

That's the third time such an idea has been suggested in this thread.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Humabout

As a consumer, if I purchased a book of arctic animals and it actually had the balls to list "Wolf, see Plains, p. X" I'd be ticked off enough to not buy any more. If I purchase a book on a biome, I expect a complete book. DF 8 is a book of treasure tables, and it is true to that. A bestiary is intended to have stats on animals, so if it lacks stats on animals, it's just lying about what it is.

That aside, I would totally go for books that cover all aspects of a biome, including animal stats.

Perhaps a mixed approach would work best. Start with a basic bestiary that has a bunch of common templates, like Wolf, Elephant, Ape, Snake, etc. Animals that are in common demand. Then follow up with biome-books that can reference that one for lenses or adding templates. Frex, "Leopard" might be in the main book, Jumgles has a Jaguar lens, Swamplands have a Panther lens, Plains references Leopard directly, and Mountains has a Puma lens. That way it's the best of both worlds with minimal buyign of extra books based on random release dates.

I like it!