Editing Monstrous Compendium (section)

==Reception==
[[Steve Wieck|Stephan Wieck]] reviewed ''Monster Compendium Volume One'' in ''[[White Wolf (magazine)|White Wolf]]'' #17 (1989) and stated that "Of the three new 2nd Edition books, the monster compendium is the one that I feel improves the most over its predecessor."<ref name="WW17">{{Cite magazine |last=Wieck|first=Stephan |authorlink=Steve Wieck |date=1989 |title= Overview: AD&D 2nd Edition Rules |magazine= [[White Wolf Magazine]] |number=17 |page= 17 |url=https://imgur.com/a/HTFPJ1o}}</ref>

Berin Kinsman reviewed ''Terrors of the Desert'' in the Mar–Apr 1993 issue of [[White Wolf (magazine)|''White Wolf'']].<ref name=Kinsman>{{cite magazine |last= Kinsman|first= Berin|date= 1993|title= Capsule Reviews: Terrors of the Desert|magazine=White Wolf|issue= 35|page= 64|url=https://imgur.com/a/ZO7xBER}}</ref> This 96-page manual was written by Tom Prusa, Louis J. Prosperi, Walter M. Bass, and Kira Glass and is "the first ''Monstrous Compendium'' appendix to deal with the AD&D Dark Sun setting".<ref name=Kinsman/> Kinsman stated that it was "an invaluable tool for Dungeon Masters running a game in this setting, and DMs who have included psionics in non-DARK SUN campaigns should look here for interesting challenges".<ref name=Kinsman/> He rated it overall at a 3 out of 5 possible points.<ref name=Kinsman/>

[[Rick Swan]] reviewed ''Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Children of the Night'' for ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine #206 (June 1994).<ref name="Dragon #206">{{cite journal| last = Swan| first = Rick| author-link = Rick Swan| title = Role-playing Reviews| journal = [[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]| issue = #206| pages = 85–86| publisher = [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]]| location = [[Lake Geneva, Wisconsin]]|date=June 1994}}</ref> He commented on the proliferation of monster books from TSR and other publishers: "Role-players seem to have an insatiable appetite for monsters. The sound you hear is that of publishers scraping the bottom of the barrel for new ones."<ref name="Dragon #206"/> Swan noted that ''Children of the Night'', by [[William W. Connors]], adds living brains, bardic liches, and half-golems to the Ravenloft roster. Reviewing this with two other monster books from two other publishers, he quipped: "They're all interesting, but I bet if I read you the descriptions, you'd be hard-pressed to tell which monsters belonged to which system.<ref name="Dragon #206"/>

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall.<ref name="Arcane2">{{cite journal|last= Webb|first=Trenton|date=January 1996|title=Games Reviews|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=2|pages=71}}</ref> He commented that the book "has a great cover and it's a top read too" and that the artwork "isn't exactly exactly inspired but it does sport a coherence and consistency rarely seen in roleplaying books. There are no 'well it's a man's head on a chicken's body' Crimewatch photofit embarrassments'" found in many other monster books.<ref name="Arcane2"/> Webb noted that the text "goes out of its way to encourage adventurers to use this book as a foundation rather than a work of reference" and that most of the descriptions feature quotes to add flavor, "which normally involve the quotee being horribly killed".<ref name="Arcane2"/> He felt that the blend and balance of the roughly 100 creatures in the book was good, "with a lively mix of the lawful and chaotic, the mighty and meek" but noted that the book "does err slightly in favour of the more fearsome, more powerful creatures".<ref name="Arcane2"/>

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Monstrous Compendium Annual Two'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall.<ref name="Arcane5">{{cite journal|last=Webb|first=Trenton|date=April 1996|title=Games Reviews|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=5|pages=74}}</ref> He comments: "Serious work goes into bringing the beasties to life, but the crippling list format means they limp rather than leap (or crawl, or slither, or fly for that matter) from the page. A fault this work compounds by further tweaking the experience points system. A factor that's made all the more frustrating when it becomes apparent that the ''Monstrous Annual 2'' dangles some delightful creatures before the referee's eyes."<ref name="Arcane5"/> Ramshaw appreciated one creature entry above all the others, naming the "star, without a shadow of a doubt" as the shambling [[umpleby]]: "Even without the Umpleby the ''Monstrous Annual 2'' would be a necessary resource for all mainstream refs. With the shaggy-haired one, though, it rapidly approaches the essential."<ref name="Arcane5"/>

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall.<ref name="Arcane8">{{cite journal|last=Webb|first=Trenton|date=July 1996|title=Games Reviews|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=8|pages=74–75}}</ref> He noted that this product was a re-release of the first two ''Monstrous Compendium'' appendices for Ravenloft, in a single bound volume, and that ''Appendix I'' details "the variants, updates and unique monsters which lurk in the Demiplane's mists" while ''Appendix II'' "takes these new creatures and fleshes them out into full NPCs, expanding the descriptions in ''Appendix I''".<ref name="Arcane8"/> He commented that as a reference book, "''Appendix I'' does its job well enough. The true worth of the work, though, undoubtedly comes from the quality of ''Appendix II'''s creations" which "offer referees a varied and rich source of legends to drop into their tavern conversations or to add colour to campaigns". Webb concluded his review by saying: "All ''Appendices I & II'' offer DMs who own the old loose leaf versions are a few new piccies and the tidy new bound form, which is all well and good but hardly enough to justify [the price]. But for ''Ravenloft'' DMs who've been struggling on without the compendiums, this re-issue is an essential purchase which offers both core reference material and an inspirational glimpse of the Demiplane's dark heart."<ref name="Arcane8"/>

David Comford reviewed ''Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 4 out of 10 overall.<ref name="Arcane15">{{cite journal|last= Comford|first=David|date= January 1997 |title=Games Reviews|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=15|pages=77}}</ref> He commented that "The strength of the annual is that the contents are drawn from a variety of ''AD&D'' settings. Creatures from the TSR magazines, ''Forgotten Realms'', ''Birthright'', ''Ravenloft'', ''Dark Sun'', ''Al-Quadim'' and ''Greyhawk'' can be found giving referees access to monsters with abilities that otherwise might not have been thought of."<ref name="Arcane15"/> However, he questioned, "Are a few interesting ideas and cross-over scenarios worth over a tenner, though? Well, TSR has released such a stupefying amount of products to date that every referee should have a decent supply of challenging monsters available for them to use. If you don't, then have a flick through this for a few new ideas, but think twice before you buy it."<ref name="Arcane15"/> Comford concluded his review by saying, "Volume three is a mixed bunch. Bar a few good entries it falls into a compilation of variations on a theme which, with a little time and imagination, most referees could come up with."<ref name="Arcane15"/>

Alex Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN, highlighted the ''Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium MC7'' on a list of 2nd Edition products he would want rereleased on [[OneBookShelf#DNDClassics|DNDClassics]]. He commented that "I think the best ''Spelljammer'' piece to first put on DNDclassics.com would be with its first ''Monstrous Compendium''. By taking a look at the wide range of creatures available to the setting, DMs would know if there was anything there to inspire them. [...] There are so many cool monsters in this book. [...] What veteran AD&D 2e gamer hasn’t at least heard of the most infamous race of creatures TSR ever put out? [...] I know, as teens, we all laughed at the concept of a tyrannohamsterus rex – until we had to fight one".<ref name=":0" />

<!--  Reviews that need to be incorporated:
*''Backstab'' #6 (Planescape Monstrous Compendium)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Collin |first=Olivier |date=November–December 1997 |title=La Bestiaire Monstrueux Planescape |url=https://archive.org/details/backstab-magazine-french-06/page/n35/mode/2up |language=French |journal=Backstab |volume=6 |pages=36, 40 |access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref>
*''Backstab'' #9 (Planescape Monstrous Compendium III)<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kaneda |date=May–June 1998 |title=Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix III |url=https://archive.org/details/backstab-magazine-french-09/page/n31/mode/2up |language=French |journal=Backstab |volume=9 |page=32 |access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref>
*''Backstab'' #14 (Annual Volume Four)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tessier |first=Philippe |date=March–April 1999 |title=Monstrous compendium annual Volume four |url=https://archive.org/details/backstab-magazine-french-14/page/n51/mode/2up |language=French |journal=Backstab |volume=14 |page=52 |access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref>
*''[[Australian Realms]]'' #19 (Planescape Appendix)<ref>https://archive.org/details/australian-realms-magazine/Australian%20Realms%20%2319%20SeptemberOctober%201994/page/4/mode/2up {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>
*''[[Australian Realms]]'' #22 (MC Annual One)<ref>https://archive.org/details/australian-realms-magazine/Australian%20Realms%20%2322%20MarchApril%201995/page/4/mode/2up {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>
-->== See also ==
* [[List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters|List of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters]]
* ''[[Monster Manual]]''