Lords of Madness / Libris Mortis

[tedcahill2]

Do these two books contain enough good content to make good editions to my library?

In other words are they worth owning?

[Segev]

They're two of my personal favorites. LoM has fun mechanics and fluff, depending on what you want. Libris Mortis has a number of things (the classes are not amongst them) that are worth having, too, from Haunt rules to the Necrotic spells to some neat undead monsters.

[Venger]

they're wonderful. I highly recommend both of them. they have interesting prcs, cool monsters, and engaging fluff alongside a whole mess of new items.

[martixy]

Why would you not want to own the B̬͍̜̠̣̱͉͉͇̺͍̝͖̙̥͙͓͖̌̉ͯ̏ͫ̿͐̌̚o͙̱ͤ͂̅̒ͯ̅̋ͮ̎ͬ̿̓̊͑̇ͨ̈̔ͫ ̪̗̬̦̬̺͓̫̮͖̤͎̞ͅò̘̦̲̮̒ͬ̈́̎ͭ̇͋̓ͬͅk͚͕̋̽̀͐̋͆̅̅͒̊ͣͪͬ ̩ͅ ̗̥̟͉̩͎͓̱͎̥͇͙ͦͨ̓ͬ͆ͤ͋͊̓ͣ͑͗̏̇̓o̳͓̪̮̖̪̍ͬ̉̾̾͛ͩ̓̃̀̊́ͮͧͪͯ ̘͍̫͔f͓̜͖͇̮͛ͭͯ̐͋͛́ͬ̽̿̏͛̈́̃̾̋̽ ̠̥̲͉͇ͨ̎ͣ̄̔̀͊̇C͓͈̟̙̞͎͛ͫ̋͌̎̾͊̔ͪ̋̾͂͗͗̋̉̇̉͛h́̄̄͊͛̅́̇ͬ̑ ̙̳̤̰̫̠͔͖̻̩̦̪̗͇͌ͭ̋̉̒ͥ̔̊ͅt̲̱̻̦̱̺͓̥̖̰͇͗̒͋ͧͅu̙͗ͥ̇͊ͩͪͪͅ ̭͚̖̝̰͎̭̟͚̩̲̩͖̠ͅl̺͉̼͍͉̙̲̘̰̯͓̘̦͎̫̯̦̑ͩ̊̽h̠͇̣̯̻ͩ̒̃̄̽̎u ̗͖̞̣͉̠̙̗̳͔̰͙̰̰̺͖̣̲ͧ͛ͫ̊̃̈́̇ͅ?

It's bloody amazing!

[Rhyltran]

Do these two books contain enough good content to make good editions to my library?

In other words are they worth owning?

I definitely recommend those two. They're some of my favorite books :)

[Zanos]

Lords of Madness is particularly excellent, especially if you like reading about squick. Abberation life cycles are really interesting, and someone with a sick and delightful mind wrote them.

Libris Mortis has a lot of good content, and IMO contains a lot of really good rules for figuring out how the different types of undead 'work'. It's definitely nice to know how often all those purple people eaters need to feed.

[OldTrees1]

Lords of Madness, Libris Motris, & Heroes of Horror is my thematic trio of splat books.

[Rhyltran]

Lords of Madness, Libris Motris, & Heroes of Horror is my thematic trio of splat books.

Speaking of which I still don't have heroes of horror. I need to rectify that. Thanks for reminding me. :P

[JBPuffin]

Why would you not want to own the B̬͍̜̠̣̱͉͉͇̺͍̝͖̙̥͙͓͖̌̉ͯ̏ͫ̿͐̌̚o͙̱̪̗̬̦̬̺͓̫̮͖̤͎̞ͤ͂̅̒ͯ̅ ̋ͮ̎ͬ̿̓̊͑̇ͨ̈̔ͫͅò̘̦̲̮̒ͬ̈́̎ͭ̇͋̓ͬͅk͚͕̩̋̽̀͐̋͆̅̅͒̊ͣͪ ͬͅ ̗̥̟͉̩͎͓̱͎̥͇͙ͦͨ̓ͬ͆ͤ͋͊̓ͣ͑͗̏̇̓o̳͓̪̮̖̪̘͍̫͔̍ͬ̉̾̾͛ͩ̓̃̀̊́ ͮͧͪͯf͓̜͖͇̮͛ͭͯ̐͋͛́ͬ̽̿̏͛̈́̃̾̋̽ ̠̥̲͉͇ͨ̎ͣ̄̔̀͊̇C͓͈̟̙̞͎͛ͫ̋͌̎̾͊̔ͪ̋̾͂͗͗̋̉̇̉͛h̙̳̤̰̫̠͔͖̻̩ ̦̪̗͇́̄̄͊͛̅́̇ͬ̑͌ͭ̋̉̒ͥ̔̊ͅt̲̱̻̦̱̺͓̥̖̰͇͗̒͋ͧͅu̙̭͚̖̝̰͎̭̟ ͚̩̲̩͖̠͗ͥ̇͊ͩͪͪͅͅl̺͉̼͍͉̙̲̘̰̯͓̘̦͎̫̯̦̑ͩ̊̽h̠͇̣̯̻ͩ̒̃̄̽̎u ̗͖̞̣͉̠̙̗̳͔̰͙̰̰̺͖̣̲ͧ͛ͫ̊̃̈́̇ͅ?

It's bloody amazing!

Um...anyone seeing the other text? I'm concerned for my sanity.

But yeah, they're both interesting books. Maybe not things to go out of your way to get, but if there's a sailor or something, it might be worth a look.

[Troacctid]

They're both great for DMs. Not quite as great for players.

[Venger]

Um...anyone seeing the other text? I'm concerned for my sanity.

But yeah, they're both interesting books. Maybe not things to go out of your way to get, but if there's a sailor or something, it might be worth a look.

yeah it's in there.

that's a cool trick. how'd you do that?

[Mordaedil]

It's blocked at my work, but it's the Zalgo meme (https://eeemo.net/) and now I'm going to lie down because I feel old.

[Crake]

if I had to pick one, I would probably go for libris mortis. It has a nice selection of feats for both players and monsters, as well as a nice section on lore, physiology and mentality, along with a giant selection of new monsters.

[Professor Chimp]

I like both of them. They both offer a nice selection of new player options as well as a bunch of new fluff, monsters and other toys for GMs to play with.

That said, Libris Mortis and Lords of Madness are thematic books and they work best when used in a campaign that focuses on those themes:

i.e. the scourge of undeath and eldritch abominat̹͊ͨi̖̥̜͖on̦̗̒ͅs̖̯͎ͨ ̞͗ͪ͗̋͑ͣf̱̱͓͇͈̄͆͊ͪṙ̫̦̂̃ôͬ̒̒m͖̆ͯ̆ ͙̱̰̿̿̎͊̅t̳̻̦̥͔͗̾̎̍̋̚h͎̳̥̬͓͚͖̍͒ͪ̾e̱͍̩̬̱ ͈̘ͫͤ̊ͩt̰̼͛̄̾̒ͥͅe̻̪̞͍̼͐é͖̱͚̖ͨm̪͖̮̺̦ͬͅi͎̞̱̠̫̰ñ͆̌̅g ͕̲̖̙̖̍ ̻̬̙̜ͯ̾̽c̗̫̬̜̮͂ͤ̉ḥ̙̟̪̭̤̼̃a̝͈̞͎͉͙͒̇ͮ̉͊ö͚̜̌͋̍ͩ̚s̈́̂̾ ̫̜̭̠͊ t̙̋̑ͅH͕̹̼̻͉͙̼ͤ̓̇̀̕̕a̢̘̼̘̔ͭț̮̹ͧ̔̅͛̎͐͗͗͘͡ ̢̰͖̪̩̯͎̞͎̲͊̅G̨̪̤͖͂́̏̀ͨ̈́͟i̵͇̝͒͌̀B̉̐͏̘̠̪͔̗̱̮͘b̨͖̻͐̑͡ ȇ̷̺͈ͯ͋̍r̩̲̜̰ͯ͐̂̇ͦͯ̏̃S̼̤̣̓̍ ̴̭͚̩̱̪͉̱͙̎̆̀a̧̟̙͙̠̾͗̽̓́t̴̤͙ͨͪ͐̂͗͑́͡ͅ ̰͕͍̠̮̥͖̀ͪ̏̀t̡̫̭̞̞ͥ̉̒͒ͭh̪͎́̓̇̂̄̉ę͉̪̻̻̈̐̔ͪ̈́̃̃͘͢ ͖ ͕̬ͮ͟N͛͂́͡҉͓̻̺̞̮̳̮̼E̪͇͙̦̖̜ͪ͋ͪ̑̂̆̆ͪX̶̀̐̏ͧ҉̨̲̠̣̼̘̼uͫ͋ ͂̃͋̂ͧ̓́́͏̝͔̙s̈̃̿̓̚҉̢̗͈̰̣͉̠͎̰͘ ̩ͣ̀̆ͣ̓̊͡͞o͇̦̭̳̳̟͎͐̀͘f̡̛̲͈̮̰̮̣̪͔ͯͪ̃̅͛̂̌ͤ ̉ͬ͗̋҉̯̟̘e͙̱͚ͧ́͝x̦̬̮͙͑͋̍͗̀I̷̛͍͔̳̙̻̿ͯ̅ͥ̅͗̔͒ͅs͗̆̉ͨ̅ͯ̆ ͑ͩ͏̼̻̦ţ̝̠ͧ̂ͯͧ̽̚ę̶̹̙͖̰̼̤̃̚n̨̛ͤ̈ͯ҉̪͚͔͈̘̰C͖͓̫̪͗̏̋͋͟ ̺̰̥̰ȅ̴̥̗̙̱!̮͍̖͈̫̋̚, respectively.

So the question is whether or not you or your GM plan to include a lot Undead and/or Aberrations in your campaigns. If yes, buy one or both and go wild. If no, then they're still a nice addition to your book collections, but to a lesser degree.

[Venger]

It's blocked at my work, but it's the Zalgo meme (https://eeemo.net/) and now I'm going to lie down because I feel old.

wow, cool. thanks a lot

[martixy]

wow, cool. thanks a lot

H͚̬͖̖̯̤̞̩͊́̂̀̓̽̆͠é̪̘̞̬̳͙͚̠̗̞͕͕̩̿͌̂́͗̐̈̄̇̓̾͝ ̨͖̯̝̺̖̲̳̦̞̝̗̯̟͗͆̇̇̃́̂͋̿̀̑͝͝c̛̟͓͈̯̮͙̄̎͌̊̉̇͒̓̑͊̏̕͠͝͝ ̡̘̘̼̭͕͖̙̮̲O̡̻̝̬̮̣̘̻͙͔̮̮̼̣̻̘͋̅͑̐̀̉̂̔́̏̔̌̂̊̊̈̈́͗͑̍̕͘̚ ̨̟̜̭̲̘̫̘m̳͍̞̔͑̆̌͆͊̂̿̋̿̾̔̃͑̓̈́̅̔̐̈́̃͂̍͒͒͛̂̈́́̌͊͆̌̔̂̽̃͝ ̢̦̞̪̬̻͉̩͙͓̣͎̙̟̹̲͖͈͕̟̪͍̳è̛͋̾͋̆̇͊̄̌̓́̃̔̈́͋̅̌̆̆̂̄̏̾́͝ ̱̬͉̤̖̟̤̟̟̫̩̣͍̘͓͎̙̖̱͚̳̬͓̯̪͖͔͉͊̽̈̋̏͆̏̈́̃̇̒̽̍̔͗̈́̔͆̚͘͝ͅ ̤̙͎̰̥Ş̡̛͕͓̠̪̖͕̞̰̳̖̭̄̍̈̋̇̀͗̄͊̄̔̉͒̔͋̐͋̃̎̊̋̒͒̾̊̚̕̚͝͠ ̨̧̡̧̢͈͔̯̩̯̦̱̟͔̥͓̖̻̠̩̬͚̲̯̥̺̟̼̟͓̼̟̞̱̤̭̳̬̠̣̣̲̖͚̪͖̹̮͙͜ ̘̦ (https://i.imgur.com/ReOw8.jpg)

:D

[Keith34]

z̷͍̦͖͎͇̺̗̅̈̾͊́̂̔̋̿̎̃̂͝͠͠a̵͓̣̩̥̬̭̙̤̓̅͒͗͋̿̅̚l̸̀͛͑́̆͝ ̧̧̨̗̦̱̯̖̪̦̬̾̑̓̈͌̎̔g̸̨̡͙̩̭̫̰̝̱̈́͌̎͋̉̅̚͠o̶̦͓̥̖͍͌͐ ͕̬̹

[Phhase]

Those books are some of my favorites, having discovered them in a bookshelf of eldritch lore.

[magic9mushroom]

Do these two books contain enough good content to make good editions to my library?

In other words are they worth owning?

{scrubbed}

Libris Mortis devotes a large amount of its text to stuff that isn't really useful, like sample undead (which aren't any new crunch - anyone could write them up based solely on the Monster Manual) and monster classes (which are useless to players because all the LAs are way too high and putting in a more sensible LA requires you to redo the monster class from scratch). Most of the new monsters feel a bit boring to me, because there's only really so many variations on the themes of undeath and as such a lot of them either don't feel very undead or muscle in on an existing monster's concept space. Does have a few spells that needed to exist, like Sheltered Vitality, although those mostly got reprinted in Spell Compendium. Does also have the basic rules for playing as an undead i.e. dietary requirements.

Lords of Madness has a lot of fluff, so if you like aberration fluff you'll like it and if you're just looking for a tentacle monster you might feel cheated (it's crunchier than, say, Drow of the Underdark, but a good half of the book is fluff whereas Libris Mortis is more like 90 crunch or pseudo-crunch:10 fluff). It's a must-read if you're planning a campaign built around illithids, or to a lesser extent aboleths, and it's where you'll find the stats and writeup for neogi (Spelljammer arachnid Ferengi) and tsochar (modular worms that take over people's bodies and are also religious). There are also a few beholder variants (most pretty uninspired, although the Overseer's interesting, and a good aberration race called the Silthilar that practice safe, sane and consensual grafting.

As you may have guessed, I like LoM a lot more than LM, but I've tried to be fair and balanced about their ups and downs.

[tiercel]

They're both great for DMs. Not quite as great for players.

Depends on the character, given that one book could be (from a PC perspective) named Lords of Mindsight, or possibly just Summon Banhammer ;) The other book could be named Libris Fell Drain, or possibly Dread Necromancer Says Yes Please.

... tongue-in-cheek aside, the point is well made that the DM gains a lot more fluff and crunch with which to torture challenge PCs than the few specific potent tricks certain PCs might be able to advantage of, certainly.

Plus aberrations are just très creepy and LoM lets you dial that right up to make them more central to a campaign, not just a creepy random dungeon encounter. (Sure, boosting undead ain’t shabby from a DM perspective either, but IMO undead are otherwise already better supported in general.)

[jdizzlean]

The Mod Life Crisis: Thread Necromancy doesn't appear in LM/LoM :(