Pages from the Lost Grimoire – Monstrous Variants / Stage Rite by Dan Coleman is a role playing game supplement published by Dan Coleman Productions for use with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is the ninth in a series of supplements that follow a standard format, with the first part being such as new rules, locations, people or items that are followed by a mini-adventure or short encounter featuring these.
The Pages from the Lost Grimoire series is funded through a Patreon campaign and this is available as a Pay What You Want supplement from RPGNow. This edition is comprised of an eleven page PDF, with one page being the front cover, one the front matter, one page a thanks to Patrons and two pages are the Open Game License. There are also three PNG images of the encounter area for the mini-adventure. Two of these are player maps, one with and one without a grid, and the third is the GM’s map.
The first three pages are Monstrous Variants. These are new variants for three existing monsters. The first is Chimera Variants, with ones for replacing each traditional component. The goat can be replaced with a boar, minotaur or rhinoceros, the dragon with a giant bat, giant cockatrice or wyvern and the lion with a giant crab, giant hyena or giant spider. Each replaced component – and potentially there could be multiple replacements – alters the chimera’s abilities, and the CR. The latter can go up and down.
Next are Golem Variants. Instead of using an earth elemental to power the golem, options of an aberrant spirit, fey spirit and monstrosity spirit are provided.
Finally, there are two Zombie Variants. The plagued dead may poison nearby creatures when it dies and the horrid host has a swarm of insects inside.
Stage Rite is the mini-adventure which is aimed at a party of 4th-5th level. There is a typical chart showing encounter difficulty based on party size and level. This encounter is a shrine in an arid location, one which is protected by a chimera variant. Once the chimera is defeated, there is a stone font that characters can use that has a potentially useful effect, or a potentially dangerous one should they fail to perform a rite.
Pages from the Lost Grimoire – Monstrous Variants / Stage Rite in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, although they aren’t necessary for one of this length, they would have been appreciated. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two column format and appeared to be free of errors. There is an illustration of a monster, which would appear to be the chimera encountered and which is therefore custom. There is also a reduced size copy of the GM’s map. Together with the PNG files, this makes presentation above average.
Having monsters which surprise players – as opposed to characters – is always useful, as players can, over time, become familiar with many existing creatures. A variant helps with this, as it’s a monster that players think they know but don’t, so adds an element of surprise. These new creatures are therefore welcome. The encounter isn’t bad either, showcasing a new variant and having an odd treasure for it to be guarding. Pages from the Lost Grimoire – Monstrous Variants / Stage Rite is a decent entry in the series and can be checked out by clicking here.
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