''Savage Species'' is a
sourcebook
A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic presented.
Academic use
In American universities, a sourcebook, either a standard one or a custom collection, may function as a supplem ...
for use as a supplement in the
3rd edition of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons'' game, detailing the use of monstrous races as
PC races.
Contents
''Savage Species'' introduces
classes and outlines rules for playing monstrous races as
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s, and introduces taking racial levels in the player character's race instead of in a given class.
Publication history
''Savage Species'' was written by
David Eckelberry,
Rich Redman, and
Jennifer Clarke Wilkes
Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to:
People
*Jennifer (given name)
* Jenifer (singer), French pop singer
* Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer
* Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
* Daniel Jenifer
Film and tele ...
, and was published in 2003. Cover art was by
Jeff Easley
Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art.
Early life
Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time drawing as ...
, with interior art by
Dennis Cramer
Justine Mara Andersen (born Dennis Cramer) is an American artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and comic books.
Works
Justine Mara Andersen, has produced interior illustrations for many ''Dungeons & Dragons'' books and ''Dragon'' m ...
,
Brian Despain,
Emily Fiegenschuh
Emily Fiegenschuh is an artist and children's book illustrator whose work has also appeared in role-playing games.
Early life and education
Emily Fiegenschuh attended art school at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, and ...
,
Jeremy Jarvis,
John and Laura Lakey,
Alan Pollack
Alan Pollack (born 1964 in New Jersey) is an American artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games.
Works
Alan Pollack produced interior illustrations for many ''Dungeons & Dragons'' books and ''Dragon'' magazine since 1994, and did th ...
,
Vinod Rams,
Wayne Reynolds
Wayne Reynolds is a British artist whose work has appeared in comics and role-playing games.
Early life and education
Wayne Reynolds was born in Leeds, UK. He attended art college in Dewsbury and Middlesbrough.
Games
Wayne Reynolds has continu ...
,
David Roach,
Scott Roller,
Mark Sasso,
Arnie Swekel and
Sam Wood
Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...
.
Wilkes proposed the project in 2000, "after a closing seminar at Gen Con in which a number of players suggested a supplement book about playing monsters as characters".
The project was approved in early 2001 and the designers started writing in the fall of 2001. ''Savage Species'' began as a guide to playing monsters as PCs but, during the design process, became a book to assist
Dungeon Masters in creating monster
non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
s as well.
Reception
The reviewer from ''
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...
'' commented: "''Savage Species'' opens up new avenues of play by allowing nearly any creature in the ''MM'' to be used as a player character race. The heart of the system presented in the book is rules to determine the effective character level any given monster." The reviewer add that the system is "simple and straightforward, and the rules include several examples".
Shannon Appelcline identified ''Savage Species'' as one of "lots of one-off books" to support the 3.0 edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', contrasting them with 3.5 in which "Wizards carefully aligned its books into well-recognised and salable series".
References
Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2003
{{D&D-stub