The ''Complete Book of Humanoids'' is a sourcebook for the second edition of the ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

role-playing game.

The book's primary goal was to provide guidelines for several races to be used as player characters which were normally considered only "monsters". The races dealt with in this book include:

aarakocra This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, ...

, alaghi, beastman, bugbear, bullywug, centaur, fremlin, giant-kin (firbolg), giant-kin (voadkyn), gnoll, gnoll (flind),

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nig ...

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including "goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in Ge ...

, lizard man, minotaur,

mongrelman This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, ...

ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

, half-ogre, orc, half-orc,

pixie A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas ar ...

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...

, saurial,

swanmay This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, ''Ad ...

, and

wemic This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, ...

Publication history

''The Complete Book of Humanoids'' was written by

Bill Slavicsek Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast. He previously worked for West End Games and TSR, Inc., and designed products for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', '' Star Wars'', ...

for TSR. Published in 1993, the editing was by

Jon Pickens Jon Pickens is an American game designer and editor who has worked on numerous products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game from TSR and later Wizards of the Coast. Early life and education Jon Pickens was born in Mishawak ...

, black and white art by

Doug Chaffee Douglas Stewart Chaffee (January 24, 1936 – April 26, 2011) was an American artist whose work appeared in role-playing games as well as military and Christian publications. Early life and education Chaffee was the son of Ralph and Marjorie Ch ...

, and color art by Chaffee,

Sam Rakeland Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

Thomas Baxa Thomas M. Baxa is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Biography Tom Baxa grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He enrolled at Northern Illinois University, where he studied under comic and fantasy artist Mark Nelson. Works To ...

, and

Clyde Caldwell Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the arti ...

Reception

Mike Lampman reviewed ''The Complete Book of Humanoids'' in ''

Shadis ''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games. Publication history Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepe ...

'' #9 and said that "overall, the Humanoid handbook is a good investment if you're an AD&D player, or GM, looking to spice up your campaign by playing something a little out of the ordinary. It's well written, and edited, as most of the TSR products are, and is laid out nicely."

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pr ...

reviewed ''The Complete Book of Humanoids'' for '' Dragon'' magazine #205 (May 1994). Swan considered the book a "major shake-up in the ''AD&D'' rules," as the ''

Player's Handbook The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of ru ...

'' only allowed players to choose from six player character races, while this book expands the number of race options by 20. He notes that the book imposes restrictions to maintain game balance: "PCs can't be

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by supe ...

, nor can they be monsters taller than 12 feet. Centaur wizards can't go beyond 12th level;

goblins A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

can't be wizards at all." Swan also notes the difficulties involved in playing non-standard races, citing having a member of a typically evil race functioning in a

lawful good In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of player characters, non-player characters, and creatures. Most versions of the game feature a system in which ...

society, or how very tall characters might navigate areas with low ceilings. However, he felt that adventurous players would appreciate the book, and closed the review by saying, "Who could pass up the chance to play a

?" Trenton Webb of the British RPG magazine ''Arcane'' asserts that the shaman class from this book consists of "pilfered priests spells and mumbo jumbo". An article by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

in ''Dragon'' #250 (August 1998) presented rules for playing various aquatic races, including crabmen, koalinth, locathah, malenti,

merfolk Merfolk or merpeople are legendary water-dwelling human-like beings. They are attested in folklore and mythology throughout the ages in various parts of the world. Female merfolk may be referred to as mermaids, although in a strict sense mermaid ...

, pahari,

selkies In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled ', ', ') or selkie folk ( sco, selkie fowk) meaning 'seal folk' are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. They are foun ...

, and vodyanoi in the same format used in ''The Complete Book of Humanoids''. Wyatt, James. "Heroes of the Sea", ''Dragon'' #250, page 26-35 (TSR, 1998). Wyatt acknowledged that "''The Complete Book of Humanoids'' broke a long-standing barrier in the AD&D game by allowing players to make characters of nearly any humanoid race," and noted that the book carefully balanced such advantages such as great physical strength against substantial disadvantages, mostly in the form of prejudice and superstition from the more common races. Player characters based on the creatures presented in this article would face the same sort of prejudices, as well as special physical limitations when trying to interact with surface dwellers.

Contents

Publication history

Reception

References

Further reading