R. Talsorian Games The Witcher: A Witcher’s Journal Games for Adults and Kids – Tabletop RPG Witcher RPG (RTGWI11021)

Amazing indeed, great book to direct Witcher TTRPG sessions. It’s a must to have!

While I was hoping for a striga stat block that didn't come, I was absolutely blown away by the investigation ruleset in the back of the book, enough to boost my review. Including examples, there are 9 pages of rules, and 7 without examples. Definitely a must have for the entire system.

It's lite in content for me. You might feel otherwise. And I hope you do. That said "It's The Beastiary!" for the game. Now I would have liked for it to be in the core book. But the company needs a line of books to help promote the game. And it would have made the core book close to 400 pages. Books that thick get pricey really quick. So I let that go. But if you need monsters for the game. And want some history and little dishes that spice up the game. Well you can buy it or spend hours writing up your own scaled beasties. This is just faster. And if you like the game, please support the company with your money. Because that's what they need to keep making the games that we all enjoy. It's a purchase that will last for years of entertainment. And that's hard to find in our digital age. And remember to toss some coin to those players that have a bad reputation in your game. No not the mages. Those guys Seam to have it all. You'll figure it out. Game on dice trooper, game on.

I expected this addition to the Witcher TTRPG to be something like a bestiary, and for the most part I was right. It has wonderful 'journal entries' of the world from a Witcher's point of view, as well as a history of the Witchers themselves. It has beautiful artwork and even some bounties that you can give to players. The downside is that it only has a handful of the monsters of the world; it does highlight some of the more recognizable ones like the Leshen and High Vampires, but at about 160 pages, it leaves a whole lot to be desired in the way of more creatures. It has creatures that are lesser known too, like the Phoenix and True Dragons. Overall, I really love it, I just wish it had been more complete.

The original book’s bestiary was clunky to run; every roll I had to figure out what two numbers I needed to add to see if the creature dodged or hit. This fixes a lot of those problems. Not only that, but the lore is fascinating— which is why the one thing I don’t like about it stands out: typos really bog down a couple of sections.