What do you think?
Rate this book
Paranormal Animals of Europe
Paranormal Animals of Europe is a field guide to these magically awakened creatures. Detailed descriptions and nearly 100 illustrations help bring each animal to life. Get back to nature and liven up our Shadowrun campaign.
- GenresRole Playing GamesGaming
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 17, 2018
As the name indicates, this is pretty much the same as Paranormal Animals of North America except for the location change. It has the same format, with various Shadowland posters talking about the animals and other creatures depicted within a base text written like a field guide.
I saw "other creatures" because Europe has a specific subset of beings called "faerie creatures" that taxonomists have a hard time identifying, even under Awakened genera like anima or umbra. Creatures like the each-uisge, which appears pretty much as its mythological counterpart and so is an aquatic horse that convinces people to ride it, after which they stick to its back and it rides them into the water to drown; or Blackberry cats, which are cats that have mind control powers; or sprites, which are basically what they sound like--tiny elf-looking people with wings; or the bean sidhe, a spirit that attaches itself to a particular family (rather than a terrain as with nature spirits) and follows their fate. Even the Wild Hunt is written up.
I appreciate that the designers committed to including creatures from European mythology and fitting them into an ecosystem where they could actually exist as natural animals (albeit animals that can use magic). Satyrs are in here as an Awakened form of goat, with their resemblance to humans derived from their ability to walk on their hide legs for brief periods of time. Minotaurs exist as well, though apparently as Awakened aurochs, the last of which died in Poland in the 17th century, and an Awakened aurochs whose preferred diet is metahuman flesh at that. The afanc, from Welsh mythology, shows up as a lake monster that gene typing establishes as deriving from a crocodile base despite crocodiles not being native to Europe. Goblins are pretty much like they are in generic fantasy, as tribal creatures who live in forests or underground, but in Shadowrun they're derived from dwarves infected with a strain of HMHVV.
There are a lot of bounties on creatures in here, possibly because some of the creatures like the gorgon or the minotaur are so unrelentingly hostile, but also as a way to provide Shadowrunners a reason to interact with them. When storm dolphins are written as attacking oil platforms in the North Sea, that provides a hook for runners to get hired to stop them and a moral dilemma. Do the runners take the job, knowing that they're killing animals who are simply reacting to the pollutants dumped into the ocean that are causing an extraordinary high stillbirth rate? The dolphins can't pay them, but how far do their consciences allow them to go?
This is mirrored in the in-universe commentary as well, with a poster named Rabid who keeps talking about the runs he's been on to kill various animals and other posters reacting with horror to his stories. It provides a good illustration of the moral dilemma and a wide variety of situations where the runners could encounter the animals herein during the course of their work.
Like Paranormal Animals of North America, this provides a good reason to get runners out of the urban sprawl and into the wild, and I really like the scientific presentation of magical creatures.
I saw "other creatures" because Europe has a specific subset of beings called "faerie creatures" that taxonomists have a hard time identifying, even under Awakened genera like anima or umbra. Creatures like the each-uisge, which appears pretty much as its mythological counterpart and so is an aquatic horse that convinces people to ride it, after which they stick to its back and it rides them into the water to drown; or Blackberry cats, which are cats that have mind control powers; or sprites, which are basically what they sound like--tiny elf-looking people with wings; or the bean sidhe, a spirit that attaches itself to a particular family (rather than a terrain as with nature spirits) and follows their fate. Even the Wild Hunt is written up.
I appreciate that the designers committed to including creatures from European mythology and fitting them into an ecosystem where they could actually exist as natural animals (albeit animals that can use magic). Satyrs are in here as an Awakened form of goat, with their resemblance to humans derived from their ability to walk on their hide legs for brief periods of time. Minotaurs exist as well, though apparently as Awakened aurochs, the last of which died in Poland in the 17th century, and an Awakened aurochs whose preferred diet is metahuman flesh at that. The afanc, from Welsh mythology, shows up as a lake monster that gene typing establishes as deriving from a crocodile base despite crocodiles not being native to Europe. Goblins are pretty much like they are in generic fantasy, as tribal creatures who live in forests or underground, but in Shadowrun they're derived from dwarves infected with a strain of HMHVV.
There are a lot of bounties on creatures in here, possibly because some of the creatures like the gorgon or the minotaur are so unrelentingly hostile, but also as a way to provide Shadowrunners a reason to interact with them. When storm dolphins are written as attacking oil platforms in the North Sea, that provides a hook for runners to get hired to stop them and a moral dilemma. Do the runners take the job, knowing that they're killing animals who are simply reacting to the pollutants dumped into the ocean that are causing an extraordinary high stillbirth rate? The dolphins can't pay them, but how far do their consciences allow them to go?
This is mirrored in the in-universe commentary as well, with a poster named Rabid who keeps talking about the runs he's been on to kill various animals and other posters reacting with horror to his stories. It provides a good illustration of the moral dilemma and a wide variety of situations where the runners could encounter the animals herein during the course of their work.
Like Paranormal Animals of North America, this provides a good reason to get runners out of the urban sprawl and into the wild, and I really like the scientific presentation of magical creatures.
March 21, 2015
Another Shadowrun bestiary with little game value
18 May 2013
Well we had a book that dealt with animals, or should I say paranormal animals, in North America, so FASA also had to release one that dealt with such animals in Europe. Personally, my opinion of this book does not necessarily change much from my opinion of the previous book, and that is that while it may be interesting to read, along with all the comments from the hunters, the book actually has very little game value.
The reason that I say that is because (and I believe that I am repeating myself from the comment on the previous book) when I was running Shadowrun games I could not find any real scope for actually having such animals attack the players. Okay, when they are wandering through some wilderness area then there may be the possibility of such an encounter, however from what I can remember of my games there was very little scope even there. The only time the players were not flying down a motorway in excess of 100 kph was when they were travelling through China to reach the fortress of some mad mage in Tibet. Oh, the other way that they generally crossed great distances was through the use of airplanes (which once again makes encountering paranormal animals on the open road somewhat obsolete).
So, since there is not much more I can say on this book, I think I will make some comment about something else. The reason that I am writing it down here is because, well, it was some thoughts that were inspired in me today and I would like to get them up onto the internet without having to go to the trouble of setting up my own blog. Okay, maybe I should wait until I have read some more Ovid, but that may not be for some time, and at least I can write rubbish in these reviews because, well, nobody actually reads them anyway.
Anyway, what I am going to write about is sex. Okay, you may be asking, what has sex got to do with Paranormal Animals of Europe. Well, I could say that animals have sex, which is how they reproduce, unless of course they are hemaphrodites, which means that unless we have a degree in biology, we have little concept of how they actually reproduce. In the end I will have to say it has nothing to do with this book, but I wanted to write about it anyway.
This morning I was reading some pdf file that I have come across and it was basically about how one (basically a guy) should talk to women with the intention of getting laid. Well, that put me off first of all because, while when I was younger (and I suspect that these tracts are directed at the younger, and more gullible, men – or should I say boys) that is how I would think (namely being able to talk to a woman is the foot in the door towards getting sex) it is not the way that I think now. In fact, the way I see it I like talking to women simply for the joy of talking to somebody (and if that somebody is a woman, even better, because, well, I must say that I tend to have more interesting conversations with women than I do with men, though not always). Hey, if I end up getting laid, well even better, but to me the mindset that we should only talk to women with the intention of getting into her pants is, well, immature.
The problem that I see with this guy is that he is dominated by his urges, and it does not matter whether these urges come about through a desire for sex, or for the pleasurable feelings one gets from drugs, it still enslaves you. Basically, if you want drugs, and become enslaved to the desire for drugs, you are not only a slave to your own passions but also a slave to those who provide you with drugs – why do you think it is so sexy to want to be a drug dealer – it is not just the money, but the fact that you have an army of junkies as your virtual slaves.
I sort of read through this tract and it made me realise how pathetic this individual was, but he then goes on to talk about the art of small talk, and not only that, he also says that if we want to be the dominant male, and we want women to respect us, then we have to treat them like dirt because, well, women don't like nice guys. Seriously dude, give me a break. That may work for the younger generation, but to work on the principle that women like to be abused because they like men who are tough, and rude, is, well, barbaric in the least. Not only is he suggesting that we become slaves to our desire, but that we abuse women so that we may satisfy those desires. Just to think, this guy even has the gall to ask people to pay him money for this rubbish (and I am sure there are a lot of guys out there who do just that).
As for me, I actually like being a nice guy – there is something satisfying about it. I like being nice to people and doing nice things for people – it makes me happy. Okay, maybe I am older, and wiser (though that is only speculation) that the writer of this tract, but a part of me suspects that women are not like the people that he suggests that they are. Okay, maybe there are women like that out there (in fact I am almost certain of it) but to be honest with you, if a woman is going to be put off because I am a 'nice' guy, then I am probably not all that interested in that woman anything. Hey, I scored a second date in Hong Kong and I treated that woman like gold. See, there are benefits of being nice.
18 May 2013
Well we had a book that dealt with animals, or should I say paranormal animals, in North America, so FASA also had to release one that dealt with such animals in Europe. Personally, my opinion of this book does not necessarily change much from my opinion of the previous book, and that is that while it may be interesting to read, along with all the comments from the hunters, the book actually has very little game value.
The reason that I say that is because (and I believe that I am repeating myself from the comment on the previous book) when I was running Shadowrun games I could not find any real scope for actually having such animals attack the players. Okay, when they are wandering through some wilderness area then there may be the possibility of such an encounter, however from what I can remember of my games there was very little scope even there. The only time the players were not flying down a motorway in excess of 100 kph was when they were travelling through China to reach the fortress of some mad mage in Tibet. Oh, the other way that they generally crossed great distances was through the use of airplanes (which once again makes encountering paranormal animals on the open road somewhat obsolete).
So, since there is not much more I can say on this book, I think I will make some comment about something else. The reason that I am writing it down here is because, well, it was some thoughts that were inspired in me today and I would like to get them up onto the internet without having to go to the trouble of setting up my own blog. Okay, maybe I should wait until I have read some more Ovid, but that may not be for some time, and at least I can write rubbish in these reviews because, well, nobody actually reads them anyway.
Anyway, what I am going to write about is sex. Okay, you may be asking, what has sex got to do with Paranormal Animals of Europe. Well, I could say that animals have sex, which is how they reproduce, unless of course they are hemaphrodites, which means that unless we have a degree in biology, we have little concept of how they actually reproduce. In the end I will have to say it has nothing to do with this book, but I wanted to write about it anyway.
This morning I was reading some pdf file that I have come across and it was basically about how one (basically a guy) should talk to women with the intention of getting laid. Well, that put me off first of all because, while when I was younger (and I suspect that these tracts are directed at the younger, and more gullible, men – or should I say boys) that is how I would think (namely being able to talk to a woman is the foot in the door towards getting sex) it is not the way that I think now. In fact, the way I see it I like talking to women simply for the joy of talking to somebody (and if that somebody is a woman, even better, because, well, I must say that I tend to have more interesting conversations with women than I do with men, though not always). Hey, if I end up getting laid, well even better, but to me the mindset that we should only talk to women with the intention of getting into her pants is, well, immature.
The problem that I see with this guy is that he is dominated by his urges, and it does not matter whether these urges come about through a desire for sex, or for the pleasurable feelings one gets from drugs, it still enslaves you. Basically, if you want drugs, and become enslaved to the desire for drugs, you are not only a slave to your own passions but also a slave to those who provide you with drugs – why do you think it is so sexy to want to be a drug dealer – it is not just the money, but the fact that you have an army of junkies as your virtual slaves.
I sort of read through this tract and it made me realise how pathetic this individual was, but he then goes on to talk about the art of small talk, and not only that, he also says that if we want to be the dominant male, and we want women to respect us, then we have to treat them like dirt because, well, women don't like nice guys. Seriously dude, give me a break. That may work for the younger generation, but to work on the principle that women like to be abused because they like men who are tough, and rude, is, well, barbaric in the least. Not only is he suggesting that we become slaves to our desire, but that we abuse women so that we may satisfy those desires. Just to think, this guy even has the gall to ask people to pay him money for this rubbish (and I am sure there are a lot of guys out there who do just that).
As for me, I actually like being a nice guy – there is something satisfying about it. I like being nice to people and doing nice things for people – it makes me happy. Okay, maybe I am older, and wiser (though that is only speculation) that the writer of this tract, but a part of me suspects that women are not like the people that he suggests that they are. Okay, maybe there are women like that out there (in fact I am almost certain of it) but to be honest with you, if a woman is going to be put off because I am a 'nice' guy, then I am probably not all that interested in that woman anything. Hey, I scored a second date in Hong Kong and I treated that woman like gold. See, there are benefits of being nice.
April 7, 2008
This is one of the fluff books for Shadowrun that came out before they were actually good at fluff. While the critters in it were at times interesting more of them were unusable without serious shoehorning or breaking the feel of the game.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews