Savage Species was published at an awkward moment between the dizzy excess of the Epic Level Handbook and the attempted restraint of the 3.5 Edition Core Rulebooks. As an attempt to integrate playable monsters into rules designed for "normal" characters, Savage Species is full of good ideas. As a practical resource, it inspires slightly more questions than it answers.

The book breaks monsters down into various categories of complexity based on the number and scale of special abilities and attributes they possess. Once the differences have been assessed, the Level Adjustment mechanic is introduced as a means to compensate for any power disparity between, say, an ogre mage and a human wizard playing in the same adventure. In the appendix of the book, several monster classes are presented as a method of playing complex creatures right from 1st level, gaining their full powers over time.

The result is occasionally a mess, but quite an insightful one. By paying attention to how the authors disassemble monsters, and how they rate various special abilities, one begins to get a sense of what Dungeons & Dragons designers consider the critical elements of the game. I find it fascinating as a conceptual exercise, but that's of little use to my players who just want to take on the roles of dragons and trolls.

Savage Species by itself will not provide players with a surefire means to create the monstrous characters they want. However, it does give DMs a strategy to determine what will or won't fit in their own campaign, and that might be good enough for some. ( )