The vast majority of this book uses material ripped right from "Lost Prehistorica", a 3e book by Dark Quest games (which you can still purchase on DTRPG no less! I highly recommend it, if only for the content and not the rules).

Except that material was handled better... and was written by people who are decidely NOT the authors of this book.

So, y'know... theft is fine.

Enjoy "Ismael Alvarez"s work. I'm sure you can find it in chunks, spread out across several books published years earlier, by better writers.

Update : The publisher has stated that they did indeed use portions of Lost Prehistorica, in a way they claim is in line with the license. I believe, in the spirit of maintaining the integrity of our collective role-playing community, that the publisher might want to look more deeply into how the OGL and "Fair Use" (as they put it in their own credits for their book) works, since plagiarizing sections of text claimed by someone else as original work and then converting the statblock itself into 5th edition rules does not equate a "transformative" work. I'm sure this is just an oversight on their part, and they will see fit to eventually credit the original authors in this and other publications as a show of good faith towards other content creators. Especially since the credits for Savage Lands state that anything not considered OGL in that book is their own Product Identity. I look forward to seeing fewer oversights like this one, in the future.

*Update #2 : Apparently, I stand corrected, as Fat Goblin Games has clarified that the entire book "Lost Prehistorica", that is still available for sale here on DTRPG and written by other authors under a different company, is Open Game Content. I'm relieved to hear that those authors haven't had their work "stolen" without credit, but rather simply "appropriated legally" without credit. Thank goodness we can all rest easy now, knowing how Fat Goblin Games feels about any moral or ethical treatment towards other content creators. After all, its not wrong to exploit and monetize the works of others without any reference to them, so long as it isn't technically illegal. Enjoy the book, so FGG can enjoy your money. And after you've enjoyed this book, which again - DOES contain original work - be sure to thank the authors of whatever other* books you find that same material in, since they were such good sports and took one for the team by losing out on that sale for their own hard work. I was wrong. Nothing to see here, just business as usual. So glad we got that cleared up. And to Steven Cook, David Woodrum, Michael Hammes, Neal Levin and everyone else who put so much effort into a 109 page book back in 2004... on behalf of the purchasers of Savage Lands, 'written' by Ismael Alvares and Rick Hershey, thank you for your unwitting contribution to this book. They quite literally couldn't have done it without you. Respect.

I'm a sucker for the from the dawn of time concept. From Quest for Fire, to Early Man, this is a fun scenerio.

It gave me much pleasure when I heard about this product. The good folk at Fat Goblin Games have really outdone themselves by balencing a new concept while not overcomplicating things.

I serious enjoy the use of ape and dinosaur folk pcs to be added to any future games I play.

The revision of equipment is inspired. In particular, I am amused by the new trinkets.

For a project like this, a lot of interpretation is required and they do it well. I love their explanations of how to shoe horn in their ideas in other games and where they would fit as well as the pros and cons of each approach.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm using this to create a game of Yor.

Simple Settings: Savage Lands is the first in a new series of supplements from Fat Goblin Games. The purpose of this series is to expand the possibilities of 5e and explore new settings, without complicating the rules.

The pdf is 58 pages (counting covers and OGL) and is gorgeous. I love the borders and page layout. The artwork is fitting. Some is modern, but there's a lot of classic public domain artwork and in the context of this book it's appropriate and looks phenomenal.

To keep with the simplistic approach of the title, most of the book discusses how to using existing Player's Handbook content in the setting.  This doesn't mean there isn't new content. There's quite a bit actually.

Three new races emerge from the primordial stew: nature loving apefolk (with orange fur, strong back, and long limb subraces), slow adapting and nomadic Neanderthals, and ancient noble saurian (with big teeth, big stomper, and tough skin subraces). 

After discussing how the classic classes fit (or don't in the case of monks and wizards) in the setting, we're presented with new archetypes. The Bard College of Primal Rhythm is combat oriented. Clerics can take the Oracular Domain to draw from nature and see signs for divination. Since the monk isn't appropriate, the fighter gains The Fist is a primal brawler and force of nature. Finally Warlock's of the savage lands sometimes make deals with personifications of primal nature. Thus we are given the Volcano Warlock Patron.

The Arcana and History skills aren't appropriate in this setting. They are replaced with the Intelligence based Lore skill. In addition, there's a background for being raised by wolves, apes, and other animals. It's known as the Abandoned.

Since industry and such doesn't exist, there's a large section of new equipment, including vehicles and pre-historic trinkets. There are new magic items, such as daggers created from meteor shards and healing fruit (which are more potent than healing potions, but take longer to be consumed).

One of the most important sections (in my opinion) discusses actually using this in your game (with pros and cons). Are the savage lands a new continent that's not been settled? Or is it a hollow earth style scenario? Perhaps there's a primal plane of existence. After discussing the where, the pdf goes into the what. This section is a primer to the cultural aspects of this setting (including a side bar for the gods of the savage lands).

There are a few new optional rules. Detailed foraging and hunting rules (with DC's are presented).

Finally there's a bestiary section. A lot of space is given to discuss how to use traditional Monster Manual (SRD) monsters in the setting. However, there are a few new beasts and foes presented. My favourite is the powerful chaotic fey, known as the Mountain Queen. She used elementals, monsters, and other creatures to impose her will. In addition there are new dinos, such as the headbutting pachycephalosarus, the fearsome looking therizinosaurus, and the undead skeletal pterodactyl. Finally, killer plants are a staple of lost world stories, we're presented with the vine abductor. This malevolent plant can pull an Invasion of the Body Snatchers and sprout clones.

I'm glad I picked up this pdf. While I don't know that I would run a full pre-historic game, this would be an excellent resource to do a Hollow World style game. I think this is 6.95 well spent. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this series.