Chapter 1

“PEOPLE”
by Lucas Roussel

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Barbarians are just people who aren’t from around
here. Barbarians often have less complex technology
and industries, but are otherwise subject to the
same whims, goals, and restrictions as everyone
else. Everyone is a Barbarian to someone.

Left: a party of Adventurers.

Below: a mounted Barbarian.

5 "People"
Right: two Knights meet in the forest.
Below: a Cultist caught mid-sacrifice.

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7 "People"
Above: a Mercenary troupe whiles away the downtime.
Below: a travelling Merchant hawks their wares
Right: a Peasant family eyes their next meal.

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9 "People"
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Left: a procession of Pilgrims.
Left (lower): three Wizards argue over a contract.
Below: a couple of Townsfolk on the way to work.

11 "People"
 Chapter 2
“DUNGEON”
by Robin Carpenter

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Left: a group of Goblins lie in ambush.
Left (lower): a Lich emerges from a spectral portal.
Above: a Mimic on the prowl.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Left: a fungal family of myconids.
Left (lower): an ooze living up to its name.
Right: an Orc warlord surveys his conquest.

15 "Dungeon"
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17 "Dungeon"
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Left: a Skeleton skulks into battle.
Above: Monstrous Vermin in repose.

19 "Dungeon"
 Chapter 3
“DRAGON”
by Iguanamouth

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In many ways, Dragons are humans with vices and
flaws written in capital letters. They are operatic,
more real than reality. The rest of the world feels
like painted scenery. Their form and abilities
mirror a classic adventuring party: protection,
mobility, power, obsession, and unbounded greed.

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Above: an Ancient Dragon exhales noxious smoke.

23 Dragon
Above: a Zombie Dragon.
Right: a Dracospawn with scimitar.

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25 Dragon
Above: a lesser Drake.
Right: a coiled Droggin.

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27 Dragon
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29 Dragon
PREVIOUS PAGE
Left: fiendish Kobolds and their plunder.
Right: a Young Dragon perches atop its hoard.

Below: a Wyvern and a Pseudodragon.

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Murderously focused ascetics, Wyverns disdain
tools, plunder, and complex thought. The thrill
of the hunt is all that matters. They have evolved
past civilization.
Some scholars claim Pseudodragons are hatchling
Dragons, equipped with protective camouflage
and a juvenile sting. This (along with everything
else) is frantically denied by Pseudodragons.

31 Dragon
 Chapter 4
“THINKING BEASTS”
by Lucas Roussel

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Thinking Beasts
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Left: Harpies in their nest.
Left (lower): the noble Lamassu.
Above: a Sphinx, with victims.

35 "Thinking Beasts"
Above: Kappas fishing in a river.
Right: the Manticore in its dark lair.
Right (lower): a Lamia peers out a window.

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37 "Thinking Beasts"
Consider making some monsters unique:
a Medusa vs. the Medusa. This might be it;
the only one, the legendary example, the creature
that spawns the original tale. Or consider
generating monsters in pairs; the monster
the players encounter, and their unseen rival,
ally, spouse, or progenitor.

Above: the lair of the dreaded Medusa.

Right: a Minotaur patrols the labyrinth.

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39 "Thinking Beasts"
Above: a Naga emerges from a dark dungeon passage.
Right: a flock of airborn Peryton.

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41 "Thinking Beasts"
 Chapter 5
“HERALDIC BEASTS”
by Iguanamouth

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43 "Heraldic Beasts"
Above: a Basilisk, broken free of its chains.
Right: the loathsome Wurm.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: a Catoblepas exhales a potent poison.

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45 "Heraldic Beasts"
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47 "Heraldic Beasts"
Above: the three-headed Chimera.
Right: a Cockatrice on the lookout.

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49 "Heraldic Beasts"
Above: a Griffon prepares to take flight.
Right: the Hydra scans its surroundings.
Right (lower): the notorious Owlbear, scourge of adventurers everywhere.

FOLLOWING PAGE:
Spread: a Questing Beast accompanied by a Strong Toad.

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51 "Heraldic Beasts"
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53 "Heraldic Beasts"
 Chapter 6
“PRIMEVAL”
by Logan Stahl

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Primeval
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Above: a group of Troglodytes emerge from their lair.
Right: a herd of Flying and Herd Lizards.

57 "Primeval"
Spread: a herd of Swift Lizards run the ground beneath the mighty thunder lizard.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: the Tyrant Lizard stalks the plains.
Above: Cave People, on the hunt.
Right: a Colossal Ape shakes the earth with every step.
Right (lower): a Ground Sloth feeds on low-hanging fruit.

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63 "Primeval"
 Chapter 7
“ELEMENTAL”
by Ash Rudolph

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Left: an Elemental coalesces.
Left (lower): Elemental Spirits gather around their respective elements.
Below: a Will-O’-The-Wisp tempts wanderers to their inevitable doom.

67 "Elemental"
Above: a Living Gem shines bright at night.
Right: an Elemental Tyrant on its prismatic throne.

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 Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
—Shakespeare, The Tempest

69 "Elemental"
 Chapter 8
“DIVINE”
by Nadhir Nor

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Above: an Angel delivers a message.
Right: a Visionary of the highest spheres of creation.

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73 vine"
Above: the mighty Beast of Creation.
Right: Cherubs in flight.

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75 "Divine"
For upon the bounteous earth Zeus has thrice
ten thousand spirits, watchers of mortal men,
and these keep watch on judgements and
deeds of wrong as they roam, clothed in mist,
all over the earth.
—Hesiod, Works and Days

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Left: a Demigod atop a gilded palanquin.
Below: a Devil in the flesh.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: cosmology of the heavens and earth.

77 "Divine"
SIC TRANSIT GLO

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RIA MUNDORUM

79 "Divine"
 Chapter 9
“DARK AND MALIGN”
by Crim_Reaper

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Left: a Ghost mourns things undone.
Above: concept sketches for Ghouls in various poses.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Left: flesh eating Zombies advance upon the viewer.
Left (lower): a Ghoul devours its victim.
Right: concept sketch for a Vampire Queen.
83 "Dark and Malign"
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Necromancers are steeped in unwholesome
secrets. For some, an undead minion is just a
convenient means to an ostensibly noble end.
Others dream of vast armies and a new order.

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Left: a Necromancer builds an army.
Right: a Night Hag in transit.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: a Nightmare Beast enters the waking world.

87 "Dark and Malign"

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Left: Ogres patrol the forests in search of fresh meat.
Left (lower): a Vampire Queen with her nightmare beasts.
Above: A Werewolf turns in the light of the full moon.

91 "Dark and Malign"

Left: concept sketches for Ogres.
Above: a Wight returned from the dead.

93 "Dark and Malign"

 Chapter 10
“A WIZARD DID IT”
by Robin Carpenter

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Above: a refracting Shivered Beast.
Right: a pack of Animated Items wreak havoc.
Right (lower): a Rust Monster devours anything made of metal.

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99 "A Wizard Did It"
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Left: the geometric perfection of the Eye Tyrant.
Left (lower): Golems, of different make and model.
Above: a Homunculus makes a friend.

101 "A Wizard Did It"

Above: a Mind Eater, eating minds.
Right: a Mutant breaks free from containment.

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103 "A Wizard Did It"
 Chapter 11
“SPRING”
by Ash Rudolph

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Above: two Centaurs, caught mid-frolic.
Right: a Druid senses the heralds of civilization.

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Druids try to purge their minds of symbolic thought
and the trappings of civilization. They live in harmony
with nature, and nature is a symphony of blood.
Druids are most active in the spring. Without
remembering why, they despise domesticated
animals, agriculture, cities, writing, and metal.

107 "Spring"
Above: a duo of Flower Nymphs and their pet snail.
Right: a Wicker Walker rambles over the hills.

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 Chapter 12
“SUMMER”
by Naf

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Above: vicious Chaos Frogs, plotting misdeeds.
Right: a Mandrake, newly born.

Chaos Frogs can sense all possible futures

at once. They taste potential; the more unlikely
the outcome or the more pivotal the event,
the more they are interested. They are drawn
to freak accidents, famous gambles, or unlikely
coincidences, sometimes before they happen.
Summer, when armies march and schemes ripen,
is their favourite season.

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113 "Summer"
Spread: Pyromancers come in many different sizes and styles, but all are equally unwelcome
at garden parties.

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 There was some debate on which
of these two Pyromancer illustrations
should be used in the book.

115 "Summer"
Spread: a Raiju fends off a swarm of Skeeters with its electric discharge.

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117 "Summer"
Below: a prophetic Thriae orbited by Sun Dogs.
Right: a Tunnel Hulk ambushes a party by smashing through a dungeon wall.

Skittish and wistful creatures, Thriae can

sense the shape of the future and are generally
disappointed. They may offer advice,
but they know it rarely does any good.

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119 "Summer"
 Chapter 12
“FALL”
by Luka Rejec

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“The carnival feels ulcerated egos miles off and
lopes to toast its hands at that ache. It smells
boys ulcerating to be men, paining like great
unwise wisdom teeth, twenty thousand miles
away, summer abed in winter’s night. It feels
the aggravation of middle-aged men like myself,
who gibber after long-lost August afternoons
to no avail. Need, want, desire, we burn those
in our fluids, oxidize those in our souls, which jet

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streams out lips, nostrils, eyes, cars, broadcasts
from antennae-fingers, long or short wave, God
only knows, but the freak-masters perceive Itches
and come crab-clustering to Scratch. It’s traveled
a long way on an easy map, with people handy
by every crossroad to lend it lustful pints of agony
to power it on. So maybe the carnival survives,
living off the poison of the sins we do each other,
and the ferment of our most terrible regrets.”
—Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes

123 "Fall"
Above: a Tempest Hag astride her noble flying pig.
Right: a Dullahan races down the road.

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125 "Fall"
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Left: the Harvest Avatar is worshipped in many autumnal lands.
Above: a Leafling is nothing more than scattered leaves in the wind.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: the first hit of Murderous Crows.

127 "Fall"
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129 "Fall"
Below: a Polevik seperates wheat from chaff.

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 Poleviks are field spirits who only bother people
who can’t adequately explain their business.
Adventuring and tomb-robbing are poor
explanations. They enjoy hard work,
clean living, and abundant harvests.

131 "Fall"
Above: most Scarecrows aren’t animate. Most.
Right (lower): a Shofar Ram’s horn is worth 500gp to many temples, but it won’t part with it willingly.

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133 "Fall"
 Chapter 14
“WINTER”
by Erin Kubo

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Left: a Gingerbread Man escapes a fiery doom.
Left (lower): the Tortoise Czar can be identified by the billows of steam erupting from its shell.
Above: a Blizzard Eel slithers through the frozen wastes.

137 "Winter"
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Left: a Nuckelavee carries death in many forms.
Left (lower): a group of Snow Golems, a cold simulacrum of life.
Upper: an Ice Hag seated on her frozen throne.

139 "Winter"
 Chapter 15
“HOSTILE FORESTS”
by Nadhir Nor

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Above: a Bear is a threat to even the most experienced adventurer.
Right: a Fairy is ethereally beautiful and capriciously cruel.
Right (lower): in tall grass, Tigers are effectively invisible. Plan accordingly.

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143 "Hostile Forests"
Above: a Treant parlays with a forest ranger.
Right: Trolls are eternally ravenous and never to be trusted.

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145 "Hostile Forests"
 Chapter 16
“HOT PLAINS”
by Lucas Roussel

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 Above: a troop of Baboons.
Right: Flightless Birds will flee from most encounters, but being kicked to death is a possibility.
Right (lower): Hive Insects swarm a lone adventurer.

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149 "Hot Plains"
 Chapter 17
“MYSTERIOUS MOUNTAINS”
by Luka Rejec

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153 "Mysterious Mountains"
PREVIOUS PAGE
Left: an Alicanto can be followed to find treasure hoards, profitable mines, and disaster.
Right: a Telluric Goat seeks mineral deposits in a mountainside.
Right (lower): Giants ransack a town.

Above: a Noble Giant stands guard.

Right: the eternal Kirin, a celestial emissary.

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You ask me why I lodge in these emerald hills;
I laugh, don’t answer—my heart is at peace.
Peach blossoms and flowing waters
Go off to mysterious dark,
And there is another world,
Not of mortal men.
—Li Bai, Dialogue in the Mountains,
trans. Stephen Owen

155 "Mysterious Mountains"

 Chapter 17
“STORMY SEAS”
by Conor Nolan

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Above: a ferocious Merfolk charges into battle.
Right: Giant Crabs are the scourge of ships the world over.
Right (lower): a gang of Pirate ruffians sight plunder on the horizon.

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159 "Stormy Seas"
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Lord, Lord! methought, what pain it was to drown!
What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears!
What ugly sights of death within mine eyes!
Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks;
Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw’d upon;
Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,
All scatter’d in the bottom of the sea:
Some lay in dead men’s skulls; and, in those holes
Where eyes did once inhabit, there were crept,
As ’twere in scorn of eyes, reflecting gems,
Which woo’d the slimy bottom of the deep,
And mock’d the dead bones that lay scatter’d by.
—Shakespeare, Richard III

Left: a Sea Hag erupts from the surf.

Above: a Shark attacks a pod of seals.

161 "Stormy Seas"

 Chapter 19
“STRANGE WATER”
by Naf

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163 "Strange Waters"
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Left: an Abyssal Fish, grown strange beyond the light of the Sun.
Above: a Tardigrade, nigh-indestructable but mostly harmless.

165 "Strange Waters"

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Left: a Mantis Shrimp makes threatening gestures, then attacks.
Left (below): Ancient Arthropods are one of the oldest creatures in existence.
Below: Marine Worms are large enough to bite a person, and not wise enough to know better.

But see, amid the mimic rout

A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And the angels sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.
—Edgar Allen Poe, The Conqueror Worm

167 "Strange Waters"

Below: a Predatory Snail, king of anti-cavalry gastropods.
Right: the Rotifer churns the seas around it, drawing victims into its ravenous maw.
Right (below): a gaggle of Sea Slugs, swaggeringly confident in their own inedibility.

FOLLOWING PAGE
Spread: a giant Sea Star grasps blindly for its quarry.

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169 "Strange Waters"
 Chapter 20
“SCIENCE FICTION”
by Frenden

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Above: an Alpha Mind, plotting its next grand scheme.
Right: a Robot Hound will follow the orders of whoever first assembled or reassembled them.
Right (below): Robot Servants: like robot hounds, but bipedal.

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175 "Science Fiction"
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Left: the Robot Titan is not an adversary, it is an inevitability.
Left (lower): the Perfect Predator, admirable in its purity.
Above and below: gangs of roving Veggie-Mites terrorize pantries the world over.

177 "Science Fiction"

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