Monstrous Re-Examines Monsters for Dungeons & Dragons, Other Fantasy RPGs

Monstrous is a new tabletop RPG supplement that seeks to redefine the game master’s relationship with monsters. Published by Cloud Curio, Monstrous is a system-agnostic tool book that examines the monsters who appear in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy tabletop RPGs and the ways Game Masters use them to tell stories. The new tool set takes a deep dive into 30 classic monsters and peels back the layers on each one, helping Game Masters designing an adventure or campaign what makes each monster unique and providing worksheets that help a Game Master determine a monster’s motivations and how they interact with the world. 

Monstrous originally was a video series on Map Crow, a popular TTRPG video channel by veteran game designer and professor Kyle Latino. Cloud Curio and Latino collaborated on a new publication springing out of the video series, with Cloud Curio launching a Kickstarter earlier in the month with illustrations by Latino to help fund the book. To date, the Kickstarter has raised over $60,000 of its $75,000 goal, with about 9 days remaining on the crowdfunding campaign. You can check out some of the art from the book down below: 

One of the best parts about Monstrous is that it can be used to help campaign plan for Dungeons & Dragons or any other fantasy game. It’s the perfect tool for DMs looking to step up their game, either by helping them to plan a more fulfilling campaign or to look at monsters as more than a statblock and a few abilities.

Backers of the campaign will receive a PDF version of Monstrous with a $20 pledge and a hardcover version for $45. A Special Edition version is also available for $75. 

You can check out the full Kickstarter campaign here, which runs through October 5th.