Late Entries to a Survey of Bestiaries

January 4, 2025
Ruins of Symbaroum Bestiary
lead designers: Mattias Johnsson Haake, Mattias Lilja & Jacob Rodgers
interior artist: Martin Grip
cover artist: Martin Grip
publisher: Free League
publication date: 2022
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 236
ISBN-10: 91-89143-27-2
ISBN-13: 978-91-89143-27-2
catalog number: FLFSYM020
description: This bestiary contains descriptions of ninety creatures and sixty NPCs from the Ruins of Symbaroum campaign setting. It is compatible with the 5^th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Role Playing Game.

Our featured entry from this bestiary is the darkling.

THERE ARE BEINGS in the Davokar region which almost never leave the woods and thus are seldom seen on Ambrian soil. One of these is the creature that in ancient barbarian legends is called the Darkling, or sometimes Nightling. They are an intelligent race which has existed in the area since long before humans came wandering across the Ravens. It appears they have never been dominant, never sought conquest and barely left any trace of their existence in the form of buildings or writing.

THE FEW ACCOUNTS that speak of these creatures are consistent on a couple of issues, whether they come from alleged encounters or conversations with knowledgeable barbarians. Darklings do not seem to discriminate between cultural beings and the beasts of the wilds, meaning that humans as well as elves and trolls are counted among their prey. Aside from this, their strangest and most prominent feature is their resistance to mystical influence - a characteristic that some witches claim has to do with them, from tradition and necessity, living in total harmony with Wyrtha, without trying to cultivate, refine or manipulate nature.

AS A CONSEQUENCE, the darklings are genuine huntergatherers, and their hunting takes place in both the woods and the Underworld. They use simple weapons, such as bows, spears and traps, often without metal. giving them the quality Blunt. However, the leaders sometimes have tips of bog iron, or weapons inherited from killed prey animals.

February 1, 2025
Ultimate Bestiary: Secrets of the Fey
authors: Lou Fryer & Ralph Stickley
interior artists: George Mason, Takashi Tan & Yulia Zhuchkova
cover artist: uncredited
publisher: Nord Press
publication date: 2024
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 236
ISBN-10: 1-946669-68-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-946669-68-1
description: This bestiary presents more than 130 beasts from the Feywild. The book is compatible with 5^th edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

Our featured entry from this bestiary is a member of the Fey Court, the decadent regent.

No amount of mortal politicking can prepare an outsider for the multi-layered morass of vipers that is The Fey Court. It is an evershifting landscape of deceit, bargains, and extravagance where very little can be assumed, and even less can be trusted. The Court is theoretically responsible for governing all fey though, as notoriously capricious as they tend to be, many fey (perhaps even most) pay them little mind, and less homage. For some, The Court is more akin to a pantheon than a governing body and, given the power of some individual Courtiers, it is not an unreasonable assessment.

There are various subdivisions assigned to those counted among The Court by outsiders, which can be useful abstractions but are somewhat misleading, something like trying to draw a hard line between colors on an infinite spectrum; while everyone within The Court knows their place in the web, their overall view is far more fluid and subjective. Broadly speaking, The Fey Court can be divided into four, though whether they are entirely separate entities or aspects of the same beings encountered in a different mood or season is difficult to tell. There are certainly rivalries between individuals known to belong to one court or another, but it would not be beyond the realms of reason (so far as such a thing can be said to exist in The Court) that one Courtier would have an ongoing feud with themself wearing a different mask in order to keep up appearances. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter are the most common names for these divisions, though some prefer the celestial Waxing, Full, Waning, and Stars, or Maiden, Mother, Crone, and Death (a naming convention which must have hags to thank somewhere in its origin). In any case, the sequence of The Courts suggests the myriad natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

Within these divisions are two factions which, even more than the names of the Courts themselves, are labels assigned by outsiders, defined as they are by their attitudes to mortals: Seelie and Unseelie. In general, Seelie Fey are more benevolent, happy to be left alone, and at least aware - in a detached sort of way - of differences in culture between mortals and fey (and therefore likely to gently warn a transgressor of any breaches of conduct made through ignorance). Unseelie are more malicious, often seeing mortals as an existential threat in need of destruction or subjugation. While this may seem like a split of good and evil, the reality is more complex, and neither camp is to be entirely trusted.

March 1, 2025
Monster Core
authors: Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen Radney-MacFarland & Mark Seifter
interior artist: David Alvarez et al.
cover artist: Wayne Reynolds
publisher: Paizo Publishing
publication date: 2024
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 376
ISBN-10: 1-64078-566-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-566-3
description: This bestiary contains descriptions of over 400 creatures. This book is compatible with the 2^nd edition of the Pathfinder Role Playing Game.

Our featured entry from this bestiary is the homunculus.

A homunculus is a tiny servitor construct created by a crafter to serve as a spy, scout, messenger, or assistant. When a crafter first begins to study the art of creating constructs, they often craft a homunculus first, since the creation process is simple and inexpensive due to a magical shortcut: the use of the creator's own blood. This forges a link between the homunculus and its master, causing the homunculus to gain a spark of the creator's intellect, as well as the same moral values and some of the creator's basic personality traits. Homunculi left to their own devices never stray far from their masters.

April 5, 2025
Land of Eem Bestiary Volume 1
authors: Ben Costa & James Parks
interior artists: Ben Costa & Sean Kiernan with contributions by Alex Ahad & Ben Seto
cover artist: Sean Kiernan
publisher: Exalted Funeral
publication date: February, 2025
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 200
ISBN-10: obsolete
ISBN-13: 979-8-88756-064-9
description: This bestiary contains descriptions of 190 creatures, critters and creepers. This book is compatible with the Land of Eem Role Playing Game.

Our featured entry from this bestiary is the cattypillar.

This fluffy six-legged feline faerie critter is a wily—albeit lower tier—predator that dwells primarily in forests. With an ability to teleport several feet away, they are highly feared by forest boggles, faeries, and other tiny creatures. However, they are often tamed by the very same creatures as pets and mounts. Gnomes, witches, and warlocks also have an affinity for cattypillar familiars whose antennae are especially attuned to perceive the furtive patter of approaching threats.

May 3, 2025
Inferno: Virgilio's Untold Tales
authors: Mauro Longo, Two Little Mice & Thomas Mazzantini
interior artist: Daniela Diubellini et al.
cover artist: Daniela Diubellini
publisher: Acheron
publication date: 2023
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 238
ISBN-10: 88-32198-87-8
ISBN-13: 978-8832198-87-4
description: This volume is described as the "Dungeon Master's Guide" and "Monster Manual" for a Campaign Setting adapting Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy" into a tabletop role playing game. Chapter 5, titled "Evils of Hell", is the bestiary, containing descriptions of 25 creatures. This book is compatible with the 5^th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Role Playing Game.

Our featured entry from this bestiary are the Furies: Megera, Aletto and Tisifone.

Megera, Aletto, and Tisifone are the three sovereign furies, three sisters who have spawned all other furies and lead the flights that overrun the City of Dite. They are also known as the Erinyes, Guardians of the High Tower, and personal maidservants of Ecate.

When men still paid homage to Olympus, the Erinyes, along with Fate, were the only authority to rule over the gods themselves. Even Jupiter had to bow his head before the Sisters of Vengeance, as their wrath was unavoidable.

Now Megera, Aletto, and Tisifone guard the palace of Ecate in the City of Dite. From their necks hang the keys that open the secret passage under the throne of the Queen of Eternal Weeping, and their eerie is the next-to-last level of the High Tower.

Aletto, the youngest, wields a thorny whip. This fury is known as "Restless", as her indomitable will does not allow her to sleep, but also prevents her from being incapacitated or stunned. Aletto is prone to madness and often stops in the middle of a fight to speak to the wind or strike with her whip someone who only she can see.

Tisifone is the highest and strongest sister. She wields a scorching iron, as the ones used to brand cattle, and the snakes of her hair are so long that they cover her face and hide her eyes.

Megera is the oldest sister. Her body looks mummified her wrinkled head is covered with just a few snakes but she is the fastest and most agile of the sisters. Her snakes look asleep and pose no danger. Unlike Aletto and Tisifone, Megera knows when she must retreat from a fight, or stay back to guide her sisters.