- PROJECT: A role-playing monster manual with a twist.
- ROLE: Wrote and designed a monster entry based on artwork.
- SKILLS: Style guide for role-playing books; translating artwork into rules and background.
Incredible Creatures is a monster manual for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. I was invited to contribute with a single entry, introducing players to the quizzical Ghastmob – a creature interpreted from and inspired by a preexisting art commission.
Turning the traditional monster creation process on its head, Incredible Creatures saw a dozen or so writers come together to create a range of different monstrosities – including statistics, behavior, and background – based on some 30 pieces of artwork, resulting in almost 140 entries. Starting with deliberately open-ended pieces of artwork and then quantifying the creature in terms of rules and story put a unique twist on the creative process and, by extension, the product. The book was financed through a monstrously successful Kickstarter campaign in January 2021. You can find the monster manual here.
