Filippo Franco
We thank Janaka Stucky and Blazing Worlds for having sent us a physical review copy of Ekphrastic Beasts. It could be mistaken for a manual of strange creatures for D&D5e, but it is mainly an artbook that contains works of four talented illustrators. The presence of a short descriptive text and statblocks for the most famous tabletop RPG in the world make it also a bestiary, but it is certainly its second soul. And that’s also the reason why I am writing an Ekphrastic Beasts review on No Dice Unrolled.
The Kickstarter project of Ekphrastic Beasts ibtauned almost 60.000$ from 1175 backers. From the project page it is still possible take a late pledge, that is buying the product made with Kickstarter even after the end of the campaign.
Since we are talking about an artbook, I want to highlight the four artists and provide the links to better appreciate their art: Ellie Gill, Jeremy Hush, Joe Keinberger, Nathan Reidt.
An Artbook Since From The Title
From the moment I first laid my eyes on Ekphrastic Beasts, well before writing this review, I knew it wasn’t a manual like any other. There are other elegant and better finished manuals. But Ekphrastic Beasts is special because it is first an artbook and then a manual for a TTRPG.
The title is already particular. Ekphrasis is the verbal description of a work of art. So the title means that it is a compendium where bestial works of art are described in words and statistics. First comes the art, then the word and the modifiers.
Directly quoting the explanation on the Kickstarter project page:
Rather than revisit known fantasy tropes, we begin with four established illustrators each creating striking, startling, original artworks straight from the abyssal depths of the subconscious. Each piece is then given to our author to reverse engineer creature names, back-stories, and stats for them all!
Janaka Stucky
Materials and Layout
The Ekphrastic Beasts manual is a beautiful volume of over 130 pages, with a rough hard cover that features only the golden seal of the project. On the inside of the cover shows an elegant shade of red. The quality of the paper and colors are excellent. Stylistically the first impression is of something elegant and precious.
The layout is more ordinary. Preface and introduction are several pages of single column writing without any graphic element or spatial subdivision. Then the contents of Ekphrastic Beasts are always presented in the same and functional way: the full page illustration, followed by a description and a classic statblock on two columns. Sometimes references of the works appear in the descriptive pages obtaining a pleasant effect. Overall it’s a good job, but it gives me the impression that more could have been done in the opening pages.
Review of the Illustrations of Ekphrastic Beasts
It is impossible to make even a minimally exhaustive review of the nearly fifty illustrations of creatures featured in Ekphrastic Beasts. These are strange, particular monsters, some of which have elements or anatomies that are very out of the ordinary. You can take a look at the images in this review and get an idea from them. The quality level is maintained throughout the book.
Each of the four illustrators has their own style, each brings something different and unique in following the common thread that unites all the designs. The beauty of the works is indisputable, the only subjective element is the taste of the viewer.
Regardless of the creation of statblock for D&D, I believe that such particular and evocative graphic works can also be an inspiration for other games. I think of the OSR world, of every game that comes into contact with the Lovecraftian universe, but also of those that have to do with the folklore and the supernatural present in our world.
Review of the Written Contents of Ekphrastic Beasts
As mentioned, each creature is described with the classic text and statblock format. There is a good variety of types and all the typical descriptors of D&D monsters. Resistances, immunities, attacks, special and legendary abilities. There are so many details that make interesting to use these monsters during the game. The textual part then provides a description consistent with the statistics and the alignment that adds details and ideas for possible uses.
Janaka Stucky, who is to be given credit for this whole part, also took advantage of the descriptions in each monster to create a subtle reference to a shared setting. Not among all creatures and nothing too detailed; simply a hint of a possible connection that each narrator can decide whether to exploit or not.
At the bottom of the volume there are many useful tables. Creatures are classified by artist, size, type, alignment, challenge rating, and climate. A simple job, but a variety of very useful data.
Conclusions
In this Ekphrastic Beasts review, I had to talk about every aspect of the manual. Yet, especially for this product, a different weight must be given to each facet. I talked about material, layout, statblock, descriptions, but the protagonists of Ekphrastic Beasts are undoubtedly the images. I talked about it for a couple of sentences but they represent the heart of the manual and should be treated as such.
I am not saying to rate or purchase Ekphrastic Beasts based on the illustrations alone, but certainly to realize that they are the center of everything and the core of the value of the product (perfectly supported by the quality of the rest of the manual). So, before closing this page, take a look at the images again and enjoy them!
