Our journey so far...

I: The Journey Begins
II: From Magic to Death
III: The Aschelagoan and other Eaters
IV: A Kingdom of Numbers
V: Skinless in the Spearwood

Dearest reader. I pen tidings from Tsul Gazar and beyond! What wonders and thrills Tophenni, Sheos, and I have encountered since the last entry in this journal. I am reminded quickly that you have not been introduced to my newest companion Valenao, but trust that I shall forge a proper doorway in my writings through which this feyborn shall enter the tale.

The exploration of Tsul Gazar was the most arduous part of my journey to date. As with all wilderness locales, the risk of beasts and magus-devouring flora was high, and in Tsul Gazar I can confirm such things are unrelenting. In this kingdom you can never know who is speaking truth and who is wearing a false face. Shapeshifters are exceedingly common here, though they would have you believe otherwise. The only hope an outsider such as myself has of survival is with someone who knows the region and the few secure outposts in clearings, trees, dry patches in swamps, and trails that take one away from nesting areas instead of into them. Rest assured, dear reader, that we stumbled into more than one nest but were quickly deterred when the smells of putrefaction or scant bodily remains of the prey dragged there reached our senses. Thankfully, Sheos is a cultist from this realm. I had assumed her an elf all this time, but once we began our path through the under- and overgrowth, her nature revealed itself as a werejaguar — a being capable of taking the form of a great cat.

Reader, I bear no prejudices. I am no imperial who believes these people belong here and those people belong there. In Draoidahaek, slavery is outlawed and freedom is a keystone of our foundation. This is why the skybound kingdom is the wisest one in all of Gewinn. Nevertheless, I concede my reservations when I discovered Sheos’s true form. She was hunting for us while we camped, and to learn more of how Tsul Gazarians track and trap their prey, I followed her, only to witness her transformation. At that point I wondered if she was leading us into an ambush, but soon my sensibilities recovered, you will be pleased to know. Myself and Tophenni caught her, bound her, interrogated and tortured her until we were certain of her loyalty. Now, no doubts wrack my mind.

Tsul Gazar is often described as “wilderness given to the wild,” and I understand the sentiment having visited. There’s a clear delineation between the forested and the jungled areas of the kingdom, though it remains a mystery to me as to how temperate woodland can so conveniently abut tropical overgrowth, unless it be down to the passage of the suns (but even then, the divide is so thin as to be remarkable). I suspect a magical contrivance, by which I mean at some point in history, great magi (likely crownbearers) divided Tsul Gazar into two forms, and though those world-movers might have expired, the remains of their work continue to stand.

Do not be mistaken, however, into thinking that Tsul Gazar is bereft of civilization. Time and again we discovered signs of habitation, standing stones marked with sigils (Sheos treated them with extreme reverence, so Tophenni and I afforded them a wide berth), and trails formed through the trees almost as if the plants moved to accommodate us. I reason that it’s possibly so. The land itself in Tsul Gazar appears to possess consciousness.

Yet our movements through Tsul Gazar did not keep us there. I had intended on finding the River Thurn and using it to access the Fork Canal, or vice versa, and thus sail northwest from this kingdom toward the Nithera Empire (I have long delayed visiting the imperial domain, as I know from verified accounts how brutally they treat spies), but it was as we were climbing free from the swamp-bound Wet Dungeon that we stumbled into something quite unlikely: a cottage with wide windows, smoke pouring through a chimney, and the smell of freshly baked treats. The three of us, now accustomed to devouring what we could catch, were immediately overcome with voracious appetites and charged into the house to kill whoever was within and eat their sweet, hot food, but entering was a gateway to a realm I hadn’t expected us to visit as yet: Iom.

Be assured, we still slew the old woman at the oven and ate the cakes she’d warmed, but now we were in another kingdom — the fabled kingdom of feyborn, curse magic, and nightmares. We could have departed the way we came, and I’m sure we would have reentered Tsul Gazar, but the chance to explore Iom was too great. Passing through the cottage and out the other side, the entire landscape had altered. We were now seeing golden and alabaster white buildings with unnatural architecture and unsettling curves. We were witness to magical fountains and disturbing beings of hideous proportion. It was as if we had entered some wicked child’s dreams. When we interacted with the locals, most of them laughed at us, some of them tried to lure us into their homes (we were not so foolish), and others just smiled and backed away. Not a one of them looked or acted in a way I deemed healthy or trustworthy.

Iom is a small kingdom compared to most others. I believe we traversed it southeast to northwest in around three days, though it’s difficult to measure time in such a realm. I have chronicled a huge number of monstrous aberrations and magical anomalies for study back in the Apprentice Warrens in Draoidahaek, and made purchases of sorcerous candies and curse candles (I will not consume or light either; they are for experimentation in a safer place than this). 

Iom was the first place I’d visited outside of Draoidahaek where the danger only became truly apparent during my departure. We found ourselves facing a cottage identical to the one through which we entered, and as Tophenni remarked, it felt as if it was inviting us to leave. Only this time, when we entered the old woman’s house, she was a monstrous, many-mawed, clutching being. She belched flames and noxious smoke, and from behind her endless giggling, snarled and glared. She hooked me in her catcher-claws, and while Tophenni attempted to free me (I note that Sheos was slow to assist), it was of no use! The old faerie creature was trying to drag me into her oven and turn me into one of her cakes, I am sure of it! But I was never afraid. I do not fear. I welcome doom in all of its forms.

It was then, at that crucial moment, that a drastically handsome feyborn goldsman burst through a stained glass window above the old woman’s fireplace and snatched the keys from her belt. I do not know what they unlocked or represented, but the old woman was so incensed that she dropped me and grabbed for the thief! Gratitude is all well and good, but I had to protect Tophenni (and even Sheos) so we took the time to flee instead of offering thanks. It was just as well, for the goldsman was fleeing in the same direction. With a laugh, this tall, chiseled feyborn rolled through the round door with us, and together we found ourselves in distant northwest Tsul Gazar. He introduced himself as Valenao, and once again I had a squad of four.

Hello Monsters,

A pretty exciting day today! It's a big chapter, one I've been eager for since the beginning and even more so since our Paths chapter last week.

All beings within the world of Monster Kingdoms possess a unique combination of powers, abilities, and advantages called edges, sceptres, and crowns. This chapter will break down each of the talent categories, their requirements, and what each one does within the world. These benefits can be as simple as granting an Enhancement or as complicated as granting access to unique abilities, status effects, Complications, and Tricks with their use.

Before we get to our download for today, a few bits of business.


We've unlocked our third Stretch Goal of the campaign! An Onyx Path classic...

So, our next target...

Since we're in the character building portion of the game, it's not a bad idea to have a character sheet to start scribbling down your ideas and choices! One of the writers on the game, Chris Jones, has put together this awesome character sheet for you to use when you pick your paths!

Over the course of this campaign, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Monster Kingdoms, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in monster-sized sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next several weeks, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.

Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/TpaaPsUqJ79zD1kE6



You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Monster Kingdoms creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the banner.

Our journey so far...

I: The Journey Begins
II: From Magic to Death
III: The Aschelagoan and other Eaters
IV: A Kingdom of Numbers

It has been some time since I last recorded an entry in this journal. I hope my handwriting is legible enough in this record, for reasons that will become apparent. In truth, my time has been absorbed in studying the nature of sceptres and crowns, attempting to deduce the methods behind their creation. What fascinating magical articles these are, that a weapon can be named and become a sceptre: an extension of one’s might and will. More than this, the fabled crown has until recently eluded me, but I have a great revelation to impart on these pages: I am now a crownbearer, for magic, for Draoidahaek, for the archlich, for doom, and for my own great power! 

On the shore of southern Xin, close to the town of Penance, I slew a dread beast. Its fronds attempted to entangle and snap at me. It tried to drag me into the briny depths, and I confess dear reader, I never learned to swim in all my travels! Yet through strength of magic and the sharp edge of my sceptre, I cut the beast open and seized its crown, becoming a mistress of the tide! Now I need not fear drowning in the water, for I can walk upon it and command the waves like a god!

Ho, my studies therefore have been dedicated to understanding this crown of mine and unlocking its fullest potential. My great deeds drew new followers to my banner. I call this new regiment the Clustered Horns, for many of them are of fiendish descent and bear spikes, spines, and bones that protrude from their skin. Among them was an archer extraordinaire by the name of Tophenni, who I am happy to call companion and lover for the time being, and a zealous Tsul Gazarian cultist who I admire for her dedication to old methods and magic: Sheos. How I pick up these mercenaries, lose them, and find others, is the will of the archlich Khufu Triple-Wand, who I know influences things from afar.

Tophenni is a native of Xin and wanted to show me the Spearwood to the northeast. Still dedicated as I am to chronicling this journey in full, I was only too happy to receive guidance from a knowledgeable local, who unlike the people of Creuore and Dys, expressed no distrust as to my Draoidahaek origins. Tis refreshing to feel welcome, even as an object of curiosity (as I know the Xinix distrust we magi, though their ardent Katekistrix have established numerous small shrines throughout Sorcere), so I traveled with Tophenni and Sheos at my side, our followers not far behind in case we ran afoul of dangers.

Danger? Ho, we found it! As we entered the Spearwood I was introduced to the origin of its name. A mass of trees — not stakes, but trees — with sharp, spinelike branches upon which bodies were impaled, as if an enormous shrike had skewered its prey upon them for later feasting. Except these bodies — not all of them yet dead, I’m impressed to say — had been systematically skinned, some in full, others possessing a flensed torso, or degloved limb. The stench was unbearable, possibly as rich and foul as anything I encountered in Creuore. Yet in the howls of pain and pleas for mercy, I heard wise murmurings from people so close to the edge of life and death that I recorded each of them in a separate book I’ve titled “Words of the Unliving.” I endeavor to publish it separately and expect it to find a warm reception in Dys and among certain necromantically-inclined magi.

Yet, dear reader, you are wondering “where was this grave danger of which our chronicler wrote?” The dangers were manifold, I assure you! For once we were deep within the Spearwood, I spied treasured baubles and openings to long overgrown temples amid the trees. Little did I know that these impaled skinless were guardians, and that they would slide from their perches to do great battle against those who wandered too deeply! What a frightening sight (for my companions, for I fear nothing)! What murderous rage in their eyes, many of them lacking eyelids with which to blink! This skinless horde and my Clustered Horns engaged in tremendous battle as I accessed one of these forgotten temples, utilizing my knowledge of locks and traps combined with Tophenni’s awareness of the area and Sheos’s peculiar magics. We entered the temple. The beings, the treasures, the portals to other lands we found within are too numerous to recount, except to say that we spent half a season in that subterranean realm, at times peaceful with the underground peoples, at others slitting their throats and taking their food, weapons, or riches. I learned much of the origins of the Katekistrix faith, Xin’s demonic origins, and the danger this small kingdom poses to the rest of Gewinn, in many parts from mosaics and paintings on the temple walls, in others from the tongues of the blind adherents dwelling in this place.

When it was time to depart, the skinned wardens had reassumed their guardian positions, though I doubt strongly that they were the same fiends, humans, and other creatures we encountered on our way in. They must surely have died by now, unless a magic in the Spearwood somehow preserves the ones who do not succumb to their impalement.

We rediscovered the remains of the Clustered Horns, who had laid waste to several Xinix villages, and ventured southwest to the border wall between Xin and Tsul Gazar. Crossing would take much gold and certain sacrifices (these Katekistrix believe ardently in self-mutilation if there’s nobody close by to maim), and while I shall miss both of my little fingers, I believe it’s a price worth paying to enter the jungle realm. 

Dear reader. I must confess at this time to being troubled. I swear I chronicled much of the thickly forested landscape surrounding Falcassel, describing everything from shapeshifters and vampires to carnivorous trees and swamps that seemed the manifest out of spite. I took samples of medicinal and poisonous plants and even secured books from libraries in the region, all for delivery to Draoidahaek. I felt my master, the archlich Khufu, would be satisfied beyond measure to possess such a trove.

To you, my dear reader, and to my master, I offer naught but pathetic groveling. Everything acquired from Mawraton south to Grimehold was lost to me in an assault I had no means of anticipating. The earth opened up close to the Grimory, and from it poured a horde of arachnid creatures — the local peoples call them “haemexii” — who laid siege to the Grimory, murdered its revenant inhabitants en masse until a defense finally began, and pillaged all manner of items, persons, and treasures throughout the onslaught. Everything of my Creuore records was taken or destroyed. I doubt these haemexii intended to do so, and I admit they were a destructive wonder to behold, but regardless, my chronicles are now gone.

In all bleakness we must strive to find a reason to continue. Sometimes it’s simply to spread further doom, other times it’s because we have a mission. Though I’d lost much, I still had my life, and Mascar and Sjazzara were still with me (Mascar had lost an eye by this point; a fact about which he appears unduly proud). Though our wagon and its master had been crushed, I can at least attest that we formed a regiment of survivors, monsters, and stragglers who endeavored to support us in case of future attacks. We experienced two on the road to Fair Bay, but our ramshackle assembly more than held their own. Sometimes unpredictability is what’s required to overwhelm the foe, it seems, and my coin and gems from Draoidahaek were more than enough to maintain their loyalty. I dubbed our regiment “the Magi’s Hands,” which I feel is appropriate.

By the time we reached Fair Bay and our way out of Creuore, each of us was footsore and irritable. Mascar was constantly initiating conflict with our followers, Sjazzara was ever more prone to her ravings, and I was impatient to leave. Fair Bay is an intriguing locale, however, and I wish to write a little of it. Where much of Creuore is swallowed by wilderness and the predators use the crag and the tree as cover, Fair Bay appears to be a pleasant seaside town with a healthy port. It’s a place of quietness and suspicion, but lacks overt threat. The people there have no desire to engage a visitor in conversation (though I have fine ways of making a person more conversant than they’d choose to be) and it seemed I could rest a while until a ship was ready to leave for my next destination.

Then, dear reader, came the vampires. The blood drinkers in Fair Bay are distinct from those in Falcassel, and even those in Home, or far off Mute Tower. They resemble a cross between something human, a bat, and a rat. They possess huge ears and leathery wings. But I only discovered this once I’d persuaded a local to open up about these predators, because not once did I see one. These “Ort” vampires are trackers and hunters, and they hate to be seen. Sjazzara was constantly talking about making offerings to the Ort, but I wanted to lay in wait until one showed itself.

Dear reader, I regret to say that our ship left Fair Bay before an Ort appeared to me. Or so I thought. Mayhap one was visiting me as I slept, because I discovered blood on my throat, beneath my scales, on three occasions upon waking. At first I put it down to the incessant flying insects in the town, but my exhaustion compels me to believe that while I didn’t encounter one of these vampires, one or more of them encountered me.

We left the Magi’s Hands with a stipend and sailed via the Still Sea on to the Kingdom of the Malignant Mind, where the ship’s captain was due to make a one-day stop. I persuaded him to remain in dock a little longer, as I wanted to explore this most mysterious of kingdoms. Few who have visited this realm write of it in detail, perhaps due to its reputation for mentally subjugating anyone who dares remain.

Oh, I am delighted to record the following, dear reader: the Kingdom of the Malignant Mind is a bounteous place. I’ve never before seen such verdant fields, so many lush and rich crops, cities of such opulence and peoples so calm and obedient. I’m aware that mental enslavement renders the people so still, but it was something bizarre and fascinating to behold firsthand. Draoidahaek could never function in such a way (and I know it never shall) as freedom of mind is central to our kingdom. Spend a little time in the Kingdom of the Malignant Mind, however, and you might start questioning freedom’s value. Such peace. Such prosperity!

The Kingdom of the Malignant Mind lacks in some areas, however. Conversation was trying and limited. Few “drones” wished to engage us, even under duress. The cities were encountered lacked florid names or descriptions, despite how amazingly pioneering they might appear. They were simply numbered: One, Two, and so on (for the sake of honest recording, good reader, I did not visit any cities beyond One and Two). 

Further, this is the kingdom where we lost Sjazzara. I can only assume the eponymous “Malignant Mind” objected to our insane vampire’s attempt at mental meddling with some of the drones, because one night Mascar and I noticed Sjazzara had simply vanished. We asked the locals, interrogated possible witnesses, and attempted to locate a trail, but all we learned was this, repeated word for word by most of the people in the city of Two: “Your friend is now part of a greater mind. Do not mourn her. She is now the limb of a god.”

I admit to feeling sour about this. I had paid Sjazzara for three seasons work, all of it up front. Blame my naivete as a traveler, perhaps, but I’d hoped she might last longer than two of them. Mascar was aggrieved to the point of violence. He commenced a campaign of cleaving through drones and their tentacled masters, his skull somehow resisting their telepathic intrusions. I theorize that each attempt at control only aggravated him further. Whatever the truth of it, I retreated alone to the ship in Welcome Harbor, where the captain had agreed to meet us. From here, I was to voyage north, bypassing the remaining islands of this kingdom until arriving in Penance, in the Kingdom of Xin.

A long voyage awaits, and I hope dearly that I can achieve some rest between mapping tidal patterns and the passage of the suns and moon.

Hello Monsters,

We're bouncing around the draft manuscript again today, jumping way into the end with Appendix II. This is a quick but stuffed section that covers Expansion and Consolidation regarding troops you may acquire in the game.

Legions of gauntlets flock to the banner of strong warriors. Once these despots have filled their ranks, stuffed their coffers, and left their names on the quivering lips of the terrified masses, it’s time to take stock of their victories from the relative safety of the underground. Dungeons act as fortresses for the aspiring warlord, balancing security for their conquests with an external sign of their ever-growing power. 

Expansion places a regiment of (mostly) loyal mercs under the squad’s direct control. The army’s theirs to command in any way they see fit, and as the squad cuts through the terrain to ensure its infamy is well justified, the army picks up the scraps, keeps the locals in line, and maintains the legend. This rampaging regiment takes anything their masters desire, repurposing and reconfiguring whatever they find into something useful for an army. Akin to a swarm of locusts, the regiment leaves behind only that which they’ve no use for: blackmail material, valuable materials, fighters and skilled workers are all targeted equally, for the regiment is nothing if not resourceful.

Consolidation inevitably follows. Once the regiment’s taken everything and everyone they can carry, the dungeon provides a place of respite, a place to return to and count your coin, craft your wonders, and ensure no one can do to you what you’ve done to them. Machines of war are constructed, making way for expansion on an even grander scale.


Some quick things to note before we get into the manuscript.

First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. And that's as of today - we're all in the dark about how things will look in 2 years. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they haven't been able to set up ongoing international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.

The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you aren't sure you want one of the hardcover editions, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.

Over the course of this campaign, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Monster Kingdoms, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in monster-sized sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next several weeks, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.

Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/TpaaPsUqJ79zD1kE6


You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Monster Kingdoms creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the banner.