DnD monsters have a wide range of origins. Official Monster Manuals both new and old are a weird mish-mash of European folklore, Greek and Egyptian myth, Tolkien, and strange designs drawn right from the creators’ heads. Gary Gygax even pulled many famous monsters like the Owlbear from a bag of cheap misshapen plastic toys.
But this third-party bestiary of 80 creatures has a very distinct focus: it brings all sorts of monsters from African myths and legends to the game. Published by Legendary Games, the African Monsters book was apparently made by a diverse team of designers and features folkloric creatures from all over the continent, including Madagascar, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Chad, and more.
Released on Kickstarter on February 18, African Monsters has already raised $11,500 with 27 days still left to go on the crowdfunder. It’s actually part of a wider Legendary Games series, ‘World of Monsters’ which includes other bestiaries covering other parts of the world, such as Asia, Latin-America, and the Mediterranean.
With monsters spanning helpful allies to enemies at high and low Challenge Ratings, this DnD book offers a nice way to spice up your sessions – especially with players who are becoming too ‘genre-savvy’. Rather than a pack of gnolls, why not have your party beset by the brain-eating hyena ape Getiets? Sure, you could just have your party threatened by a gelatinous cube, but what if you menaced them with the “swallowing monster” Khodumodumo instead?
A free 17-page preview of African Monsters is available on DriveThruRPG. It contains 10 DnD monsters – a decent chunk of what the book has to offer. Scanning through, two things were quickly apparent to me: the book has great art and needed another round of proofreading – grammatical errors are the main drawback. Another thing I noticed is that two out of the ten monsters are specifically described as enjoying eating brains. I have to wonder if that pattern continues!
African Monsters will be available in print from September 2025, while PDF copies are expected to be released in March.
Keep up to date with all the latest Dungeons and Dragons details by following us on Google News. And don’t miss our helpful guides to all the DnD races and DnD classes.
Source: Wargamer
