Ekphrastic Beasts (2021) is a beautiful experiment. Ekphrasis means “description” in Greek, but it has come to mean a sort of vivid writing penned in reaction to a piece of art. “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats, is maybe the most famous example. Janaka Stucky isn’t reacting to pottery, though — rather, he is describing, and parsing into 5E D&D game terms — monsters painted by a group of artists. They include primarily Ellie Jo Livingston, Jeremy Hush, Joe Keinberger and Nathan Reidt, with single bonus contributions by Arik Roper and Skinner. It’s a compelling body of visual work as a whole, but I find myself particularly engaged by Ellie Jo, who manages to filter very modern ideas through a style that keeps pulling me back to a much earlier Golden Age of Illustration style that I have trouble identifying. Dulac, maybe? Nathan Reidt’s work is also very striking, like a collection of horrible, squishy flesh toys. They’re loathsome in the best possible way.

Stucky’s writings aren’t overshadowed by the amazing art. He ping-pongs back and forth as dictated by the illustrations, fleshing out conventionally folkloric creatures like owl harpies then wringing interesting lore from hard-to-fathom beasts like, well, all of Reidt’s work. Roper and Skinner’s works are paired up ever-battling twin titans. Sometimes the stories seem familiar, sometimes deeply weird, but all the time, Stucky is trying to deconstruct or recontextualize accepted monster tropes in the new creatures he is portraying. It isn’t structured as such, but the end effect of Ekphrastic Beasts is very similar to The Monster Overhaul in pushing the GM’s mind to question preconceptions about monster and push against their cliches.

Same is good. But different is good, too, and often more rare. I want more books to push this way.