Dungeons & Dragons and dodos come together to raise awareness for endangered animals
Saving throws and the environment.
A new supplement created for the popular tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons looks to shed light on endangered species.
The Book of Extinction is an upcoming RPG book designed to be used with D&D 5E, that seeks to raise awareness of the many species of animals who are currently in danger of becoming no-more or are already gone. Featuring over 70 different species of creature inspired by various real-life animals whose livelihood is currently under threat – or have been wiped off the planet - the supplement will provide game masters with a collection of tools to include a menagerie of weird and wonderful beasts.
Of the many creatures found within the Book of Extinction, examples include beasts inspired by the Pyrenean ibex – a horned wild goat that is already extinct – the Carolina parakeet, a small extinct parrot with a bright green plumage, the now non-existent Yangtze River dolphin and, perhaps the most famous extinct creature, the dodo. All of the beasts featured in the tabletop RPG book are fantastical versions of their real-life counterparts, with each one possessing a collection of amazing abilities that make them formidable friends or foes.
Other creatures contained within the book are the Tasmanian thylacine wolf – which has the ability to become a ghost – the Icelandian great auk Penguin, that can cast ice magic, and the North American passenger pigeon, a beast that appears in enormous migrating swarms in the Book of Extinction. Any money that the book’s publisher – Mage Hand Press – earns from its release will be donated to support various conservation efforts that are currently attempting to preserve endangered species. According to Mage Hand, the Earth is currently going through its sixth mass extinction with even more endangered species expected to be lost in the next 20 years, adding a sense of urgency to the need to preserve and protect wildlife across the world.
Besides publishing the Book of Extinction, Mage Hand Press – which is a company made up of authors Mike Holik and Alexander Binns – has previously released other supplements for D&D 5E including Dark Matter and Valda’s Spire of Secrets.
The Kickstarter campaign for the Book of Secrets is set to be launched sometime this Summer, with players and GMs able to access several previews of the creatures found in the book through the Mage Hand press website.