Mage Hand Press presents
The Book of Extinction
Extinct animals resurrected for the world’s greatest roleplaying game
Bring three extinct species back to life in your D&D game with this preview featuring the ghost tiger of New Zealand (thylacine), the feathered tide that made America (passenger pigeon), and the ocean master of an exploding island (great auk).
These three monsters are the first of many in the full book coming to Kickstarter in 2022, like the Pyrenean ibex, Carolina parakeet, Yangtze river dolphin, and, of course, the dodo.
Support conservation through D&D
The biodiversity of our natural world has created the history, folklore, and mythology that power fantasy stories. We are at risk of losing them as the earth’s sixth mass extinction accelerates, with more species likely to disappear in the next 20 years than in the last century alone.
Pay what you want, and every penny will go to support conservation organizations working to preserve endangered species.
Project Milestones
We have a few milestones to reach over the next year as we bring the Book of Extinction to life:
- Finalize the details of a grant so that proceeds from the preview can be used for conservation efforts
- Finish the official cover and logo design
- Write new monsters based on extinct animals like the Pyrenean ibex and Carolina Parakeet
- Produce new episodes of the companion podcast “Making a Monster: Extinction”
- Launch the Kickstarer campaign for the full, physical book in 2022!
We’ll share each milestone with you as we reach it.
How to Get Involved
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Play D&D! Using these monsters in your game gives you the chance to talk about conservation and the climate crisis in a constructive, interesting way.
- Share the project with your friends on social media
- Network. If you can connect us with conservation organizations or animal experts, please email us to let us know!
Listen to the companion podcast
Making a Monster: Extinction
The truth is stranger than fiction.
Learn more about history, game design, and conservation as we make fantasy lore out of real-life stories: fossilized cyclops remains, the natural history of the griffin, and the housecat who killed an entire species, just for a start!
Guest Experts
- Steve Sullivan, Director of the Hefner Museum of Natural History
- Stan Rachootin, Professor of Biological Sciences at Mount Holyoke University (appearing courtesy of the Beneski Museum of Natural History)
- Kieran Suckling, founder and Executive Director at the Center for Biological Diversity
- Tierra Curry, Senior Scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity
Media
Press Release: “Extinct animals returning to life through Dungeons & Dragons“