''Arcana Unearthed'' (properly ''Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed'', ), first published in 2003, is a role-playing game created by

Monte Cook Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, worki ...

. Described as a "variant player's handbook", the 256-page hardcover core rulebook bears many similarities to the ''

Player's Handbook The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of ru ...

'' of 3rd Edition ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'', on which Cook worked a few years prior. ''Arcana Unearthed'' is based on the d20 system of ''Dungeons & Dragons,'' but because of the rules for character advancement, it cannot be an official d20 system product. It uses the

Open Gaming License The Open Game License (OGL) is a public copyright license by Wizards of the Coast that may be used by tabletop role-playing game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, nota ...

Development

''Arcana Unearthed'' (2003) was advertised as a "variant player's handbook" with an alternative system of d20 rules taking place in

's setting known as "The Diamond Throne," a world controlled by giants, which was later revised as ''Arcana Evolved'' (2005).

Themes

Two of the most important themes of the game are

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

and character choices. Two examples are ''metamorphosis'', in which ''faen'' become tiny, winged '' sprytes'', and ''Chi-Julud'', in which the wise ''

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

'' temporarily lose their wisdom to become stronger and more warlike. Monte Cook emphasized that players should avoid archetypes (presumably referring to the character archetypes of ''Dungeons & Dragons'') and design their characters more creatively.

Setting

The

campaign setting A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and c ...

for ''Arcana Unearthed'' is the lands of The Diamond Throne, a land ruled by

. The setting includes many elements of a traditional

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

setting, along with a focus on ritual and ceremony,

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

s, and the magical properties of

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

Title confusion

''Arcana Unearthed'' is not to be confused with ''

Unearthed Arcana ''Unearthed Arcana'' (abbreviated UA) is the title shared by two hardback books published for different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the core rulebooks, containing materia ...

'', the title of two books published in 1985 and 2004 that provided additional material for use in the then-current version of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The name ''Arcana Unearthed'' was chosen partially as a homage to the earlier of these two books. The announcement of the 2004 version came as an unpleasant surprise to Cook and some of his fans, who believed that they had an understanding with

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

that this title would not be re-used in the near future.

Reception

''Arcana Unearthed'' won the 2004 Gold

ENnie Award The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

for Best Game, and the Silver for Best Art (Cover). The cover, by artist

Mark Zug Mark Zug is an artist and illustrator who is known for his work with the Septimus Heap series and Harlan Ellison's adaption of I, Robot. He has illustrated many collectible card games, including Magic: The Gathering and Dune, as well as books an ...

, won the Chesley Award for Best Gaming-Related Illustration in 2005.

Arcana Evolved

''Arcana Evolved'' is an updated "director's cut" of ''Arcana Unearthed'' released in 2005. ''Arcana Evolved'' is 432 pages in full color. It adds the contents of two previously separate books, ''The Diamond Throne'' and the ''Player's Companion'', to the original variant player's handbook, along with new material including a new class and race, many new feats and spells, and rules for higher level characters than were possible in the original book. On the less mechanical side, it also advances the time line of the Diamond Throne campaign setting by several years - years which feature the return of dragons to the lands of the Diamond Throne, reviving an ancient rivalry with the ruling giants. ''Arcana Evolved'' won the 2005 Gold

Ennie Award The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

for "Best Interior Art".

Additional books

Malhavoc Press Malhavoc Press is an American publisher of role-playing games, specializing in third-party material for Dungeons & Dragons' third edition. History Game designer Monte Cook left Wizards of the Coast in April 2001, founding Malhavoc Press as a ...

have expanded the ''Arcana Unearthed'' universe with a series of books, including the rulebooks ''The Diamond Throne'', ''Legacy of Dragons'', ''Grimoire II'', and ''Mystic Secrets'', and the short story collection ''Children of the Rune''. Some other publishers, including Blue Devil Games, have also supported the ''Arcana Unearthed'' line. Since the release of ''Arcana Evolved'', Malhavoc has released a number of supporting books specific to the new edition, such as the ''Spell Treasury'', ''Transcendence'' and ''Ruins of Intrigue''. Sue Weinlein Cook edited the 2004 short story collection ''Children of the Rune''.