''Monster Mythology'', published by TSR in 1992, is a sourcebook about non-human deities that can be used in

fantasy role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal a ...

s using the second edition rules for ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

'' (''AD&D'').

Description

''Monster Mythology'' is a 128-page leatherette-bound trade paperback written by

Carl Sargent Carl Lynwood Sargent (11 December 1952 – 12 September 2018) was a British parapsychologist and author of several roleplaying game-based products and novels, who used the pen name Keith Martin to write ''Fighting Fantasy'' gamebooks. Early life ...

, with interior artwork by

John and Laura Lakey John and Laura Lakey are artists whose work have appeared in role-playing games. Biography John and Laura Lakey are a husband and wife team of illustrators.http://lakeystudios.com/ While each of them has produced solo artwork, they more commonly ...

Keith Parkinson Keith A. Parkinson (October 22, 1958 – October 26, 2005) was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book covers and artwork for games such as ''EverQuest'', ''Guardians'', '' Magic: The Gathering'', and '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroe ...

, and Terry Dykstra. It was the fourth book in the ''Dungeon Master's Guide Rules'' series that was created for the second edition of ''AD&D''. The purpose of the book is to detail non-human deities, which, to that point, had not been described for this edition of ''AD&D''. As author Shannon Applecline points out, "Though the book is putatively a 'monster' mythology, it actually contains deities for demihumans, humanoids, and monsters alike." It contains detailed information on the societies, cultures, myths, and deities of several non-human pantheons, including those of the

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...

, dwarves,

gnomes A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its character ...

, halflings, orcs, goblins,

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

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 ...

drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil a ...

, and many other creatures. Keith Eisenbeis suggests the book can be thematically divided in two, with the first encompassing typical

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

races, and the second detailing "gods of the major intelligent societal creatures".

Introduction

The introduction sets out the theme of the book — non-human deities — and provides notes on using deities in a campaign, their common abilities, and how they are arranged in four tiers of power from Demigod up to Greater God.

The Gods

The majority of the book describes 131 divine beings, divided into eight mythos sections. Each entry includes a description, some game statistics including the deity's

alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

, the most common alignment of its worshippers, the god's area of control, and the god's symbol). Each section also describes the god's avatar and priesthood.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Avatars in Game Play

This section gives some further advice on how avatars may be developed in play, such as where an avatar might make its home, when it might become a patron of a group of adventurers or take on an adventurer as a sidekick, require rescue, lose a

magic item A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy. Their fictional ...

, need to be found by player characters, or become enamored with a mortal character.

Appendix 2: Deities and Game Worlds

This short appendix gives references where a Dungeon Master may find 2nd edition ''AD&D'' details on the deities of specific game worlds, such as the

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...

, Greyhawk,

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...

, and

Dark Sun ''Dark Sun'' is an original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (D&D) campaign setting set in the fictional, post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas. ''Dark Sun'' featured an innovative metaplot, influential art work, dark themes, and a genre-bending take o ...

Reception

In the May-June 1993 edition of ''

White Wolf Magazine ''White Wolf'' is a game magazine that was published by White Wolf Publishing from 1986 to 1995. History While still in high school, Stewart Wieck and Steve Wieck decided to self-publish their own magazine, and Steve chose the name "White Wolf" ...

'' (Issue 36), Keith Eisenbeis thought ''Monster Mythology'' was a "good product", but believed that the priests described were too powerful and unbalanced the game. Additionally, Eisenbeis thought inequities in the ability of priests to advance based on race were unfair. Overall, he gave the book an average rating of 3 out of 5. Writing in 2014, Shannon Appelcline called author Carl Sargent "one of TSR's best-respected authors in the 90s", and commented that this book "more than doubled the count of humanoid, demihuman, and monstrous deities. In particular it detailed new gods for underdark races like beholders, illithids, myconids, and svirfnebli, new undersea gods, new draconic gods, and new faerie gods (including

Shakespearian William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

favorites Titania and

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...

)."

References

{{D&D topics Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1992