A systemless expansion of monsters, all familiar yet entirely new. Things like, "sure we have owl bears, but what about a snow owl-polar bear (Powlbear)?".

If you read the Baby Beastiaries, you know the quality Metal Weave Games is known for but if you haven't, this is the perfect place to start.

You are looking at Atlas Animalia. And really, in this reviewer's opinion, reading it is somewhat similar to perhaps studying an animal encyclopedia. The main advantage to have here, primarily, is to broaden your own perception of traditional DnD monster staples. For the longest time, legendary monsters blended features of various real (if exaggerated) animals in various proportions. So what this book does, in a nutshell, is show you some ideas of how monsters blended from animal (okay, okay, and mushrooms in case of Myconids and plants in case of Treants. Let's not get too technical here) features could differ from one region to another. And really, in a way, it's fascinating!

Every creature in the book gets four variations, each provided with a decent illustration (though perhaps not as utterly impressive as the full page illustrations Metal Weave Games' Baby Bestiary had) and a (primarily lore-oriented) description. Having backed two volumes of Baby Bestiary and now Atlas Animalia - I am certainly not underwhelmed. Lore hooks are plenty, and it raises interesting questions - the diversity of creatures and the options of making them more distinctive depending on where your party is adventuring.

Now what this isn't, is it's not a crunchy supplement giving you alternative stats with which to surprise a number-savvy party of heroes. But then, it doesn't need to be, because it's not the point. An important part of roleplaying comes from narrative and honestly, having as much fuel for that fire as possible is a great thing in my book. Besides, look at it this way! You are not being forced to apply it to any single system!

Ultimately, Atlas Animalia isn't something a creative DM couldn't come up with. But it does a fantastic job giving the mind a jolt (both visual and narrative) and get you pondering variations. Not an absolute must-have, perhaps, but certainly a worthy collector's item to broaden one's horizons!

This amazing book is a monster compendium, a field guide, an ecology and biology book and an art book all rolled into one versatile supplement. Moreover, it's system agnostic, so a wide range of people can enjoy it. It even works as a brilliant coffee table book, especially for non-gamers, as it is a great jumping-off point into the world of Tabletop Gaming.

The unique and interesting critters presented in this book are a great addition to any DM's toolbox of fluff and inspiration. A fascinating book to read, it also has great pictures and wonderful explanations of the lore around fantasy monsters. The writing is witty, humorous and charming and goes well with the colorful and distinctive art. Also, it feels great to see a mostly female team producing such quality content - more women in gaming is always good to see.

Overall, this is an innovative book with fun art and good writing. Definitely buy for me!