One of the unexpected developments in writing this book was seeing how all these works began to reveal something larger than any individual creature. That's what happened in a very explicit way with Nathan Reidt's art.

Reidt's pieces are distinctly fleshy, alien, and biological in a way that felt connected—like they all belonged to the same ecosystem. So rather than treat each illustration as a standalone monster, I looked at the full body of his work for the book and asked: what if these are all species within a single alien civilization? From there I discovered the Xivvians—interdimensional organisms with their own biology, ecology, caste hierarchy, reproductive cycles, and cosmic agenda. Every one of Reidt's creatures lives among them, from the massive qhor'ox at the throbbing heart of each hive to the lowly xiks who attend their ohlaex masters. There are death cults, there are lamplighters—undead proto-humans sent back across the void to prepare our world for annihilation—and there is an alien world of peristaltic tunnels, membranous chambers, and noxious clouds that you can explore or simply let haunt the edges of your campaign.

For me, this is the ekphrastic method at its most expansive—where the art didn't illustrate the lore, but rather the art led me to an entire world.

If you've played Mörk Borg you already know one of the things that makes it great: it gives you just enough to ignite your imagination and trusts you to build the connective tissue yourself. That's the same philosophy behind the lore in Mörktastic Beasts. We give you the creatures, a taste of the mythology, and the stats—you decide where they live, how your players encounter them, and where they die. The xivvians could be lurking beneath a dying city, seeping through a rift at the edge of your map, or manipulating the machinations of the wretched royalty. Are the Xivvian Lamplighters a kind of Proto-Wickhead? Your game, your players, your encounters will yield the truth.!

That's already happening, by the way. I've gotten emails from backers who are homebrewing Mörk Borg campaigns around creatures from the book—and one person is building an entire adventure around the Xivvian mythology. That's exactly what this book is for.

~Janaka

Backers: the full spread draft for one of these Xivvians is below. Take a look and let us know what you think!