Bestiary preview: the Malkin, Bipedal Cats

“Puss in Boots” is an Italian fairy tale first published in the mid-sixteenth century in Italy, according to Wikipedia. Magonomia® co-author and folklore expert Timothy Ferguson found comparable legends from England. We give you the latest preview from our upcoming A Bestiary of Enchanted England: the Malkin, English cats who walk upright when you’re not looking!

In-process illustration of Malkins, by Teresa Guido

The malkins appear to be cats, but have the ability to stand upright and use tools. During the day they are, apparently, house pets, but once their owners are asleep they gather. Their society is complex: they have a king and religious rituals like weddings and burials. Their king, Tim Toldrum, lives in Lancashire, but various outcasts and fortune hunters of their kind have drifted to the larger cities. The king’s claim to control them is about as solid as Elizabeth’s claim to the Crown of France.

A Bestiary of Enchanted England: Coming to Kickststarter, May 2022

Text by Timothy Ferguson. Unfinished illustration by Teresa Guido. ©2022 Shewstone Publishing LLC.

Bestiary preview - The Laidly Toad Queen

A Bestiary of Enchanted England is not your typical RPG bestiary. It’s based on authentic folk tales and Renaissance writings, filled with lore and plot hooks. Coming to Kickstarter in May 2022.

Centuries ago, the wicked queen Anura fell prey to her own curse, and became a huge, immortal toad. By the Reign she has grown to the size of a horse. Local folklore tells maidens to avoid her seashore, as she spits poison at them, in envy of their beauty. What it carefully does not say is that the network of the queen's servants has also persevered. She commands many of the local criminals, and her lieutenants are witches that she has trained.

Anura's history is well known in Bamburgh and its surrounds. It is repeated in local lore as the ballad of The laidly worm of Spindleston Heugh. "Laidly" is a dialect word meaning "loathsome." Before it was bought into Northumberland, Bamburgh was a small kingdom on the Scottish border. The king was widowed and remarried. On returning home with a new wife, the king introduced his daughter Isobel as "the finest of women" which made her new stepmother so envious she turned Isobel into a dragon. When Isobel's brother, Wynd, returned from the Crusades he turned the spell back upon Anura, cursing her to be a toad until the end of the world.

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Text by Timothy Ferguson. Illustration by Angela Taylor. A Bestiary of Enchanted England coming to Kickstarter in May 2022.

Bestiary teaser - Bugbear

Did you know that “bugbear” is an English word dating to the 16th century? Although we know and love them as monsters from a famous fantasy RPG, bugbears weren’t made up by RPG designers. They come from English folklore. Our upcoming Bestiary of Enchanted England takes this classic monster back to its roots.

Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games

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Here are some excerpts from our manuscript on bugbears, by Mark Lawford. ©2022 Shewstone Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

With a broad toothy grin and eyes that glow green, these fur-covered man-things feed on fear, apprehension, and self-doubt. They are more common than people ever suspected and as society built villages, towns, and cities around them so the bugbears followed. They hide in the dark places; in the unlit narrows and alleys of the city, in deserted burnt-out tenements, and under beds as people pray for sleep...

Bugbears used to be found in the dark and dank reaches of old woodlands. They would feed upon the unseen miasma created by fears and worries of humans who strayed from the path and become lost. But as mankind built more elaborate settlements, the bugbears migrated with them. People encounter them all the time without knowing it. They hear their footsteps behind them when they need to go into the dusty loft, they spot their shadows in the lonely dark alley, and they feel their presence beneath their bed at night. And the bugbears feed...

With their ability to melt into the shadows, they can hide from their chosen victim for many months, sustaining itself on magical humours and vapours given off by the victim's fear and self-doubt. Despite its fearsome appearance, a bugbear never attacks physically, but when the spell is broken and the bugbear itself is threatened it tries to make its escape.

Those knowing a little lore about bugbears may know that the light shed from a green candle illuminates the creatures regardless of where they are in the room or whether they are using their powers to hide themselves.

Upcoming Product: Bestiary of Enchanted England!

Our first full-length sourcebook for Magonomia® is in the works: the Bestiary of Enchanted England.

Edit, February 8, 2022: I added additional creatures: the Knocker, Tombwarden, Shadowbeasts, and Walking Stones. Also, a few taglines have been updated.

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(short summary) A book of lore and plot hooks for 24 creatures from English folklore, with original black-and-white illustrations, for the Magonomia® RPG.

Dragon image ©2005 Dover Publications, Inc. Used with permission.

The Bestiary of Enchanted England is a supplement for Magonomia®, the tabletop RPG of Renaissance wizardry, which is based on the Fate™ engine. It describes 24 faeries, fantastic beasts, and spirits from the folklore and literature of 16th-century England. These aren’t primarily combat opponents: the emphasis is on lore and plot hooks to help you weave these creatures into wondrous game sessions.

The Bestiary of Enchanted England includes:

• Afanc, The Unseen Beast Below

• Black Annis, Stealer of Children

• Bugbear, the Thing Under the Bed

• Dragon lore (no statistics; there are several dragons in the Magonomia core book)

• Eala, a Haunted Musical Instrument

• Elves, the People Under the Hills

• Grim, the King of Ghosts

• The Haid, Faerie Thieves

• Hobyah, a Gang of Wicked Elves

• Kenidjack, the Bright-Eyed Demon of Cornwall

• The Laidly Toad Queen

• Malkin, Bipedal Cats (similar to Puss in Boots)

• The Merchicken of Portland (it’s a real legend!)

• Milcha, Queen of the Enchanted Isle

• The Questing Beast, Creature of Arthurian Legend

• Satyr, Spirits of the Wild

• Scitalis, the Wondrous Serpent

• Shadowbeasts

• Tombwarden

• Troll

• Urban Wisp

• Walking Stones

• Waelcyrian, Spirits of Ill Omen

• Whale Eater, a Dragon of the Sea

The names and taglines for each creature are subject to change, but these are the creatures that will be included.

The book will be a 6”x9” (US trade size) hardcover, approximately 120 pages. Electronic versions (PDF, EPUB, and Kindle) will also be available.

The creative team consists of:

• Authors: Timothy Ferguson, Mark Lawford, Christian Jensen Romer

• Illustrators: Steven Bachan, Teresa Guido, Jeff Koch, Angela Taylor, Colin Throm

We’re aiming for crowdfunding in May or June this year. Check back or follow us on social media for progress updates!

Magonomia is on DriveThruRPG!

After more than five years of development, Magonomia, the RPG of Renaissance wizardry, is published! Everyone plays a wizard wielding magic based on authentic Renaissance lore.

Magonomia, the RPG of Renaissance wizardry

Let’s recap the top 10 reasons to buy Magonomia.

1. 190 spells. At $25, that works out to just 13 cents per spell … plus you get the rest of the game along with them!

2. Finally, a practical use for all that Shakespeare you had to sit through in high school!

3. The first rule of secret societies is you do not talk about secret societies.

4. A game set in Enchanted England co-written by real Englishmen! One of them is even a bit barmy.

5. Very playable, but if you want to just look at the pictures, there's no shame in that. We do it ourselves sometimes.

6. If you buy it, we’ll tell you how to pronounce Magonomia.

7. Two words: swashbuckling wizard

8. We read a pile of sixteenth-century grimoires so you don’t have to.

9. Cursing your enemies is fun!

10. No arguing over who gets to play the wizard. Everyone gets to play the wizard!