A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Lusus Naturae

Lusus Naturae by Rafael Chandler is a role playing game supplement published by Neoplastic Press for use with Lamentations of the Flame Princess. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and everything bar the supplement and system names. images, graphics and layout design is considered to be Open Game Content. This is a bestiary, but one of a dark and grim nature.

The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG as a PDF, which was Pay What You Want when purchased, and there is a hardcover available that was printed in limited quantities. The PDF comes in several versions. The main Lusus Naturae PDF is a 136 page PDF (which will be the one discussed) that simply lacks the cover. There is a 68 page landscape version of this text as well, with the same content. There is a 164 page printer friendly PDF (this is longer as the text is single column). Finally there is a 106 page PDF that just contains the monster images. There is also a single page PDF that is the front and rear covers and spine. For the primary PDF, two pages are the front matter, two pages are the list of backers who funded the project, one page is the Table of Contents, two pages are ads for other books by the author and one page is the Open Game License.

The Doctrine is a single page and says that monsters need us, and acknowledge the debt – the same way some acknowledge an animal they have slain or food they are eating.

The Preface is half a page and is an introduction by the author.

The Instructions are half a page and have a few details on the supplement. Some monsters have details for what happens when the ‘Killing Blow’ is struck against them. These are temporary or permanent effects, and ones that are not necessarily good (such as effectively causing the end of the world). Some monsters also require information from players, which the Referee may need to provide. Compatibility says that the monsters could be adapted to other OSR systems, with a bit of work, but LotFP creatures have less stats for creatures for most systems, and the text makes occasional references to Narcosa (and there are a few names that are also mentioned in the Teratic Tome). Hit Points are given for the Referee’s convenience, but they can roll their own. Finally, Treasure gives some numbers to use to generate coinage; in the descriptions, they are given results such as “assortment” and this translates those results into dice rolls.

Next are the monsters – and these are monsters, probably even more than the Teratic Tome was. This is definitely not a bestiary for everyone. There are vicious creatures that destroy an area simply by turning up (in some cases, massive destruction is caused as an omen before a monster turns up).

There is a monster that wants to feel the joy of creation, so warps creatures. Another turns up and destroys cities, but not randomly; it chooses specific cities in order to save the world (and killing the monster has bad side effects). There is a sentient universe in humanoid form and a metal gauntlet housing the spirit of an evil wizard (who created several monsters). Another creates new lifeforms from the people of towns it destroys (and these creatures have their own entries). In short, there are a lot of very nasty creatures. They would all appear to have unique abilities, with unique effects – the sentient universe uses its black hole ability to suck creatures in, send them on an unconscious tour for aeons, and then spits them out again. Changed.

The Appendix starts with Anagrammed Spells. Void’s Memory (full name: The Void’s Memory of a Cold and Hateful Smile Elicited by the Shrill Screams of Children Who Were Startled by the Rumble of a Thousand World-Long Feathers Upon the Alabaster Wings of God), a unique once-deity, sends spells back to their caster by anagramming them (e.g., magic missile becomes gel is miasmic) and this provides anagrams for LotFP cleric and magic-user spells, with tables to generate their new effects.

Monster Generator is a series of tables for randomly generating monsters, albeit without stats, including their type, name, location, nemesis and desires.

Diseases has five actual, weird, real world disease and tables for randomly creating the effects of new diseases.

Finally, there is a d100 table, Found in the Monster’s Lair, of weird and perhaps unique things to discover.

Lusus Naturae in Review

The PDFs, with the logical exception of the printer-friendly version – which is designed for printing after all – are extensively bookmarked. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth. Many monsters refer to others in the text; these references are hyperlinked. Navigation is very good.

The text, in the main supplement, follows a two column format and appeared to be almost free of errors. The landscape format PDF is presumably intended to be used with screens; however this does not work on smaller tablets. The book is extensively illustrated, with every monster having an illustration. Most are in full colour but some, such as the creatures from the monochrome land of Chiaroscuro (logically) and various spirits are not. The largest illustration is a full-colour two page spread. These illustrations are regularly graphically violent and have gore, and full or partial nudity also features. Having the monster illustrations available in a separate PDF, with each illustration on a single page, is a very nice addition.

For many of the monsters, bad things happen. Bad things before they come (lethal omens; 0 level characters do not fare well against most of these creatures), bad things when they arrive and, sometimes, bad things after they are killed. And by “bad”, this means up to and including world-ending (and possibly more; one creature will invert the entire universe – solid becomes vacuum and vice versa; the universe is an expanse of matter pocked with tiny holes afterwards). Although this fits with the LotFP concept that monsters are potential campaign changers, otherwise they are filler, not every GM is going to want something so devastating roaming around in their campaign.

With the world-ending consequences that some monsters have when they die, they are simply impossible to fight. It’s a lose/lose situation for PCs; if they fight and lose, they die, if they fight and win, they will probably die when the world ends. As interesting as these might be, it’s debateable just how usable or playable they are in a campaign.

Now, whether or not any individual monster, or even any of them, described in this supplement is appreciated by the GM, the way they are done should be. Many – not all; some are standalone – monsters are connected to others in different ways. They are associated with them, they created or were created by them or they have a rivalry. This adds a lot of colour to the supplement. There are also potential adventure hooks built into every monster description – including a flea-caused child-zombie-apocalypse (it only affects children). The monsters are not necessarily evil either, but a lot of evil can be done “for the greater good.” So, this is a collection of well described, interesting creatures, all with unique abilities of some type and adventure hooks, plus an interconnecting mythos in many cases. More books should be written like that. Perhaps not as gruesomely and destructively as the monsters in this one, but there are definite things to take away for creating monsters.

Lusus Naturae is not for everyone. It may only have a comparatively small audience of those who appreciate and want to use its monsters. Many readers will find parts, or perhaps all, of the supplement horrific and unpleasant. Those who are offended should probably stay away. It is worth getting to see how the monsters are written about, interconnected and made different from the norm, even for a GM who will never, ever use a single one of these in their campaign. That is where this book shines – through a sheen of blood and gore. Lusus Naturae is a definitely disturbing collection of gruesomeness that many should probably avoid and it can be found by clicking here.