Arcana Unearthed

Arcana Unearthed (properly Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed, ISBN 1-58846-065-7) is a role-playing game created by Monte Cook and first published in 2003. Described as a "variant player's handbook", the 256 page hardcover core rulebook bears many similarities to the Players Handbook of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, on which Cook worked a few years prior. In terms of rules, Arcana Unearthed is based on the d20 system of Dungeons & Dragons, although due to including rules for character advancement it cannot be an official d20 system product. (It does, however, use the Open Gaming License.) Two of the most important themes of the game are ritual and character choices. Both the setting information and the game rules emphasize these areas far more than is typical of Dungeons & Dragons products. Two examples are metamorphosis, in which faen become tiny, winged sprytes, and Chi-Julud, in which the wise giants temporarily lose their wisdom to become stronger and more warlike. Both involve...