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November 2025: The Company of Monsters Issue 2
This issue contains the rules for creating characters, including 5 playbooks and 6 monster types (you can also create your own monster types), presented in the form of ready-to-use character sheets. Along with Issue 1, this gives you enough to play the game.You can download the pdf from this post, a...
October 2025: The Company of Monsters Zine Issue 1
We are now releasing The Company of Monsters in the format of a zine.This has been a difficult game to write for many reasons. The last few years have been especially hard. So I decided to change the format, in the hopes that new tactics would make for more progress. So I'm trying to make an ash...
September 2025 Monthly Monster: Segmented Raveller
Some mutated ravellers storm through the dungeon, eating all that comes before them. Until they must rest, and then they turn themselves to stone and set themselves up inside a popular tunnel, blocking all from passing through. Ha ha ha. Stats for OSE.
August 2025 Monthly Monster: The Common Raveller
Perhaps the closest thing the dungeon has to a domesticated animal, the common raveller has an unfortunate desire to consume magic, which causes it to change and mutate into the next few monster releases. Stats for OSE.
July 2025 Monthly Monster: Goblin Blacksmith
The goblin blacksmith makes weapons of war. He might even make some for you adventuring types, if you've got the coin to pay for them. He also has a dog, but if you want to see his dog you have to check the bonus monster. Stats for OSE.
June 2025 Monthly Monster: Eyecap Rootling
Its head looks like the cap of a mushroom. And its gills throw spores into the air just the same. But when the spores hit your skin, new eyes grow in an instant. Stats for OSE.
May 2025 Monthly Monster: Excavator Rootling
Made from roots like homunculi, they carve out new tunnels and passageways. Are they created by wizards? Or by the dungeon itself. Stats for OSE.
April 2025 Monthly Monster: The Koropede
The Koropede is a brainworm. It takes over your body and lobotomizes you, and then it runs around causing chaos! Stats for Old-School Essentials.
March 2025 Monthly Monster: The False Knight
He's a knight adventuring in the unknown lands, and he wears a metal mask to hide the curse he seeks to lift. Or does he? Maybe there is a monster underneath that mask and not a human? Stats for OSE.
February 2025 Monthly Monster: Zorgo and Jamnu
As you can see, we have fallen behind on regular releases. This is partly because we have been working on some new stuff that isn't the normal releases. That stuff will be ready soon.Anyway, here's a guy who investigates the purple crystals, written up for OSE.
Old-School Essentials Collection 3
This is yet another collection of old monsters now in the OSE format.
Essential Enemies 10: Temples of Greed is released!
The long-delayed tenth issue of our Old-School Essentials monster manual zine is finally available for sale. I have sent DriveThruRPG coupons to all active members, if you want the less-expensive print version or you want the pdf in your library there. Thanks everybody!Link to DriveThruRPG:https://l...
January 2025 Monthly Monster: Bugbear Summoner
This bugbear summons a great stink from hell, and the demons to go with it. Stats for OSE only.
In the Outlands Preview
Here's a little thing we've been cooking up. Conceptually, this is a rules-lite rpg system meant for one-shots, or semi-linked episodic play. It's also meant to be the basis for adventure modules (some with self-contained rules similar to these), and also more complicated games like Outl...
EE10 is finished.
Essential Enemies is back! Yes, there was a short hiatus due to real life issues, but a new issue is now finished.Essential Enemies 10: Temples of Greed is a collection of monsters concerned with things like treasure, payment, and money.Around the end of the month, this issue will become publicly av...
December 2024 Monthly Monster: Harpion Death Knight
This mummified harpy is the herald of an army of the living dead.OSE stats only in this pdf.
November 2024 Monthly Monster: Cave Grubs
These small, angry bugs can be a lifesaver for adventurers trapped in the underworld with no other source of food and water. But the consequences can be dire, for the mutagenic magic of chaos is concentrated in their flesh!This pdf has OSE stats only.
October 2024 Monthly Monster: Prismatic Infection
Is it Cronenburg's Rhinoceros? Or Lovecraft's Invasion of the Body Snatchers? I don't know I didn't really think about those influences until after I wrote the initial premise. DW and OSE stats in the same pdf.
September 2024 Monthly Monster: Waiter Golems
The wizard has not been back to his sanctum in many years, but his waiter golems are still their, and if you break in to steal his treasures, they will offer you food and drink, and candles to dine by. But not all the food and drink is as good as it looks. Stats for DW and OSE in the same pdf.
August 2024 Monthly Monster: Living Archive
These giant jellyfish crab things come from beyond the stars. They bleed psychic thoughts, because their original purpose was to collect knowledge from the worlds their now-extinct masters wanted to conquer. And how do they gain such information? By storing the memories of the people the devour. DW ...
Old-School Essentials Collection 2
Here's another collection of old monsters now in the OSE format. Of course, these will eventually show up in future issues of the Essential Enemies zine.
July 2024 Monthly Monster: Devil Dwarves Part 1
The devil dwarves are a group of demons, usually summoned by dwarves in order to send them against the goblins. This is part 1, with stats for Dungeon World and Old-School Essentials in the same pdf.
EE9 is now available to the public!
Anybody can now buy this zine. The DriveThruRPG link for pdf and glue-bound print version:https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/486046/EE9-Not-of-This-Earth-Essential-Enemies-9And here's the Lulu link for the staple-bound high quality print version:https://www.lulu.com/shop/johnstone-metzger-a...
EE9 is done!
Essential Enemies 9: Not of This Earth is finished. The pdf is attached to this post. Enjoy!
Old-School Essentials Collection 1
Making these Essential Enemies zines means I re-work various old monsters into an Old-School Essentials format, but then don't put them in the next issue because they don't fit the theme. So they'll go in a future issue, at some point. But they're finished so you might as well see th...
June 2024 Monthly Monster: The False Prince
The false prince is an eleven con artist, but he has a beastman buddy with him. Together they rob rich people. DW and OSE stats in the same pdf.
May 2024 Monthly Monster: Star Dogs
The star dogs were created to patrol the interplanar highways of an ancient empire. But that empire is long gone now, and only the highways remain, and the star dogs who guard them. DW and OSE stats in the same pdf.
April 2024 Monthly Monster: Plague Harpies
Vested with the power to distribute plagues by the Monster King himself, they say these plague harpies became mercenaries after the king's demise, and now there is only one left. But can you really believe the rumours? DW and OSE versions in the same pdf.
EE8 is now available to the public!
Essential Enemies 8: From Underground is now available for the public to purchase! I have sent DriveThruRPG coupons to the emails of all active patrons so you can have the pdf in your library there and buy the glue-bound standard-colour print booklet for the cost of printing and shipping, if you wou...
Essential Enemies 8 is finished.
Life is pretty stressful right now so lots of stuff is late, but the newest issue of our Old-School Essentials monster manual zine is finished. This one contains monsters from the literal and criminal undergrounds.At the end of the month this issue will become available to the general public and I w...
