Arcana Evolved

Arcana Unearthed (properly Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed, ISBN ) 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 rituals, and both also involve choices on the part of both the player and character that are much more far-reaching than those typically faced by D&D characters (especially Spryte transformation, which is permanent and irrevocable). Cook emphasizes that players should avoid archetypes (presumably referring to the character archetypes of Dungeons & Dragons) and design their characters more creatively. In fact, shortly after the game was released, Monte Cook's website, www.montecook.com, held a character design competition.

The campaign setting for Arcana Unearthed is the lands of The Diamond Throne, a land ruled by giants (in contrast to the human dominance assumed in most other fantasy settings). The setting includes many elements of a traditional fantasy setting, along with a focus on ritual and ceremony, runes, and the magical properties of crystals.

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