For a lot of players, choosing a species is the first real step in creating a character. It’s where the story starts. Before classes, subclasses, or backstories, there’s the question of who your character is and what shaped them.
That’s exactly why we created the Grand Species Almanacs.
These books weren’t designed to replace the classic fantasy ancestries people already love. They were built to expand what’s possible at the table; to offer species that feel strange, thematic, memorable, and mechanically unique without losing the roleplay potential that makes character creation exciting.
Some players want to be touched by elemental chaos. Others want to play something completely unexpected: a mimic adventurer, a sentient ooze, or a being born from living magic. These almanacs exist for those players.
More Than Just Reskins
One of the biggest goals behind these books was making each species feel like it truly belongs in the world.
That means every entry comes with:
- Lore and worldbuilding hooks
- Cultural ideas and origins
- Distinct mechanics
- Strong thematic identity
- Character inspiration built directly into the species itself
These aren’t just cosmetic variations. They’re designed to spark stories.
A storm genasi should feel fundamentally different from an ash genasi. A banshee character should carry emotional weight tied to memory and loss. A mimic shouldn’t simply look unusual; it should change the way a player approaches roleplay, exploration, and interaction.
We wanted every species to feel like the beginning of a character concept, not just a stat block.
The First Almanac: Elemental, Abyssal, and Wild
The first Grand Species Almanac explores lineages tied to primordial forces, strange ecosystems, and ancient powers.
Inside are:
- Expansive elemental genasi variants
- Abyssal tiefling bloodlines
- Plantfolk shaped by growth and decay
- Tiny elemental sprites
- Seafolk clans of reef, abyss, and storm
- New takes on familiar ancestries shaped by unique environments
The focus of this book is identity through origin. These species are shaped by the elements, the abyss, nature, and the world itself.
They feel mythic, ancient, and deeply connected to the forces around them.
The Second Almanac: Strange, Living, and Unpredictable
The second almanac pushes much further into the bizarre and experimental side of fantasy.
This is where you’ll find:
- A mimic that can become almost anything
- A sentient gelatinous cube
- A banshee bound to memory
- A failed mind flayer
- Reality-warping predators
- And dozens more strange evolutions of life and magic
Where the first book focuses on elemental and environmental identity, this one explores transformation, mutation, instinct, and magical creation.
Some species evolved naturally.
Some were altered by magic.
Some probably should not exist at all.
And that’s what makes them fun.
Designed for Players and DMs
For players, these books are packed with new ways to stand out at the table and create characters people actually remember.
For DMs, they’re tools for worldbuilding.
Every species introduces new cultures, factions, mysteries, and narrative hooks that can reshape regions, settlements, and encounters. Even if nobody plays one of these species, they can still enrich the setting itself.
A village of fungal plantfolk.
A drifting colony of mimic merchants.
Storm-touched sailors descended from elemental tides.
A forgotten ruin inhabited by failed psychic experiments.
These species create stories naturally.
Built to Inspire Character Ideas
Whether you want to play something heroic, unsettling, tragic, whimsical, monstrous, or completely alien, the goal is always the same: give players more ways to tell stories that feel fresh.
From our table to yours.