Booty and the Beasts (Fantasy Art Enterprises, 1979)

Reposting reportages from the Astrifiammante project

We’re looking at a softcover book in digest size format, 92 pages long. It’s a generic supplement for role-playing games (though, as often happened at the time, D&D was the unspoken reference point).

Right from the cover, you get the feeling this book is something special. The full wraparound illustration is a mix of humor and fantasy, with touches of sci-fi and horror. As you read the title page, it becomes clear we’re dealing with one of the legends of the industry, Erol Otus, a figure who shaped the first decade of RPG history with his outstanding style.

(Cover, Back, and Credits Page)

After a brief introduction, the table of contents shows the book is split between “Beasts” and the “Booty” section. I chose to highlight why Erol Otus was such an important figure in the early days of RPGs.

(Introduction and Table of Contents)

The first section of “Beasts” is devoted to earth-based creatures. In my opinion, it’s the best part of the entire book, enhanced by Otus’s stunning illustrations and featuring creatures that are both innovative and deeply unsettling. Reading the description of the “Dara,” it’s easy to understand why there was so much concern at the time about supposed satanic influences in RPGs.

(Creatures of the Earth)

The sea creatures section keeps the same high standard. Otus’s artwork once again gives the content a strong visual boost.

(Creatures of the Sea)

The sky creatures section reaches unexpected heights – especially with the “people with gas bags on their necks.” The imagination here is completely unrestrained, bordering on hallucinatory.

(Creatures of the Sky)

While the earlier sections were the book’s highlights, the demon section is noticeably weaker, lacking Otus’s artwork to bring the ideas to life. The parasite section has a few standout moments, like the “Macrosite,” and the robot section closes out the “Beasts” portion without much impact (though I admit I’ve never been a fan of robots, so apologies if that shows).

(Demons, Parasites, and Robots)

I want to give special attention to one creature found in the parasites section. It’s 1979, and many cinematic masterpieces were being released during those years. Among them is one that I challenge readers to guess based on the description of the “Neila.” (If it’s not clear enough, I’ve included the creature’s image as the last photo)

(The Neila)

The “Booty” section begins with magical items. It’s certainly interesting, but after the exceptional creativity in the first part of the book, this section feels noticeably weaker in comparison.

(Magical Items)

The technological items wrap up the book. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy here, except for the standard equipment of the United Empire of America.

(Technological Items)