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MAZES A Manual of Monsters

Created by 9th Level Games

A bestiary and lorebook of weird classic monsters for MAZES Fantasy Roleplaying, OSR style games, other Old School roleplaying games.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

May Update - Art Preview, Timeline Update, & Summer Con Schedule
26 days ago – Wed, May 13, 2026 at 08:46:30 AM

Art Preview 

We got some early sketches of the monsters from Tiger Wizard. They are looking rad! 

Production Status Timeline 

  • Manuscript Written & Edited ✔️
  • Layout Framework Created ✔️
  • New Tiger Wizard Art Completed - Expected by 6/10
  • Next steps
    • Graphic layout of the interior & exterior of the book (~6/25)
    • Proofread final laid out book interior & exterior (~ 6/30)
    • Make edits and corrections as needed (~ 7/3)
    • Obtain updated quote (~ 7/3)
    • Submit files to printer (~ 7/15) 
    • Approve digital proofs (~ 7/30) 
    • Production (~ 8/15) 
    • Delivery to our warehouse (~ 9/15) 
    • Delivery to you! (~ 9/30) 

2026 Convention Schedule 

  • UK Games Expo
  • 🏛️ORIGINS, hosting games of Mt. Olympus Community College!!
  • TOO MANY GAMES
  • American Library Association
  • Columbus Book Fest
  • GENCON
  • PAX WEST
  • Gameholecon
  • PAX Unplugged

Thank you for your support of this project! 

~9th Level Games

April Update: Pledge Manager, Pre-Orders Open, and Production Timeline
2 months ago – Thu, Apr 02, 2026 at 07:03:36 AM

Pledge Manager 

Today we sent out a smoke test to 5% of backers as a test. If all goes well and no major errors are found we'll send out all the Backer surveys on Friday 4/3/26 via BACKERKIT. Things to note: 

  • Shipping costs will be added in later 
  • We did add in almost all Mazes line items as add-ons 
  • Delivery is still estimated for September. 

Production Status Timeline 

  • Manuscript Written & Edited ✔️
  • Layout Framework Created ✔️
  • New Tiger Wizard Art Requested (expect 4-6 weeks) 
  • Next steps
    • Graphic layout of the interior & exterior of the book (~5/31)
    • Proofread final laid out book interior & exterior (~ 6/15)
    • Make edits and corrections as needed (~ 6/30
    • Obtain updated quote (~ 6/30)
    • Submit files to printer (~ 7/15) 
    • Approve digital proofs (~ 7/30) 
    • Production (~ 8/15) 
    • Delivery to our warehouse (~ 9/15) 
    • Delivery to you! (~ 9/30) 

Pre-Orders Open 

Our pre-order store is now open for anyone who may have missed this campaign. 

Thank you for your support on this project! 

~9th Level Games

Zinequest is a wrap!
3 months ago – Sun, Mar 01, 2026 at 06:11:53 AM

Thanks to all of you not only did this fund, you smashed our two art stretch goals! 

Our next update is planned for early April. In that one you can expect: 

  • Backer Surveys
  • Pre-Orders Open
  • Production Update 

Thanks, 

9th Level Games

24 Hours left - Interviews with Patrick Lynn Clapp & Tiger Wizard
3 months ago – Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 02:32:30 PM

Interviews 

Yeet interviews TIGER WIZARD who will do the interior art on A Manual of Monsters. Both stretch goals have been SMASHED so you'll be getting a bunch of great art! 

Yeet interviewed designer and Maze Architect Patrick Lynn Clapp. 

Silly question

Yeet wants to know how many zines you could eat in 4 hours. And we want to know how you stack up against the other guests. Post below. 

Number of zines they can eat: 

We've got 24 hours to go! Thanks again for the support. 

~9th Level Games 

Mazes & Milestones
4 months ago – Mon, Feb 23, 2026 at 06:34:11 AM

In our last update we mentioned some milestones for upgrades to this book. Well, here they are! 

$7000 - Custom Art for A Manual of Monsters

  • We will commission custom art for some monsters from TIGER WIZARD.
  • Tiger Wizard (he/him), aka Andrew Bellury, is a fantasy illustrator, game designer, writer, editor, rapper, and slug. He loves puns, 90's heavy metal magazines, and his cat Yara.
  • Here's a project he worked on that's live now! 

$8500 - We'll double the amount of custom art! 

Thanks for all the support! 

~9th Level Games