Liam O’Brien shares why his Critical Role fairy tale book is a must-read for fans

Straight from Critical Role’s Exandria setting comes Der Katzenprinz & Other Zemnian Tales, a fully illustrated collection of fairy tales. All three are native to the Zemni Fields, the northernmost region of the Dwendalian Empire, and have been faithfully translated from the original Zemnian. We’ve managed to pierce through time, space, and reality to bring you three illustrations from the tome.

“Der Katzenprinz started as a fun idea I just plucked out of nowhere and wrote out in a day to make one of my friends at the table smile,” he told Polygon in an email. “The first two tales in Der Katzenprinz are stories that sprang up out of our Mighty Nein campaign, but the third was written specifically for this collection. I hesitate to say too much about it in advance, because I don’t want to spoil the nature of it, but I think Exandrian lore hounds are really going to enjoy it.”

The gorgeous artwork is by Charlie Borovsky. The book itself has a fully illustrated jacket, gold trim, and a ribbon bookmark. Critical Role: Der Katzenprinz & Other Zemnian Tales is available for pre-order and will go on sale on April 8. Check out some of the absolutely spectacular illustrations from the collection:

“I am thrilled for this book to reach people’s hands,” O’Brien told Polygon. “The story and world of Exandria feels so real to us now that this book feels like it has always existed to me. But of course, to see it leap out of our imaginations onto a book shelf is a special kind of magic.”

Critical Role: Der Katzenprinz & Other Zemnian Tales will be published on April 8.