Here we have Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak, an adventure for D&D 5E set in the Land of Azurth. That’s writer Trey Causey’s homegrown campaign setting. I love it and I hope to see more of it in the coming years.

This is the first DIY book for 5E that has actually got me excited. Most of the official material from Wizards of the Coast seems deadly dull to me, and the fan publications I’ve come across err on the side of imitation (which is a contrast to previous editions, where all sorts of crazy stuff was floating around the zine scene). Mortzengersturm is bright and cartoony and fun and whimsical, basically everything 5E Official is not. Jeff Call’s retro art – it immediately reminded me of Rankin Bass – does a lot to set this book apart.

The adventure is sort of a riff on White Plume Mountain. The titular manticore is actually a powerful polymorphed wizard and the Peak houses his treasures and his menagerie of improbable creatures, where the players have to steal the Whim-Wham Stone. The tone is one of sly, slightly dangerous humor (while lighthearted, death is still a very real possibility). It reminds me a bit of Paranoia, actually. Highlight: the map of the dungeon is presented like an old school board game like Candyland.

This one is pure delight. I can even almost forgive the wings on the manticore. Almost. Pick it up if you want to play 5E but different.