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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak $7.99
Average Rating:4.8 / 5
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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak
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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak
Publisher: Hydra Cooperative
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/31/2019 06:55:49

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 38 pages, 1 page page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 35 pages of content, so let’s take a look

So, did the cover remind you of old Tex Avery cartoons or old-school loony toons that were fun and not necessarily politically correct? Well, then you’ve nailed the aesthetics of this adventure. The art by Jeff Call is nigh perfect for the novel and interesting take herein that consciously draws upon quite a few nostalgic components – Mortzengersturm does look a bit like a lion king-usurper planning on establishing a 1000-year reich of hyena. (As an aside – the Icelandic version of “Be prepared” does indeed quote a 1000-year reich, so I’m not drawing this comparison out of my own behind.)

The prismatic peak mentioned in the title is btw. a n oblique, massive prism, with the fortress on top. Nominally intended for 3rd level characters, the adventure is on the easier side, provided the PCs don’t try to murder-hobo everything. The module can result in PCs dying, but as a whole, it is not too tough.

Beyond being often genuinely FUNNY and quirky, the module does another aspect of module design that we only rarely get to see – it presents a pretty well-wrought linear railroad. This module is not about emergent gameplay, instead opting more for a type of fun ride. This is also enforced by Mortzengersturm providing basically a kind of guided tour that is represented as a kind of unique boardgame-like alternate map. I liked this as a notion.

Formally, the module sports a few instances of read-aloud text for singalong and to help the GM get an inkling of how Mortzengersturm acts, of his colossal ego, but as a whole, the module requires that the Gm conveys the quirky and funny aspects of this adventure properly. The module has quite a lot of blank space available to the on each page, as it adheres to a one-column standard; however, the module uses this room wisely, providing short-hand abbreviated statblocks, brief dressing tables and the like. Much to my pleasant surprise, the module gets one thing right that many OSR publishers designing for 5e botch – the full and proper stats (for saves, etc.) are presented in the back of the module, providing the useful abbreviated stats where required in the module, while also sporting the full stats, should you require them. I like this. Considering this, it’s kinda puzzling that not all of the relevant stats are presented in their full array.

There is another aspect that the module gets formally right in a pretty nice manner, only to fall slightly short of excellence – that would pertain the 8 pregens. The pregens are conceptually awesome. There is an asterian (Jetson-like robot lady) monk; a frogling, a dwarf called “Minmaximus” (you see, dwarves are pretty feeble in the setting) etc. – all come with their own artworks and are genuinely cool. Features have their names bolded, but not italicized; spells are erroneously bolded; and worse, we don’t get proper ability scores, just the modifiers noted. The pregens are great for convention play and do their job for a oneshot, but considering how unique their angles are, I found myself somewhat dissatisfied by their rudimentary depiction. Reading that roguish archetype for a character would be player’s choice, but should be one that grants spellcasting also irked me – it defeats the purpose of pregens to, you know, think about how to build your PC. I did notice a couple of instances where the rules of the statblocks may or may not be correct, as with what’s here, it’s impossible to adequately reverse-engineer the material reliably.

It should be noted that the module does contain a brief sneak-peak of Yanth country, a unique region in the realms of Azurth. As noted before, this is a fun-house-like ride, and as such, the module makes no qualms about its primary hook, getting the Whim-Wham stone, being a pretense – alternative hooks are also provided, but ultimately, this module is all about meeting an oh-so-civilized and only slightly cannibalistic wizard-turned-manticore.

From here on out, the SPOILERS will reign. Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

All right, only GMs around? Great, so the PCs ascend the peak via the surprisingly fast Snailevator. Parrot-faced hippogriffs and a patented evil-guy-screen guard the entrance, faced by sunflowers with unblinking eyes inside – eye-rises, one of Mortzengersturm’s creations. Goblin cooks and magical food ingredients/spices (such as slow thyme, which can, you know, slow targets…) may be found as well – the goblins being blue, as Mortzengersturm has modified their goblin smile vats. (As an aside – the artwork is just adorable, and goblins herein are played for laughs in a pretty cool way!) I mentioned that this is funny – and this extends to the hippogriffs: You see, at one point, the PCs can save a horse from being eaten by them, but said being is actually a dwarf polymorphed into horse form.

At the end of Mortzengersturm’s self-indulgent tour of his genius, of boasting and self-aggrandizement, he’ll inevitably attempt to dump the PCs in a pit where failed experiments await – the monsters faced here are actually menchanically-interesting. From the gruebird to a naga/clown-crossover (the Mocka), the module sports quite a lot of delightful monsters.

A boogeyman may be encountered, and there is a former Chantreuse, now washed up and turned vampire who may come originally from our world. And yeah, treating her with respect is a very smart idea . Did I mention the Spider from nowhere, who can only spell his words? Well, there are a ton of such creative NPCs herein. This is chock-full with great ideas and genuinely amusing and novel ideas, presenting a type of fantasy I haven’t seen before.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal and rules-language level – for the most part, the module does a good job regarding both, but it also sports a few instances where it blunders in the details. If you don’t mind minor hiccups, you’ll have no trouble using this module. Layout adheres to a 1-column b/w-standard, with the original artwork lending a great and unique visual style to the module. I can’t comment on the print version, as I do not own it. The pdf, in a totally jarring decision, lacks bookmarks, making navigation a pretty big pain. I strongly suggest printing this when running it.

Trey Causey’s first trip to Azurth is a module I’d love to recommend more unanimously that I ultimately can. I absolutely adore the Tex Avery/loony toons-angle regarding aesthetics, and this is a genuinely funny adventure with a unique villain that could come straight out of a classic cartoon. The unique monsters and cool locations are like a highlight reel, and from vaults to NPCs, this is brimming with passion and cool ideas – to the degree where the adventure actually makes a linear module work.

That being said, there are a few rough patches in the pregens, there are no player-friendly versions of the maps, and there are no bookmarks for the electronic version. All in all, these factors conspire to make it impossible for me to rate this as highly as I’d like to, and thus, I can’t go higher than 4 stars. However, for presenting a novel and indeed, inspired type of fantasy, this does get my seal of approval in spite of its shortcomings.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak
Publisher: Hydra Cooperative
by Chris S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/23/2018 10:00:55

I've been a fan of Trey Causey's RPG writing since his work on Weird Adventures, but this one is easily one of my favorite 5th edition adventures ever. It's written with a great sense of fun, and Jeff Call's art adds some beautiful touches like the board game/"tour map" in the center. At the same time, it never stops being a compelling and dangerous adventure full of daunting monsters and great twists and turns. Everything about it is well thought-out in a way that makes it fun to read, let alone to play.

It's well worth picking up (especially at this truly ridiculous sale price), whether you want to kick off a new campaign in a setting that feels like the Rankin-Bass D&D cartoon that never happened, or — the thing I'm planning — whisking your regular players off into a truly bizarre side trip. Definitely grab it!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak
Publisher: Hydra Cooperative
by Eric B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/27/2017 15:13:48

This is my new favorite! It's a combination of easily-usable-at-the-gaming-table adventure and gorgeous art object. I wish I had been fast enough to get it in print; I downloaded the pdf version long after the print copies had run out.

As you can see from the cover, it has the look of a Whitman Gold Key Comic from 1971. Fun drawings and useable but also fun maps continue throughout. Artist Jeff Call has really hit it out of the park. The art fits hand-in-glove with the tone of the adventure and the writing, by blogger and creative mastermind Trey Causey. The formatting is very good at pulling immediately-needed-by-the-GM-at-the-table elements into sidebars, but allowing the main text to describe things with a few more evocative words (but not too many - the reader never drowns in text, but always gets the flavor). Fun concepts such as Thedabara, a reminiscing undead celebrity whose name alludes to real-life silent film star Theda Bara, abound in the adventure. The adventure text is fun to read, even if you don't run it, but it's easily runnable for kids or adults. The humorous tone keeps things light, but there is always an element of internal logic and a serious enough core so that players won't find the humor excessive or too cheesy. The flavor is beyond the sum of its parts, and I'm sure Trey Causey had many additional and different inspirations, but I pick up notes in Mortzengersturm of: 1967 Rankin-Bass stop-motion kid's movie Mad Mad Monster Party, Alex Jordan's House on the Rock eccentric tourist attraction in Wisconsin, and Vincent Price and Peter Lorre in 1963's The Raven movie.

There is a humorously illustrated board game on two pages which points out features of the adventure graphically, but could also be played in lieu of D&D if you really wanted to. There are also a couple of "coming attractions" previews of other things in Trey Causey's game world. But these few things after the end of the adventure text don't distract or detract from what is an excellent product for running or just reading.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak
Publisher: Hydra Cooperative
by Matthew W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/05/2017 10:26:39

Hey Folks, we’re putting together another one of our mystery box series. Today we’re looking at an adventure from RPGnow, created by an independent publisher . This adventure, written by Trey Causey and published by The Hydra Cooperative, features a wonderful departure from the norm and has such a wonderfully different style. There’s a mansion in need of visiting, and the hijinks are just getting started as we explore Mortzengersturm the Mad Manticore of Prismatic Peak.

Setup

The Adventure is written for characters around level 3-4. It uses the standard rules for experience gain. Party size is of less concern than ingenuity, as some of the encounters are not appropriate for characters of this level, but can be avoided with quick thinking and smart decision making. This is an adventure that believes in the motto of “There are alternatives to fighting.”

There are a couple of hooks in this adventure depending on how you are planning on using it. The writers have a very different way of approaching setting and adventure design, and if you’re used to a more typical (or more serious) fantasy setting, this may put you off a little. I would encourage you to embrace the fun and give it a try.

The Adventure

This adventure is actually fairly straightforward and only 13 encounter areas deep. What it lacks in depth it more than makes up for it in flavor and complexity. By hook or by crook, the characters have to gain access to the Whim-Wham Stone (I kid you not), and either return it, or a sample of its energy to their employer. The Stone is currently in the possession of a wizard named Mortzengersturm, and his remote mansion is the location that the characters will have to travel to in order to secure access to the Stone. Once the characters arrive at the Mansion, something is terribly wrong, and the characters will have to figure out how to complete their mission and survive their expedition to the Mansion.

The Aftermath

The characters will have to successfully find the Stone or its energies and escape the Mansion with their lives. Depending on how they resolve the adventure, there are plenty of follow ups, including getting the Stone back to their employer, exploring the area around the Mansion, finding the potential victims of the Evil wizard, and possibly having to come back at a later time to put the Wizard down for good. As an introduction to this world, this is a wonderful starting point to get your feet wet and explore the world. I want to see more of this setting, and this adventure gives you a lot of ways to get into the larger region.

What I like about this adventure

The author has put together a wonderfully complex adventure that is short enough that you could play it in an evening, but it doesn’t feel rushed. There’s a certain pacing required to put something like this together, and the author has done a great job of putting together a different style of adventure. It still plays like dungeons and dragons, but it’s got a healthy dose of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and other equally absurd ideas. It’s odd, but it’s a good odd.

The other thing that’s very helpful for this adventure is that it includes pre generated characters. It’s perfect for a one shot (i’m not sure i would use this is an introduction to Dungeons and Dragons unless i was dealing with experienced players) and is a delight to work with. The other thing that i really like about this is that it includes a sidebar on each page that gives the DM the important things that he or she needs to know about each area. That’s a really handy tool for a new DM, and i like that the adventure has the sidebar bulletpoints to help the DM keep focused around the descriptive text. This adventure is just a different way of looking at how you can put together a Dungeons and Dragons adventure, and i am a fan of this style. It’s quirky and it’s a little off center, but it’s enjoyable without being over the top levels of whimsy. (Your mileage may vary and you may have a different tolerance for whimsy than i do)

Issues with the adventure

The only major concern i have with this adventure is that it’s greatest strength (the whimsical nature of how it’s put together) can be a detriment. If your players are straightforward concrete thinkers, this adventure may cause some trouble for them. It’s full of wordplay and puns, and it may cause problems for some players. This adventure encourages creative thinking and different approaches to handling problems. If your players aren’t the type that want to explore and try alternative solutions, this adventure may not be the thing for that group. I think it’s an absolute delight as a one shot (and use the pre-generated characters). The one critique i have is that there aren’t any text boxes to provide descriptions of rooms and encounter areas to the players, and the map is not set to a scale, so the DM is going to have to puzzle out how big things are.

Conclusions

Mortzengersturm the Mad Manticore of Prismatic Peak is a very different feel from a typical Dungeons and Dragons adventure and it’s wonderful. Encouraging creative thinking, and a mind for mischief, this adventure is a delightful romp that can give the characters an interesting change of pace. It can also be used to kick off a hell of a groovy campaign for a remarkable breath of fresh air. You aren’t likely to find anything else like it, and that’s a delightful change of pace to stave off campaign fatigue. I give this adventure 5 stars, and i enjoy Mr. Causey’s work. I am interested in perusing more of his work and i will likely be spending more time on Drivethru RPG checking him out. That’s our review of Mortzengersturm the Mad Manticore of Prismatic Peak, from Trey Causey.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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