Review: Through Ultans Door #1-2

tl:dr; another of the fabled zines of the OSR, Through Ultans Door describes the dream-city of Immortal Zyan.

The push to get this out the door is the news that issue #3 will be joining Zinequest.

photo of issues #1 & #2, showing cover art by Huargo

These issues are gorgeous artefacts from the author of Mazirians Garden blog. These are treasures from a lost era (G+, the before-times when mail from the US worked) - which very well reflects the theme. Beautifully picked art and a hard card detachable cover makes the zine feel great in hand. For both issues I got my hands on (the two released to date) there was a duplicate of the encounter table on another card to have easily to hand. Inside the detachable cover is a map of the area covered in the zine - the Inquisitors Theater for #1, the catacombs of the Fleischguild for issue #2.

In issue #1 we have an intro to what is Zyan. Within the first 9 pages we have a rumours table for what is known about the infamous city of dreams and how there may be a path to it now. There is also a table of reasons that may drive a party to venture to Zyan - useful both for player groups and if a rival group is needed. With this section you should have enough to get your players pointed towards Zyan.

The next 30 pages detail 30 rooms of the location on the back of the inside cover - the Inquisitors Theater - where the route to Zyan Through Ultans Door comes out. This location hosts a trio of factions within a single setting evoking richness and rot, shadows and dreams. If the players manage to work their way through it all they may find some small treasures and head home or launch themselves upon the Great Sewer River to seek further opportunities in the undercity of Zyan.

The remaining 5 pages contain a bestiary, spells and the implications of a player swearing fealty to an agent of the city gods that can be encountered. This also provides a frame for the following action of how a Zyan campaign could play out.

In issue #2 we find the same great art and delightful design and feel. The stable production team is clearly perceivable in the quality of the outputs. This issue gives some more guidance on running a dreamlands campaign and a new location. In the first 4 pages we get background to how the undead operate differently in the dreamlands and then a guide to managing players at the table in a West Marches fashion. Harnessing the unreal nature of dreams, players can simply be present or not as the situation requires which could be a very helpful frame for some tables trying to manage multiple difficult schedules.

The next 16 pages detail the location inside the cover - the Fleischguilds Catacomb. Unlike the living locations of issue #1 these are still, trapped catacombs where subtle players maybe able to come and go unnoticed. There is an escalation scale for the Fleischguilds presence and response if they notice too much disturbance and disruption within their catacombs. Multiple fine treasures could well drive repeated expeditions - provided the often deadly traps are overcome. There is plenty of weird and evocative ritual detail throughout the catacombs with treasure objects that match to it and a coherent ecology of things lurking abaout.

The remaining 4 pages contain items and spells. I liked how throughout the issue numerous NPCs had evocatively reskinned spells - e.g. Uncontrollable Muscle Spasm (acts as Hold Person). A simple but atmospheric technique and I liked it.

Overall these are beautiful books with two different neat little dungeons that have very distinct flavours. The nature of this city in the dreamlands means it is directly compatible with any setting. For best effects, use the rumour table in #1 to seed some rumours about Zyan into the setting now, letting them flourish and mature before dangling a direct hook to follow

At time of writing, we eagerly await issue #3.

For further reviews of issue #1 see Ten Foot Pole or False Machine. For more on issue #2 see Beyond Fomalhaut or Sheep and Sorcery. The array of reviews done on this also stands testament to the interest these have generated.