In 2025 I’m reviewing zungeon zines. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited critiques, just like Bathtub Reviews, but they’ll be a little briefer. The goal here is a little different: I want to spotlight what a craft-based, just-do-it approach to module writing can do.

The Court of the Shivering Moon is a 16 page zungeon for B/X or similar, masterminded by JFUR who detailed the method here, but is an “exquisite crypt” by Boxman214, Cats Have No Lord, Creative Wronging, jfur, Kirhon.vi,  Levi Kornelsen, Magnolia Keep, Mrs Platypus, Nael Fox-Priebe, Orthopraxy, Qarsi, Sandy Pug Games, & TM Lockwood. Wow! It gains a lot in the editing (by Orthpraxy initially, and then it seems a free-for-all), and art (Mrs Platypus). In it, you explore a cursed hall, abandoned by the faerie court that once danced there.

I’m starting with layout, because like a few weeks ago’s Tavurchower, this feels like a lovingly slapped together zine, collaged out of public domain art, pasted-in text, hand-drawn details, and I think illustrations by Mrs Platypus. It’s gorgeous, if accordingly busy, but cleverly structured are kept consistent between contributors and spaces, so it’s still pretty easy to navigate despite being so eclectic, as each room is unique in its aesthetics, while remaining monochrome xerox collage in theme. Each room, is even signed. Lovely work, filled with love.

It’s a small dungeon, but consists two loops which is a nice structure for such a small space. Random encounters are keyed to specific locations, which makes for my favourite type of random encounters, and makes the space feel lived in and dynamic. The rumours are used mainly as window-dressing — they’re all very cryptic, and hence while it suits the space, they aren’t likely to impact play a lot. The hooks are juicier, making your delve into the hall really specific, and they’ll change your focus in the space really pleasingly. I really like the random detritus and graffiti, although some of it is pretty essential to future problem-solving (for example, help solve the puzzles in The Great Hall), so it would’ve been better had it been proscribed in rooms or something.

The creativity in these rooms is exceptional: People are turned inside out, flatworms dance, and more. It shows that every contributor was bringing their A-game, and despite that it’s surprisingly thematically consistent. And it doesn’t overdo it, either: While most of the rooms are interesting, actually puzzles and hostile encounters are appropriately spread out. It’s wall-to-wall bangers. Keep that in mind, though: It could be a lot, if you were running it all at once. Information overload! The main negative I see is that it tends towards the adventure tourism or scene-based design, which means the NPCs are cooked up with ways to interact with each other across rooms, or make demands or negotiations with you, right off the bat. I could see the Shifting Knight, Lady Moon, or the Mole Man all becoming really compelling characters throughout this dungeon, or even beyond, though, so if you’re willing to prepare or improv, this is a hell of a diving board to leap off.

I’m super impressed by the cohesiveness of this collaborative effort. I’ve spoken before about how it’s challenging to bring a collaborative dungeon together in a cohesive whole, and while this is a fairly small dungeon example, it’s exciting to see that it’s possible. This is an incredibly dense dungeon, that will likely take 2-3 sessions to get through. It’s got some borderline uncomfortable, twisted otherworldly vibes, but it’s free, so you can have a read to see if your table would vibe it. More importantly these rooms are really something a good improvising referee can luxuriate in, particularly if you’re into scene-based play. If that all sounds like something that suits your style or table, Court of the Shivering Moon is worth a look see, in my opinion.

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