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.

Cacogenic Vats is an 11 page zungeon by Operant Game Lab. In it, you investigate a horrible shrine, only to find out that it is secretly a wizard’s cloning lab, invaded by a group of raiders while the wizard’s clone builds his strength after a recent death.

The three hooks included here are fun — all providing a different reason to explore the dungeon. The random encounter table is an elegant, one-monster affair — the only problem is that the gradual progression of the clone breaking out of its vat really isn’t tension-building — in a movie you’d cut to each step. You aren’t going to know anything is happening unless you keep passing by room 8. I think a smart move would’ve been to place this room at the central hub of the dungeon, making a visual reminder that something is coming.

There are 9 foes in the bestiary, and they come up next in the book — these are all well described, but I think it may be better off placed in the text, as it’s a lot to absorb at once. The dungeon text itself is well organised — an explanation of the primary colour puzzle is up front, as is an explanation of what the players expect, and what they find. Empty rooms aren’t uninteresting, although they don’t tell much story. The interactive rooms themselves, are fun. The primary faction is fun, but I’d have preferred they be in more overt opposition to Sxixis the wizard; I’d tweak this a little so that the assassin might be turned against them, appropriately, I think, or that they could be bargained with against Sxixis.

I really enjoy the deceitful premise of the module — the shrine hasn’t lost its power, but rather its’ illusion has dropped due to the unfortunate death of the wizard maintaining it, and hence the heroes will be entirely out of their depth. And that is a lot of fun, to me. The main issue is that the two factions aren’t primed for interaction — honestly, in a module of this size, it’s a benefit to have them both negotiating with the party to break the balance of power, rather than have that negotiation be an option.

Layout here is basic, simple, and clear, as are the maps. There’s no issues with legibility here at all. I honestly love the rudimentary art style — it suits the stunted descriptions of the clones, and feels like it might well be Sxixis’ own hand doing the drawing.

Overall, Cacogenic Vats is a solid little zungeon. With just a few small tweaks, it’s perfect to be folded into your existing campaign, or to be used as a one-shot. As a pay what you want product, Cacogenic Vats a no brainer if you’re running OSE or B/X.

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