Jungle Goodies is a collection of descriptions of the odd, the bizarre and the wonderful items, characters and locations you might find in Chult. Designed by Chris Bissette and Matt Sanders, it provides the harried Dungeon Master with a selection of material to help inspire games set in the jungle land.
This is not a collection of magic items, despite the name. Instead, it just describes various things the players can find. A section on Art objects has the description “This rough crystal figurine depicts a naga. Its eyes are tiny uncut emeralds”. In the jungle, you might find a “huge leaf, [which] is tough yet flexible. [It could be] used for wrapping food or other provisions.”
Perhaps you might meet a stranger in the forest. “This relic hunter has a cavalier, only-live-once attitude. She doesn’t particularly care whether the sites she explores are reduced to rubble once she is done, no matter how historically or culturally significant they may be, as long as she comes out of them with something she can sell.”
The product consists of 16 tables, each with 12 entries. The tables are as follows:
- Animal Bits
- Art Objects
- Found in the Tavern
- Gifts from Nature
- Primitive Tools
- Recovered from the Library
- Relics of a Lost Civilisation
- Storage Solutions
- Weapons and Armour
- Adventure Hooks
- Hazards
- Locations
- NPCS
- Strange Creatures
There aren’t any rules in sight, as this product is simply for inspiration. And, at that task, it succeeds superbly. There’s a lot here to like, and if you don’t like something, there’s always the next entry. I’ve found it a truism that each Dungeon Master has his or her own familiar tropes that they return to again and again. (Mine? Purple rocks and priests of Chaos). Having sources like these, which allow the DM to change things up and be inspired from, is something I find very useful.
There are a few minor errors in the document, but it’s mostly well-writen. It’s formatted in landscape format, the better to read on a computer screen. I’m not quite sold on this format, but it’s a minor concern.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this supplement. Recommended.