Maztica - Best product to start with on a budget?

[Angel Tarragon]

It's been forever since I've dipped my toes into Maztica and I remember very little. I'd like to rebuild my Maztica collection, but I don't want to start by spending silly/stupid money on secondhand products, so I need help on which product to go after first on a budget.

I'd like to get more involved in this forum and it would help to have the resources so that I can relearn about the sub-setting.

[Boneguard]

Go for the Box Set first (Maztica Campaign Set). It will have all you need.

The 3 novels, Iron Helm, Viper hand and Feathered Dragon (not in order) are nice to set the mood pre-Box Set.

The 2 adventures, Fires of Zatal and Endless Armies are nice but not necessarily a "Must Have".

The Adventure/Supplement City of Gold is a great addition if you want to add Publo Indians to your setting.

That pretty much covers it IIRC...aside from DM GUILD stuff.

[Angel Tarragon]

Go for the Box Set first (Maztica Campaign Set). It will have all you need.

I only buy through amazon for physical media, and the setting at it's cheapest is $65 so that's not exactly budget priced. I'm not adverse to PDFs, but I much prefer to start with physical books.

[Boneguard]

Go for the Box Set first (Maztica Campaign Set). It will have all you need.

I only buy through amazon for physical media, and the setting at it's cheapest is $65 so that's not exactly budget priced. I'm not adverse to PDFs, but I much prefer to start with physical books.

It's a fair point, but considering the other products are adventures or novel, it's not ideal.

However, I did find a good copy on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1991-F ... Swm3ZZsx-Y

A bit less then 30USD shipping included. Might be worth looking into it.

[Angel Tarragon]

Thanks, Boneguard.

Which novels do you recommend getting and reading first?

[Jürgen Hubert]

Ironhelm, Viperhand and Feathered Dragon is their order, so I'd start with Ironhelm.

Ironhelm largely takes place in Payit (the not-Mayan region, where Faerunian characters will likely arrive), Viperhand gives a lot of detail on pre-Boxed Set Nexal (the not-Aztecs), and Feathered Serpent sets up the status quo of the Boxed Set.

[Angel Tarragon]

Thanks, Jürgen! I really appreciate it!

[Jürgen Hubert]

That being said: Your best choice for an overview is the Maztica Boxed Set, which can be had as a PDF for $9.99 at the Dungeon Master's Guild. In fact, it's the only real "overview product" out there.

Other relevant "official" products at the Dungeon Master's Guild:

- FMQ1 City of Gold - their take on the search for "El Dorado", which some supplement material for their "not-Pueblo".
- FMA2 Endless Armies - another adventure set in Far Payit, involving a local "Great Old One"
- Lands of Intrigue - while it is mostly about three lands in Faerun, the Amn section does have a few pages with updates about Maztica a few years later in the timeline, including some new colonies.

Still missing in PDF form is the adventure "Fires of Zatal", which involves a trip to (ruined) Nexal.

There is also lots of "non-canon" material on the Dungeon Master's Guild if you search for Maztica. If you want to run a game with D&D 5e, you will probably want the Maztican Bestiary, which has 5e conversions for all the Maztican monsters published so far.

[Angel Tarragon]

I guess I should just buy the PDf and then when finances are better nab the box set. Thanks again, Jürgen!

[Big Mac]

Go for the Box Set first (Maztica Campaign Set). It will have all you need.

I only buy through amazon for physical media, and the setting at it's cheapest is $65 so that's not exactly budget priced. I'm not adverse to PDFs, but I much prefer to start with physical books.

If you can hang on a bit, DMs Guild will eventually pull their finger out and convert that boxed set into a Print on Demand book. That will be substantially cheaper than the boxed set (and you won't have to worry about bits being missing).

I know there was also a poster, with a map. DMs Guild had not really figured out how to do PoD posters last time I looked, but I think they will sort that out at some point.

[Big Mac]

Ironhelm, Viperhand and Feathered Dragon is their order, so I'd start with Ironhelm.

Some of the D&D products might be fairly expensive, but I often see D&D novels (like these) for $0.01 + shipping on Amazon. If you keep an eye on these novels, and you don't "need" mint-condition copies, you can wait for cheap copies to come along.

[Angel Tarragon]

If you can hang on a bit, DMs Guild will eventually pull their finger out and convert that boxed set into a Print on Demand book. That will be substantially cheaper than the boxed set (and you won't have to worry about bits being missing).

I know there was also a poster, with a map. DMs Guild had not really figured out how to do PoD posters last time I looked, but I think they will sort that out at some point.

That would be fantastic, and of course a cheaper alternative for the time being. I would still want to get the box set at some point though just to be able to have everything, including that poster.

[Angel Tarragon]

Ironhelm, Viperhand and Feathered Dragon is their order, so I'd start with Ironhelm.

Some of the D&D products might be fairly expensive, but I often see D&D novels (like these) for $0.01 + shipping on Amazon. If you keep an eye on these novels, and you don't "need" mint-condition copies, you can wait for cheap copies to come along.

I have price tracking software that lets me know when stuff hits a pricepoint that I am looking for when it comes to certain products, so I've already added these books to the software so that I can get notified. Thanks, Big Mac!