Tulgey: Gyring and Gimbling in the Wabe by atelier pilcrow

I’ve written previously about Tulgey by atelier pilcrow, formerly called Uncle Vova. In appreciation for an early kind word, the author sent me a copy of the second installment.

As I said before, I really enjoy the specific brand of non-sensical fantasy that goes into these adventures. The Alice stories were one of the first “classic” books I bought to read to my daughter. So, I certainly have a predisposition to like these. I also was a linguistics major, so the way that they play with language makes me so happy to read.

Premise

Gyring and Gimbling in the Wabe expands on the Wonderland-inspired setting that was first written about in Tulgey. The titular Wabe is a vast woodland stretching from the Clarsing to high snow-tipped mountains. Gyring adds a couple more cities, a mine, and a cool chessboard themed dungeon to the mix.

Things I Enjoyed

I really enjoy the procedural way that you create your own version of the Marmoreal Palace (the chessboard dungeon) with a combination of rolls on a table mixed with the specific square players have moved to.

I love the whimisical nature of this adventureand of its predecessor. Things like “angry Feral Hedgehogs” on a random encounter table are my cup of tea.

The new NPCs added in this volume had fun characterization, as did the den where the caterpillar offers a hookah with a “5/6 chance a partaker will forget their name.”

Every location, every NPC, every item added has a whimsical charm that is a joy to read.

Things That Needed Work

Gyring is written like a cross between an adventure and a setting, and I feel like it might have benefitted from more focus one way or the other. Either make things more of a setting with story limited to some hooks in each location, or put a stronger throughline in to provide more reason to go from place to place in the Wabe.

Final Thoughts

Like with Tulgey, I really liked this one. Even my nitpick that leaning more into being either an adventure or a setting is a minor one. There’s enough here for the Warden who wants to use it as either, just a little finessing to make it the best version for your table. If you like whimsical fantasy, wordplay, and settings that will emerge from the play at your table, you should give this one a read. I had a lot of fun with it.