This is Fungi of the Far Realms (2019). It is exactly what you think it is: pure magic.

I love the fact that we are at the point with RPG books that you can take a relatively niche thing like fungus, put together a 240 page book on it, lavishly illustrate it and run a successful Kickstarter campaign around it. Am I going to use this book for every session I run from now on? Nope. Am I thrilled it exists? Yup. Books like this, and a market hungry for them, are to my eye indications that we are in a true golden age for TTRPGs.

Alex Clements wrote the book, which is written in an in-universe style and purports to be a reprint of a rare but definitive tome on exotic and often magical fungi. 219 of them, in fact, all of them lavishly illustrated by Shuyi Zhang in the style of a botanic text. Details include habitat, appearance, mouthfeel/taste and aroma. The vast majority of these shrooms just provide a bit of narrative flavor, though some have practical applications for the rules. The obvious ones are left to the GM’s discretion, while a handful of others are detailed in a brief rules appendix at the back of the book. There are also guidelines on running mushroom foraging in games. The authors obviously have a deep fascination for fungi.

This happens to be one of the best looking (and oddest) books I purchased last year, as well as one of the best feeling – something you’re going to hear a lot about this week. The matte board cover feels good enough in the hands to warrant mentioning – you pick it up and want to read. And I adore the cover art and design, which reminds me science text books from the 50s or 60s.