The campaign set includes three books; A Journey to the True World, intended for players, as well as Maztica Alive! and Gods and Battles intended for the DM. The Maztica setting is part of the Forgotten Realms, the "default" setting of Dungeons and Dragons. It is based primarily upon the Aztec civilization, and includes two new kinds of magic that are independent from arcane and Faerunian holy magic, Pluma, which was created by the god Qotal the god of creation and freedom, and Hishna, created by Zaltec, the god of jaguars and war. A Journey to the True World gives character generation rules for Maztican player characters. Races include desert dwarves, halflings, and humans. There are two warrior kits, the Eagle Knight and the Jaguar Knight, which receive special armor, and access to low-level Pluma and Hishna spells, respectively. Priests who receive access to Pluma or Hishna can use them, but only artisans, one of two new rogue classes, Plumaweavers and Hishnashapers, may learn the highest level of each. Also included are a description of Maztican currency, armor, weapons, and spells.
Publication history
While the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set had mentioned other continents existed in Abeir-Toril, there were no additional details. Douglas Niles, one of the Maztica Campaign Set authors, had "been working to get a Mesoamerican Realms supplement on the TSR schedule for a while. It was entirely in line with his previous development work for the Realms, when he'd created the Celtic-themed Moonshae Islands as one of the first additions the Realms. It took him two years, but he finally got the OK. First up he wrote a new trilogy of novels detailing the discovery of the new world: Ironhelm, Viperhand, and Feathered Dragon. The Maztica Campaign Set then followed three months after the conclusion of the Maztica Trilogy". The setting describes the new continent Maztica — the name "is a portmanteau of two Mesoamerican peoples: the Maya and the Aztec". On the development of the book, Niles said it is "thoroughly researched and historically accurate". Niles' research included tours of "numerous archaeological sites such as the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, Tchitchin Itza, and Uxmal" and "multiple trips to Mexico's National Museum of Archaeology". It was important to Niles to include crusaders from Faerûn as a fictional version of conquistadors – Niles said "I'd always thought the conquistadors were the closest-thing to a real-life D&D story. I just wanted to give the story a better ending". In 2016, a PDF edition of the Maztica Campaign Set was released on the DMsGuild. In July 2020, Wizards of the Coast added a sensitivity disclaimer to legacy products for sale digitally. The disclaimer states:
We recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.
The disclaimer "appears twice on descriptions of D&D books that include content that resembles real-world cultures and races" such as the Maztica Campaign Set and books.
