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This is Ravenloft, everybody scream! At this spooky time of year I couldn't help but look at the creepy side of D&D. So we're going into the mists and exploring the Domains of Dread: Bluetspur, Borca, The Carnival, Darkon, Dementlieu, Falkovnia, Har'Akir, Hazlan, and I'Cath. You can follow along with Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft as we look at the changes, Easter eggs, and things left behind in bringing the Demiplane of Dread to 5E.
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One D&D is on the horizon and playtesting is already underway. But while we're looking to the future of the game, it's also important to look at where in its past some of the changes are coming from. This episode I look at two options for PCs that are unique for One D&D in different ways. Orcs trace back to the very beginning of the game, but for the first time may become a core playable race. The Ardlings on the other hand are brand new, but continue some longstanding traditions for Celestials.
One D&D Playtest - Character Origins
Orcs, Britons, and the Martial Race Myth, Part I: A Species Built for Racial Terror
Orcs, Britons, and the Martial Race Myth, Part II: They're Not Human
[content warnings for the articles: racism, colonialism/imperialism, cultural conflation, sexism, sexual violence, anger]Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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One ring to rule them all,
DriveThruRPG
One ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all,
and in the darkness bind them!
I wish there was only one Middle-Earth game to bind all the players together, but over the past 40 years of LotR RPGs, there's a few more than that. This episode breaks down the gaming (and legal!) history of Tolkien's greatest works. From M.E.R.P. to the One Ring and everything in between.
The One Ring 2e at DriveThruRPG
Ben Riggs' Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons at Amazon
The largest online marketplace devoted to digital and print-on-demand RPG and RPG-related materials.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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First published in 1982, the gamebook series Fighting Fantasy is celebrating its 40th anniversary in style in 2022. Two new books by the creators Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the 4th Annual Fighting Fantasy Fest is being held on Sep 3rd 2022, and a special anniversary edition of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is coming to Kickstarter later this year. To help celebrate this episode starts off with three friends making a mail order game business in a London flat more than 40 years ago and follows Fighting Fantasy and its creators to present day.
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Extra Life is a charity created by gamers for gamers to raise money on behalf of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. They have partnerships with Twitch, Rooster Teeth, Humble Bundle, Wizards of the Coast, NACE Starleague and Playfly Esports. Over 100,000 gamers have contributed time and money, raising over $100 million since 2008. And it all started because of the strength, fearlessness, and generosity of a young woman named Victoria "Tori" Enmon.
Extra-Life.org
Eldritch History Extra Life Fundraiser
How One Girl With Leukemia Started the Extra Life Movement - Video about Tori
D&D's Extra Life Partnership Page
Humble Bundle - Essential Classic Fantasy RPG CollectionTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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What do you call a legendary figure akin to the Flying Dutchman? A class of space ships powered by magic? A verb for traveling through wildspace and the phlogiston? A setting for Dungeons & Dragons being revived after almost 30 years? This episode of Eldritch History? Spelljammer confirmed!
Monstrous Compendium (or grab the PDF here)
Spelljammer Academy
Legends of the Multiverse
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space 5ETwitter: @EldritchHistory
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Companion of the Hall, champion of Mielikki, husband of Catti-brie, textbook ranger, and atypical drow. Drizzt Do'Urden has become one of the most famous characters of the Forgotten Realms (if not D&D in general). Created by author R.A. Salvatore (originally as a sidekick), his story spans over thirty real world years (centuries in fiction), across comics, video games, maybe TV if rumors are true, and most importantly the dozens of books in The Legend of Drizzt series. Number 38 is due out next week, Glacier's Edge. So now seems like the perfect time to recap the life and times of Drizzt Do'Urden.
Homeland - The 1st Legend of Drizzt Book
Starlight Enclave - The first book of the current trilogy
Glacier's Edge - The newest book, releases August 9th
Dao of Drizzt - Upcoming collection of Drizzt's essaysTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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In preparation for the August 2nd release of the first Dragonlance novel in over a decade, Dragons of Deceit, this week's episode is all about the story so far. Considering there's about 200 novels set in this world I'm limiting the episode to only the ones I think will have the biggest impact on the upcoming trilogy:
Dragons of Autumn TwilightDragons of Winter NightDragons of Spring Dawning
The Chronicles TrilogyThe Legends Trilogy
Time of the TwinsWar of the TwinsTest of the TwinsThe Lost Chronicles Trilogy
Dragons of the Dwarven Depths Dragons of the Highlord SkiesDragons of the Hourglass MageTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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We're picking up right where we left off last week. This episode we look at the following Official D&D Campaign Settings:
Dark SunPlanescapeCouncil of Wyrms Birthright Tale of the Comet Jakandor Dragon Fist Mahasarpa Ghostwalk Eberron Nentir ValeTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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Ever wonder what worlds have been made for D&D? Need an idea for the setting of your next campaign? Curious what the upcoming releases for Spelljammer and Dragonlance are all about? Then this episode of Eldritch History is for you. This week and next we're diving into the campaign settings made for D&D, from where the game was formed all the way to present day.
BlackmoorGreyhawk - Tales From The Yawning Portal - Ghosts of SaltmarshThe Sundered EmpireMystara - Official Fan SiteHollow WorldSavage CoastThunder RiftBlackmoorDragonlance - Dragons of DeceitTaladasForgotten RealmsKara-TurThe HordeMazticaAl-QadimArcane AgePelinoreSpelljammer - Monstrous Compendium PDF - Spelljammer AcademyRavenloft - Curse of Strahd -
The campaign settings detailed in today's episode are:Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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Marvel Comics has been around for more than 60 years. Their characters, such as Thor, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, have graced comics, movies, TV shows, popsicles, and even parades. And a handful of times there have been roleplaying games based around these characters and their universe. Listen and learn about all 5 official Marvel roleplaying games, including the Marvel Multiverse RPG that is play testing right now.
Buy Marvel Multiverse Playtest at Amazon
Marvel Multiverse RPG Official Site
Classic Marvel Forever - Marvel Super Heroes Fansite
Marvel Plot Points - Marvel Heroic Fansite
Fan Made Spider-Man's Guide to New YorkTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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A cultural phenomenon deeply rooted in the pop culture of the 80s. Stranger Things is full of references and homages to E.T., Firestarter, Back to the Future, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and most importantly D&D. This episode I look at how the concepts from D&D that the kids use to conceptualize the monsters (Demogorgon, Mind Flayer, Vecna) compare to their in game counterparts.
60 Minutes with Patricia Pulling and Gary Gygax
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I realized some foundational episodes were in order to try to get everyone who listens on the same page. First up with that is this history of the world's first role playing game: D&D. 50 years of history is far more than a single hour long episode can handle so for this I focused on the various editions of the game, why they came about, what their goals were, and how they did.
Dungeon Masters Guild
Classic Dungeons & Dragons back in print!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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Free RPG Day is an annual celebration of RPG publishers and friendly local game stores. This episode is dedicated to telling you everything you need to know about the event, how it started and what you can expect to find this year on Saturday June 25th in North America (Saturday July 23rd everywhere else).
Free RPG Day Publishing Partners:
Paizo - WizKids - Privateer Press - Loke Battle Maps - Goodman Games - Q Workshop - Steamforged Games - Modiphius Entertainment - Dave Taylor Miniatures - Darrington Press - Mantic Games - Magpie Games - Renegade Game Studios - R Talsorian Games - Foam Brain Games - Oni Press - 9th LevelGames
Links:
Grant Howitt 1-Page RPGs
Critical Role Plays Honey Heist
9th Level Games - Level 1 Indie RPG Anthologies
Recommended Store Links:
Black & Read - Arvada, CO
Games and Stuff - Glen Burnie, MD
Rainy Day Games - Aloha, OR
Millennium Games - Rochester, NYTwitter: @EldritchHistory
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If you're familiar with any edition of D&D, Greco-Roman mythology, video games such as Assassin's Creed or God of War, TV shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Charmed, and movies such as Percy Jackson or Clash of the Titans then you've probably heard of Medusa and gorgons. This episode takes a dive into the history of gorgons and Medusa in mythology and in D&D to explain the reasons why all Medusa are gorgons but not all gorgons are Medusa.
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DIE is a comic and soon to be RPG about a group of teenagers trapped within a fantasy world, years later some of them leave... but they never really escape. This episode dives into the history of wargaming, role-playing and geometry(!?) to explain some of their influences on DIE.
Read the first issue (Mature Content Warning)
Fantasy Heartbreakers by Ron Edwards
RPG Safety Tools article by Drama Dice
Peter Cushing Little Wars
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Vecna, The Whispered One, The Undying God
Dungeon Masters Guild
The reach of Vecna spreads far and wide across the multiverse. Vox Machina, the kids from Hawkins, Indiana, and countless adventurers have encountered him in one form or another.
Learn about his origins and history (both real and imagined) as well as the people and creatures that follow him and the items that they possess. Hear the dread tale of the Head of Vecna. And learn about the most recent sightings of the Maimed God or at least parts of him.
If you want to run an adventure with Vecna as the big bad I'd recommend looking into the Vecna trilogy of adventures from 2nd edition:
Vecna Lives! - Vecna seeks to attain greater godhood by cutting off the other gods from their followers.
Vecna Reborn - Vecna in Ravenloft! Clash between Vecna and Kas across 2 unique Domains of Dread.
Die Vecna Die! - An epic adventure spanning across Greyhawk, Ravenloft and Planescape. Stop Vecna from rewriting the multiverse as he sees fit!
Classic Dungeons & Dragons back in print!
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Welcome to Eldritch History, a podcast about the stories behind and within tabletop role playing games. Each episode focuses on a specific element of TTRPGs (a particular game, character, story, product, company, movie, etc) and explores its fictional and real world origins. Have you ever wondered where the Whispered One came from? Why the gorgon is a bull? Why are there so many games about Cthulhu? Then this is the podcast for you.
Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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Email: [email protected]
