Roleplaying games from historical research
A short episode this week, to fill the hole caused when two episodes went live last week. This is a weaker section of Staley, but a necessary one for a few reasons. It covers the game period for Ars Magica. It lists the industries which the magical skills hide behind. It contains a terrible sin…
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A long episode this time, to cover an arc in the novel. We start with a truly excellent description of the “Way of the Woods” virtue. I won’t be inculcating a lot of comments this time. Here we are seeing the plot pay out the bits of folklore Dunsany has collected up in earlier chapters.…
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In this little fragment of The Dogaressas of Venice, Edgecumb Staley gives the origin of Venetian lace weaving. There’s an idea I’ve had in earlier writing for the podcast, although not so much in the formal line, that the representation of a thing grants a weak material bonus related to that thing. So, if a…
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Welcome to one of the longest, and sweariest, episodes of Games From Folktales If you usually listen in with small children nearby, you’ll want to skip this one. The Neapolitans nobles are still indulging in their great love for potty humour, but things also get violent in these stories. XX: THE STONE IN THE COCK’S…
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I’m a huge fan of Clark Ashton Smith, but have not been able to record his material for two reasons. First, he died after the US public domain year, which prevents me using his work. Second, TSR had a license for his work, and even used in in Dungeons and Dragons. It’s in X2 Castle…
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This trio of stories doesn’t need a lot of work. I shall, therefore, laze about and let you listen, breaking in for minor notes. XVII: CANNETELLA It is an evil thing to seek for better than wheaten bread, for a man comes at last to desire what others throw away, and must content himself with…
Read MoreA little poem by Robert Bloomfield, read for Librivox by Colleen McMahon. Thanks to the Librivoxians. I was going to save it until Halloween, but I’m sure I can find other ghosts before then. The Fakenham Ghost A Ballad. The Lawns were dry in Euston Park; (Here Truth [1] inspires my Tale)The lonely footpath, still and…
Read MoreThis is a short bonus episode, to wish you a happy April Fool’s Day. There’s a brief part of Edgcumb Staley’s work, which I’m using as the current main text for the Venetian material, which suits our purposes on this day. Here’s the quote: “It was in the days of Doge Vitale Michielo II. that…
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This section is made up of a series of small chapters, and they are light on folklore. In the original plan these were cut out, but that would make the rest of the story skip about oddly. so I’ve included four this time. Dunsany waxes metaphysical in the story, so there’s not much need for…
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We’ve covered this ritual in City and Guild, but time for some extra material. I thought this ritual was a pagan survival, but no, it was begun by the Pope himself. Ah, Catholics, doing pagan-sounding things right up until you research. We’ve reached the dogado of Sebastian Ziani. He’s from the richest family in Venice,…
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