All articles filed in Librivox

The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus The Seven Sleepers has some deep links in Ars Magica lore., because an Infernal variant of them appears in Tribunals of Hermes: Rome. The Islamic version of this story has a sleeping dog that guards the door of the cave, which has made its way to Goethe. That character entered…

This is the second episode of poems from Goethe. Two of these will get stats eventually, and the middle is what happens when you fumble while selling your soul. Alan Mapstone pronounces “Erl king” in a way that I’m forced to admit is correct, but sounds strange to my ear. The word he’s saying is…

I found a little ghost story in my researches for Venice. It has what we’d call a revener in Ars Magica (see Realms of Power: The Infernal). I’m not usuing this story in the Venice material, although I suggest a valle, as described later, might make a good navigable point outside The Shoruded Glen ritual…

The Birds of Nephelococcygia were first described for Ars Magica in Realms of Power: Magic. They didn’t really get much use after this, but they’re an interesting group, because they offer a soft Titanomachy, without all of the destruction required of the Viktir version in Deis Irae. These creatures are based on a play by…

A couple of little stories from Linton. The creatures here are an infernal ghost and a succubus, both of which can be modelled using Realms of Power: Infernal. Thanks to the Librivox readers and production teams. Stats eventually. THE GHOST OF THE BLACK-BROWED MAID If bodies were safe after death, characters were not. Isabel Heriot…

This is the first of a series of episodes based on ballads from Goethe. The poem given here is based on two ancient Greek stories. The story’s core is that of Machates and Philinnion from Phlegon’s “Book of Marvels”, but in that story the bride is not obviously a vampire. She’s a member of the…

A bugaboo, or bugbear, is a variant of the faeries that scare parents into seeing to their children. In Realms of Power : Faerie this would be a variant of the ogre Gello. Thanks to Ann and her production team for the recording. *** THERE was an awful Bugaboo Whose Eyes were Red and Hair was…

For the Venice material I’ve hit a couple of additional plot hooks, based on the two most popular masks at Carnivale. The most popular male mask isn’t a character: it’s just a plain white mask, without a mouth. The chin bows forward sufficiently for the person to eat and drink in the mask. The mask’s…