Roleplaying games from historical research
A little Halloween poem, read by Dale Grothmann. It lies beneath a sunless sky,Deep in the entrails of a bog;Gnarled willows hide it, lifting highTheir tortured arms; and never frog,Nor newt, nor toad, nor dragonflyDare come within its deadly fog.For evil spirits there are boundWithin its slime: an impious runeThey chant, nor is there other…
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I have tried several times to use this poem for Ars Magica or Magonomia, and I have failed each time. I’m sending it out into the universe so that it returns as something new and strange. Thanks to the Librivox production team. You’ll get a short episode every day this week to celebrate the festive…
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A note: Halloween Week comes early this year. I’d prepped a little episode for each day, and then noticed it overlapped with the Magonomia Bestiary Kickstarter. For that Kickstarter, which is month long, I’d prepared eight episodes. Adding another week of dailies was just too much, so I’ve moved all of it up into this…
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A short poem for our monster of the month. Thanks to Thomas Peter for the reading. *** O brothers mine, take care! Take care!The great white witch rides out to-night.Trust not your prowess nor your strength,Your only safety lies in flight;For in her glance there is a snare,And in her smile there is a blight.…
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I have Covid so I’m doing this one quite rapidly. By the time you hear it hopefully I’ll have been well for a month. This follows on from the episode two weeks ago where I talked about “Weird Crimes” a series of articles by Seabury Quinn for Weird Tales magazine. He claimed these stories to…
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This week we return to the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. Cellini has been, as far as the castellan knows, released from prison. People have conspired so that he remains in the dungeons and they have decided to poison him. Prepare to get some information about diamonds, the poison of princes. In the real world, of…
Read MoreThe transcripts for April to June were delayed by COVID. They are included here, with the transcripts for July and half of August. This will give me a brief publication for August -September, which is handy because October is going to be a quite busy month on the blog. In addition to weekly episodes, I’d…
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I have COVID. The way my podcast plan is set out, however, I have to do some recording today. I’m recording a couple of episodes which will go live in August. By the time you hear this hopefully I’ve been well for a month. Today I bring you one of the earliest werewolf stories, even…
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The problem with Shelley is that he’s a really annoying author. He can’t leave well enough alone. In “Frankenstein”, for example, you’ll know there is a not particularly good frame narrative. He insisted it be shoved around it. Similarly the poem I’m about to give youstarts with – I think it’s five maybe six –…
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A quick note this week for a Magonomia magician every player character should seek out: John Stow. Stow is an occultist and geographer, whose magical practice is tied to the road network of the capital. He’s famous for his book collection, his urbanity, and his willingness to lend material to other magicians. The call his…
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Games From Folktales 