The Vintage RPG Podcast

Two legendary artists, one head-to-head infernal adventure. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, two of the most metal artists around, Arik Roper and Skinner, chat about The Black Spire Pact. That's a player-versus-player gamebook by Max Moon and Janaka Stucky, with Arik illustrating the wizard book and Skinner handling the demon lord. We also talk about art, fantasy, games, life, hallucinogens and more in a lengthy, rambling cha...

Yes, meat sorcery! 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're theoretically talking to Tiger Wizard about Abattoir Hymnal, his collaboration with Donn Stroud for Demon Month. In practice, we wind up talking about a lot of other stuff too!

* * *

Back Abattoir Hymnal on Backerkit now!

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Monsters, A...

Oh wait, this is supposed to be a podcast about roleplaying games? 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're talking local news, Daniel Cohen books, new phones and more, pretty much everything but RPGs. Sometimes that happens!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Bu...

In which I make the baseless argument that this is the first Monster Manual. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're going back in time to 1887 to check out J.W. Buel's unhinged tome of natural history, Sea and Land. 800 pages, with 300 illustrations depicting the natural world at its hungriest. A glorious thing.

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the coo...

Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas, they're all Stu wants to talk about these days. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're dodging shuriken in order to keep talk about shinobi, both generally and somewhat specifically regarding the Night of the Ninja RPG. Also a follow-up on the Worlds of TSR art book and a plug for Graham Barey's excellent graphic novel/Troika supplement Black Orb.

* * *

Links!

• Games ...

Art & Arcana? Pffft, go back to the source! 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we pull the TSR art books off the shelf. That's The Art of Dragon Magazine, The Art of the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Game, The Art of Dragonlance and The Art of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Game. That's a lot of art! And one more to come!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's ...

Troooooooooll! 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Trollpak, Chaosium's boxset that explores the nature of RuneQuest's trolls. It's a thoughtful approach to a "monstrous" species that sharply contrasts with most games of the period, and a lot of games now, even.

Plus: An update on Spellbinders!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids a...

Of stock lists and ancient history. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we explore Castle Thrax and the Spellbinders' treasure. That is, Spellbinders Games, a shop in Akron that published Castle Thrax, also had a lot of interesting titles in their stock list that don't seem to exist. Or do they? We'd like to know!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool...

Another collection of chit-chats. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we rummage through the grab bag again. We discuss Lite-Brite, Tony Bath's 1975 article "Fantasy Gaming," Aaron Trammell's The Privilege of Play, Dungeon Crawler Carl and doanes, among other things.

* * *

Check out Stu's essay on the inevitability of RPGs. Or skip right to the PDF of Tony Bath's "Fantasy Gaming" article.

Exploring a country still all mystery. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we venture to Mythic Britain & Ireland, a Vaesen sourcebook by Graeme Davis. A labor of love, the book presents all you need to run a game of Vaesen in the British Isles, including scenarios, monsters and mystery seeds. But in addition to being an RPG book, it also works as an introduction to the landscape of folklore that's so unique to Britain and Irelan...

If the lights go out, you're dead. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Shadowdark, a recent hack that brings the old school feel to 5E. Pack extra torches! [I think it was Epidiah Ravachol who I saw recently saying "D&D and its shadows]

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Grou...

All the news after the apocalypse that's fit to print. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out The End Times, a monthly newspaper from 12 years after the end of the world as we know it. From the minds of Benjamin Percy and some guy named Stephen King.

* * *

Get a digital subscription to The End Times!

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are n...

There can be only one. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat about the original Highlander film. Also on tap: Delta Green: The Conspiracy and the recently released adventures for the same. And some other stuff that I've forgotten! It'll be a surprise!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in t...

Stu's got more plastic flotsam from the 1980s. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at Stu's new(ish) to him plastic tile puzzles from Imperial Toys, featuring gorgeous ripped-off art and bright colors (you'll have to wait until 2027 to see them on the feed, sorry). Also, D&D sliding tile puzzles and the face of the warrior fighting the dragon on the famous Elmore cover painting for the red box Basic Set. Fun fact: ...

What does an RPG sound like? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at some bands that seem to draw inspiration from tabletop roleplaying games. On tap: Hällas, Slough Feg, Shadowland, Castillo, Lost Legion and Castle Rat.

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale...

Catchin' up on some TV and movies. 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat about the use of Dungeons & Dragons in Stranger Things, the continuing appeal of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films and discovering the original TV movie version of Woman in Black. 

* * *

Read Stu's essay on the Woman in Black films!

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kid...

Can you defeat the tower before the tower defeats you? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Milton Bradley's legendary Dark Tower board game from 1981. One of the most powerful examples of fantasy's moment in the mainstream limelight, the electronic game is actually pretty fun to play, too!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now...

Santa did what?! 

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we reveal the secret origin of Santa Claus, as told by Seabury Quinn in the novella Roads (1948). Saying more than that would spoil the fun. Ho, ho, ho?

That's it for this year. We hope you have a most excellent holiday season! We'll be back January 12.

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are...

Just what is a monster?

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're talkin' monsters. The best thing to talk about! Specifically, we're talking about the changing definition of monsters over the last several centuries. Laying the groundwork for future episodes about monsters? Maaaaaybe!

* * *

Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now!

Stu's book, Mons...