A podcast about the fiction that inspired D&D and how we use it in our gaming today.
Jerry D. Grayson joins us to discuss Michael Moorcock’s “The Vanishing Tower”, discovering gaming as a kid, fantasy reading as a kid, comics, looking for representation, Elric as pulp, the grab-bag style of old-school gaming, morose scenery-chewing, the other Eternal Champions, Elric’s childhood education, DMG relics, how you too can make hundreds of dollars in the roleplaying industry, and much more!
Becky Annison joins us to discuss Roger Zelazny’s “Sign of the Unicorn”, female authors, murder-mysteries, audio books, characters with godlike powers, world-building, rooting games in a setting, one-on-one gaming, making allies out of enemies, using player imagination, gaming in the era of Critical Role, and much more!
Brian Murphy joins us to discuss Andrew J. Offutt’s “Swords Against Darkness”, reading fantasy fiction as a kid, writing about swords and sorcery, second generation sword and sorcery authors, the understated prose of Poul Anderson, O. Henry’s sword and sorcery, multiclass characters, the collected Ryre stories, elves and dwarves in swords and sorcery, sword and planet, and much more!
Jamila R. Nedjadi joins us to discuss Philip José Farmer’s “Behind the Walls of Terra”, World of Darkness games, the false divide between the OSR and indie games, simulacrums, motorcycle gangs, one’s own mother as a romantic love interest, hippie culture, fiction written by random tables, GMs building on what players give them, PBtA moves, describing modern items as marvelous artifacts, the perfect way to end a session, and much more!
Hoi and Jeff interview Tim Kask, the co-compiler of the Appendix N list, who gives us some interesting insight into its history!
Stacy Dellorfano joins us to discuss Leigh Brackett’s “The Best of Leigh Brackett”, the OSR, Boris Vallejo, women writing for male audiences, early antiheros, Eric John Stark as the outsider, Pocahontas, using life experiences in monster design, the balance of crunch and fluff, underwater adventures, Lovecraftian horror, and the future of Contessa Con in the quarantine era, and much more!
Evey Lockhart joins us to discuss Clark Ashton Smith’s “Poseidonis”, dark + quirk, Northern California as Mythic Greece, pulp colonialism, circus folk, horny 15 year olds, Irony as a rollable stat, Troika’s resolution system, bug collecting magic, Pathfinder vs. Dungeon World, the joy of a well-designed wizard’s tower, and much more!
Sean McCoy joins us to discuss Jack Vance’s “Star King”, police violence, pulp crime, spaghetti westerns, sci-fi RPGs, Intelligence vs. Wisdom, a future controlled by corporations, off-screen sexual violence, the future of Mothership, and much more!
