

The Vintage RPG Podcast
Vintage RPG
Join Stu Horvath and John McGuire as they delve into their favorite tabletop roleplaying games from the past, present and future!
Episodes
Mentioned books
4 snips
Jun 1, 2026 • 28min
Vacation
They announce a long summer hiatus and explain why a break is needed. They gripe about ad bloat, platform monetization, and the environmental cost of video and data. They discuss newsletter value, email deliverability problems, and plans to stay connected through Patreon and Discord. They tease a West Marches mini-event and promise virtual postcards while away.
May 25, 2026 • 1h 3min
The Black Spire Pact
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 chat. Buckle up! * * * Back The Black Spire Pact on Backerkit now! Worth mentioning: original art for this project is for sale as part of the crowdfunding campaign. The works are priced to move, and all the dough goes to Arik and Skinner! 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! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
May 18, 2026 • 35min
Abattoir Hymnal
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, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
May 11, 2026 • 30min
Monster Dinosaur
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! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
7 snips
Apr 27, 2026 • 25min
Sea and Land
They dig into an 1887 natural history tome, treating its lurid plates as proto‑monster lore. Vivid, gruesome engravings and man‑eating flora get center stage. They swap restoration tales about rescuing a battered massive book. Anecdotes about conventions and live play wrap up the chat.
Apr 20, 2026 • 26min
Night of the Ninja (and More!)
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 People Play ninja episode The Revenge of the Ninja soundtrack Black Orb (it comes with the Troika booklet!) * * * 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! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
10 snips
Apr 6, 2026 • 32min
TSR Art Books
They dig into four classic TSR art books and the flood of 1980s fantasy illustration they contain. They compare wild magazine art to modern, art-directed fantasy and celebrate tactile magazine extras. They trace iconic Dragonlance visuals, toy-line artwork and regional production lore. They highlight which art collections are must-haves for vintage D&D fans.
Mar 30, 2026 • 23min
Trollpak
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 are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
Mar 23, 2026 • 24min
Castle Thrax
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 kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!
Mar 16, 2026 • 30min
The Privilege of Play and Other Topics
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. * * * 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! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to [email protected]. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!


