The Vintage RPG Podcast

Which flesh is your flesh? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, well, we don't find out the answer to that question, but we DO check out the mysterious RPG-inspired art book Vermis I, by Plastiboo. This gorgeous artifact takes the form of a strategy guide for a videogame that doesn't exist and draws clear inspiration from the Souls games, early videogame RPGs like Shadowgate and a whole wealth of tabletop games. It's gorgeous and unsettling and deeply intriguing and, hands down, one of my favorite things I've added to the shelf in a long time. * * * Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

The best of the first wave of TSR-produced D&D modules? Certainly the quirkiest! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. It's the one with the crashed spaceship full of aliens that, wouldn't you know it, look and act like classic D&D monsters! Even though this was published in 1980, it actually saw play as early as the summer of 1976 at conventions, so as outside the norm as Barrier Peaks may seem, it also shows how early silliness had come to be core to the D&D experience. We dig into that, scratch at the complex legacy of Gary Gygax and even talk a little bit about the spooky stuff that happened down by the railroad tracks when we were kids. Check it out! * * * Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we discuss the concept of the West Marches, a style of play for large groups of players and on-demand GMs (mostly intended for D&D and its derivatives). West Marches was developed by Ben Robbins (Microscope, Kingdom) and offers a pretty unique framework for RPGs that puts a lot of the onus of play on players rather than GMs, and weaponizes the dread Fear of Missing Out. Stu's starting up a West Marches game for Patrons, so it's been on his mind! * * * There are tons of resources for and musings about West Marches games, but the place to start, if you're interesting, is Robbins' own blogs on the subject. Note: while Stu has personally decided that the "Marches" part of the name refers to military walking, and refers to it as such in the episode, a march in this context is actually a kind of borderland. In medieval Europe, these were used as neutral zones between regions, often for military purposes. A whole lot of names and words derive from the concept (including marquis and Denmark), to the extent that once you're aware of it, you see a lot of Europe differently. * * * Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Fred Saberhagen's classic science fantasy trilogy. The last volume, Changeling Earth, got name-checked in Appendix N, but all three provided plenty of clear inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons. And they're pretty great reads on their own! * * * Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk about Amazing Tales, a simple RPG designed to introduce children into the hobby. And that's just what Stu did with his son a couple of weeks ago. How did Amazing Tales hold up in their first play through? Listen and find out! * * * Our friends at Cadabra Records are excited about their imminent Nightlands Festival. Come to New Jersey and join in a celebration of some of the greatest weird fiction through words, music and art. Tickets are on sale now! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat with Matt Johnson about Portents of the Degloved Hand, a kinda gross and very risky card-based omen supplement for everyone's favorite doom-ridden RPG, MÖRK BORG! We talk about how it works, how it looks, why you'd want to add more death and disaster to MÖRK BORG and more! * * * Portents is on Kickstarter right now! You can keep up to date with Matt on Instagram or on the Raven Portents site. * * * New year, new Noble Knight discount code! Use VRPG23 for 10% off all your purchases online or in the store! Our friends at Cadabra Records are excited about their imminent Nightlands Festival. Come to New Jersey and join in a celebration of some of the greatest weird fiction through words, music and art. Tickets are on sale now! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Hambone and Alex (our long-suffering editor), go to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves so Stu doesn't have to! They weave a compelling tale of being entertained by a movie that, against all odds, seems to not suck. Maybe Stu will see it after all. * * * Our friends at Cadabra Records are excited about their imminent Nightlands Festival. Come to New Jersey and join in a celebration of some of the greatest weird fiction through words, music and art. Tickets are on sale now! New year, new Noble Knight discount code! Use VRPG23 for 10% off all your purchases online or in the store! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat with Michael Monaco about his new book excavating the history of Fantasy Wargaming called The Highest Level of All. The game is a very idiosyncratic RPG created in the late '70s in the UK. I've talked about this game before, both in a previous episode of the podcast and in a post a million years ago — this is one of the RPGs from the early days that's interested in "realistic" simulation. It has a reputation for being unplayable (which Mike dispels) and for having silly things like stat blocks for the Virgin Mary. But it is also a deeply intriguing game, partly because it was one of the first to hit shelves in mainstream bookstores, partly because it's primary creator Bruce Galloway died not long after its publication. We try to get to the bottom of Fantasy Wargaming's unusual, but enduring appeal! * * * Buy the The Highest Level of All, or grab a free PDF from the publisher. You can also check out Mike's blog, Swords & Dorkery for more on Fantasy Wargaming and other RPGs! * * * Our friends at Cadabra Records are excited about their imminent Nightlands Festival. Come to New Jersey and join in a celebration of some of the greatest weird fiction through words, music and art. Tickets are on sale now! New year, new Noble Knight discount code! Use VRPG23 for 10% off all your purchases online or in the store! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Merlin Publishing's BattleCards, a neat, if doomed, combat card game that came out in 1993. Design credit goes to Steve Jackson (UK) and has players picking cards to square off, then scratching off hit locations to see if they score wounds. The winner claimed the defeated card (they have a gold value) and could send it in to "purchase" special treasure cards. There are puzzles and quests as well, but the real star is the artist pool, which includes heavy hitters like Iain McCaig and Led Edwards. Even then, it didn't stand a chance against Magic: The Gathering. * * * This week we shout out Dean Browell: check out his in-development space exploration RPG, Response! New year, new Noble Knight discount code! Use VRPG23 for 10% off all your purchases online or in the store! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out A Time to Harvest, a recently released campaign for Call of Cthulhu where players take the role of Miskatonic University students on an ill-advised field trip to Vermont. We talk in vague terms about why it is a cool campaign, the after a clear "beyond this point is spoilers" warning we get into some of the nitty gritty. A future classic of the system, I think! * * * New year, new Noble Knight discount code! Use VRPG23 for 10% off all your purchases online or in the store! Hang out with us on the Vintage RPG Discord! If you dig what we do, join us on the Vintage RPG Patreon for more roleplaying fun and surprises! Patrons keep us going! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast!