The Vintage RPG Podcast

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we look at the amazing fantasy RPG-inspired art book, Down in the Dungeon (1981), by Don Greer. This amazing collection of art retells the adventures the author experienced while exploring Zarakan’s dungeon after discovering it on a camping trip somewhere in the American Southwest. We talk about the enduring appeal of this sort of art and speculate a bit about what a book like this said about the broader RPG scene at the time of its publication. * * * A large number of the paintings from Down in the Dungeon can be viewed at the Monster Brains blog. And hey, you know what is awesome? The ownership of Noble Knight has agreed to recognize the union! We’re firm believers in the non-controversial idea that all workers should be fairly compensated by their employers. Unionization and collective bargaining are an excellent way for workers to ensure they get that fair share, and we’re psyched the NKG owners came around.

Horror stories on vinyl! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we digress a little bit to talk about Cadabra Records and their “nightmares on vinyl.” These are spoken word readings or full cast audio plays of classic horror stories, set to atmospheric soundscapes and wrapped in evocative sleeve art. They’re part of a larger tradition of (often horror-centric) storytelling recordings but, primarily, they’re just plain cool as heck! Pick one up, dial the lights down low and have a spooky evening! * * * Our friends at Noble Knight are organizing a union and we support their efforts whole-heartedly! We're firm believers in the non-controversial idea that all workers should be fairly compensated by their employers. Unionization and collective bargaining are an excellent way for workers to ensure they get that fair share. For updates on the process, follow the union Twitter and put "We Roll Together" in the notes field of your online orders to show your support! (And just to be clear, we're speaking from the heart on this - no one is paying us for our solidarity)

Back to back heresy, just like we like it. Last week, we did Heirs to Heresy, this week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we’re talking about John’s new adventure Heresy of Rot, co-authored by Levi Combs and published by Necromancer Games. We talk a bit about horror in RPGs and we also briefly discuss Lodestar to Karamouska, a system agnostic RPG setting zine by Matheus Graef that Stu published through Unwinnable. Go buy the things! * * * Buy Heresy of Rot! You can also get it at DriveThru. Buy Lodestar to Karamouska!

They seem to be at the center of every occult conspiracy mystery ever written, so of course they have an RPG! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at Heirs to Heresy, Allan Bahr’s RPG centered on the Knights Templars (and their persecution in 1312). We also talk a bit about Osprey Publishing’s whole RPG line and some of the many surprises contained therein! * * * Our friends at Noble Knight are organizing a union and we support their efforts whole-heartedly! We're firm believers in the non-controversial idea that all workers should be fairly compensated by their employers. Unionization and collective bargaining are an excellent way for workers to ensure they get that fair share. For updates on the process, follow the union Twitter and put "We Roll Together" in the notes field of your online orders to show your support! (And just to be clear, we're speaking from the heart on this - no one is paying us for our solidarity)

In 2021, Call of Cthulhu turned 40 years old! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we’re looking at some of the print products that came out in 2022 to celebrate that mind-blasting anniversary — the sinister-looking 40th Anniversary edition of the Keeper Rulebook, the Kickstarted reprint of the first edition Call of Cthulhu box set with its accompanying stack of scenario books and, mostly, the advice-filled Keeper Tips book, full of little anonymous koan-like thoughts on how to run good games. (Stu forgot all about the revamped 40th Anniversary Starter Kit and its handsome new cover, to his eternal shame. Whoops!)

FLASHBACK to October 29, 2018. Two friends in a remote club house. Lightning flashes. Thunder roars. The rain hammers the window in torrents. Within, they discuss…I6: Ravenloft! Yep, this week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we’re airing a remastered repeat. One of Stu’s microphone cables died under mysterious circumstances and we couldn’t replace it in time to record a new jam. We’ll be back next week with the Halloween episode Stu had been planning, and that’s all right, since everyday is Halloween if you want it to be.  The original, laborious show notes, featuring now inaccurate timestamps, follow: The guys start off with Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters, a co-op board game about finding treasure in a haunted house (01:33). Stu explains how it reminds him of another co-op game, Flash Point, about fighting fires (03:03). Hambone talks a bit about the games two expansion (04:41). Hambone introduces the main course of our feast, D&D module I6 - Ravenloft (06:23). He declares it the best stand-alone module for D&D, though Stu disagrees (06:42). An unexpected hypothetical interlude about the 1979 cult classic film, The Warriors (08:38). Back on track. Hambone explains how much he loves the idea of a dungeon crawl through Dracula’s castle (09:55) and goes ga-ga over the maps (10:28). They discuss how experimental the module was for the time (12:00) and what kind of music Strahd is probably into (13:49). Stu breaks down how important Strahd is in terms of villain design (14:53). Hambone talks about how difficult it is to run Strahd as a master tactician (17:00). Curse of Strahd for 5E comes up (19:20). Stu offers his final thoughts on the module (21:00) and touches on House on Gryphon Hill, the sequel to Ravenloft (22:00). Castlevania: Simon’s Quest comes up (24:10) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, too (25:34). Hambone briefly gets excited about Mixtape Massacre (28:00) and the guys say their farewells. * * * Clarification: Let’s talk dates. Ravenloft came out in 1983. House on Gryphon Hill came out in 1986. Castlevania came out in Japan in 1986 and North America in ‘87 while Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest came out in Japan in ‘87 and North America in ‘88. Judging from the art on the cover of Simon’s Quest, it is pretty clear that Ravenloft was at least on the radar of the videogame developers.

There were terrors lurking in the shadows when the world was young! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at Time/Life’s classic series, The Enchanted World. Over 21 lushly illustrated volumes, the books portray a world of magic and monsters in a delicious, in-universe style. Perfect for pillaging for roleplaying games! * * * We mentioned the television spots for the books on the show. Here’s four: a general overview of the series, the “I’m a witch” commercial and both of the Vincent Price ads (one with just his narration, one with him on camera (no cat, though). There are a bunch more!

Game over, man! Actually, wait, no, as usual, we can’t always trust Stu’s first impressions. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we look at the Colonial Marines Operations Manual (2021) for Free League’s Alien RPG. This sourcebook introduces campaign play to the system and continues the metaplot established in the cinematic adventures along in a big way. Game on!

And now for something completely different! Well, not completely, but it has been a while since we did an interview. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat with Brian Saliba and Craig Schaffer about Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme (which totally isn’t an RPG at all, no sir, not one bit).

Hambone is setting the pace this week on the Vintage RPG Podcast as we talk about WHPA-13: Weird Heroes of Public Access (2022) from Get Haunted Industries. It’s an RPG zine about strange goings on around town and the romance of UHF TV, what’s not to love?