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Angus returns to some comics archeology to introduce Barbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian (Volume Two) and Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Sun Vol. 1: Ianto's Tomb. There is also a review of the origins of Appendix N and how these two selections relate to it. Please join us for our Appendix N Month celebration reads:Graphic Novels Of The Month - Conan The BarbarianBarbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian (Volume Two)https://www.amazon.com/Barbarian-Life-Literary-Biography-Conan-ebook/dp/B08379KF9M/Conan The Barbarian: The Original Comics Omnibus Vol.2https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Original-Comics-Omnibus/dp/1787740846/_______________Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Sun Vol. 1: Ianto's Tombhttps://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dark-Vol-Iantos-ebook/dp/B009CI6GEULeave a message at kirbyskidspodcast@gmail.comJoin the Community Discussions https://mewe.com/join/kirbyskids Please join us for our 2025 Graphic Novel Readshttps://www.kirbyskids.com/2024/11/kirbys-kids-giving-thanks-2025-graphic.htmlFor detailed show notes and past episodes please visit www.kirbyskids.com
Season 1, Episode 10: In this episode, we answer listener questions, specifically about monster design, art, and “quiet innovation”. Appendix N: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/rock-paper-scissors---a-method-for-competitive-game-play-design Made Out Of Meat: Health Systems In Video Games Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.
In honor of the release of Alien: Romulus, Andy Rau from Roll for Topic joins John for a discussion of the Alien franchise. What makes a great Alien movie? And does Alien:Romulus hit the mark? Plus an update on the Alien RPG from Free LeagueAlien: Romulus TrailerAlien RPGAlien RPG 2n EditionContact Us!splatbookpod@gmail.comThe Splatphone!
Bert and RD sit down and talk about a request from a friend of the show: "What is your personal 'Appendix N-like' curated list of non-print inspiration?" Listen as the guys chronicle everything from Movies to TV to Video Games and more! How did these items impact their games and their creativity? The news this week is, well, exactly what you would expect during a week when Wizards of the Coast released a Rainbow Brite sorcerer. It's a fun discussion that pulls from all of the things we love! ----more---- The News: The new Xbox controller is... what? Pathfinder Keeps the Bloat Coming Cyberpunk 2077 Board Game WotC's Slimmer Wizards ----more---- Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven?affiliate_id=3908211 ----more---- Episode Sponsors and Affiliates: Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja *We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
Joseph Goodman runs Goodman Games. He has written a number of RPG titles, including DCC RPG, DragonMech, and many dungeon crawl adventures. His best work, though, is mentoring the amazing group of creators who have come to publish their work through Goodman Games. Joseph is also well known within the DCC RPG community as the Dark Lord, but in a very dear way. I had the pleasure to work with Goodman Games a few times, but I've always been an admirer of not only their work with games, but especially in the way they ciultivate creativity and community. In this chat we talk about many great topics, including game design, doing business as a game, creativity, nature as inspiration, the famous Appendix N, and parenthood. This was a fantastic chat, Joseph is always very generous with his wisdom so I recommend you listen to this one closely! So, listen up, and get weird with us! Check out Jospeh's links! https://goodman-games.com Thank you for listening to Weird Games & Weirder People! Please subscribe to the show to keep up with new episodes! If you would like to support the show, leave a review and/or head to our ko-fi page and pay us a coffee! It will help keep the podcast going! It will really help us! https://ko-fi.com/wgnwp You can also support me buy buying one of my games! Kosmosaurs just got released in print, and it is my new RPG inspired by Saturday morning cartoons about Space Dinosaur Rangers defending the galaxy from evildoers! Get your copy right here: bit.ly/kosmosaurs Get other games of mine on Exalted Funeral: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/search?q=Diogo+nogueira Or buy anything at DriveThruRPG using this link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate_id=338514 Or buy something from my itch store: https://diogo-old-skull.itch.io SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER! This is super new and I am trying a new thing! I share offers, news, behind the scenes, articles, curiosities, and rants about being me! Fun, right? RIGHT!? Check out our latest post: https://diogonogueira.substack.com/ Stuff mentioned in the Episode: Dinosaur Planet: https://goodman-games.com/store/product/dinosaur-planet-broncosaurus-rex/ DragonMech: https://goodman-games.com/store/product/dragonmech-pdf/ Appendix N: https://goodman-games.com/blog/2018/03/26/what-is-appendix-n/ Watch Life in Color with David Attenborough: https://www.netflix.com/title/81036559 50 Fantastic Functions for the D50: https://goodman-games.com/store/product/50-fantastic-functions-for-the-d50-pdf/ Howard Andrew Jones: https://www.howardandrewjones.com Harold Lamb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Lamb Algernon Blackwood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood Carcassonne: https://www.zmangames.com/en/products/carcassonne/ Puerto Rico: https://www.riograndegames.com/games/puerto-rico/ California Extreme: https://caextreme.org
The Heads of Cerberus
The Legion of Space
This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're talking about Roger Zelazny's 1971 novel Jack of Shadows. Gygax included the novel — a high-concept blend of fantasy and science fiction — in Appendix N, but it isn't one that gets talked about all that often. Perhaps because it is such an unrelentingly ugly book, featuring a protagonist who embraces his dark side and never lets go, to the sorrow of everyone around him, and even unto the end of the world as he knows it. This one is DARK. And yet, because it is Zelazny, still incredibly readable and entertaining. That dude could write. * * * 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!
The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt
Lest Darkness fall by L Sprague de Camp
On this episode, we see the return of Les aka "Oblivion Seeker" to talk about the "Imperial Gothic" literature which inspired, Greyhawk and D&D.
With Kyle busy, busy, busy with the final Monstrous illustrations, John invites two former guests (Andy Rau, and Matt Wilson) to talk about three John Carpenter movies: "The Apocalypse Trilogy". Please enjoy this bonus episode. The ThingPrince of DarknessIn the Mouth of MadnessList of American movies 1982John Carpenter QuoteDelta Green: Impossible LandscapesThe King in Yellow - Project Gutenberg John Carpenter IMDB Contact Us!splatbookpod@gmail.comThe Splatphone!Map Crow YouTubeMap Crow PatreonRoll For TopicThe Cloud Curio
For part one of our grand season 2 mega dungeon finale, this week we talk with:Monte Cook of Monte Cook Games talks about D&D 3E, Numenera, Cypher System, Old Gods of Appalachia RPG and his upcoming The Magnus Archives. Follow Monte Cook: Website - Twitter - Facebook Mike Mason of Chaosium talks Call of Cthulhu, Alone Against the Static, Arkham Unveiled, the upcoming/updated Cthulhu By Gaslight and his podcast Eldritch Stories. Follow Chaosium: Website - Instagram - Twitter - YouTube - Facebook Skip Williams "The Sage" talks D&D 3E, Dragon Magazine, Gary Con & Founders and Legends for D&D's 50th anniversary. Find Skip on Facebook and at Gary Con: Co-Event Manager & Honored GuestJeff Richard, creative director of Chaosium talks Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, and upcoming RuneQuest projects: Cults of RuneQuest: The Lunar Way, the Solar cult book and more. Follow Jeff on Facebook.Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games talks Dungeon Crawl Classic, Grimtooth, Adventures on the Purple Planet and Appendix N. Follow Goodman Games: Website - Instagram - Twitter - YouTube - Facebook—The season finale super room will be revealed next week along with the final mega-dungeon that we spent a year creating with all our friends!—Dungeon Cats pre-launch page is now live on the Epic Level's Kickstarter!JOIN OUR MAILING LIST by clicking the newsletter button on epiclevelsrapgods.comNew poster adventure maps are now available for purchase at Exalted Funeral.—You can support us via Patreon.Mad Dungeon is hosted by Andrew Bellury, Steve Albertson, and produced by Zach Cowan.Theme song by Epic Levels and beat by Inner Resting.© 2023 Epic Levels. All characters in this adventure–even those based on real people–are entirely fictional.
The boys try to cleanse the room and open the show by looking at the "Bro-holy" document that is Appendix N, and then each of the guys adds a line item to the list of required reading! The news presents everything from the huge MCDM kickoff to a quite chilly topic. After the news, Hunter aka Ultra-American TTRPGer stops in to tell his side of the Haunted Table story. Did Haunted Table act with cause or did they persecute Hunter for his political speech? ----more---- Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon! Support the show and hold that door! https://amzn.to/3R60vt3 ----more---- The News: MCDM! Where attacks (and profit projections) never miss! DnD to have the BIGGEST PHB ever! *yawn* Battlestar Galactica Redux-Redux Baby, it's cold inside... ----more---- Episode Sponsors and Affiliates: Crud Forge Studios: https://shop.crudforge.com/ Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja *We earn a small commission for each purchase at no additional cost to you!
The Return of Michael Moorcock
At the Earth's Core
On this episode we welcome back Les aka OblivionSeeker to talk about Fairy Tales, their impact on Greyhawk and how they can be an inspiration for your games. CORRECTION: OblivionSeeker meant to say that Puck is a trickster figure, and Bottom's experience parodies that of the "blessed mortal" taken as lover or favorite by an Otherworldly being.
The Trail of Cthulhu
Our Lady of Darkness
Sailor on the Seas of Fate
Kyle recruits a kindred soul to his party to discuss Baldur's Gate III. Andy Rau from Roll for Topic joins Kyle to breakdown the latest D&D video games. John takes the episode off, which is probably best for everyone. THE MONSTROUS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!Back it now!Contact Us!splatbookpod@gmail.comThe Splatphone! SHOW NOTESBaldur's Gate 3Narrator OuttakesAgnostic and Old RoadsRoll For TopicThe Cloud CurioMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
On this episode we're joined by OblivionSeeker (Les) to take a look at Unknown (later changed to Unknown Worlds), a brief-lived fantasy sibling publication to Astounding Science Fiction. Also mentioned in the episode is Robert Kuntz's website, which you can find here.
Kenny and John spoil the sh$t out of The Dark Tower. The WHOLE THING. John fails to convince Kenny that he is wrong about the ending, Kyle takes Kenny's side and John gets sooooo angry. Then John thinks it might just be that he is broken. The Dark TowerFrank Muller (Dark Tower Narrator)Moira Quirk (The Ninth Narrator)Episode 119 – Audio Equipment, Mysteries, Aliens, and RepetitionEmail Us: splatbookpod@gmail.comThe Splatphone!Agnostic and Old RoadsRoll For TopicThe Cloud CurioMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
On this episode we begin an occasional series with regular guest OblivionSeeker. We will be talking about why reading the fiction on Appendix-N of the AD&D DMG helps get the tone and feel of Greyhawk.
Dungeons and Dragons expert Jon Peterson (The Elusive Shift, Game Wizards) speaks with Peter Bebergal (Season of the Witch, Too Much to Dream) about his new book Appendix N, an anthology of writing which takes its name from the list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide. Drawing upon the original list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide, published in 1979, as well as hobbyist magazines and related periodicals that helped to define the modern role-playing game, Appendix N offers a collection of short fiction and resonant fragments that reveal the literary influences that shaped Dungeons & Dragons, the world's most popular RPG. The stories in Appendix N contextualize the ambitious lyrical excursions that helped set the adventurous tone and dank, dungeon-crawling atmospheres of fantasy roleplay as we know it today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Dungeons and Dragons expert Jon Peterson (The Elusive Shift, Game Wizards) speaks with Peter Bebergal (Season of the Witch, Too Much to Dream) about his new book Appendix N, an anthology of writing which takes its name from the list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide. Drawing upon the original list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide, published in 1979, as well as hobbyist magazines and related periodicals that helped to define the modern role-playing game, Appendix N offers a collection of short fiction and resonant fragments that reveal the literary influences that shaped Dungeons & Dragons, the world's most popular RPG. The stories in Appendix N contextualize the ambitious lyrical excursions that helped set the adventurous tone and dank, dungeon-crawling atmospheres of fantasy roleplay as we know it today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
The Hounds of Skaith
Zachary Rosenberg
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!
The Tower of the Elephant
The Charwoman's Shadow
Bill Gosline joins us to discuss Michael Chabon's "Gentlemen of the Road", reading books written for adults as kids, Deities & Demigods as Appendix N, elephant-related words, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay", smug afterwords, Ren faire troupes, world-building in epic fantasy, world-building around the characters, historical fiction, when magic is not a technology, the future demise of Twitter, and much more!
Roll for Topic's own Andy Rau joins Kyle and John to talk about the first book of the Dark Tower series: The Gunslinger. Will the podcast survive this titanic show down?The GunslingerRoll For TopicMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
The First Book of Swords
Kyle finally tricks John into talking about the story The Fortress Unvanquishable, save for Sacnoth. After many attempts, John learns how to pronounce Tharagavverug and Wong Bongerok. Kyle compares the story to the Legend of Zelda, and points out that Leothric teaming up with Tharagavverug is kinda like Spiderman teaming up with Venom. Spoiler: We love this story. The Fortress Unvanquishable, save for SacnothRoll For TopicMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
Today we go back to discussing our own personal Appendix N. You can listen to the first part here: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e1re6v5 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wobbliesandwizards/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wobbliesandwizards/support
Burn, Witch, Burn!
In this episode John and Kyle talk about the Beatles, The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, The Twilight Zone, and OH YEAH, the actual story listed in the title of this episode. We also totally talk about RPGs a whole bunch.The Last Defender of Camelot (Wikipedia)The Last Defender of Camelot - Twilight ZoneIn Memoriam: George RR Martin Remembers Roger ZelaznyRoll For TopicMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
The Hills of the Dead
This week we go old school with a story from the influential author Lord Dunsany: The Quest of the Queen's Tears. Marvel at how John and Kyle can talk about a 3 page story for almost an hour. You can read the full text of The Quest of the Queen's Tears - link in the show notes.Lord DunsanyThe Quest of the Queen's TearsRichard Francis BurtonRoll For TopicMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
The House on the Borderland
John and Kyle discuss another entry in the the annals of their Personal Appendix N. For this episode John choose The Dark Muse by Karl Edward Wagner. This story is part of Wagner's collection Night Winds, which features his most famous character - Kane the Mystic Swordsman.Check the show notes for more about Karl Edward Wagner, Kane, and this story. Including a link to an excerpt from The Dark Muse.The Dark Muse: ExcerptThe Last Wolf Trailer (Karl Edward Wagner documentary)Karl Edward Wagner (Wikipedia)Where to start with Kane?Roll For TopicMap Crow YouTubeMap Crow Patreon
A Night in the Lonesome October