Podcasts about Dark Dungeons

Advanced Fighting Fantasy Publisher Graham Bottley in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.Fighting Fantasy gamebooks have had an incredible legacy - ever since that we found that Warlock at Firetop Mountain we've gone back into the dungeons, forests, cities, islands, and everything else that Fighting Fantasy has had to offer.In the 80s there was an initial attempt to create a roleplaying game based on the world, adventures, and enemies from the gamebooks, but it wasn't until Arion Games released a second edition of the RPG in 2011 that the system really took off.My guest today is responsible for resurrecting the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG, commissioning, writing, and publishing the entire game line, and most recently creating a brand new Advanced Fighting Fantasy boardgame - Dark Dungeons. We talk about honouring the legacy of what has come before, the methods and approaches to building a new game in an old world, and the business of RPG publishing in the modern marketplace.Advanced Fighting Fantasy Publisher Graham Bottley interview._____________________________ GRAHAM'S LINKS:[DARK DUNGEONS KICKSTARTER]https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2036759092/advanced-fighting-fantasy-dark-dungeons-the-boardgame[ARION GAMES WEBSITE]https://arion-games.com/_____________________________ JORDAN'S LINKS:[ ELEMENT GAMES AFFILIATE LINK ]https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216[ PATREON ]https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery[ KO-FI ]https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery[ YOUTUBE CHANNELS ]History & Editorial: https://youtube.com/ @jordansorceryLongform Conversation: https://youtube.com/ @JordanSorceryPods  [ WEBSITE ]https://jordansorcery.com/#FightingFantasy #AdvancedFightingFantasy #tabletop #boardgames #RPG_____________________________ Art, Music, and Copyright: Images used belong to their respective copyright owners Jordan Sorcery Theme by Joylin Music Jordan Sorcery Heraldry by Becka Moor Jordan Sorcery Heraldry and Theme copyright @jordansorceryTiny Bar ChatsChats with influential, inspiring, prolific and community oriented folks.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

This week on the Super Fun Time Trivia Podcast we discuss how Dog The Bounty hunter got his name, if Grimace lays chicken nuggets, as well as mix Jojo Siwa and Joe Rogan together to create Child Pop / Bro Podcaster Jojo Rogan. Music Round: One Name Artists Patreon: Super Fun Time Trivia Facebook: superfuntimetrivia Instagram: superfuntimetrivia Twitter: @sftimetrivia Email: superfuntimetrivia@gmail.com Intro Music By David Dino White. Welcome to Super Fun Time Trivia: The known universe's only live improv comedy trivia podcast. Heres some trivia questions for you to steal this week... Round 1 1) What was the name of that mid-90's talking pig movie that wasn't Babe ? A) Daisy B) Wally C) Gordy 2) In 1963, Andy Warhol released his first film. It featured a man doing what for 5 hours and 20 minutes? 3) What is the name of the fictional family resteraunt that Joanna works at in Office Space? 4) True or false, the NHL has imposed a $10000 fine for zamboni drivers or ice managers to twirling octopus on the ice. 5) Which of the following was used in semiconductors until being superseded by silicon? A) Tennessine B) Selenium C) Germanium 6) What number jersey does Happy Gilmore wear? 7) With regards to comic books, what character is the alter-ego of Selina Kyle?    8) How many hands appear on the flag of Brunei? 9) A tire fire in Wales caught fire in 1989. What year did it finally stop burning? A) 1994 B) 2004 C) 2014 10) What animal named drink is also known as the Poor Man's Mimosa due to its orange Juice base? Round 2 1) What 6 letter b word means to use or consume something without sharing? 2) What manufacturer, which originated in 1900, has produced the following vehicles: Lancer, Coronet, Diplomat, and the Stratus  3) An English mathematician created an algorith for finding bernouli numbers using a hypothetical machine in 1842, widely considered to be the first computer algorithm. Who was the mathematician? A)  Katherine Johnson B) Rachel Carson C) Ada Lovelace 4) How many digits does Bob the builder have on a hand? 5) Victor Lustig was a conman who famously sold what european monument twice to two different marks? 6) Why does Clevelands sky sometimes have a purple glow pre dawn>? A) High concentration of methane from outlying farms. B) Led lights in vertical greenhouses C) McDonald's marketing for The Grimace Shake 7) True or false, the beep sound from the original Mac computer is titled sosumi.wav because of their fear The Beatles and Apple Corp would sue them again for making ‘music' after settling a previous legal battle in 1978? 8) What is the name of the child's character in the comic series Dark Dungeons by Jack Chick, one of the main reasons for the Satanic Panic of the 1970s? A) Elfstar B) Lord Soth C) Moradin 9) What was the name of Maurice The Rocket Richard's Brother Henri? 10) With regards to mythology, what creatures, part goat, part man, were famous for chasing wood nymphs? Round 4 1) What 8 letter N word from the Latin word for newly planted, is a person who has just started learning or doing something? 2) According to a Study by Jane's Interconnected Intelligence, what country's military has the most submarines in their fleet (Includes both Diesel and Nuclear)? A) North Korea  B) US C) UK  3) As of June 6th, 2024, Who holds the NFL single season record for catches with 149? A) Cooper Kupp B) Marvin Harrison  C) Michael Thomas 4) True or False, Dog The Bounty Hunters name is Dog because his great grandfather Jessep Jackson was the first person to ever bring and sell hot dogs on the Hawaiian island of Hula? 5) The snake river provides most of Oregon's border with what other state? Idaho 6) Which of the following does Urban dictionary define as the act of sexual intercourse when both parties are heavily intoxicated? A) Mashed Potatoes B) Taco Mixing C) Soup 7) How many years did Pia Farrenkopf sit in her car dead in her garage until she was discovered? 8)  Which of the following is credited with many of the statutes which decorate the Parthanon? A) Scopas B) Phidias C) Hesiod 9) What crucial ingredient does self rising flour contain? 10) What is the unit of measure of the Gamecube Memory Card?    

If you'd like to see more just join our patreon, it helps me know who's out there. No money needed, it just helps me know who the super fans are, give money if you want. i just use it as a place to put cool free stuff like the full interview with our friend RAMSEY CAMPBELL  FIND US on IG! Sponsored by: ANYCUBIC KOBRA NEO 2 3D Printer $199, DB's fav printer!!! Glarry Guitars Inexpensive Guitars  Golden Goat CBD CBD & Delta 8 Edibles    FInd us on... INSTAGRAM Podbean Amazon Apple Stitcher Facebook Our Patreon

If you'd like to see more just join our patreon, it helps me know who's out there. No money needed, it just helps me know who the super fans are, give money if you want. i just use it as a place to put cool free stuff like the full interview with our friend RAMSEY CAMPBELL  FIND US on IG! Sponsored by: ANYCUBIC KOBRA NEO 2 3D Printer $199, DB's fav printer!!! Glarry Guitars Inexpensive Guitars  Golden Goat CBD CBD & Delta 8 Edibles    FInd us on... INSTAGRAM Podbean Amazon Apple Stitcher Facebook Our Patreon

Do tabletop roleplaying games lead to the occult? Spoiler: Yes. Dive into the mystical world of Role Playing Games (RPGs), where we explore the Top 5 Benefits of RPGs and unveil the Top 5 Occult RPGs of all time.   Starting with the basics, we explain what RPGs are and how they can serve as powerful tools for enhancing imagination, visualization, connection, and communication. We delve into the rich history of RPGs, shedding light on the controversial association with occult and Satanism. We also reveal how this perception has evolved over the years, leading to widespread public acceptance.   Discover how today's technology draws inspiration from the mechanics and storytelling of RPGs, and be amazed by the fact that 1 in 10 Americans actively engages in this immersive form of entertainment. Most enchantingly, we discuss the magical aspect of RPGs - how they create a safe space for group astral projection and teach us that life itself can be the greatest role-playing game.   Join us on this journey to uncover the magic of RPGs and how they reflect, enhance, and sometimes transcend our reality. #RPGs #RolePlayingGames #OccultGames #Imagination #connection

Episode Summary This week on Live Like the World is Dying, we have a short story about prepping called "Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners" by Matthew Dougal. It's a parody about two right-wing preppers who are faced with a collapse in society. After the story, there's an interview with the author about prepping mentalities and writing. This episode was reposted from the Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness podcast. The story can be read at tangledwilderness.org. Host Info Inmn can be found on Instagram @shadowtail.artificery Reader The Reader is Bea Flowers. If you would like to hear Bea narrate other things, or would like to get them to read things for you check them out at https://voicebea.wixsite.com/website Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Theme music The theme song was written and performed by Margaret Killjoy. You can find her at http://birdsbeforethestorm.net or on twitter @magpiekilljoy Transcript Live Like the World is Dying: “Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners” with Matthew Dougal **Inmn ** 00:16  Hello, and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. I'm your host today, Inmn Neruin, and today we have something a little different. I host another podcast called Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness where every month we take a zine that Strangers puts out and turn it into an audio feature and do an interview with the author. We had a two-part feature called Blood, Soil, and Frozen TV Dinners by Matthew Dougal, and it is a short story about prepping from a very strange perspective, that of two right-wing preppers facing a mysterious collapse of society. This short story is a parody and I promise that the two main pov characters are not the heroes of the tale. It's a fun story and I do an interview with Matthew afterward about prepping mentalities, fiction, and other neat stuff. If you like this episode, check out my other podcast that this is featured from. I did not re-record the outro, so you'll get a little taste of Margaret playing the piano, because she wrote the theme music for the Strangers podcast. You'll also get to hear our wonderful reader, Bea Flowers narrate the story. Follow along with the transcript or at Tangledwilderness.org where you can read all of our featured zines for free. But before all of that, we are a member of the Channel Zero Network of anarchist podcasts and here's a jingle from another show on that network.  [sings a simple melody] **Bea ** 02:49 “Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners” by Matthew Dougal. Read by Bea Flowers. Published by Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness.  Katie sat, wide-eyed, beneath the kitchen table and hugged her knees to her chest. She was shaking, vibrating visibly. Tanner put his finger to his lips and prayed that her silent tears would remain just that. There was no time to stop and calm her down. Not again. He moved slowly around the kitchen, fumbling through cupboards and pulling out pre-wrapped packages of food. Always be prepared. Tanner had practiced this before things went dark, but it was different doing it for real. His hands hadn't been so shaky, back then.  A noise, on the porch. His body froze before his mind registered the sound. Tanner dropped into a crouch and crossed the room to the window, willing every cell in his body to radiate confidence toward his baby girl. His hand found the Glock 17 at his belt and he brought it up in front of him, the familiar feel of the grip reassuring. He took a breath, steadied himself, and raised his eyes to the level of the windowsill. The muscles in his thighs steeled and he remained, unblinking, utterly still, staring out into the darkness.  After thirty or forty nerve-twanging seconds, Tanner drew breath and relaxed. His quads were burning, and they thanked him as he straightened. He could hear the specter of his ex-wife in his head, telling him to lose some weight, exercise more… Well she'd left, and that was 135 pounds gone right there. She'd probably say that was a good start.   An unbearably loud ringing pierced the silence and sent him diving to the floor, landing awkwardly on his gun and sounding a crash through the kitchen. A keening whine came from under the table, Katie shaken from her silence.  The doorbell.  Feeling foolish, Tanner twisted over his shoulder and hissed at his daughter to be quiet. Still prone, he crawled toward the hallway in the most reassuring manner he could manage and pointed his Glock at the front door.  Footsteps outside, then a shadow appeared at the window. Tanner's heart pounded in his ears—more violent pulses of silence than sound—and his vision blurred as panic flooded his body. He'd heard the early reports of armed groups in the streets, some sort of fighting downtown, but he hadn't really believed they would come here. His legs were weak, and he silently thanked God that he was already on the floor. The shape at the window didn't move, frozen in the gloom, silhouetted by flickering light coming from the street. As Tanner's head cleared he tried to take stock of what was happening.  The apparition was vaguely man-shaped but shorter and slighter, an ethereal grace evident even in its stillness. A voice called out, muffled through the door, the guttural singsong completely at odds with the sleek form at the window. Tanner couldn't understand everything, but he thought he caught the words “little girl.” A second shape mounted the porch alongside the first, similarly short but squat and stocky, and grunted something to its companion in an alien tongue. Fluorescent light flooded the yard and the voices momentarily disappeared beneath the growl of an angry engine. Tanner's breath caught. His trembling finger hovered over the trigger and he willed the barrel to still its swaying dance. Two shots exploded outside—loud shots, from a much bigger gun than his. The creatures spun to face this new threat, their chatter rising in pitch and speed. They sounded panicked.  “yalla! hawula' alnaas majnoon.” Tanner sensed his opportunity. He was forgotten. All those hours of training kicked in and muscle memory took over as he rose to one knee, took a two-handed grip, and unleashed a furious hail of fire at his front door.  “Keep your filthy hands off my daughter!” He fired until he felt the Glock stop kicking, the magazine spent. As the cacophony faded he realized he was screaming.  “Tanner! It's me, Blake. Stop shooting goddammit, they're gone.”  “Blake?” Tanner mechanically reloaded his gun. “Why…” His throat was raw, his voice barely audible even to him. He swallowed, fighting to control his breath, and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?”  “Come to see if you were okay. Figured you and the kid might need a hand.”  A stocky, heavily muscled figure wearing fatigues and a plate carrier stepped up to the porch, visible through the splintered ruins that had been the front door. A halogen glow lanced through the holes, like the brilliant aura of some kind of avenging eagle.  “When this shit spread across the river from the city we locked down. It was touch-and-go for a while, but things quieted down eventually. When they did, I came straight over. Good thing I got here when I did. The quick little fuckers ran for it, but I think you hit one of ‘em.”  The figure stopped, pulled down the red, white and blue bandana covering its mouth, and spat. Tanner had never been more relieved to see his buddy's foul-mouthed face. Or his M1A SOCOM 16 rifle.  “We're alright.” Tanner's voice was exhausted, his body shivering as the adrenaline fled. “Thank God I was prepared. Still, it's good to see you.”  “Prepared, shit.” His buddy grinned. “I been telling you for years to get something heavy duty.” Blake kicked the splintered remains of the door and his grin faded. “You can't stay here. Those things'll be back. Grab your girl and jump in the truck. Let's head to mine, she'll be safe there.” The grin returned.“Prepared, shit.”  An hour later they were sitting in “the Hole,” as Blake affectionately called it. The Hole was both name and description, although it perhaps undersold the amount of effort that had gone into its construction. Attached to the garage by a short, downward-sloping corridor, The Hole was a full-blown bunker that spread underneath almost the entirety of Blake's backyard. Tanner was sitting in the main chamber eating Top Ramen, chicken flavor.  They had made the half-mile journey in silence—lights down on the Tacoma, Tanner jumpy, Blake grim, Katie in a state of shock. The streets had looked completely foreign, the usual calming glow of LEDs replaced by the orange flicker of scattered flames. The familiar hum of traffic had been gone. Instead, gunfire had cracked in the distance.  Blake's wife Lauren had buzzed them inside after Blake confirmed his identity via video feed—three times: at the gate, the door, and the entrance to the Hole. The security was impressive. Lauren had ushered them inside, AR-15 at the ready. “This is prepared,” Blake was saying, as Katie stared blankly at her untouched ramen. “Old owners, they had this backyard full of fruit trees, vegetables, fuckin' kale and kohlrabi. What good is that gonna do, I said, you gonna hide in the pumpkin patch with a slingshot? Idiots.  “Anyhow me and Lauren, we wanted to be ready, so I been building this the last two years. Ain't no one knows about it, not even the contractors…” Blake sliced a finger across his throat, then laughed, “I'm joking, but they were from one of them Mexican countries. Had no idea what they were building. Good workers, though, came here the right way. And I did the security all myself.”  Tanner laughed too, but at what he didn't quite know. “You took this all real serious.”  “Yessir. You never really believed, but we did. Earl Swanson was right, this here's been a long time coming. It's just like he said, and we listened. And here we are, while you was laying on the floor waving round that little waterpistol of yours.”  Tanner had listened too, but apparently not well enough. There was only so much time he could watch an angry man on TV shouting about the state of the nation, no matter how prophetic he was turning out to be. Tanner tried to put up a strong front and flex his knowledge. He had listened, dammit.  “Is this it, then? The invasion? Earl said they've been preparing it for years, brainwashing people. Recruiting sympathizers and traitors…”  “It's worse than that. The invasion started way back, we just didn't notice. Well, most of us didn't. Earl did. He tried to warn us, that the aliens'd started infiltrating, landing in remote parts of the country, blending in, looking just like us…” Blake spat. “Well, not quite like us. But close e-fucking-nough, hiding out and biding their time.” “And now it's out in the open…” Tanner looked from his friend's face to his daughter's, scared and staring, and trailed off. He may have been listening, but he sure as hell didn't understand.  “What's happening?” Tanner asked. “We've been laying low at home, locked down and trying to wait out whatever this is. We haven't heard a thing since the power cut out three days back.”  He could feel a surge of emotion building, pent-up adrenaline and stress and fear and loneliness rolling over him in a wave as they were released. His stoicism wobbled.  “We're… Katie's scared and confused, and tired and sick of hiding and we're all alone! What is all this? What's happening?” Tanner realized he was shouting and stopped, taking a deep breath and lowering his voice. “Blake, man, what the hell is going on?” Blake never flinched, just ran his tongue over his teeth in thought while he watched Tanner's outburst through hooded eyes. “Naw, we don't know nothing for sure. Swanson's been off-air for two days, since just after shit started going down. Said he was right, that it sure as shit seemed like those aliens he'd been warning us about were making a move, and the whole fuckin' lot of us did nothing. Well, seems like it blew up in our face. Last thing he said was he's heading somewhere safe to keep broadcasting, and he'd let us know when he found out more,” Blake paused, sucked his teeth, “We've had the TV and radio on non-stop since then, since we fired the generator up. Nothing.”  Lauren lent forward. “There was something, couple days back…”  “Nothing useful,” Blake cut in. He spat. “Same old fuckin' commie stations, same old crap. They took over the channels, emergency broadcasting. Said there was a ‘protest.' Stay inside, all under control, daddy government's here, blah blah,” he laughed “Hell of a protest. More like an insurrection. Doublespeak bullshit.”  “So what's the plan? We hide out? Lay low? Wait for the military?”  “The troops ain't coming, chief.” Blake grimaced, “Alien tentacles go deep. Probably strolling around in general's stars by now, the politicians just handing over the keys. This President'll have us kissing their feet before dinner.  “Nah, if we wanna fight back we can't rely on that fuckin' bunch of secretaries and scribes. We hole up here, wait for instructions.” He laughed again, “Huh, hole up in the Hole. That's funny.”  That grin was starting to get on Tanner's nerves. “Instructions from who? How long is that gonna take? Who's gonna fight back against… this?” “I know some people, from back in the old days. Good people. There's still patriots out there who won't give up this country without a fight.”   Tanner still bristled with questions, but he was starting to feel relieved. There were people in charge, and they had a plan. That was something he could work with. “What if it takes weeks? Months? Do we have food for that long?” Blake settled further into his chair, grinned that cocky grin. “I do, don't know about you.” Before the words were even out of his mouth he was already raising his palms, “Chill out, I'm joking. I'll put it on your tab. You're a lawyer, I know you're good for it. Show him, babe.”  Lauren got up and went over to a large yellow flag hanging on the concrete wall, pulling it aside to reveal a long, narrow room that ended abruptly at a large steel door. She flicked on the light.  “Dry storage,” she said, gesturing at the shelves lining both walls. Packets of ramen, boxes of cereal, rows of whiskey, and gleaming stacks of cans stared down at Tanner. “And cold storage,” Lauren continued as she stepped over to the door, kicking aside two enormous tubs of supplements and pulling it open to reveal a walk-in freezer. Tanner followed her inside as she happily chatted away, showing everything off like a house-proud hen.  “We've got everything we need. Steaks, hotdogs, chili, hamburgers, mac and cheese, chicken parmesan, mashed potatoes--whatever you want. There's a well, too, over the other side, we had that dug last summer. Tastes a bit funny, but it won't hurt you.” Tanner was hardly listening. He had never seen anything like it, never imagined anything on this scale. Blake really had taken preparing for the end of the world seriously. The freezer room was filled, wall to wall, with a treasure trove of gourmet excess; thousands upon thousands of frozen TV dinners.  Tanner stared at his microwaved salmon filet, fries drooping from his fork. Out of habit he was eating in front of the TV with Katie, though the display hadn't changed in… however many days it had been. Just the red, white and blue logo, a tile flipping between ads for pillows, brain pills, and frozen food, and the same scrolling red banner:  Breaking: The United States of America is under attack. Stand by for updates.  Katie was poking at her food silently, barely eating. Still no appetite. Tanner had told her they were safe, told her he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, told her a hundred times in different ways that she was his precious little girl and he would make sure she was okay. It had made no difference. She had just looked up at him with big, frightened eyes that pulled at Tanner's heart. The only time she had spoken in the past 24 hours was to ask why he had tried to shoot people. Of course she didn't understand. Maybe he should ask Lauren to talk to her.  The TV display glitched, blipped, flicked to static and then to black. Tanner shoveled the fries into his mouth and rubbed his eyes. He'd been staring at a blank TV for too long. He chewed and stretched, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to straighten out his aching back.  Earl Swanson was on TV. Tanner blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing straight. Swanson's shirt was wrinkled, his hair a mess and his signature bowtie slightly crooked, but his face wore that familiar expression of righteously indignant bewilderment. It was him.  “Blake. Blake, get in here!”  Swanson was in what looked like a large living room rather than his usual studio. Bookshelves and a TV cabinet were visible behind him. There were shadows under his eyes and his wrinkles were clearly visible without his usual TV makeup, but his eyes were as sharp as ever. There was a strength to them, piercing the screen, full of faith and fire. It felt like he was in the room. He looked like he'd been in a fight, and won. He was back.  “Good evening America, and welcome to Earl Swanson Tonight.” “Blake!” Blake stuck his head through the door.  “What? I'm working out, give me a…. No shit.” Blake stepped into the room. He was topless, breathing heavily. His stomach was shiny with sweat, pooling and running down the chiseled channels between his well-defined muscles before disappearing behind the low-riding waistband of his camo pants. Tanner realized he was staring and felt his cheeks flush as he snapped his eyes back to his friend's.  “Blake, it's--” “Shut up, I'm trying to listen.” The rebuke slapped Tanner back to the present and back to the TV. He surreptitiously sat a little straighter and sucked in his gut, trying to ignore the heat rising in his face. “...cities up and down the west coast. From Seattle to San Diego, the alien invaders and the traitors from among our own citizens have taken control, sowing chaos and destruction. Order has broken down, and anarchy rules in the streets. Yet we hear nothing but silence from the White House. The elites in Washington won't do anything about this -- they encouraged it. They caused it! “No, it is up to patriotic Americans to stop this existential threat. It is up to us, to you and me and the other patriots out there. If you value the American way of life, if you respect the principles that built the greatest nation ever imagined, if you care about your family and the future of your children, then the time has come to stand up. Your country needs you.  “I have been warning about this day on this very program for years. If you have been listening, you will be prepared for this betrayal. You know what to do. Find other true Americans who are ready to fight for our civilization and our culture. Defend our Western values against this attack by anarchists and aliens who wish to destroy us. They tried to take our guns from us, to disarm us, and failed -- now is the time to use them. Seek out the prepared, the militias, the heroes. Fight back. Show them that we will not allow it. “I will be moving to an undisclosed safe location so I can keep you informed. You know your job. I am doing my part, will you do yours?” Swanson sat erect and defiant, no less commanding for his disheveled appearance. His willpower flowed from the screen in waves, washing over the watchers. It was compelling. It was urgent. It was the only option.  The screen went black.  Swanson's gaze bored into Tanner long after the TV went dark, burning with righteous fire, lip curling with fury. The heat in Tanner's cheeks sharpened, focused, began to spread into his chest and throughout his body. There was only one thought in his mind. “We gotta go.” It took him a second to realize that Blake had spoken the words out loud.  “We do. But where? I don't know anyone like that.” “You know me, and I know people. Don't worry about that. We gotta go to Baker City. I talked to one of my buddies from the marines this morning, he's headed to join one of the militias out east. They might not be big, but they're hard. They're something.” Tanner looked at Blake blankly, unable to quite comprehend what he was being told. Days of no news, no action, now everything all at once.  “But what's in Baker City? Don't you know anyone here? This is where we live, where we have the Hole, where we have a safe base.”  Blake was clearly agitated, shifting from foot to foot.  “It's not safe. Weren't you listening? It's fallen. The military ain't doing jack, like I fuckin' told you they wouldn't.” Blake stopped bouncing and steadied himself. “But my buddy said the boys in Baker held out. It was bloody, but they held strong. If we can get there in a hurry, we can join a caravan heading for Boise.”  “Baker… Boise? What the… Boise?! Surely it's safer in Texas, or… or…”  “Texas? And how far away is that? Look, I don't know nothing about nothing, but I know I ain't looking for safer. All I know is I got buddies in Baker, and they say Boise, and they are the fuckin' resistance. We got our orders, soldier. “The west had been invaded. Destroyed. Gone. You heard Swanson, same as me. Grids are down, water's down, TV's down--mostly, anyway. Sky's half full of fire and smoke, gangs roaming the streets, traitors and aliens taking or breaking whatever they can get their thieving hands on.” Tears came to Blake's eyes.  “It's a fucking mess out there, buddy. Anarchy. They've burned the lot.” It was a lot to chew on. Tanner put a piece of salmon in his mouth.  “I'm not gonna let some filthy aliens take my home, fuck my wife, invade my country, and steal the god damn US of A! The fight is right there, and I'm gonna fight it. Are you?”  Tanner's brain was spinning, but his blood was still hot from Swanson's speech. Blake's fire, delivered standing there half-naked like a Steven Seagal action figure, was rousing something inside him. His country needed him, and he felt the call in his bones. He put down his fork. He swallowed. He rose.  “Of course I'll fight. I'll put a bullet in every alien who steps foot on American soil. I'll put every collaborator in the dirt.” He saw himself, next to Blake, riding shotgun as they made a fighting escape through the streets. He saw a heroic journey to Baker City, filled with danger and righteous violence. He saw a triumphant return, at the head of an army, cleansing his city with purifying flame. And he saw Katie, small and fragile and beautiful. Perfect, and terrified. The flame wavered.  “But I'm fighting for her,” Tanner gestured, “I got my little girl, and I'm not so red-hot on riding out guns blazing to meet these savages with her hanging off my arm. She's the future of this country, and that's a future we have to protect.”  To Tanner's surprise, Blake took a half step back.  “Shit. I know, man. Katie and Lauren, the innocent and the pure. I'm thinking of them, too.” He dropped his shoulders, but held Tanner's gaze. “But it's not safe for them here neither. We're on our own, and all hell has broken loose up top. We fight for them, and they are the reason we have to fight.” Tanner paused, then nodded. He reached out and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, fingers gripping the sweaty skin.  “Let's go pack the truck.”  As the sun set and twilight brought a low fog creeping across the city, they piled into the Tacoma with as many frozen dinners as they could carry.  Tanner rode in back. Lauren was up front, AR at the ready, while Blake drove, M1A by his side and his Glock taped to the dash. Katie was at Tanner's side, curled up below the window and hidden from view, and Tanner watched over her with his own Glock and a borrowed Remington 870. They were all a little jumpy. He and Lauren had wanted to maintain a shoot-on-sight policy. Blake had been more cautious. According to Swanson, there would be plenty of people collaborating with the aliens. Lights out, engine low, and hopefully they could slip right on by.  No one knew what to expect—Tanner suspected they were all terrified. He certainly was. Even Blake had swapped out his flag bandana for a more understated camo print. He had stashed the red, white and blue fabric in the bed of the truck with the rest of their gear.     They pulled out into streets Tanner knew, but didn't. He had driven them every day, on the way to work, to Katie's school, to church, to the mall. The streets were as familiar as a cold Coke, yet now, in some important way, they were… different. As they left the Hole and drove through the suburb he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but once Blake reached the main street and turned past the bars and shops and take-out joints, it hit him.  The streets were dead. The cars were gone. The steady flow of traffic, of people living their lives, had stopped. The parking lot in front of the drug store was empty; so was the one behind the bar. The convenience store, normally ticking over with a steady stream of customers buying cigarettes and beer, was dark behind its windows. Unintelligible graffiti in some alien script covered the ads for energy drinks, an expression of mindless violence across someone's hard work.  A light rain had started, misting around them and adding to the dreariness. A billboard loomed overhead, the lights that illuminated the Colgate-bright smiles of the models now permanently dark. Tanner was glad—the gloom obscured the flame-scarred destruction streaking the toothpaste company's perfect white message. “Disgusting,” Blake spat. He looked like he wanted to say more but pulled up short, shocked at the sudden sound of his own voice. His eyes focused back on the road and he fell into uneasy silence. The truck continued its crawl down the deserted street, barely clocking 20 miles an hour. Even at that speed, the low growl of the engine seemed unbearably loud as it reverberated among the carcasses of commerce and ricocheted down abandoned side streets.  They kept driving, and nothing kept happening. It was torturous. Every minute of unbroken inactivity twisted the crank on the tension in the car, until the unceasing hum of the engine began to seep into Tanner's brain. Every muscle in his arms and legs, primed and waiting and ready to spring, began to tremble, and his eyes focused and unfocused on nothing at all.  His frantic heartbeat messed with his breathing, a powerful panicked thud that matched the rumble of the pistons.  Overall, he was relieved when the road curved and they entered a strip of restaurants to see signs of life among the debris littered across the street in the distance.  It wasn't immediately clear through the gloom what was happening. Blake slowed the truck, now rolling along at barely more than walking pace, and they crept closer. The scene was illuminated by the flickering light of small fires and backlit by a pair of enormous floodlights, creating a glowing aura in the surrounding mist. Images began to resolve, ghostly figures flitting in and out of view and the harsh geometric shapes—not of debris, but of hastily manufactured barricades—throwing long shadows that lanced through the air around them as they approached.  All eyes were fixed on the barricades as they pulled within shouting distance, and Tanner nearly pissed himself when someone knocked on his window. He yelped, Blake swore, and Lauren's weapon x-rayed Tanner's head and pointed at the intruder. Tanner followed her lead and jerked his gun up to aim in the general direction of the window and for ten, twenty heartbeats nothing moved. Then another knock, and Blake hissed at them: “Put those things away you idiots, we're the good guys here. Whatever side that guy is on, so are we.”  Tanner slowly lowered the gun, then the window.  “Hey folks, no cars through here.” The man was clad head to toe in black—black jeans, black hoodie, black gloves, black bandana covering his face, black curly hair running with rainwater. No wonder they hadn't seen him. The stranger spotted their guns.  “Oh, nothing like that,” he added, catching the nervous energy in the truck, “You're a bit late to the party. No trouble ‘round here, this area's been cleaned out for days.” He chuckled, sending a shiver through Tanner.  “Some folks messed up the cop shop a while back, it was a bit of a fight. Streets were all blocked up anyway, so we set up a little kitchen here. Been feeding some folks. Symbolic, like, new world in the ruin of the old and all that.” The smile fell from his face as he took in the scene in the truck.  “Everything alright? Is she okay?”  He gestured at Katie, curled up and quivering silently beside Tanner. Tanner opened his mouth to respond, but Blake was quicker. “Sure, probably just spooked by that fucking mask. Look, we don't mean to bother you people. Just heading east, trying to cross the river. We'll go around you and your little kitchen.”  If the man took issue with Blake's tone, it didn't show.  “Bridge is a no-go, I'm afraid. Pigs blew the cables as they pulled out, some of it collapsed. It's way too unstable to cross.” He scratched at his temple. “What d'you want out that way, anyway? There's dangerous people out there, not exactly safe for… families.”  “We're heading for, uh, Hood River,” Tanner spoke up, “Taking supplies out to the girl's grandparents.”  “Indians,” Blake chimed in, “they need the help.” He winked at Tanner.  The stranger turned to Blake and met his eyes, holding his gaze for an unnerving moment. Then he seemed to resolve some internal discussion, relaxing his shoulders. “Well, you might be able to get across up St. Johns, last I heard the bridge was still intact. There's some folks in the park up there, you can ask them.”  “St. Johns? That's the wrong fucking way!”  “A bridge is a bridge. It's that or swim, champ.” “Can you at least call the, uh, your boss? Tell him you checked us out, ask if we can get across?”  The man smiled, but something hardened behind his eyes.  “My boss? Sure, sure. Look, I think it's time you moved on. Head on up there and tell ‘em what you told me, they'll let you out. There's a bunch of poor Indians waiting for their dinner.”  There was something strange about the way the man said “Indians,” but he patted the hood of the truck and turned away, waving them down a side street away from the barricade. As Blake slowly drove off, Tanner collapsed back into his seat and quickly rolled up the window. His underarms were cold with sweat, and he relaxed muscles he hadn't known were clenched.  Blake took the turn the stranger indicated, muttering that if he heard anyone say “folks” again he would hit them. Tanner stared out the window at the “little kitchen” as they passed. There must have been a couple hundred people, milling around a dozen or so small fires. They were all loosely centered around a large tent directly in front of the scorched skeleton of the precinct. Laughter and music drifted through the open window, and Tanner closed it. He didn't think he could see any aliens, but it was difficult to tell in the dark.  “Collaborators. Must be a ration station or something,” he muttered, mostly to himself.  Lauren heard him. “No, this has been going on much longer than that, it just wasn't so out in the open. Swanson warned us about it. He said they lure hungry people in with food.”  “Yeah,” cut in Blake, “this is how they recruit ‘em. Set up a kitchen, give ‘em food, homeless and crackheads and queers, mostly. Drugs too, probably, and spewing their propaganda. That guy was probably one of the junkies. Sure as shit looked like it, you see the way he stared at me?”  Tanner shuddered. A junkie. He had an overwhelming urge to wash his hands. He remembered the way the man had talked about the police station, his manic laugh in the face of such violence, and glanced back at the quickly fading light. And saw a small figure, tottering at the edge of the firelight. A child.  “Disgusting,” he said out loud.  “Yeah, disgusting. It's like Earl said,” Blake continued, “they been feeding people right under our fucking noses.”  They drove on toward the bridge. The streets were more cluttered here, both with people and the remnants of the riots, and they could only manage a slow pace as they picked their way through the destruction. Blake had to swerve to the wrong side of the road to avoid a group of people carrying trash bags, picking through the rubble.  “Looking for something to eat,” he grunted, and locked the doors.  Signs of violence were everywhere. Tanner's chest tightened as they drove past the law firm where he had started his career—the job that had brought him to the city after he finished college, working for his father's best friend and learning his profession. Inside the shattered windows it was nothing but a shell, the desks overturned and the computers gone. No one would be working there any more.  The destruction was completely random. Violence for its own sake. Beside the firm was a pawn shop, covered in graffiti and looted. Next to that, a Vietnamese restaurant, completely unharmed except for ‘Delicious, 5 stars' sprayed on the pavement outside. Across the road was an untouched convenience store and a bookshop with its doors wide open, light flooding out and people crowding the entrance. A donut shop and an Apple store destroyed, a mechanic and a bar looking like they had simply closed for the night. There was absolutely no pattern or reason to it.  They saw a Fred Meyers with every window broken, the front door jammed open with a twisted shopping cart. A movement caught Tanner's eye and he saw someone leaving from a side door, carrying a huge bag of stolen food. He hoped Blake didn't see—he might do something stupid, and Tanner didn't want to stop. It wasn't safe.  They made it a few more blocks when Lauren gasped and grabbed Blake's arm, making him brake. She gestured across the intersection to a KFC. Half the building had collapsed in what must have been an enormous fire; the half that still stood had been savagely attacked. She pointed to the entrance with a shaking finger. Someone—or something—had toppled the giant bucket sign and sent it crashing through the ceiling of the kitchen. Above the door, someone had scrawled a message in red spray paint:  FUCK YOU SANDERS OUR SECRET SPICES NOW There were more barricades set up near the bridge. Where the others had been makeshift, marking a boundary, these were more serious. They were to stop people getting through. Blake slowed before they got too close to the blockade, which they could now see was lined by shapes that very much suggested people. On both sides of the road the land fell away into darkness, sloping down to become a park that ran beneath the bridge.  The park itself, a rare green space normally dotted with dog walkers and children, was transformed. The once-quiet lawns were a mass of tents and makeshift structures, stages and bars and sound systems, the proud trees now decked out with effigies and lights. Fires burned everywhere, and the distant space was carpeted with a swarming mass of humanity, undulating to a throbbing cacophony of noise.  “This doesn't look good,” said Blake. He pulled over, a hundred yards or so short of the bridge.  “That guy said they would let us through,” said Tanner, “if we stick to our story.”  “He was a junkie,” scoffed Lauren.  “But he thought we were working with them,” said Tanner, “he had no reason to lie to us.”  “I guess it's worth a try. Anyway, they ain't gonna try anything against this much firepower.” Blake grunted. “Too late to change our minds now. They've seen us.”  He nodded at the barricade, where two shapes had detached from the mass. They moved toward the Tacoma, and Blake responded by flicking the lights to high beam and heading to meet them. As Blake swung back out into the road the beams cut through the darkness to illuminate the figures, throwing wild shadows from the two shapes until the truck steadied course and they coalesced into recognisable forms. One was a large man, white, with a nose ring and a loosely-tied blond ponytail. He was wearing a plaid shirt and carrying a large rifle. The other—Tanner's throat caught—the other looked like one of the aliens.  “Shit,” said Blake, as the headlights picked out at least half a dozen more shapes along the barricade, several with big guns visible. “Fuck.” He stopped the truck and rolled down the window, then cursed again and threw open the door.  “I'll be fucked if I'm gonna sit here and be pulled over like some criminal. Tanner, you're with me—let's go meet them man to man.” Tanner scrabbled for the door handle and chased after Blake, half-skipping to catch up. They pulled up a few paces before colliding with the approaching party. The blond man stepped forward.  “How's it going, dude?” he said.  “We need to get to Hood River,” said Blake, “we're trying—” “Yeah, we heard.” The man cut him off. “Bridge is closed to traffic, unfortunately. You wanna cross, you'll have to walk.”  Blake bristled. “Are you joking? We need to bring all this stuff. It's… important,” he objected. “You can't just keep people here!”  “We could,” said the blond man, calmly. He sounded confident in his assertion. Looking at the line of men—and women, Tanner realized—standing along the barricade, he agreed.  “But we're not,” the man continued. “You can go wherever you want. Take your shit, cross the bridge. Some folks have organized buses up the river, they'll take you. But the truck stays.”  “But that's my fucking truck!” Blake squealed. The man's eyebrows shot up and Tanner laid a hand on Blake's shoulder, squeezing it and hoping he got the message. The stranger paused, then sighed.  “Look, I'm sorry dude. I love my truck, too. But there was an attack at another camp last night by these so-called freedom fighters,” he grimaced. “Militia wackjobs, really. Word is they are gathering across the river, and we can't risk weapons and vehicles falling into the wrong hands. Especially not an arsenal like you folks got here.”  The alien stepped forward and, much to Tanner's surprise, spoke in perfect American English.  “Don't worry, it'll be here when you get back. We'll take real good care of it for you. They will appreciate the help guarding the buses and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you move these… important supplies.”  They signaled to the group at the barricade and two more figures made their way into the light of the truck's high beams. The first was a slim Black man in fatigues, wearing a red beret at a jaunty angle and carrying a AR-style rifle in one hand. The other was a woman, tall and imposing. She wore a leather jacket over a long black dress, which was slit to the thigh to reveal hints of slim, bare legs that stretched from the pavement to the heavens. Tanner blinked rapidly and swallowed. He had always had a soft spot for long legs in thigh-slit dresses.  As they came closer the man nodded at Tanner and Blake, but he was not what held their attention. The woman with the legs from God was also rocking a luxurious mustache that would have put Teddy Roosevelt to shame. As Tanner's eyes bulged, she caught his gaze and winked.  “Hello, boys. I'm Sunshine, they/them. I'll be with you on the bus.”  Tanner didn't know how to react. A fuzzy memory bounced around in the back of his head. “An investigation on college campuses found that increasing numbers of American citizens are using pronouns.” Earl's bewildered face frowned, then puckered. “These ‘theys' and ‘thems' are making a mockery of the American tradition, seeking to spread their insidious ideology among good, hard-working citizens, brainwashing young Americans into adopting these ‘pronouns.' What's next, people identifying a different age? A different race? We need to speak out against this perverse trend and most importantly, keep them away from our children.” _ That was it. These were the pronouns Swanson had warned them about. He gripped his gun and glanced at Blake, trying to get his mental footing.  Blake looked shocked, too, but quickly pulled himself together. He threw Tanner a sly look, one that hinted at an idea. “Give us a minute,” he snapped, and pulled away from Tanner, back to the truck. When they were both inside he turned on the occupants with a spark in his eyes.  “They must be talking about my boys, alive and kicking,” the old grin was back, his excitement barely contained. “Must have set up in the woods. We'll head over and find ‘em. Maybe they got word from Earl. If they're here, and they're fighting, maybe we don't have to go all the way to Boise after all.” “What's going on?” Lauren looked confused.  “We're leaving the truck. Grab the shit, cross the bridge, hijack their fucking commie-wagon and strike out east. Either we find them in Baker, or our boys find us first.”  Tanner was still coming to grips with the situation. “What about… them?” he said.  “Who?” “They… them. In the dress, with the pronouns!”  “And what are they going to do, stop us? You ever tried to fight wearing something like that? No. The four of us, across the bridge, grab the bus, easy.” “Katie's not hijacking any bus. She's eight, for God's sake. Maybe she and Lauren should stay here…”  “You stay here with Katie,” Lauren snapped, cutting Tanner off. “If you think it's safer, if you're looking for safer, you take her for a nice walk in the park down there. I'll be with my husband, taking my country back from these freaks.”  “I know you want to keep Katie safe,” Blake added, almost apologetically, “but you saw what it's like out there. You heard Swanson's warnings. These aren't people, they're animals, aliens. She's your baby fuckin' girl, man. You do what you're at peace with, but my wife sure as shit ain't staying here to get felt up by some dick in a dress.”  Tanner looked at Lauren. “But she's just a kid! What if she gets hurt.”  “What if she gets hurt _here? So you look after her. Be a man,” Lauren spat back.    Blake clapped Tanner on the shoulder and held his gaze. “It's do or die time, soldier. Let's get the fuck outta here, hook up with the resistance, then bring back the fury of God and freedom and the USA to take back this city and liberate my God damn truck!” Tanner looked at Katie, curled up in the footwell, and wanted to object. He wanted to take her somewhere safe, back to the Hole, where it was warm and they could hide from the aliens and the bad people and they had all the food they could need and they could wait for this all to be over.  But the fire in his belly wouldn't let him. He knew Blake was right, he knew that he should be ashamed of his moments of weakness. He saw Lauren gripping her rifle and staring at Blake with faith and devotion in her eyes and he knew that was the kind of man he wanted to be. Tanner breathed a silent promise to keep Katie safe, no matter the cost.  “Let's do it.” Blake pulled the truck up to the group of guards and they all piled out, Tanner standing straight and feeling tall, Blake's words ringing in his ears. It's do or die time. _ Two of the barricade guards came over to help them unload while the others stood around and watched, their mustachioed escort who made Tanner's skin crawl and the large blond man. Traitor. They stripped off the tray covering and began shifting gear, Blake and blondie up above handing packages down to everyone else. Tanner heard the guards muttering to each other.  “Holy shit, that's a lot of firepower.” The blond man snorted. “And a lot of nasty-ass TV dinners. Important supplies, my ass.”  Sunshine shrugged. “Folks eat what they eat. Not everyone lives in a Whole Foods and learned to make Tom Yum on their gap year,” they rebuked him. The man grimaced and scratched his jaw. “Yeah, right. That was unfair of me. Well, Thai cooking workshop tomorrow and I'll make a big pot, so at least folks here don't have to eat that frozen stuff… unless they want to.” They busied themselves unloading, bundling food and weapons into bags or tying them together for ease of carrying. Tanner was tying the straps of his backpack and settling it on his back when he heard a curse from the back of the truck. He glanced up, and, frozen in time, watched the next few seconds helplessly.  The blond man had pulled out one of the last few satchels, the one containing all their spare clothes. He was standing upright, arms held out, nose ring quivering in silent outrage. In his left hand he had Blake's flag bandana; in his right, Blake's spare jacket, rebel flag patch sitting proudly on the shoulder.  Blake reacted fastest. He dropped the food he was holding, raised his Glock, and with a vengeful crack the blond ponytail exploded in a spray of red.  The man in the beret raised his rifle and fired two shots into Blake's chest, sending him flying from the tray. A scream burst from Lauren as she reached for her gun, but the alien matched the sound and met her with a powerful tackle, sending both of them crashing into a pile of frozen hamburgers. Sunshine reached out and grabbed Tanner's arm. Time snapped back into motion for Tanner. He instinctively pulled away and shook his arm free of the grasping fingers. Stepping back, he spun and swung his fist in a wild roundhouse. It connected with Sunshine's jaw as they overbalanced toward him. Tanner watched them collapse in a heap. His gaze danced over the chaos unfolding around him, frantically searching for Katie. _There. Tanner picked her up and ran.  They plunged off the road and into the darkness. There was only one thought in his mind: get Katie across that bridge. She was sobbing, shaking in his grasp, and Tanner made what he hoped were comforting shushing noises as he ran. He knew this park—there was a staircase inside one of the support towers that rose from the park to the bridge overhead. That was his way out. Holding Katie tightly, breath ragged, he ran toward the orgy of light and noise pulsating below.  The two escapees burst into the mass of people. Tanner looked around, eyes darting, taking in the madness and trying to get his bearings. The sensory assault was overwhelming, but he slowly made out patterns in the polyrhythmic press. What had looked from above like a continuous swell of humanity was actually a hundred, a thousand separate groups and camps and parties. People flowed freely between them, groups forming and merging and coming apart in a chaotic, everchanging anarchy. A makeshift stage to his left throbbed with bass, colliding with the bone-jarring screams and guitars of a group of punks. Tanner found himself surrounded by ecstatic dancers, while a group almost under his feet sat staring into a campfire, oblivious to the rest of the world. He crashed through their doped-out reverie and bounced off two men, locked in a hungry embrace.  Tanner recoiled and turned away, shielding Katie with his body, searching desperately for the tower that would lead him out of this nightmare. Lights flashed, blinding, creating a sort of slideshow of horror as Tanner scanned the crowd. There. He found it. His escape from this festival of the damned. He soldiered on, caught up in a whirl of half-naked dancers, men, women, and everyone else, mindless of the frigid air as they span and writhed in rapture.  Tanner spotted an exit, an island of calm, and dove for it. He exploded from the throng, gasping for air, and breathed in the relative silence. Collecting himself, he was faced with rows of bodies, still, staring at something unseen up ahead, the very air trembling with collective anticipation.  A voice shattered his uneasy reprieve, loud and bombastic and dripping with drama.  “And now, my darlings, it is time for these fuckers to do what I do best—go down!” Tanner dashed through the crowd as they roared and surged into motion, and caught a glimpse of the scene ahead: two lines of people, straining on thick ropes, as a woman in lingerie and feathers pranced like a princess of hell before them. The ropes led upwards, where they were tied around the necks of two enormous metal figures. Lewis and Clark.  Tanner broke into a full sprint, shouldering bodies aside. He was almost there. Up ahead, rising from the chaos, was his stairway to the heavens. His legs trembled and his breath came in ragged sobs, but he couldn't slow down. Not when he was so close. He tore out of the crowd and into the comforting darkness of the spaces in between. His hysterical panic began to subside. One foot in front of the other. Keep running. They were going to make it. As he neared the tower a figure came into view at the base, looming from the shadows of the doorway, staring into the blackness beyond. A stocky, muscled figure wearing fatigues and a plate carrier. It couldn't be… “Blake! Blake, thank God.” Tears welled in Tanner's eyes as he reached his friend. Lauren was nowhere to be seen, but right now Tanner couldn't think about her. He had survived, and he had brought Katie through. His heartbeat was still frantic, but from exertion rather than fear. They were here. He, Katie, and Blake. Emotionally exhausted, physically spent, battered and terrified, but alive. They were going to be okay. He reached out to his friend. Blake turned—No, not Blake. A thick black beard engulfed the shadowy face, momentarily lit by the glowing ember of a huge cigar. The eyes were deep-set and dark, the skin weathered, wrinkled, brown. The face of an illegal alien.  Tanner's throat betrayed him. He squeaked, and nothing more would come out. His knees wobbled and threatened to give way, his feet froze in place. He wavered. He whimpered.  Puffing on the cigar, the alien took in his terrified face and the little girl slung over his shoulder. He gestured toward the doorway and blew out an enormous plume of smoke.  “Go, gringo.”  It was well past midnight when Katie ran into the side of a tent, fell on her bottom, and started crying. They had crossed the bridge, left the highway, and headed for the safety of the forest. Since then they had been wandering among the trees for hours, directionless, driven by fear, then by hope, then exhausted aimlessness. Tanner wasn't going anywhere except away from that park. He had briefly entertained the image of finding a group of militia, sitting around a fire, eating and laughing and, maybe, swapping stories with their old friend Blake. That was hours ago. Visions were fleeting in the fever dream of the forest. Since then, they had walked because they didn't know what else to do. Tanner stumbled over to Katie and collapsed beside her, holding her close and hushing her. He felt like crying too.  A flashlight clicked on inside the tent and a dreadlocked head poked out of the flap.  “Hey, there's someone here!” Rustling erupted from all around and more faces appeared. “Wasn't someone keeping watch?” “I thought you were.” “Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Someone's crying.” “You folks okay?” Tanner and Katie were soon surrounded by a small group of people. He looked up at them. “Are you the militia?” “No, don't worry. You're safe here. We're friends.” “Although I guess we are a militia if you think about it. Sort of.”  “Shh, don't confuse the poor people. They're terrified.”  “Sorry. No, no militia. Someone get them a blanket and something to drink.” Minutes later, Tanner and Katie were wrapped in sleeping bags, sipping on hot cocoa. It was scalding and familiar and Tanner felt the tension of the past day fading, leaving bone-deep exhaustion in its place.  “Are you okay? What happened?” “Thank you. We were… we just need to sleep.”  “And you? What's your name? Are you alright?” Katie looked at her dad, then stared up from her tin mug. “I'm Katie. I'm scared.” “You're safe now. We'll help you. Look, we'll get you somewhere to sleep.” The first face they had seen rummaged around in a tent and brought out a bag. “Lucky we have a spare tent. I'll just put it up, won't be a second.” The tent was almost up by the time Tanner and Katie finished their drinks, and they got up and walked over, sleeping bags over their shoulders, holding hands. “Hey, thanks,” Tanner said. “I would have helped but I don't really know how. Never had much call for camping. I am, uh, was a lawyer,” he glanced around, “not criminal, uh… intellectual property. Copyright.”  “No problem, of course. Here, it's not hard. I'm just clipping the…” “This isn't the time for camping lessons, Jacob. Anyway, you'll scare the man, sharing information for free like that. They've been through enough already.”  “Sorry, yeah. Look, slide in. Take these sleeping mats. It'll do for tonight, I'll teach you tomorrow.”  Tanner and Katie squeezed into the tent, sleeping bags huddled together on the cold, hard ground, and slept. THE END **Inmn ** 1:03:01 Hello, and welcome to the show. Thank you so much for coming on today. Could you introduce yourself with your name, pronouns, and just a little bit about what you do in the world? **Matt ** 1:03:15 Yeah, hi, I'm Matt. He/him pronouns. And I'm a student again, after a really long time, actually, which is why I've just moved to where I'm living now. But I like to write, you know, mostly for me, and this is the first first thing I've published but I enjoy it. And yeah, I'm really grateful that you've taken an interest in it. **Inmn ** 1:03:37 Yeah, totally. I love the story. So we just listened to the second half of your story, Blood, Soil and Frozen TV Dinners and even though listeners just heard...just heard the whole story, I'm wondering if you could just kind of like walk us through the story in your--you know, from the mouth of the author--what is this story about? **Matt ** 1:04:01 So the story, for me, was about, to some extent, seeing yourself in some ways or, you know, people like you, through the eyes of...through the eyes of someone else, I guess, someone who's very different and might see things in a different way. So I always find it interesting to play with different perspectives or different characters instead of telling the story from a heroic perspective or something. And I wondered what a pathway to a better world might look like from someone who didn't necessarily want that to happen. So we have these, you know, preppers who--call them you want, right-wing conservatives, something like this--and what they might think, given the knowledge that they receive about the world, what they might think is happening when something happens that a lot of the rest of us might want. **Inmn ** 1:05:00 Yeah, totally. I really like how you put that. What was it, like, "a better world that they don't necessarily want?" [both laugh] Okay, well, how did this, how did this story kind of...like how did it come to be? What inspiration did you kind of draw from to craft this situation or these like personalities from Tanner and Blake or Earl Swanson? 1:05:35 Yeah, the story itself, there was a discussion last Halloween, I believe it was, on Coffee With Comrades, there was a interview with Pearson and Margaret Killjoy, talking about the discussion of the monster in literature, which is where I first took the idea that they were talking about seeing yourself as the monster in this idea and sometimes reveling in that or perhaps enjoying it. And that was where the first idea came from. And then the most specific layout of the story or main theme, I guess, was, I was doing something on the US Tax Office website. And there's this whole section for aliens, right, if you're an alien in the U.S., these are the tax rules you need to follow. And I just thought it was a funny word. You know, I'd seen it on Fox News or something before but it just struck me as really weird in such an official position. Yeah, and I just was playing with the ideas of this and, you know, I like thinking about utopias and things. And this is where the like the main shape of the story had come from, just the idea of seeing the monster, seeing the alien from there. And then specific characters, I mean, some of them are just kind of people that I've met, you know, Tanner and Blake, specifically, and I think Earl Swanson's character, I mean--I don't know it's possibly libelous--but we can probably figure out who that's meant to be, right? I think it's reasonably obvious. **Inmn ** 1:07:09 Totally, totally. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's super interesting. Yeah, it's funny, I was rereading the story today to prepare for this interview and I realized that the first time that I was reading it, because of this perspective of the.... I'm like, okay, I know, these are some, you know, at least center-right, far-right preppers and they're using the word "alien" and I don't actually know what they mean by this, which was, you know, maybe a purposeful being vague about it, but I was like, I don't know if they think that it's, you know, illegal aliens or undocumented  migrants or whatever or if they mean, like, literal from outer space aliens. And, yeah, I was like, I don't know what they mean by what they're talking about. And maybe they don't either.   1:08:20 This was part of the conceit, right, was setting it up like it's a pretend big reveal, I think, that it's a twist in the story that at some point gets revealed, but that's not really the point. It's not really meant to be a big trick or something like this, you know? I think in discussions in the editing, we talked about in the first page or so when they speaking Arabic, and it's reasonably obvious to anyone that knows Arabic who these people are, you know, it's not hidden, but this was the idea, that they may have meant illegal alien all along, was, you know, the way they we're using the term, but that they weren't necessarily drawing so much of a distinction between the two uses of the word alien, that in their minds a, sort of, invasion by one was the same as the invasion by the other to some extent. **Inmn ** 1:09:10 Yeah, which, you know, I actually really love that from the perspective of.... It's like maybe an interesting twist. I didn't listen to that interview with Pearson and Margaret, so I'm not sure what they talked about, but there's this kind of idea in a lot of spaces that I've been part of,you know, when people talk about things like assimilation or something, especially in queer spaces, of like, "We have to seem harmless to them. We have to seem innocent. We have to seem like we just want to be part of the group," you know, and then this other side that's like, "No, we want to be unknowable. We are claiming the monstrosity that they are putting on us," and I'm like, yeah, we're fucking.... I don't know, anarchists are kind of aliens, like, in an entirely other way of thinking, you know? 1:10:09 Yeah, and just considering some social norms is completely irrelevant or harmful or repressive and other things that other people would consider, perhaps, violent or something seem completely okay to other people. There is a complete sort of alienation of perspective from broader society, I think. And yeah, it is, there's a tension between sometimes wanting to go unnoticed, or, as you say, like assimilate, and even, for me, walking around, you know, sometimes you want to look like an anarchist and sometimes you don't. It's an interesting dynamic, I guess, that you can switch sometimes day-to-day. **Inmn ** 1:10:54 Yeah, yeah. Have you read much of--you know, love talking about this person on the show--have you read much of Ursula Le Guin's Hainish Cycle? 1:11:08 I've read only "The Dispossessed" and "The Left Hand of Darkness".  **Inmn ** 1:11:16 Great examples. I think "The Left Hand of Darkness," kind of brings out this idea of where the reader is going to maybe most identify with the alien, or whatever, in "The Left Hand of Darkness" being not the not the Gethens--or I don't remember what they're called. But then it's like, the more that we're reading the book... or there's some times where I'm this alien or, you know, our perspective person just doesn't understand this culture. And that's really painful. And then there are other times when I'm like, I don't know, maybe the alien's perspectives on the world are far more dissimilar to what a normal person on like our planet Earth would think, because they're advocating for a better world that is very alien to people on this planet. Does that make sense? **Matt ** 1:12:24 Yeah, I mean, in "The Dispossessed," I think it's the same dynamic with Shevak coming back to Earth and presenting the perspective, both ways that it seems incredibly alien to him and then the other way around to everyone else that's there, to the general culture there. Yeah. I think it's an interesting literary device to present the outsider point of view, I think, which I mean, is quite the opposite of what I did in this story, I presented the more mainstream point of view, I guess, but from the circles that we're in, it's funny to see from the outside what that looks like. **Inmn ** 1:13:02 Yeah, yeah, I had this very silly idea once for...I don't know if it was gonna be a short story or what but kind of, using that "alien" trope or like "Stranger in a Strange Land" trope as a way to talk to my parents about anarchism or about radical queer spheres. **Matt ** 1:13:27 Yeah, I mean, that's about as alien as it can get for a lot of people's parents, right. **Inmn ** 1:13:31 Totally. But just as some funny little zine that's like an introduction to the punk house, you know? **Matt ** 1:13:44 Yeah, viewed as some sort of interesting zoo creatures. **Inmn ** 1:13:46 Yeah. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the kind of political renderings of Tanner and Blake or ,rather, their differences in how they perceive or interact with either preparedness or this new world that they're encountering? **Matt ** 1:14:14 Yeah, I think that Blake's character is a lot.... He knows what he's doing, right? It's a lot more intentional and more--I guess educated is maybe not quite the right word--but a lot more of an actually constructed ideology, whereas for Tanner it's very much received. He's not so keen, not so entirely sold on the idea or doesn't necessarily know the idea. It feels like it's like lost and failing a lot of the time and I think that's why I found him a much more interesting character because that's how I feel a lot of people that I know and talk to and family members and friends and things or friends of people I know get pulled into a lot of these, you know, reactionary ideologies is kind of by accident a lot of the time, right? Because it's what's presented and what they're drawn into by someone who has a lot more investment in it than they do. And they just kind of bumble into it almost by accident. Yeah. **Inmn ** 1:15:20 Because it's what they're seeing on TV. People who are deeper into that philosophy are like.... It's like the people that they're around who are their own little echo chambers of, "Oh, okay, there's this thing happening. Not sure how I feel about it. But I'm being like, fed this perspective on it." **Matt ** 1:15:46 Yeah, and a lot of the social or interpersonal issues that draw people in as well, I think. I tried to make it seem relatively obvious that Tanner is envious of Blake in a lot of ways, right? He is, you know, hotter than him and he is cooler than him and he knows more than him and he's always trying to, like, live up to this ideal that he has just completely interpersonally with no politics or anything in it. And he just wants to live up to what he thinks Blake wants him to be, which it turns out, is a bad thing. I mean, I'm not trying to excuse Tanner's character too much here. But yeah, I think this is what's really dangerous a lot of the time actually, for people who don't necessarily have a fully formed belief in all of these philosophical systems or something that then puts them on the wrong side not by...not necessarily out of evil intention. **Inmn ** 1:16:54 Yeah. No, that's very true. And it's interesting talking about not excusing Tanner's character too much, but as I was reading the story I found myself like, not necessarily rooting for Tanner and Bl

Episode #308 of BGMania: A Video Game Music Podcast. This week on the show, Bryan and Bedroth from RPGera continue the month of October by grabbing their torches and exploring some unsettling dungeons of doom! Email the show at bgmaniapodcast@gmail.com with requests for upcoming episodes, questions, feedback, comments, concerns, or whatever you want! Special thanks to our Executive Producers: Jexak & Xancu. EPISODE PLAYLIST AND CREDITS Dungeon from Push Over [Dean Evans, Jonathan Dunn & Keith Tinman, 1992] The Black Omen -Black Dream- from Chrono Trigger [Yasunori Mitsuda, 1995] Dark Dungeons from Addams Family Values [Keith Tinman, 1995] Dungeon 2 from Grandia [Noriyuki Iwadare, 1999] Battle from Shin Megami Tensei [Tsukasa Masuko, 1992] That Hole in My Chest -Gorrister- from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream [John Ottman, 1995] Sad Theme from Corpse Party [Mao Hamamoto, 1996] Dungeon Theme from Fantasy Life [Nobuo Uematsu, 2012] A Dungeon! from Super Lesbian Animal RPG [Beatrix Quinn, 2022] The Attic's a Dungeon?! from Mother 3 [Shogo Sakai, 2006] The Darkest Dungeon Theme from Darkest Dungeon [Stuart Chatwood, 2016] The Dark Rift from Skies of Arcadia [Yutaka Minobe, 2000] Dungeon from We Love Wizardry [Kentaro Haneda, 1987] Deathwatch -The Dungeon- from MadWorld [Naoto Tanaka feat. Doujah Raze, 2009] SUPPORT US Patreon: https://patreon.com/rpgera CONTACT US Website: https://rpgera.com Discord: https://discord.gg/cC73Heu Twitch: https://twitch.tv/therpgera Twitter: https://twitter.com/OriginalLDG Instagram: https://instagram.com/bryan.ldg/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/leveldowngaming RPGERA PODCAST NETWORK Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast The Movie Bar --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bgmania/message

Geeks' Cant: Crowdfunding Corner 35: The Druid's Curse, Limitless Lands of Darabok, Alchemy RPG: A Reimagined VTT,   It All Started In a Tavern, Inquisitor Kada's Exquisite Corpse, Knave, Dark Dungeons & Lost Children, Monsters of the Dungeon, The Mind Squatter, Micro Dungeons & Shipwrecker, Why Slay Dragons: When You Could Be FISHING, The Emporium of Wonders, The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park RPG, Secrets of the Greenwold Another 14 kick@$$ crowdfunding campaigns to separate you from your hard-earned coin. Check out what the guys have in store for you. To hear more about what we have going on, when we're going live, what cons we'll be attending, or just to hangout with some cool people like yourself (not us, our other fans)… join us on our Discord.  Just click here:  https://discord.gg/KAaWZbGmJK Wanna keep up with what we're getting up to with World of Game Design? Head on over to: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/2091c5ad-779e-11ec-9589-ee62aa0d4933 and get signed up for the WoGD newsletter. You'll get some cool 5e content and notifications about upcoming projects, Kickstarters, and events. You can also take a peek at: https://store.wogd.com/ to get your hands on some great new products. Crowdfuning Campaigns ·         The Druid's Curse https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tinaglasneck/the-druids-curse-one-shot-adventure ·         Limitless Lands of Darabok https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/limitless-adventures/limitless-lands-of-darabok-5e ·         Alchemy RPG: A Reimagined VTT https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alchemyrpg/alchemy-rpg-a-reimagined-vtt-experience ·         It All Started In a Tavern https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beadnd/it-all-started-in-a-tavern-100-adventure-hooks ·         Inquisitor Kada's Exquisite Corpse https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/151874595/inquisitor-kadas-exquisite-corpse ·         Knave https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/questingbeast/knave-rpg-second-edition ·         Dark Dungeons & Lost Children https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imagin3designs/dark-dungeons-and-lost-children ·         Monsters of the Dungeon https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cawoodpublishing/monsters-of-the-dungeon-for-5th-edition-and-other-rpgs ·         The Mind Squatter - A Playful Scifi Fairytale RPG Zine https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ubanthology/the-mind-squatter-scifi-fairytale-rpg ·         Micro Dungeons & Shipwrecker https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dnd5e/micro-dungeons-vii-and-shipwreckers-edition-5e-dandd ·         Why Slay Dragons: When You Could Be FISHING https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iopublishing/why-slay-dragons-when-you-could-be-fishing ·          The Emporium of Wonders https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1367769523/the-emporium-of-wonders-5e ·         The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park RPG https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ganzagaming/the-mystery-flesh-pit-national-park-rpg ·         Secrets of the Greenwold https://gamefound.com/projects/dungeon-in-a-box/secrets-of-the-greenwold?ref=homepage-featured_4#/section/project-story Social Links Discord Link: https://discord.gg/KAaWZbGmJK Geeks' Cant Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geekscant Zac Goins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xzacklee Troy Sandlin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troysandlin Jon Christian Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwarfpower Geeks' Cant is brought to you by the World of Game Design! This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

You may get the Halloween blues when you realize we have no Relient K Halloween songs left to discuss. But don't pour the gasoline out of your chainsaw just yet because Cinema Cataclysm is here to discuss a terrifying Christian comic books by Jack Chick called Dark Dungeons, it's not so Christian movie adaptation by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, and a mockumentary about that production called Attacking the Darkness. At around 59:56 we begin to discuss the fictional suicide of a character in the movie. We don't joke about it or discuss the topic in heavy detail, but you can skip to 01:03:22 just in case this is not okay for you. If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online   // Patreon: www.patreon.com/sadiehawkinspod // Merch: https://sadie-hawkins-pod.creator-spring.com // Voice Mail: (402) 95-SADIE // Email: sadiehawkinspod@gmail.com // Twitter @sadiehawkinspod // Instagram @sadiehawkinspod

You've read the Jack Chick Tract, now watch the movie! We get together to discuss Dark Dungeons (2014), a film that dares to explore the dangerous, and often lethal, world of role playing games

Two weeks ago, Matt and Joe explored the Christian alarmism around Dungeons & Dragons during the 80s, but WAIT! Could it be that these brave heroes fighting the evils of tabletop RPGs might be... the REAL DEMONS THEMSELVES??? Find out today as Matt and Joe examine the theology of the early game and analyze the Satanic Panic from the theological framework of Walter Wink's The Powers that Be.CW: suicide Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Sources: 60 Minutes. Dungeons & Dragons. 1985. Chick, Jack. Dark Dungeons. 1984. Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre. "A Christian Anarchist Critique of Violence: From Turning the Other Cheek to a Rejection of the State". 2010. Dear, William. Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III. 1984. Ewalt, David. Of Dice and Men. 2013. Laycock, Joseph. Dangerous Games What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds. 2015. Leithart and Grant. "A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons: The Catechism of the New Age". 1987. Peterson, Jon. Playing at the World. 2022. Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be. 1999.

Hey guys this Podcast is brought to you by me Mario because I am awesome and yeah. Today we talk about our fun Saturday night and our funner Friday night. On our weekend vibes, you know? Tony is back for some commentary and I can't believe Josh Peck said that about Drake!

The 80s. With rampant homophobia, the war on drugs looming imminent on the horizon, and a rising neoliberal world order, a brave few have the courage to stand up to the greatest threat to the youth of the U.S of A: Dungeons, Dragons, and Satan. Join a generation of sh*tty parents in their crusade to deflect all blame onto a game, and listen as the church, the police, and the news media joins the fight. CW: suicide Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Sources: 60 Minutes. Dungeons & Dragons. 1985. Chick, Jack. Dark Dungeons. 1984. Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre. "A Christian Anarchist Critique of Violence: From Turning the Other Cheek to a Rejection of the State". 2010. Dear, William. Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III. 1984. Ewalt, David. Of Dice and Men. 2013. Laycock, Joseph. Dangerous Games What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds. 2015. Leithart and Grant. "A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons: The Catechism of the New Age". 1987. Peterson, Jon. Playing at the World. 2022. Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be. 1999.

Colossians 1:13-14

CREEPY CARROTS by Aaron Reynold/Peter Brown - MISTER SHIVERS SERIES by Max Brallier/Letizia Rubegni - SCRITCH SCRATCH by Lindsay Currie - THIS BOOK IS HAUNTED by Joanne Rocklin/Joann Adinolfi - HAUNTED PLACES by Elizabeth Noll - EERIE HAUNTED PLACES by Molly Kolpin - HAUNTED HISTORIES: CREEPY CASTLES, DARK DUNGEONS, AND POWERFUL PALACES by J.H. Everett

Este último capítulo de la segunda temporada nos salió largo, porque nos tomamos los temas...! Ahora nos toca a nosotros, los hosts, enseñar algo a nuestros amigos ñoños... Así que decidimos hablar de clásicos de películas de Cine-B, de donde salen grandes íconos nerds y hablaremos de juegos de rol, su historia, curiosidades, y un pequeño roleo en forma de podcast! Agenda (01:0) News (36:56) Cine-B (01:27:07) Juegos de rol Escúchanos, síguenos y compártenos en tu plataforma de podcast favorita y en nuestro Instagram @quierosernerdpodcast y nuestra cuenta de Youtube #quierosernerd Nerd-links: Dawn of the Dead (IMDB 1978 7.9) Night of the Living Dead (IMDB 1990 6.9) Dawn of the Dead (IMDB 2004 7.3) Bad Taste (IMDB 1987 6.6) Braindead, Dead Alive, Tu madre se comió a mi perro (IMDB 1992 7.5) The Evil Dead (IMDB 1981 7.5) Evil Dead 2 (IMDB 1987 7.7) Army of Darkness (IMDB 1992 7.5) Ash vs Evil Dead (IMDB 2015 8.4) My Name is Bruce (IMDB 2007 6.2) Re-Animator (IMDB 1985 7.2) Bride of Re-Animator (IMDB 1990 6.3) Beyond Re-Animator (IMDB 2003 5.8) The Frighteners (IMDB 1996 7.1) Mystery Science Theater 3000 (IMDB 1988 8.5) Manos The Hands of Fate en Youtube Payasos Asesinos del Espacio Exterior (IMBD 1988 6.2) Plan 9 from outer space (IMDB 1957 4.0) Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (IMDB 1978 4.6) Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (IMDB 1988 5.2) Troma Entertainment The Toxic Avenger (IMDB 1984 6.2) Sharknado (IMDB 2013 3.3) Película Mazes and Monsters! (IMDB 1982 4.1) Dark Dungeons, el comic anti-D&D Antigua TSR Nueva TSR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/quierosernerd/message

This episode isn't really about Jack Chick, but we just wanted another excuse to do a Chick Tract reading! In this episode, Sam and David are joined by their good friends Brady and Tara, experts in D&D, to read the Chick tract "Dark Dungeons"     Resource: https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvYSEBhDjARIsAJMn0linqgYmfniCykm388b2svXckKEVs0ucgoD3ZffGz0GfzE9jXNnmgM8aAnl-EALw_wcB  

How does the mystical game DnD fit in with the church? In this episode we discuss the church's history with DnD, inspired by the movie Dark Dungeons, which is based on the Chick Tract of the same name. Listen to Andy, Elijah, Ruth and special guest and DM Christopher talk about DnD. Check out the supplementary Bible Study for this episode now under the name Church is Stupid, But Bible Study Edition available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Anchor and more. Or click here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jTWJzegt62WNn4JCZWblc?si=6bGx3heiQ4KdDi6ey8sEEg&dl_branch=1

Part two in our spew sessions where some of the players get together for an After Action Review and random thoughts on dice rolling and game trolling. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/oldschool-dnd/support

The Delphos trio enter a dark place, and Icarus receives a revelation. 'Life of the Party: The Delphos Saga' is a D&D 5e actual play show, intended for audiences aged 15 & over. Some heavy themes, mild use of language, depictions of alcohol consumption, mild horror and fantasy violence. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoQYYtvxswwXQHJaIJSZqVQ/join Check out the 'join' button under the channel to get early access to videos, custom chat emojis, a private news feed and private livestreams, and more! GET DISCOUNTS ON WYRMWOOD GAMING SUPPLIES! ► https://wyrmwoodgaming.com/ For free US shipping use code LIFEOFPARTY For $10 off International shipping use code LIFEOFPARTYINT GET 10% OFF FOUND FAMILIAR COFFEE! ► http://www.foundfamiliar.com/LOTP For 10% off use code LOTPDND You can also support us on Patreon! Check out our brand new selection of perks including beta access to new parts of our project, bonus LOTP content and more. Support what we do from just $3 over at https://www.patreon.com/nyxrising Follow the Life of the Party! We're a new D&D series with episodes every week, so be sure to subscribe and click the bell icon to ensure you never miss an episode. Follow Life of the Party around the web: ► http://www.lifeofthepartydnd.com ► http://www.twitter.com/LifeOTPartyDND ► http://www.instagram.com/lifeofthepartydnd ► http://lifeofthepartydnd.tumblr.com We now also have MERCH available, thanks to our wonderful Indiegogo backers! Peruse our wares at http://www.teespring.com/stores/lifeofthepartydnd Get access to our exclusive members-only discord too at: ► https://indiegogo.com/projects/life-of-the-party-a-dungeons-dragons-series/x/6039770 Executive Producers: Alexandra Johnson, Liam Moran, Katelyn Ferguson, Alissa, Stef Sharp and Emily Hogarth. LIFE OF THE PARTY is also available to listen to as an audio podcast! Visit http://www.lifeofthepartydnd.co.uk for more details or search for us on Spotify and iTunes. Find our party online! Dungeon Master R: ► http://www.twitter.com/paperstorms ► http://www.instagram.com/paper.storms Icarus: ► http://www.twitter.com/0becki ► http://www.instagram.com/zer0becki Pandora: ► http://www.twitter.com/roguearcanis ► http://www.instagram.com/roguearcanis Mayes: ► http://www.twitter.com/electr0spectrum ► http://www.instagram.com/electrospectrum Filmed & Edited by Nyx & NyxRising Industries Official art by Bee - https://beebooart.wixsite.com/portfolio Music provided by Epidemic Sound

You've probably heard of "tabletop Role Playing Games" (or, tabletop RPGs) before, but what are they? In this episode, Chris and Morgan introduce a subset of RPGs called "Narrative RPGs" whose mechanics are focused primarily around storytelling (as opposed to tactical combat).2 Hear about how narrative RPGs can be used as "collaborative storytelling with dice", some of the narrative RPG systems that exist, as well as an in-depth look at one particular RPG system, Freeform Universal. Freeform Universal is so simple and easy to pick up that by the end of this episode, you should have enough information to use it for weaving stories with your friends!Links:Freeform Universal (or FU, pronounced "Foo")Official FU sitePay-what-you-want on DriveThru RPGHacks for customizing Freeform UniversalFate (published by Evil Hat)Fate Core at Evil HatFate Accelerated at Evil HatOld Fate websiteFate SRD (fan) websiteDungeons and Dragons and PathfinderLook, you can find enough info about these on your ownThe internet is full of articles about themOpen Game License (OGL) (... it's a weird license, but we'll talk about that some other time)Wikipedia article about the OGLOpen Game License 1.0 (Wayback machine copy, RTF file)Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY 3.0)Dark Dungeons (CW: 1980s religious satanic-panic propaganda... but for a fun time, find the 2014 live-action film somewhere)Rory's Story Cubes (we called them "Rory's Story Dice" on the episode, oops)Donjon RPG tools (Don't have enough time to come up with your own materials? You can use these as long as you don't mind leaning into a lot of auto-generated tropes.)RPGs as therapyPlease Don't Punch the GM: Adventures in Gaming Therapy (Role Playing Public Radio episode)Negotiating with the Dragon: Role-Playing Games as Group TherapyMary Robinete Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey (first book in the Glamourist Histories books mentioned by Morgan as inspiring one of her game themes)Libre Lounge (Podcast Chris used to co-host, still ongoing)Episode about history of Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder and the Open Gaming LicenseStill reading this? Wow, okay, some bonus content...We mentioned that Morgan did a class assignment for her intro-to-German class about needing to make a German fairytale... here's the assignment, as turned into the class: Hilda die Hexe (be nice enough to remember this is an intro-to-German class). Additionally, Chris simultaneously wrote a slightly-more-elaborated-upon version called The Witch and the Carriage. The process of playing the game and then writing up both of these took about an hour and a half so set your expectations accordingly.Still want more? Okay, not claiming this is a "great" story, but here's a kind of fun writeup of a session called Santa's Little Uprising. (Not very serious, could use more polish.)Maybe we'll take up our own advice and more seriously publish some of the stories we've constructed together sometime!

Ah yes, what could more cringey than an indie movie based directly off of a Jack Chick comic (with a little Lovecraft)? 

Welcome back to Troubling Issues a podcast where we do deep dives on noteworthy comic books. Some good, some bad, but they are all interesting.In this our first episode we take a look at Dark Dungeons by Jack Chick a 1984 anti-Dungeons and Dragons comic leaflet wherein we learn we are all going to hell.We discuss:Dungeons & Dragons - https://dnd.wizards.comJack Chick - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_ChickThe Godfathers - https://www.chick.com/products/item?stk=0114Dark Dungeons - https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046http://www.theescapist.com/darkdungeons.htmQuestions answered:Comic Code Authority - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_AuthorityEC Comics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_ComicsArchie Comics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_ComicsRecommendations:Saga - https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/sagaTales of the Bounty Hunters - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tales_of_the_Bounty_HuntersOpening theme: Cocktail Sipping Jazz by Donville DavisClosing theme: Touch the Fire by Wanger! - https://wanger.bandcamp.comFor feedback and questions contact podcast@edgecomix.comSubscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, RADIOPUBLIC or your podcatcher of choice.Find us on FACEBOOK, TWITTER or INSTAGRAM.Become a Patron of That's Not Canon Productions at Patreon! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Moi is dead, long live Moism. As he towered over the nations, dark concrete hallways masked screams of those his insecurities deemed as threats. His demise can in no way erase this dark chapter in Kenyan history.

Director: L. Gabriel GondaWriters: Jack Chick & Jr RallsPlot: Two college students are seduced into the evil cult of role playing games.

This week on the Offensive, Cole and JPG join our hosts to break down the “film” known as “Dark Dungeons”! Producer Justin and Smooth Ken navigate the so-called plot of this movie. Also, if you want to get the most out of this episode, watch “Dark Dungeons” before listening. It's available for streaming on Amazon, or it's in sections on Youtube. Not gonna lie, folks. This episode gets REAL filthy, REAL quick! Do NOT listen with your kids! #JOINTHE OFFENSIVE

It's the spookiest day of the year, TheAWFULoi, and your humble Sons of ThUNDEAD are back at it with a deep dive into our least canonical selection: the evangelizing comic book tracts of Jack T. Chick. Join us as we discuss the dubious, hateful, and distressingly widely read stories that are designed to drag you kicking and screaming into a very specific version of salvation on this, the Devil's Birthday. Haw haw haw! Topics of discussion: Halloween plans, Bible costumes, the EC/JTC horseshoe, an extended list of people and things Jack Chick thought were evil and/or caused by Catholicism, the Death Cookie, Dark Dungeons, The Little Princess, Boo, Spooky, a contractually obligated mention of "Witch's Invitation," The Trick, the secret Robert Kirkman DOESN'T want you to know, Falcon 7, this weird thing where JTC just straight up does not like the Baby Jesus, Forever Knight, Devil's Night, Blasphemous (the video game). Hymnal: "Chick Habit" by April March Offertory: Each person should do as they have decided in their heart, so if you enjoy the show, head to ko-fi.com/apocrypals, for the Apocrypals love a cheerful giver.

Austen, Travis, and Meal review Dark Dungeons and interview the director of Dark Dungeons L Gabriel Gonda in this weeks Trashed Talk episode. Dark Dungeons is amazing, so please check it out and the rest of Gabriel's future projects.  Watch Dark Dungeons on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Dungeons-Alyssa-Kay/dp/B01LX0AX3H/.  Or at https://watch.thefantasy.network/browse if you would prefer a non-amazon source.  For people who want to see more of Strowlers and The Gamers can sign up to renew them here, and they'll get an email when the next Kickstarter goes live. (link: http://fan-supported.com/) fan-supported.com. 

The Session Zero duo explore those awkward feelings of concern and fear of judgment that some tabletop and live action roleplaying gamers feel when interacting with non-gamers. We will dive into the concept of stigma and explore what it’s like to experience the stigma of being a gamer. Steve Discont can found on twitter at @bearlynormal, and Porter Green at @DagmarRugosa. You can go to the following URLs or research articles to learn about some of the topics discussed in this episode: Stigma: The Wikipedia page for Social Stigma Fandom identity stigma: Cohen, E. L., Atwell Seate, A., Anderson, S. M., & Tindage, M. F. (2017). Sport fans and Sci-Fi fanatics: The social stigma of popular media fandom. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(3), 193-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000095 In-Group/Out-group bias: “Social Identity Theory” by Saul McLeod Stigmatized identity management: Chaudoir, S. R., & Fisher, J. D. (2010). The disclosure processes model: Understanding disclosure decision-making and post-disclosure outcomes among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 236-256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018193 Strategic thinking and speaking the language of the majority: Ogbu, J.U. The Urban Review (2004) 36: 1. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:URRE.0000042734.83194.f6 Satanic Panic & D&D: “How D&D Writers Fought the Satanic Panic of the 1980s” by Ben Riggs. Dark Dungeons, the movie based on the Chick tract: “A Review of Dark Dungeons, the Film Every Roleplayer Should See (Before It’s Too Late)” by Becky Chambers. Chris Mackey, I-O psychology practitioner, can be found on twitter at @D20PhD, and on her website at Improved Initiative Consulting. D&D article mentioned in episode: “Why the Cool Kids Are Playing Dungeons & Dragons” by Annalee Newitz

The Vortex crew delve into the strange, hilarious origins and reality of the short film Dark Dungeons, a weird world of burgeoning sexuality, RPGs, and Christian faith, all based on the propaganda of a geriatric extremist. Watch Dark Dungeons! Read the original Chick tract! Watch Us On YouTube --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/swirlpool/support

This week Mike sits down with J.R. Ralls, the writer, and producer of Dark Dungeons. We discuss the work of Jack Chick, the process of securing the rights from the reclusive author and what it was like to work on an independent passion project. You can find Dark Dungeons here: http://www.darkdungeonsthemovie.com/

This week we return from a 4-month hiatus to bring you the second part of our two-part D and D panic double feature: Dark Dungeons. Mike, James, and Andrew lovingly go through the fun and absurd adaptation of one of the most famous tracts by Jack Chick. As always you can find the rest of our work on www.offtarget.org

Hello, Panicking Pals! This week we were unable to release an all-new episode, and so we decided to share a sampling from the Cosmic Treadmill, After Dark Collection (exclusive to Chris and Reggie Patrons).  During this episode, we look at Evangelist Jack Chick and his comic book tracts, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s, and how it fueled Jack's ministry. We also read the tract "Dark Dungeons" in its entirety... it does deal with very adult themes--so put the kids to bed before listening. Thanks to everyone for your support, and please let us know if there are any questions or suggestions! -- Links Mentioned During the Episode: chick.com Jack Chick documentary: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/filmedia/play/2330/God-s-Cartoonist---The-Comic-Crusade-of-Jack-Chick -- patreon.com/chrisandreggie weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com chrisandreggie.com @cosmictmill weirdsciencedccomics.com chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

Professor Jimbles, along with Sammy, Ian, Dev and James go to town on the subject of Acting in roleplaying. They'll discuss Accents, feeling like they might be locked out by a lack of confidence or skill, and even the ableism inherent in some LARPs. We reference: Dark Dungeons: https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046 Pheno: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhenomenonCanberra/ and the website - Pheno.org.au Theatresports: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatresports Blades in the Dark: https://www.evilhat.com/home/blades-in-the-dark/ Godsfall: https://www.godsfall.com/ Lines and Veils: https://adventurerules.blog/2018/01/15/the-value-of-lines-and-veils/ Lightning Bolt meme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ04mfAY2BU Melody Watson, On Mighty Wheels: https://www.arcanacon.org/onmightywheels/ Jimbles on Twitter: twitter.com/Prof_Jimbles Dev on Twitter: twitter.com/DeksDM James on Twitter: twitter.com/Wyrmwoods Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProfessorJimblesDiceBag/ Professor Jimbles' Dice Bag is a hobbyist podcast - We create episodes for fun! Please rate and subscribe on iTunes in your favourite app, and tweet your favourite parts to @Prof_Jimbles on Twitter. If you think anyone would enjoy listening to us, send them a link! If you think we're idiots, tell us so with a 5-star review in iTunes, I promise I'll read them and be sad. Finally, you can always contact Jimbles and the crew on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/ProfessorJimblesDiceBag/ or at ProfessorJimblesDiceBag@gmail.com

This week, in the first GCC Christmas special, Mike talks to two of his favourite people (and past guests) TJ Cummings & Bradley Hobby! Their chat delves into a variety of subjects as they pop-up and disappear into the distance; these 3 talk about their loves & hates of the holiday season as well as a whole mess of other things - the short film Dark Dungeons, Mike’s different facial hair colours, their love of the Legend of Zelda franchise and more are all intertwined with Christmas movies, music, food, decorations & presents!As well as the above, TJ & Mike’s love for the Sia Christmas album is discussed, along with Super Mario Galaxy, the illustrious Batninja, Tim Burton movies, Bradley’s “messy” school trip, mind-control, the Mean Girls movie, South Park, Marvel, fairy lights and to top it off, Megan comes in at the end to bring a David Hasselhoff story – Merry Hoffmas! For any grinches out there, last week Mike spoke with just TJ about every subject apart from Christmas so if you’re sick of this holiday cheer be sure to check it out! A few things discussed are: immortality, the age of consent, homosexuality, traumatic events that can affect growth, having children/adopting along with what can affect a child’s social behaviour from changes earlier in life, our perception of nature, how wi-fi signals affect bees, the many different senses of animals, how religion & the energy of life intertwine, animal language and so much more! Genuine Chit-Chat is now a part of the Brit Pod Scene, so be sure to check out the other members of the family as well as the BPS podcast – www.britpodscene.com Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – YouTube – Stitcher - Podbean - Spotify You can also email us at GenuineChitChat@outlook.com with any reviews, comments or suggestions.

Welcome to Geeks’ Boutique episode #21 featuring the return of the GB Players! We take a trip back in time to the days of the “Satanic Panic” with our dramatic reading of “Dark Dungeons.” Michael Davis is back to talk about his love of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar and his multitudinous hordes of painted miniatures. Local music this issue comes from Jack Holiday and the Westerners featuring their track, S E Lapp, from their album, Unsung Hero. All this and more, so get to listenin’! Check them out on all their social media https://www.reverbnation.com/jackholidayandthewesterners https://www.jackholidayandthewesterners.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jackholidayandthewesterners/

Our guest this week is Chris Ode from Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, makers of The Gamers and Dark Dungeons, here to talk about their projects as well as their appearance at Mobicon next weekend.Top Nerd News covers a spoiler free discussion of Deadpool 2, Star Trek rumors/legal troubles, Thundercats Roar, and more.Skungy's Pick of the Week is The State of Decay 2. We also talk about the Overwatch anniversary event coming up May 22nd and Skungy gives us an Overwatch eleague update.This Week in Geek History and Celebrity Birthdays closes out the show.

Welcome one, welcome all to another episode of this silly little thing we do every week. This week we talk about news, like how Burnout is coming back in a remastered fashion. Scott got back to his Fire Emblem roots. Rob's been going through Dark Dungeons, some would say the darkest of dungeons. Connor played an iOS game and won a chicken dinner after having an anxiety attack in PUBG. The Last of all the Jedi. We'd love to be friends with you so come hang out with us: Twitter @tbexplicitadv Instagram @turnbasedexplicitadventure Facebook @turnbasedexplicitadventure Email Us At: turnbasedexplicitadventure@gmail.com

Session 206 - A DnD onslaught of links and info dumped on poor Nikki as Andros, Nikki, Mark Kinney and anim ramble on in a trip down memory lane. We wander from "Dark Dungeons" to "Mazes and Monsters" to "Critical Role". The common thread in this conversation was Dungeons and Dragons being a scapegoat and social "evil" in the eyes of many ignorant people over the decades. Those of you who know, will remember. Many of you who are new, may find fresh links and interesting perspectives. Worth a listen!

Dungeons and Dragons is the gateway drug that will lead you straight to Satanism – so we've heard. Well, actually, in our case – it's true! Hosts Simone, Daniel, Tabitha, and Roman discuss how the game lead to the founding of Satanic San Francisco, and our own personal experiences with role playing as we grew up. Why is D&D, a game created by a Christian World War II war game enthusiast, associated with Satanism? Why is it seeing a resurgence in pop culture? Plus, we nominate our "patron sinners" and discuss The Satanic Temple's controversial anti-corporal punishment billboard in Texas. Praise, condemnation, questions, and your ideas for patron sinners can be sent to blackmassappealpod@gmail.com. LINKS You Must Remember This podcast: "Bela and Boris" Satanic Temple Billboard Pisses Off Three Rivers, TX Christian Children's Fund refuses donation from Gygax memorial fundraiser GeeksOn podcast archive: Dungeons and Dragons The terrible, awful Dungeons and Dragons movie from 2000 Watch this instead: The Dungeons and Dragons episode of NBC's "Community" What Dungeons and Dragons Reveals About Stranger Things Season 3 (potential spoilers!) Dungeons and Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun game for Sega Genesis (plus the theme song) Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game It's a Living: Meet One of New York's Best Professional D&D Dungeon Masters Dominican writer Junot Díaz on playing Dungeons and Dragons as an immigrant (Video) "The Gary Gygax Song" by Uncle Monsterface GET IN TOUCH Facebook Twitter Instagram Patreon LEARN MORE Satanic San Francisco Satanic San Francisco Facebook Wicked Grounds Coffee Shop The Satanic Temple

We’ve got friends in low places. Low magic places, at least. Or we would have if we could figure out how to run a low magic game. But that’s okay because, frankly, RAW D&D won’t let us do that anyway. Or would it? Stick around for your feedback and the terribleness that is GURPS.… Continue reading →

The one were we watch Dark Dungeons, learn about bad predictions, and watch Ethan "blow bubbles."This episode was recorded in 2016 and features Chris, Tommy, and Ethan.Support B-Movie Death Match by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/b-movie-death-matchThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This week on the Offensive, Cole and JPG join our hosts to break down the “film” known as “Dark Dungeons”! Producer Justin and Smooth Ken navigate the so-called plot of this movie. Also, if you want to get the most out of this episode, watch “Dark Dungeons” before listening. It’s available for streaming on Amazon,...

HJRP1806 Your hosts: Stu, Tim, Kurt, Stork Show Notes!  Dreamer 2928 need help with is homework. Corbin Twa sends us An Ode to Jack Chick’s Dark Dungeons. Brian writes in about some a-hole he gamed with in college. Levi writes in for some GMing advice. Chris in Indiana informs us that Google Hangouts is NOT DEAD. Steve writes in about giving GMs criticism  

The Dads, along with Viva, parse the abusive language of “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, and examine the less popular entries into the series, like “Life Aboard the Mayflower Was Hell, Charlie Brown”, and “The Carter Era Was a National Malaise, Charlie Brown”. In “Scary Clowns”, the Dads announce the death of evangelical cartoonist Jack T. Chick, and do a dramatic re-enactment of the legendary “Dark Dungeons”. Plus, Alex's school issues a warning against would-be prairie clowns. In “School Days with a Z”, the Dads discuss the history of disaster drills at schools, and Todd wonders if he should Tiger down on his son, who is disappointing his Dad by merely getting straight As. Matt's browsing Amazon for a respectable doorstop – Todd suggest Matt lean towards Todd's favorite weight: complex maritime knots. And finally, in “Holidon'ts”, Matt shares his first (disastrous) corn maze experience with Todd, a famous hater of corn mazes, because mankind is not the master of water, nor space, nor corn. E-mail us your thoughts at paternitypodcast@gmail.com or call the Paternity Test hot line at 657-BAD-DADS!

Allan and Ben discuss the death of Jack Chick and an email about celebrity pastors. Other topics include: The Cubs wager, The Dark Tower

Rev. Chris Ode joins Peter and Grant in a very personal episode this week! Chris is a Lutheran pastor, and an actor and religious consultant for Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, including: Zombie Orpheus's new project, "Attacking the Darkness" (Kickstarting now!); ZOE's "Dark Dungeons" movie (an adaptation of the original anti-D&D Chick tract); the lingering effects of Dark Dungeons and other anti-RPG material on the Church, gamers, and gaming; scapegoating; and our own Patreon campaign. (We're on Patreon now—check out the video for more information!) Also mentioned in passing: Game Store Prophets' "Bonus Content" episode with Rev. Chris Ode STG 74, "The Myth of Redemptive Violence (with Rev. Derek White)" STG 63, "An Introduction to Roleplaying Games (with Rev. Jason D. Wood)" Zombie Orpheus Entertainment's YouTube channel Scripture: Isaiah 44:22, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Ephesians 4:31-32

There have been a handful of times that you can see us approach the short film adaptation of the Chick tract Dark Dungeons from the folks at Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. Hunting down some stories about that adaptation first got us … Continue reading →

Here are the notes from this show, originally broadcast May 17, 2014. They’re lengthy, so I’m just going to dump them all, raw and uncut. Enjoy! (Also, note that the Dark Dungeons movie is out now! You can get it for $5, and the bonus features for another $2.50.) Hello … Continue reading

Sean, Greg, Andrew, and Gary talk about the new Star Wars, the Marvel cinematic universe and how Ant-man fits into it, DC's plans for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Justice League movie, the Dark Dungeons adaptation, the Stargate reboot, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, Quentin Tarantino movies like Django, Kill Bill, and Jackie Brown, Idris Elba as Batman or possibly Green Lantern, Drew Godard's Daredevil and Sinister Six, Cabin in the Woods, the Cliffhanger remake, CHUD, a possible Shocker remake, an R rated Wolverine movie, Man of Steel, Star Trek, Superman V Capt America, Transformers, and a Kolchak update with Johnny Depp.

In this one we update you on the upcoming Tabletop Day fund raiser event, talk about the new games we’ve been playing (in which LUKE is the one talking about Netrunner). We also talk about the Dark Dungeons movie project … Continue reading →

PCX reviews Dark Dungeons, The Trick & The Poor Little Witch Click here to listen. PODCAST X - The BEST Comic Book Review Podcast. You know you want it. http://podcastx.blogspot.com/

The “Attack of the Clones!” series concludes with the coverage of Dark Dungeons, the retro clone that emulates the last…

C'est avec un retard considérable qu'arrive enfin ce 15ème numéro, au programme plus léger que d'habitude.Au sommaire :News (1mn22)Dossier (19mn33): Les livres dont vous êtes le hérosCritique (43mn): Aventures dans le monde intérieurLes liens de l'émission : La réaction de la FFJDR à l'article de Top Chrétien. Le Traité de surmédiatisation sur le blog d'Alias. Toutes les parodies de “Dark Dungeons” sur The Escapist.Le site de l'excellent bar médiéval “Les caves alliées”.

C'est avec un retard considérable qu'arrive enfin ce 15ème numéro, au programme plus léger que d'habitude.Au sommaire :News (1mn22)Dossier (19mn33): Les livres dont vous êtes le hérosCritique (43mn): Aventures dans le monde intérieurLes liens de l'émission : La réaction de la FFJDR à l'article de Top Chrétien. Le Traité de surmédiatisation sur le blog d'Alias. Toutes les parodies de « Dark Dungeons » sur The Escapist.Le site de l'excellent bar médiéval « Les caves alliées ».

Reseña del retroclón de la antigua D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

In this episode, we interview Andrew and JD from Boolean Union about their recent animated film adaptation of the infamous Jack Chick tract "Dark Dungeons." Their work is a serious adaptation of a work that is inherently funny. It is produced to a very high level of quality. We found Andrew and JD to be as animated as their movie, articulate, and perceptive in our interview. And for the record, they are not in the least bit "anti-game."In brief, "Dark Dungeons" is a short comic book (called a "tract") about a teenaged girl who gets swept away into the occult from playing a fictitious RPG called "Dark Dungeons" (which, as described, is D&D in all but name). The comic contains a number of amusing misconceptions about RPGs, including the notion that players can start to believe that they really are their characters or that the goal of RPGs is to make people learn how to cast "real spells." It has gained a cult following among roleplayers for its humor value.LinksThe Dark Dungeons Movie. The producers encourage everyone to link to it and share it with their friends.Boolean Union's official Dark Dungeons Page.Mystery Science Theater 3000 meets Dark Dungeons. A famous spoof that contains the original tract in full, and heckling.The Escapist. Game advocacy web site.Other linksPolymancer main sitePolymancer corporate web sitePolymancer on TwitterPolymancer on LiveJournalPolymancer on MySpacePolymancer on FacebookRSS feed for DiceCastSubscribe to DiceCast in iTunes DiceCast is available at the iTunes music store. The RSS feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dicecast.

It has been recently reported that someone who was a member of a university RPG club many years ago, allegedly committed a murder. Reporting of this in the media reflected a shocking level of ignorance that serves to remind RPG enthusiasts that as far as we have come since the Dark Dungeons days of the 1980s, much work remains to be done. Many hobbies are misunderstood, but very few misunderstood hobbies are so frequently targeted by popular hysteria.We posted this reaction for humor value, more than anything else. It almost need not be said that nobody at Polymancer® Studios, Inc. actually believes anything being said here. Naturally, the invocation of the name of one infamous historical figure was not a violation of Godwin's Law, simply because, again, it was all meant in good fun.LinksThe classical music compositions that were used in this special episode can be downloaded from the following sites.Musopen.com, an excellent source of public domain classical music recordings, including many that have been recorded professionally, on modern digital equipment,Archive.orgThe compositions, in the order of appearance, are:Piano Sonata No, 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 35 by Frédéric Chopin, 3rd movement, "Marche funèbre: Lento." Often popularly called "The Death March.""Ride of the Valkyries" from the beginning of Act III of Der Walküre by Richard Wagner. This piece is frequently referred to as "The Flight of the Valkyries." Many people will be familiar with it from Apocalypse Now and Looney Toons. Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig Von Beethoven, 4th Movement: Allegro. Not as well known as the symphony's famous first movement, this is still one of the best musical expressions of triumph ever written, and a good way to end the show on a high note. DiceCast is available at the iTunes music store. The RSS feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dicecast.

Back from Thanksgiving vacation, Jordan, Rory, and Scapie come back with a blast on an episode which involves eavesdropping, coughing, roleplaying, tutoring, and interesting. Featuring: Decker and Hayes, Series 2, Episode 6: "Put on the Red Light", in which everyone seems to be conspiring against the duo; Rory St. John's This Day in History and update Where Are They Now In History, revealing the deaths of John Lennon; Tract or Fiction?, Series 3, Episode 1: "Dark Dungeons", recreating the infamous tract about Dungeons and Dragons; Scapie Stories from a Cat in the Dark, in which Scapie tells us his version of Lewis Spence's The Archer and the Arras; Guard Duty, Series 3, Episode 8: "Better Interest", with Voodoo Lady and the Jack arguing the pros and cons of an Earth Guard strike; a few bits of Listener Mail; news and notes from the hosts. NOW! Download it now! Plus: please send your comments to castinwax@gmail.com!