Eldritch History: RPG Legends & Lore – Details, episodes & analysis

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This is Ravenloft, everybody scream! At this spooky time of year I couldn't help but look at the creepy side of D&D. So we're going into the mists and exploring the Domains of Dread: Bluetspur, Borca, The Carnival, Darkon, Dementlieu, Falkovnia, Har'Akir, Hazlan, and I'Cath. You can follow along with Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft as we look at the changes, Easter eggs, and things left behind in bringing the Demiplane of Dread to 5E. 

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One D&D is on the horizon and playtesting is already underway. But while we're looking to the future of the game, it's also important to look at where in its past some of the changes are coming from. This episode I look at two options for PCs that are unique for One D&D in different ways. Orcs trace back to the very beginning of the game, but for the first time may become a core playable race. The Ardlings on the other hand are brand new, but continue some longstanding traditions for Celestials.

One D&D Playtest - Character Origins

Orcs, Britons, and the Martial Race Myth, Part I: A Species Built for Racial Terror
Orcs, Britons, and the Martial Race Myth, Part II: They're Not Human
[content warnings for the articles: racism, colonialism/imperialism, cultural conflation, sexism, sexual violence, anger]

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 Marvel Comics has been around for more than 60 years. Their characters, such as Thor, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, have graced comics, movies, TV shows, popsicles, and even parades. And a handful of times there have been roleplaying games based around these characters and their universe. Listen and learn about all 5 official Marvel roleplaying games, including the Marvel Multiverse RPG that is play testing right now.

Buy Marvel Multiverse Playtest at Amazon
Marvel Multiverse RPG Official Site
Classic Marvel Forever - Marvel Super Heroes Fansite
Marvel Plot Points - Marvel Heroic Fansite
Fan Made Spider-Man's Guide to New York

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A cultural phenomenon deeply rooted in the pop culture of the 80s. Stranger Things is full of references and homages to E.T., Firestarter, Back to the Future, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and most importantly D&D. This episode I look at how the concepts from D&D that the kids use to conceptualize the monsters (Demogorgon, Mind Flayer, Vecna) compare to their in game counterparts.

60 Minutes with Patricia Pulling and Gary Gygax
Eldritch History Website

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I realized some foundational episodes were in order to try to get everyone who listens on the same page. First up with that is this history of the world's first role playing game: D&D. 50 years of history is far more than a single hour long episode can handle so for this I focused on the various editions of the game, why they came about, what their goals were, and how they did. 

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Free RPG Day is an annual celebration of RPG publishers and friendly local game stores. This episode is dedicated to telling you everything you need to know about the event, how it started and what you can expect to find this year on Saturday June 25th in North America (Saturday July 23rd everywhere else).

Free RPG Day Publishing Partners:

Paizo - WizKids - Privateer Press - Loke Battle Maps - Goodman Games - Q Workshop - Steamforged Games - Modiphius Entertainment - Dave Taylor Miniatures - Darrington Press - Mantic Games - Magpie Games - Renegade Game Studios - R Talsorian Games - Foam Brain Games - Oni Press - 9th LevelGames

Links:

Grant Howitt 1-Page RPGs
Critical Role Plays Honey Heist
9th Level Games - Level 1 Indie RPG Anthologies

Recommended Store Links:

Black & Read - Arvada, CO
Games and Stuff -  Glen Burnie, MD
Rainy Day Games - Aloha, OR
Millennium Games - Rochester, NY

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If you're familiar with any edition of  D&D, Greco-Roman mythology, video games such as Assassin's Creed or God of War, TV shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Charmed, and movies such as Percy Jackson or Clash of the Titans then you've probably heard of Medusa and gorgons. This episode takes a dive into the history of gorgons and Medusa in mythology and in D&D to explain the reasons why all Medusa are gorgons but not all gorgons are Medusa.

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DIE is a comic and soon to be RPG about a group of teenagers trapped within a fantasy world, years later some of them leave... but they never really escape. This episode dives into the history of wargaming, role-playing and geometry(!?) to explain some of their influences on DIE.

Read the first issue (Mature Content Warning)

Fantasy Heartbreakers by Ron Edwards

RPG Safety Tools article by Drama Dice

Peter Cushing Little Wars

Buy DIE on Amazon

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Vecna, The Whispered One, The Undying God

The reach of Vecna spreads far and wide across the multiverse. Vox Machina, the kids from Hawkins, Indiana, and countless adventurers have encountered him in one form or another.

Learn about his origins and history (both real and imagined) as well as the people and creatures that follow him and the items that they possess. Hear the dread tale of the Head of Vecna. And learn about the most recent sightings of the Maimed God or at least parts of him.

If you want to run an adventure with Vecna as the big bad I'd recommend looking into the Vecna trilogy of adventures from 2nd edition:

Vecna Lives! - Vecna seeks to attain greater godhood by cutting off the other gods from their followers.

Vecna Reborn - Vecna in Ravenloft! Clash between Vecna and Kas across 2 unique Domains of Dread.

Die Vecna Die! - An epic adventure spanning across Greyhawk, Ravenloft and Planescape. Stop Vecna from rewriting the multiverse as he sees fit!

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Welcome to Eldritch History, a podcast about the stories behind and within tabletop role playing games.  Each episode focuses on a specific element of TTRPGs (a particular game, character, story, product, company, movie, etc) and explores its fictional and real world origins. Have you ever wondered where the Whispered One came from? Why the gorgon is a bull? Why are there so many games about Cthulhu? Then this is the podcast for you. 

Twitter: @EldritchHistory
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Email: EldritchHistoryPodcast@gmail.com