Eldritch History: RPG Legends & Lore

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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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One ring to rule them all,
One ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all,
and in the darkness bind them!

I wish there was only one Middle-Earth game to bind all the players together, but over the past 40 years of LotR RPGs, there's a few more than that. This episode breaks down the gaming (and legal!) history of Tolkien's greatest works. From M.E.R.P. to the One Ring and everything in between.

The One Ring 2e at DriveThruRPG
Ben Riggs' Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons at Amazon
DriveThruRPG
The largest online marketplace devoted to digital and print-on-demand RPG and RPG-related materials.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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First published in 1982, the gamebook series Fighting Fantasy is celebrating its 40th anniversary in style in 2022. Two new books by the creators Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the 4th Annual Fighting Fantasy Fest is being held on Sep 3rd 2022, and a special anniversary edition of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is coming to Kickstarter later this year. To help celebrate this episode starts off with three friends making a mail order game business in a London flat more than 40 years ago and follows Fighting Fantasy and its creators to present day.
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Extra Life is a charity created by gamers for gamers to raise money on behalf of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. They have partnerships with Twitch, Rooster Teeth, Humble Bundle, Wizards of the Coast, NACE Starleague and Playfly Esports. Over 100,000 gamers have contributed time and money, raising over $100 million since 2008. And it all started because of the strength, fearlessness, and generosity of a young woman named Victoria "Tori" Enmon.

Extra-Life.org
Eldritch History Extra Life Fundraiser
How One Girl With Leukemia Started the Extra Life Movement - Video about Tori
D&D's Extra Life Partnership Page
Humble Bundle - Essential Classic Fantasy RPG Collection
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