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Tales from the Sanctum

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Welcome

The Sanctum Secorum podcast plumbs the depths of Appendix N as it applies to DCC RPG. Each show reviews one piece of Appendix N media — be it literature or film — and then discusses how to bring aspects of it to the table for your DCC game. We explore how the selected piece might already easily fit into particular modules and DCC settings, and we highlight one specific DCC module that really ties into the Appendix N material.

Enter the Sanctum Secorum… and be inspired.

NEWS: Sanctum Secorum Quarterly #1


Yes, we know, today is the day where people tend to make outrageous claims in the name of April Fool’s Day. Well, we here at the Sanctum Secorum were hard at work on March 31st and, just under the wire, released the premiere issue of Sanctum Secorum Quarterly (the March 2023 issue), in the nick of time.

It is loaded with great gameable content such as monsters and spells, and also includes film and fiction reviews and a brand new adventure – The Pillar of the Pachyderm – based on Robert E Howard’s The Tower of the Elephant. It is a hefty PDF and, as always, it is completely free!

SSQ wouldn’t be possible without the fantastic team that we’ve assembled: Daniel J. Bishop, Morten Braten, Bob Brinkman, Jen Brinkman, Marc Bruner, Blair DeMarco-Wettlaufer, Gord Hanson, Michael Harrington, Brett Hess, Ian McDonald, James A. Pozenel jr., Matt Robertson, Stefan Surratt, Joan Troyer, and Keepers Nafets & Zinolestimus. An amazing pool of talented individuals made this happen and, are already at work on the June issue.

Again, utterly free. Our gift to the community which we are all a part of.

You can get it HERE and, if you enjoy it, please write a review. It is a great way to thank the team for all of their hard work.

Sanctum Secorum #50 – The Tower of the Elephant

Tonight, in their 50th episode, the Keepers of Mystery are joined by guests Stephen Newton, Francis Roberts, and the Dark Master himself – Joseph Goodman. The Keepers and their guests discuss Joseph Goodman’s favorite Appendix N work, Robert E. Howard’s The Tower of the Elephant.

In the Zamorian city of Arenjun,also known as the “City of Thieves,” a young Conan  is drinking in a rowdy tavern when he overhears a Kothic rogue describe a fabulous jewel known as the “Heart of the Elephant,” which is kept in a tower by an evil sorcerer named Yara, of whom even the King of Zamora is afraid. Conan ventures into Yara’s garden to steal the jewel and encounters Taurus of Nemedia, known as the “Prince of Thieves,” who has the same agenda. Taurus is wily and fat, but amazingly agile. Impressed by Conan’s daring, Taurus agrees to work together.

Also, be sure not to miss the information on how you may win the very last unclaimed copy of the Shadowed Grimoire, #10 of 10.

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Sanctum Secorum #48 – The Dolphin Cross

Sanctum Secorum Quarterly – COMING SOON!

The story picks up the saga of the two protagonists from the Face in the Frost, Prospero and, to a much lesser extent, Roger Bacon. In this adventure, war has come to the South Kingdoms and Prospero finds himself kidnapped and exiled on an island. While he manages to escape, he finds himself an unwitting captive a second time, with a situation even more dire. Meanwhile, he is unable to completely unravel why he was captured in the first place.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight, the Keepers of Mysteries return from their long hiatus to discuss this unfinished work by John Bellairs.

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Sanctum Secorum #41 – Gone with the Gods

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #41 Companion HERE!

The main character of “Gone with the Gods” would seem to be a thinly disguised Offutt, a writer who turns out a prodigious number of novels at the back and call of his editor, writing in whatever genre is hot at the moment to fulfill the needs of an insatiable audience. When his editor calls him to look into the possibility that a former fraternity brother of the editor’s has invented a time machine, and asks him to check out the possibility that the device is real so the editor can invest in it, the authors finds himself looking into the far-fetched claim. Of course the time machine, disguised as a VW microbus, eventually works and Harvey Moss, the author, Mark Ventnor, the publisher, and Ben Corrick, the inventor, all take their turns traveling in the bus, only to learn its limitations. It can only go one day into the future, but anywhen in the past. Although it remains tied to Earth, so they don’t have to worry about showing up in outer space, they do figure out how to take it to different places on Earth. Eventually, in order to make some money, Moss travels back in time to spur human development and plant evidence that he can use to write a best selling book that Ventnor can publish and sell.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we look to the past while we discuss Andrew J. Offutt’s tongue in cheek time travel story, Gone with the Gods.

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News: Free RPG Day Companion – Third Party Sampler

In keeping with that holiday spirit, the Sanctum Secorum is releasing another digest-sized, print-copy companion – available from a number of participating judges. Much like the GFA, those Judges have printed those companion issues out on their dime, as an extra bit of awesome for your Free RPG Day. We think that those folks deserve a round of applause.

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Sanctum Secorum #36 – The Book of Three

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #36 Companion HERE!

The youth Taran lives at Caer Dallben with his guardians, the ancient enchanter Dallben and the farmer and retired soldier Coll . He is dissatisfied with his life, and longs to become a great hero like the High Prince Gwydion . Due to the threat posed by a warlord known as the Horned King, Taran is forbidden from leaving the farm and charged with the care of Hen Wen, the oracular white pig. When the pig escapes, Taran follows her into the forbidden forest. After a long, fruitless chase he is attacked by a host of horsemen galloping toward his home, led by the Horned King himself. He manages to escape, but drops, wounded, to the ground. He awakes to find his wound treated by none other than Gwydion, the crown prince in Prydain’s ruling House of Dôn (, who has been traveling to Caer Dallben to consult Hen Wen. Gwydion, determined to find the pig, takes Taran along with him. Guided by Gurgi , a hairy humanoid living in the forest, they reach the Horned King’s camp, and learn that his target will be Caer Dathyl , the home castle of the House of Dôn. Gwydion determines to warn the royal court, but the group is attacked before that can happen…

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we discuss the Book of Three, the first book in Lloyd Alexander’s  Prydain series and pair it up with Beyond the Black Gate!

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News: April Contest Winners

Our April contest theme was “Gonzo”, an anything goes sort of category. We were wholly unprepared for the amount of submissions that we would receive. Seriously, we will have content from the April entries popping up for a long time because…Wow! Several folks certainly wanted to be sure of a win and avalanche of content was the result (we should have contests more often). After being up all night, the drawing is finally done and soon I will enter the Prize Closet of Mysterytm to select our runner up’s prize.

As rolled at random, our winners are

1st Place – Daniel J Bishop’s The Altar of Woeful Consumption
* 1 copy of Super No. 1 Food Tower
* 1 sheet of pregen characters

2nd Place – Ian Shears’ Patron spell, Infernal Voice
* To be determined by the Prize Closet of Mysterytm

Look for these fantastic entries in upcoming Sanctum Secorum Companions!

Sanctum Secorum #34 – The Face in the Frost

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #34 Companion HERE!

  Prospero, a tall, skinny misfit of a wizard, lives in the South Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Along with his necromancer friend Roger Bacon, who has been on a quest to find a mysterious book, Prospero must flee his home to escape ominous pursuers. Thus begins an adventure that will lead him to a grove where his old rival, Melichus, is falsely rumored to be buried and to a less-than-hospitable inn in the town of Five Dials—and ultimately into a dangerous battle with origins in a magical glass paperweight.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we look at a work by John Bellairs, The Face in the Frost and match it up with Michael Curtis’ Emirikol was Framed!

 

 

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News: March Contest Winners!

As rolled at random, our winners are

1st Place – Anton Wilsbach’s Illumination
* 1 copy of Super No. 1 Food Tower
* 1 sheet of pregen characters

2nd Place – Ian Shears’ Sunbolt
* 1 copy of DAW 373 The Keeper’s Price by Marion Zimmer Bradley and the Friends of Darkover

Honorable Mention – Christopher Lee’s Drain Vitality
* 1 copy of Ghost Ships, Gales & Forgotten Tales (straight from Bob Brinkman’s maritime research library)

Look for these fantastic entries in the next Sanctum Secorum Companion!