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Tales from the Sanctum

Card Catalog

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.

Sanctum Secorum Reading Room – Tuesday, Dec 20 at 9pm EST

The Keepers of Mysteries return to the Goodman Games Twitch channel with an all-new live show on Tuesday, December 20th at 9pm! Join Jen and Bob Brinkman as they take a deep dive into the progenitors and contemporaries of Appendix N.

Burn, Witch, Burn! by Abraham Merritt isn’t specifically listed on Appendix N, but certainly is an important work by this often overlooked author. As a writer, Merritt drew upon the works of earlier authors (such as Gertrude Barrows Bennett) to create dreamlike words and sinister antagonists.

Join us as we close out the 1st Season of the Sanctum Secorum Reading Room, with our trademark discussions plus a number of listener giveaways – including a very special giveaway sponsored by Levi Combs and Planet X Games. Come for the Appendix N, stay for the holiday giveaways!

Enter the Sanctum Secorum… and be inspired.

And the Winners Are…..

Wow! What a great response to our contest! Thank you to everyone who submitted their entry. We only wish that we had tons of free books to give away instead of pounds (but that require the Prize Storage Unit of Mystery).

Our domestic/US winner, recipient of a box of over 10 lbs (this killed our mailing scale) of vintage sci-fi/fantasy books is…. Brian Tieman. Brian should have his prize in a few days, in time for the holidays.

As previously announced, the overseas prize was different, due to shipping costs. While we couldn’t send oodles and oodles of paperbacks, we wanted to send out something that was really special. In the end, we think that the prize is pretty cool.

Our overseas winner is David Gallico, who receives a copy of The Shrouded Grimoire (#9 of 10). This is currently the only copy of the book’s limited run to be outside the US! Sorry David, but barring a true miracle, it is going to take a bit longer for your prize to get there. Still, we hope that you’ll find it worth the wait.

Now then, if you didn’t win, never fear! There is more to come on the next episode of the Sanctum Secorum Reading Room – Tuesday Dec 20th. The Prize Closet of Mystery is not yet done with the holiday season!

  • First, we have last month’s giveaway to announce. One lucky winner will be getting Robin Wayne Bailey’s Swords Against the Shadowland and William Hope Hodgeson’s The House on the Borderland.
  • In honor of the current Kickstarter from Planet X Games, An Occurance at Howling Crater, Levi Combs will be joining us to help us give away a (for now) mystery package of Sci-fi/Fantasy novels and comic books to one lucky live viewer.
  • Of course we will be announcing our next giveaway for January.
  • Finally, one second chance entry will be drawn with the recipient receiving a copy of Keeper Bob’s favorite science fiction novel, Armor, by John Steakley. Perfect to provide inspiration for your next Star Crawl session, with plenty of great ideas to draw from, this is the book of which Bob has said “Out-Heinlein’s Heinlein for the Starship Troopers concept” (Bob rereads the book annually, so he may be a smidge biased).

So many giveaways!

Regardless of which holiday(s) you celebrate, best wishes of the season to you from us at the the Sanctum Secorum. We look forward to seeing you in a few short days for more discussions, more giveaways, and more fun!

Holiday Contest Entries Due TOMORROW – Dec 15

As a reminder, entries are due by December 15th. So, a few days remain to enter…


We here at the Sanctum Secorum love a good holiday giveaway as much as the next bibliophile. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Festivus, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Winter Solstice, Wolfnoote, or something else – we want to help someone celebrate big time.

So, straight from the Prize Closet of Mystery comes 12 lbs. (5.4+ kg) of books – give or take a few ounces. Weighing it angered our postal scale and there is no one in the library willing to grab the package and step on a regular scale right after Thanksgiving.

For the BIG box, winners must be in the US. HOWEVER….

One lucky winner overseas will win their own surprise package from the Prize Closet of Mystery (details are still “under wraps” but we think any DCC fan will be quite excited witht he prize package….).

How can you enter? All one needs to do is drop an email to thehub@sanctum.media with the subject line “Holiday Contest” and please include your name and mailing address. The deadline for entry is December 15th.

Those listening to our live show on Tuesday Dec 20th, never fear, there will be ANOTHER box giveaway (albeit a bit smaller) for the live audience.

As always, no purchase necessary (or really, even possible), contest is void where prohibited.

Holiday Contest Entries Due Dec 15

As a reminder, entries are due by December 15th. So, a few days remain to enter…


We here at the Sanctum Secorum love a good holiday giveaway as much as the next bibliophile. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Festivus, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Winter Solstice, Wolfnoote, or something else – we want to help someone celebrate big time.

So, straight from the Prize Closet of Mystery comes 12 lbs. (5.4+ kg) of books – give or take a few ounces. Weighing it angered our postal scale and there is no one in the library willing to grab the package and step on a regular scale right after Thanksgiving.

For the BIG box, winners must be in the US. HOWEVER….

One lucky winner overseas will win their own surprise package from the Prize Closet of Mystery (details are still “under wraps” but we think any DCC fan will be quite excited witht he prize package….).

How can you enter? All one needs to do is drop an email to thehub@sanctum.media with the subject line “Holiday Contest” and please include your name and mailing address. The deadline for entry is December 15th.

Those listening to our live show on Tuesday Dec 20th, never fear, there will be ANOTHER box giveaway (albeit a bit smaller) for the live audience.

As always, no purchase necessary (or really, even possible), contest is void where prohibited.

Holiday Contest from the Prize Closet of Mystery!


We here at the Sanctum Secorum love a good holiday giveaway as much as the next bibliophile. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Festivus, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Winter Solstice, Wolfnoote, or something else – we want to help someone celebrate big time.

So, straight from the Prize Closet of Mystery comes 12 lbs. (5.4+ kg) of books – give or take a few ounces. Weighing it angered our postal scale and there is no one in the library willing to grab the package and step on a regular scale right after Thanksgiving.

For the BIG box, winners must be in the US. HOWEVER….

One lucky winner overseas will win their own surprise package from the Prize Closet of Mystery (details are still being worked out but, due to shipping costs, contents will vary based on the recipient’s home country).

How can you enter? All one needs to do is drop an email to thehub@sanctum.media with the subject line “Holiday Contest” and please include your name and mailing address. The deadline for entry is December 15th.

Those listening to our live show on Tuesday Dec 20th, never fear, there will be ANOTHER box giveaway (albeit a bit smaller) for the live audience.

As always, no purchase necessary (or really, even possible), contest is void where prohibited.

News: May & June Contest Winners

Our May contest theme was “Maps”, and during the entirety of the contest, we received only a single entry. In the end, there was no need for a random roll.

1st Place – Marc Elsenheimer – The Fate of the Ruthless Wizard

You can find Marc’s entry in Sanctum Secorum Companion #34.

June was our final month and every bit of art entered during the contest was given a chance to win. It was another big drawing and, in the end, we decided to award the main prize to THREE people. Our June winners are:

1st Place (tie): Tom Wendt – The Dreadnaught
1st Place (tie): Mario Garcia – Drowning Man
1st Place (tie): Mars Homeworld – Wishler

You can find all three of those entries in Sanctum Secorum Companion #37.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this contest. It has been a doozy of a ride and we are working on getting the last of the prize packages shipped out. There were so many entries that we will be featuring more of them in the upcoming months. Keep a sharp eye out for them.

As for what the future holds? We expect to announce our next contest in December so, keep an eye out!

Sanctum Secorum #37 – The Maker of Universes

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #37 Companion HERE!

The story follows Robert Wolff, a man disenchanted with his life and his marriage. One day, while looking at a new house, Wolff discovers a strange horn in the basement. Blowing the horn, Wolff is transported to a strange new world, the World of Tiers. Wolff finds himself initially in an edenic paradise known as Okeanos. This region is the first level of the planet, which contains a number of tiers like a wedding cake, separated by vast mountain ranges. The entire planet is ruled over by a cruel and mysterious lord named Jadawin, who created it. Okeanos consists of a beach, an ocean, and a small forest and is populated by nymph-like humans who originated in and near ancient Greece. In this new world, Wolff regains his youth and vigor and falls in love with a local woman named Chryseis who lived in Troy at the time of the Trojan War.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we discuss the Maker of Universes, the first book in Philip José Farmer’s World of Tiers series and pair it up with The Dread God Al-Khazadar.

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News: May Contest Information

The first round of winners was declared, their monsters triumphant!
The second round of winners was heralded for their character classes ascendant!
The third round of winners was announced, their spells truly phlogistonic!
The fourth round of winners reported, their creativity having run amok!
Now we move on to round five of ….

Sanctum Secorum’s
Super Number 1 Contest!!

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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 #35 – Hundra

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #35 Companion HERE!

Born in a tribe of fierce warrior women, Hundra has been raised to despise the influence of men. An archer, fighter and sword fighter, Hundra is superior to any male. Hundra finds her family slain and takes a vow of revenge until one day she meets her match.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we discuss the 1983 film Hundra and pair it up with The Trolls of Mistwood!

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