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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 #49 – The Charwoman’s Shadow

Tonight the Keepers of Mystery discuss a work by Lord Dunsany, The Charwoman’s Shadow. Published in 1926, before the term “fantasy” had ever been used to describe the genre.

An old woman who spends her days scrubbing the floors might be an unlikely damsel in distress, but Lord Dunsany proves once again his mastery of the fantastical. The Charwoman’s Shadow is a beautiful tale of a sorcerer’s apprentice who discovers his master’s nefarious usage of stolen shadows, and vows to save the charwoman from her slavery.

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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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Sanctum Secorum #40 – A Martian Odyssey

Get the free Sanctum Secorum #40 Companion HERE!

Early in the 21st century, nearly twenty years after the invention of atomic power and ten years after the first lunar landing, the four-man crew of the Ares has landed on Mars in the Mare Cimmerium. A week after the landing, Dick Jarvis, the ship’s American chemist, sets out south in an auxiliary rocket to photograph the landscape. Eight hundred miles out, the engine on Jarvis’ rocket gives out, and he crash-lands into one of the Thyle regions. Rather than sit and wait for rescue, Jarvis decides to walk back north to the Ares.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we turn our gaze to the red planet, Mars, while we discuss Stanley A. Weinbaum’s, A Martian Odyssey.

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Sanctum Secorum #39b – Halloween 2018

Get the free Sanctum Secorum Appendix N(ightmares) HERE!

It has been far too long since the Sanctum Secorum unleashed a special, holiday episode. So, just in time for Halloween, the Keepers of Mysteries present a trio of sinister stories pulled from the pages of Tales from the Magician’s Skull. Each macabre story is paired with its own adventure, to help you cause even the boldest player to shudder.

Issue #0, “The Way of Serpents” by Howard Andrew Jones.
The story begins with the hero, Hanuvar, as a captive of a kingdom of islanders. A great raid is coming and Hanuvar is offered his freedom if he will travel to the lair of the great winged serpent and ask it to recall an ancient bargain to protect the kingdom.

Issue #1, “There Was an Old Fat Spider” by C. L. Werner.
Karl, a penniless trapper, comes across the ultimate trap. He befriends it to do his bidding, studying its feeding cycles and leading those who’ve bullied him the most straight into its lair. Losing livestock was bothersome, but when people start going missing, Rudolph, Beastcatcher Royal, is sent to the hamlet to investigate.

Issue #2, “Stolen Witness” by James Enge.
When a pair of thains of the sorcerous order of the Graith of Guardians are discovered dead and the powerful relic they were set watch over known as the Witness Stone goes missing, Morlock Ambrosius, a low ranking member with a blemished past, is tasked to help with the investigation into the very highest members of the order itself. The task is not an easy one – the stone can be used by powerful seers to compel those who have touched it into acting on their behalf, even wiping the memories of those under its sway. And little does Morlock suspect that the Defender brought in by the order to solve the crime, Naevros syr Tol, hopes to use him as bait to lure the various suspects into revealing the true thief…

In addition to a special show with a special format, the Sanctum Secorum’s library is pleased to unleash Appendix N(ightmares), a compilation PDF of every new monster presented within the pages of the Sanctum Secorum Companion ‘zine. This FREE PDF volume places more than 150 monsters at your fingertips, to terrify, befuddle, and perhaps even TPK your party.

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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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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 #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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