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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 Companion #35

Work continues on our latest Sanctum Secorum Companion. Yes…continues. We received so many contest entries for April that we are STILL counting to see how many entries we actually have so we can figure out our winners. With some of the entries as lengthy as they are, our latest issue overflows with content. We literally cannot fit it all into one sanely-sized companion ‘zine (we stopped at 30 pages because…wow) so look for lots more content to be spilling into our next issue.

Sanctum Secorum Companion #35 – Coming Soon!

Bearmageddon: Bear Crab

The new Kickstarter for Bears Want to Kill You has already surpassed its funding requirement and is in to stretch goal territory. Next up a fold out illustration and, after that, a slipcase for the hardcover edition. If there is one thing that we DCC folks go crazy for, it is slipcases! Let’s try to make this happen!

In the meantime, we continue to build on our partnership with Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle in an effort to warn of the impending bearmageddon as well as bring nightmarish inspiration to your DCC table.

Bear Crab
“The bear crab has been scientifically proven to give more nightmares than any other creature.”
     – Dickinson Killdeer, Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse

These crustaceans are ocean dwelling in nature and are dependent on salt water to survive. Magically constructed, bear crabs have no organs but their brains, hearts and gills. They are incredibly hard to kill and are considered by some to be immortal.

Bear crab: Init +2; Atk bite +6 melee (1d10) or claw +4 melee (3d5); AC 22; HD 8d10; MV 20’; Act 2d20; SP regeneration, immune to crits; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3; AL C.

 Regeneration: The bear crab regenerates 5 hit points per round.

 

 

Bear crab (both art and concept) are the creation of Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle (@axecop) and is used with his kind permission. These, and a slew of other ursine horrors can be found in the pages of Bearmageddon as well as within Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse.

Bears Want to Kill you – Pledge Now!

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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Bearmageddon: Bear Bat

Celebrating the new Kickstarter for Bears Want to Kill You, we continue to build on our partnership with Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle in an effort to warn of the impending bearmageddon as well as bring nightmarish inspiration to your DCC table.

Bear bat
“The Nocturnal bear bat is known for its massive black leathery wings. Bear bats cannot see very well in light and have sensitive ears that can follow the echoes of their roars. The creatures sleep in large caves or hollowed out buildings while hanging upside down. They sleep in groups of ten or more.”
     – Dickinson Killdeer, Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse

These fierce and feared creatures descend from the night sky on leathery wings to bring chaos and death in their wake. Even their cubs are known for their especial cruelty, carrying humans aloft only to drop them screaming earthward to their deaths. Frequently encountered in groups of ten or more (referred to as “devastations”) these creatures are reputed to have been magically engineered by a mad wizard determined to commit suicide in the most horrific manner imaginable. If the legend is true, it appears that he succeeded.

Bear bat: Init +3; Atk bite +4 melee (1d14 + poison) or grab +2 melee (1d10 + grab); AC 15; HD 8d8; MV 40’ or fly 60’; Act 1d20; SP breath weapon, poison; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3; AL C.

Breath weapon: These arcane horrors produce chloroform, which coats their teeth. Once per round a bear bat may exhale at a target within 5′. The victim must make a DC 10 Fort save or be groggy for 1d3 rounds and suffer a -1d penalty to all actions.

Grab: Victims grabbed by the bear bat must succeed in a DC 18 Strength check to break free. While the victim is held, the bear bat automatically hits with its bite attacks.

Poison: Victims bitten by the bear bat must succeed in a DC 15 Fort save or be knocked unconscious for 2d6 rounds and, after waking, continue to be groggy for an additional 1d3 turns.

Bear bat (both art and concept) are the creation of Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle (@axecop) and is used with his kind permission. These, and a slew of other ursine horrors can be found in the pages of Bearmageddon as well as within Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse.

Bears Want to Kill you – Pledge Now!

News: Bears Want to Kill You!

Many use the term “gonzo” when speaking of DCC RPG. It is part of the embraced culture and there are some really great gonzo content creators out there for DCC and beyond. Outside of DCC, there is one name that stands above them all. A man who created a web comic, that went on to be a television series…featuring a character who did things like this…

Axe Cop and Wexter on the Moon ©  Ethan Nicolle and available HERE

Yes, that is a cop, wielding an axe, riding on a T-rex with chain gun arms, killing aliens on the moon. Do we have your attention yet??!?!

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News: D.A.M.N. Kickstarter

We here at Sanctum put out a monthly e’zine. It is pretty simple and we’re fairly fond of it. That said, our little e’zine takes a great deal of work and we greatly respect the efforts of the other folks out there putting out dead-tree ‘zines, those that work in color, etc.

Paul Wolfe, of Mystic Bull, took on the Herculean task of reviving D.A.M.N. (DCC Adventure Magazine and News), that was originally released as an e’zine, and took it to print. He followed that with a second, massive issue that weighed in at 89 pages of content that spilled over to online content because it was bursting at the seams. Putting something like that together is a massive undertaking. Consider the amount of time that goes into something like a 16 page module – now realize that the issues CONTAIN full modules as part of their content. Right? That’s impressive.

Needless to say, it can be hard to publish something like this on a regular basis when doing all the work oneself. Now Mr. Wolfe is looking to bring in help for layout, editing, etc as well as expanding the amount of art for the magazine. With that in mind, D.A.M.N. is trying out a Kickstarter model for Volume 2: Issue #1.

If you enjoy the thought of a slick publication filled with DCC materials and news? This is certainly for you.

Yes, we’ve already pledged. Now it is your turn.

Back it HERE!

News: Sanctum Secorum Bonus Companion – Free RPG Day 2017

Created as a “best of” item to give away at the table of a select few judges,  you too can now grab the Sanctum Secorum’s Free RPG Day 2017 release. Files were sent out to a handful of judges around the country who were running tables for Free RPG Day. The only way to get it was to be at one of a very limited number of tables. Of course, this might signal that there might be something special to come as the road crew’s ranks swell with Guardian’s of Secrets.

Keep an eye out!

In the meantime – Get the free Sanctum Secorum #25b HERE!

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!