Sanctum Secorum

Skeeve, a magician's apprentice and wannabe thief from the dimension Klah, tries to learn the basics of magic from Master Magician Garkin for several months but to no avail. Skeeve can do little more than float a feather or light a candle using magic. Wanting to convince Skeeve that being a thief is not as good as being a magician, Garkin summons a demon. During the summoning an assassin barges into the hut, and Garkin and the assassin kill each other. Skeeve is left alone with the demon. To Skeeve's surprise the demon politely introduces himself as Aahz. Aahz explains that demon is slang for Dimension Traveler. He further explains that there are thousands of dimensions with different races in them, and that he is from the dimension of Perv, making Aahz a Pervect, while Skeeve is a Klahd. Aahz is a master magician like Garkin but loses his magical powers during the summoning ritual (due to a practical joke played on him by Garkin) and becomes stranded in Klah. Aahz volunteers to take Skeeve on as his apprentice and teach him magic. The pair then embark on a series of misadventures as they try to evade more assassins trailing Skeeve.

The third story in Clark Ashton Smith’s Averoigne cycle, the story takes place in the fictional French town of Averoigne. Much as Lovecraft based Arkham on Boston, Clark Ashton Smith’s Averoigne is based on the very real Auvergne region. Even more closely tying this story to our previous episode, H P Lovecraft wrote a story “Out of the Aeons” that also intertwines with this fictional province as have a number of other authors. In addition, on the gaming front, the Dungeons and Dragons module X2 (Castle Amber) by the great Tom Moldvay contains numerous references to Averoigne. Certainly this is a region filled with potential. All told Clark Ashton Smith left us with eighteen pieces, some incomplete, others mere outlines, of events transpiring in this area. The story itself involves a stonecutter, shunned and feared by the people of the area, whose affections towards a local girl are spurned, if she recognizes he exists at all. Hired to create a pair of gargoyles for the new cathedral, he cuts two pieces of true masterwork but, in doing so, pours all of his negativity, hatred and lust into their creation. Infused with these black emotions, thegargoyles come to life and wreak havoc leaving death in their wake.

H. P. Lovecraft was a master of pulp horror and, love him or hate him, his influence on modern culture cannot be ignored. Name-dropped by such authors as Stephen King and Robert Bloch; referenced on such television programs as The Night Gallery, The Venture Brothers, and Supernatural; and influential in comics such as Bat-Man (yes, Arkham Asylum really was a nod to Lovecraft) Lovecraft’s reach is long indeed. His communication and collaboration with other greats such as Robert E Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and the rest of the “Lovecraft Circle” have shaped fantasy and horror for generations. Tonight we merely skim the surface, discussing two of Lovecraft’s works, delving into the squamous side of things we discuss Dagon and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

"The "Book of Eibon," the creation of Clark Ashton Smith, ranks behind Lovecraft's "Necronomicon" as a shunned repository of mystical horrors surviving blasphemously from elder eons. Not content with his own and Lovecraft's citations of the Book, Smith actually wrote two chapters of it, his famous stories "The Door to Saturn" and "The Coming of the White Worm." Lin Carter knew a good thing when he saw it and decided that it would be fun to write and read the remaining Eibonic chapters. He did not live to finish the Book, but others took up the challenge, supplying more of the droll yet frightening episodes, as well as various liturgical and magical arcana the Book of Eibon was said to contain. A Mythos grimoire-- a work of horror, humor, and genuine poetic power. "    * *Opening description from the YSDC Cthulhu Wiki

There's a traveling man the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him. Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age.

William Blackhorse Singer is the Star Tracker -- an expert in the pursuit and capture of exotic life forms. The last warrior of the Navajo people, he is a man out of time and place, adrift in an uncertain future. And now he must join forces with an enemy shapeshifter called Cat -- the lone surviving member of an extinct alien race -- to track down and eliminate a dangerous extraterrestrial assassin. For Singer, it is a costly collaboration. For once the killer is disposed of, the true hunt is to begin: a relentless and deadly chase across worlds and into the heart of ancient mysteries...with the hunter as prey.

Colin Songsmith sings a song to an old witch who takes an unlikely revenge. The witch’s granddaughter rescues him from the dire threat of being eaten alive by the cat. She hears the song, which happens to concern her recently married sister and a gypsy. Convinced that she has to save her sister, she takes the minstrel, the cat, and her magical resources to Rowan Castle. The story is rich with descriptive details of setting and encounters with magical and fantastic creatures such as a talking cat, a lovesick dragon, and a bear prince.

The haunted, treacherous and doomed albino sorcerer-prince is one of the great creations of modern fantasy. An introspective weakling in thrall to his soul-eating sword, Stormbringer, he is yet a hero whose bloody adventures and wanderings lead inexorably to his decisive intervention in the war between the forces of Law and Chaos. A fantasy classic, Elric of Melniboné is an exceptional fantasy icon of violence, power, politics and war and his tales make up a fantasy masterpiece.   Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. In this episode, we examine the first book in a series that is regarded as one of the most influential sword-and-sorcery resources among Appendix N. Many thanks to Kevin Searle for the suggestion! In addition, we have bonus content to bring to your game: patrons, classes, and so much more..

A special treat for Halloween, a pair of tales by Poe. Edgar Allan Poe was an America's first master of the macabre. A poet, editor, and literary critic he is best known for his tales of dark mystery and sinister goings on. Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Poe's influence is felt, even today, in literature throughout the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. He inspired countless authors to follow (perhaps most notably H. P. Lovecraft) and the Mystery Writers of America present an annual award known as the Edgar Award for distinguished work in the mystery genre. Tonight we discuss two of Poe's best known thrillers. Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. In this episode (as suggested by Joseph Goodman) we examine two of the works by Proto-Appendix N author Edgar Allen Poe, with The Cask of Amantillado and Masque of the Red Death.

Most humans on Earth live in a small number of elaborate, high-tech castles as idle aristocrats primarily concerned with aesthetics, pastimes and questions of honor and etiquette. Only a small minority of humans live free lives outside of the castles, and are considered barbaric by the inhabitants of the castles. Various alien races serve the latter.    One day, one of those slave races, the Meks, revolt and start besieging the castles. One by one, the castles fall and their residents are killed, until only Castle Hagedorn is left. Most of the decadent castle denizens choose to ignore the danger. One of them, Xanten, decides to fight the Meks and searches for allies inside as well as outside the castle.   Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. In this episode we examine one of the works by renowned Appendix N author Jack Vance, with The Last Castle. In addition, we have bonus content to bring to your game: classes, monsters, weapons, and more…

The invasion of the hallucinogenic people from Underearth! They had existed from time immemorial, hidden in a space warp far beneath the surface of the earth. Until now, their only form of nourishment had been a strange hallucinogenic grain. Now, they hungered for human flesh. The earth was to be their stockyards and mankind, their meat…   Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. In our inaugural episode we dive right into the depths of Appendix N, discussing The Shadow People by Margaret St.Clair.   In addition, we have bonus content to bring to your game: creatures, weapons, audio files and so much more…

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast.  Enter... And be inspired.