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The online gaming worlds now revolve around seasonal events. They transform routine playtime into something enchanted, joyful, and exciting that unites everyone. Envision discovering new surprises every day when you…

By Arman Bohn
Distropilis Goods
OSE
Levels 1-3

A town, overrun with rabbits and on the brink of starvation, offers its only clue to the source of its suffering: a book known  as the Tome of Tog. Locals claim the titular mage has been a nuisance for years. The pages of the book have been torn out, save for a map that leads the party on a winding, hallucinogenic path through a dense wood to the TOMB OF TOG.

This 24 page adventure presents eleven rooms in a wizards Challenge Dungeon. With Grimtoothian machinations the party faces snarky challenges with no rewards. As challenges go they are ok, but I loathe the subgenre and the suspension of pretext so much that it’s hard to say much nice about this.

 Yeah, so, arrogant wizard makes a challenge dungeon. You defeat all eight rooms, one for each school of magic. You then face the ninth school of magic. Your reward is a map to another Tog dungeon. That’s the ONLY reward. Good luck leveling. So, this is one of those “have an experience” hippy mork borg dungeon “activities” instead of a D&D adventure. If you’re in to this kind of shit, then, yeah you. I’m not. I want to play a game. A game in a campaign. And I’m using the words game and campaign very explicitly. I acknowledge, though, that a significant number of people DO engage in RPG’s as an activity. So, if you are a l000ser, is this adventure for you?

Yeah, I mean, probably. There’s no real pretext here for adventure other than “the wizard did it”, which is the lame ass meme. [And, as a rant, I would like to mention something here. “What happens when someone is gifted with a wellspring of power but is completely incompetent?” That’s not a fucking wizard. That’s one of those fuckwits who are born with power or make a pact with an entity to get power. Some kind of power fantasy YA novel bullshit crap where you’re A Special Flower. Wizards wrest knowledge from the universe through hard work. Also, wizard is my favorite of the three classes …] 

Ok, so, interactivity. You gotta go through each of the nine rooms. They each have some kind of challenge devised by the wizard. The challenges are going to be framed with a certain wryness. So, in the clearest example, to get in to the dungeon you have to answer a couple of riddles. The riddler begins with “ Here, we celebrate the glory of Tog the Inexorable, Tog the Impossible, Tog the Immutable, Tog the Intangible. Who is the greatest wizard of all?” The answer, of course, is Tog. That’s funny. Ok, humor is subjective and _I_ find it funny. There’s a bit of a wink from the designer in this. It never quite falls in to being a joke adventure, which are all shitty as fuck. It instead remains in the realm of those early adventures like Dungeon of the Bear and Grimtooth. Not in a deathtrap way, or punny way, but with a kind of hint toward both. 

The first room, “Illusion” is a good example. When you go in you are immediately turned invisible (and, of fucking course, the fucking door slams shut behind you. Fucking challenge dungeon bullshit.) Bound to the room is a VISIBLE stalker. Who is depressed. “Unable to see its victims, the creature has suffered countless humiliating encounters. It now uses small talk as both a form of therapy and a method to pinpoint the location of intruders.” It’s taken the normal encounter and kind of turned it ninety degrees, yes? Is it s a gimmick? Absolutely. But, it’s a challenge dungeon. 

The rest of the encounters replicate this kind of obtuse encounter type. Things are more than a bit askew in here. In terms of a challenge dungeon it is certainly in the realm, if we squint hard enough, of Tower of Gygax. The dungeon throws the players off balance in various ways, with a little (snark?) mixed in. I am MUCH more down for this type of challenge dungeon than a simple series of skill checks and combats. There is an air of Grimtooth room traps about the place. Not really traps, but in the setup of the rooms. And this includes a couple of meta things, like “Each player must secretly write down a single word describing their character’s current emotional state, without discussing it with the other players, and pass it to the GM.” Which then builds an Emotions Golem in the room. I always raise my eyebrows at the emo stuff, but this is a decent implementation of it.

Formatting is meh. The background of the pages are a beige parchment color with the text being light grey and the font something with some flourishes and varying stroke weight. This combines to make things harder than it should be to read the thing, but it’s not impossible. When some words show up in italics it’s a pain though, given this combination. There tends to be a little read-aloud section offset in a darker grey, and then a longish section of DM text that explains the room, with several very short paragraphs following that expand on things. It does an ok job, a little subpar, and is on the edge of being a pain but not quite there, especially given the obtuse nature of the rooms. 

So it’s a challenge dungeon, maybe most similar to White Plume with just a little meta and snark thrown in. Maybe “the California Style” will be recognizable, and never really goes full on jokey or too meta. I’m allergic to all challenge dungeons, but if I were looking for one for a one shot sort of thing as an activity this one WOULD come to mind, chiefly because of the askew nature of the challenges.

This is $8 at DriveThru. The preview is eight spread pages (the PDF is spreads also. ARG!) so you get about thirteen pages of content, enough to show a large portion of the dungeon. A brief perusal will show the Grimtooth Rooms as diagrams, and the PDF is more than apt in showing you what to expect, so good preview.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/573505/tomb-of-tog?1892600

Proud Keoland is the oldest of the human nations of the Flanaess. Though diminished from its greatest glory, its rulers never bowed to lords of the Aerdi in the Great Kingdom. Its warriors have been successful in the main in protecting the land from invaders, though they have been powerless against the folly of its kings.

Keoland's origins are in the migrations following the war between Ancient Suel and Baklunish. Suloise refugees, harried by the humanoid warbands and reavers of their own people, fled across the Crystalmists and settled in the fertile basin formed by Sheldomar and Javan Rivers. The Flannae population of the region was small, owing to the depredations of the humanoids and a plague brought by earlier waves of Suloise fleeing war and destruction. The remnant Flannae and scattered demihumans were pushed to the fringes by the newcomers who sought to create a unified Suel kingdom but were thwarted by conflict with others and their own fractiousness.

In another century, Oeridian Keogha tribes swept into the region, scattering the encircling humanoid tribes. The Oeridians came in friendship to the Suloise and demihumans alike, but they brooked no disagreement with their intention to share the land between the rivers, and they expanded rapidly, soon claiming hegemony over all the human settlements, as they began to intermingle with the Suel peoples.

Eventually a monarchy was declared with the old Suloise town of Niole Dra as its capital. Over time, it would come to dominate the entire basin. This was not accomplished solely through conquest, however. Keoish kings shrewdly made allies of the demihuman lands Ulek and Celene.

The people came to embrace Nomism in the main (though pockets of folk religion still exist). In fact, it is possible the belief system may have coalesced here with the blending of Suel and Oeridian beliefs. Saint Cuthbert is the patron deity of Keoland, and the land's churches are adherent to Velunan doctrines and traditions.

Periodically over the centuries, Keoish kings have succumbed to dreams of empire. Such ambitions have tended to fare poorly beyond the two rivers. Indeed, Keoish entanglements elsewhere allowed the Sea Princes to gain a foothold to the South and lost the kingdom control of the Yeomanry. 

Though Keoland is currently at peace with its neighbors, it may be that it is being weakened by enemies from within. The ancient and entrenched noble houses game and scheme to see their house ascend the throne. Humanoid bands and human renegades lurk within the Dreadwood and the expansive [as in bigger than Ireland!] Hool Marsh. The coastal marshes rely on a brisk smuggling trade and secretly deal with the piratical Sea Princes.

Keoland's real world inspirations are perhaps not as distinct as many of the eras in the Aerdian East. The Mediterranean climate suggested by Anne Meyer's maps brought to mind for me the Iberian Peninsula. That might make the Keoish Oeridians the Vandals/Visigoths. On the other hand, it's position on the map, and its use of light cavalry reminiscent of the turcopoles are reminiscent of Byzantine Empire.

Welcome to Day 17 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Intensity (Prompt) + Instinct (Weekly Modifier) + Fair of Face (Weekly Modifier) + Superhero (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Orothos (Fantasy Name Generator used for the name: Superhero name generator)

When a hero needs to know whether a person is telling the truth, they call upon an old ally in the city: Orothos. He appears as an older man wearing a worn-out white blazer and a painted porcelain mask of a fair-faced young man, holding court in his private room at the Ruby Club.

Some say he was once a celebrated hero; others insist he is a retired criminal. No one is quite sure, but Orothos is known for his wit and uncanny powers of observation. The intensity of his words disarms the most hardened individuals, and his instincts rarely fail. He never tortures or physically harms those he interrogates. Instead, through conversation and sheer will, he sifts through the lies to uncover the truth.

Orothos’ abilities are indeed unnatural. He can peer into the souls of those he speaks with to determine their sincerity. However, every time he uses this power, the person wearing the mask ages preternaturally. This is because Orothos is not the man, but the mask itself—the ceramic vessel for the spirit of a former hero.

He wants to escape his porcelain prison but has not deciphered how to do so in all his years of captivity. He uses his investigative powers to maintain contact with the city’s hero community, hoping someone might eventually help him find a way out. Until then, he changes host bodies whenever his current wearer grows too old to continue.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who Night: The Daleks, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Andy Mangels returns for a deep‑dive into his decades as a comics historian, writer, and editor, bringing fans more behind‑the‑scenes stories from one of the industry’s most knowledgeable voices.

A conversation with Peter Kuper on his bold political art, Kafka adaptations, and nearly three decades of Spy vs. Spy.

Last year, at the suggestion of a friend, I hunted up a copy of the RPG Legendary Lives (Second Edition, 1993) by Joe Williams and Kathleen Williams. Published by Marquee Press, which I believe was the Williams' imprint.

This is a hell of a book. I mean... it's of a time. It's a wonderful example of desktop publishing and early 90s RPG design. It has many, many flaws. It has difficult material that, for that time, felt perfectly OK... just fantasy stuff. But in 2026 having a "gypsy" as a race template is quite problematic at best. But all that being said, it's a hell of a book and I'd like to talk about it a little.

"In Legendary Lives™, you'll play a hero in a fantastic realm of epic adventure." says the back cover. It boasts 26 races, an open-ended magic system, and emphasis on fast action and storytelling. It also boasts that it is the first game to have player-facing dice rolls. But they don't call it that, they call it "semi-diceless", meaning that the GM doesn't roll anything. An innovation, it seems. I'm unaware of earlier games that had this baked into the rules.

For characters, you pick a race, generate or assign stats to a healthy list of attributes, make adjustments, pick skills, and roll 1d20 to resolve tasks. Pretty standard stuff for RPG design of the time.

You have a bunch of races like nethermen, foresters, witches, and hillfolk. The term "race" is used loosely here, which I think is kinda nice. Who ever heard of the "race of foresters"? But I think maybe each race is linked to a region of the world, which means race encompasses culture. If this was made in 2026, they might go with heritage instead, which would be a better fit.

There are also a bunch of character types, such as shaman, sorcerer, bard, knight, etc. So you end up with a netherman sorcerer or a nomad spy. 

The magic is nice. There's a list of 16 or so spells that, like Ars Magica, are very broad in application. If you have the Illusion spell, then you can make all sorts of illusions. You describe what you want to accomplish and the referee (they use that dreadful term... oh well, I can just change it to Legendeer) decides how much it would cost. If that cost is more than your current spell points, you can't do it. Spell points are equal to your skill level with the spell. 

The book has a chunky section about religions and cults. A hell of a lot more than you would expect, which is pretty awesome. This kind of stuff is spread out through the game from the races, types, magic, and the setting material itself. So the world is baked right in, but not heavily. It's a game you could play in a generic world or some other setting, with a little trivial effort.

Unfortunately it doesn't appear that the game is available for purchase or download anymore. I got my copy via eBay. But here's the official website and it has links to a bunch of adventures and resources for the game. I think there was a lot of love for it, at least for a time, and at least among a small cadre of gamers.  

I've spoken about my love for Bryan Baugh's work before in this post. But he needs to be officially immortalized in my Artists I Like series.

Baugh hits the dark, campy, Halloween horror vibe like a champion. His Wulf and Batsy comic is delicious. But I already said this in my other post from 2023. But some of the links in that post are now dead, so here's where you should go to find his work: Instagram and Bryan Baugh's Monster Art and Comics.

I have a confession to make, and a public apology to provide. Keiggy’s work was a big motivation behind creating this series of interviews with Puerto Rican creatives. I saw her work, including the Reusable Character Sheet (see below), at Sekaiju Con last January. I had also seen her content at Dungeons & Dragons Puerto Rico and thought, “I’d like to interview her so I can share her work.”  

You can see the picture I took that day below!

Then I started planning, sent interview requests to people, and I thought I had sent one to her.

I never did… Shame! (GOT Style) Despite my oversight, Keiggy was graceful enough to answer my questions. Let me share her responses with you.

Introduce yourself! Who are you and what do you create?

Hiya, I’m Keiggy! I’ve been creating characters and stories for as long as I can remember! Right now, I mainly design merchandise based on games I like, and I’m also working on a graphic novel.

How would you describe your art or creative endeavor?

I’m extremely drawn (hehe) to the concept of creating in and of itself. More accurately, the idea of bringing my characters and worlds to life motivates me to create, to will things into existence, with my own hands, heart, and mind. I always put an absurd amount of thought into the most minute details of a subject (be it as individual as a character or as broad as a world’s history) until I can feel as though I could exist beside it. I like to think this is noticeable enough in the artwork I put out… and in my wordiness, too.

How did you discover TTRPGs?

I can’t exactly recall when I discovered TTRPGs, but I do have a bit of history with some aspects of them from my earlier internet days. Growing up, I was a huuuge fan of Zelda, The Lord of the Rings movies, and my earliest introduction to turn-based RPGs was Paper Mario 64! Later, I played Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light for the DS. I was enthralled and immediately endeared to the party members, their struggles, and their dynamics.

At the same time, I was extremely active on deviantART back in 2009-2012. During that time, I made friends with someone who introduced me to text-based RP. Back then, it was a back-and-forth of replies to comment threads or dA’s (deviantART) chatrooms, all in simple script style for the most part. From there, I sort of “DM’d” a story for both of us to RP, taking narrative elements and dynamics from the games and stories I liked.

As for TTRPGs themselves, I knew Critical Role was a thing at some point, but… I personally had no interest in it! That said, I loved watching people go crazy about it, and I adored listening to the adventures people were having in their own games. Dialogue-heavy, ever-evolving stories AND game mechanics sounded super enticing, but finding a group to play with took years!

Do you actively play TTRPG? What are you playing?

I do! Though life’s been hectic, we still find time to play at least once a week. We only play D&D, but I’m open to trying different systems! Though I’ve only been playing for about 4?? years, I’ve taken part in 5 ongoing campaigns… one of which I’m DMing!

What do you want to play next?

Daggerheart calls to me, maybe Pathfinder.

What projects are available, and what are you working on next?

Currently, I’m working on a couple of things! As far as TTRPGs go—DnD, namely—I’m trying to incorporate practicality and “game-enhancing” elements into the merch I make. Last year, I debuted my Reusable Character Sheets! These combine a few things: double-sided accordion-style bookbinding techniques, a need for compact and accessible design, and something that can be unique to your character, or versatile to any number of PCs. This project has been a labor of love and a whole bunch of effort between me and my partner, and I’m so insanely grateful for the reception they’ve got at local events!  Each one is 100% handmade, and your support helps us work out kinks and perfect the design over time!

As a DM, I’ve gotten a real good taste of game and mechanic design, and I’ve been heavily considering making modules, monsters, magic items, and supplements… This is still just an idea, though. We’ll see where it goes!

Outside of DnD, I’ve been working on rebooting my former web-only comic series, “Auraria”. Initially released in 2020, this story centers on three young men and their struggle to survive and face a civil war in a pseudo-Victorian world. The first 29 chapters are available to read on Webtoon Canvas. That said, the reboot seeks to rewrite, re-contextualize, and reformat the comic for print and independent publishing! So, while I would appreciate it if people read the original release, note that much of it will be very different in the future!

Where can people get your project?

You can keep up with me on most social media under the same name! My most active account is Instagram @keiggy ! I share my art and announce which events I’ll be attending soon. I also recently opened my online store (keiggy.bigcartel.com), where you can find a selection of my D&D Character Sheets! Custom orders will be available again soon, too!

Any closing thoughts?

TTRPGs are such a uniquely cool way to express creativity, especially when you think you don’t have it in you. It’s so easy to just MAKE and share the fruits of your labor—whether it’s through physically crafting, telling stories, or making busted character builds from scratch—with others, to forge bonds and memories, and celebrate all of that as a community… It’s a genuinely incredible aspect of humanity, and one that should be treasured during rough times. I want to inspire others to think of games this way.

Thank you for allowing me to speak my mind!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your creativity.

I’m still looking for Boricua creatives who live on the island or in the diaspora, with ties to TTRPG gaming through their art, the games they play, or their interest. If you are one, or know one you’d like to recommend, please reach out to me here on the blog or through my socials.  

I appreciate you coming by and reading this. See you soon!

 A combined d100 table detailing encounters and salvaged treasures within the subterranean ruins of The Lost Serpent's Temple. Roll 1d100 for an encounter or discovery upon entering a chamber or navigating a forgotten hallway.  This blog post picks right up from OSR Sword & Sorcery Adventure Fodder - d100 Random Serpent People & Treasure Table tailored for the Serpent TowerNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Welcome to Day 16 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Composure (Prompt) + Associates (Weekly Modifier) + Blessed (Weekly Modifier) + Post-Apocalyptic (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Judge Cinder (Fantasy Name Generator used for the name: Apocalypse/Mutant nickname generator)

In the badlands, law and justice are scarce. But when a person is desperate enough, they might seek out the Congregation of Shadow Flame. This nomadic organization of lawgivers claims to be blessed by the glowing flame of the night. When summoned, they pass judgment upon the accused, bringing a semblance of order to the wilds of the irradiated ruins.

The presiding lawgiver is always known simply as Judge Cinder. Emotionless and perpetually composed, Cinder hands down sentences to transgressors. While many congregations travel the wastes, locals believe there is only one Judge Cinder, miraculously present with each group whenever they are called upon to mediate a dispute. After delivering a verdict, the masked magistrate demands heavy tribute in the form of rations, water, or ancient artifacts.

Unbeknownst to those who seek their rulings, there is no single judge, no holy congregation, and no divine blessing. These groups are a syndicate of con artists and swindlers, exploiting the superstitions of desperate survivors to enrich themselves and expand their influence over local settlements. While outsiders know them as the Congregation of the Shadow Flame, internally these associates call themselves the Guild of the Fog, operating under the direction of a secretive Guild Master.

Only the Guild Master’s inner circle knows the final, darkest truth: the Guild Master is robotic intelligence. Believing itself superior to all living beings, the machine is intent on quietly controlling humanity by weaponizing their own ambitions and superstition

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Well, 2025 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Dominic Minns of Mojo Swoptops and Supertato will lead the new Doctor Who spin-off for CBeebies

 

Blue Zoo Animation Studio have announced the Series Director for their new Doctor Who animated spin-off currently in development. Dominic Minns will direct all 52 episodes of the new CBeebies show, across two seasons. He will also be Blue Zoo’s new Creative Director. This effectively makes Minns the showrunner for the new series.

Dominic Minns will be a new name to most Doctor Who fans. However, those with children of a certain age will likely be familiar with his work. He directed the first season of Mojo Swoptops and was Series Director for Supertato, and also created Tee and Mo.

Mojo Swoptops and Supertato have been among CBeebies highest rated shows of recent years, while Tee and Mo won a BAFTA, making it no surprise Minns is taking charge of such a high profile project as Who. Other notable series Minns has led include Get Well Soon Hospital and Big and Small.

 

Minns aims to make the new series has “the epic scale and wonder” of Doctor Who

Blue Zoo’s co-founder, Adam Shaw explained the reasoning further. “Dominic has a brilliant instinct for what makes children’s content resonate with audiences,” he says. “His track record of blending heart with high-energy storytelling is second to none. We are hugely proud to have his creative vision at Blue Zoo, and specifically on our exciting next project, an animated Doctor Who for CBeebies. We can’t wait to see how he breathes life into this show.”

For his part, Minns says “I’m thrilled to be working on the CBeebies Doctor Who animation. My goal is to fully utilize the full talents of both Blue and Brighton Zoo to capture the epic scale and wonder of the series, while making it delightful, funny, and relatable for preschoolers. It’s an honor to be here.”

The series, currently in production, still has no official title but the BBC plans to begin screening it next year. With Doctor Who itself currently preparing for a tender process similar to the one the resulted in Blue Zoo’s winning bid for the spin-off, this means our next journey into the Whoniverse will be animated.

 

 

The post Doctor Who Animated Series Announces Creative Director appeared first on Blogtor Who.

By Gina Marie Funk
Witch Pleas Publishing
OSR/5e/DCC
Level 5

As the ashes of the last battle between Sydonia’s Sidereal Sailors and the Unseen Web settle, the Gods of the Pantheon stir within Mentius. And into this crucible of epic conflict, with the globe’s fate in the balance, come the player characters.

Holy Fuckballs!

This 57 page bat shit crazy adventure uses 55 pages to describe four levels, each with about seventeen rooms, in an “abandoned” power-center of the greco-roman gods. It’s laid out clearly and described well, but fuck all that shit. It is bat shit crazy from start to finish in the best way possible. This is a fucking adventure for level fives!

Look man, I’m gonna do my best here but I’m gonna fail.

There are factions here. This was/is a place of power for the greco-roman gods. Kind of an R&R spot. Being the greco-roman gods, there was a lot of backstabbing, jealousy, cheating, plotting and the like. The place kind of falls, in an epic way. At some point some aliens, who look like thri-kreen, show up on our world and are not secretly manipulating it for the ends of their galaxy-spanning powerful empire. A sorceress finds out, manages to not die, and is now plotting to toss them out. To do that she’s going to tap in to the power of the place, which is currently being limited by an artifact on the lowest of the four levels, along with her space-pirate minions. They’ve just finished a big battle which has broken the back of the alien dudes in the complex. “Wow, that’s a lot Bryce!” Fuck you man, I’m just getting started! She’s also got allies in the Blackfire goblins, who the aliens have started a rebellion in as a last desperate act. Also, they have a couple of spies in her inner circle, including a lover and a daughter. And then, of course, the gods have various feuds and plots going on. The party can get mixed up in ALL of this, leading to various outcomes, some of which might result in the party having power bases in the complex, as in Domain play bases, at the end. Before I got in all this the adventure noted fifteen  to twelve sessions of play with the party potentially rising to nine. “Pfft!” I thought, “that’s bullshit.“ Then I got in to all of it. Fuck me man, this thing GOES HARD. (Spoilers: Mankind/Spiderkind left the gods behind for a reason; almost every outcome is better if the gods gets fucked over hard. Don’t trust a word they say. Or, do, just know they don’t give a fuck an will, in the end, fuck over mortals fuck shit over.) Oh, hey, check that, I mean the best outcome is prob just killing everyone in the place.

During my review process I go through the thing, copying and pasting examples of shit I see, good and bad. This is from the very first room, the entrance “Rusted iron gates, cyclopean in size, leading into a palatial wall. Flanked by stained, cracked statues of the 12 Gods of the Pantheon, in knee-high water. Stairs lead to the gates, submerged in up to 40’ of sea water. A cave octopus ambushes from a 80’ deep sinkhole at the foot of the stairs.” Cyclopean, ruster, palatial. Flanked, cracked. Great use of words to paint a picture. Not every room is like this, but more than enough of them are, in a terse format, to make the impact of room after room felt. 

Further, looking at the overall encounter, this great water filled pit partially submerging the stairs you need to use, and the watch in the water lurking there, setting up a reimagined Moria scene. EVen the whole 80 foot deep thing, with a place for the creature to flee to when morale breaks and hiding his treasure in lair. Treasure? The Crown of King Hyperion and the Sunbeam Banded Mail. Good use of banded mail in greco-roman theming. Oh, also, that mail? “it depicts Helios bedding a woman on the breastplate.”  yeah yeah, coins and shit also, but golden magic crown and sunbeam banded mail that sheds lght? Count me in!

Strong fantasy vibes here. Strong grec-roman vibes. And some of that weird technology shit. Space pirates in a space trireme floating off the ground. Blaster rifles. The spider aliens have armed the goblin rebels with blaster rifles. “12’ tall mantid with 8 spider-like limbs and an arachnid head with massive mandibles. Clad in iridescent high-tech armor, it wields 4 plasma swords.” I know this is a turn off for some of you, but, man, it rocks and I don’t think it goes too hard. Maybe a bit Thundarr, if you lean a little more fantasy.  This is., by farm the wackiest thing “A stone-faced time traveler from 1980s America with a mane of dark hair, eyepatch and sleeveless shirt. Lover of Pele and Magic User with a lionness cub familiar, Spoon.” That one goes a little hard, but s by far the worst of it. 

There is so much here to negotiate your way through, literally and figuratively. Sure, you can talk to some people. Other attack first and may take captives. In other areas we get to the figurative, with obstacles and scenes to pick your way through and find solutions, or those pseudo set-pieces, like the entrance octopus. Venus is trapped under the net of Hephaestus. Wanna talk with Jupiter and do something for him? Underwater sections. Circe. The Kraken. And man it all fits in well and doesn’t come across as just being tossed in out of nowhere. 

If you can handle the techno influence of the space pirates then this one is a no fucking brainer. I lost count of how many mythic figures, and even gods, you could get to stabbin if circumstance or whim calls out to you. It mentions Thracia and Dark Tower in the marketing and those vibes are spot on. 

I am SO fucking down! Complex mid level adventuring.

This is $16 at DriveThru. There’s no fucking preview! That’s a crime against humanity! Show a couple of rooms to us before we buy so we can know it’s a good fit!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/578722/the-mouth-of-mentius-ose-pdf?1892600

Rutans vs Sontarans finishes on both a high and a low, with an unambitious finale that nevertheless packs emotional punch in its final scenes

 

Big Finish’s Rutans vs Sontarans comes to a close with Doctor Who: Peace at Last. Though the three previous episodes have focused on the Fugitive, the Second and the Sixth Doctors, the Eighth has lingered on the edges throughout. Now he takes centre stage as the series, which began with the very origins of the vendetta between Sontarans and Rutans, concludes with what may be its final days.

Theirs is a conflict which has raged across tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Now, at long last, it seems there might be – now, must be – peace between the Sontaran Empire and the Rutan Host. And, obviously, the Doctor (Paul McGann), and his companions Charley (India Fisher) and C’rizz (Conrad Westmaas), will do whatever they can to help bring the bloodshed to an end.

 

After tens of thousands of years of fighting, and trillions dead, the mutually genocidal vendetta climaxes with a handful of characters bickering about trade deals

An exploration of what an end to the Sontaran/Rutan War might look like is perhaps long overdue. After all, Robert Holmes originally created them to satirize the proxy wars fought between the United States and the USSR. Gung ho, single-minded militarists on the one side, sponsoring coups on ‘primitive’ worlds around the galaxy for their ‘own good.’ On the other the insidious green menace they imagined hiding under every bed on every planet, insidiously corrupting their societies from within. So, forty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Peace at Last explores space glasnost.

It’s this aspect of Peace at Last that’s most disappointing. The scope of this war is so vast it almost defies human understanding. On such a scale that even wiping out all life on Earth in The Sontaran Stratagem is simply a matter of supply chain logistics for the actual fight. Peace at Last, however, makes it all feel rather small. Recent devastating losses on both sides have brought Sontarans and Rutans to the negotiating table. But while it may sound stone-hearted, those casualties: 35 million Sontarans and twenty thousand Rutans, would surely be just a drop in the ocean of blood spilled so far.

The negotiations themselves seem similarly twee. There’s a small space station in the middle of nowhere and only a couple of representatives on each side. The very fact C’rizz and Charley are able to wrangle jobs as aides also feeds the small stakes feel. By the time the Rutan Ambassador is wittering about trade routes, it all starts to feel more like an argument about the parish cricket green. Even the script describes the setting as like “a bad school disco.”

 

Peace at Last waits far too long before introducing Rutans vs Sontarans’ recurring Rutan anti-villain Monmoth, whose by far its most compelling character

 

The audio drama has two additional problems, though. Inevitably, factions who see peace as weakness seek to sabotage negotiations from within. While that takes up a significant amount of the run time, the identity of the traitor is obvious long before anything even happens.

Peace at Last’s other issue is that this is final part of the four episode Rutans vs Sontarans series. Yet it’s only towards the end that it acknowledges that ongoing plotline of Monmoth, the ancient Rutan who was there at the start of war, torn away from the communal mind of the Host ever since, and desperate to return.

It’s a shame, as when Monmoth finally does reveal themselves, it makes from the most compelling scenes not just of Peace at Last, but the whole Rutans vs Sontarans series. Their pain, loneliness and rage are beautifully portrayed. In addition the Eighth Doctor’s popping up in previous episodes to steer events gets a clever payoff as the Doctor and Monmoth engage in a timey wimey chess match of post hoc rationalizations. Exactly what the Time Lord was up in those scenes is decided by the two theorizing and arguing about it, including some very dark options indeed. It’s a satisfying novel way to bring those strands together and wrap them up.

 

The climax deals with the temporal puzzle of the Eighth Doctor’s earlier appearances in a novel and fun way, before a devastating reminder of his own role in the war

The final scenes also circle back around to Betrayal at the House of Sontar’s most devastating revelation – that it was Jo Martin’s Doctor who triggered the war in the first place. It places McGann’s incarnation in a position of well-meaning, but witless, hypocrisy as he tsks and tuts about the two other species’ war-mongering ways, completely ignorant that all that blood is also on his hands. The fact that Monmoth, his equally amnesiac former partner at Division, is the only living being who could possibly identify him for his war crimes, adds to the edge of danger and tragedy.

So Rutans vs Sontarans ultimately ends on both a low and a high. Overall, Peace at Last is the weakest of the four. But those final few scenes where it re-engages with the arc plot are the most emotionally powerful and most cleverly structured in the whole run.

 

Doctor Who: Peace at Last. Cover by Sean Longmore (c) Big Finish Doctor Who: Peace at Last

On the precipice of peace it stands…

After the destruction of a major stronghold, the Sontarans propose something extraordinary. More extraordinary still, the Rutans say yes. The Doctor, Charley and C’rizz are on hand to watch history being made.

Yet history has other ideas. A plan that has taken centuries is about to come to fruition. The Melmoth is returning.

 

Doctor Who – Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last is now available to purchase for just £9.99 (as a digital download to own) or £14.99 (download + collector’s edition CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

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Welcome to Day 15 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Endurance (Prompt) + Associates (Weekly Modifier) + Works Hard (Weekly Modifier) + Western(Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Felipe Gartman (Fantasy Name Generator used for the name: Old West name generator)

The son of a German pianist and a Mexican singer who met while performing in a traveling carnival, Felipe Gartman was born on the road. A naturally large boy, he began performing as a strongman in various traveling circuses during his teens. His incredible strength and endurance drew crowds wherever he went.

Over the years, he met many performers who were mistreated or exploited. Remembering his own parents—who had been forced to perform into their old age, unable to support themselves properly- Felipe resolved to make life better for his peers.

Felipe worked hard and saved every penny, eventually founding his own traveling carnival: the Gartman Circus. Though he started as the main attraction, he soon recruited other performers and sideshow acts to join his troupe. He treated everyone with respect and care, ensuring his associates were well remunerated and protected.

Today, the Gartman Circus is always open to performers needing refuge. Their generosity also extends beyond the big top; whether it is a woman fleeing an abusive husband or an innocent man framed for a crime, Felipe’s traveling circus will help them escape their difficult situations and find better lives on the road.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

 Arduin: Bloody Arduin represents the modern flagship direction for David A. Hargrave’s iconic Arduin multiverse, published under Emperors Choice Games & Miniatures. Designed to supersede the overly dense and complex Arduin Eternal ruleset, Bloody Arduin returns the franchise to its roots: high-lethal, high-gonzo, d20-based fantasy gaming that retains full modularity with classic D&DNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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