Red Moon Roleplaying

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Curse of Strahd 12: Hamartia Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

Hamartia is a term used to describe turns of events in dramatic literature and usually refers to the protagonists erring or having a fatal flaw, setting off a chain of events that reverses their fortunes and leads to their downfall.

In his treatise Poetics, Aristotle deemed hamartia to be necessary to create the optimal tragic hero and achieve catharsis. He wrote: "...the character between these two extremes – that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. “

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

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Curse of Strahd 11: Kresnik Jun 14, 2018

Show notes

Legends in Slovenia and Croatia speak of the "Kresnik", a shaman whose spirit wanders into that of an animal at night. It does this to protect the lives of the people of the land, fighting the evil powers that stalk the night. The Kresnik's nemesis is the "Kudlak", a vampiric animal that he hunts, said to represent the evil in the world.

The word Kresnik may have been derived from the Slav word for “resurrect”, making the Kresnik the “resurrector”.

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

Curse of Strahd 10: Valravn Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

According to Danish folklore, when a chieftain was killed in battle but never found, ravens would come and eat him. The ravens that ate the chieftain’s heart would gain human intelligence and supernatural powers. They would also become malicious and evil, leading wanderers astray. These ravens were known as "Valravn", "raven of the slain".

Other accounts speak of the Valravn as a restless soul flying through the night as a raven. One tale tells of a Valravn that helps a maiden find her lost betrothed in return for the life of her firstborn. The maiden agrees and the Valravn flies off… returning years later when the couple has had their first child. It then asks the maiden if she has forgotten her promise, proceeding to rip in to the chest of the child and drinking the blood from its heart.

According to the story the Valravn then turned in to a knight, presumably having been returned to its former life.

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

Western: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Part 3 of 3 Jun 05, 2018

Show notes

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was the beginning of the end for the Barbary Coast. The district was heavily damaged by the quake and the subsequent fires. Reconstruction did happen and it did see a brief revival as a somewhat cleaned-up entertainment area.

In 1913, and the fervor leading up to the prohibition of alcohol, the mayor of San Francisco, a man knows as "Sunny Jim", began a crusade against the moral decay that The Barbary Coast was the embodiment of. He was backed up by Randolph Hearst's news empire and there was little that could stop the crusade from succeeding. The last brothel closed in 1917.

So ends the tale of the hive of scum and villainy that was The Barbary Coast.

Adventure: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Western, Åskfågeln. Part 3 of 3.
Music: Phonothek
Recorded at: GothCon

Interview with Fredrik Malmberg Jun 04, 2018

Show notes

We are happy to announce that we had the pleasure and great honor of welcoming a true legend in the Swedish roleplaying industry, Fredrik Malmberg, on the show.

Fredrik was one the founders of Äventyrsspel / Target Games, the company who made KULT, Drakar och Demoner, Mutant and many more back in the day. Today he is the CEO of Cabinet Entertainment, which owns the KULT license as well as the licenses of old Äventyrsspel games like Mutant, Mutant Chronicles, Warzone, Doomtrooper and Chronopia. Cabinet Entertainment also owns the IP’s created by the author Robert E. Howard, like Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane and others.

We spent about an hour speaking about the history of Swedish RPG's, the company he founded, the creation of and controversy surrounding KULT as well as his views on the development we have seen in the roleplaying industry over the last few years.

Music by: Atrium Carceri

Curse of Strahd 09: 4'33 May 31, 2018

Show notes

Four minutes, thirty-three seconds is a composition by the American composer John Cage from 1952. The score instructs the performers not to play their instruments for the duration of the piece. It is effectively, four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence…

But not complete silence.

Because there is always the sound of the environment where the piece is performed. For Cage 4’33 epitomized his idea that any combination of sounds can be music.

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

Western: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Part 2 of 3. May 29, 2018

Show notes

The Barbary Coast was San Francisco's red light district during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. It featured dance halls, saloons, variety shows and brothels.

It was the California Gold Rush of 1849 that had given birth to the district, giving the tens of thousands of miners that had arrived something to spend their gold on. The area was mostly lawless and it was only vigilante justice that kept the Barbary Coast from descending into total chaos.

Adventure: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Western. Part 2 of 3.
Music: Phonothek
Recorded at: GothCon

Curse of Strahd 08: Tastevin May 24, 2018

Show notes

The color of the wine is one indicator of how mature it is. As wine is stored and aged in dark cellars, Burgundian winemakers in the Middle Ages created the tastevin, a shallow saucer-like cup made of silver. The shiny inner surface would allow them to see the color of the wine even in candlelight.

For hundreds of years it was simply a tool for winemakers but around the year 1700 it became fashionable for affluent Frenchmen to carry the tastevin in their pockets as a status symbol. Made by master silversmiths the tastevin would be engraved with the wearer’s name and be highly prized possessions.

This changed with the French revolution when opulent displays of wealth, like carrying a silver cup around wherever you went, fell out of fashion.

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

Western: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Part 1 of 3 May 22, 2018

Show notes

The War Between the States is over, but the bitterness and the conflicts still remain. Ranch wars flare, rumors of gold summon thousands of adventurers, peaceful towns live in fear of outlaw gangs and justice is executed by the fastest gun.

Cornelius Doubleday, the fiancé of the wealthy and highly successful businesswoman and estate owner Anne Rutledge, has gone missing during his charity work in the west. The last word from him was a request for a large sum of money, which made Anne wonder what exactly was going on out there. Now, with Cornelius's disappearance, there was nought to do but for Anne to set out on an expedition to find her fiancé and get some answers.

With her she has her trusty butler, John A Bellinger, her dog Bessie, and two hired Pinkerton agents, Dexter Colby and Cedric Valentine, with a third agent, the local Jessie Tremaine, set to meet them at the San Francisco train station.

Rupert Rutledge, Anne's spoiled dandy of a brother, has also come along on Anne's request. But does he perhaps have his own reasons for wanting a word with Mr Doubleday?

Adventure: The Baron of Barbary Coast, Western. Part 1 of 3.
Music: Phonothek
Recorded at: GothCon

Curse of Strahd 07: Wallachia May 17, 2018

Show notes

The area known as Wallachia is a historical region of Romania that, under the leadership of the legendary voivode Radu the Black, broke free from Hungary in 1290. As the years passed the Ottoman Empire was growing rapidly on the southern border and came to dominate much of the Balkans, including Wallachia which was ultimately forced to become a vassal of the growing empire in 1417.

Accepting this status caused an internal crisis in the country that its leader, Vlad II Dracul, had to navigate carefully. The Ottoman Empire, knowing that Vlad had been a member of the ”Order of the Dragon”, a group of noblemen who opposed the Ottoman invasion, demanded Vlad II hand over his sons as hostages. He reluctantly accepted this and continued to rule an increasingly unruly nation.

In 1447 Vlad II was assassinated by Wallachian noblemen. To avoid the country spiraling deeper in to chaos the Ottoman Empire released Vlad’s son, Vlad III Dracul, to take the reins of the nation. Vlad III put the conspirators to death and brought order... but did so with an iron fist that spared no cruelty to those that challenged him. He earned the nickname “the Impaler” because of his favored method of execution.

Campaign: “Curse of Strahd”, Dungeons & Dragons
Music by: Metatron Omega, Flowers for Bodysnatchers & Wordclock

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