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Published by Amelia Som, Dan Dillon, Sal Tamarkin, I-Hsien Sherwood
Critical Lit is a podcast where we revisit and retool (and lambast and lampoon) classic tabletop RPG adventures. Part book review, part heckling commentary, all in good fun. Hosted by industry veterans Dan Dillon (Legends of Avantris, formerly WotC), I-Hsien Sherwood (Total Party Thrill), Amelia Som (Unprepared Casters), and Sal Tamarkin (Cloud Curio).
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Is this sandbox too spooky? Parties looking for a less grim take on Barovia have a host of more heroic (and more linear) options. They can be used to spice up an individual encounter, build out a whole plot hook, or even run an entirely different campaign altogether. Plus plenty of official Ravenloft content has dropped in recent years. In this episode: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, Curse of Strahd: Reloaded, MandyMod's Fleshing Out series. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Curse of Strahd Reloaded: https://www.strahdreloaded.com Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Strahd gets knocked down, but he gets up again. And again. The "final" battle is a tricky needle to thread, but victory earns a literal Pandora's box of endings. In this episode: Final fight with Strahd, Epilogue, Strahd Prevails, Strahd Dies, Rahadin's Revenge, Sergei and Ireena, Escape from Barovia, Aftermath, Appendix A: Character Options, Haunted One, Gothic Trinkets, Appendix C: Treasures, Tome of Strahd, Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, Sunsword. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
While Kiril's away, the pups will play! The pack really sinks their claws into each other this time, but the real question is which of the lucky young newcomers to the den will come out on top in this single elimination competition? In this episode: Chapter 15: Werewolf Den (Pack drama, Approaching the Den, Areas of the Den Z1-Z8, Cave Mouth, Guard Post, to the death, Wolf Den, Underground Spring, Deep Caves, no country for young kids, werewolf vs werewolf, Kiril's Cave, Shrine of Mother Night, Ring of Stone, Hunger Games, tourney rules, Special Events, Leader of the Pack, Die Kinder). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Visit Yester Hill, a planned community for retired berserkers with absolutely no secrets hidden beneath a thin layer of sod. Evil druids seek to unleash their blood-filled wood upon the world, and even Strahd himself comes here to pine among the pines. In this episode: Chapter 14: Yester Hill (Areas of the Hill Y1-Y5, an enormous map, Trail, Berserker Cairns, Druid's Circle, death from above, Wooden Statue, Hidden Graves, Gulthias Tree, dead adventurer, Wall of Fog, Whispering Wall, Special Events, Druid's Ritual, Wintersplinter, tree blights, Gulthias blights, Strahd in the mix, Blood Spear of Kavan, blood spear of Kevin). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
The final vaults in the basement of the Amber Temple hold the best rewards in all of Barovia. If it's wrong to murder your loved one and drink their blood or sacrifice dozens of innocent souls in order to ensure your immortality, then I don't want to be right. You can even bring one person back from the dead, and isn't that worth it? In this episode: Chapter 13 (X33c-X42, Ghastly Vault, playing with Dark Gifts, The Teeth of Dahlver-Nar version history and design, Breached Vault, comparing Dark Gifts, Vault of Harkotha, death slaad, fire giant strength, Vault of Thangob, hell hounds, shield guardian, poltergeists, Sealed Treasury, Amber Vault, vampire spawn, dark gift of Vampyr, dark gift of Tenebrous, dark gift of Zhudun the Corpse Star, Special Events, Rahadin’s Prayer, Kasimir’s Dark Gift, Patrina Velikovna). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Deep within the Amber Temple, alone in the dark, lurks the most helpful lich in the multiverse. Play your cards right and there's free drinks and body modifications, too. You didn't need those eyeballs, right? In this episode: Chapter 13 (X18-X33b, Architect's Room, ewer trouble, West Shrine trap, Secret Alcove hijinks, Lich's Lair, becoming buddies with Exethanter, Preserved Library, Barovian witches, Amber Vaults, Vault of Shalx, Vault of Maverus, a smorgasbord of Dark Gifts). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
It's back to Barovia for Chapter 13, and the Amber Temple is sending mixed messages. Does it want us to freeze to death? Burn to a crisp? Get possessed by loot? Maybe this adorably bespectacled jackal-faced creature can help us. Nope, just more fireballs. In this episode: Chapter 13 (The Amber Temple history, Extreme Cold, Areas of the Temple X1-X17, Temple Facade, stealing the statues, Temple of Lost Secrets, arcanaloths, flameskulls, Vilnius, amber golem, mountain folk, Jakarion, staff of frost). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Our final look at the Caves of Chaos takes 17 man-turns to unpack. The cult fit is very Queen of Hearts and matches the canonically evil furnishings. But the real villain is in accounting. Who else could set up such an enormous slush fund for magic amulets? In this episode: Hobgoblin Lair, Torture Chamber/Playroom/Food Storage, Shunned Cavern, Owl Bear's Den, Bugbear Lair, Caves of the Minotaur, Gnoll Lair, Shrine of Evil Chaos, NPCs, Tips to the Players, Glossary, Final Thoughts. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Many yawning orifices await as the spelunking finally begins in earnest! The myriad tribes of the Caves of Chaos have complex social hierarchies, tight-knit family units, commerce, treaties, and their own vintners, but their deaths carry absolutely no moral weight. Exterminate at your leisure. But first, we traipse about the friendly wilderness and hunt nothing at all. In this episode: Adventures Outside the Keep, Wilderness Map, Camping Outdoors, Mound of the Lizard Men, Spiders' Lair, Raider Camp, The Mad Hermit, Dungeon Master's tables and insert, The Caves of Chaos A-E, Tribal Alliances and Warfare, Kobold Lair, Orc Lair B, Orc Lair C, Goblin Lair, Ogre Cave. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Dammit granite! If these walls could talk, they'd blush and tell you "murder hole" is not the preferred nomenclature. Gygax continues to wow us with his commitment to verisimilitude (of a sort), but where do all these armored men keep the bathrooms? Fortunately, this keep is at the top of the hill, not the bottom. Just don't ask who's feeding the snakes. In this episode: Rumor Table, Areas of the Keep 1-27, economics, outhouses, switching sides. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
What if "Do as I say, not as I do" was a D&D module? In 1979 Gary Gygax wrote The Keep on the Borderlands, cribbing plenty of useful GM advice from TSR colleague Mike Carr. Prepare yourself, friends, to experience the full power of mine imagination, for I am the Dungeon Master. I speak eternities into existence, only truths fall from my lips. Oh and there's a big fort on a hill. Don't be mean to the guards! In this episode: Front cover, Caves of Chaos map, Introduction, Notes for the Dungeon Master, using combat tables, How to Be an Effective Dungeon Master, Time, Dividing Treasure and Computing Experience, Preparation for the Use of the Module, Adventure Background, DM Notes About the Keep. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Everything's vine down at the Wizard of Wines! Chapter 12 is the nexus of nearly every plot hook in this book, but the wine won't flow until this gemless, ravenless, farm-to-table homestead is restored to its former glory. Too bad it's knee-deep in stick monsters and crazed, teetotaling druids. Remember, they're not dirty because they're evil; they're evil because they're dirty. In this episode: Chapter 12 (The Wizard of Wines, stolen gems, Approaching the Vineyard, The Martikov Family, bad blood, Approaching the Winery, Areas of the Winery W1-W20, blights blights blights blights druid, Special Events, Wine Delivery, Wintersplinter Attacks). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
It's a Dance Dance Execution at the door of this wizard tower. The wagon nearby is as volatile as a meth lab, and werewolves wait to finish off any survivors. Plus, we take another look at Strahd's potential enemies. In this episode: Chapter 11 (Van Richten's Tower, Khazan's backstory and tomb, Approaching the Tower, Khazan’s Spell Drain, Area's of the Tower V1-V7, Ezmeralda's Wagon, booby trap, dance seal, tower floors, Special Events, Pack Attack, Ez's Retreat) and we revisit the Strahd's Enemy list from Chapter 1's Fortune's of Ravenloft. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Sure, Strahd had one mother, but what about second mother? In Chapter 10, Baba Lysaga is a boy-mom wannabe, with a parasocial fixation on our titular vamp. To impress him, she wages a never-ending blood feud against Barovia's goat and raven populations. Adventurers are another matter. In this episode: Chapter 10 (The Ruins of Berez, the sad tale of Marina, Baba Lysaga backstory, Approaching the Ruins, Area of Berez U1-U6, Baba Lysaga's Hut, the gemstone, Baba Lysaga's ritual, Goat Pen, Standing Stones, Special Events, flying contraptions). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
For want of a dress, Krezk was lost. The Abbot gets serious about playing dress-up, Ireena takes a dive, fine feathered fiends guard the pass, and the roc just has the munchies. But the true villain, of course, is Sangzor, the gruffest goat on the mountain. In this episode: the second half of Chapter 8 and all of Chapter 9 (Areas of the Abbey S20-S24, Special Events, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Barovian souls, hunting for a dress, a happy ending for Sergei and Tatyana, Areas of Tsolenka Pass T1-T9, petrified vrocks, snow maidens, Roc of Mount Ghakis, Sangzor shenanigans). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Mutual aid! In my D&D? The Krezkites share everything: food, labor, and a growing horror at the screams emanating from the Abbey above. The empty graves strewn about town are almost as problematic as the portrayal of the people labeled "mongrelfolk" in this book. In this episode: the first half of Chapter 8 (The Village of Krezk, approaching Krezk first, Areas of Krezk S1-S5, Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov, Krezk Lore, Shrine of the White Sun, Areas of the Abbey S6-S19, mongrelfolk publication history, portrayal of mongrelfolk, The Abbot, Vasilka, Vasilka as Fated Ally, The Madhouse, Clovin Belview). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Strahd may have tried to bury these gays, but they refused to stay down. In Chapter 7 we meet a goodly order of knights and their defeated dragon lord. What starts off as a side quest to lay unquiet dead to rest soon becomes a tragic love story that reaches across the centuries and literally brings light to this forsaken land. In this episode: Chapter 7 (Argynvostholt, The Order of the Silver Dragon, Revenants of Barovia, Areas Q1 - Q53, Vladimir Horngaard, Sir Godfrey Gwilym, Lighting the Beacon, Special Events). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Dream Pastries™ are Pediatrically Delicious! Uhh, Tragically Suspicious? Chapter 6 of Curse of Strahd is a bigger deal than its page count lets on. Looks can be deceiving, but the hags don't bother with all that. What you see is what you get, and that's a whole lot of trouble. In this episode: Chapter 6 (Old Bonegrinder, night hags, hag covens, Areas O1 - O4, The Megaliths). Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Mockman Press D&D Walkthrough maps: https://mockman.myshopify.com/collections/walkthrough-map-prints Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
Consider us Schick-pilled. We wrap up both our holiday hiatus and the 1979 TSR adventure White Plume Mountain in surprisingly high spirits: arms adorned with shiny new weapons, blood infected with instant super-tetanus, and bellies full of crab forearms. In this episode: Rooms 5-27, origin of I6 Ravenloft, Wave, Whelm, Blackrazor, just about the biggest giant crab anyone's ever seen, End Note, back cover. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
It's an old school holiday hiatus! We're tackling the first half of S2, the 1979 TSR adventure White Plume Mountain, written exactly one time (to his eternal chagrin) by Lawrence Schick. In this episode: publication history, front cover, map, Introduction, Dungeon Features, Wandering Monsters, Rooms 1-4. Support us on Patreon to hear monthly bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/CriticalLit Contact us: Email: hugepitfilledwith200spikes@gmail.com Bluesky: @CriticalLit.bsky.social Dan Dillon: @dandillon.bsky.social I-Hsien Sherwood: @ihsien.bsky.social Amelia Som: @ameliasom.com Sal Tamarkin: @sal.gay Cover art by Aram Vartian: @aramvartian.com
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