Byzantium's Moby Dick Problem: Prokopios, Pt 7

Curious about how to conjure a demon on-the-go? Never fear, your thumbnails will do! We're back this episode with our medieval necromancy series where we delve into divination spells using crystals, nails, and the power of virginity. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!  Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here! Socials:  Tumblr Website Threads Instagram Facebook Citations & References:   The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic: info and get one yourself here! Forbidden Rites: a Necromancer's Manual online version here! All of Richard Keikhefer's books on magic here! Blessing the World: Ritual and Lay Piety by Derek Rivard here. Sanctifying the World: Ritual Blessings and Lay Piety in Medieval Religion and Society here The Bond of Solomon translation by Digital Amber here

The Quest for a Wife is harder than it seems... Learn just what it takes fro Cu Chulainn to woo the lady Emer, and what skills of cunning and swordsmanship you can use in your next TTRPG. We're joined by Irish folklore expert Dr Emmet Taylor, who regales us with the finer (and funnier) parts of this old Irish epic. Check out Emmet's podcast: Guth: Reading Irish Myths and Legends. Join our discord community. Check out our Tumblr for even more content. Support us on patreon. Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here! Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook Citations & References: Read "The Wooing of Emer" online here or read an older, fragmentary version here Meyer, Kuno, ‘The Wooing of Emer’, Archaeological Review 1 (1888): 68–75, 150–155, 231–235, 298–307 Meyer, Kuno, ‘The Oldest Version of Tochmarc Emire’, Revue Celtique 11 (1890): 433-457. Toner, Gregory, ‘The Transmission of Tochmarc Emire,’ Ériu 49 (1998): 71-88. Taylor, Emmet, 'Tricks of the Trade: The Origin of Clessa in Irish Heroic Literature', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 89 (2025): Forthcoming.

The Quest for a Wife is harder than it seems... Learn just what it takes fro Cu Chulainn to woo the lady Emer, and what skills of cunning and swordsmanship you can use in your next TTRPG. We're joined by Irish folklore expert Dr Emmet Taylor, who regales us with the finer (and funnier) parts of this old Irish epic. Check out Emmet's podcast: Guth: Reading Irish Myths and Legends. Join our discord community. Check out our Tumblr for even more content. Support us on patreon. Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here! Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook Citations & References: Read "The Wooing of Emer" online here or read an older, fragmentary version here Meyer, Kuno, ‘The Wooing of Emer’, Archaeological Review 1 (1888): 68–75, 150–155, 231–235, 298–307 Meyer, Kuno, ‘The Oldest Version of Tochmarc Emire’, Revue Celtique 11 (1890): 433-457. Toner, Gregory, ‘The Transmission of Tochmarc Emire,’ Ériu 49 (1998): 71-88 Taylor, Emmet, 'Tricks of the Trade: The Origin of Clessa in Irish Heroic Literature', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 89 (2025): Forthcoming.

What's better than the undead you don't know? The undead that you do! Join us in this Halloween special as we delve into the spooky nature of medieval undead tales and ghost stories, and teach you how to adapt them to TTRPGs! Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Check out our merch! Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook Citations & References: Saga Thing: The Tale of Thorstein Shiver -- listen here Caesarius of Heisterbach. The Dialogue On Miracles. Translated by H. von E. Scott and C. C. Swinton Bland, vol. 2. Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1929. The Chronicle of Lanercost. Translated by Herbert Maxwell. James MacLehose and Sons, 1913. Saxo Grammaticus, The Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus. Translated by Oliver Elton, vol. 2. Norrœna Society, 1905. William of Malmesbury. The History of the Kings of England and the Modern History of William of Malmesbury. Translated by John Sharpe. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1815. William of Newburgh. “The History of William of Newburgh.” The Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. 4. Seeleys, 1856.

Prokopios continues hyperbolizing this week, thereby compromising his account of Byzantine history. Highlights include Justinian being bad at war because he keeps thinking about the nature of god, barbarians nobody has ever heard of before showing up in Byzantium because they heard the emperor was giving out free money, and the Great Grain Embezzlement. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Check out our merch! Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook Citations & References: The Secret History and another version Wulfstan's Sermon to the English here

Spice up your spells in D&D with this episode on divinatory magic from a real medieval grimoire! We discuss the legal status of the warlock and patron relationship, and just how reliable devils are for divinatory experiments, anyway? Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!  Check out our merch! Socials:  Tumblr Website Twitter  Instagram Facebook Citations & References:   The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic: info and get one yourself here! Forbidden Rites: a Necromancer's Manual online version here! All of Richard Keikhefer's books on magic here! Mirror of Florin references: the Hermetic Hour podcast, and Giordano Bruno's works on magic, astrology, and math.

What if Bridgerton was set in Byzantium? What if the empress was the legal authority on matchmaking? Join us as we explore Prokopios' Secret History -- where the raunchiest secrets of the Byzantine court come to light -- and we teach you how to adapt it for function and gaming. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!  Check out our merch! Socials:  Tumblr Website Twitter  Instagram Facebook Citations & References:   The Secret History and another version A novelization of Theodora's life: Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore

Magic has its uses, but also its dangers. In this episode, we discuss the more coercive, dangerous ways magic and necromancy was used in the middle ages -- and how, with care, you can use those themes in crafting your next bad guy in your TTRPG. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Check out our merch! Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook Citations & References: Forbidden Rites: a Necromancer's Manual online version here! All of Richard Keikhefer's books on magic here! The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic: info and get one yourself here!

A secret assassination by the empress against her husband's wishes... A giant cryptid whale that terrorizes the coastline and kills sailors... We adapt Prokopios' Secret History of Byzantium for your next TTRPG. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!  Check out our merch! Danse Macabre: find it on DriveThruRPG here or at Stillfleet Studios here! Socials:  Tumblr Website Twitter  Instagram Facebook Citations & References:   The Secret History and another version More about Porphyrios

Join us as we discuss Curse of Strahd, medieval medicine, and the weird connection between doctors, plague, and vampires in history. Inspired by the darkest days of the Black Death and the connection between vampires, doctors, and death, Ainsley Sunday shows how game masters of every level can use medieval inspiration to create games that feel real without getting bogged down in history. Play Leechcraft! Ainsley's Socials: https://addersmire.itch.io/leechcraft https://www.instagram.com/addersmire/ https://addersmire.tumblr.com/ Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more. Support us on patreon. Check out our merch. Socials:  Tumblr Website Twitter  Instagram Facebook Citations & References:   Leech by Hiron Ennes Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings Pathologic 2 (2019) Vampyr (2018)