Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 18: This Little Blight of Mine Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · April 8 · 1h 42m

Everything's vine down at the Wizard of Wines! Chapter 12 is the nexus of nearly every plot hook in this book, but it's knee-deep in stick monsters and teetotaling druids. Remember, they're not dirty because they're evil; they're evil because they're dirty.
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 17: Knockin' on Khazan's Door Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · March 25 · 1h 38m

It's a Dance Dance Execution at the door of Khazan's Tower. Chapter 11 of Curse of Strahd also features a wagon as volatile as a meth lab. 100 you say? Try 101! Plus, we take a harder look at Strahd's potential enemies list from Chapter 1's Fortunes of Ravenloft.
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 16: The Other Mother Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · March 11 · 1h 32m

Sure, Strahd had one mother, but what about second mother? In Ch. 10 of Curse of Strahd, Baba Lysaga is a boy-mom wannabe with a parasocial fixation on our titular vamp. To impress him, she wages a feud against Barovia's goats and ravens. It's a blood bath!
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 15: Fowl Play Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · February 25 · 1h 25m

For want of a dress, Krezk was lost. In Chapters 8 & 9 of Curse of Strahd, the Abbot gets serious about playing dress-up, Ireena takes a dive, feathered fiends guard the pass & the roc just needs a snack. But the real villain is the gruffest goat on the mountain.
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 14: Build-a-Bride Workshop Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 02/11/2026 · 1h 45m

Mutual aid! In my D&D? In Ch. 8 of Curse of Strahd, the Krezkites share everything: food, labor & a growing horror at the screams coming from the Abbey. The town's empty graves are almost as problematic as the portrayal of the people this book calls "mongrelfolk."
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 13: Eight Crazy Knights Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 01/28/2026 · 1h 40m

Strahd tried to bury these gays, but this isn't that kind of story. In Chapter 7 of Curse of Strahd, what begins as a side quest to lay unquiet dead to rest soon becomes a tragic love story that can literally bring light to this forsaken land.
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 12: Baker's Coven Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 01/14/2026 · 1h 22m

I'm just a girl, a girl & a girl, hovering ethereally behind a boy, asking him—for the love of all that is unholy—to please be more careful with that hag eye I gifted you! Idiot.
Chapter 6 of Curse of Strahd weighs heavier on the heart than it does on the hands.
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White Plume Mountain Deep Dive 02 - Weapon of Choice | Critical Lit 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 ins...

'Sup, Schickheads! The White Plume Mountain deep dive wraps up with a raging case of instant super-tetanus, bellies full of crab boil & a haul of legendary weapons. Plus one 6-foot hookah for good measure. Cue the @dandillon.bsky.social cold open...
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White Plume Mountain Deep Dive 01 - Deranged and Fanatical Evil Gnomes | Critical Lit 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 episo...

Who says you can't leave Barovia? Our holiday hiatus is the 1979 TSR module White Plume Mountain, written exactly one time and no more by Lawrence Schick. It's surely chock full of renegade, deranged, fanatical gnomes!
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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 11 - Til Decay Do Us Part | Critical Lit As we wrap up Chapter 5, all is not well in Vallaki! Never mind the devil cult hobbyists or the rampaging tiger. The coffin maker has six secrets buried in the attic, and they're waiting for a chance ...

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive #11: Til Decay Do us Part. As we wrap up Chapter 5, all is not well in Vallaki! Never mind the devil cult hobbyists or the rampaging tiger. The coffin maker has six secrets buried in the attic & they're waiting for a feast.
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 09 - Crypt Walk | Critical Lit

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive Episode 9: Crypt Walk. Castle Ravenloft Final Level: Exit here for Entombed Enemies, Plot Devices, Bat Guano, and Bridal Returns. Trust me, you don't want to talk to customer service.
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 08 - Innocents and Insensibility | Critical Lit A cape a day keeps the Dark Powers at bay! Never mind the young woman of indeterminate age in the King's Bedchamber. Just don't use the bathroom if you value your privacy—or sanity. In this episode: C...

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive Episode 8: Innocents and Insensibility. A cape a day keeps the Dark Powers at bay! Never mind the young woman of unspecified age in the King's Bedchamber. Just don't use the bathroom if you value your privacy—or sanity.
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 07 - Working Stiffs | Critical Lit Now hiring at Castle Ravenloft! Feeling chained to your desk? Make it more than just a feeling, with a career that will last the rest of your life. Maybe even longer! In this episode: Chapter 4 (Main ...

Curse of Strahd Episode 7: Now hiring at Castle Ravenloft! Feeling chained to your desk? Make it more than just a feeling, with a career that will last the rest of your life. Maybe even longer!
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 06 - Velcome to ze Dollhouse | Critical Lit It turns out life (and unlife) at Castle Ravenloft is as zany as the town of Barovia is dour. Trade the gloomy mists for the crack of lightning, chanting witches, the clacking fingernails of crawling ...

Curse of Strahd Episode 6: What horrors await within Castle Ravenloft? Marionettes, puppets & faceless dolls galore! Surely there's no metaphor here. As long as you never stop running to catch your breath, you'll be fine.
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 05 - Kids These Days | Critical Lit It's 10pm in Barovia. Do you know where you children are? Strahd does, and he has plans for them. Or maybe the hags will get to them first. If only you could tear yourself away from these delicious me...

Chapter 3 of Curse of Strahd reads like a Barovian Career Fair. Choose from: Trapped in Cellar, Doll-like Bride, Buried Father, Ground Into Pie. Or get your degree. You can major in Expectations Management or Accounting.
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Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 04 - Gnostic Nosferatu | Critical Lit Only some listeners will be able to comprehend the mysteries laid bare in this episode. And only some of those will be compelled to pursue the eternal truth. The rest are condemned to a base existence...

Chapter 2 of our Barovian tour closes with an illuminating look at Vistani leader Madam Eva that should have come much earlier! The Mad Mage is, and Strahd might just be the Demiurge of Gnostic myth. Hylics of the world unite!
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2e and 2e Remastered! We played a 1-20 campaign starting in 2e standard and ending with Remastered. Pathfinder 1 is basically D&D 3.75, and we both played 3.5 through the full life cycle.

Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 03 - Lacrimo Ergo Sum | Critical Lit There once was a peasant named Vlad / Who felt neither happy nor sad / With no soul inside / T'wasn't grim when they died / Though the dirt nap did drive them quite mad. In this episode: Lay of the La...

There once was a peasant named Vlad
Who felt neither happy nor sad
With no soul inside
T'wasn't grim when they died
Though the dirt nap did drive them quite mad

^^^ This is our way of saying that in this new episode LIVE NOW we talk all about soulless Barovians without souls (and much more)!

TPT #393: Draw Steel Review by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane accrue Drama in an extra-long cover-to-cover review of MCDM’s new tabletop RPG system. We walk you through the classes, ancestries, rules, and rewards and let you know if it’s worth adding to your collection.

TPT #393: #DrawSteel Review. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social accrue Drama in an extra-long review of @hellomcdm.bsky.social's new #RPG system. We walk you through the classes, ancestries, rules & rewards & let you know if it’s worth buying. megaphone.link/OSPN8564423138

Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 02 - You Got Fogged Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 07/30/2025 · 1h 50m

Our second episode on Curse of Strahd is live!

We talked about the Tarokka deck, the kinda iffy portrayal of the Vistani, the provided adventure Hooks (s/o creeping fog), and Thee Death House

I-Hsien's new podcast drops today! Critical Lit is a cross between a book review and MST3K, a tongue-in-cheek re-examination of classic RPG modules that answers important questions like What is the nature of a predator? and Is Strahd hot or not? He's joined by Dan Dillon, Amelia Som & Sal Tamarkin.

Since we recorded this, Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins have joined Darrington Press, which I think gives some indication of Daggerheart's intentions toward DnD. - i

TPT #392: Daggerheart Review by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien is joined by Fiona K. T. Howat, host of the What Am I Rolling? Podcast to review the new RPG from Critical Role’s Darrington Press. We’ll check out the system, character creation, combat mecha...

TPT #392: Daggerheart Review. @wairpodcast.bsky.social host @fkth.bsky.social joins @ihsien.bsky.social to review the new RPG from @criticalrole.bsky.social's @darringtonpress.bsky.social to let you know if it’s worth bringing to your table. #ttrpg
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TPT #391: D&D 2024 Final Thoughts and Alternative RPG Systems by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours With the full set of rulebooks in hand, I-Hsien and Shane drop a final assessment of the newest D&D system—and suggest other options for gaming groups that don’t want to make the switch.

TPT #391: #DnD 2024 Final Thoughts and Alternative RPG Systems. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social drop a final assessment of the newest D&D system—and suggest other options for gaming groups that don’t want to make the switch. #ttrpg #rpg
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TPT #390: 2025 D&D 5e Monster Manual Review by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane analyze the updated 2025 Monster Manual. This extra-long cover-to-cover review walks you through the changes to monster lore, math and design philosophy. We’ll let you know how it st...

TPT #390: 2025 #DnD 5e Monster Manual Review. In this extra-long cover-to-cover review, @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social analyze the changes to monster lore, math & design philosophy. #ttrpg
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TPT #389: Responsible Representation and the New D&D 2024 Monk by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien is joined by Daniel Kwan, game designer with credits including Candlekeep Mysteries and Pathfinder 2e’s Tian Xia books and host of the Asians Represent! Podcast, to talk about the aesthetic an...

TPT #389: Responsible Representation and the New #DnD 2024 Monk. @ihsien.bsky.social is joined by @danielhkwan.itch.io of @aznsrepresent.bsky.social to talk about aesthetic & mechanical changes to the monk & how to portray real-world cultures authentically.
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TPT #388: Playing Lone Wolves and Antisocial Characters—Without Being a Jerk About It by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to play grumpy, ornery, recalcitrant characters—without pissing off the rest of the party. With the right approach, everyone gets to enjoy their bad temper. And in the Ga...

TPT #388: Playing Lone Wolves and Antisocial Characters—Without Being a Jerk About It. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social discuss how to play grumpy, ornery, recalcitrant PCs, without pissing off the group. And in Gates of Mourning, the party scrubs in.
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TPT #387: Handling High-Level Magic & Game-Breaking Effects by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to run and adjudicate powerful, open-ended magic, artifacts, and technology at your table. Here’s how to handle the new narrative and mechanical options that come with th...

TPT #387: Handling High-Level Magic & Game-Breaking Effects. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social discuss how to run and adjudicate powerful, open-ended magic, artifacts, and technology. And the party reconnects in the Gates of Mourning campaign.
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TPT #386: Comparing RPG Crafting Systems and Building Your Own by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane talk about what makes a robust and fun item crafting system. (Hint: Your game probably doesn’t have one.) Plus, how to port over the best stuff to your campaign. And the party gets g...

TPT #386: Comparing RPG Crafting Systems & Building Your Own. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social discuss what makes a robust and fun item crafting system. (Hint: Your game probably doesn’t have one.) And in Gates of Mourning, the party gets grim news. #dnd
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TPT #385: How to Homebrew RPG Houserules That Your Table Won’t Hate by Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours I-Hsien and Shane talk about how to create effective table rules to help everyone have more fun—and fix issues with your game system. And the party reunites with their oldest friend in the Gates of Mo...

TPT #385: How to Homebrew RPG Houserules That Your Table Won’t Hate. @ihsien.bsky.social & @mundangerous.bsky.social discuss creating table rules to help everyone have more fun & the party reunites with their oldest friend in Gates of Mourning #dnd #ttrpg
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