Critical Lit

By Amelia Som, Dan Dillon, Sal Tamarkin, I-Hsien SherwoodArts Books Leisure Games

Critical Lit episodes

May 20 Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 03: Throuple Trouble
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: [email protected]
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
2 hr 13 min
May 06 Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 02: An Officer and a Normalman
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 53 min
April 22 Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 01: Miserly Business
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 45 min
April 08 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 18: This Little Blight of Mine
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 42 min
March 25 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 17: Knockin' on Khazan's Door
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 38 min
March 11 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 16: The Other Mother
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 32 min
February 25 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 15: Fowl Play
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 25 min
February 11 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 14: Build-a-Bride Workshop
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 45 min
January 28 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 13: Eight Crazy Knights
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 40 min
January 14 Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 12: Baker's Coven
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: [email protected]
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
1 hr 23 min

About Critical Lit

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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…