Kyuss D&D Name Origin & Void 1680 AM Playlist Building Game

Plus Loot the Body Song for The Merry Mushmen

Often articles about the influential stoner band Kyuss will briefly mention the D&D origins of the band’s name. This recent article about a performance by vocalist John Garcia gives a longer than usual explanation of the source for the Kyuss name (albeit mostly copied and pasted from Wikipedia):

“The 'undead' lives again! Well, sorta- see, in the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Kyuss is a deity concerned with the Creation and Mastery of the Undead. Known as the Bonemaster, the Wormgod, and the Herald of the Age of Worms, his symbol is a skull erupting with writhing green worms.”

Sons of Kyuss were described as follows in the AD&D Fiend Folio:

“Truly horrible creatures in appearance, these ghastly undead appear as animated putrid corpses with fat green worms crawling in and out of all their skull orifices. Kyuss was an evil high priest, creating the first of these creatures under instruction from an evil deity. Since then the ‘sons’ have increased considerably in numbers.”

In exciting Kyuss-related news, John Garcia is collaborating with Mastadon guitarist Bill Kelliher on a project. You can read more about this team-up of titans in this Metal Injection article.

Void 1680 AM Playlist Building Game

I stumbled across another tabletop RPG with a music theme. Void 1680 AM is a solo playlist building game written by Ken Lowery from Bannerless Games. Here is a description:

Night after night, you sit alone with your thoughts, your music, and a microphone. Whether you come to your radio show with somber attitude or joyful spirit, you use the music that moves you to etch something fleeting and beautiful into the big empty.

You never know who is listening

There are other voices in the darkness. With a deck of cards, a six-sided die and a stack of music, you will build a playlist, invent and interact with Callers to your show, and evolve their stories over as many broadcasts as you like. No matter their motivations, they simply must be heard. In that way, you are very alike.

The game was an 2023 ENNIE Judges' Spotlight Winner and you can purchase it from the Bannerless Games itch.io page.

Loot the Body Song for The Merry Mushmen

The video for The Merry Mushmen’s new crowdfunding campaign features a song by Critical Hit Parader favorite Loot the Body. The Merry Mushmen have a stellar reputation for quality products as exemplified by their Knock! magazine, and this project is for two OSE adventures. Check out the video and song here:

You can support the campaign and purchase both adventures here.