Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf
Plus Viking Death Squad: Black Sabbath & Slayer
This is the 50th issue of the Critical Hit Parader newsletter. I started the newsletter last January when I was looking for a way to email people interested in my Critical Hit Parader zine that I was crowdfunding for ZineQuest in February. I ended up having a lot of fun sharing intersections between my twin passions of music and tabletop roleplaying game.
Through the newsletter, I was able to meet other people interested in music and RPGs, and I launched the Appendix LP podcast so I would have an excuse to have deeper conversations. I want to thank my podcast guests for their time, enthusiasm, and fantastic recommendations for games and music:
But mostly I want to thank the subscribers of this newsletter. I’m honored that you let me invade your inbox each week, and I hope you find these blurbs about music and RPGs fun and informative. Please continue to share your suggestions for topics and let me know if there is anything I can do to improve the newsletter. I’m also looking for additional guests for the podcast with diverse interests and backgrounds in music and/or games.
Happy New Year!
Matt
Viking Death Squad: Black Sabbath & Slayer
Viking Death Squad (VDS) from Runehammer Games is an innovative d6 tabletop roleplaying game. The following excerpt from the “Fundamentals” section of the VDS book describes the theme of the game:
“VDS was originally inspired by “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. This game is the world of that song. Find your heavy metal avatar, your forever jam, and manifest it here. Choose dark, seething synths and tribal drums for your sessions. Make it legend. Just ask: What would Ozzy do?”
On the Runehammer Patreon page, designer/artist Brandish Gilhelm published a VDS adventure module for patrons called “Seasons in the Abyss,” which was inspired by the 1990 Slayer song of the same name. He included a link to the following playlist to help set the mood:
I’ve been a Runehammer patron for a long time, and if you have the means to support, I strongly recommend joining the Runehammer “Shield Wall.” I have received much more than my money’s worth in great content, advice, camaraderie, and inspiration.
Congrats on hitting 50, Matt! If only this was the first time you were hearing this in your life ;)
As fate would have it, I listened to Slayer's Reign in Blood album this morning for the first time in a long time this morning. This would be a distracting soundtrack to non-combat portions of a gaming session, put perfect for melee!
Congrats on 50, Matt! Very happy to have gotten to know you!