The Maniculum Podcast

This week, we dive into two examples of Irish werewolf tales that you can adapt into your TTRPG! Learn a different story about the werewolf than the 21st century beast, and bring a few new traditions - and twists - to your table. 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 m...

A cheating wife plots with a her lover, a necromancer, to kill her husband, a knight on pilgrimage... what could possibly happen when another necromancer decides to protect the knight? We're breaking down tales in the Gesta Romanorum to learn more about medieval law and necromancy! Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon !  Get your copy of Marginal Wo...

Sometimes, internet lore takes on a life of its own. Join us this week as we debunk the popular internet myth of the Irish faoladh, and dive into the true history of the Irish werewolf and its medieval origins! 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...

Can you think like a medieval philosopher? In this episode, we're challenging our guests -- medievalists and non-medievalists alike -- to answer the riddlesome questions presented in the medieval philosophy dialogue of Sidrak and Bokkus! Can you divine the reasoning behind why birds fly, or why some people are short? Join us this episode for weird wisdoms to put in your TTRPGs. CHECK OUT OUR GUEST...

What do postal service routes have to do with the national spy network, and how can it improve your worldbuidling? Find out this week as we conclude the Secret History of Byzantium! We conclude this epic text with a few final tales of vice, corruption, and an epic heist that you can set up for your players, too. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon...

What happens when a wandering knight fails in his quest to get the girl? He needs a therapist, of course! Join us in this guest episode with Georgian lit scholar James Baillie as we walk through the Georgian poetic epic "The Knight in Panther's Skin" and come away with a thousand new ideas for your next TTRPG. Check out James' work here: The Exile Princess on Steam The Exilian Articles F...

A lot of you want to bring medieval necromancy to life in your D&D and TTRPG games, so we delivered! In this ep, we break down the formulae for medieval exorcisms and conjurations, and provide some tips on how you can conjure safely at home - in your game or otherwise. Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon ! Get your copy of Marginal Worlds , a d...

We're back with part two of the history of cards! As we delve into the sheer variety of cards that blossomed throughout Europe, we begin to see the ripple effects that they had -- both impacting and reflecting world cultures. Why not use cards similarly in your TTRPGs? We'll show you how! Images and list of suits here . Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on...

We all like TTRPGs, but what about integrating other games into your tabletop play? This week, we're exploring the history of playing cards, their many variations and occult practices, and how you can utilize their unique history for your worldbuilding and campaigns. Images and list of suits here . Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon ! Get your cop...

Sick of the same old "evil monarchy" in your TTRPGs? Looking to create a corrupt government for your players to dismantle? Look no further - we're adapting byzantine bureaucracy and it's finest villains into BBEGs for your next tabletop game. 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...

When Grendel decides to steal Christmas from all the Whos down in Heorot... who else comes to save them but Cindy-Lou Who? Join us for our Christmas special as we do a unique retelling of Beowulf, and how Grendel and the Grinch may be more alike than you think. Read along here ! Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon ! Get your copy of Marginal Worlds...

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 fr...

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...

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...

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 &am...

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 Tu...

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 C...

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: ...

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 Fa...

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 ! S...

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 Leec...

Spice up your D&D campaign with some real medieval magic! We're back with Necromancy 101 with new spells for TTPRG players, GMs, and witches alike. This week, we're discussing spells on charming a potential ally, embitter two friends against each other, and how to win the favor of your local lord. How does sympathetic magic work, and how can YOU adapt it to your game? Join our discord communit...

Prokopios is back at it with bad takes in his Secret History, spouting off what should only be found on Byzantine Twitter. Dive into his absurd takes on why the emperor is actually a demon, and why his wife is SUPER into him. Plus, explore the possibilities of actually having a demon emperor in your TTRPG game, and the complications of a nosy court historian for your players. Join our discord comm...

We're delving back into the Munich Handbook of Necromancy this week with transportation and reanimation spells. With so many spells to choose from, we're walking you through how to adapt a horse summoning spell to your TTRPG campaign, and maybe even give your players an invisibility cloak to boot. Our Kickstarter is LIVE! Be the first to get a deck of 50 magic items straight from medieval manuscri...

The Byzantine world continues to make for a perfect D&D setting! In this episode, Justinian outlaws astrology, while he and Theodora pretend to be an the embittered couple in order to play both sides of the sport-fans-turned-rioters, and "Pumpkin," the city prefect, is ousted from power by these sports fanatics. What could possibly go wrong? Our Kickstarter is LIVE! Be the first to g...