Tale of the Manticore

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

My GenCon Schedule

Hey friends!

For anyone heading to GenCon, if you'd like to hook up and play some games, here's where I'll be:

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Shownotes for Episode 63 (S3E63)

Theme Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

LTO Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwW0vFUCz

Part 1b Odin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XddzQIaRIU

Part 1e SoundImage.org Misty Bog https://soundimage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Misty-Bog_remixed.mp3

Some FX https://www.zapsplat.com

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Shownotes for Episode 62 (S3E62)

Theme Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

LTO Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwW0vFUCz

Dramatis RPG SOUNDS #1506 “Realization”

Part 2a Odin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XddzQIaRIU

Part2c Tense Cinematic Instrumental Ambient Music by Argsound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTz6Qp7QE_c

Part 3 Fearless Final Boss Battle - Alehandro Vodnik

Some FX https://www.zapsplat.com

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Shownotes for Episode 61 (S3E61)

Theme Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

LTO Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwW0vFUCz

Some FX https://www.zapsplat.com

Thursday, June 25, 2026

I Went To A Renfaire

Last Sunday I attended my first ever Renfaire. It was at Black Creek in Toronto on June 20th.

I was first struck by just how many of the attendees were in cosplay (about half); how many costumes had nothing to do with the Renaissance (about three quarters); and the sheer number of folks sporting those plastic Temu elf ears (like… a lot).

The day started with a joust in which the MC belabored the point that the sport was completely real and very dangerous. Within about 2 minutes, one of the knights was launched from his (massive) warhorse, and landed hard on the ground.

He laid there, unmoving, for quite some time while the smiles in the audience began to droop.

Sir David had dislocated a shoulder and the joust was over.

I think I can speak for the audience when I say we all felt a bit crappy about having paid to see an exciting bloodsport in which someone actually got hurt.

The rest of the faire (the extra e matters) was good - it included pizza cones, lemonade, taking in a few shows (Men in Tights - a pantomime style audience participation show, Midwife Crisis - a straight up stand up comedy routine, and a sword-balancing belly dancer) which were all very well done. We finished with a walk about in the shopping tents.

Here's a few photos: