Ship of the Dead Podcast

Luke takes his crew down into the Locker to deep dive on the showcase adventure in the new expansion book Down Among the Dead. The adventure, Lost to the Locker, is a post-TPK (Total Party Kill) adventure where you must traverse the terrors of the netherworld and find a way back to the land of the living.

Ship of the Dead Podcast Ep. 207: Elements of Great RPG adventures feat. Professor Dungeon Master and Brad Kerr Professor Dungeon Master and Brad Kerr join the Ship of the Dead podcast to talk OSR design, Deathbringer for Shadowdark, Mythic Bastionland, Dolmenwood, adventure writing, encounter design, rumors, and what makes a great RPG session actually work at the table. This episode is packed with tabletop RPG design talk, GM advice, indie RPG discussion, and behind-the-scenes conversation for fans of Pirate Borg, Shadowdark, Old-School Essentials, and the OSR.

What if Curse of Strahd took place on a vampire pirate ship? In this Pirate Borg deep dive we break down Into the Maelstrom, a gothic horror adventure set aboard a haunted ship in the Dark Caribbean. We break down how the adventure works, how to run it as a 4-hour one-shot, and how to expand it into a full campaign across the Dark Caribbean. We also demonstrate the Three-Eyed Parrot card reading mechanic, discuss the terrifying pelagic vampires, and walk through the massive haunted ship The Maelstrom deck-by-deck.

At Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo (PAGE), Luke gets together another expert panel of OSR creators and talks shop about what everyone believes IS the OSR, what their favorite blogs are, and where the OSR is headed through 2026. Featuring Kelsey Dionne (Shadowdark), Tiger Wizard (Exalted Funeral), Levi Combs (Planet X Games), and Robert Conley (Bat in the Attic Games).

See the extended full episode on Patreon! Mike Shea (aka "The Lazy Dungeon Master" & “Sly Flourish”) chats with Luke about how to prep your RPG session and be a better GM. Recorded at PAGE 3, this turned into round after round of volleys as both of them present ideas and experiences that practically work at the table.