Meet Voth, a power-mad sorcerer living on long stolen time. His longevity has been acquired by nefarious magical means, including pacts with demons. He knows his time is near, but he may be able to avoid paying his debts if he can only find the Tenth Crown of Chaos!
An absolutely gorgeous rendition by @arikroper for one of the covers of The Black Spire Pact! Live now on Backerkit!
For this 2 player competitive game, we are pitting Arik and @theartofskinner against each other. Arik is bringing the enchantment, the mystical side of things for Voth, while Skinner is capturing the frenetic chaos of the demon realm for Marax, the Duke of Astrology!
Thanks to @exaltedfuneral@necroticgnome for hosting OSE month!
#chooseyourownadventure #fightingfantasy #dungeonsanddragons #trrpg #gamebook
The Black Spire Pact launches on Backerkit May 6th!!!
This is the first of our Player Versus Player Adventure Gamebooks, a two-player competitive game designed to play like a “choose-your-own-path” book but with dice and old school dungeon crawling!
In this first set, Voth, the power-mad sorcerer invades hell seeking the Tenth Crown of Chaos. Meanwhile, Marax, Duke of Astrology, won’t stand for it!
Grab a friend, or mistrusted enemy, and prepare to battle! Will you play as the demon, or the magic user?
The Black Spire Pact is illustrated by an absolute dream duo: @arikroper and @theartofskinner and written and designed by @games.maxmoon and @janaka_stucky
All as part of OSE Month with @exaltedfuneral and @necroticgnome !! It’s going to be a blast!!
Meet Marax, the Duke of Astrology, the Bejewelled One, and aspiring Demon Lord! Born from starstuff and fungal fermentation, Marax knows the cosmos wells and gives good familiars. His spies tell him that the filthy human sorcerer, Voth, is planning an assault on the seventh church of Hell, the Black Spire! Can he stop this invasive goon?
A wildly brilliant depiction by @theartofskinner for one of the covers of The Black Spire Pact! Live now on Backerkit!
For this 2 player competitive game, we are pitting @arikroper and Skinner against each other. Arik is bringing the enchantment, the mystical side of things for Voth, while Skinner is capturing the frenetic chaos of the demon realm for Marax, the Duke of Astrology!
Thanks to @exaltedfuneral@necroticgnome for hosting OSE month!
#chooseyourownadventure #fightingfantasy #dungeonsanddragons #trrpg #gamebook
Day 7 of demonic inspiration for #osemonth !!
I took a little break from posting. I am back. Today we have Le Dictionnaire Infernal by Jacques Collin de Plancy and illustrated by the amazing Louis Le Breton.
This English translation edition is awesome, with a caveat. First, I love the full page demon illustrations and just the sheer size of this is lovely. The binding is great and I am grateful to have it in English. My French is not what it used to be. That being said, I have to warn that I have stumbled onto some rough spots in the translation, one of which completely misses an important aspect of the demon. The English was awkward, but I know enough about demons and witches and I have studied enough French that I was able to catch the error, revisit the original French, and figure it out. So while I recommend this as a fun and beautiful edition, there may be better translations out there for those who want to ensure what they are reading is fairly accurate.
But still, I highly recommend this for anyone who wants a large resource on the demonic and ghastly. It is extremely handy, and is very much an encyclopedia style book with entries for many many things. Whether you are a writer or GM looking for inspiration, this is a must!
#dictionnaireinfernal #demons #osemonth
CHECK OUT @flaming.hand FOR THEIR INCREDIBLE RPG/CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE PROJECT ON BACKERKIT! I'm doing it with fantasy artist legend @arikroper he's the best and it's always an honor to work alongside him! Black spire pact! The demon vs wizard situation you have always dreamed of! @games.maxmoon is the brainchild behind it!
Day 6 of demonic inspiration for #osemonth and it is an absolute classic: Paradise Lost featuring the illustrations of William Blake! How can we talk about hell and demons at all without this gorgeous work of fantastic poetry! Milton manages to create a new mythology built upon the battle between heaven and hell, one that is deeply romantic. I first read it in high school and it was so incredibly moving that I couldn’t tear myself away. This one will always hold a close place in my heart. Its influence is infinitely far reaching.
#hell #williamblake #paradiselost #inspiration
Day 5 of demonic inspiration for OSE month! If you haven’t done it yet, get over there and back the Black Spire Pact!
Before I talk about The Red Dragon, I have to talk about this song. Orbital sampling the Butthole Surfers is just way too perfect on this #mothersday !
Okay, now, for this gorgeous copy of The Red Dragon from @black.letter.press
When I first got my hands on a passed around xeroxed copy of this in ‘01, I never imagined it would be something readily in print and so lovingly cared for.
This was so darkly rumored and taboo where I came from!
All I am going to say about this one is that if you want to summon up the devil and make a deal to garner some advantage in life, well this is the book for you.
#satan #darkfantasy #osemonth #inspiration
Day 4 of demonic inspiration books for #osemonth !!
Today, we are focusing on #clarkashtonsmith one of the absolute greats of weird fiction, and probably the biggest influence on my work on The Black Spire Pact. I can also say, C.A.S. Was one of the people @arikroper@theartofskinner and @janaka_stucky all nerded out on as we were starting this project.
No one knows how to capture the eerie mad sorcerer quite like CAS, who surely was one himself. Here are a few of my favorites from my shelf, including some old Necronomicon Press chapbooks!
The Magic of Atlantis contains a story that really put the vision of Voth into my head.
And if you haven’t backed it yet, The Black Spire Pact is live on Backerkit and we could really use your support!!
#weirdfiction #darkfantasy #weirdtales
Day 3 of posting demonic inspiration for #osemonth brought us by @exaltedfuneral and @necroticgnome !
Let’s talk about Faust. There’s a damn good reason we use the term “Faustian” when describing making a bargain. Contracts with demons are such a wonderful area to explore.
I also have to talk about Harry Clarke. One of my all time favorite illustrators. I feel very lucky to have found this copy of Faust (some of the pages were even uncut still!). Harry Clarke’s work is so wildly imaginative, creepy, and straight up mind-bending!
#demons #harryclarke #faust #ttrpg
Day 2 of posting demons books for #osemonth
Let’s get academic today. This book is an absolute must for folks who want to better understand and contextualized the relationship of demons to colonialism. The concept of “small gods” is fascinating. It also layers onto the concept of “demonization.” I burned through this one way too fast and should probably reread it. One of my all time faves.
#demons #anticolonialism #ttrpg #folklore
Day 1 of posting books I love about demons during Old School Essentials Demons Month!
The Fallible Fiend by L Sprague de Camp!
What if the protagonist was a simple demon summoned into servitude on the material plane by humans. What if those very humans prove to be completely ridiculous with no sense of real morality or logic? Tell me to kill and eat anyone who enters and then get mad at me for following orders? Agree that we should have a healthy vegetarian diet but then get mad at me for not devouring an intruder? And don’t even get me started on procreation!
L Sprague De Camp has a dry and goofy sense of humor that I admire. I highly recommend this book. For fans of the Unbeheaded King series, you will be happy to know it is set in the same world!
Our demonic project is live on @backerkit right now! This book was a significant influence!
#lspraguedecamp #swordandsorcery #demons #oldschoolessentials #appendixn
Tape hiss. Needle drop. A ritual, not a shuffle.
At the Flaming Hand Emporium, we’re stocking the sounds you can hold—vinyl that spins stories and tapes that carry ghosts. This isn’t background noise. This is texture, memory, resistance.
"There is something beautiful in this tape culture that reminds me of what I have always loved about music. The longing for escape, for nostalgia, for a world where evocation is meaningful. In this doomed age of Spotify, on the escalator to hyper-polished AI slop, I am reminded of Arthur Danto's theory of indiscernibles. It is as if we have somehow reversed it. Art isn't dead. Everything else is." - Max Moon @games.maxmoon
Step out of the stream and into the signal. Browse the collection. Find something that feels like it was meant for you. They sell out fast, but you can sign up for restock notifications and, as always, join the order of The Flaming Hand for exclusive perks.
