The Scheming Landlord of Magomero
W.J. Livingstone operated a plantation in Malawi in the early 20th century. He was ruthless, capricious, exploitative, and cruel. He worked within the system, leaning on the letter of the law when he could and enforcing the spirit of the law when he couldn’t. His schemes make him a fantastic villain, and he can be […]
Teddy Roosevelt’s Crime-Fighting Guinea Pigs
The family of America’s 26th president, Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt, had a lot of pets: four dogs, two birds, a snake, a lizard, a badger, a rat, a pig, and more besides. The most delightful were those named for real people: the guinea pigs Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Admiral Dewey, Father O’Grady, and Fighting Bob Evans […]
Baiae
Once a month here on the Molten Sulfur Blog, I run content taken from our book Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs. This post is one of eighty entries in Archive, each more gameable than the last! This post is brought to you by beloved Patreon backer Arthur Brown. Thanks for helping keep […]
The Agate House
In the remote desert of Arizona, in Petrified Forest National Park, there sits an odd structure. It looks like a Native American pueblo. But instead of being made of adobe or stone, its walls are made from chunks of quartz the size of your head. This is the Agate House. It’s an archaeological marvel, and […]
Caddo Lake
Once a month here on the Molten Sulfur Blog, I run content taken from our book Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs. This post is one of eighty entries in Archive, each more gameable than the last! This post is brought to you by beloved Patreon backer Arthur Brown. Thanks for helping keep […]
Bob Bartlett
Once a month here on the Molten Sulfur Blog, I run content taken from our book Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs. This post is one of eighty entries in Archive, each more gameable than the last! This post is brought to you by beloved Patreon backer Justin Moor. Thanks for helping keep […]
PCs on the Battlefield: Caesar’s Wars (Part 4)
This is the final installment in a 4-part series about the wars of Julius Caesar. We ended the last post with Caesar’s political rival Pompey dead, and Caesar gearing up to pursue the last of Pompey’s loyalists across the Mediterranean. This week, we conclude the story! As before, my focus is on moments when individual […]
1936 Olympics in Berlin
Once a month here on the Molten Sulfur Blog, I run content taken from our book Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs. This post is one of eighty entries in Archive, each more gameable than the last! This post is brought to you by beloved Patreon backer Justin Moor. Thanks for helping keep […]
Shipwrecked Sailors: Armed and Desperate
The 1808 shipwreck of the Russian schooner Nikolai on the shores of the Quileute nation (in what is today Washington state) is remarkable primarily for its aftermath: the collective efforts of the Quileute, Hoh, and Makah nations to deal with 22 armed and desperate shipwrecked Russian sailors. In 1808, the Russian-American Trading Company was looking […]
PCs on the Battlefield- Caesar’s Wars (Part 3)
This is part 3 of a 4-part series about the wars of Julius Caesar. Previously, we wrapped up his nine-year conquest of Gaul and began his civil war against his former ally Pompey! This week, we’ll wrap up the civil war. As before, my focus is on moments when individual people impacted the outcomes of […]
Tall Tales of the West African Gold Trade
From the 8th century to the late Middle Ages, the West African savanna was a gold-producing region for the distant Mediterranean. Vast sums of metal flowed along sinuous trade routes into the Islamic world and Europe. As the gold traveled, the merchants carrying it knew less and less about the source of this wealth. By […]
Justice for Lula Viers
Back in September we talked a bit about murder ballads: those peculiar songs from the American South that recount the events of killings. This time, we’re going to look at the ballad Lulie Vars, based on the 1916 murder of Lula Viers by her lover. In many ways, it’s a tragically ordinary story. Over half […]
PCs on the Battlefield- Caesar’s Wars (Part 2)
This is part 2 of a 4-part series about the wars of Julius Caesar. We started with his nine-year conquest of Gaul. This week, we’ll finish up the Gallic War, then move move into the civil war against his former ally Pompey! Future entries will cover his involvement in an Egyptian civil war that placed […]
Balochistan
Once a month here on the Molten Sulfur Blog, I run content taken from our book Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs. This post is one of eighty entries in Archive, each more gameable than the last! BalochistanLand of Remote Villages Balochistan is Pakistan’s westernmost province, and its largest and most sparsely inhabited […]
Egyptian Iconoclasm and Stone Golems
Let’s be real for a second: in most fantasy RPGs, stone golems make no sense. It’s a giant hunk of animate stone, and you fight it with… swords? And fire spells? What exactly is your battleaxe supposed to do to this rock? Maybe in your rules set golems take half damage from piercing or double […]