Urban Fantasy Friday: Slasher Flick Director's Cut At the start of the week, I posted about Horror Movie rules and the Final Girl. Which reminded me of the RPG Slasher Flick: Director's Cut from Spectrum Games. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/07/urba...

They are arresting U.S. Air Force Officers for free speech and U.S. Olympians for curiosity—but not rich men for raping children with Jeffrey Epstein.

This Old Dragon: Issue #112 Been spending some quality time in 1986 lately, so let's go back to August. Aliens is in the theatres, and This Old Dragon #112 is on game tables everywhere. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/07/this...

Witchcraft Wednesday: Étaín Moonshadow I picked up a new Forgotten Realms game over the past weekend. Sorta. It is actually the same game I have been playing in, just with some new characters and a new religion to explore. #witch #adnd #moongoddess theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/07/witc...

Vecna Must Die! Vecna is having a bit of a renaissance these days. Big adventure for D&D 5, season-ending bad guy on Critical Role, and (sorta) Stranger Things. Seems strange that I have never used him. I need to change that. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/vecn...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986, The Final Girl and the Adventuring Party Jackson, IL is a place where 1980s horror rules apply. Some horror rules are good; others need to be buried behind the school. But the Final Girl still serves a good purpose. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mirr...

I have "Vecna: Eve of Ruin" and the AD&D 2nd Edition Vecna Trilogy ("Vecna Lives!", "Vecna Reborn", and "Die Vecna Die!") I have watched Stranger Things, and just finished Season 4 of Critical Role. Now I want an epic Vecna-centric adventure that spans the multiverse. Time to write #VecnaMustDie

Hey #TTRPG fans. Have you seen my series "In Search Of..."? I do a deep dive into some bit of obscure RPG lore and share with you all my research and findings. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/search/label... What would you like to see next?

Supergirl Day and Larina for DC Universe I get hyped for the new Supergirl movie (seeing it tonight) and I stayed up WAY too late last night exploring the DC Universe RPG. #ttrpg #supergirl #DC theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/supe...

BECMI Binders I saw this post on Facebook a bit ago, and I thought it was rather great. So some DriveThruRPG pdfs and Prime Day binders later, I have a full set of my own. #dnd #becmi #80s theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/becm...

The Witches of Appendix N: A. Merritt One of the lesser-known authors to me on the Appendix N reading. His stories are great and have all the elements of a great adventure. Why isn't he better known? I explore his witches and what they mean for D&D. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/the-...

Tales of Jackson, IL: Not-so Mystic Locales One of the things I wanted when I began putting together Jackson was it to feel real. I wanted places these characters could hang out and locations that felt like something from the Midwest in the mid 1980s. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/tale...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. The Familiar Is Not a Pet Calling a witch’s familiar a pet is like calling a spellbook a notebook. It is technically close enough to be really wrong. I talk about familiars in my two projects. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mirr...

Witchcraft Wednesdays: It Takes Three to Make A Thing Go Right I have said it here before, but witches are social. They see patterns in social dynamics and in social constructs. This is why you see more covens than solitaries in my Jackson game. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/witc...

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within We are back in Ravenloft. Again. And honestly, I am happy to be here. I check out the new D&D 5.5 Ravenloft book and compare it to the 5.0 Van Richten's Guide and previous Ravenloft offerings. #dnd5 #ravenloft #dnd2024 theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/rave...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. The Public Library as Dungeon The public library was among the first places where the world seemed to expand and grow stranger at once. It is the perfect metaphor for an adventure. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mirr...

Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday (June 13) was my birthday! I had a great time and got some great gifts. #ttrpg theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/happ...

RPG Retrospective: The Adventures of Indiana Jones RPG On this day in 1981, 45 years ago, I went to see the newest George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collab called "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The movie was fantastic. How was the RPG? Well...see for yourself. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/rpg-...

Trump’s inner circle held a SECRET meeting in a national security bunker…not to address a crisis, but to figure out how to fake transparency on the Epstein files. To protect Trump! Vance, Wiles, Bondi, Patel, Leavitt , etc . all in the room. #Epstein #USDemocracy #Pinks apple.news/AQs86Fr0LReO...

Very factual information 💯💯💯🎯

Jackson, IL: NPCs, The Ones Who Know One of the big hooks in the Jackson, IL game I am using is that the adults in the game know a little bit of what is going on. That is to say, they know Jackson has more than its fair share of weirdness. #ttrpg #witch theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/jack...

"bombshell New York Times investigation this morning: it reveals that senior officials across the White House, Justice Department, and FBI were consumed by a months-long effort to manage the Epstein files in ways that would protect Donald Trump from political damage." Not surprising sadly. #SheShed

Project Updates. Codex Qliphothica, Advanced Witches, and Jackson IL It's a Projects Update Witchcraft Wednesday! Qliphothica did great, Jackson may see print, and Advanced Witches gets pushed back. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/proj...

Mail Call Tuesday: Authentic Thaumaturgy I picked this up on Facebook Marketplace. I had a copy in the past, but sold it when I was in grad school. It is...interesting. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mail...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. The Midwest Witch If you put "witch" and "America" in the same sentence, most folks will think of Salem or New Orleans. But my witch is from wind-swept prairies, and old towns with older secrets. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mirr...

The Enchanted World: Spells and Bindings Time once again to return to the Time-LIFE series, The Enchanted World, and once again, we deal with the topic of magic, in Spells and Bindings. #theEnchantedWorld #Fantasy80s theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/the-...

Mail Call Wednesday: D&D Basic & Expert in Print The BEST version of Dungeons & Dragons in back in print now. The Moldvay Basic book and the Cook/Marsh Expert book are now available in Print-on-Demand formats from DriveThruRPG. #dnd #ttrpg #bx #basicdnd theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mail...

Jackson, IL: Pride (In the Name of Love) With Pride Month here, my thoughts keep returning to Jackson, IL. Not just the horror of adolescence or the dangers of living in a haunted town. The dangers of being LGBTQ in the 1980s. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/jack...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. Occult Magic Before It Had a Name It is June 1st, and June has always been prime D&D time for me. Today, I talk about the genesis of the idea of Occult D&D, going back to 1986. #ttrpg #dnd #witch theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/06/mirr...

If you've witnessed: ➡️Use of force by ICE officers. ➡️Racial profiling by ICE officers. ➡️A workplace immigration raid. ➡️An untargeted traffic stop by ICE officers. ➡️Local police departments working with federal immigration enforcement. We want to know about it! ⬇️

The Witches of Appendix N: Jack Vance You simply cannot talk about magic and Appendix N without mentioning Jack Vance. Vancian Magic, Ioun Stones, Vecna, the Most Excellent Prismatic Spray. All of these and more came to Gary while reading Jack Vance. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/the-...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. Why 1986? So, one has to ask: why 1986? It is a legitimate question and one that lingers under both Jackson, IL, and Advanced Witches & Warlocks. I explore why this is a transitional year for AD&D 1st Ed. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/mirr...

5 NON-D&D TTRPGs to get to know me: 1. WitchCraft RPG 2. NIGHT SHIFT 3. Chill 4. Ghosts of Albion 5. Thirteen Parsecs #5ttrpgs

Fantasy Fridays: Forgotten Realms Book of Lairs Working through my Forgotten Realms books. I’ve been wanting to put in some time with the Forgotten Realms reviews. In part because I have a pile of them here staring at me. Taunting me. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/fant...

This Old Dragon: Issue #44 Yesterday I talked about Gardner Fox's contributions to Appendix N and Dragon Magazine. Well, here is that Dragon. From December 1980. #1980s #Dragon #TSR #RPG #DnD theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/this...

The Witches of Appendix N: Gardner Fox Gardner Fox is an interesting member of the Appendix N canon. Fox is one of the few I can find who has also published in Dragon Magazine. Today is his birthday, so let's dive into his mentions in Appendix N. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/the-...

Jackson, IL: NPCs, the Adults in the Room Not every adult in town is clueless about the Supernatural. Many are, but some know the truth, and some have fought these battles before. Here are some of the adults as actual "Veterans of the Supernatural Wars." theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/jack...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. Teenage Witches and the Haunted Midwest Last week, I examined the witch in AD&D as if it were written in 1986. This week, I am looking at the same concepts from the point of view of a game set in 1986. #witch #ttrpg theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/mirr...

Witches at The Bundle of Holding To help promote my new Codex Qliphothica for OSE Demon Month at BackerKit I have partnered with The Bundle of Holding to offer a bunch of my OSR Witch books for a deeply discounted price. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/witc...

Save Big with The Other Side OSR Bundle at Bundle of Holding - @timsbrannan.bsky.social #BundleofHolding #TheOtherSide #OSR #TTRPGs thegaminggang.com/save-money-o...

The Witches of Appendix N: Andre Norton I am now heading into another important entry to the Appendix N. Andre Norton is one of only three women Gygax mentions. We are also getting one of the few books where witches are the key figures. #AppendixN #adnd theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/the-...

Are Table Top RPGs a Gateway to EVIL??? theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/jack... #ttrpg #osr #dnd #d20

Jackson, IL: Am I Evil? NPCs of the Satanic Panic Last week, I talked about running two different 80s teenage horror campaigns. My Sunny Valley game with Dark Places & Demogorgons and my current Jackson one with NIGHT SHIFT. I explore them some more. #rpg theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/jack...

Mirror Mondays: The Witches of 1986. The Witch Was Already Waiting in AD&D The main design idea behind Advanced Witches & Warlocks is simple. The Witch was already a part of AD&D. She had yet to receive an official class. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/mirr...

Fantasy Fridays: FOR4 The Code of the Harpers I used to think I knew what the Harpers were and what they were all about. Turns out I was very wrong. Only took me 33 years. Well, I try to make up for it now. #forgottenrealms #adnd2 #ttrpg theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/fant...

Running NIGHT SHIFT and Dark Places & Demogorgons: What I've Learned from Two 80s Campaigns I’ve explored the world of 1980s supernatural gaming before. Different campaigns, different systems, but a lot of the same lessons. #80s #ttrpg #NIGHTSHIFT theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/runn...

OSE Demon Month: Codex Qliphothica and More! Old-School Essentials Demon month begins now with the new OSE Demonic Tome. I am participating, and I am joined by other creators for a massive launch of demon titles, all for OSE. Check out all the offerings. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/ose-...

Tales from Jackson, IL: Bring on the Dancing Horses Two more important NPCs, the "it couple" Rowan and Andy. Rowan is the protector of Jackson, or will be one day. Andy is...well, Andy kept changing on me. But changing for the better. theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2026/05/tale...