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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

As we walk out of Barovia for good, we leave this land and this book forever changed. And we don't just mean the lidless third eye and hunger for bones, though those are nice too. Pour out a little Red Dragon Crush for all our mist connections. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 27: You Will Be Mist

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · October 7 · 1h 33m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We're gonna need @stras.bsky.social to reskin Band of Blades for Curse of Strahd. The Party fights eastward against hordes of undead, to the final showdown at Castle Ravenloft against The Cinder Count. Broken: The Abbot, the Mad Mage, Argynvost. Rally to your Chosen Ally. Bring siege engines.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Bullet time still hits, friends. In this month's bonus content, this film holds up far better than other, more Star Wars-y attempts to launch a sci-fi movie trilogy in 1999. What does body horror look like nearly 30 years later? I have no thumbs and I must scroll? www.patreon.com/CriticalLit/...

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The Matrix (Part 2) - September 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

Bullet time still hits, friends. We're happy to say this film holds up far better than other, more Star Wars-y attempts to launch a sci-fi m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's the Curse of Strahd Q&A! You had questions, both thought-provoking and simply provocative. Some mechanical, some hypothetical, some satirical, even some heretical. And we have...opinions. Hot takes! Recommendations! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 26: Question Everything

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · September 26 · 1h 36m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Is this sandbox too spooky? Try a less grim take on Barovia with these more heroic (and more linear) options. And we pick clean the corpses of the other official Ravenloft books that have dropped in recent years. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 25: Mod Squad

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · September 10 · 1h 47m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Strahd gets knocked down, but he gets up again. And again. The Epilogues in Curse of Strahd offer endings, of a sort. Happy, not so much. All your favorites and least favorites are accounted for, except for the ones who are not. Vasilka we hardly knew ye. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 24: Slaughter Rinse Repeat

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · August 27 · 1h 46m

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Yeah he’s cool and collected until someone suggests Reed Richten just might be smarter than him. RICHTEN!!!

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

In Ch. 15 of Curse of Strahd, the werewolf pack gets their claws out. Which of these lucky young newcomers to the den will come out on top in this single elimination competition? And will child endangerment laws get in the way? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 23: The Real Housewolves of Barovia

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · August 12 · 1h 46m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We’ve spent a year crawling through Strahd’s guts. After two dozen episodes of critical analysis, it’s time for the Curse of Strahd Q&A! We’ve read every word of this book, so feel free to get into the weeds. Send questions via DM or email hugepitfilledwith200spikes at gmail.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The dream of the '90s is alive in Port-land. In this month's bonus content, the Matrix perfectly captures the wrongness predicating the imminent fall of empire. We were adrift at sea, locked in cubicles. Ah, simpler times. www.patreon.com/CriticalLit/...

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The Matrix (Part 1) - August 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

The original Matrix is perhaps the quintessential piece of '90s fiction. It perfectly captures that sense of wrongness that predicates the i

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

In Ch. 14 of Curse of Strahd, Yester Hill is a planned community for retired berserkers with zero secrets hidden beneath a thin layer of sod. Evil druids unleash their blood-filled wood upon the world & even Strahd himself comes here to pine among the pines. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 22: Reverse of Strahd New Game Plus

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · July 29 · 1h 36m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Bonus content on Patreon! This film is Thranduil slander. And let this be a lesson to all you Lake-townies: When facing an enemy who has an inexhaustible AoE attack, try not to cluster your buildings in one convenient location. www.patreon.com/CriticalLit/...

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The Hobbit, Rankin/Bass 1977 (Part 2) - July 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

The depiction of wood elves in this film has to be Teleri propaganda. Poor Thranduil (a phrase never uttered before or since) is a froggy-lo

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Ch. 13 of Curse of Strahd concludes with the best rewards in all of Barovia. If it's wrong to murder your loved one and drink their blood or sacrifice dozens of innocent souls in order to ensure your immortality, then I don't want to be right. open.spotify.com/episode/2oye...

open.spotify.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 21: Would You Still Love Me If I Was a Wisp of Utter Darkness No More Than a Few Inches Long?

Critical Lit · Episode

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Ch. 13 of Curse of Strahd continues. Deep within the Amber Temple, alone in the dark, lurks the most helpful lich in the multiverse. Play your cards right and there's free drinks and body modifications, too. You didn't need those eyeballs, right? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 20: Vestigial Tales

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · July 1 · 1h 52m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Bonus content on Patreon! Take one part anti-war treatise, two parts nature travelogue, one part snack diary and zero parts sex appeal, combine, trim, and set to sick beats. The result is the most definitive version of The Hobbit ever put to celluloid. www.patreon.com/CriticalLit/...

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The Hobbit, Rankin/Bass 1977 (Part 1) - June 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

Take one part anti-war treatise, two parts nature travelogue, one part snack diary and zero parts sex appeal, combine, trim, and set to sick

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

We're back in Barovia for Ch. 13 of Curse of Strahd, and the Amber Temple is sending mixed messages. Does it want us to freeze to death? Burn to a crisp? Get possessed by loot? Maybe this adorably bespectacled jackal-faced creature can help? Nope, more fireballs. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 19: Anyway, Here's Fireball

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · June 17 · 1h 35m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Our final look at the Caves of Chaos takes 17 man-turns to unpack. The cult fit is very Queen of Hearts & matches the canonically evil furnishings. But the real villain is in accounting. Who else could set up such an enormous slush fund for magic amulets? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

podcasts.apple.com

Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 04: Color-Coded Chaos

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · June 3 · 2h 44m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Bonus content on Patreon! The Saja Boys launch an earworm attack & Jinu's jawline launches 1000 shipfics, joining Trauma Mommy Celine & a giggly Gwi-Ma as likable antagonists. But the real villain is the tight 90-minute runtime. Oh the exposition we could have had! www.patreon.com/posts/kpop-d...

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KPop Demon Hunters (Part 2) - May 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

KPop Demon Hunters (Part 2) - May 2026 Bonus Episode by Critical Lit on Patreon. Join Critical Lit's community for exclusive content and updates.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Many yawning orifices await as the spelunking finally begins! The myriad tribes of the Caves of Chaos have complex social hierarchies, tight-knit family units, commerce, and vintners, but their deaths carry absolutely no moral weight. Exterminate at your leisure! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

podcasts.apple.com

Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 03: Throuple Trouble

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · May 20 · 2h 12m

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Rob nailed it in one with “Hey Snips.” That’s exactly the Anakin Force ghost energy we get from Ahsoka S1. Absolutely no accountability for any of his actions, and no real demand for it from Ahsoka. I hate it, and I suspect you will also hate it.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Dammit granite! If these walls could talk, they'd blush & tell you 'murder hole' is not the preferred nomenclature. Gygax continues to wow with his commitment to verisimilitude (of a sort), but where are all the bathrooms? Just don't ask who's feeding the snakes. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

podcasts.apple.com

Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 02: An Officer and a Normalman

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · May 6 · 1h 52m

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

What a map, what a map, what a map, what a mighty good map (it’s a mighty mighty good map!)

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

What if "Do as I say, not as I do" was a D&D module? We're headed to The Keep on the Borderlands for spring break & Gary Gygax's 1979 grab-bag of breathless GM advice turns out to be mostly cribbed from TSR colleague Mike Carr. Shaper of the Cosmos am I, the DM! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

podcasts.apple.com

Keep on the Borderlands Deep Dive 01: Miserly Business

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · April 22 · 1h 45m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

An Oops All Bards party protects the world from demons, but the real demons are the ones inside them all along. And the Demon King has a great sense of humor? This month's bonus content features a triumph for representation & for underdogs over corporate indifference. www.patreon.com/posts/kpop-d...

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KPop Demon Hunters (Part 1) - April 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Everything's vine down at the Wizard of Wines! Chapter 12 is the nexus of nearly every plot hook in this book, but it's knee-deep in stick monsters and teetotaling druids. Remember, they're not dirty because they're evil; they're evil because they're dirty. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 18: This Little Blight of Mine

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · April 8 · 1h 42m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Bonus content on Patreon! Even Level 15 Divination Wizard Annie isn't enough to save the juke joint crew from the depredations of Remmick von Zar O'vich. www.patreon.com/posts/sinner...

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Sinners (Part 3) - March 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

It's a Dance Dance Execution at the door of Khazan's Tower. Chapter 11 of Curse of Strahd also features a wagon as volatile as a meth lab. 100 you say? Try 101! Plus, we take a harder look at Strahd's potential enemies list from Chapter 1's Fortunes of Ravenloft. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 17: Knockin' on Khazan's Door

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · March 25 · 1h 38m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Sure, Strahd had one mother, but what about second mother? In Ch. 10 of Curse of Strahd, Baba Lysaga is a boy-mom wannabe with a parasocial fixation on our titular vamp. To impress him, she wages a feud against Barovia's goats and ravens. It's a blood bath! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 16: The Other Mother

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · March 11 · 1h 32m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

For want of a dress, Krezk was lost. In Chapters 8 & 9 of Curse of Strahd, the Abbot gets serious about playing dress-up, Ireena takes a dive, feathered fiends guard the pass & the roc just needs a snack. But the real villain is the gruffest goat on the mountain. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 15: Fowl Play

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · February 25 · 1h 25m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

February bonus content on Patreon! We enter the juke joint & experience a transcendent musical experience (and a couple of sexual ones). It's everything that could have been had the inexorable toll of structural racism (vampires) not come calling. Poor Robin, indeed. www.patreon.com/posts/sinner...

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Sinners (Part 2) - February 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Mutual aid! In my D&D? In Ch. 8 of Curse of Strahd, the Krezkites share everything: food, labor & a growing horror at the screams coming from the Abbey. The town's empty graves are almost as problematic as the portrayal of the people this book calls "mongrelfolk." podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 14: Build-a-Bride Workshop

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 02/11/2026 · 1h 45m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Strahd tried to bury these gays, but this isn't that kind of story. In Chapter 7 of Curse of Strahd, what begins as a side quest to lay unquiet dead to rest soon becomes a tragic love story that can literally bring light to this forsaken land. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 13: Eight Crazy Knights

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 01/28/2026 · 1h 40m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I'm just a girl, a girl & a girl, hovering ethereally behind a boy, asking him—for the love of all that is unholy—to please be more careful with that hag eye I gifted you! Idiot. Chapter 6 of Curse of Strahd weighs heavier on the heart than it does on the hands. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 12: Baker's Coven

Podcast Episode · Critical Lit · 01/14/2026 · 1h 22m

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

January bonus content on Patreon! Relevant to our interests & culturally relevant at yet another crucial inflection point in American history where the forces of racism threaten to tear the country apart. About to win a fistful of awards but not as many as it should. www.patreon.com/posts/sinner...

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Sinners (Part 1) - January 2026 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Personally, I'm a fan of...Cox?

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

'Sup, Schickheads! The White Plume Mountain deep dive wraps up with a raging case of instant super-tetanus, bellies full of crab boil & a haul of legendary weapons. Plus one 6-foot hookah for good measure. Cue the @dandillon.bsky.social cold open... critical-lit.simplecast.com/episodes/whi...

critical-lit.simplecast.com

White Plume Mountain Deep Dive 02 - Weapon of Choice | Critical Lit

Consider us Schick-pilled. We wrap up both our holiday hiatus and the 1979 TSR adventure White Plume Mountain in surprisingly high spirits: arms adorned with shiny new weapons, blood infected with ins...

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Who says you can't leave Barovia? Our holiday hiatus is the 1979 TSR module White Plume Mountain, written exactly one time and no more by Lawrence Schick. It's surely chock full of renegade, deranged, fanatical gnomes! critical-lit.simplecast.com/episodes/whi...

critical-lit.simplecast.com

White Plume Mountain Deep Dive 01 - Deranged and Fanatical Evil Gnomes | Critical Lit

It's an old school holiday hiatus! We're tackling the first half of S2, the 1979 TSR adventure White Plume Mountain, written exactly one time (to his eternal chagrin) by Lawrence Schick. In this episo...

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

The Pit of Equal Justice Under the Law doesn't have the same ring to it.

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Mimics love to see you coming.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

December bonus content on Patreon! Tired of mawwiages that skip to the end? When man & wife isn't enough, try To Blave, the only reason for living. If that fails, the Dread Pirate Roberts is here for your soul! www.patreon.com/posts/prince...

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The Princess Bride (Part 2) - December 2025 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

I haven’t interrogated the list yet, but it does feel like a statement in the vein of Cloud Dancer.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive #11: Til Decay Do us Part. As we wrap up Chapter 5, all is not well in Vallaki! Never mind the devil cult hobbyists or the rampaging tiger. The coffin maker has six secrets buried in the attic & they're waiting for a feast. critical-lit.simplecast.com/episodes/cur...

critical-lit.simplecast.com

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 11 - Til Decay Do Us Part | Critical Lit

As we wrap up Chapter 5, all is not well in Vallaki! Never mind the devil cult hobbyists or the rampaging tiger. The coffin maker has six secrets buried in the attic, and they're waiting for a chance ...

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive 10: That's So Wereraven. All will be well! Just avoid the man with the barbed devil arm & his collection of identical dolls. The incel wizard. The bone thief & his shovel. The priest with a secret. Keep smiling, because you must. critical-lit.simplecast.com/episodes/cri...

critical-lit.simplecast.com

Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 10 - That's So Wereraven | Critical Lit

All will be well! Provided you avoid the murderous man with the barbed devil arm and his eerie collection of identical dolls. Or the incel wizard. The bone thief and his shovel. The priest with a secr...

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ihsien @ihsien.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

🫡 Top notch trench work, truly.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

The werewolves finally make an appearance in the Curse of Strahd deep dive. And what an appearance.

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

November bonus content on Patreon! Close your eyes and picture a castle in a low-fantasy setting. A forest of thieves. Giant rats. A sword duel. Chances are you're actually picturing this movie, even if you don't remember you are. www.patreon.com/posts/prince...

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The Princess Bride (Part 1) - November 2025 Bonus Episode | Critical Lit

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Critical Lit @criticallit.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Curse of Strahd Deep Dive Episode 9: Crypt Walk. Castle Ravenloft Final Level: Exit here for Entombed Enemies, Plot Devices, Bat Guano, and Bridal Returns. Trust me, you don't want to talk to customer service. critical-lit.simplecast.com/episodes/cri...

critical-lit.simplecast.com

Critical Lit: Curse of Strahd 09 - Crypt Walk | Critical Lit

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