Rediscovered Realms is catching you up on some of the coolest fantasy news that just won’t fit in our regular weekly edition. Welcome to the April issue of The Phantasy Snitch!
Rediscovered Realms’ denizens . . . er, citizens can now enjoy a curated lite dose of worthy Fantasy-related news, products, and rumours from the RPG, fantasy book, movie, D&D, LOTR, mythology, board game, art & archaeology genres (and you now have extra time to immerse yourself within all our other beefier newsletters!)
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This Week’s Rediscovered Realms Theme Song:
In this week’s new song, venture deep into an enchanted forest where prophecy whispers on the wind and danger stalks every shadow. "Ranger's Oath" is a hauntingly heroic ballad of honor, heartbreak, and high fantasy. With lyrics steeped in moonlit mystery and ancient magic, it’s the perfect soundtrack for bold adventurers chasing lost crowns and forgotten truths. Plug in, press play, and take your proud brave stand.
| Genre: Folkloric Rock | Lyrics1|
“Ranger’s Oath”
THE NEWS:
Brodryk tells me we have our 1st prize winner for the 1st of 4 annual EPIC FANTASY LOOT giveaways in 2025!
This $300-valued package goes to . . . Andy H.! Congratulations, Andy! I’ve contacted you by email to confirm and arrange delivery.
Want to get in on future EPIC FANTASY LOOT giveaways? Then make sure to grab a paid subscription while you can!
Who’s Brodryk? Brodryk is Rediscovered Realms’ shopkeep. Meet him and take a tour of his shop:
Also for our paid subscribers, we have an alternate winner for the last DriveThruRPG DRAGON’s DRAW $10 gift card!
Congratulations to Rori C.! I’ve contacted you through email to confirm and arrange e-delivery.
Reminder: Paid subscribers get access to:
4 automatic entries into our quarterly EPIC FANTASY LOOT giveaway contests (March, June, September, December) where you can win badass old school & new fantasy books, games, art, movies and more from the “TREASURES FROM THE REDISCOVERED REALMS VAULT”.
3-pack bundle of “ELECTRUM EXTRA-CHANCE TICKETS”? Each of these Willy-Wonkian babies gets you 1 EXTRA entry into the “EPIC FANTASY LOOT” giveaways.
6 AUTOMATIC entries into our brand new “DriveThruRPG DRAGON’S DRAW” where you can win $10 DriveThruRPG Gift Certificates! (January, February, April, July, October, November, December).
This plus more for only
$60$30 /yr for a limited time (price locked in forever!)
Before Peter Jackson, there were the Hildebrandts and their Lord of the Rings Art!
Click on the link above to feast your eyes on 39 iconic Hildebrandt Brother paintings of Middle Earth and its inhabitants!
I mentioned this in a recent edition, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s 50th Anniversary return to theaters is now live!
May 4th and May 11th in the US only! Grab your tickets while you can you so-called Arthur King. You and all your silly English K’nigets!
New LEGO Shire set just released and Samwise, err, Sean Astin has a wonderful interview and also voices the official mini movie!
I love that Sean talked a lot about imagination and commented in the interview: “You kind of forget, in this day and age, sometimes you need permission to have fun and let your imagination run wild.”
There is so much to connect with in this interview, but here are a couple other excerpts that spoke to me:
[interview author]:“I mention that I sometimes just watch the beginning of Fellowship Of The Ring because there’s something comforting about the Shire. “Of course,” Astin says. “It’s the place worth dying to save.”” 💖
[Sean]: “You know, one of the coolest moments that I loved was watching when the Fellowship started arriving in Rivendell," Astin tells me, "and they were looking at the mural on the wall which depicts a history of the Ring. And you just get this feeling that it’s real, that the history is history, like these things happened, and the weight of what happened carries forth into this time, and what you’re doing now is going to affect what happens in the future, for good or ill. You know, in a way, it’s kind of like where we are right now, in our on planet Earth. Every decision every human being makes, when you zoom out, if lots of us are making those kinds of decisions, ultimately we’re going to end up in a better place, or we’re going to end up in a worse place. And if you don't pay attention, if you live in your Shire, and you never come out of the Shire, you know, big decisions are happening around the world right now that will eventually impact you.”
[Sean]: “Of course, the movies have affected people’s lives in profound ways, Astin notes. “I’ve had 25 years of people coming up to me telling me that Lord of the Rings helped them through a very traumatic time in their life, a loss of a loved one, a depression. The care that the filmmakers and the performers and everyone associated with the films, the level of intention and pride and work, craftsmanship and everything that goes into it is worthy of those people’s emotional connection to it. You make a promise to people: Come with us on this journey, and it’s going to be worth any part of yourself that you want to invest in it.”
[Sean]: “So many things in pop culture become part of our identities now. But there’s just something classic about Lord of the Rings. It’s why mythology exists. Mythology exists for us to be able to share stories with each other that can maybe frame things in ways that touch us and they feel like they're connected to our lives.”
Well said, Sean. Well said.
I bet you’re going to love seeing these 10 Creepy Cartoon Villains From the 1980s That We’ll Remember Forever.
(Wait until you see who #1 on the list is!)

Have you heard?! A Merlin and King Arthur text lost for centuries was found hidden in the binding of a medieval book!!!
After years of work and using current technology, archivists have finally been able to peer inside the obscured texts of this Arthurian-sequel-series, “Suite Vulgate du Merlin” - this version most likely written between 1275-1315 C.E.

Here’s a fascinating article from artnet about “How Gothic Art From the Middle Ages Inspired Modern Artists”
“A surprising survey exhibition, “Gothic Modernity,” which debuted last fall at the Ateneum in Helsinki and is now on view at Oslo’s National Museum, posits a different theory. The show argues that many leading modernists were paradoxically fascinated with the past, in particular the medieval Gothic tradition of northern Europe and Germany. Themes of morbidity, trauma, spirituality, and the uncanny that reappear in Gothic art have proven to have an enduring appeal, not least, it seems, for those faced with the uncertainties inherent to modernity. For many of these artists, Gothic no longer described a style belonging to a specific time or place that might be revived, but a sensibility and a richly generative aesthetic available to all.”
In this upcoming puzzle-powered D&D adventure, “Lazlo’s Cubed Crypt” the dungeon is like a Rubik’s Cube!
“Explore an adventure like no other before it. Challenge your players to solve the puzzle cube before delving into the crypt of Lazlo the Lavish. The adventure can be run with or without the cube so that parties lacking a Puzzle Cube enthusiast can still enjoy the challenge.”
Like D&D? Like psychology? Heard of Jung’s archetypes? Well, you’ll defininitely like this article from screenrant: “Dungeons & Dragons Campaigns Can Enhance Roleplaying With The Help Of Carl Jung”
“Though the Swiss psychologist died more than a decade before the very oldest edition of DnD, Jung’s concepts of Archetypes, Persona, and Shadow, can do far more to encourage deeper roleplaying and rich characterization than the list of traits the 5e DnD system suggests that players pick from.”
Love beautiful editions of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? Well, here are some current sales on Amazon - Some of my favorite LOTR editions at MASSIVE discounts!!!
Brodryk’s re-sorted these to the top of the “Latest Lord of the Rings Loot” section on his shoppe.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
That’s a wrap, Newly Informed Adventurer! Until next week, may your sword stay sharp, your purse grow fat, and your Imagination blaze paths through continuous adventure.
Your next piece of fantasy fun is calling.
Remember to check out the new Rediscovered Realms Amazon Storefront for the most epic gift-giving ideas for those important adventurers in your life (including yourself 🗡)
(As an Amazon2 Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
You are not only brave, but a Generous Adventurer whose love of Discovery, Imagination & Fun transcends our mere mortal coils . . .
. . . and for that, I thank you!
Do you love heroic fantasy gamebooks like me? Consider signing up to be informed when I launch my very 1st one!
(Featuring artwork from Clyde Caldwell & Luke Eidenschink!)
Catch Up on Previous Phantasy Snitch Editions:
Catch up on what you missed from our other “Phantasy Snitch” issues!
May 2024:
June 2024:
July 2024:
August 2024:
September 2024:
October 2024:
December 2024:
January 2025:
Ranger’s Oath
[Verse] In a forest where magic roams the air A ranger strides with a solemn glare Bow in hand and shadows to chase His honor is bound to prophecy's trace [Bridge] He treads where secrets molder yet grow Through bramble, mist, and a moonlit glow The trees they murmur of a princess lost A kingdom fractured by fate's cruel cost [Chorus] O Ranger take your proud brave stand With steady eye and a practiced hand Through eldritch nights and perilous ways A crown awaits at the break of day [Verse 2] The wolves they howl but he does not stray He follows clues left to decay Footsteps light upon the mossy mire A heart ablaze with resolve like fire [Bridge] A song of hope in his ears does sing Companions fall but his steps still ring Through leafy labyrinths of despair and dread A flicker of golden hair on the path ahead [Chorus] O Ranger take your proud brave stand With steady eye and a practiced hand Through eldritch nights and perilous ways A crown awaits at the break of day [Outro] A crown awaits at the break of day
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That's a great song 🙂 The point about using Archetypes for characters is an old trick I've used for characters in my novels. Building a melded person of these attributes isn't going to give you "real" humans but that's kind of the point - D&D and other heroes need to be bombastic and it's a neat trick to stick that landing.
The article on the Arthurian findings is just fascinating. Makes me wish I had followed my kid dreams of being an archeologist/antiquities curator.