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 August 2026 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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IN MEMORIAM:
It’s with a sad heart that I share that our fellow creator at “Critical Hit Parader”, Matt Thompson , has lost his wife, Liz this week. For anyone who has ever read his heavy-metal-fueled fantasy newsletter or engaged personally with Matt, you know how great of a guy he is.
Another personal hit in this year of 2026 where the hits keep coming is the loss of Peter Cullen, the voice not only of some of the most influential heroes (Optimus Prime) and Villains (Venger), but really one of the primary voices of my entire generation’s childhood. Though I never met him, by all accounts, Peter seemed like a solid guy who I would have loved to hang out with.
Some of Peter’s voice acting roles:
Optimus Prime (Transformers), Venger (D&D animated series), Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh), KARR (KITT’s mechanical nemesis in Knight Rider) . . . and the sounds of the Predator from the movie Predator!
He also voiced characters from these animated series: Voltron, G.I. Joe, Sectaurs, Spider-Man, GoBots, The Pirates of Dark Water, My Little Pony, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, Pac-Man, Monchichis, Mister T, Dragon’s Lair, Snorks, Rainbow Brite, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Jetsons, Rambo, Muppet Babies, Ghostbusters, Pound Puppies, Foofur, BraveStarr, DuckTales, Little Wizards, Dino-Riders, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Saturday Supercade, Visionaries . . . and a whole lot more than that.
He was a voice of one of the gremlins in the movie Gremlins, did voiceover work for music albums, video games, theme park rides, and movie promotions.
From Wikipedia:
Here’s an endearing clip of Peter telling the story of how he came up with the voice and character for Optimus Prime . . . all based on his older brother who advised him that real heroes are “tough enough to be gentle”:
And because of how much I love the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, I can’t not include this best-of compilation of Peter Cullen’s Venger:
From TheDungeonDelver: The Lost Intellivision D&D Game!
“Before Mattel Electronics collapsed in 1984, they were building an incredible authorized D&D "Super Cartridge" game! But the video game crash plus Mattel's changing fortunes caused it to disappear!”
The author mentions: “The dice sets available for preorder are: The Fellowship, Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, Frodo, The Shire, and The Black Riders.”
I looked directly on siriusdice.com but couldn’t find pictures or purchase links of these sets . . . yet . . . but there were some cool Ravenloft sets!
And now, for some humorous Lord of the Rings memes!
COSAM senior lecturer Eric Harshbarger stands with his five giant 60-sided dice, each measuring roughly 3.5 feet across, inside Auburn’s STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex. Credit: Auburn University at Montgomery
“It took nearly 15 years, researchers around the world and enough computing power to search through a universe of possibilities to answer one question: Who goes first?”
There are at least 6 different editions, with an exclusive Target edition (pictured below) and an exclusive Walmart hardback edition (pictured above), a Walmart paperback edition, as well as a Deluxe Signed Edition (pictured below and available at several retailers). There’s also an exclusive Barnes & Noble Edition (pictured below), and a Books-A-Million and Indigo Exclusive Edition (pictured below). Wow - that’s a lot of editions!!!
Target Exclusive Edition
Deluxe Signed Edition
Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition
Books-A-Million and Indigo Exclusive Editions
Looking for love: the queue for Bad Girl Books in Oxford
(Note: You can usually read some of The Times articles without a paid subscription, but you may need to create a free account)
Personalized Dragon & Gryphon Doorplates!
Ok. These looked pretty badass. But . . . they also looked a little AI-like. I’m not sure I trust the company since the prices are pretty low ($37) and their online reputation is a bit sketchy, so I’m not going to post their link. The pictures were cool enough to share as inspiration, though!
These Winged Dragon Cast Iron Shelf Brackets from TheKingsBay.com seem legit, though, and may make their way into my realms at some point in the future!
My nephew, Aidan, loves fantasy-themed video games and sent me this official 8-minute gameplay reveal for the upcoming “Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons” 3rd person single-player video game. Wow - the graphics and atmosphere are pretty insane! Thanks for letting me know about this, Aidan!
Now, if you’re like me, you thought, “Hey, I doubt there was any Cozy Fantasy from the 20th Century…” but I guess The Hobbit is included in those ranks. Who knew?
I just discovered these guys a few weeks ago . . . and they’re hilarious! Embarrassed & Cold voice-acts over their parody animations of our favorite IPs: LOTR, Star Wars (Luke’s whiny voice is hysterical), Harry Potter. I highly recommend. Here are a few of my favorites (Warning: Some foul language in the “Elrond Wants the Fellowship to Leave Already” video)
I haven’t done a Rediscovered Realms theme song in ages, but have kind of missed them. So, to end this edition I invite you to give a listen.
Some quests last a day. Some last a lifetime.
And some stretch across fallen kingdoms, forgotten forests, and centuries of longing.
This week’s fantasy theme song, “Moon Maiden” follows a cursed Elven ranger pursuing the woman he loves through the turning of the years. Bound to a curse written in the phases of the Moon, she appears to him in rare, stolen moments beneath its silver light, only to be taken from him again and again.
And so his quest carries him across frozen mountains, fallen kingdoms, and forests that grow old around him, hunting the witch who tore them apart, searching for a way to break the curse, and refusing to surrender the woman he loves to fate.
🌙 Turn it up, Adventurers. This one’s for anyone who believes some loves are worth crossing ages for.
Moon Maiden
genre: Operatic Rock Ballad
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That’s another Phantasy Snitch edition! I’ll see you next week when we return to the regular Rediscovered Realms edition.
Remember to always Keep the Adventure Going STRONG!
💬Tavern Talk
❓Which bit of fantasy news, weirdness, or wonder caught your eye this month?
❓What corner of the fantasy realms should our intrepid goblin reporter go snooping around in next?
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You are not only brave, but a Generous Adventurer whose love of Discovery, Imagination & Fun transcends our mere mortal coils . . .
Rest in peace, Peter Cullen. This was a brutal week for losses, and his did hit me in a number of places. Optimus, Venger, Eeyore. And now both of the voices for the 'classic' K.A.R.R. are gone.
Rest in peace, Peter Cullen. This was a brutal week for losses, and his did hit me in a number of places. Optimus, Venger, Eeyore. And now both of the voices for the 'classic' K.A.R.R. are gone.
Another great romp through so many fun topics. And rest in peace Peter Cullen… May we all be strong enough to be gentle 🥲