The Magnus Archives: The Listening Club TTRPG Special

Episode 3
Date: December 25, 2025
Host/GM: Jonathan Sims
Players: Anusha (Margot), Ian (Alphonse Platt), Lowry (Elodie Jones), Pip (Barry Knapp)

Overview

In this penultimate episode of The Magnus Archives: The Listening Club tabletop roleplaying game special, the group of devoted fans of the fictional "Armitage Library" podcast follow clues left by a missing member. The tension rises as reality, horror fiction, and meta-narrative blur. What starts as routine fandom analysis soon spirals into a chilling investigation involving grisly audio artifacts, a mysterious production company, and a warehouse filled with disturbing secrets.

Key Discussion Points & Story Moments

1. Recap and Setup (05:58)

• Anusha (Margot) gives a detailed recap: The club were discussing the 100th episode of the "Armitage Library" podcast and noticed their organiser, June, was missing. They received an urgent email from June and decided to investigate her flat after gaining access via a rude neighbor. Inside, they found signs of her sudden departure and stumbled onto strange mini-discs linked to the podcast’s production company, Moldy Pencil.

"Margot tried to lockpick a door that was already open because no one thought to test whether the door was already open." — Anusha (06:51)

2. The Sinister Mini-Discs (07:12)

• The group discovers mini-discs containing audio accounts eerily similar to "Armitage Library" episodes but told in unsettling first-person detail, distinct from the podcast's version.

• Alphonse listens:

  "My name is Graham Halliday and this is how I died." — as heard on mini-disc (07:44)

• Listening induces stress; the audio is graphic, intimate, and reminiscent of horror episodes known for realism and brutality.

"It doesn't sound entirely natural. It's caught with a sort of horrible clarity that only a mini-disc can capture." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (08:10)

• The team jokes about minidisc nostalgia and authenticity—meta-commentary on audio formats and horror storytelling.

3. Real or Fictional? Behind-the-Scenes Paranoia (11:15)

• Elodie theorizes: The most chilling podcast episodes ("the red ones") correlate with these minidiscs. The group questions whether these are just bonus content or if something more sinister is at play—perhaps the production company is using real horrors as inspiration.
• The discs are not in June’s handwriting; instead, they're labeled with different, possibly fabricated, staff names.

"Is it that the good episodes are real?... Like what we just listened to felt real, proper grim." — Pip (Barry) (15:29)

4. Investigation Deepens: Moldy Pencil Productions (15:06)

• They find an alternate address for Moldy Pencil Productions embedded in June’s research—a real Liverpool location not publicly listed.
• The group debates what "real" means—are these episodes based on actual events or are they bleeding through from the fictional to the real?

"The 15 mini-discs here represent maybe a third to a quarter of the red ones...they seem separate somehow." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (14:15)

5. Arrival at the Warehouse — Atmosphere & Discovery (16:06, 18:35)

• Travel montage: train to Liverpool, wine, off-peak banter.
• The building is decrepit and foreboding, at odds with its public image. The front desk is unmanned and dusty; names in the sign-in book repeat and match the mini-disc handwriting — all entries seem forged.

"They are all in the same handwriting." — (19:13)

• Margot uses tracking to notice a heavy object was dragged inside, with small blood spots nearby (20:17). Elodie tries to call police but has no mobile signal in the building.

6. Climax: Mannequin Horror (21:11)

• The second story is filled with mannequin "staff," blank-faced and posed at desks. Their heads are sometimes skeletonized, and an earthy, decaying smell pervades the space.

"You place your hand firmly on the shoulder and the plastic head of a mannequin falls off the shoulders." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (21:37)

• Some mannequins have crushed heads near the ear — a grotesque echo of the audio horrors.
• As the group tries to leave, the door locks shut behind them.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid there is a — as the door behind you remotely locks..." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (22:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mini-disc Nostalgia & Meta-Humor:

  "They are a very good storage device. I've got albums on there that I haven't got anywhere else... Some of my first audio editing was on these things." — Ian (Alphonse), (09:24)

  "Role playing game cancelled. We are now going through Ian's minidisc collection." — Jonathan Sims, (09:52)

• Meta-Analysis of Horror Podcasting:

  "Is it that the good episodes are real? ...they're the ones you remember being, like, a bit upsetting, a bit real at times." — Group, (15:29 / 13:38)

• Realization of the Horror:

  "At first you think they're props, but the smell is pretty potent." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (22:10)

  "Right, let's go, let's go, let's go now. We're calling police. We should not have come here." — Lowry (Elodie), (22:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Recap and RPG Character Introductions: 05:26 – 07:02
• Discovery and First Listening of Mini-Disc: 07:12 – 09:13
• Meta-Discussion of Podcast Episodes and "Red Ones": 13:38 – 15:43
• Clue-Finding and Planning to Investigate the Warehouse: 15:06 – 16:52
• Warehouse Arrival and Investigation: 18:02 – 20:18
• Climax: Mannequins and Trap: 21:21 – 22:44

Tone & Style

The episode is laced with meta-commentary and darkly comedic banter, grounded in the intense, investigative horror for which The Magnus Archives is famed. Players riff off one another, mixing levity, fandom references, and genuine dread as the fictional world increasingly feels all too real.

Ending & Next Episode Teaser

The group is locked in the warehouse with evidence of violence and (potentially) murder, surrounded by mannequins and the supernatural unknown.

"Thank you very much for joining us for this penultimate episode of the Listening Club. Join us next week to find out exactly how horribly they're all going to die." — Jonathan Sims (GM), (23:04)

For further chills, tune in next week for the Listening Club's (possibly final) stand — and discover what truly lies behind the red episodes.