Among My Many Hats blows the lid off of Ken’s upcoming Kickstarter for a revised, revamped, and reanimated Tour de Lovecraft: the Tales . Are the results of this podcast rigged? Find out as the History Hut looks at the history of vote-rigging in America. When Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , sometimes that someone is Sandy Petersen, of Cthulhu Wars , Chaosium and Doom fame. This is one of those times. Finally we open up the Horror Hut to entertain a query from Padraig Griffin, who needs t...
Nov 04, 2016
The Gaming Hut looks at top temporal locations for TimeWatch scenarios. Pelgrane Press celebrates our segment by offering you, the listener, a voucher code to order from its online store. Plunk in TIMEWATCH at the voucher prompt for 10% off any TimeWatch product. In keeping with the chronological confusion of TimeWatch , the offer is good for a limited but indeterminate time period, so act fast, before it shimmers away into nothingness. Next up Robin issues a Travel Advisory for his trip to THE ...
Oct 28, 2016
A fork in the road leads to either the Gaming Hut , or the Gaming Hut, as we look at those times when giving players choice and control in a scenario leads to a less interesting outcome. The History Hut has us looking at the career of oil magnate E.L. Doheny, key figure in the Teapot Dome scandal and partial inspiration for Daniel Plainview in There Might Be Blood. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Somebody Else , specifically Epidiah Ravachol of Dread and Worlds Without Master fame. We conclude wit...
Oct 21, 2016
We kick off another episode inspired entirely by Patreon backer requests with John Corey, who asks Ken to expand on real history as the best setting for gaming and the challenges of reskinning it, thus inviting another round of That Thing I Always S ay . The enigmatic asker known only as Bryan ushers into the Horror Hut to consider Lovecraftian spam. In the Tradecraft Hut , Simon Hedge requests a 101 on Kremlinology. And Neil Dalton poses a probing question in the Eliptony Hut , about horror wri...
Oct 14, 2016
Unfurl your flags as we gather in the Gaming Hut to envision an F20 game in which nationalities take the place of alignments. In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Jason Breti asks us to talk about Microscope. How to Write Good looks at things that happen in real life that writers have to work extra hard to put across in fiction. Finally, Ken’s Time Machine obeys backer Shane McLean’s demands for information on our hero’s interactions with Thomas Bloodworth in the early stages of London’s Great ...
Oct 07, 2016
Much tabletop roleplaying advice, ours included, helps GMs to keep players entertained. But what about the other way around? Thanks to Patreon backer Jesse Morgan, we head into the Gaming Hut to look at ways to keep your GM motivated. Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else covers not one but two areas of expertise, as Hal Mangold delivers the wisdom on art direction and layout. The favorite font he says we’ll reveal in the show notes is 806 Typography . Then in a special double-length screening s...
Sep 30, 2016
Take a reality check before you dare to enter the Gaming Hut , as we answer Patreon backer Bryan’s request to devise a campaign based on flawed perceptions. Time for another intro course in the Cinema Hut as Ken and Robin give your their film noir 101. Coriander meets pate as the Food Hut investigates the banh mi, a sandwich whose flavors are as complex as its history. Finally Ken’s Time Machine revs up at the behest of backer Rick Neal, who wants to know just what was up when Jack Parsons met L...
Sep 23, 2016
Robin is away at the Toronto International Film festival, and longtime listeners know what that means: it’s time to cover his absence from the podcast mic to drop the live episode we released at Gen Con. Join us for another glorious nerdtrope, a big hand for all our Patreon backers, and all the questions a packed audience (a cramped audience frankly) can pack into one 50-minute time slot! Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Get trapped in Lovecraft’s story “The Call of Cthulhu” in Atlas Games’ addictiv...
Sep 16, 2016
Our 207th installment starts on a tripartite note as Patreon backer Andrew Young pops his head into the Gaming Hut to ask about the pertinence of three-act structure in roleplaying scenarios. Speaking of Andrews, the Tradecraft Hut opens the case file on East German spymaster Markus Wolf, at the behest of backer Andrew Collins. In Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , we invite Jeff Tidball to reveal all about Atlas Games’ upcoming GUMSHOE game set in Ars Magica’s Mythic Europe. Having left a ...
Sep 09, 2016
Rules get hybridized in the Gaming Hut , at the behest of Patreon backer Jason Carter, who wants to fuse GUMSHOE’s investigative rules with the combat systems of other games, say for example Feng Shui . The man who shot Billy the Kid was himself killed in a dispute over goats. Coincidence? The History Hut looks at the killing of Pat Garrett. Learn the secret of scoring your RPG sessions with music from writer and game designer Will Hindmarch, as Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else . Finally, e...
Sep 02, 2016
Get your dice and character sheets together and head on into the Gaming Hut as we field Patreon backer Gnoll Warford’s question about preparing as a first-time convention GM. In How To Write Good , we slake patron Corey Pierno’s desire to know our writing and researching routines. When Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , that someone else turns out to be Emily Care Boss , whose classic games of personal interaction have now been collected as the Romance Trilogy. Pre-order it now ! Then Ken’s...
Aug 26, 2016
Voices weary and graveled, but with spirits lifted by ENnies Gold and Silver, Ken and Robin return from Gen Con to regale you with this year’s round-up of the Best Four Days in Gaming. As is our annual wont we throw separate segments to the wind to encompass all the Gaming Hut goodness. Sub-headings include the Diana Jones Awards, industry scuttlebutt, meetings with listeners, the fate of the show and of course, food. All that and much much more. Thanks to our beloved ENnies voters for allowing ...
Aug 19, 2016
In a special live from our hotel room episode, we inflate a portable Gaming Hut to field a question from Frent about catastrophe pile-ups in popular continuities. The Tradecraft Hut looks at the implications of Russian intelligence’s hack of the Democratic National Committee emails. (See The Crusader , by Paul Kengor, pp. 317-320 for the full text of KGB head Viktor Chebrikov’s letter to Andropov about Ted Kennedy’s approaches to the Soviets about the 1984 election.) Ken demanded it, so we did i...
Aug 12, 2016
Another all-Patreon backer request episode kicks off in the Gaming Hut as Tom Abella asks what Brexit will do to spycraft in our world and that of Night’s Black Agents. In The Business of Gaming Wesley Marshal asks about the ethics of working on an IP you don’t care for. Karl Schmidt wants the Consulting Occultist to spill the astrological and alchemical beans on Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire. Then finally it’s time for another installment of Tell Me More , in which Ken and/or Robin expand ...
Aug 05, 2016
Pokemon fever is back and more feverish than ever. As Pokemon Go breaks loose of the Gaming Hut , forcing players onto the actual streets, is there anything we can riff about it that reality hasn’t already delivered? Ken watched every Dracula flick he could get his hands on, and now the result of that effort, The Thrill of Dracula , awaits your reading pleasure. We open Ken’s coffin to chat about it in Among My Many Hats . Our amygdalas alert us to danger whenever we see an upside down triangle....
Jul 29, 2016
Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! We can remember starting this occasionally humble podcast like it was yesterday, but here we are with our 200th episode. And you know what that means: lightning round questions. This time, served up primarily by our Patreon backers. Among the many topics: underused Lovecraft, why conversion rules will always break your heart, and where huts come from, dealing with rules lawyers, and limes versus lemons. Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Get trapped in Lovec...
Jul 22, 2016
In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Conrad Kinch asks what the cruel empire of Tsan-Chan might be up to in 5000 AD. The answer might surprise him! Now that you’ve worked your way through the filmography we provided in our Westerns 101 segment , the Cinema Hut rides back to the corral to pick some deeper cuts. Yes, it’s Westerns 201. Fun With Science tackles a question from supporter Antti Elomaa: “Aside from building Geiger-counters and scientific apparatii, what use could one have for pre-nuc...
Jul 15, 2016
Matters come to a head in the Gaming Hut , where we talk about writing scenario climaxes. In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Eric Jeppesen asks Ken and Robin to help weave a campaign around 16th century English-Ottoman relations and the figure of Edward Barton. Enterprising filmmakers tasked a deep learning neural net to write a short film screenplay for them, and this is the result . We step into the oh so analytical confines of the Narrative Hut to discuss its implications. Finally supporte...
Jul 08, 2016
Ever-prolific Ken dons a knit cap like all the youngsters wear to bring us the scoop on Bubblegumshoe in Among My Many Hats . In the Gaming Hut , we satisfy Patreon backer Sean McAuliff’s request for advice on playing historical figures. Finally the sound of bookseller cash registers ringing in New England tell us that it’s time for another erudite installment of Ken’s Bookshelf . Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Ken and Robin have oft been accused of being cards. Well, we can deny it no longer. We ...
Jul 01, 2016
In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Philip asks for ways to incorporate the beat cycle from Robin’s book Hamlet’s Hit Points into game systems that don’t already support it. The Tradecraft Hut peers into the dossier of Yakov Blumkin, the so-called Soviet James Bond. We gather in the Gaming Hut to wonder why breaking the fourth wall was ever considered poor form. Then we lurk our way to the Conspiracy Corner , where Patreon backer Darren Hennessy wants to know what we know about the Business Pl...
Jun 24, 2016
Patreon backer Trung Bui asks us to assemble in the Gaming Hut to tell him who the murderer is, and also to discuss the challenges of investigative scenario construction. The gore runs thick but the design sense runs high as the Cinema Hut answers a Marc Kevin Hall request for an introduction to Italian horror films. In the Culture Hut backer and Parisian dreamhound Josh Rose wants to know what the Communist Party would have looked like if it had embraced surrealism. And hey, it’s another all re...
Jun 17, 2016
The Gaming Hut becomes a boat we might just die in as Patreon backer Luke Wassink asks us to make environmental obstacles suspenseful and compelling. In Among My Many Hats , Ken tells us about his new Dark Osprey book, The Cthulhu Wars: the United States’ Battle Against the Mythos . Hey, who covered the floor of the Eliptony Hut with Toynbee tiles? And Ken’s Time Machine tackles its deepest mystery yet, as Phil Masters asks Ken why he claimed to be from Porlock. Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Atte...
Jun 10, 2016
In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Andrew Jones asks about working with Greg Stafford. The History Hut looks at the post-WWI occupation of Istanbul, as requested by Alexander Perman. How to Write Good rips the lid off of our least favorite fake stock moments in fiction. Finally the Conspiracy Corner finds Timothy Coram asking us to make something of the Westfield Watcher. Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Attention, class! Anchor sponsor Atlas Games wants to enroll you in Mad Scientist University,...
Jun 03, 2016
In the Gaming Hut we ponder a meta-terminology games designers might use to describe the purpose and function of the various sub-systems they build into roleplaying rules sets. Now that Donald Trump has sewn up the Republican nomination, we head into the Politics Hut to ask Ken what happened to his party, and whether he thinks he’ll get it back after the election. Installment Two of Tell Me More highlights three Ken and Robin Consume Media items our Patreon backers wanted to hear more about: Bat...
May 27, 2016
Patreon supporter Tim Brandis kicks us off with an Ask Ken and Robin question about which of our core design beliefs might have evolved over time. In the Tradecraft Hut we reach way back to that most classic of espionage scandals, the Dreyfus Affair. The Cinema Hut finds us in Stetsons and spurs for an introductory course on the Western. Finally, backer Chris McNeil requests that Ken’s Time Machine be put to use making the medieval peasant revolt of Ken’s choice successful. Support the KARTAS Pa...
May 20, 2016
Patreon backer Graham Wills starts us off in the Gaming Hut by asking how to balance conspiratorial genres, like the spy thriller, with group trust. Among My Many Hats finds Ken laying down some wisdom—some Starry Wisdom, that is. In the Horror Hut , Patreon supporter Cardboard Sandwich asks us how to adapt the ghostly works of M. R. James to the roleplaying form. Finally we slink into the Eliptony Hut to satisfy backer Ross Ireland’s desire for non-standard UFO conspiracies. Support the KARTAS ...
May 13, 2016
Patreon backer Kevin J. Maroney gets us started with an Ask Ken and Robin question about other designers’ mechanics we consider to be under-stolen. The Tradecraft Hut takes on a recent story claiming that infamous Nazi military officer Otto Skorzeny ended his career as a Mossad assassin. In the Food Hut we heroically accede to a request from Patreon backer Ethan Cordray to sip some liqueurs. No, wait, talk about liqueurs. Finally backer Joshua Hillerup climbs the creaky stairs that lead to the C...
May 06, 2016
In the Gaming Hut , Patreon backer Bill Sundwall wants Ken to mash up two of his projects, The Madness Dossier and Night’s Black Agents, into one. The Business of Gaming looks for the best ways to combat harassment within our community. The Book Hut responds to backer Frank King’s request for a look at the work of Umberto Eco. And finally we wonder what Ken’s Time Machine had to do with the 1825 collapse of the Fonthill Abbey tower. Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Bend reality to your will, but be ...
Apr 29, 2016
The Gaming Hut gets organized as we answer Patreon backer Samwise Crider’s question about tracking clues in GUMSHOE and other investigative games. Backer Adam McDonald enters the Politics Hut for the 101 on machine politics—particularly that of Ken’s beloved Chicago. Backer and colleague Hal Mangold grabs his popcorn in the Cinema Hut with his request for a getting started in Asian action movies segment. Hey, it turns out to be another all-backer request episode, as Tennant Reed lurks in the Con...
Apr 22, 2016
Ask Ken and Robin gets especially educational as Patreon supporter Brent Brown asks us for tips for using RPGs to teach history, home school style. Tradecraft Hut peers into the espionage scene in Brussels. How To Write Good looks at influences and how to incorporate them well. Finally the Consulting Occultist slakes the hankering of Patreon backer Stewart Robertson for info on the Black Dragon Society. Support the KARTAS Patreon ! Bend reality to your will, but be ready to pay the price, as Atl...
Apr 15, 2016
