In the Gaming Hut we contemplate lunar havoc as Patreon backer Ray Slakinski asks us to turn Project A119 into a Fall of Delta Green scenario. We walk the red carpet into the Cinema Hut as we indulge in our traditional pre-Oscar look back at our favorite films from the previous year. Then backer Gerald Sears asks the Consulting Occultist to fill a game set in late 20s New York City with historical esoteric weirdness. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access w...
Feb 22, 2019
In the Gaming Hut we imagine what will happen when LARPs meet e-sports. Call our people, TV industry. Patreon backer Jason Thompson summons us to the Cartography Hut to express disbelief in the non-existence of maps in the Hellenistic era. In How to Write Good we dig deep into word clusters and ways to eliminate them. Then we slip into the Eliptony Hut as backer Stephen Brandon demands rampant speculation on the case of the disappearing airman . Want to pose a question to the show? Get your prio...
Feb 15, 2019
We find a new disruptive way to travel to the Gaming Hut as we consider scenarios inspired by scooter charger culture. In the Conspiracy Corner we ask if journalists and police could do with some basic conspirology literacy training. Patreon backer Jeff Cannell summons us to the Horror Hut to ask if vampires who have turned into mist can be seen in mirrors. Then we send Ken’s Time Machine to see what would happen if Aldous Huxley had succeeded in funding the psychedelic research organization he ...
Feb 08, 2019
The Gaming Hut goes retro goth cartoony as Patreon backer Arthur invites us to envision an Edward Gorey RPG. In the Crime Blotter we look at Los Caballeros Templarios, the drug cartel that borrows the branding of the Knights Templar. The Cinema Hut finds us mulling historical inaccuracy in movies. When do we roll with it, and when do we bust out the well actuallys? Finally, at the behest of backer Wayne Rossi, we turn to the Consulting Occultist for the mystical skinny on Carlos Castaneda. Want ...
Feb 01, 2019
Get ready for a tear gassing as the Gaming Hut finds us riffing a Fall of Delta Green scenario set during the 1968 Democratic convention. Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else features a chat with app maker Steven Hammond , whose work has helped you run Feng Shui fights, plot Beating the Story narrative arcs, and create GUMSHOE characters. The Tradecraft Hut answers a Miscellaneous Musings request for a look at 43 Group. Finally in we have Fun With Science as Patreon backer Chris Sellers asks fo...
Jan 25, 2019
In the Gaming Hut we examine the desire to play less than competent characters. The History Hut takes us back to the 7th century BC and the reign of Assyrian super-king Ashurbanipal. In How to Write Good we look at the connection between character sympathy and emotional rhythm. Finally we sidle into the Eliptony Hut , where we peer into the library of unexpected paranormalist Jackie Gleason. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the K...
Jan 18, 2019
Struggle to stay one step ahead of the authorities as the Gaming Hut finds ways to do the classic trope of the protagonist framed for a crime in a roleplaying scenario. The Horror Hut enters an old-timey uncanny valley as we look at the wax museum sub-genre. In Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , we shrink GMing maven Matt Colville from his native video format to audio only. Finally the Consulting Occultist unwinds the deeply complicated tale of the Cock Lane Ghost, as first penetrated by in...
Jan 11, 2019
We kick off 2019 with an all-request episode, starting with Patreon backer Bryan Gustafson, who enters the Gaming Hut to ask us how to use the tiny houses movement in a Cthulhu Confidential scenario. In the Command Hut , backer Tom Abella seeks the scoop on the series of WWII commando and bombing raids against a plant in German-occupied Norway to destroy its heavy water production. We get worldly in the Cartography Hut as backer Jake asks us to use the Psalter Mappa Mundi for gaming purposes. Fi...
Jan 04, 2019
Once again we close out the year with an episode recorded in front of a live audience at Dragonmeet in Hammersmith, London. Topics include the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and the Peloponnesian War, Cthulhoid Teletubbies, giant cows, modes of Yellow King RPG Game Mastering, and of course, sausages. We’ll be back with our first episode of 2019 on January 4th. Until then, enjoy a safe and happy holiday! Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your...
Dec 21, 2018
Jet-lagged and full of pudding, we return from our latest trip to Dragonmeet to issue a Travel Advisory about the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms exhibit at the British Library. In the Gaming Hut we pursue a request from Patreon backer Mikey Hamm to talk about chase rules. If we were just in London, our hero must have come home with a metric oodle of tomes to share with you before he files them up on Ken’s Bookshelf . Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your s...
Dec 14, 2018
Not to spoil anything, but we open in the Gaming Hut as Patreon backer V Weather asks us what to do when it turns out you’ve already read the adventure your GM is running. In How To Write Good , we examine the uses and abuses of ambiguity in RPG setting materials. Then it’s off to the Tradecraft Hut , where earlier we promised a segment based on a random page from Christopher Andrew’s The Secret World: A History of Intelligence . The number generator has assigned Ken page 227, which means we’re ...
Dec 07, 2018
Get out your space calculators as we meet in the Gaming Hut to entertain a request from Patreon backer Robert Dean, who wants to hear more about the time Ken ran Traveller for accountants. In the History Hut we fulfill the desire of backer Joe Littrell to learn the real reason behind Churchill’s wartime initiative to protect the apes of Gibraltar. The other Consulting Occultist continues our Yellow King -inspired series on occultists of the Belle Epoque with a look at the original neo-Gnostic, J...
Nov 30, 2018
This podcast never wastes your time, but what if you, as a GM, have to fill some space in your session? The Gaming Hut looks at ways to vamp for time. In the drafty confines of the Architecture Hut , Patreon backer Darren Hennessy wants to know about Houska Castle in the Czech Republic, known for its Gothic origins, Renaissance modifications and, oh yes, gate to hell. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else , we talk to game designer Sarah Richardson about her new game Velvet Glove . Our survey...
Nov 23, 2018
Under the black stars of Carcosa, we celebrate the impending publication of Robin’s The Yellow King Roleplaying Game and the manuscript completion of Ken’s The King in Yellow Annotated Edition with an all-Pallid Mask edition of our decadent podcast. In Among My Many Hats , Ken shares what he’s learned about Chambers and the Hyades while working on the aforementioned project. Then in How to Write Good he lays out the steps involved in creating an annotated edition of an existing work. The Food Hu...
Nov 16, 2018•1 hr 7 min
We open in the Gaming Hut , or is all part of an elaborate trick, as Patreon backer Sean asks how to pull switcheroos on players who don’t like being fooled. Ken meets us in the Cinema Hut to reveal the filmic goodies he saw at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival. In Ask Ken and Robin we answer a request from backer Lewis Sylvester for a GUMSHOE 101. And you’re totally right, we do forget to mention Fall of Delta Green , because there’s too much cool GUMSHOE for even us to remember. ...
Nov 09, 2018
Join us in the Gaming Hut to assist Patreon backer Dustyn Mincey with his difficulty in sticking with a single game, when there are so many awesome games in the world. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , specifically designer extraordinaire Steve Kenson. Finally it’s again time to vicariously caress the covers of various tomes as Ken’s Bookshel f gloats over the treasures looted from Powell’s Books in Portland. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking acces...
Nov 02, 2018
Join us for an elegaic Gaming Hut as we tackle but a single topic: the life and work of our friend and inspiration, the grand shaman of gaming, Greg Stafford (1948-2018.) Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon ! Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic . Over the Edge is back, with Jonathan Tweet updating his classic and influential game design. Get ready to duck New Age cultists, baboon-wielding gangsters, twiste...
Oct 26, 2018
In the Gaming Hut we assist Patreon backer Jean-Francois Paradis in creating a campaign where the PCs’ homeland is invaded by a technologically superior rival. Stay far from manhole covers and sewer grates as the Horror Hut looks at CHUDs and troglodytes. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else , specifically gaming’s cartoonist laureate, John Kovalic, about the Tao of Igor Kickstarter. Finally it’s time to stay positive as backer Dan Kassiday asks the Consulting Occultist to discuss the noce...
Oct 19, 2018
Another all-request episode kicks off in the Gaming Hut as Patreon backer Gene Ha asks what F20 evil deities get out of all the dungeons they create and manage. In the Cartography Hut we look into trap streets and parch marks, at the behest of backer Jurie Hornemann. Ask Ken and Robin gives backer Jacques de Villiers the chance to ask Robin about GMless Hillfolk . Finally in Ken’s Time Machine , backer Michael Maneval asks Ken to describe the reasons behind his constant efforts to keep musical i...
Oct 12, 2018
The Cinema Hut bursts with upcoming delights as Robin returns from his annual jaunt to Toronto International Film Festival to provide highlights on a banner year. In the Gaming Hut we tackle a perennial problem: how do you make sure the talky PC gets to talk to the talky NPC before the killy PC kills him with his proverbial axe? Finally the Conspiracy Corner digs into an archetypal case of magical thinking gone devastatingly wrong, the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. Want to pose a quest...
Oct 05, 2018
Advice for players kicks us off in the Gaming Hut , as we suggest ways to react when the GM provides you with a magic gun. Then in a segment we persist in calling How To Write Good , rather than Robin Yells Into the Wind, we show you how to tag jokes on the Internet. Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else features our Gen Con chat with Shanna Germain, who applies her poetic concision to her many hats and projects at Monte Cook Games. Finally we gather in the shadowy Conspiracy Corner to field a q...
Sep 28, 2018
Let’s summon the spirit of summer one last time by hearkening back to a balmy Indianapolis Friday, when Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff live from the surprising new confines of the Lucas Oil stadium at Gen Con. Come for the Nerdtrope cards, come for the incisive questions from our ever-alert audience. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon ! Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic . The White Box is a game design ...
Sep 21, 2018
The Gaming Hut makes room for our collection of crystal balls as Patreon backer Rob Towell asks for hints on GMing prophecies and divinations. The Crime Blotter looks at a rash of highly professional heists targeting relics looted from the Old Summer Palace and held in European museums. Patreon backer Polydamas asks us to have Fun With Science and the 1920s invasion of sea lampreys into the Great Lakes. Finally backer Derek Upham visits the Consulting Occultist for a look at artist James Bridle,...
Sep 14, 2018
On the alert for treacherous banana peels, we gather in the Gaming Hut to wonder if GUMSHOE can handle incompetent PCs. In Ask Ken and Robin , Patreon backer Frank Rafaelson wants Ken to pitch a new edition of Nephilim . How to Write Good posits that idiot plotting is not just an issue in procedure-heavy narratives. We look at ways to avoid it in dramatic scenes. Finally, Patreon backer Adam Grotjohn wonders what fell reality Ken’s Time Machine was preventing at the cemetery now known as Lincoln...
Sep 07, 2018
Another all-request episode opens in the familiar confines of the Gaming Hut , where Patreon backer Trung Bui wants to know how we pull out all the stops for climactic campaign-ending episodes. In the Horror Hut , backer Samwise Crider asks how to incorporate the newly discovered Icelandic and Swedish versions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula into a Dracula Dossier series. The Cinema Hut hosts another movie 101, this time on the fantasy film, at the command of backer Corey Pierno. Finally we heed the cr...
Aug 31, 2018
Patreon backers, specifically Patreon backer Brian Malcolm, demand yet more dungeon talk from us in the Gaming Hut . How do you lend a dungeon complex a narrative quality, instead of making it a random collection of rooms and fights? In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else , Christoph Sapinsky tells us about his new hard SF game Free Spacer, now Kickstarting . In Ask Ken and Robin , backer David Shaw wonders what would happen if you managed to engrave the Elder Sign on Cthulhu. Finally backer H...
Aug 24, 2018
We’re scratchy voiced and mushy headed from our journey to Gen Con 18. The Best Four Days in Gaming got bigger than ever this year, and we’re here to sort through the awards, the announcements, and perhaps a spot of food. Also at Gen Con we talked to Emily Reinhart, whose magical girl RPG Domina Magica is Kickstarting now . We tuck that interview in among our loop-brained observations. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS ...
Aug 17, 2018
Once more we’re in the same room together with an episode recorded in our hotel the day before Gen Con. Hmm, what easy topics shall we tackle? Does the game system you’re playing expect you to generate a plot hook for your character? We’re waiting in the Gaming Hut with tips and advice. The Tradecraft Hut keeps insisting we keep it topical, so what choice do we have but to cover the Maria Butila story? In the Food Hut , we journey to Food Valhalla, where dwell the favorite meals we will never ag...
Aug 10, 2018
Mystery scenario construction is once again on our minds in the Gaming Hut , as we discuss ways to run a mystery in which the investigators respond to an ongoing spree of murders, monster attacks, or the like. We make sure the roof of the History Hut is well-patched as we consider the cosmic terror that was the passenger pigeon. At the request of Patreon backer Timothy Coram, we pop into the Cinema Hut to chat about the giallo, and its application to The Yellow King Roleplaying Game . Finally th...
Aug 03, 2018
Most RPG scenarios assume that it’s up to the player characters to conclusively defeat the bad guys at the end. In the Gaming Hut we ask when it’s okay to leave the mop up to outside forces. In the History Hut Patreon backer Jake asks us to unveil the mysteries of the Cagots. Ask Ken and Robin fields a Q from backer Jacques de Villiers on gaming Twin Peaks and the related works of David Lynch. Finally we enter the Eliptony Hut , carefully checking our calendars, to satisfy backer Alexandria Perm...
Jul 27, 2018
