In the Gaming Hut we look at narrative coherence and whether GMs should enforce it by trying to make all introduced story elements pay off. Something sufficiently definitive has happened that we are willing to risk the wrath of our ten day lead time and reopen the dusty Politics Hut to chew over the results of the US election. Speaking of which, I guess it’s finally time to duck into Conspiracy Corner and talk about QAnon. Finally, the Consulting Occultist for the first time trains his eye on a ...
Nov 20, 2020
In the Gaming Hut , beloved Patreon backer David Sowa asks us how to incorporate machine politics into an F20 game. Ken beckons us into the Cinema Hut to discuss his discoveries at this year’s virtual edition of the Chicago Film Festival. Ask Ken and Robin features a request from flinty Patreon backer to find the gaming fun in a field of abandoned President heads . Finally we use Ken’s Time Machine to see what the world looks like if an attempted hit on the Shah of Iran in 1949 went off as plann...
Nov 13, 2020
Beloved Patreon backer John Scheib summons us to the Gaming Hut to find techniques for infusing Earth-based settings with your chosen nerdtrope. In the Tradecraft Hut we find that the Cuban sonic attacks story, which we covered three years ago, has revealed itself into a campaign of FSB attacks against American spies and diplomats worldwide. Be sure to check out this amazing Julia Ioffe piece from GQ . This New York Times story looks at victims’ attempts to gain disability compensation. We’re in...
Nov 06, 2020
We risk mixing up our aromatics with our alembics as beloved Patreon backer Jason Gorkisch enters the Gaming Hut to ask which ingredients and cooking styles make the best basis for magic. Peter McAveney calls upon the Crime Blotter for the scoop on the Potosi Mint Fraud. Ironically, among many other things, it has indeed become rain on your wedding day. We sashay into the Word Hut to tell you what irony is. Finally the Consulting Occultist goes literary as Thomas Casey seeks info on the supernat...
Oct 30, 2020
A Theosophical choir sings in the Gaming Hut as beloved Patreon backer Brad McClain asks for Trail of Cthulhu scenario seeds inspired by Alexander Scriabin’s unfinished, Armageddon-inducing composition Mysterium. Thanks to discerning Patreon backer Daniel Gill, we find the Tradecraft Hut knee-deep in documents as we try to find the interesting side of the boring side of intelligence work. In the Cinema Hut we wonder why daddy issues have become the default character arc in Hollywood screenplays....
Oct 23, 2020
In the Gaming Hut , beloved Patreon backer Ross Ireland asks about the possibility of victory in an ongoing game. Is it essential, or can certain doom become its own kind of win? Regal backer Mikey Hamm beckons us into an especially resplendent version of the History Hut to hear about the Amber Room and the curses associated with it. In How to Write Good , we show you how to spot the ominous signs of an unmotivated protagonist. Finally the Eliptony Hut reveals the secrets of the Vatican’s time v...
Oct 16, 2020
An all-request episode kicks off in the Gaming Hut as Dicegeeks asks us how to incorporate the Fossil Showman Albert Koch and his Missouri Leviathan into a game. We jump some bulls on our way into the Archaeology Hut , where Jake B wants to know about a maker of Minoan seals from the town of Zakros around 1500 BCE. Brian Malcolm impels us to dust off the Politics Hut for tips on getting along across partisan boundaries. Finally Elias Helfer trudges with us up the cobwebbed stairs to the parlor o...
Oct 09, 2020
The pandemic didn’t stop Robin from attending the Toronto International Film Festival, because it took place in his living room this year. In the Cinema Hut he reviews the best of a cut-down slate and discusses the future of film festivals here in the Covidverse. Speaking of stuff you’d only do during a plague, Ken has finished reading the entirety of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. In the Gaming Hut we wonder how you might adapt this famously sessile classic detective to GUMSHOE One-2-One. Finally, K...
Oct 02, 2020
The Gaming Hut transforms into a spooky manor by the moors as beloved Patreon backer Ian Carlsen asks what you can do, outside the setting, to make an F20 game more gothic. In Ripped from the Headlines we pick off some low-hanging fruit by asking what seems weird and sinister about Elon Musk’s recent pig brain chip announcement. Finally we once more adapt to the times with a contactless edition of Ken’s Bookshelf . Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access wit...
Sep 25, 2020
Convention season has gone into hibernation, but that didn’t stop us from doing a live episode at Gen Con Online. The Nerdtrope deck served up a duplicate, but that didn’t stop us from sticking in a ringer. Robin’s Internet was spotty, but that didn’t stop Ken from vamping in his absence. Robin’s mic had to be closer to his humming desktop than a normal episode, but that didn’t stop heroic audio editor Rob Borges from saving the technical day! Join us in not stopping the show as we all dream of ...
Sep 18, 2020
The Gaming Hut gets into a crossover mood as beloved Patreon backer Adam Grotjohn wants to know how to turn player characters from Vampire: the Masquerade into the antagonists for Night’s Black Agents. In the Cinema Hut we each nominate someone as moviedom’s least likely major star. The Food Hut turns some pages as we name our favorite food books. And finally stalwart Patreon backer Pedro Garcia enters the History Hut for the story of Boris Skossyreff, whose self-proclaimed reign as Andorra’s ki...
Sep 11, 2020
In the Gaming Hut , beloved Patreon backer Philippe Marcil asks how you start with Earth when it is full of racism, sexism, and a plethora of other isms. A man in a barrel pleads with a man not in a barrel in the latest installment of that most mercantile of huts, the T-Shirt Justification Hut . Ripped From the Headlines answers to green-thumbed backer Jamie Twine, who alerts us to the international unsolicited seeds mystery. Finally the Consulting Occultist brandishes his planchette to explain ...
Sep 04, 2020
The Gaming Hut dares to risk horrific ill fortune to answer beloved Patreon backer Kevin Greenlee’s request for tips on game mastering powerful but cursed objects. The History Hut looks at ways to incorporate the Bay of Pigs into The Fall of Delta Green . The Culture Hut gets a stained-glass makeover as extremely on-brand Patreon backer Noel Warford asks for the truth behind France’s storied tradition of blind church organists. Finally the Eliptony Hut takes a close look indeed, at the behest of...
Aug 28, 2020
In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Michael Brodhead seeks our assistance in moving from setting to story. Might taxonomies of storytelling help? The Architecture Hut provides grand surroundings to examine the Utopian architects and their possible sinister schemes, as requested by vaunted Patreon backer Ludovic Chabant. In the Monster Hut we show you how to weave a mystery scenario around a monster, in this case the Argus from The Yellow King Roleplaying Game. Finally charming Patreon backe...
Aug 21, 2020
In lieu of our usual Gen Con wrap, we reach for an all-request episode. Beloved Patreon backer Lauberfen meets us in the Gaming Hut to ask how to incorporate TPKs and character death into the narrative. Inquiring Patreon backer Nikolaj picks up on a past cue from Robin to ask for a Crime Blotter rounding up the more colorful incidents of RCMP misconduct. Reflective Patreon backer Corey Pierno seeks the Consulting Occultist ’s wisdom on crystals and their history as supernatural objects. Finally ...
Aug 14, 2020
In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Gene Ha asks about trusting players with knowledge of upcoming secrets, for example the vampire content in Night’s Black Agents. The Tradecraft Hut delves into the spying career of Dutch painter Jan van Eyck. Werewolves, vampires and Frankensteins all fit readily into a weird war environment, like The Yellow King RPG ’s The Wars. In the Horror Hut , we ask how mummies might stalk the battlefield. Finally we use Ken’s Time Machine to find out what happens ...
Aug 07, 2020
Beloved Patreon backer Manfred convenes us in a camouflage-covered Gaming Hut to ask how to run Fall of Delta Green agents through the Vietnam War. Complicating factor: his players are ex-military; Manfred is not. Esteemed Patreon backer Dan O’Hanlon unfurls the Crime Blotter for a briefing on Toronto’s tow truck wars. In How to Write Good , we wonder which words are too laden with earthbound cultural reference to use in texts concerning other worlds. Finally astute Patreon backer Rolfe Bergstro...
Jul 31, 2020
Robin has coined yet another new term and so naturally we must enter the Gaming Hut to talk about table sense. The T-Shirt Justification Hut wrings a segment out of our latest foray into feline-themed casual wear, Excuse Me While I Nap This Out . The Culture Hut returns to the Belle Epoque era of The Yellow King Roleplaying Game to profile American dancer, lighting design pioneer and amateur astronomer, Loie Fuller. Finally, Ken’s Time Machine rescues Houdini to find out what would have happened...
Jul 24, 2020
Hey, it’s an all-request episode! There’s nothing much going on in the Gaming Hut until beloved Patreon backer Rich Ranallo pops by to ask about incorporating boredom into the player experience. In the Horror Hut , esteemed Patreon backer V R Weather asks Ken to give the Dracula Dossier treatment to Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm . Insightful Patreon backer Louis Sylvester takes an aisle seat in the Cinema Hut to ask about John Carpenter’s classic film Aliens . Finally, admirable Patreon b...
Jul 17, 2020
In the Gaming Hut we look at villain plans, and why they have to make sense in investigative games. The Food Hut goes to the drive-thru for a double-double as beloved Patreon backers Tim Maness and Jean Bauer ask for an explanation of the mythic role the Tim Hortons donut chain plays in the Canadian psyche. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio with a nerdtrope of the 100 Years War and pod people from our YouTube episode of Ken and Robin Live. Finally the Eliptony Hut reveals, at the behest of stalwart Pa...
Jul 10, 2020
Beloved Patreon backer Bob Grider invites us into the Gaming Hut to discuss top-down vs bottom-up design. Discerning Patreon backer Allen Wilkins invokes his Ask Ken and Robin powers to request a mash-up of Night’s Black Agents and The Prisoner. The History Hut looks at Saskatchewan-born strongman Édouard Beaupré, aka Beaupré the Giant, and his excellent reasons for haunting Montreal. (Before you write in, Robin misspeaks at one point, referring to tuberculosis as “eradicated” instead of “brough...
Jul 03, 2020
In the Gaming Hut , Ken introduces us to the meta-textual, meme-filled wonderland that is his Fall of Delta Green player group. The Crime Blotter visits the wild mobbed-up years when Montreal Quebec was the Vegas of the north. In How To Write Good a question from beloved Patreon backer Daniel Gill prompts a look at present tense and other contemporary literary devices in fantasy fiction. Finally Ken’s Time Machine attempts a difficult bank shot. Time Inc. has always wanted to prevent the Robert ...
Jun 26, 2020
On August 3, 2012, Ken and Robin debuted into a podcast-starved world the first edition of their weekly podcast. Stuff we talked about incluuuuded a brand new game called Night’s Black Agents, the Continuum convention in the UK, the role of the GM in game design, and the Golden Dawn. Eightish years later, we bring you our 400th episode, and you know what that means—LIGHTNING ROUND!! Bolts of celebratory electrical power come courtesy of our Patreon backers, without which we could not do this sho...
Jun 19, 2020
The Gaming Hut goes below the depths for beloved Patreon backer Hector Trelane, who seeks tips on adapting the feel of Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 classic Das Boot into a roleplaying setting. How to Write Good revisits the issue of prose style in RPG books with more tips to strengthen and clarify your work. Fun With Science follows a tip from esteemed Patreon backer Gabriel Rossman, who has discovered a peculiar case of a scientific paper published under the stolen identities of researchers who had...
Jun 12, 2020
In the Gaming Hut we look at times when it’s appropriate to give a player an auto-success. Sometimes winning beats failing forward! The Tradecraft Hut checks out the story of Czech mayors alleged to have been targeted for assassination by Russian operatives. Sagacious Patreon backer Michael Maneval retroactively opens up the T-Shirt Justification Hut for a multi-genre take on beloved mascot Valhalla Cat. Finally estimable Patreon backer Fred Kiesche heads into the Edwardian parlor of the Consult...
Jun 05, 2020
In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer wants to know about arc-sized endgames for player characters. Your Call of Cthulhu characters may have wound up in a sanatorium, but did your D&D heroes ever become feudal lords? The Cinema Hut is even more of a hut than usual as we conduct a folk horror 101. The Culture Hut resumes our Yellow King themed biographical segments with a look at Symbolist artist Odilon Redon, a ley influence on weird illustration. Finally our beloved chrononaut dodges hel...
May 29, 2020
If the hairs on the back of your neck are tingling, you must be in the Gaming Hut , and we may be providing tips on using Sense Trouble abilities. In Fun With Science beloved Patreon backer Chris Sellers seeks the skinny on fatbergs. He sends Robin’s players on missions in his current game, so it’s about time the Tradecraft Hut profiled iconic Canadian William Stephenson, aka Intrepid. Finally the planets balefully align around the Eliptony Hut as estimable Patreon backer Dirk the Dice prompts u...
May 22, 2020
In the Gaming Hut we fulfill a Tell Me More Request from beloved Patreon backer Bryan, who wants us to wring gaming ideas from the most recent version of The Invisible Man . Ask Ken and Robin finds estimable Patreon backer Scot Ryder asking if Robin would decrease the number of abilities in Ashen Stars , given the direction found in The Yellow King Roleplaying Game . Finally we bask in the last Ken’s Bookshelf for the foreseeable future, as Ken looks back with fond and dewy eyes at the volumes s...
May 15, 2020
The Cartography Hut gets smart as beloved Patreon backer Gerald Sears asks us to riff on intelligent maps. Esteemed Patreon backer Sibel Permann urges the History Hut to find gaming gold in the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Horror Hut looks at a paper by Francis T. McAndrew on the social-evolutionary psychology of Bad Places. Finally the Consulting Occultist elucidates the effort to market famously ill-reviewed 50s fantasy novel Kinsmen of the Dragon as an esoteric tome. Want to pose a question t...
May 08, 2020
In the Gaming Hut we help beloved Patreon backer Jamie Twine as he seeks to adapt scenarios written for standard GUMSHOE to the QuickShock version of the system found in The Yellow King Roleplaying Game. The Tradecraft Hut conducts an investigation into spying charges laid against a Major General of Ukraine’s security service. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else , we celebrate the release of an open gaming license for Robin’s game HeroQuest, now rechristened QuestWorlds, by dropping a previ...
May 01, 2020
