Episode 226: Yig is More of a Moundsville Ohio Guy
January 27th, 2017 | Robin
A surrealist sandbox and a structured mystery make a date in the Gaming Hut, as Josh Rose asks how to run Dreamhounds of Paris as a GUMSHOE One-2-One setting.
Given that the world has turned into a spy novel, and not a particularly believable one at that, maybe it’s time to duck into the Tradecraft Hut for an update on espionage in the news.
Ask Ken and Robin features a demand for parity from Drew Clowery, who wants a “how Robin runs games” segment to go with its Ken equivalent from Episode 220.
Finally Eben Lindsey asks us to rev up Ken’s Time Machine to reveal the fate of Cahokia, the North American city that suffered mass abandonment circa 1400.
Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.
Get yourself some flat plastic Ken and Robin miniatures by supporting Arcknight’s Flat Plastic Miniatures 2 Kickstarter.
Sleepers awake, and travel through the secret pathways of the occulted world to preorder the new edition of Unknown Armies from Atlas Games. From the deluxe printed edition to ebooks in a variety of formats, the weird wonders of UA beckon!
Want to plunge headlong into Lovecraftian mystery, but lack a gaming group? Want to introduce a friend or loved one to the roleplaying hobby? GUMSHOE One-2-One has come to your rescue! Find this new system by some guy named Robin D. Laws, in the line’s flagship title, Cthulhu Confidential. Now pre-ordering at the Pelgrane Press store. 
Do intervals between episodes plunge you into Hite withdrawal? Never fear! his brilliant pieces on parasitic gaming, alternate Newtons, Dacian werewolves and more now lurk among the sparkling bounty of The Best of FENIX Volumes 1-3, from returning sponsors Askfageln. Yes, it’s Sweden’s favorite RPG magazine, now beautifully collected. Warning: not in Swedish. 
John Scott Tynes’ Puppetland is ready to knock the stuffing out of a game store near you in its gorgeous new full-color hardcover edition. Join the good folks at Arc Dream in battling the horrific forces of Punch the Maker-Killer! 
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I think the Conspiracy X sourcebook was called “Atlantis Rising” but that’s a different kettle of fish…Alan Smale is two books into an alt-hist trilogy where Cahokia’s falcon men are shock troops in a war against the Roman Empire.
As someone who attended college in central Ohio within a shuttle bus ride of some remnants of Moundbuilder sites (though, alas, not particularly well preserved ones), and who has contributed to Green Ronin’s yugely Yig-ish Freeport setting, I must say that this episode’s title is one of my favorites so far!
I am currently in Paris conducting research,* and KARTAS has been part of a steady diet of English-language media in my downtime. Hearing about “Dreamhounds of Paris” in this episode and in others has been inspirational. Time is short, but you have inspired me to *want* to learn more about the surrealists while I am here. If you have any recommendations for places to check out while I’m here, I’m all ears.
I also almost bought “Occult Paris: The Lost Magic of the Belle Epoque” when I was at Shakespeare & Co. last weekend. But then I remembered I’m not actually Ken or Robin, so (a) I’m not actively writing about this subject (b) I will have to haul my own damn luggage around on my trip back to central Wisconsin, and (c) even in my new house, I have limited shelf space.
So thank you for being inspirational–even outside of gaming!
*What am I researching, do you ask? Well, I’m reading Arabic grimoires held at the Bibliotheque nationale. True story! None by Abdul Alhazred and none bound in human skin, though.
Edgar, if you can find it. René Thimmy’s La Magie a Paris is good fun, in an Elliot O’Donnell kind of way.
It looks like somebody over at NPR might be listening to KARTAS, or just like goth English bands.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/10/513963490/1-000-years-ago-corn-made-this-society-big-then-a-changing-climate-destroyed-the
PS Thanks for the shout out – I DO have all the facts.