Grimoire
Cthulhu
Dracula
Abraham Lincoln
Ken
Grimoire

Episode 237: You Can’t Be a Martyr and Have It Coming

April 14th, 2017 | Robin

Get outside your own perspective and inside the Gaming Hut as Ken and Robin envision a gun that triggers out of body experiences.

With espionage everywhere in the news, it’s time for that Tradecraft Hut primer on contemporary Russian intelligence.

In How to Write Good we look enthusiastically at reluctant heroes.

Then thanks to a well-filled requisition form from Dylan Hoover, Ken’s Time Machine heads back to 415 to rescue Hypatia of Alexandria.

Support the KARTAS Patreon!

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.


Wish to introduce innocent children to the horror of the Mythos, while remaining on budget? Atlas Games is here to affordably twist young minds with a buy two, get one free deal on Ken’s Mini Mythos line of childrens’ book parodies: Where the Deep Ones Are, Goodnight Azathoth, Cliffourd the Big Red God, and Antarctic Express.

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!

5 Responses to “Episode 237: You Can’t Be a Martyr and Have It Coming”

  1. Allen Wilkins says:

    Luke absolutely refused the call. It’s just that Star Wars is so fast-paced that Owen and Beru were already dead by then, and he found out 3 minutes later.

    • Mac says:

      Campbellian box checked, Robin:

      BEN
      You must learn the ways of the Force if you’re to come with me to Alderaan.

      LUKE
      Alderaan? I’m not going to Alderaan. I’ve got to go home. It’s late, I’m in for it as it is.

      BEN
      I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I’m getting too old for this sort of thing.

      LUKE
      I can’t get involved! I’ve got work to do! It’s not that I like the Empire. I hate it! But there’s nothing I can do about it right now. It’s such a long way from here.

      BEN
      That’s your uncle talking.

      LUKE
      Oh, God, my uncle. How am I ever going to explain this?

      BEN
      Learn about the Force, Luke.

      LUKE
      Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you’re going.

      BEN
      You must do what you feel is right, of course.

  2. Tim Emrick says:

    To put the inevitable Lovecraftian spin on the OBE gun, Crawford Tillinghast’s Ultraviolet machine could be interpreted as the first working prototype. More of a bomb than a targeted gun, but still…

  3. Tim Emrick says:

    I’m curious what Ken thinks of the movie “Agora,” which depicts the last days of Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria. I’ve no idea how historically accurate it is–though there is enough dwelling upon religion and politics and science of the period that it *feels* plausible–but regardless, it is graced by the lovely Rachel Weisz playing yet another brilliant librarian with a low tolerance for men’s nonsense.

  4. Ethan C. says:

    Apropos the Tillinghast suggestion, the OBE gun is a lot more interesting if you presuppose — or at least leave open the possibility — that OBEs really do transport people into an alternate plane of reality or give them powers of perception beyond the normal. Then your OBE gun gives you astral spies a la Tim Powers’ Three Days to Never, plus maybe Lovecraftian astral ecosystems, Philip K. Dick-esque crazy religious entities, and any number of other good things.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Film Cannister
Cartoon Rocket
d8
Flying Clock
Robin
Film Cannister