Episode 262: Profit Motive and a Fast Boat
October 6th, 2017 | Robin
Robin is back from his annual sojourn to the Toronto International Film Festival, so it’s time to open up the Cinema Hut to alert you to the best and nerdiest of the 44 titles he saw there. From zombies to noir, he’s got your watch list for the next 12-18 months.
In the Gaming Hut we look at the causes and implications of the biggest story in tabletop RPGs these days, the great D&D resurgence.
Following up on a past visit to the Mythology Hut, we deliver on our promise to talk about the mythic shift undertaken by the vampire, from predatory monster to romantic hero.
Then at the barked command of stalwart Patreon backer Jeromy French, we take a turbulent voyage to a highly fortified History Hut to deliver the 101 on the Barbary Pirates.
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.
In Unknown Armies, Atlas Games’ modern-day, occult roleplaying game, you play the heroically broken people who conspire to fix the world. That conspiracy just got easier, with the arrival of the game on store shelves near you!
The book has been written.The book has been read. Now it rewrites you. Across time it spreads, creating dread new realities. And you’re in all of them. Robin’s epic new GUMSHOE project, The Yellow King Roleplaying Game has concluded its Kickstarter run, but is now available for pre-order at the Pelgrane Store for those who missed it.
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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A certain Barbary pirate features in Fearful Symmetries.
During the Resurgence section, Ken said something to the effect of ‘You have to start a new kind of game when going to high school to college, because high school stuff isn’t cool anymore’ and I rather smugly said to myself ‘Oh no, I wasn’t that bad…’ then enlightenment dawned like a hammer to face and I yelled out loud ‘OH GOD, Vampire! Shadowrun! WARHAMMER 40K!!!’
Which really startled the hell out of the poor guy in the car next to me.
Your comments on the appeal of 3e vs. 4e vs. 5e vs. Pathfinder were spot-on. My interest in Pathfinder followed directly from a decade of acquiring system mastery in 3.5, but I also find 5e refreshing in its simplicity. 5e is much easier to teach to my middle-school-aged kids, though they have tried and enjoy Pathfinder as well.
Vampires getting sexy may also have happened because the ecological niche was open. Fairies had previously been the sexy/dangerous supernatural creatures, but after the Renaissance they got cute and comical, no longer either sexy or dangerous. So by the 19th century there was a need for a new monster to embody sexual danger, so vampires (who had been more like modern zombies) moved right in.
Cambrian, that is very insightful.
Actually I’m Permian.