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Episode 52: The Delightful Burning Sensation You Alluded To Earlier

August 16th, 2013 | Robin

Join hands and sing fhtagn fhtagn as we self-congratulate ourselves on an epic year of podcasting.

Then sidle past the mutual back-patting into the Gaming Hut, where we consider the export potential of DramaSystem series pitches to other roleplaying games.

Rear back in shock as the Food Hut hosts our most heretical segment ever, in which Robin argues that the vaunted Indy steakhouse St. Elmo’s is, in fact, a terrible restaurant.

Settle in for an extended stay as Ask Ken and Robin tackles Alasdair Sinclair’s question about maintaining a single campaign for the long haul.

Then look up to the strangest sight in the skyline of Bandung, Indonesia as, at the request of Tom McGrenery, the Consulting Occultist tries to infuse its Octopus House with more weirdness than it already contains.

13 Responses to “Episode 52: The Delightful Burning Sensation You Alluded To Earlier”

  1. I think that you really missed a step by not titling this one “A Revolving Door of Murder-Hobos”. But excellent otherwise!

  2. Cambias says:

    One aspect of the multi-tentacled reality of the Octopus House you missed is its factual, real-world nature: a whimsical work of public art in a place where that provokes suspicion, at a time of tension and the potential for violence. One could do an entirely non-supernatural Octopus House game in which the PCs simply have to help its reclusive and eccentric owner defend the house against everything from Muslim extremists and Triad gangsters to meddlesome Midwestern occult aficionados banging on the door at all hours demanding to talk to Aleister Crowley.

  3. Tom says:

    Thank you, gentlemen, for your erudite discussion of the Octopus House.
    You may consider your commission well accomplished.

    My own mundane theory is that the owner just really likes Jules Verne (and card games, presumably). Of the more esoteric theories, I do like the idea of the House as a containment device for eldritch forces.
    I am also fond of the caretaker who sometimes answers the door. He makes me think of the fez-wearing shopkeeper in Mr Benn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQfD8Wl7gos

    At any rate, in return for your endeavours, I shall be happy to buy you the beverage of your choice at a local hostelry should you happen to be in Hong Kong in the future.

  4. Tim Daly says:

    Robin’s shocking declaration of wanting his “rare” steak at 145 degrees made me reconsider my stance that Canada should be allowed to retain it’s sovereignty. (for the good of the innocent steaks apparently being abused in Canada.)

  5. John says:

    In defence of my fellow Canadian steak eaters, I note that the U.S. FDA’s official recommendation for a safe temperature for beef is also 145 degrees. I presume that a majority in both countries simply ignore this well-meant but unpalatable advice.

    I hope that Ken & Robin will someday share the identity of the unnamed good restaurant, although from the clues they dropped, I have a pretty good guess which one it is.

  6. Leó Páll Hrafnsson says:

    i believe that in role playing you can explore almost any story through play, but there is one that i am hopeful can be explored thou i am not experienced enough to know how.

    so i ask Ken and Robin:
    how can you play/run a game wear the players are antagonists who in a another life might have bin friends.

    “what do you mean by this?” you ask as you hover the mouse over the delete button,

    simple look at movies like Heat or Catch me if you can in both the maine characters one of there maine motivations is to actively counter there respective “Partner’s” goal to Catch or get caught.

    so is a game like this dependent on some special mechanics or a social contract between player’s? or something more simple and brilliant?

  7. Steve Dempsey says:

    I had the ribeye at St Elmo’s and whilst I don’t want to impune anyone’s generosity in criticising the dinner I had there, one of your vaunted sponsors does a much better job with ribeye. I believe this to the extent that I’m willing to put up a number of Moxon’s steaks should either of you ever again visit a country where such strange notions are held.

  8. Randall Porter says:

    Regarding Robin’s comments about St. Elmo’s first let me say I cannot eat steak due health reason, but that aside…..Yea what Ken said!!!! Plus every point Ken said with a bullet points and hand outs. Thank you.

  9. Joshua Weiss says:

    I have to agree with Robin. Prometheus incited the wrath of Zeus so that we wouldn’t have to eat raw meat, and I for one am not willing to spit on his sacrifice.

  10. Sheila Ralston says:

    I suspect Canada and the U.S. have different rare to medium scales, so I recommend that Robin order the medium-rare the next time he’s in an American steak house and see if he’s not happier. (I don’t know from exact cooking heat, but that’s the pink to dark red in the middle but still warm way that I like it.)

  11. Thanks for answering my question. 🙂

  12. Joshua Hillerup says:

    I’ve never been to this restaurant, but I did grow uo in Toronto, and it is not the place to get a rare stake, as the health board is very zealous in that city (a good thing when you walk into a restaurant who’s cuisine is from a country you’ve never heard of) and would shut down a restaurant that served it in no time.

    Montreal on the other hand is an excellent Canadian city to get a rare stake.

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