Episode 323: They Pecked the Anglo Saxons
December 14th, 2018 | Robin
Jet-lagged and full of pudding, we return from our latest trip to Dragonmeet to issue a Travel Advisory about the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms exhibit at the British Library.
In the Gaming Hut we pursue a request from Patreon backer Mikey Hamm to talk about chase rules.
If we were just in London, our hero must have come home with a metric oodle of tomes to share with you before he files them up on Ken’s Bookshelf.
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.
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.
Ken’s latest roleplaying game, The Fall of Delta Green, is now available in print or PDF or both from Pelgrane Press. Journey to the head-spinning chaos of the late 1960s, back when everyone’s favorite anti-Cthulhu special ops agency hadn’t gone rogue yet, for this pulse-pounding GUMSHOE game of war, covert action, and Mythos horror.
Grab the translated riches of FENIX magazine in a special bundle deal from our friends at Askfageln, over at Indie Press Revolution. Score metric oodles of Ken Hite gaming goodness, a cornucopia of articles, complete games, plus the cartoon antics of Bernard the Barbarian. Warning: in English, not in Swedish. In English, not Swedish.
Just in time to save the world, though perhaps not your team of hardened covert agents, from the Mythos, the Delta Green Handlers Guide from Arc Dream Publishing is now in print and either at or headed to a game store near you. The slipcase print edition includes both the Handlers’ Guide and Agents’ Handbook, fitting snugly into your go bag along with your extra passports and list of weapons caches.
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Hello Good People,
Recentlyt I was in the Central Andes of Colombia. It was really early in the morning because we have to get out of the Bogota city limits before the licensplate restrictions came into force on our car. Being up so early, I was ina bit of a weird head space, and it was misty. There are painted on the rocks on the side of the road political propaganda from campaigns past. In the midst of this dross, there was a patch that had been painted a cyan. In the middle of this was some sort of flaming heart that had flames of primary colours. Above it was a single word GNOSIS and below was a cell phone number. I did not get the number but I could tell it was a cell phone from the prefix. I immediately thought of Kenneth Hite. I thought what a great hook for Trail of Cthulhu or what ever.
1. Actually, a seax isn’t an ax; it’s a somewhat machete-like blade, from knife up to sword length. Or, in heraldry, by artistic mutation, it’s a curved sword with a notched in the back — as seen on the coat of arms of Essex, among other places.
2. For chase rules — GURPS Action actually has a pretty good set, built on the standard GURPS skill/task resolution system.
Books in this year’s haul are:
Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, by James C. Scott
Crimes and Criminals of 17th Century Britain, by Daniel J. Codd
Persia in the Great Game, by Anthony Wynn
Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service, by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal
The Secret Paris of the 30s, by Brassaï
The British Museum Book of Cats, by Juliet Clutton-Brock
Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, by Adrienne Mayor
After Alexander: The Time of the Diadochi (323-281 BC), by Edward Anson and Victor Alonso Troncoso
The Jason Voyage, by Tim Severin
Legend: The Genesis of Civilization, by David Rohl (moved from original order for smoother ad break)
Dragons, Serpents, and Slayers in the Classical and Early Christian Worlds, by Daniel Ogden
Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate’s Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature, by Sarah Iles Johnston
Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic, by Dr. Stephen Skinner
The Dancing Goddesses: Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences, by Jason A. Josephson-Storm
Haunted London Underground, by Alan Brooke and David Brandon
They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper, by Bruce Robinson
Jack the Ripper: A Psychic Investigation, by Pamela Ball
A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith during the First World War, by Owen Davies
Aleister Crowley in America: Art, Espionage, and Sex Magick in the New World, by Tobias Churton
The Red Church, or the Art of Pennsylvania German Braucherei, by C.R. Bilardi
Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood and Bones, by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold
Jinn Sorcery, by Rain al-Alim
Regarding chases, would Robin recommend creating a player-facing skill like Insurgency for a QuickShock game that’s separate from Driving or Athletics?
[…] Ken and Robin Talk about Stuff name-checked me in a recent episode. I’m flattered to think that I’m Ken Hite’s one phone call on Pennsylvania German folklore, but I’d suggest he contact Patrick Donmoyer, who is fluent in German and Pennsylvania German, lives in the region, runs a museum and library of Pennsylvania German buildings and artifacts, paints barn stars (a.k.a. hex signs), etc. […]