Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Suddenly You’re Eating Mustard Lettuce

In our festive final episode of 2016, Ken and I talk GUMSHOE One-2-One, Chris Spivey, lions of Tsavo, and how to make a damn sandwich.

The Birds: Necky

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Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Bear With Us, Everyone Else

In the latest episode of our entirely aboveboard podcast, Ken and I talk how Ken runs games, Toronto music, emoluments, and Juan Peron’s hands.

The Birds: Spiraled

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The Birds: Intersecting

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Finding Me at Dragonmeet 2016

After a parlous period during which it seemed that Pelgrane Press’ magic spreadsheet had turned into a sensible spreadsheet, I am once again delighted to report that I’ll be attending Dragonmeet in London this Saturday. I’ll be there with the Pelgrane crew, including Kenneth Hite, Rob Heinsoo, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan and of course co-honchos Cat Tobin and Simon Rogers.

The event itself has yet again shed its skin and grown larger and for the first time will be at the Novotel London West near the Hammersmith tube station.

Stop by to chat at the Pelgrane booth, or catch me at the following seminar events:

13:30: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Live: Join us for a live podcast recording as Ken nerdtropes up a storm and we field audience questions with our usual jetlagged aplomb.

15:30: What’s Up with Pelgrane Press: The whole team spills the beans on plans for 2017 and beyond, and I periodically urge the non-Kens among them to use their outdoor voices and speak up for the nice people.

If the publishing gods so decree, we’ll have a special Dragonmeet preview edition of Cthulhu Confidential, the flagship GUMSHOE One-2-One release. I could not be more excited about seeing this finally arrive in print form, so please propitiate the ink deities as the weekend draws near.

(Any Simon Rogerses out there might want to take note of the relationship between the venue and a local purveyor of Christmas sandwiches—traditional lunch of choice for humble, undemanding and hard-working freelancers. See handy map.)

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: This Podcast Still Hates Nazis

In the latest episode of our rocket-launching, bell bottom-wearing podcast, Ken and I talk 70s NASA, election wrap, Darcy Ross and Sybil.

The Birds: Exuberance

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Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Home Movies You Didn't Take

In the latest episode of our award-winning podcast, Ken and I talk scarier Cthulhu, Chicago fim fest, commentary beats, and Timothy Pickering.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Some Old Schlubby Wine God

In the latest episode of our eponymous podcast, Ken and I talk about mythic-level play, Ken's latest book raid and Death Spiral, the segment that is also a game.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Not an Impaleologist

In the latest episode of our down-to-the-wire, guaranteed unskewed podcast, Ken and I talk Tour de Lovecraft, rigged votes, Sandy Petersen and Dracula's alchemy.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: The Puppet Below

In the latest episode of our globe-trotting podcast, Ken and I talk TimeWatch settings, THE KRAKEN, and the Lovecraft film fest.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: I Would Have Been on the Other Side of That

In the latest installment of our milkshake-drinking podcast, Ken and I talk boring choices, E. L. Doheny, Epidiah Ravachol, and Jakob Bohme.

Join Me for an Online GUMSHOE Game in Celebration of International Pelgrane Day

This Friday is International Pelgrane Day, an event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the GUMSHOE system.

If I get enough takers, I will join in the foofarah by running an online GUMSHOE game at 12 noon Eastern for 4-6 players on Roll20.

Claim your spot in the game by finding my email contact info in the site header and dropping me an email message. Preference will be first come, first serve for those who follow that simple instruction.

“What GUMSHOE game?” you might ask.

Well, it’s a surprise. What would International Pelgrane Day be without surprises?

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: I Was Scheduled For One Anyway

In the latest episode of our incisive and probing podcast, Ken and I talk reskinning history, mythos spam, Kremlinology, and Whitley Strieber.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Tell Jimbo That You’ve Moved House

In the latest episode of their red-carpet podcast, Ken and Robin talk GM motivation, art direction & layout with Hal Mangold, and the Toronto film fest.

Passings

Condolences to family and friends of Jeff Mackintosh. He wrote of his impending death from cancer with courage and forthrightness. I always enjoyed chatting with him back in his game industry days and feel the sorrow of those close to him. The Pelgrane Press crew will commemorate him, as are many other tabletop publishers, by naming an upcoming character after him—in our case, in the upcoming Cthulhu Confidential. His final downturn came quickly but I think he had been informed that this was happening.

While on the subject of passings, I would also like to celebrate the joyous music of Buckwheat Zydeco, aka Stanley Dural Jr., who will not be making his November gig at Antone’s in Austin. I once saw him at a small Toronto club, where the promoter had to warn him that local blues audiences stayed glued to their chairs and that this didn’t mean they weren’t enjoying themselves. My wife and I did our best to disprove this but were 50% of the people on the dance floor.

This weekend we also lost Bill Nunn, who as Radio Raheem pulses as the heart of anger in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. He played every role with solidity and authenticity.

All three of these men were taken by cancer.

You can’t take revenge on an abstract concept. Death isn’t a dude in a skull mask you can flip off. But we could, it would be by recognizing the precious value of the time we do get on this earth, and savoring it as best we can. In the next days I will strive to do something with Jeff’s attention to detail, the sheer fun of zydeco music, the truth of Bill Nunn’s acting.

Help Our Fiction Writing Visualization Tool By Taking This Survey

Gameplaywright is developing a writing visualization tool that might seem familiar to those of you who know my book Hamlet’s Hit Points. It might even have something to do with the HHP follow-up project I’m working on, which uses its beat system, plus spiffy new insights, to address fiction writing in general. If this intrigues you, please help us out by taking a brief survey.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: There Is Mooching To Be Done

In the latest episode of their mouth-watering podcast, Ken and Robin talk flawed perceptions, film noir 101, banh mi, and Jack Parsons.

My Events at THE KRAKEN

Along with such illustrious names as Sandy Petersen, Jeff Richard, Ian Brumby, Jason Durall, and Michael “Mob” O’Brien, I will be doing the guest thing at THE KRAKEN, October 7-10 at Schloss Neuhausen, Germany.

This year THE KRAKEN celebrates the 50th anniversary of Glorantha and, of course, the 500th of the Reinheitsgebot, Germany’s most beloved set of government regulations. And did I mention that it’s in October?

To celebrate the Glorantha bit, I’ll be running two games: one Hillfolk, the other HeroQuest, both set in the early settlement period immediately prior to the events of King of Dragon Pass. The first may inform the other but no one will have to play both sessions to follow the action. This is important because slots in each game are made available via a lottery system.

I’ll also be taking part in the following panels:

Sharper Adventures in HeroQuest Glorantha: inspired by the best-selling convention chapbook of the same name, this examines ways to make your Glorantha-games more dynamic and player-driven.

Fix My Game, Robin! The perennial GMing master classs panel gets an imperative name.

Advanced Gaming Lore: More tips and tricks, and a free-ranging Q&A.

And here’s where we get to the Reinheitsgebot part—I’ll also be helming a German beer tasting. Root for your favorite product of the German brewing industry to win my seal of approval! London bookmakers heavily favor the Doppelbock but the truth is in the tasting.

THE KRAKEN is no mere convention, but a gaming retreat. I’ll take my trusty mic along to talk to event organizers to explain just what that means, gathering audio to recycle on future editions of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.  And since I’ll be in the same room as Sandy Petersen it would be remiss of me to fail to snag an interview with him as well.

As of this writing, one slot has opened up for a full attendee package including accomodations. One can also attend as a day guest, if one happens to be in or around Germany’s least populated region. Book here. Cake has been promised.

Not in Germany but want to check out the proceeds? You’re in luck; they’ll be recording everything for their YouTube channel. Might a mysterious new chapbook be announced?

And if you’d like to celebrate the Gloranthan anniversary with a special feathered message for Greg Stafford, join the duck army.

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