33.3 FM

While trying to get to the bottom of what this game's tagline actually means, Frank and Tormsen take a few brief detours through the entire history of human thought. En route, they encounter methods to make Adepts and Avatars more post-modern, the premodern and modern equivalents thereof, and even run into some talk on what the hell metamodernism is.

To celebrate the looming tenth anniversary for the Kickstarter of Unknown Armies 3rd Edition, Frank and Tormsen talk about the game with a decade of hindsight. The two get into the differences in the teams behind the editions, the issues they have with the game after running it for years, and what postmodern magick REALLY looks like.

Frank and Tormsen dive into the layered Mesopotamian horrors of Pazuzu's Circle from Book 3 of the 3rd edition of Unknown Armies, in the hopes of discovering who this demon actually is.

Having discovered a strange crate labeled "What Might Have Been", Frank and Tormsen go through a few of the alternate universe versions of adept schools that have wound up on unnaturalphenomena dot com. Photomancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3460 Tropamancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3413 Cinemancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3678 Sociomancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3812 Ballistomancies: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3505 https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=2226 Sartorimancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3008 Detritomancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3597 Automancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=2071 Odomancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=2011

Frank and Tormsen explore the dark underbelly of another mid-tier American burb, rife with cults, killers, mantises, and albinos in the hills.

Perched atop a high mountain peak, Tormsen instructs Frank in the way of the Dao. Before Tormsen leaves for the west astride a water buffalo, student and teacher go into Daoism's history, the distinction between religious and philosophical Daoism, parallels between immortals and avatars, and how much jade you need to eat to live forever.

Frank and Tormsen once more don their gurpsuits, this time to discuss the wild and woolly work of Kenneth Hite in his Suppressed Transmissions series for Pyramid Magazine. They debate the High Weird and its powerful proximity to the grit of Unknown Armies.

Frank hits Tormsen with some probing questions about unidentified flying objects and our brothers from outer space. Along our interstellar journey, we get into the various hypotheses behind UFOs, the emergence of abduction stories and UFO cults, and some ways to fit ET into Unknown Armies' humanocentric milieu.

Frank and Tormsen suffer varying degrees of stress and shock, becoming helpless, unnatured, violent, isolated, and unselfed as they harden and fail. Somewhere in there, they discuss these '90s-innovative mechanics for the Unknown Armies systems and variation and bastardizations thereof.

Pulling themselves out of a memory loss-induced fugue, Frank and Tormsen piece together clues from the SoundCloud to recover the last five years of podcasting. While they get their bearings, they discuss plans for the new year, the status of Statosphere, and vacation destinations beyond the polar ice wall. The John Tynes Ain't Dead Jam Contest - https://docs.google.com/document/d/12uyspi1cwdZhMK7YpPNkzxhZ2EEP9UyUeYi9Nvk2JCY/ Kate's Ricketyland book - https://sailortitan.itch.io/ricketyland John Nephew's Statosphere update - https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/unknown-armies-community-content/174114/2 Frank and Tormsen on Mage: The Podcast - https://magethepodcast.com/avatars-adepts-and-the-comte-de-saint-germain-with-33-3-fm/

Tormsen Frank welcomes long-running guest Frank Tormsen back to the show to discuss the rise, fall, and witchcraft-fueled career revival of fellow talk show host Selena Ramirez.

Escaped Convicts Frank and Tormsen discuss the quintessential 90s Unknown Armies con scenario Jailbreak, from the classic tome One Shots.

Frank and Torm discuss a creatively profitable contest for Unknown Armies held on a weekend long, long ago or recently. Enjoy as our two hero critics battle philosophically and make references past each other. Check out the entries here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1RzxcmTUeq6QVxUr8zHw6AH6HGbLpmQgMp9BTbOues/edit?usp=sharing

Reciting from golden plates he found in a stone box, Tormsen reveals this week's topic as the Church of Latter Day Saints. While discussing the history of this most American of religions, your two hosts cover matters involving coffin canes, rituals of the LDS inner circle, and entries from the old Unnatural Phenomena website. Geneamancy: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=2337 Jay “The Sissy” Landis: https://www.unnaturalphenomena.com/wp/?p=3779

Join Bird, Garrett, Lithobraker, Top Hat, and Tormsen as they enter the wild world of Z-list Japanese Women's Pro-Wrestling, seeking vengeance against their sleazy management and the cruel house shooter Lady Strong. Listener Discretion is Advised.

Fresh from doomscrolling, Frank and Tormsen log in to a discussion of the occult underground in the social media landscape, from WitchTok to LinkedIn Alchemy. Like and subscribe and don't forget to ring that bell, it tolls for thee.

Frank and Tormsen get up to some weird science and construct themselves a bit of artificial life. While hard at work in the kitchen, they discuss the reasons to make life, go over examples from world folklore and mythology, and give a few tips and tricks for spicing up your next homunculus or unspeakable servant.

Frank and Tormsen visit Shelbyville with friends of the show Ben and Zomner to discuss the Simpsons, its occult legacy, and applicability to Unknown Armies. The Stonecutters managed to intercept the live broadcast, so enjoy an additional twenty minutes or so of almost Frank Tormsen free discussion. The Swedish cartoon referenced in the episode can be found here: https://www.messynessychic.com/2012/10/20/was-homer-simpson-stolen-from-this-vintage-cartoon-ca-1949/ The Simpsons is Real Footage conspiracy is detailed here: https://spinpasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Simpsons_Theory

Frank and Tormsen vibrate at lower frequencies and expose the hidden masters behind the Reptilian Hunting Society. On their way out of the matrix, they go over David Icke, the pulp fiction origins of lizard people, and uncover the real conspiracy of reptilian humanoids that has infiltrated the halls of power.

In this exclusive scenario written and run by Valiant for Unknown Armies, Frank, Tormsen, and CJ are nuns with secrets. Can the sisters get to the bottom of the strange happenings at their abbey, or will they be consumed by an outside threat? For overview and character sheets, see here: https://strange.domains/ua3e-scenario-cloister/

Frank and Tormsen answer some more questions out of their mailbag. Between procrastinating on episode topics and content creation, they give some brief takes on the Avatar Underground, James Ellroy, and the occulted implications of Gregg's sausage roll.

Frank and Tormsen ring in the new year with a trip to the mailbox, responding to some submissions from their Blessed Century. By popular demand, they give their piece on forgotten GMCs, D.B. Cooper, UA campaigns of the past and future, and more. Mellonbread's blog: https://bellenmred.blogspot.com/

While enjoying a festive cookout, Frank and Tormsen encounter CJ and succumb to a detailed discussion on the history and tropes of antisemitism, how they have affected conspiracy theory, and what all this means for your Unknown Armies game.

Frank and Tormsen check out and give their takes on the submissions for the hopefully first annual Unknown Armies Halloween Jam. List of jam entries: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gk7SCn3oA94yii2l4krKvIDwn2Doo_XOwDOI_ECiHDU/ Mellonbread's reviews: https://bellenmred.blogspot.com/2023/11/2023-unknown-armies-halloween-jam.html

Armchair philosopher hacks Frank and Tormsen discuss the Unidentified Foreign Ontology group, detailed in the Unknown Armies splatbook Postmodern Magick, and come to grips with what is and what what is.

Frank and Tormsen wrap up their look at Unknown Armies 3rd Edition's Campaign Starter Kits. They give their takes on The Violence Inherent in the System, Raiders of the Lost Mart, and The Wasteland from Oddities and Endlings, then they close things out with opinions and advice on how to tackle Campaign Starter Kits.

After a fortuitous find during an All Mart trip, Frank and Tormsen discuss the Campaign Starter Kits of Unknown Armies 3rd Edition. In this part, our heroes delve into Heroin Highway, Derby Girls Destroy DC, The Young Practicals, and Sacred Pharma. Spoilers abound.

Frank and Tormsen finally talk about what they know, discussing the Fool and the Trickster archetypes across Unknown Armies editions, and the provocative variations lurking in between.

Taking refuge in Henry Kissinger's bathroom, Frank and Tormsen get iconoclastic on Iconomancy. Seeing their only opening, they meditate upon the school's origins, go over potential alterations to its game write-up, and talk about some new types of Iconomancers they've seen in the wild.

Avid consumers Frank and Tormsen discuss the Swap Meet and the people who run the event, how to incorporate it into your Unknown Armies campaign, and what other events for avatars are out there for you to gatecrash.

With the station's broadcasting equipment on the fritz, your hosts end up giving airtime to a variety of their alternate universe counterparts.

After their first episode idea ends up a wash, Frank and Tormsen go with their backup and do an episode on the sundry conspiracies surrounding former president Barack Obama. Follow them on a journey that takes them to Hawaii, Chicago, Mars, and the boardroom of Alex Abel as they try to squeeze a bit of gameable content out of this.

While raiding the fridges at an abandoned medical research facility, Frank and Tormsen discuss the Abnormal Pathogen Research Group and its recent exploits. Content Warning for discussions of and riffing on medical conspiracy theories within the Unknown Armies universe. The APRG is detailed on pages 11-12 of Unknown Armies 3rd Edition's Book Three: REVEAL.

Frank and Tormsen talk shop on magickal artifacts, getting into where they come from, how you make them, some shortcuts for coming up with interesting ones, and techniques for deploying them in your game.

Frank and Tormsen return to the northern hemisphere to investigate another country's occult landscape. Friend of the show Toasty accommodates us with stories of sacrificial cults, KGB psychics, and some homemade Russian conspiracy theory.

Frank and Tormsen get stuck in a pit (again!) and are set upon, verbally and conceptually, but returning friend of the show Mellonbread. A discussion on dungeon crawls in Unknown Armies ensues, along with tangents on heists and Objectives. The Temple of the Crying Buddha, a one shot scenario by Mellonbread, can be found here: https://bellenmred.blogspot.com/2023/02/temple-of-crying-buddha-masterpost.html

Frank and Tormsen go crawling through Atlas Games' dungeons in search of treasure, only to discover a far stranger artifact. From the strata of the OGL's primordial days walks The Ascension of the Magdalene, a dungeon crawl for Unknown Armies 2e and Dungeons and Dragons 3e.

Alarmed by a sudden growth, Frank and Tormsen discuss two of UA's warped animal spirits and how they can be used in your Unknown Armies campaign. Information on Familiars can be found on pages 88-90 and 112-120 of the Break Today sourcebook, while Lycanthropes are described on pages 303-304 of Unknown Armies 2nd Edition.

What does it mean to "Wake the Tiger"? What really is "the Unnatural"? What makes people freak out when they witness the occult? Your two hosts get into the weeds on some common assumptions and received wisdom in the Occult Underground, looking for bugs.

Frank and Tormsen attempt to avoid going off topic too often as they scheme and plot for another year of content for our Blessed Century.

In the spirit of Christmas, Frank and Tormsen discuss the cultic consulting group currently representing many of His living incarnations, the Jesus Christ Advisory Board. They talk about some potential members of the board, give some tips for starting your own cult, and try to figure out just how many archetypes Jesus fits into.

To celebrate three years of uploads, Frank and Tormsen take a risk and bring two game designers onto the show.

Live from a holding cell at Changi airport, Frank and Tormsen discuss the developments, divergences, and bad trips to be found in sorcerous drugs and drug-addled sorcerers. Saddle up Saturn's horse, the UPS is about to hit.

Three factions, one episode! Frank and Tormsen take a look at some of the groups mentioned in passing in the second edition core book: the old world secret society the Seven Invisible Chairs, the airborne and enigmatic Awâmîd al-Samawât, and the hellish Sardinian constructions of Les Infernaux.

In search of answers for their many questions on the furry subculture, Frank and Tormsen bring Ironclaw and ABYSS designer Norman Rafferty into the studio. Most of these questions are left unanswered as the three instead talk about their experiences with Delta Green, Rafferty's time in the early years of the RPG hobby, and the changing face of occult and investigative role playing games. Rafferty is one of the founding members of Sanguine Games: https://www.sanguinegames.com/ And he's worked on a lot of books! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Norman%20Rafferty He also streams as part of the Stonefaced Crew: https://twitch.tv/raktus Where he's on the "Notes from the Aleph" podcast about RPG design theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im4TFNruwf4&list=PLm3qkcDnJb97T2_cD-L_7mi4VYsOlJtk-

Unfortunate circumstances involving a needle gun and various lost body parts lead into a discussion on the works Michael Moorcock and the Moorcock Hypothesis. As your hosts fight to recover the Balance of Tormsen's depth perception, they talk Moorcock's far reaching influence, multiversal Neverwhen travel, and Henry Kissinger's role as the Eternal Champion.

Frahnk, Tormsen, and Mellonbread discuss the release of RITE, a new Statosphere fan splatbook for the Scottish Rite, part of a series devoted to the squabbling factions of contemporary Mak Attax called Special Orders. Mellonbread's creations can be found at The Rogue's Wallet https://bellenmred.blogspot.com/ Look for RITE at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/411973/Special-Orders-RITE

Frank and Tormsen bring an actual skeleton into the studio to discuss the finer points adept magick. With this meeting of some of the statospheric minds underway, they cover how they wrote adept schools of their own, principles for designing adept schools yourself, and some ideas for fixing some issues with existing adept schools. Necroturgy: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/367440/ Qichijia: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/233188/ Praviturgy: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303116/ Sulsul: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/232804/ Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/33point3fm

大家好！Frahnk's Panda Express sits forlorn and uneaten as Tormsen rants about the Brotherhood of Harmonious Repose, it's origins in the ancient Sui dynasty, the shenanigans of its modern history, and its current position within China's occult underground.

While failing to pull off some gutter magick, Frank and Tormsen reminisce on 90's style tilt rituals. Peering through a shared pair of rose tinted glasses, they compare second and third edition's different approaches to design, and give some ideas for porting over parts of tilts that got lost with the universal reset.