Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

Genetic enhancements meet tradecraft as Among My Many Hats looks under the hood of Ken’s new Mutant City Blues campaign frame, “Mutant City Spies.” The Food Hut returns in what might be the first of an sweeping two-part series as we find ways to trick vegetables into being delicious. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio from […]

As the action opens in the Gaming Hut, we find Ken and Robin just one day back from Gen Con, punchy but unbowed. Hear them talk Diana Jones Awards, the new regime at Chaosium, and the great D&D resurgence. Make future spending plans as they recount such Pelgrane-rich announcements as The Fall of Delta Green, […]

Buckle up your extra special rapier for a jaunt into the Gaming Hut to consider the connection between gear and status. Take extra reindeer with you, for your predecessor lost all of his when he entered the far confines of the Cartography Hut to talk Soviet map-making. From hominids and their tapir pals to the […]

Robin gets a head start on his Dracula Dossier homework as the Gaming Hut lays out the whys and hows of campaign frames. The titular chapeau takes on a conical shape as Ken talks Yithians in Among My Many Hats. Check out his Ken Writes About Stuff installment for more. How to Write Good examines […]

Stuff we’re here to talk about in this milestone episode might include Ben Franklin, the Flash, Zeus, Tom Fury, Phar Lap, keraunomedicine, the Lockheed P-38, Mjolnir, the blitzkrieg, Final Fantasy XIII, James Otis Jr., Garth Ranzz, al-Borak, Tampa Bay hockey, or the static discharge between clouds and the earth. That is to say, we’ve hit […]

Line up your polyhedrals in order of social preference as we enter the Gaming Hut to examine caste and class in worldbuilding. The History Hut provides a footnote to a somber event with details on the 1822 trial of Denmark Vesey, a founder of Charleston SC’s Mother Emanuel Church, for conspiracy to revolt against slavery. […]

The Gaming Hut acquires extra filigrees and an extended backstory as we examine the cognitive investments gamers make when they learn to love detail. The Food Hut takes a turn for the imaginary in response to this medieval recipe for griddle-roasted unicorn, brought to our attention by Terry O’Carroll. What happens when F20 adventurers start […]

Spruce up your decor as the Gaming Hut reveals the secrets of room description. Ken does the bulk of the replying in an eliptonic Ask Ken and Robin, as RogerBW seeks a disentanglement of convex and concave hollow earth theories. Once again we rev up the Recommendation Engine, tipping you to a movie, two books, […]

Guns blaze and mystic swords clash as Among My Many Hats goes under the hood on Blowing Up the Movies, Robin’s new book of essays combing the action movie classics for gameable nuggets. In Ask Ken and Robin, @clarkythecruel asks about incorporating sports into RPGs. How to Write Good shows you how to build a […]

Alex Guerrero has played before but never GMed. He wants to introduce a trio of interested neophytes/family members to roleplaying through a session of Fear Itself. He’s here to Ask Ken and Robin “What tips do you have on pacing, and not overthinking?” In History Hut we look at the craziest damn thing we’ve heard […]

Abandon your neutrality as we enter the Gaming Hut to talk about alignment in D&D. Find out if we’ve been digging what you’ve been digging about the recent crop of shows in the Television Hut. Then the Consulting Occultist gives us the lowdown on alchemist, mystic and eponymous library founder Elias Ashmole. Attention, class! Anchor […]

Using the conveniently public domain 1972 film Horror Express as a baseline, we demonstrate how to adapt a movie into a scenario worthy of the Gaming Hut. In a flood-threatened Travel Advisory, Ken takes us on a tour of the sights and horrors of his hometown, Oklahoma City. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone […]

In the Gaming Hut we ask how much work game design should do to constrain problem players. Be careful in the History Hut not to sit in the sledgehammerin’ seat as we tell the tale of the Bloody Benders. In Ask Ken and Robin Ciaran Conliffe asks Ken and Robin to demonstrate how Esoterrorists might […]

In Ask Ken and Robin your intrepid hosts field an Eion Dornan question about helping players take on the role of real historical figures. The story of a Nigerian juju practitioner handed a lengthy sentence for magical services performed for Texas-based Gulf cartel drug traffickers calls for the debut of a new segment we can […]

Crack open your Chaotic Neutral dictionary as Ken and Robin venture into the Gaming Hut to spitball a fantasy world extrapolated from the existence of alignment languages. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Somebody Else, both Ken and Robin speak with Leeman Kessler, the actor and auteur behind the Ask Lovecraft web series. And since […]

Screaming to you from the abyssal depths of the downtown Portland Oregon Crowne Plaza, comes our latest live episode. Join us as we talk Dracula vs. Gala, Muhammad Ali vs. Nyarlathotep, Nollywood, the Sino-Soviet split, DaVinci’s Glaaki revelation, our season of True Detective, and more. Attention, class! Anchor sponsor Atlas Games wants to enroll you […]

Make sure you have your magic translation earbuds on as we enter the Gaming Hut to talk about secret and magical languages. In Ask Ken and Robin, Ruth Tillman John Burgess asks us to reveal our research secrets. Sorry for the misidentification in the episode audio, John. Having previously run down the classic Hong Kong […]

This article on the programmable variability of claw machines springboards us into the Gaming Hut for an examination of pass/fail cycles. A corpse with the distinctive dagger of medieval Teutonic justice lies near the threshold of the History Hut, where we convene to discuss Vehmic courts. How to Write Good has us spitballing classic characters […]

Robin hijacks an Ask Ken and Robin question about running an Armitage Files-style campaign set after Sherlock Holmes’ plunge over Reichenbach to ask: do the master detective and the Mythos go together at all? Then of course we do answer Sami Uusitalo’s question, because what kind of podcast would we be otherwise? Ken tells us […]

When the Gaming Hut asks you to mind your tone, we’re talking about ways to instil it during roleplaying sessions. In Ask Ken and Robin, Roger Bell West draws us into the Eliptony Hut with by requesting the lowdown on Fomenko’s New Chronology. We ban phrases from our lexicon in an ever so impactful edition […]

It’s raining drama tokens in the Gaming Hut as Robin shares his DramaSystem GMing tips. The clash of arms resounds in the History Hut as Ken gives us the lowdown on legendary Indian empire-builder Chandragupta Maurya. In Ask Ken and Robin, Ryan Christiansen asks if RPGs can be used as a consciousness raising tool. Art […]

Cough into your elbow as we duck into the Gaming Hut to think up explanations imaginary cultures might give for the origin of diseases. The Cinema Hut unspools Robin’s top five recommended films for schooling your players in the Feng Shui spirit. In Ask Ken and Robin, Collin T asks how to get players immersed […]

In Ask Ken and Robin, Jonas Beardsley points us to this Wired article about advances in astrophysics brought about by the computer effects used in the movie Interstellar. We then make good on his invitation to explore ways overly realistic CGI could go horribly wrong. Safe under the covers of the Horror Hut, we talk […]

Join us in the Gaming Hut for a psychotropic ritual as we think about introducing entheogens into the magic of your F20 world. The Politics Hut flips its municipal focus as Ken shares his perspective on the Chicago machine and mayor Rahm Emanuel’s forced confrontation with a run-off election. How to Write Good takes a […]

Yohann Delalande kicks us off with an Ask Ken and Robin question about portraying current real-world horrors in RPGs without lapsing into insensitivity. We fulfill this podcast’s Canadian content requirements in the Tradecraft Hut with a look at iconic hooded defector Igor Gouzenko. Patron hero of surveyors Nain Singh Rawat inspires a duck into the […]

We start with an Ask Ken and Robin question from Ethan Cordray, who wants to know how a GM and player might collaborate in creating scenarios. Inspired by this Malcolm Gladwell piece, the Crime Blotter examines the changing relationship between organized crime and upward mobility. Fun with Science plays with your perceptions for a look […]

Weighty personages surrounded by bullet-proof genre expectations surround us in the Gaming Hut as we examine script immunity in historical gaming. The Mythology Hut finds us riffing a kid-friendly adventure idea arising from the superstitious connection between faeries and uncrushed eggshells. Pol Jackson poses an Ask Ken and Robin poser about the difficulty of staging […]

We begin with endings as the Gaming Hut enumerates ways to build your roleplaying series to the biggest of finishes. Among My Many Hats has Ken telling us about Vendetta Run, the latest installment of Ken Writes About Stuff, in which a spectral Wyatt Earp decides you’re in need of some rough supernatural justice. How […]

A pithy remark from LEGO Batman inspires our latest excursion into the Gaming Hut, as we ponder the question of narratively acceptable character demises. In the Tradecraft Hut we look at bone music, 50s era contraband pop music recordings etched against the will of Soviet authorities onto old medical X-rays. The Recommendation Engine spits out […]

Ken and Robin remember a 90% scale replica of the façade of the Alamo in this episode themed around their recent sojourn in Austin, TX. In the Gaming Hut we recapitulate a Chupacabracon panel with talk of villains and how to portray them. The Food Hut has us munching on barbecue, Tex Mex and the […]

Join Ken and Robin for this live episode recorded at Chupacabracon in beautiful Austin, TX. The best audience ever, per capita, punch above their weight to keep us supplied with incisive questions. We discover that the Nerdtrope game is exceptions-based as Ken draws a historic quintuple Trope. Or is that Nerd? I forget. Vicissitudes of […]

Verily and anon, adopt the cloak of darkness as Ken ducks into the Elizabethan tavern that is the Gaming Hut to discuss his School of Night GUMSHOE setting. Violence and mayhem disrupt the tranquil comfort of the Food Hut as we examine America’s Whiskey Wars and riff some dystopian futuristic equivalents. Should that scene end […]

The Magicians’ Guild turns out to be rife with factions and competing interests as the Gaming Hut looks at ways to add realistic messiness to your game’s imaginary institutions. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Robin asks up-and-coming illustrator Rachel A. Kahn how an artist breaks into the roleplaying game market these days, […]

Our voices are as froggy as London used to be foggy in our first episode back after our UK sojourn. Inspired by the Museum of London’s current Sherlock Holmes exhibit, we usher a certain consulting detective into the Gaming Hut. As listeners know, every trip to the UK occasions a raid by Ken on London’s […]

Just like sugar plums and figgy pudding, the annual live podcast from London’s Dragonmeet is here to warn us that December holds us in its thrall. Ken nerdtropes Genghis Khan and alien artefacts. Robin ups the ante on the tradition of live episode f-bombs. We contemplate Sigil’s thorniest immigration issues. And we tell you what […]

In Ask Ken and Robin, we answer an Ian Porell question about how much writing should go into a GUMSHOE NPC, and move on from there to supply other tips on creating supporting players for investigative games. From there we take a short hop to the Gaming Hut to look at post-mortems and other ways […]

In Ask Ken and Robin, Jeff Jones seeks advice on running an anti-Nazi campaign set in 30s America. We oblige in both pulp and occult genre modes. Become conscious of an enticing aroma in the Gaming Hut as we look at creature senses. The Consulting Occultist continues his Parisian sojourn with an examination of uxurious […]

In Ask Ken and Robin, Stephanie asks Ken and Robin to find gaming ideas in the disappearance, and much later resurfacing, of Henry IV’s long-dead head. The Gaming Hut has us looking at moments where player choice conflicts with character believability. Back to matters Gallic, the Consulting Occultist details the life, thought, and possible Dreamlands […]

The Tradecraft Hut takes an unusual lead slot as Ken answers an FMGuru request for the tale of WWII Soviet spy Richard Sorge. Horatio stands to our right and Laertes to our right as the Gaming Hut contemplates the use of supporting characters as foils. Blasting his trumpet for Dreamhounds of Paris, the Consulting Occultist […]

The hats in Among My Many Hats are bowlers, and green apples obscure our faces, because we’re talking about Dreamhounds of Paris, now available for preorder, and its companion volume, The Book of Ants. In the Food Hut we answer a Ryan Macklin request to talk about herbs. Which delicious plant will we name as […]

Gallop into the Gaming Hut as we discuss a term from documentary filmmaking, chasing story, and how it might relate to roleplaying games. Take a seat in the Cinema Hut as Ken discusses his top picks from the 2014 Chicago International Film Festival. Begin at the beginning as How to Write Good looks at constructing […]

In the Gaming Hut we consider the dividing line between fun character customization and tiresome homework, and whether it’s moving lately. Still in a Draculanean mood, Ken enters the Book Hut for a vantage on the career of Bram Stoker. We rev up the Recommendation Engine for its sophomore run to talk about a movie, […]

In the Gaming Hut we look at ways to add nuance to your setting’s faiths by considering the split between official and popular religion. Ken spills blood-red beans on the coming Dracula Dossier Kickstarter in Among My Many Hats. The Food Hut takes on a bookish sheen as we recommend our favorite food writing. Finally, […]

We kick off with a Gaming Hut riffed adventure premise, as heavily armed lords come from miles around to claim their share of a holy man’s ashes. How to Write Good stacks its deck in favor of the protagonists to show you how to avoid Mary Sue syndrome. Ask Ken and Robin leaves Robin as […]

In the Gaming Hut Robin asks Ken to resolve Robin’s ambivalence toward creativity rewards. The Politics Hut puts one of Ken’s rules distinctions to real life use as we contemplate Stability, Sanity, and ISIL. Another lightning round flashes its electrical mayhem in Ask Ken and Robin. Finally Chris Huth prompts Ken’s Time Machine to journey […]

Ask Ken and Robin starts us in a murderous frame of mind as Dreaming Johnny wonders about settings and play styles for games where you play assassins. In The Business of Gaming we helpfully collate all of our advice on breaking into game design as a career in one handy segment. How to Write Good […]

Before getting to the main meat of the episode, a Preamble Hut seems necessary to update a few stories of interest to KARTAS listeners. So gather round as Ken dispatches fresh claims of a DNA solution to the Jack the Ripper mystery, and Robin covers the latest bizarre twist in the Rob Ford saga. Or […]

Join us for another Ken and Robin live episode, this time from beautiful and now slightly better smelling Indianapolis, Indiana. We nerdtrope magical slave revolts, fit the Fords into the Cthulhu mythos, riff on our favorite spice, and more. Hurtle back into mid-August with us! Lead sponsor Atlas Games alerts you to a project near […]

Questions of pacing kick us into fall, as Ask Ken and Robin tackle a query from listener Michael Bowman. In Crime Blotter we hunker down in our tarmac-damaging humvee to consider the trend of police militarization that catapulted to world attention in the wake of the Ferguson protests. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio serves up […]

In Ask Ken and Robin, we field a Tuukka Heimola question about running great one-shots and convention games. The History Hut reveals itself to be a series of rapidly constructed forts as we look at the Battle of Poltava. Joined by co-panelist Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Ken and Robin Recycle Audio in part one of a two-part […]