Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

In the Gaming Hut Patreon backer(s) The Armchair Adventurers ask if we agree with Greg Stafford’s prohibition on invisiblity spells in his games. Was every noteworthy English writer also a spy? In the Tradecraft Hut Daniel Defoe puts his hand up and adds himself to the list of examples. In the Monster Hut we decide […]

Like much of our content, it’s hard to believe. Unlike much of it, it’s true. Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff has reached its milestone 350th episode. Yes, we’ve been laying down the skinny on aliens, phantom cats, conspiracies and oh yes, the exciting world of tabletop roleplaying games for a whole seven years. Longtimers […]

In the Gaming Hut Patreon backer Ethan Schoonover asks us to explain the bespoke game terms we use, from F20 to GMC. Mikko Airaksinen puts a chill in the History Hut with his request for the esoteric scoop behind the Swedish North Pole Expedition of 1897. Our epic spate of Ken and Robin Recycle Audio […]

The Gaming Hut manifests somewhere between Balla Balla and Yagga Yagga as Patreon backer Bill Cohen asks us how to lure RPG characters to adventure in Australia. The Crime Blotter profiles Dai Cathay, the young Number One of the mid-sixties Saigon underworld. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio with a panel excerpt from Carcosa Con covering […]

Patreon backer Ross Ireland pulls a fast one on us in the Gaming Hut, asking how to pitch campaigns with switcheroo premises to players. Via the Tell Me More Feature of Ken and Robin Consume Media, backer Kevin Maroney opens the Mythology Hut for more on Ronald Hutton’s scholarly survey, The Witch. Ken and Robin […]

In the Gaming Hut, Patreon backer Hyperlexic asks Robin to elucidate the core pleasures of RuneQuest. The History Hut finds us obeying the commands of backer Antti Elomaa to get to the bottom of Britain’s 1939 pet massacre. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio with segments from our Robert W. Chambers and King in Yellow Mythos […]

We enter the Gaming Hut pursued by powerful patrons as backer Remi Permann seeks help importing 13th Age icons to other games. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Ken chats with Nathan Paoletta, designer of such games The World Wide Wrestling RPG, Annalise, and his latest, the Poe-inspired Imp of the Perverse, now […]

The Gaming Hut looks at the task of assembling a game’s skill list. In the Cinema Hut Patreon backer Andrew Miller observes the North American launch of the Criterion Channel by asking for a 101 on its treasures. Ken and Robin Recycle Audio presents the first part of our Robert W. Chambers panel from Carcosa […]

Patreon backer Jacob Ansari collars us in the Gaming Hut to ask about running alternate history games. The Tradecraft Hut looks at the February raid on Madrid’s North Korean embassy by the Free Joseon organization. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else we chat with Mark Morrison, stalwart Call of Cthulhu contributor and the […]

  In the Gaming Hut Patreon backer Jake asks us how to portray a character modeled on Janet Armstrong in a NASA adventure series. We dust off the long-disused Politics Hut so that Ken can give us an update on Chicago politics. The Food Hut looks at Canada’s iconic desserts, as selected for a series […]

We lit the fires of the Gaming Hut the old-fashioned way before answering a question from Patreon backer Jason Thompson on interesting players in low-tech settings. In the Cinema Hut we revisit the subject of the rewatch, looking at films that change or defy expectations on subsequent viewings. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone […]

In another imperious edition of That Thing I Always Say, Robin says, “Envision this in  play.” Ask Ken and Robin finds Patreon backer Kevin Roy seeking the scoop on remote control inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. Backer Martijn Waegemakers meets us in the Mythology Hut to ponder the diminishing returns of Robin Hood adaptations. Backer […]

Last week you heard us from Carcosa Con in Poland. This time we’re back and ready to share out experience of the show and the local RPG scene in the Gaming Hut. Then, in Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, we chat with one of our estimable hosts, Daria Pilarczyk. As project manager of […]

Recorded in front of a live audience, this episode emanates from the 14th century confines of Czocha Castle, on Lake Lesnia, in southwestern Poland, courtesy of our lovely hosts at CarcosaCon. Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon! Snag Ken and […]

An all request episode kicks off in the Gaming Hut, where Patreon backer Michael Fox asks about picking exactly the right Mythos creature for your scenario. Backer Jacob Boersma meets us in the Food Hut to ask what the heck might be behind a recent Dutch pistachio heist. In Ask Ken and Robin, patron Michael […]

The Gaming Hut stages a baccarat game with the devil as Patreon backer Eain Bankins asks for help introducing the main villain without devolving into an immediate and disappointing fight. In the Horror Hut we stir the pot on the witch and/or Satanist sub-genre. Then Ken has another stack of tomes to lovingly riffle through […]

The Gaming Hut delves into a design issue at the behest of Patreon backer Mikey Hamm, who wants to know how to balance player options against the archetypal experience of a game. We keep mentioning him, and now backer Sam Harris demands an entire Book Hut segment on Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye. Get ready […]

Protect the precious store of dwindling oxygen in the Gaming Hut as we riff a crew of GMCs for an installation horror scenario. Journey into the History Hut to hear us satisfy Martin Rundkvist’s Patreon backer desire to hear about writer/explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton and his wife and literary steward, Isabel. Join us in […]

Time to check your dermal surfaces for sigils as the Gaming Hut takes a look at spell side effects. The Tradecraft Hut goes contemporary and shadowy to examine private spy agencies, including Black Cube and Psy Group. Ask Ken and Robin responds to the request of Patreon backer Drew Eicholz for contemporary weirdness in Kansas […]

In the Gaming Hut we contemplate lunar havoc as Patreon backer Ray Slakinski asks us to turn Project A119 into a Fall of Delta Green scenario. We walk the red carpet into the Cinema Hut as we indulge in our traditional pre-Oscar look back at our favorite films from the previous year. Then backer Gerald […]

In the Gaming Hut we imagine what will happen when LARPs meet e-sports. Call our people, TV industry. Patreon backer Jason Thompson summons us to the Cartography Hut to express disbelief in the non-existence of maps in the Hellenistic era. In How to Write Good we dig deep into word clusters and ways to eliminate […]

We find a new disruptive way to travel to the Gaming Hut as we consider scenarios inspired by scooter charger culture. In the Conspiracy Corner we ask if journalists and police could do with some basic conspirology literacy training. Patreon backer Jeff Cannell summons us to the Horror Hut to ask if vampires who have […]

The Gaming Hut goes retro goth cartoony as Patreon backer Arthur invites us to envision an Edward Gorey RPG. In the Crime Blotter we look at Los Caballeros Templarios, the drug cartel that borrows the branding of the Knights Templar. The Cinema Hut finds us mulling historical inaccuracy in movies. When do we roll with […]

Get ready for a tear gassing as the Gaming Hut finds us riffing a Fall of Delta Green scenario set during the 1968 Democratic convention. Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else features a chat with app maker Steven Hammond, whose work has helped you run Feng Shui fights, plot Beating the Story narrative arcs, […]

In the Gaming Hut we examine the desire to play less than competent characters. The History Hut takes us back to the 7th century BC and the reign of Assyrian super-king Ashurbanipal. In How to Write Good we look at the connection between character sympathy and emotional rhythm. Finally we sidle into the Eliptony Hut, […]

Struggle to stay one step ahead of the authorities as the Gaming Hut finds ways to do the classic trope of the protagonist framed for a crime in a roleplaying scenario. The Horror Hut enters an old-timey uncanny valley as we look at the wax museum sub-genre. In Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else, […]

We kick off 2019 with an all-request episode, starting with Patreon backer Bryan Gustafson, who enters the Gaming Hut to ask us how to use the tiny houses movement in a Cthulhu Confidential scenario. In the Command Hut, backer Tom Abella seeks the scoop on the series of WWII commando and bombing raids against a […]

Once again we close out the year with an episode recorded in front of a live audience at Dragonmeet in Hammersmith, London. Topics include the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and the Peloponnesian War, Cthulhoid Teletubbies, giant cows, modes of Yellow King RPG Game Mastering, and of course, sausages. We’ll be back with our first episode […]

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 […]

Not to spoil anything, but we open in the Gaming Hut as Patreon backer V Weather asks us what to do when it turns out you’ve already read the adventure your GM is running. In How To Write Good, we examine the uses and abuses of ambiguity in RPG setting materials. Then it’s off to […]

Get out your space calculators as we meet in the Gaming Hut to entertain a request from Patreon backer Robert Dean, who wants to hear more about the time Ken ran Traveller for accountants. In the History Hut we fulfill the desire of backer Joe Littrell to learn the real reason behind Churchill’s wartime initiative […]

  This podcast never wastes your time, but what if you, as a GM, have to fill some space in your session? The Gaming Hut looks at ways to vamp for time. In the drafty confines of the Architecture Hut, Patreon backer Darren Hennessy wants to know about Houska Castle in the Czech Republic, known […]

Under the black stars of Carcosa, we celebrate the impending publication of Robin’s The Yellow King Roleplaying Game and the manuscript completion of Ken’s The King in Yellow Annotated Edition with an all-Pallid Mask edition of our decadent podcast. In Among My Many Hats, Ken shares what he’s learned about Chambers and the Hyades while working on […]

  We open in the Gaming Hut, or is all part of an elaborate trick, as Patreon backer Sean asks how to pull switcheroos on players who don’t like being fooled. Ken meets us in the Cinema Hut to reveal the filmic goodies he saw at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival. In Ask Ken […]

  Join us in the Gaming Hut to assist Patreon backer Dustyn Mincey with his difficulty in sticking with a single game, when there are so many awesome games in the world. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else, specifically designer extraordinaire Steve Kenson. Finally it’s again time to vicariously caress the covers of […]

  Join us for an elegaic Gaming Hut as we tackle but a single topic: the life and work of our friend and inspiration, the grand shaman of gaming, Greg Stafford (1948-2018.) Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon! Snag Ken […]

  In the Gaming Hut we assist Patreon backer Jean-Francois Paradis in creating a campaign where the PCs’ homeland is invaded by a technologically superior rival. Stay far from manhole covers and sewer grates as the Horror Hut looks at CHUDs and troglodytes. Then Ken and/or Robin Talk To Someone Else, specifically gaming’s cartoonist laureate, […]

  Another all-request episode kicks off in the Gaming Hut as Patreon backer Gene Ha asks what F20 evil deities get out of all the dungeons they create and manage. In the Cartography Hut we look into trap streets and parch marks, at the behest of backer Jurie Hornemann. Ask Ken and Robin gives backer […]

  The Cinema Hut bursts with upcoming delights as Robin returns from his annual jaunt to Toronto International Film Festival to provide highlights on a banner year. In the Gaming Hut we tackle a perennial problem: how do you make sure the talky PC gets to talk to the talky NPC before the killy PC […]

Advice for players kicks us off in the Gaming Hut, as we suggest ways to react when the GM provides you with a magic gun. Then in a segment we persist in calling How To Write Good, rather than Robin Yells Into the Wind, we show you how to tag jokes on the Internet. Ken […]

  Let’s summon the spirit of summer one last time by hearkening back to a balmy Indianapolis Friday, when Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff live from the surprising new confines of the Lucas Oil stadium at Gen Con. Come for the Nerdtrope cards, come for the incisive questions from our ever-alert audience. Want to […]

  The Gaming Hut makes room for our collection of crystal balls as Patreon backer Rob Towell asks for hints on GMing prophecies and divinations. The Crime Blotter looks at a rash of highly professional heists targeting relics looted from the Old Summer Palace and held in European museums. Patreon backer Polydamas asks us to […]

On the alert for treacherous banana peels, we gather in the Gaming Hut to wonder if GUMSHOE can handle incompetent PCs. In Ask Ken and Robin, Patreon backer Frank Rafaelson wants Ken to pitch a new edition of Nephilim. How to Write Good posits that idiot plotting is not just an issue in procedure-heavy narratives. […]

    Another all-request episode opens in the familiar confines of the Gaming Hut, where Patreon backer Trung Bui wants to know how we pull out all the stops for climactic campaign-ending episodes. In the Horror Hut, backer Samwise Crider asks how to incorporate the newly discovered Icelandic and Swedish versions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula […]

  Patreon backers, specifically Patreon backer Brian Malcolm, demand yet more dungeon talk from us in the Gaming Hut. How do you lend a dungeon complex a narrative quality, instead of making it a random collection of rooms and fights? In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Christoph Sapinsky tells us about his new […]

  We’re scratchy voiced and mushy headed from our journey to Gen Con 18. The Best Four Days in Gaming got bigger than ever this year, and we’re here to sort through the awards, the announcements, and perhaps a spot of food. Also at Gen Con we talked to Emily Reinhart, whose magical girl RPG […]

  Once more we’re in the same room together with an episode recorded in our hotel the day before Gen Con. Hmm, what easy topics shall we tackle? Does the game system you’re playing expect you to generate a plot hook for your character? We’re waiting in the Gaming Hut with tips and advice. The […]

  Mystery scenario construction is once again on our minds in the Gaming Hut, as we discuss ways to run a mystery in which the investigators respond to an ongoing spree of murders, monster attacks, or the like. We make sure the roof of the History Hut is well-patched as we consider the cosmic terror […]

  Most RPG scenarios assume that it’s up to the player characters to conclusively defeat the bad guys at the end. In the Gaming Hut we ask when it’s okay to leave the mop up to outside forces. In the History Hut Patreon backer Jake asks us to unveil the mysteries of the Cagots. Ask […]

  In the Gaming Hut we look at how the same adversary can play very different roles from one game to the next. Serving as an example is Red Jack, created for Night’s Black Agents but presently contemplating a killing spree in The Yellow King Roleplaying Game. The Tradecraft Hut examines China’s latest hacking coup […]