Episode 68: Why You Shouldn’t Ask Us to Destroy Civilization
December 6th, 2013 | Robin
News that US states are now legalizing Internet gambling within their borders send us to an unusually garishly lit and jingle-jangling Gaming Hut, where we consider hobby gaming twists on playing for cash online.
Then Ask Ken and Robin visits the Consulting Occultist on behalf of Steven W. King, who wants to know what to put on his beginning occult bookshelf.
In the Cartography Hut we look for the fun in the relative inaccuracy of period maps.
Finally, in an all-too-inevitable Politics Hut, Robin shares the local perspective on the now-international Rob Ford story, from the release of damning search warrant evidence to his loss of all but titular authority. You learned about it here first, probably!
Anchor sponsor Slabtown Games remains with us to tout Storyscape, a tablet-based tabletop roleplaying game Robin is currently designing for them.
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Given that Norm Kelly is now the de-facto mayor, wouldn’t the non-populist municipal tories be sitting pretty?
Can we get these occult books listed here in the comments (or perhaps on Hite’s blog?)
Richard Cavendish
The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction
Gary Lachman
A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult
Bill Whitcomb
The Magician’s Companion: A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism
David Godwin
Godwin’s Cabalistic Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to Cabalistic Magic
Joscelyn Godwin
The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions
The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance
Aleister Crowley
Magick in Theory and Practice
Henry Cornelius Agrippa
Three Books of Occult Philosophy
Arthur Edward Waite
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (and Pacts)
Charles Nicholl
The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
Peter Washingtion
Madame Blavatsky’s Baboon: A History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America
Owen Davies
Grimoires: A History of Magic Books
King Solomon?
The Lesser Key of Solomon (aka Lemegeton)
Plus the late breaking…
Manly P. Hall
The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy
Gentleman and scholar you are good sir!
Thank you kindly
It occurs to me that one of the hobby gaming mechanic that might make an interesting gambling game would be the idea of writing hidden orders while your opponents write theirs which are then revealed together. DIPLOMACY is the classic case here but I was also thinking of the duelling mechanic from EN GARDE (and if that doesn’t date me I don’t know what does).
You wouldn’t want actual writing at the gaming table but say each player gets dealt ten cards from a general shoe to start with and they have to lay down five of them at a time and each one is revealed and the effects resolved as you go.
There would be plenty of chances to read and bluff your opponents as well as analysis of odds and tactical thinking. For extra income, the house could sell extra cards to those who are flush.
Make the chrome a fantasy arena duel and you might have a nice tabletop game. Or you could imagine it being played around a table in a casino by people in dinner jackets.
You’re welcome!
I can certainly picture something like The Resistance (with its simultaneous reveal of votes) working as a casino game, though you’d probably want to strip the theme back a bit — the casino style seems to require abstract games rather than anything representative.
Both En Garde and Lace and Steel had interesting minigames for duelling, card-based in the latter case.
A resource I find useful is:
Lewis Spence
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
AKA: Encyclopedia of the Occult
It’s from the 1920s so it has loads of period preconceptions and biases, but is chock full of great material. I particularly like reading the biographical entries, some of which are quite extensive. It’s hit and miss. Some entries are very brief, but every now and then you’ll cone across a multi-page mini essay. Best of all, you can usually pick up a copy for just a few quid on abebooks.
Today, I went to the beach front with my kids. I
found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
“You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her
ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside
and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back!
LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!
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Hi there. I’ve been looking to connect with other Rosicrucians and members of the great Order. I welcome you to visit my own group online, I’ve started an incentive for folks such as yourself to meet and greet other Rosicrucians from around the world. Would you be interested, or maybe even intereseted in following the discussions on mystical work and R.C history? We have lots of people from various Orders. Your page looks like a place where you might like a few of my friends to visit and leave a few comments too? Cheers, Samuel Robinson
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