Episode 180: Nordic Tamborine Cult
March 4th, 2016 | Robin
Sneak up on us very carefully as Ask Ken and Robin responds to a Josh Kroger question regarding stealth systems in RPGs.
Recent events force us to reconsider past Politics Hut pronouncements as, with increasing trepidation, we ask once more, is Donald Trump America’s Rob Ford?
In the Mythology Hut we pry under the ecclesiastical floorboards to look for Finnish frog coffins.
Then it’s just a hop skip and jump across a bridge patrolled by the grim forces of Chris Christie to the Eliptony Hut, where we hunt the elusive Jersey Devil.
Ken and Robin have oft been accused of being cards. Well, we can deny it no longer. We have become super-limited promo cards for Murder of Crows, Atlas Games’ fast-paced card game of murder and the macabre, for two to five players in the mood for something a little morbid. It’s Edward Gorey meets Caligari, by way of Edgar Allan Poe. Wait a minute, what does that graphic say? I’m not so sure about this… 
Ken fans who did not partake of the Kickstarter can now sink their fangs into the general release of the Dracula Dossier from Pelgrane Press, consisting of the Director’s Handbook and Dracula Unredacted. 
You say that’s still not enough Ken for you? Very well, my friend. His brilliant pieces on parasitic gaming, alternate Newtons, Dacian werewolves and more now lurk among the sparkling bounty of The Best of FENIX Volumes 1-3, from returning sponsors Askfageln. Yes, it’s Sweden’s favorite RPG magazine, now beautifully collected. Warning: not in Swedish. 
In a move that surely violates someone’s security clearance, this episode is also brought to you by our friends at Arc Dream Publishing. The Kickstarter for Delta Green: the Roleplaying Game has come to an end, but don’t let that stop you from indulging your fever for this classic game, or that pinnacle of the Cthulhu game zine world, The Unspeakable Oath. 
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In the film Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter, buried dead toads are used as vampire detectors — the toads come back to life in their presence!
A whole discussion of buried frogs and not even a mention of Michigan J. Frog?
https://youtu.be/evgEJlOPoeo
Paul F. Wilson’s “The Barrens” does a fine job of making the Pine Barrens creepy and manages to tie in the allegedly backwards locals to his core mystery.
Asking Ken and Robin: In the years prior to 1983, what did the D&D systems* designers get RIGHT in their rpgs that the competition failed to equal or surpass through alternatives, appropriations, or improvements? (* to denote pre-White Box/White Box, Holmes Basic, Moldvay/Cook/Marsh Basic/Expert, and AD&D 1st, excluding any connected releases beyond the cut-off specified)
What has had a greater impact on the rpg design space to this point – Pendragon vs Over the Edge – and what criteria should one use in any comparison of this type?
If you support us on Patreon, make sure to pose this question there to claim your priority access: http://bit.ly/21tMrrr
My imagination has malfunctioned. “Where was the avalanche of questions for you in the comments of every episode?” Failing to see it, I jumped in. How could I NOT place it at the Patreon, (overlooking the well posted and familiar sign – “The line starts here”)? Or perhaps there are none so blind as those who will not see. My apologies. I misread it each time as an invitation to accept a quid pro quo of one formation or another. I thank you for your reply. May other knuckleheads learn from my mistake.
You talked about toads and bats being buried under churches and never connected it with “Saint Toad”, or the bat-toad-sloth-like Tsathoggua? Tsk tsk…