Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

Settle back for some Gaming Hut disambiguation as beloved Patreon backer Bart Mallio asks us to explain the difference between a setting and a campaign frame. The Mythos Hut listens to a conch and screams when estimable backer Ludovic Chabant seeks the Deep One shenanigans behind the Margate Shell Grotto. The Cinema Hut Fantasy Essentials […]

The Gaming Hut gets informative as beloved Patreon backer Daiv Barr asks for campaign frames built around the librarian answer-seeking list Stumpers-L, aka Project Wombat. The Mythology Hut looks at St. Cuthbert, the historical Anglo-Saxon saint who became a D&D god.  Our Cinema Hut fantasy essential series continues with the early 40s. Finally Ken’s Time […]

As assigned by an anonymous beloved Patreon backer, the Gaming Hut ponders a university urban fantasy campaign where the syllabuses matter as much as the sylphs. The History Hut retreats to the high ground to meet estimable backer Robert Wolfe’s request for the esoteric and gaming ramifications of Dayton’s Great Flood. Our Cinema Hut Fantasy […]

The Gaming Hut has stacked up the non-perishables and gas masks to answer beloved Patroen backer’s Jason Thompson about a campaign that starts on the day of the apocalypse. The Stock Character Hut returns to examine a trope with a truly ancient provenance, the wily servant. Part two of the Cinema Hut Fantasy Essentials Series […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Michael Cule wants to know more about the role dice play in roleplaying games. Fun With Science answers estimable backer Jurie Horneman’s request to look into a case of brain diagnosis by inner voices. The Cinema Hut kicks off our tour through Fantasy Film Essentials with the formative […]

In the Gaming Hut we talk roleplaying the French Revolution at the behest of beloved Patreon backer Dr. Nick. The Tradecraft Hut profiles English spy George Blake. The Cinema Hut kicks off a new Fantasy Film Essentials series by examining the boundary of the genre and setting some ground rules. Finally the Consulting Occultist obeys […]

Beloved Patreon backer beckons us to the Gaming Hut seeking tips on keeping PC hope alive when the bad guys run the authorities. In the Tradecraft Hut estimable backer Scify wants to know if DOGE has been cutting funding for CIA front operations. Urban cows are just the beginning as the Food Hut looks at […]

Much has changed since our last anniversary episode, but one thing that remains the same is our dedication to celebratory LIGHTNING ROUND!!! questions from our beloved Patreon backers. In quick startling fashion we dispatch inquiries, most not lists, favorites, or lists of favorites, concerning tabletop games, time travel, food & drink, spy stories and horror […]

The Gaming Hut finds reasons for player characters to show mercy toward defeated opponents. Hoaxing is usually a white collar crime. Not so, as the Crime Blotter explores, in the case of Mark Hofmann, whose production of forged Church of Latter Day Saints historical documents escalated to murder. The first installment of the Stock Character […]

In Among My Many Hats, Robin tells all about Page Turners, his game of dramatic interaction for one player and one game moderator, in which he is joined as a scenario writer by Sarah Saltiel, Ruth Tillman, and Wade Rockett. Beloved Patreon backer Michael David Jr. draws us into the Mythos Hut to cross Silver […]

For the first time at THE KRAKEN, the legendary Gaming Retreat held in the remote yet cozy environs of the Schloss Neuhausen in what used to be Prussia, Ken and Robin talk live to a group of rapt attendees. After nerdtroping Stalin and an alien invasion, we field questions on German cuisine, the economics of […]

Sometimes you want to let the player characters stand back and let more capable parties mop up the threat. The Gaming Hut finds ways to keep that exciting and suspenseful. The History Hut profiles Milton Bradley, the person behind the famous game company. Beloved Patreon backer beckons us to the Narrative Hut to consider whether […]

In the Gaming Hut we look at that essential tool in the GM’s arsenal, the ability to bend world logic toward the fun. At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Eric Park, the Cartography Hut looks at the alleged travels and maps of Nicolo Zeno. The Food Hut studies a cake of mythic import Henri […]

The Gaming Hut situates itself in a dense woodland for beloved Patreon backer Ben A’s request for tips on a historical time slip scenario. Ken issues a Travel Advisory on his recent trip to Roswell. Listeners love transportation infrastructure, as estimable backer John Scheib proves once again by convening the Architecture Hut for the eldritch […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Sikander asks us to tackle a scenario where the PCs have to figure out whether their boss’ secrecy is sinister or mundanely selfish. The Crime Blotter reviews the case of Barbara “Golden Boos” Erni, the 18th century thief who robbed Swiss inns aided by her prodigious strength and […]

In Gaming Hut we discuss organizing one’s game mastering notes. At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Sam Rutzick, the Horror Hut asks if Jacobin oppressor turned Napoleonic secret policeman Joseph Fouché was a vampire, and why he committed all those acts of vampirism. Only the combined efforts of the Cinema Hut and the Tradecraft […]

In the Gaming Hut we ask what it means for a rule to work. At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Nicola Wilson, the Archaeology Hut investigates the chopping up of the alleged mummy of Constantine XI. Anyone who has Fun with Science knows the weird phenomenon of species with dwarf males. Ken and Robin […]

At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Lauberfen we gather the suspects in the Gaming Hut to ask how to make the revelation as compelling as the mystery. Estimable backer Benjamin Rawls beckons us into the Narrative Hut to wonder why some genres assume certain plot structures yet others do not. If you live in […]

In the Gaming Hut we look at optional rules. What does it mean to designate a rule as optional, and what rules are we likely to put in that bucket? The History Hut profiles 19th century utopian sect leader Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin, who advocated for free love and the Suez Canal. Prompted from a question by […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Walter Manbeck asks us to tell him more about the 2023 Irish weird folk music film All You Need Is Death, and how to use it as inspiration for a modern horror campaign. Ripped from the Headlines finds ghosts in a VR game for kids where you play […]

  The Gaming Hut gets a round table as beloved Patreon backer James Kiley seeks tips on mashing up Pendragon with Call of Cthulhu. At the behest of estimable backer Chad Ward, the Food Hut looks at the role a humble cured meat played in schism and war, in the Affair of the Sausages. Doughty […]

In the Gaming Hut we look at the optional scene paradox in adventure writing. The Weapon Hut gives us a rare chance to un-fun ruin, as we debunk claims that debunk the flail. In the Word Hut Robin tests Ken’s knowledge of the often cheeky nicknames given to historical figures. Finally we step into the […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Tom Abella seeks tips on compiling historical reading lists to players. We don elaborate ruffs in the Tradecraft Hut to profile Jacobean spymaster Robert Cecil. Today we look at them as soulful giants of the sea, but to the medieval mind whales were terrifying, diabolical beasts worthy of […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Joshua Randall seeks tips on setting up a new campaign for success. Our latest Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else segment features Ken’s chat with Daniel Harms, author of The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana  and editor of the definitive edition of the 19th century American grimoire The Long-Lost Friend. […]

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer Jörgen Blomberg suggests that there’s something F20 games handle even worse than falling damage—injuries from exposure. We brave the chill with our thoughts on the subject. Not all western folk heroes became folk heroes. The Crime Blotter looks at the case of robber and ambusher Big Nose George […]