The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

We’re back and we’re wondering just what it is we’ve been doing with all these dice. Inspired by our mention of Ron Edwards’ System Does Matter essay in our recent episode on Sorcerer, we give some thought to how... The post System Matters appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re watching in helpless terror as echoes of the dead past haunt us, screaming endlessly. This is our look at the classic 1972 British horror film, The Stone Tape. Fittingly, the BBC originally... The post The Stone Tape appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re starting a cult. No, worse than that — we’re starting three of them! Last episode, we looked at how real religions and their practices might inform our depiction of... The post The Mythos as Religion (part 2) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re making offerings to twisted idols, praying in inhuman tongues and performing rites passed down through strange aeons. This is our look at the role religion plays in the Cthulhu... The post The Mythos as Religion (part 1) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re scratching pentagrams into the floor, muttering blasphemous incantations and making ill-advised pacts with demons. This episode is our discussion of Ron Edwards’ influential indie RPG, Sorcerer. Kicking off a... The post Sorcerer appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re digging into another Lovecraft story, looking for the horrors that lie beneath. The Shunned House is one of the more minor of Lovecraft’s major stories, if that makes any sense.... The post The Shunned House appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic: Shub-Niggurath We’re back and we’re dancing around in the woods, bleating with ecstasy, smearing our mutating bodies with Mother’s milk. This episode is our discussion of the Lovecraftian deity, Shub-Niggurath. It is part of... The post Mythos Deities: Shub-Niggurath appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back — well, sort of. For the first time since we moved to a regular fortnightly schedule, some 2 1/2 years ago, we are unable to put out a full episode. I’ve been a... The post Special: Necronomicon 2017 Call of Cthulhu Scenarios appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back with another special episode recorded at Necronomicon 2017. This time it’s the turn of the seminar about Call of Cthulhu campaigns. Once again, Mike Mason chairs the discussion, and Lynne Hardy joins Matt,... The post Special: Necronomicon 2017 Call of Cthulhu Campaigns appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re intimidating goons, charming cult leaders and fast-talking the slow-witted. This is our look at the use of social conflicts in RPGs. By this, we don’t mean arguments over whose... The post Social Conflicts in RPGs appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back with another special episode we recorded at Necronomicon 2017. This time it’s the Pulp Versus Pure panel that took place on the Friday morning. Paul Fricker and Lynne Hardy defend the purity of... The post Special: Necronomicon 2017 Pulp vs Pure appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we have such sights to show you. Or tell you. Can you really tell a sight? You can tell of it, but does that really convey the same visceral impact? This is... The post Hellraiser appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Our recent visit to the Necronomicon convention in Providence was a blur of wonders. One of the highlights was finally getting to meet our friends from the Miskatonic University Podcast in the suspiciously waxy flesh. While... The post Special: Necronomicon 2017 with the Miskatonic University Podcast appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re putting ourselves through our paces. Over on our Google+ Community, Tore Nielsen recently asked us to explain a little more about how we handle pacing in games. It’s a topic we... The post Pacing in Horror Games appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

Main Topic We’re back and we’re giving the wheel of misfortune another spin. In our earlier R’lyeh Roulette episodes — 37 and 60 — we rolled for random spells from the spreadsheet that would one... The post R’lyeh Roulette III: Monster Madness appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re still being haunted by those hellish dreams surfacing from lost R’yeh like bubbles of pure madness. This is the second part of our discussion of Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, The Call... The post The Call of Cthulhu (part 2) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re talking about one of Lovecraft’s best-known stories. The Call of Cthulhu probably boasts more name recognition than any other Lovecraft tale. This is largely due to the ubiquity of old squidhead himself.... The post The Call of Cthulhu (part 1) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re following up episode 105‘s discussion of the World of Darkness with a more detailed look at one of the core games that make up the current incarnation of the line. Mage: the Awakening is the reinvention of the RPG that started life as Mage: the Ascension. Onyx Path released a second, heavily revised edition last year, and this version is the focus of our episode. The post Mage...

Paul attended the UK Games Expo in Birmingham recently. While he was there, he took part in a seminar about running horror games, with Mike Mason and Lynne Hardy. Unfortunately, neither Matt nor Scott could make... The post Special: UK Games Expo 2017 appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re putting on silly voices, adopting exaggerated mannerisms and making life as miserable as possible for the player characters. In other words, we’re playing NPCs. This is the follow-up to our discussion... The post Portraying Memorable Non-Player Characters appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re poring over stat blocks, writing up physical descriptions and searching the internet for names. This is the first of two episodes about NPCs. Our focus this time is on how we... The post Creating Memorable Non-Player Characters appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re sharpening our fangs, picking the nits out of our fur and preparing for some paradox. Born in 1991 out of Vampire: the Masquerade, the World of Darkness has grown, changed and... The post The World of Darkness appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re wrapping up our investigation into, um, investigations. This is the second part of our look at investigative games. Once again, we are joined by Mike Mason, line editor for Call of Cthulhu.... The post The Appeal of Investigative Games (part 2) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back, and we’re polishing our magnifying glasses, scraping the gum off our shoes and hunting for clues. This is the first of two episodes delving into the appeal of investigative games. A big topic such... The post The Appeal of Investigative Games (part 1) appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .

We’re back and we’re heading out into uncharted space. Where better to talk about horror movies? This time it’s the turn of 1997’s Event Horizon, an ambitious film that blends science fiction, cosmic horror, religious... The post Event Horizon appeared first on Blasphemous Tomes .