We’re back and we’re catching up with our reading. Until recently, we thought we’d seen the most sanity-blasting fanfic the internet could offer. Between terrible prose, wooden characters, and unacceptable levels of horniness, bad fanfic can eat your brain quicker than a hungry ghoul. But this twelfth volume of The Revelations of Gla’aki is in a league of its own. We’re used to Mary-Sue protagonists taking over the narrative, but this Y’golonac character keeps threatening to take over the reader. It’s irritating, but probably not worth losing our heads over.

Main Topic: Y’golonac and The Revelations of Gla’aki

This episode is our latest exploration of the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have devoted previous episodes to Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, and Cthulhu. This time, we’re returning to Ramsey Campbell, following our earlier discussions of his creations, Daoloth and Eihort, and Gla’aki.

Specifically, it’s the turn of everyone’s favourite headless monstrosity — Y’golonac! As disturbing as Y’golonac’s appearance is, his recruitment techniques are far worse. We spend some time discussing how we might use Y’golonac in our games and how we might avoid crossing any personal lines in doing so.

At the same time, this is also a follow-up to last episode’s exploration of Gla’aki, perusing the tome which connects him to Y’golonac — The Revelations of Gla’aki. This unusual book is almost a character in its own right, stretching the definition of a living document.

And do hang around after the credits for a bonus from our good friends at the HP Lovecraft Historical Society.

Y’golonac

Things we mention in this episode include:

Cold Print cover

News

Scott on Blood Moon Rising

Scott recently made a guest appearance on the Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle, Blood Moon Rising, run by our good friend Rina Haenze for The Old Ways Podcast. This is the first of a handful of appearances, with Scott giving voice to William Mallet, a scheming Camarilla elder sent to bring order to San Francisco. Expect bastardry.

William “The Hammer” Mallet

Scott on Pretending to be People

And if that weren’t enough, Scott has also been playing an NPC on Pretending to be People. Our good friends Joe and Zach decided that Scott was the natural choice to play Beck Wilder’s mother, Kim. So he did. Kim’s first appearance is in the season two episode, “Printing Press”.

Pretending to be People

We’re back and we’re holidaying at Deepfall Water in sunny Gloucestershire. The area may be a bit rundown but you can’t argue with these prices. Buying a house here cost us less than a week in Benidorm, and it even came with a free library in the cellar! Our estate agent is a chatty sort, full of lively local folklore. He reassures that that every rural area has tales about dead cities arriving on the back of a comet. Apparently, we have neighbours, although we never see them out and about in the daytime. Must be gamers. One of them, Gla’aki, is supposed to be a prickly sort but we’re sure that meeting him with prove revelatory.

Main Topic: Gla’aki

This episode is our latest exploration into the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have devoted previous episodes to Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, and Cthulhu. This time, we’re returning to Ramsey Campbell, following our earlier discussion of his creations, Daoloth and Eihort.

While Gla’aki has only appeared in a handful of Call of Cthulhu publications, he has made quite an impact, and not just on the Brichester area. He’s an interesting example of how Mythos deities can change over time. While we’ve seen other deities evolve in the hands of multiple writers, Gla’aki represents one of the largest revisions by its original author.

Gla’aki in all his spiny glory

Things we mention in this episode include:

The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell
The Last Revelation of Gla'aki by Ramsey Campbell

News

ENnie Nominations

The shortlists for the 2022 ENnie Awards have been announced and a number of good friends of the podcast are in the running. Ain’t Slayed Nobody is up for Best Podcast, to no one’s surprise. Chris Lackey and Mike Mason’s Cults of Cthulhu, which we discussed recently, is listed for Best Supplement. The HP Lovecraft Historical Society’s Call of Cthulhu Classic Prop Set has a well-deserved shot at Best Aid/Accessory – Non-Digital. And TYPE40’s Call of Cthulhu 3D Digital Gamer Props – Masks of Nyarlathotep has been nominated for Best Aid/Accessory – Digital.

Please be generous with your votes!

Scott on Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection

Oliver Brackenbury, host of the Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection podcast, recently interviewed Scott to discuss the evolution of the Cthulhu Mythos beyond Lovecraft. The episode is scheduled for release on the 25th of July.

Dockside Dogs now in print

Paul’s Reservoir Dogs-inspired Call of Cthulhu scenario Dockside Dogs is now available in print-on-demand form from DriveThruRPG. Just tell them Mr Puce sent you.

Dockside Dogs cover

We’re back and we’re waking up. It’s been a long old kip, but not that refreshing really. Dreams of being chased by hunting horrors aren’t as restful as we might like. On the bright side, we’ve awoken to a world as wonderous as any dream. Admittedly, that may be more the paucity of our dreams than any praise of the waking world. Who would have thought that our dream city was Milton Keynes all along?

Main Topic: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath part 5

This is the conclusion of our multi-episode exploration of Lovecraft’s novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. In our earlier episodes (part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4), we looked at the story’s origins and followed Randolph Carter’s increasingly odd adventures in search of his dream city. Now, we’re journeying into Kadath itself, accompanying Carter to, we hope, the fruitful conclusion of his quest.

As ever, we pick the story apart, looking for Call of Cthulhu inspiration. In particular, we spend some time wondering how mountains can tiptoe so daintily. Maybe that extra head helps with coordination.

Things we mention in this episode include:

A pschent.
Gesundheit!
Titter ye not! Even if you are a shantak…

News

Issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome

We are now a month away from the release of issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is the semi-annual fanzine we create for our wonderful Patreon backers. And what is Patreon, we hear you ask? Well, we don’t actually hear you. We’re wearing noise-cancelling headphones and they tend to block out obvious rhetorical devices.

But still, Patreon is a crowdfunding platform that allows people to sponsor creative endeavours, such as the Good Friends. The generosity of our backers allows us to put a lot more time into the podcast than we could otherwise, from research to scripting to audio production, and we hope the results are worth it.

It seems the least we can do to reward such generosity with a couple of fanzines a year, as well as uncut versions of the podcast, the occasional exclusive audio release, and a few other goodies.

Covers of Tomes of yore

Paul’s unboxing video of the HPLHS prop set

Our good friends at the HP Lovecraft Historical Society have been creating wonders again. They have produced a box set of props and handouts to tie into the recent Chaosium release of remastered classic Call of Cthulhu publications from the ’80s. Paul has been lucky enough to lay hands on one of these sets and offers a brief overview of the contents.

Paul on Frankenstein’s RPG Podcast

Paul has also made a return visit to the Frankenstein’s RPG podcast. In the second series, the team are assembling the perfect science fiction RPG from the dismembered remains of other games. This episode delves into the blood and guts of initiative and combat.

Episode 234: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath part 4

We’re back and we’re holidaying in Leng. While it’s not everyone’s first thought for a getaway, we’ve found it really quite dreamy. Leng may have had some shocking reviews on TripAdvisor, but we’re not sure where its evil reputation comes from. Sure, our stone hut is draughty and the corpse fires do little to take the edge off, but it’s not the worst Airbnb we’ve ever rented. The locals have a lively culture, with a special interest in music and the arts. Their extended crotala solos take a bit of getting used to, but the dances that accompany them are lively. We would join in except our legs bend the wrong way. The only irritating thing is how much the locals fuss about spiders. There’s nothing around here a rolled-up newspaper can’t take care of. Now, what’s with all that scuttling outside…?

Main Topic: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath part 4

This is the fourth part of our multi-episode exploration of Lovecraft’s novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. In our first three episodes (part 1, part 2 and part 3), we looked at the story’s origins and followed Randolph Carter’s increasingly odd adventures as he searches for his dream city. Now, we’re heading into the most action-packed part of his romp through dreamland.

As ever, we pick the story apart, looking for Call of Cthulhu inspiration. In particular, we spend some time trying to work out why Leng gets such a bad rap. Sure, it seems cold and grey, but by that measure Aberdeen should have a similarly evil reputation.

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

Matt Returns!

The big news this episode is that Matt is well enough to record with us again! His experiences with necrotising fasciitis over the past few months have been nothing short of terrifying. Matt shares some of the less gruesome details, along with insights about what it’s like to be in a coma. All surprisingly relevant to our main topic.

We’re back and we’re lost in reverie. These dreams are really something — so vivid and insistent. We just wish we knew whose dreams they are. Regardless, they’re inspiring us to create strange, wondrous new works of art. Only, why are we compelled to make them with our own viscera? At least we can arrange these intestines to look like tentacles. Yes, that looks right, doesn’t it? So majestic. So divine. Maybe now we can sleep more deeply and become one with these glorious dreams.

Main Topic: Mythos Deities – Cthulhu

This episode is the latest in our ongoing exploration of the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. Previous entries include Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, and Daoloth and Eihort.

We have discussed Cthulhu as a pop-culture icon and Lovecraft’s original story, “The Call of Cthulhu”, in earlier episodes. Still, it is long past time we had one of our usual deep dives into the origins and development of the dead dreamer himself. So here we are.

We’ve paused our discussion of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath for a few episodes. Matt has been seriously ill, requiring a lengthy stay in hospital. We don’t know how long he’s going to be out of action but we wanted to save the resolution for his return. Until then, we’ve called upon some of our good friends in the podcasting world to stand in as guest hosts.

This time, we are joined by Chris Lackey, co-host of the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast and author of the new Chaosium publication, Cults of Cthulhu.

Things we mention in this episode include:

Lovecraft’s original sketch of Cthulhu

News

Update on Matt

As we mentioned, Matt has been seriously ill recently. He is well on the road to recovery, however, and may be up to rejoining us soon. More details as they become available.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 9

Issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome is coming together nicely, much like Cthulhu after some callous sailor rammed a ship through him. We are currently going through the many wonderful contributions we have received and finishing up our own text. The Tome will go out to our Patreon backers at the end of June 2022.

Covers of Tomes of yore

Alien on How We Roll

Our good friend Jon Hook has been running the Alien RPG for How We Roll, and Scott is one of the players. We are currently riding the “Chariot of the Gods” and it’s all looking a bit grim. Oh well. Our bosses at Weyland-Yutani surely have our best interests at heart.