Interviews Archives - Blasphemous Tomes

Special: Interview With Jason Cordova part 2

20 August, 2024

We’re back with the conclusion of our interview with Jason Cordova, the mastermind behind The Gauntlet and creator of such RPGs as Brindlewood Bay, The Between and Public Access.

Our winding discussion takes in game design and publishing, analogue horror, and Victorian pornography, among other topics.

Since recording this episode, Jason has announced a crowdfunding campaign for a three-volume print edition of The Between, packed with alternative settings and other bonus material. The campaign begins on the 24th of September 2024. You can find full details on the project’s Backerkit page.

If you want to hear The Between in action, you can hear Scott playing a campaign on Ain’t Slayed Nobody, alongside Nic Rosenberg, Josephine McAdam, and cuppycup, with Jason Cordova as Keeper.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

The Between
Penny Dreadful
Spring-heeled Jack
“Hell in Texas” from The Things We Leave Behind
Victorian Spiritualism
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew
Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens
People of the Abyss by Jack London
Indian cone pattern
Memento mori photography
Victorian London: The Life of a City by Liza Picard
Holywell Street
Victorian guidebook to sex workers

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Special: Investigative Games With Jason Cordova

6 August, 2024

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We’re back with another special interview episode. This time, we’re talking to Jason Cordova, the mastermind behind The Gauntlet and creator of such RPGs as Brindlewood Bay, The Between and Public Access.

Jason’s games take a different approach than most to investigation, informed by the classic indie RPGs from the days of The Forge. We talk about how these techniques might be applied to other games, such as Call of Cthulhu, as well as what makes for an interesting mystery.

Since recording this episode, Jason has announced a crowdfunding campaign for a three-volume print edition of The Between, packed with alternative settings and other bonus material. The campaign begins on the 24th of September 2024. You can find full details on the project’s Backerkit page.

If you want to hear The Between in action, you can hear Scott playing a campaign on Ain’t Slayed Nobody, alongside Nic Rosenberg, Josephine McAdam, and cuppycup, with Jason Cordova as Keeper.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

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Special: Strength Drain and Recovery With Frank Delventhal

28 May, 2024

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In our recent episode on injury and disease in Call of Cthulhu, we mentioned the strength drain ability of Dark Young. Good friend of the Good Friends Frank Delventhal, AKA Strongman Frank, got it touch with some ideas about how strength drains might actually work and what streps an investigator could take to recover from them. Paul arranged a conversation to explore these ideas, which we recorded for this special.

As his moniker suggests, Frank has performed as a strongman for many years. He has supplemented his practical experience of building up strength with reading about the science behind it. The discussion covers everything from different types of cellular damage to the psychology of strength training, offering ideas about how this could be used in gaming. We hope you find it as interesting as we did!

Frank demonstrates why the Dark Young fear him

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

Frank shows us how he’d make short work of the Necronomicon

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Special: Seth Skorkowsky and Jon Hook on Modern Mythos (part 2)

28 June, 2021

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Special Episode: Seth Skorkowsky and Jon Hook on Modern Mythos

We’re back with the conclusion of our interview with YouTuber and author Seth Skorkowsky. This time, we are also joined by Jon Hook, Seth’s co-host on their new Modern Mythos podcast. As well as being one of the founders of the Miskatonic University Podcast, Jon is a prolific RPG author who has written for Call of Cthulhu and Swords & Wizardry, amongst others.

During our conversation, we delve into where to draw the line with horror, the worst GMing advice we have ever encountered, and whether Scott is secretly from East Texas. And, of course, we talk about the Modern Mythos podcast itself. Specifically, we get into how the podcast started, what its mission is, and what to expect from future episodes.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

Modern Mythos
Seth Skorkowsky
Ashes of Onyx by Seth Skorkowsky
The King in Yellow
Dragonlance
Tales of the Black Raven series by Seth Skorkowsky
Adrian Tchaikovsky interview
Miskatonic University Podcast
Seth Skorkowsky’s YouTube channel
“Hell in Texas” from The Things We Leave Behind
“Blackwater Creek” from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen
“The Code” by Chris Lackey, from Mansions of Madness volume 1

A Weekend With Good Friends
The Shadow Over Providence by Jon Hook
X-card
“The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by H P Lovecraft
“The Rescue” from the Cthulhu Companion
Sorcerer by Ron Edwards
Swords & Wizardry
“Mysteries on Arcturus Station” by Seth Skorkowsky

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Special: Seth Skorkowsky on Modern Mythos (part 1)

15 June, 2021

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Special Episode: Seth Skorkowsky on Modern Mythos (part 1)

We’re back with another special interview episode. This time, Scott talks to fan-favourite YouTuber and author, Seth Skorkowsky. Unfortunately, Jon Hook — Seth’s co-host on their new podcast, Modern Mythos — was held up. Happily, Seth and Scott still found plenty to talk about.

Over the course of the conversation, Seth shares his thoughts about the merits of a consistent gaming group, horror in RPGs, and the history of weird fiction. Seth also discusses elements of his latest novel, Ashes of Onyx, and the difficulties of marketing a book that doesn’t fit into a neat genre category. And if all that weren’t enough, he shares a family anecdote about a UFO cult taken straight out of Pulp Cthulhu.

When you’re done with this episode, join us for the conclusion of the interview, when Jon Hook joins the chat and we get into the nuts and bolts of Modern Mythos.