Media Catch-up – TV

31 January, 2023

We’re back and we’re staring in disbelief as our hands fall off.

Media Catch-up – TV

Once again, we are perched open mouthed before the small screen, gobbling down televisual delights and regurgitating opinions. This is the latest in our ongoing series of media reviews, sharing our thoughts on the TV programmes we’ve been watching lately. There’s more horror than usual in our selections, making this episode dangerously on-topic. We’ll do better next time.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
“Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft
A Serbian Film (2010)
“Dreams in the Witch House” by HP Lovecraft
“Dreams in the Witch House” from Masters of Horror
Stuart Gordon
“The Autopsy” by Michael Shea

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30 Coins (30 monedas)

27 September, 2022

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We’re back and we’re taking up a new hobby. Esoteric numismatology isn’t for everyone, however. Unfortunately, eldritch coins have steep prices, and not just financial ones. Our lives have become complicated ever since we picked up all these silver denarii. Between the unnatural fog, sinister clergymen and giant spider babies that keep popping up, these 30 coins are starting to seem like more trouble than they’re worth. Admittedly, they are worth a lot. Maybe we can trade them in for a cache of automatic weapons and some bullets dipped in holy water.

Main Topic: 30 Coins

This episode, we’re taking a look at Álex de la Iglesia‘s bizarre and wonderful TV programme, 30 Coins (originally released as 30 monedas). As well as being an all-round entertaining piece of television, 30 Coins is also rich inspiration for Call of Cthulhu, Kult, and any number of other games. We offer a quick overview of the programme, a few key highlights, and some thoughts about its gaming applications.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

October Horror Movie Challenge

Scott is once again embarking upon the October Horror Movie Challenge. Throughout October, he will be posting a horror film review every day on this very blog. These will all be films he has not seen before and, largely, ones available on streaming services. If you want to check out his selection or even play along at home, you can find full details here.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 10

No sooner has issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome gone out the door than we’ve started work on issue 10! If you have any articles of up to 500 words or artwork you think would fit, we would love to see them. Just drop us a line at submissions@blasphemoustomes.com.

Matt is also working on a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario, inspired by his experiences of being in a coma earlier this year. The Mythos may be the least sanity-blasting part of this adventure!

A Weekend With Good Friends

The next Weekend With Good Friends is approaching fast. This is the online RPG convention organised by our lovely listeners and hosted on our Discord server. We have a web page with important details and links, which we will update as things progress.

The important dates are:

30th September-13th October 2022 – GM signups
21st October–27th October – Player signups
28th October – Lottery results are announced
4th–6th November – A Weekend With Good Friends

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Cosmic Horror

30 March, 2021

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We’re back and we’re and we’re contemplating the secrets of the universe. People have warned us that it isn’t good for the human psyche to truly understand its insignificance in the wider cosmos. Luckily, as podcasters, our egos are robust enough to withstand such a spiritual winnowing. Cosmic horror is only genuinely horrific if your place in the universe isn’t secured by the occasional appearance towards the bottom of a niche podcast chart!

Main Topic: Cosmic Horror

This episode is our long-overdue look at cosmic horror. The term “cosmic horror” is often used as a synonym for Lovecraftian horror. Is there more to this relationship, however? For all his passion for the genre, how effective was Lovecraft at writing cosmic horror? How can we bring cosmic dread into our games of Call of Cthulhu? And what the hell is cosmic horror anyway?

Once again, the pandemic means we recorded this episode remotely. Although, on a cosmic scale, we’re practically in the same room.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

Alien (1979)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Trebuchet Magazine
Buffer overflows
“The Rats in the Walls” by HP Lovecraft
“Supernatural Horror in Literature” by HP Lovecraft
WB Yeats
The Quatermass Experiment
Azathoth
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft
Yog-Sothoth
The Gods of Pegāna by Lord Dunsany
“The Music of Erich Zann” by HP Lovecraft
Body horror
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

“Nyarlathotep” by HP Lovecraft
“The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C Clarke
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Solaris (1972)
Solaris (2002)
Arrival (2016)
“Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang
Event Horizon (1997)
2001: A Space Oddysey (1968)
“Mimsy Were the Borogoves” by Lewis Padgett
The Last Mimzy (2007)
The Leftovers (2014)
“Black and White Sky” by Tanith Lee
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
Uzimaki (2000)

News

Patreon Changes

We’ve recently made some changes to our Patreon tiers. These centre on how we deliver The Blasphemous Tome. As of the next Tome, we will send a PDF to $1 backers, a code for a print-on-demand copy to $3 backers, and hand-printed and signed copies to those at $5 and above. Check our Patreon page for more details.

The Blasphemous Tome Issue 7

The reason for these Patreon changes is that we will now be putting out two full Blasphemous Tomes per year. While the .5 summer releases started life as an overflow for material we couldn’t fit in the standard Tome, they’ve proved very popular. As a result, we’re promoting them to full Tomes, which means they will be available in print as well as PDF. Issue 7 is due out in June and will include a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario, licensed by Chaosium, written by our very own Matt Sanderson. We’ll have more details for you soon!

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Media Catch-Up: Television

16 February, 2021

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We’re back and we’re sucking at the glass teat again. Like all lazy creative types, we watch a lot of TV and try to convince ourselves it’s research. There certainly is a lot that the structure of modern television can teach us about roleplaying games. Absorb too much, however, and you may find that your games become riddled with adverts for erectile dysfunction pills. Maybe not the kind of healing potion your party is looking for…

Main Topic: Media Catch-Up: Television

After the positive reception to our short run of lockdown specials for our Patreon backers last year, we thought it might be fun to carry the format into the occasional regular episode. This time, we each discuss some of the television we’ve been watching recently and how it’s informing our gaming lives. Even though none of the programmes we discuss are horror, we still manage to find plenty to borrow for Call of Cthulhu.

Once again, the pandemic means we recorded this episode remotely. Chatting over Google Meet is like watching each other on television, only with worse scripts.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

Patreon Lockdown Specials
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Discovery
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsythe
Cheers
Supernatural
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Walker in the Wastes
Masks of Nyarlathotep
The X-Files
Hot War
World of Darkness

News

Matt at ConTingency

Like so many other conventions, ConTinegncy moved from being a physical to a virtual event this year. As part of his ongoing mission to demonstrate his contempt for sleep, Matt ran an unwise number of games over the week. At least he didn’t need to change out of his pyjamas to do so.

New Cthulhu Idol From Stephen Hickman

Matt has also been busy backing Kickstarters. Not that he’s ever stopped. This time, he backed Stephen Hickman’s campaign to create a new version of his idol of Cthulhu. The horror in resin has now arrived and Matt has taken a picture to share with us.

Full Fathom Five on Distant Grey Gaming

The Australian actual-play podcast Distant Grey Gaming recently ran Paul’s 19th-century whaling scenario “Full Fathom Five”. They have also recorded an interview with Paul, which you will find in their feed.

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200th Episode Special: Ask Us Anything

19 January, 2021

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We’re back and we’re turning 200. Please be gentle. We’re tired and our feet hurt.

John Sumrow captures the dark, fishy heart of the podcast better than we ever could. Check out his Patreon for many more eldritch wonders: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

Main Topic: Ask Us Anything

This is our big 200th episode celebration! Somehow, we’ve managed to keep the podcast going for 7 1/2 years, racking up a frightening number of hours of our words. Once you count all the special episodes, backer-only specials, story readings and the like, the total is probably closer to 250 episodes, but we’ll only count the full releases. It saves confusing ourselves even more than usual.

We thought we might celebrate this milestone by opening ourselves up to interrogation by our listeners. You sent in something like 200 questions via Twitter, Facebook, Discord, Reddit and Patreon. We had to narrow this down to a dozen or so, otherwise we might still be recording this episode. Our audience proxy, asking your questions in his own voice, is Mike Mason, creative director for the Call of Cthulhu RPG.

Thank you again to cuppycup of the wonderful Ain’t Slayed Nobody podcast for his help in salvaging some damaged audio from this recording session!

Once again, the pandemic means we recorded this episode remotely. We’re getting used to this.

Links

Things we mention in this 200th episode include:

News

The Surrey Enigma on Grizzly Peaks Radio

Scott has been guesting on Andy Goodman’s wonderful Grizzly Peaks Radio podcast. Andy has dug out another old marvel from the glory days of White Dwarf, in the form of “The Surrey Enigma” by Marcus L Rowland. Episodes should start appearing in your feeds soon. Prepare for bloody chaos and some turns of events that must have Enid Blyton turning in her grave.

News From Chaosium

Elder Gods willing, the slipcase edition of the Malleus Monstrorum should now be available in print across the globe. The revised, publicly available version of the former organised-play campaign A Time to Harvest should be available very soon as well.