Miskatonic University Podcast

Latest Episodes:

MUP Ep 236 – John Haremza & COREThulhu Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

This episode Keepers Bridgett & Murph speak with John Haremza of the Legends of Tabletop podcast and the new CoreThulhu RPG. Well, Bridgett tries to speak. Laryngitis, y'know? Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on October 06, 2021. PAX Unplugged is coming back in December to Philadelphia and you will need a mask and full vaccination in order to attend. This is following a trend that other conventions, such as UK Games EXPO & ESSEN Spiel, have put into place for public safety. GenCON & Origins continued with only a mask mandate in place but no proof of vaccination or a negative test. Chaosium has acquired Dhole’s House this week, the popular online character creation tool for Call of Cthulhu. And it has hired the former owner and site creator, Lee Carnell, as an in-house software developer. In case you are not aware, The Calyx has started again and our very own Bridgett Jefferies is again on the cast! Becca Scott is the Keeper with Gina DeVivo, Paula Deeming, and Bridgett as investigators. The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. Special shout out to Mike, who returned home from Origins to find that his son had befriended a Wookie. Seriously, it’s a dog in a Wookie costume and his newborn baby. It’s SUPER cute. MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you beaucoup to Sean for editing this episode. We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! ALSO, we just kicked off a new offering where Pateron backers will have an exclusive opportunity to play in games run by one of us co-hosts! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! I rocked my MUP shirt at Origins and it was quite a delight and a privilege. Main Topic John Haremza from Legends of Tabletop CORE MicroCOREThulhuLink to their Discord

MUP Ep 235 – An Odd Talk with Chris McDowall Oct 04, 2021

Show notes

This episode Keepers Bridgett, Dave & Murph speak with Chris McDowall the author of Into the Odd & Electric Bastionland. Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on September 23, 2021. The Ennies just wrapped up their awards for 2021, and a huge congratulations to all of the nominees winners. We’d like to send a special congratulations to Andrew Gaska and everyone at FLP for three ENnie Awards for their Alien: The RPG campaign, Destroyer of Worlds. Horror games really made a statement this year with awards and recognition going to Mork Borg, Vaesen, and even the Miskatonic Repository. Congratulations, Allan Carrey, for your silver on Hand of Glory The Council of Shoggoths is proud to announce that all events for Friday and Sunday have sold out for Miskatonic Repository Con! The participation and support has been incredible, guys, and we really appreciate it. Check out the show notes for the link to sign up for Saturday events, join in on a panel, or just come hang out with some Call of Cthulhu creators! Reminder, the convention is going to be held, online, October 15-17th. Free League just announced their plans to publish the Blade Runner RPG and my wallet just imploded. Enough with the amazing IP, art, design, game mechanics and just all around fantastic game experiences! In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, Chaosium recently released their Call of Cthulhu 40th Anniversary Keeper Rulebook. This limited edition release features a new black and red leatherette cover and dust jacket design. Additional material includes personal accounts by some of the early creators and contributors to the game and the re-inclusion of the classic scenario 'The Haunting.” Advance copies sold out at GenCon and it looks like they’ll be arriving at Origins Game Fair as well! The official release date is October 2021. Bridgett is stoked to be joining the main cast of Ain’t Slayed Nobody’s podcast for Y’all of Cthulhu Season Two. This is a custom Call of Cthulhu 7e campaign in the Down Darker Trails setting. She's playing an acrobat named Noni. The show just wrapped Season One and Season Two will start in early 2022. Subscribe to Ain't Slayed Nobody on your favorite podcast app. And finally, writer and publisher of Electric Bastionland, Chris McDowall, has teamed up with Free League to reprint and update the original rule set Into the Odd in a new Kickstarter that has already blown through most/all of its stretch goals since it launched earlier this week. Fortunately we have Mr McDowall with us tonight to talk about the kickstarter. Chris? We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. Special shout out to fan of the show, Rina, and their cat Garak, who naps in positions that still make my lower back ache. Good luck with the move, Rina and Garak! MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you beaucoup to Max for editing this episode. We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! ALSO, we just kicked off a new offering in September where Pateron backers will have an exclusive opportunity to play in games run by one of us co-hosts! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic Chris McDowall Into The Odd Remastered Kicstarter Pateron Questions: From Diesel: what are your thoughts on the evolution of the OSR, from the retroclones to the games we see being produced today. What was it that pulled him into that scene, why does he think it evolved like that, and where does he think it’s going next? iPwnedMSCS — In your contribution to Knock! Issue 2, how one would use the horror cheap trick "cut off mid-sentence". Using the example from the article of "The wardrobe is covered in cobwebs. You slowly crack it open and feel the air get cold around you. You smell rotten wood and see..." do you eventually finish the sentence after letting it hang for a couple beats or do you do something else with it? Also - what’s next for you after this kickstarter? Where can people get in touch with you? BastionLand.com

MUP Ep 234 – The Hosts of Horror Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

This episode, Keepers Murph, Dave, & Bridgett discuss the definition of horror, what type of horror appeals to us... and then we kinda started rambling about our most influential or memorable horror films and novels. Get your pens ready! Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on September 13, 2021. The Miskatonic Repository Con is shaping up beautifully! At the time of recording, there are over 37 events listed and 3 panels with some of the heaviest hitting and insightful professionals in the industry to include Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Oscar Rios, Sean Branney, Helen Gould, Michael Fryda, all of your friendly neighborhood Chaosium Community Ambassadors, and more! You can check out the facebook page or we’ll include the Table Top Events scheduler in the show notes! GM Submissions will have ended by the time of release, but Player Sign Ups start on September 17th! Free League Publishing released award-winning RPGs Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying and Symbaroum on Foundry VTT. All the released game modules on Foundry are fully integrated with the VTT platform with online maps and diagrams, player handouts ready to share, and more. The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. A special shout out to Porgy, the gorgeous border collie of one of our new Discord followers, OberonViking. MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you beaucoup to Murph for editing this episode. Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! One new backer! Kevin West (No relation) Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! We also have a new offering for our Patreon backers, starting tomorrow! Come game with the hosts! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic -- What Does Horror Mean To You?

MUP Ep 233 – The Many Projects of Alison Cybe Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

This episode, Keepers Dave & Bridgett interview award nominated fantasy and horror author, freelance RPG Writer, and all around rockstar, Alison Cybe! Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on August 29, 2021. Keeper Dave is very proud to announce the arrival of Apocthulhu Part 2, Terrible New Worlds. If you remember way back in episode 205 (which was August 2020 in forever-ago times), we interviewed Dean Englehart and Jo Kriel about their massive Apcothulhu project. Well, now the second book has arrived, which includes a scenario by yours truly. Do we want to talk about the editing process and how good editors (like Dean and Jo) can turn a pretty good idea into a great scenario? In what feels like a Herbert West style reanimation, Chaosium has acquired the entire Cubicle 7 Call of Cthulhu line, including Cthulhu Britannica and World War Cthulhu. This even includes the rarer Cold War materials, that our own Keeper Chad contributed to. The line is highly regarded and is sure to fill out Chaosium’s already growing line of materials - how quickly they’ll get it to shelves is yet to be determined. Hasbro has unveiled their own rpg system for their newly licensed materials, which include GI Joe, Transformers, and Power Rangers. This rpg line is not part of WotC, and uses its own new Essence20 system as mechanics. As an aging Gen Xer who watched a LOT of GI Joe and Transformers, (and who doesn’t like using 5e for non-fantasy games) I have to say that I am mildly intrigued. Kickstarter news: The Delta Green reboot of their original materials is well funded and sitting around $350k as of time of recording. Much like Chaosium reprinting their older materials that fetch extreme prices on the secondary market, Arc Dream is republishing their original book and other 90s materials, updated to their new Delta Green system. The Kickstarter ends on Sept 10th, I believe, and so there is still plenty of time to get in on the action. Friend of the show, fellow Call of Cthulhu and all around great guy Bill Adcock has… a sister, who also is an rpg writer. Nice family! Anyway, she is running a kickstarter based on labor rights in the coal industry called The Price of Coal. Finally, the most successful RPG kickstarter of all time will be done by the time this episode airs, but whew! The Avatar RPG has crossed $7.5m. Here’s to our industry’s breakthrough. The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you beaucoup to Murph for editing this episode.-0- Updated August 29 by Dave -0- Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! One new backer! Andy Miles Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!!

MUP Ep 232 – Heinous Cainous and the Peckerus Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

This episode Keepers Bridgett & Murph combine forces while visiting the Beastiary to create a brand new monster from scratch! During the episode I mentioned the Shit Demon that I created for an Extra Life game at Necronomicon in 2017. Here is the basic write-up for that done at the time. It isn't perfect, but it is here. Patreon Backers have exclusive access to Murph's write-up of Peckerus, Lord of Dogs in the Patreon feed! Murph's Giant Shit WeaselDownload

MUP Ep 231 — Two Days Without Coffee w/ Jared Smith Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

This episode, Keepers Murph, Dave, & Bridgett interview multi-best selling editor and author, Jared Smith, of the Bayt Al Azif: A Magazine for Cthulhu Mythos Roleplaying Games. Tune is as Jared explains the origins story of his unique magazine title, talks about how he commissions covers, content, and more! Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on August 2, 2021. UK Games Expo is done and they’ve had a couple winners of interest. First, the Dee Sanction won the Judges' Award at @UKGamesExpo for Best Role Playing Game! That’s a fantastic win for Paul and his company, so many congratulations for them! Aaaaand, both Vaesen and Alien Destroyer of Worlds won for Best RPG and Best RPG Adventure, respectively. Another fantastic win for Free League Games at UK Games Expo. The “A Weekend With Good Friends” virtual gaming convention is being held on The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord server and will take place the 20th-22nd of August 2021. With international participants, they’ll have games running around the clock. The main focus is CoC, however, other games are welcome! I’ve seen some Kult, Alien RPG, and more! GM Signs ups open as of the date of recording, and game sign ups occur on 8/6. It’s a well organized con and quite a bit of fun. Definitely check them out! The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. Seriously. Share those pet pics! BTW-- The MUP Community is happy to wish a Happy Belated Gottcha Day to the super cool kitty, Roxie! MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! One new backer! Erik Choy R. Thomas Thetford Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! We rolled this out and some of our best questions for Lynne from Chaosium were Patreon inquiries! So, back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! HOT TIP! They're on sale for 35% OFF for the next 3 days! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic Interview with Jared Smith of Bayt Al Azif ! Congratulations on... Issue 1- Gold Issue 2 - Gold Issue 3 - Electrum Listen to find out when Issue 4 drops, how Jared named his magazine, how you can submit a scenario, how you can hire Jared for editing/proofreading, and more!

MUP Ep 230 — Suggestive Equations with Lynne Hardy Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

This episode, Keepers Murph & Bridgett sat down with Dr. Lynne Hardy of Chaosium!!! Lynne talked us through Children of Fear, gave us a teaser on Rivers of London, discussed how big publishers handle play testing, answered direct questions from our Patreon Backers, and more! Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on July 11, 2021. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of CoC, Chaosium is re-issuing a remastered version of this original box set (via Kickstarter) along with several of its first supplements. It funded in under 10 minutes. This 2” box includes the CoC Rulebook, a sourcebook for the 1920’s, a world map, character sheets and more! Backers are plowing through the stretch goals! Unlocked so far are: In very related news, HPLHS is going to be creating a deluxe prop Set Box to go with the release. Monte Cook Games announced Stealing Stories for the Devil, a fast-paced tabletop roleplaying game in which you save existence by bending reality to carry out the perfect heist. You play master thieves from the future. Stealing Stories for the Devil can be played by episode or campaign, and promises to digs into the reasons behind the decay of reality. This kickstarter isn’t live yet, but you can sign up to be notified at montecookgames.com And just to let everyone know, it looks like the ENnie nominations have been pushed back to August 13th now. So we all have to wait another month to see if a certain podcast you know of will be shortlisted again. The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. A special shout out to MUP’s special girl, Phryne (fry-knee). MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you beaucoup to Edwin for editing this episode. Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! One new backer! Michael Daumen Exciting news! We’re going to start offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! That’s right! Would you like to know who is on the line up before an episode lands? Would you like an opportunity to post questions, thoughts, and topics to be sure that we cover with the guest? Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic Interview with Lynne Hardy Questions Pateron Backer Al Smith: Can you talk us through the playtesting process with games like CoF and RoL? Another Pateron backer wanted to verify... How long would it take to run the entire campaign? Children of Fear is said to have a flexible plot to allow investigators to determine the journey that they take. Was that challenging to write (lol), surrendering that degree of control? ...and more! Thank you, Lynne, for joining us!

MUP Ep 229 — Elven Orgy Candles Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

This Episode, Keepers Murph, Dave, & Bridgett allegedly discuss writing scenarios... and when to know when they're complete. We were derailed by Elven Orgy Candles. It's kinda hard to explain. Listen at your on risk. Oh, and definitely stay afterwards and listen to some of the outtakes. Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on June 28, 2021. Creators! Awesome news. Chaosium recently joined forces with the Storytelling Collective's RPG Writer Workshop. The Call of Cthulhu path of the program has been designed by award-winning RPG designer Paul Fricker, co-author of Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. Sign up, today! TSR Games is back, but it isn’t TSR Games, and it isn’t TSR, Inc., And it isn’t even the TSR from way back when. It’s all a bit petty and strange and offensive, but if you want, you can read about it over at ENWorld. Goodman Games is running a Kickstarter for Jack Vance’s seminal fantasy series The Dying Earth for their own Dungeon Crawl Classic RPG. This is an old school boxset that has been licensed by the Vance Estate and will include new Classes, spells, new monsters, & six new adventure modules. As of recording it is funded with 23 days left and has $170k towards their $20k goal. It is $50 for the boxset alone, or $110 for the boxset with the 6 adventure modules, which is a bit strange but they must be pretty hefty. If you have been looking at getting into Pelgrane Press’s excellent King in Yellow RPG then now is the time! A new Bundle of Holding has been released that will get you the Core Book and some music for $18. But for $28 you get The corebook, music, The Absinthe in Carcosa campaign, The Annotated King in Yellow (which is really quite nice), The Missing and the Lost, and the fiction compilation The New Tales of the Yellow Sign. The Discord Plug We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pic fans. A special shout out to Apache! This poor pup recently suffered from hip issues, but after much rest and lovings, recent photos and updates have shown that the baby is doing much better! So, join the Discord. Post your pet photos, sign up for a game, or connect with us there! MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you very much to Murph for editing this episode. Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic -- When to Know When Your Scenario is Finished ...And Elven Orgy Candles. We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By Twitter: @MU_Podcast Discord server invite link https://discord.gg/up4hRX

MUP Ep 228 — Left Unsupervised Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

This episode, Keepers Dave and Bridgett were left unsupervised while Keeper Murph took some well deserved time off with his family. So, uh... listen at your own risk as the Keepers discuss Playtesting!

MUP Ep 227 – Gaska’s Aliens Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

Today the MUP Keepers talk with Andrew Gaska, lead writer on the Alien and Terminator RPG! Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on May 27, 2021. There is a new Kickstarter for a very cool OSR sourcebook called the Knock, issue 2. It’s 224 pages of old school art, rules, tables, classes, maps, and just a whole smorgasbord of OSR RPG goodness. It’s very well funded as of today, and still has 28 days left, so you want to pick this up if you’re into old school role-playing. Miskatonic Repository Con will be returning this year. Watch their Facebook for announcements on dates, panels, guests, sign-ups, and lots more on their Facebook page! This convention premiered last year and focuses on creator made content for the M.R. So if you’re a creator, or looking to be a creator, or are just interested in some great Call of Cthulhu, definitely follow their page. As one of the organizers, ping Keeper Bridgett on Discord or Facebook and she'll be happy to answer any questions! The Good Friends of Jackson Elias have announced the dates for their next online convention, “A Weekend With Good Friends.” The con will be August 20-22 with GM Signups July 31 to August 5th; Player Signups are from August 6th to the 13th. You can find more details on their Discord server! Free League released the long-awaited pdf for the Colonial Marines Operations Manual. You can pre-order the book and get the PDF now, though the PDF is not available for stand-alone purchase at this time. Our own former host and both Friends of the show Jon Hook and Seth Skorkowsky have a new podcast, Modern Mythos, with three episodes already available! I’m not sure what their release schedule will be moving forward, but definitely go check them out. We have a link, as always, in the show notes. Patreon Plug We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! Two new backers! James Winfield Zachery Bir And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!! Main Topic Interview with Andrew Gaska. Andrew Gaska has been a freelance franchise consultant to 20th Century Fox for the past three years, writing series reference bibles, maintaining continuity, streamlining in-universe canon, and creating detailed timelines for the legacy franchises Alien, Predator, and Planet of the Apes. He served as a visual consultant to Rockstar Games for seventeen years on the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Revolver, and all other releases. He also has extensive graphic novel and creative consulting credits. Aaaand he is the lead writer for the upcoming Terminator RPG and, of course, the Alien RPG and all of its scenarios and sourcebooks. And Yesterday was Andrew’s birthday! Blog: https://roguereviewer.wordpress.com/ Licensing Expo in Las Vegas Alien RPG by Free League Facebook Group We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By Twitter: @MU_Podcast Discord server invite link https://discord.gg/up4hRX

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