- 52 minutes 52 secondsEpisode 719: Live at Tabletop Scotland
From the airport-adjacent splendor of Edinburgh’s Highland Hall, Ken and Robin appear live at Tabletop Scotland to talk Edison’s miracles, wild west icons, successors to The Armitage Files, updating cyberpunk, food allergy protocols, and, of course, haggis.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Rejoice, for the prophecy is fulfilled! The Ars Magica Definitive Edition, in all of its arcane glory, can now be ordered from Atlas Games. Dispatch your most reliable grog to acquire this most splendid of tomes today.

Mapheads assemble! Profantasy Software’s Kickstarter for its RPG mapping tools is now underway. Bring Campaign Cartographer, City Designer and Dungeon Designer to a new state of the art with random generation, faster display, intuitive workflow and a context-sensitive sidebar.

As our darkened globe spins through the eternal night, the lasting legacy of the human race is nothing but a scream drowned out by the roar of destiny. This is your last chance to show the cosmos what it means to be human: the will to fight. Delta Green: The Millennium lays bare Delta Green’s dark and desperate past. It reaches into the corpse of the 20th century and digs deep, mapping in blood the terrain of our twisted pulp apocalypse.
Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
2 October 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 8 minutesEpisode 718: Mad at Gary
The Gaming Hut gets salty as we look into the dire implications of the standard rpg writing phrase “at the GM’s discretion.”

The Crime Blotter recounts the exploits of serial 18th century prison escaper Jean Henri Latude.

In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Ken talks to Glaiza Champion, designer of such games as Missing Month and Beef.

Finally the Conspiracy Corner looks into not one but two Alaska volcano hoaxes.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Rejoice, for the prophecy is fulfilled! The Ars Magica Definitive Edition, in all of its arcane glory, can now be ordered from Atlas Games. Dispatch your most reliable grog to acquire this most splendid of tomes today.

Hamlet’s GM Screen, Robin’s book applying exquisitely diagrammed story analysis to classic moments at the gaming table, can now be ordered from Pelgrane Press. Turn your bringdowns into gratifications with this follow-up to the classic Hamlet’s Hit Points.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
25 September 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 4 minutesEpisode 717: A Cozy Part of Hell
The Gaming Hut series of revelations from Robin’s new book Hamlet’s GM Screen continues with moments in which characters just might lose it.

At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Rob Lightner, the Tradecraft Hut ponders the case of CIA officer David Rush, incarcerated but not so far indicted after being caught with approximately 666 lbs of gold in his home.

How to Write Good shows you how to incorporate quirks into fictional characters by tying them to their iconic ethos or dramatic poles.

Finally, as requested by estimable backer Charles Picard, the Eliptony Hut profiles weirdness-celebrating radio personality Art Bell.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Rejoice, for the prophecy is fulfilled! The Ars Magica Definitive Edition, in all of its arcane glory, can now be ordered from Atlas Games. Dispatch your most reliable grog to acquire this most splendid of tomes today.

Hamlet’s GM Screen, Robin’s book applying exquisitely diagrammed story analysis to classic moments at the gaming table, can now be ordered from Pelgrane Press. Turn your bringdowns into gratifications with this follow-up to the classic Hamlet’s Hit Points.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
18 September 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 16 minutesEpisode 716: Sumptuous Alchemical Banquets
The Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues in the Gaming Hut with tips on paying off player character signature elements.

In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Ken passes the baton, or perhaps bloody stake, to lead designer of the upcoming new Vampire edition, Diogo Nogueira.

The Architecture Hut delves into the psychogeographic consequences of Nelson Rockefeller’s decision to base his contribution to New York state capitol complex on the Dalai Lama’s royal palace in Lhasa.

Finally the Consulting Occultist profiles Bermuda-born, Havard-educated 17th century alchemist George Starkey.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Rejoice, for the prophecy is fulfilled! The Ars Magica Definitive Edition, in all of its arcane glory, can now be ordered from Atlas Games. Dispatch your most reliable grog to acquire this most splendid of tomes today.

As a personage of undisputed merit you will wish to inform all and sundry of The Dying Earth RPG Collection at Humble Bundle. Get the game that started Pelgrane, with all of its wit, terror, and one-upsmanship, and every book that goes with it, for a mere $18. Go to Humble Bundle and search for Dying Earth RPG Collection.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
11 September 2026, 8:30 am - 57 minutes 52 secondsEpisode 715: Ken and Darcy Live at Gen Con
Live at Gen Con 2026, Ken and special guest Darcy Ross talk yokai in the 9 Years war, evil sorcerers, Indy food discoveries, Aleister Crowley, convention games and so much more.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Rejoice, for the prophecy is fulfilled! The Ars Magica Definitive Edition, in all of its arcane glory, can now be ordered from Atlas Games. Dispatch your most reliable grog to acquire this most splendid of tomes today.

As a personage of undisputed merit you will wish to inform all and sundry of The Dying Earth RPG Collection at Humble Bundle. Get the game that started Pelgrane, with all of its wit, terror, and one-upsmanship, and every book that goes with it, for a mere $18. Go to Humble Bundle and search for Dying Earth RPG Collection.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
4 September 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 6 minutesEpisode 714: Hominy Jim
Don’t get stuck outside the Gaming Hut. Our Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues with a look at barriers and getting past them.

At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Mark K the Crime Blotter opens the case of the great New Jersey salad oil swindle.

Fake it until you make it as the Stock Character Hut examines the striver.

Finally in another food-related query from a beloved Patreon backer, Robert Wolfe wonders what Ken’s Time Machine might do to promote corn-soaking.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
As a personage of undisputed merit you will wish to inform all and sundry of The Dying Earth RPG Collection at Humble Bundle. Get the game that started Pelgrane, with all of its wit, terror, and one-upsmanship, and every book that goes with it, for a mere $18. Go to Humble Bundle and search for Dying Earth RPG Collection.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
28 August 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 9 minutesEpisode 713: Yanking Beards and Stealing Money
The Gaming Hut Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues with a breakdown on finding stuff.

In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Ken chats with political scientist James Fielder, who researches the politics of game worlds.

At the siren behest of beloved Patreon backer Shinanoki, the Monster Hut reveals the dangerous side of nymphs.

Finally the Eliptony Hut recounts the alarming tale of rampaging 18th century Hungarian vampire Michal Kasparek.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
In a hole in the ground… they found a body! Solve this mystery and more in the most adorable, yet murdery, GUMSHOE game yet, Merryshire Detective Club. Fantasy mystery master Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan brings you all the clues and crumpets your tiny frame can handle in the ultimate game of halfling sleuthing, crowdfunding soon on Backerkit.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
21 August 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 16 minutesEpisode 712: Old Tornado Hand
His head still spinning from the whirl of Gen Con 2026, Ken issues a Travel Advisory covering its news and scuttlebutt.

The Gaming Hut’s Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues with tips and tricks for scene setting.

With the ongoing Merryshire Detective Club Backerkit campaign in mind, the Food Hut asks which items go in first breakfast and which in second.

Finally, at the behest of beloved Patreon backer Dave from Washington, the Consulting Occultist profiles Satanist, psychological warfare practitioner and Bronze Star recipient Michael Aquino.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
In a hole in the ground… they found a body! Solve this mystery and more in the most adorable, yet murdery, GUMSHOE game yet, Merryshire Detective Club. Fantasy mystery master Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan brings you all the clues and crumpets your tiny frame can handle in the ultimate game of halfling sleuthing, crowdfunding soon on Backerkit.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
14 August 2026, 8:29 am - 58 minutes 59 secondsEpisode 711: Supervising Sub-Eviscerator
The Gaming Hut’s Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues with the handoff, the moment when the players deal with the scenario’s initial choices.

In the Horror Hut we enter a hazy borderland, attempting to pin down the distinction between liminal and reality horror.

How to Write Good asks when, if ever, one should use the word seems.

Finally we sidle up to Ken’s Time Machine to learn which historical icons figured out that Ken was a visitor from the future.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
In a hole in the ground… they found a body! Solve this mystery and more in the most adorable, yet murdery, GUMSHOE game yet, Merryshire Detective Club. Fantasy mystery master Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan brings you all the clues and crumpets your tiny frame can handle in the ultimate game of halfling sleuthing, crowdfunding soon on Backerkit.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
7 August 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 43 secondsEpisode 710: USS Self-Awareness
Our Hamlet’s GM Screen series continues in the Gaming Hut with a look at the prelude sequence in an adventure where the PCs poke around town shopping and bartering.

Keeping us in mind of the upcoming Nations and Cannons: Dark and Bloody Ground Kickstarter, the History Hut tells the tale of river pirate James Rivington.

Beloved colleague Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan enters the cozy confines of Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else for a chat about his new GUMSHOE game Merryshire Detective Club, now on Backerkit.

Finally the Eliptony Hut wonders what’s up with alleged psychohistorian Jiang Xueqin, who successfully predicted that people would call him the Chinese Nostradamus.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
In a hole in the ground… they found a body! Solve this mystery and more in the most adorable, yet murdery, GUMSHOE game yet, Merryshire Detective Club. Fantasy mystery master Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan brings you all the clues and crumpets your tiny frame can handle in the ultimate game of halfling sleuthing, crowdfunding soon on Backerkit.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
31 July 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 14 minutesEpisode 709: From Sling to King
We open in the Preamble Hut for an important announcement. This year, along with the rest of the Pelgrane Press crew, we will be attending Tabletop Scotland in Edinburgh. The show runs from September 4 to 6; we’ll both be there with a live show. Note that we will not be at Dragonmeet in November as we have been for so many years. Tabletop Scotland is your chance to see us in the UK in 2026.

Our series inspired by Robin’s new book Hamlet’s GM Screen continues in the Gaming Hut with a look the beats of scenario premises.

The Archaeology Hut finds unexpected answers to the question: how did Elgin get his marbles?

The Stock Character Hut undergoes a journey from innocence to experience as we examine the Kid.

Wrapping up, the Consulting Occultist looks at the occult side of Renaissance polymath and automaton builder Athanasius Kircher.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Big news from mission control! If you missed out the first time, don’t panic. The wait is over: the CatStronauts board game is finally back in stock at Atlas Games! The first printing disappeared at lightspeed! Don’t let this reprint of CatStronauts slip through your claws.
In a hole in the ground… they found a body! Solve this mystery and more in the most adorable, yet murdery, GUMSHOE game yet, Merryshire Detective Club. Fantasy mystery master Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan brings you all the clues and crumpets your tiny frame can handle in the ultimate game of halfling sleuthing, crowdfunding soon on Backerkit.
The play The King in Yellow has haunted imaginations like a dirge since its first appearance in 1895. Now ask it to predict the future and run your life with Arc Dream’s King in Yellow tarot deck. Daniel Harms and John Scott Tynes, famous clairvoyants, divined the forms and portents of this Carcosan deck. Painter Kurt Komoda, in a fevered fugue of inspiration, reproduced designs thought long lost. Add it now to your accursed Arc Dream shopping cart.

Sign up to be notified of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The American Crisis: Dark and Bloody Ground at YourDadWillLoveThis.com. Download a free copy of the Nations & Cannons core rules using code KENROBIN.
24 July 2026, 8:30 am - More Episodes? Get the App



