Tag Archives: Shane Ivey

Speaking with the Unspeakable (Oath Podcast)

I had the distinct pleasure recently to talk with Shane Ivey, Adam Scott Glancy, and Ross Payton

An ashcan copy of the Companion

of the Unspeakable Oath podcast.  We talked about their respective projects (The Unspeakable Oath #25, Horrors of War, Role-playing Public Radio and other projects), my projects (The Arkham Gazette) and, for most of the show Masks of Nyarlathotep and The Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion.  Do give it a listen.

It was a lot of fun to chat with the UO crew and hear about their experiences running Masks.  I hope I remembered to speak slowly and enunciate.  If you haven’t taken a look yet, there are (currently) about 5 days to go in the MoNC Kickstarter.

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Post-Yule Post

Shockingly, between the Arkham Gazette Kickstarter (48 hours to go!) and other seasonal obligations, I’ve had scant little time to update good old Tomes in Progress.  Sorry!

So, here’s what has been going on in the world of Lovecraftian roleplaying games.

In other news, Shane Ivey might possibly have had the best Christmas of us all.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Finally, a bit of seasonal poetry from HPL himself:

Festival

by H.P. Lovecraft

There is snow on the ground,
And the valleys are cold,
And a midnight profound
Blackly squats o’er the wold;
But a light on the hilltops half-seen hints of feastings unhallow’d and old.

There is death in the clouds,
There is fear in the night,
For the dead in their shrouds
Hail the sun’s turning flight,
And chant wild in the woods as they dance round a Yule-altar fungous and white.

To no gale of earth’s kind
Sways the forest of oak,
Where the sick boughs entwin’d
By mad mistletoes choke,
For these pow’rs are the pow’rs of the dark, from the graves of the lost Druid-folk.

And mayst thou to such deeds
Be an abbot and priest,
Singing cannibal greeds
At each devil-wrought feast,
And to all the incredulous world shewing dimly the sign of the beast.

More GenCon – the Delta Green scenario panel and KaRTAS post- Con show

The Unspeakable Oath podcast have released a recording of their second panel – the topic this time is scenarios, specifically creating those for Delta Green, but I think the comments and advice the panel* gives is of use to anyone writing their own material regardless of era or even game system.  Tragically the portion of the program dedicated to discuss the genius of my writing was cut off, just before they began discussing them, I heartily encourage you to give it a listen, even if it is just for Ken Hite’s fragmentary tale of a ruined riverboat casino.

*Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy, Ken Hite, Shane Ivey, and Greg Stotze.  A real who’s who of CoC gaming (and beyond).

Ken Hite returns on the latest episode of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff to discuss, with Robin Laws, their experience at GenCon 2014 and, especially, about their various awards.

Finally, on a personal note, my print copies of The Unspeakable Oath #24 has finally arrived.  Woot!

..

Metal Kings, New Orleans’ Beasts, and a 124 year old man

We’ve got a lot to cover today… First two new releases-

Cthulhu Reborn has unleashed The Machine King, a free Gaslight and Dreamlands scenario by Geoff Gillan.

Meanwhile Golden Goblin Press have released (to Kickstarter backers of Tales of the Crescent City only) The Black Goat of New Orleans, developed by New Orleans Mythos.

Gen Con is over and there are various after-action reports:

Speaking of Mr. Ivey, I’d like to note that, as per usual, I’ve been sent my payment for two pieces in the latest issue of the The Unspeakable Oath.  Arc Dream continues to be the most prompt-paying company I’ve written for.  Thanks!

A poster by Daniel Spitzer

Finally, today marks (among other things) two different anniversaries.  It is the 124th birthday of H.P. Lovecraft, without whom this blog would not exist. Here are few folks doing likewise:

I am of two mind about old Grandpa Howie.  On one hand he was a uniquely creative writer, synthesizing earlier horror writing with new fears and terrors of the 20th century, spawning not just the Cthulhu Mythos, but a community to foster his nightmare imaginings even after his death.  At the same time he was, even for his era, a racist and bigot, and wrote some pretty terrible things that we cannot wish away no matter to what degree these views may have softened or changed as he aged.  I think it is fitting, when we recall his good qualities we must also temper it by acknowledging his worst ones.   Today I think it best I have a small dish of ice cream (sorry, no beans and toast, my fandom only goes so far), think of HPL, and make a small donation in his name to a charity he would likely have despised.

Unspeakable Oath subscriber drive and more

As ever, as soon as I post some Lovecraftian RPG news, there’s even more to share…

  • The Good Friends of Jackson Elias have released their 7th episode, this time talking about how they discovered both Call of Cthulhu and Lovecraft himself.
  • NecronomiCon have opening up their (somewhat disappointingly small) gaming registration.  I’m running two games on Saturday the 24th.  Hopefully I can make time to play something on one of the other days…
  • ENnie Award Voting is still open through the 29th.  Vote now for the many wonderful Lovecraftian products of the past year.  If you don’t vote, you risk being eaten by a Yugg.
  • Shane Ivey at Arc Dream has announced a subscriber drive for the Unspeakable Oath.  I’m a big fan of the Oath (and not just because they publish my work) and hope that anyone reading this blog who isn’t already a subscriber to the Oath will become one.  Tell them ‘Tomes in Progress’ sent you.  Don’t make Hecubus angry.
  • Finally, I’ve just about wrapped up work on the Arkham Gazette.  Look for it very soon.

News update

I’ve got a couple of news items that I wanted to share.  Excuse my brevity, I’m still neck deep in assorted projects and need to get cracking before sleep overtakes me (or I give in to my dark addiction to playing “just a couple more minutes” of Fall Out: New Vegas… and fall asleep doing it,again.

  • There is a new episode of the Miskatonic University podcast – their guest this time is Mike Mason (of 7th Ed. CoC fame).  They also have a news recap, talk about their favorite Lovecraftian films, and reveal some of the secrets of hopping Indonesian zombies .  Yes, hopping zombies.  No, they are not a zombie with pop rocks around the rim.
  • Adam Crossingham has announced that Sixtystone Press is looking for playtesters for Colonial Lovecraft Country.  I’ve had the pleasure of reading Kevin Ross’ manuscript as well as several of the scenarios and I highly recommend it.
  • Did I mention Raiders of R’lyeh?
  • Do you want to listen to Dan Harm’s talk at Treadwells in London from a few months back?  You can now!
  • Shane Ivey has started posting notes from his playtest of the Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man.
  • I’ve sent out a draft of the Arkham Gazette Issue 0 to a proofreader.  Huzzah!  It should be done soon (fingers crossed).

How many synonyms for ‘potpouri’ are there?

No earth-shattering news, but since it has been about a week since my last update, I figured it was time to post my meager bits of new information:

  • I have continued to add and expand the Massachusetts Graveyards page; in addition to expanded notes about resources I’ve also continued to enlarge my listing of sites for Middlesex County. I’m now up through the Ns.
  • I managed, for the first time in a long time, to get to the library and do a little research. I found a copy of Inscriptions from Burial Grounds of the Nashsway Towns, which is a compilation from Lancaster and all its ‘daughter’ towns, which includes portion of gravestone inscriptions, some cemetery information, a little on some local gravestone carvers, and whatever the local historical society saw fit to include.  It is very helpful in those cases where they saw fit to include information about the history of a town’s graveyards (like for Sterling).  Still, it is odd when local historians overlook facts I’ve learned elsewhere (Lancaster’s cemetery list omits one family plot, Harvard’s records neglect the burials at the Still River church… for example)
  • There has been an update from Thomas Phinney regarding Cristoforo, including a spiffy contributor only limited preview.  I must confess I had the pleasure of playing around with seeing a few of my titles up in ‘Cthulhu font’.  Looking forward to seeing the finished version in the fall.
  • It looks like Goodman games has another Cthulhu release in the works – The Timeless Sands of India.  I would normally not mention yet-to-be-released products (though there have been so few of late) but the author, Jon Hook, and the editor, Matthew Pook, were contributors to the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion, so plugging their book is the least I can do. {For the record Jon did the layout for our pre-gens, while Mr. Pook wrote, edited, and provided much moral support}.  Also, India is a seriously neglected corner of the world when it comes to Cthulhu gaming (a few brief sections of Spawn of Azathoth and Tatters of the King aside… and Mysteries of the Raj, a book I’ve not read) so anything set in the subcontinent is going to garner my interest.
  • Voting for the ENnies is going on now.  Call and Trail of Cthulhu are well represented; give them some love, yes?
  • LATE DEVELOPMENT: Shane Ivey is now reporting reception of our psychic emanations!  Behold: “Did I hear that correctly in the whispers the night brought me?”  Keep up the meditative focus people (and people-like entities)!

Hello Albania!

Isn’t he adorable?

Assorted news of a most propitious sort! Take it away Manservant Hecubus!

  • As previously mentioned, all the proof-readers have returned their sections of the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion.  I will have more news once I have heard back from Adam Crossingham about how things are progressing.
  • After having someone actually commenting on my page about Massachsuetts graveyards, I have updated my annotated list of sources, including useful books and websites.  Give it a look.  I hope to find the time to visit the remaining graveyards of Worcester County – Royalston, here we come?
  • Our psychic efforts to attract the attention of the Unspeakable Oath gang have succeeded!  I  received an email from Shane Ivey… regarding another matter, but still… and he, no doubt feeling the untold psionic pressure of my readership, said that they’d try to get another episode finished soon, by Gencon at the latest.  Huzzah!
  • In totally unrelated news, I might have something in the next issue of the Unspeakable Oath.
  • Finally, I would like to welcome our first reader from Albania.  Përshëndetje! Na vjen keq për Hoxhën!