Miskatonic University Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode Keepers Dave and Bridgett continue our 5-part series where we travel on a Miskatonic Country Roadtrip! Next stop? Arkham! Patreon Plug & Update We have new and updated Patreon tiers and benefits. If you would like to support the podcast and engage with other backers, please consider backing.  So yes – please back us on 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! Thank you to everyone who has updated their levels and is engaging with our new tiers. We’re so thankful for all of you. Who we regularly see on… The Discord Plug 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. Link in the show notes: MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you to our editor Gene for editing this episode. Bridgett's Pet Pick Shout Out Oh man! The adventures of J Zahler on our pet pics Discord channel began with trying to coax a few feral neighborhood cats to eat food from his porch stoop, to him raising kittens! Check out the show notes to see these little babies as they begin to open their eyes! Main Topic Welcome to the second stop on our Miskatonic Country Roadtrip– Arkham! This series on Miskatonic Country is focused on finding new and interesting ways to make the part-fiction, part-fact region more gameable and fun, for Keepers new and veteran! 

This episode Keeper Dave and guest host Bret Kramer begin our 5-part series where we travel on a Miskatonic Country Roadtrip! First stop? Kingsport!  Patreon Plug & Update We have new and updated Patreon tiers and benefits. If you would like to support the podcast and engage with other backers, please consider backing.  So yes - please back us on 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! Thank you to everyone who has updated their levels and is engaging with our new tiers. We’re so thankful for all of you. Who we regularly see on… The Discord Plug 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. Link in the show notes: MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you to our editor Equinox for editing this episode. Main Topic Welcome to the first stop on our Miskatonic Country Roadtrip– Kingsport! This series on Miskatonic Country is focused on finding new and interesting ways to make the part-fiction, part-fact region more gameable and fun, for Keepers new and veteran!  And thank you to our Tour Guide, Bret Kramer, for taking us to Kingsport.

This episode, Keepers Dave & Bridgett are joined by Lauren Bryant-Monk and Kienna Shaw, curators of the TTRPG Safety Toolkit! We discuss safety tools-- what they are, what they aren't, how to use them, and how to protect and elevate your gaming experiences! Patreon Plug & Update 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! The Discord Plug 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. Link in the show notes: MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you to our editor Equinox for editing this episode.  Main Topic --  Welcome to our new curriculum “GM Like a Pro.” Over this series of episodes we will bring you a solid set of tools you can use to up your game mastering and expand both your skills as well as strengthen your table and all of your players.  Tonight is session five “How to Use Safety Tools.” Additional links! https://ttrpgsafetytoolkit.com/https://kiennas.com/ https://www.starvingsoubrette.com/

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

This Episode Keepers Murph, Dave, and Bridgett sit down with fellow podcaster and all around rockstar, Becca Scott, to discuss Call of Cthulhu, The Calyx, working as an actress in Los Angeles, GM Burnout, and more! NO Campus Crier With an episode this energetic and thoughtful, the Keepers have decided to skip the Campus Crier! Stay tuned next episode for the next Campus Crier. 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.  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! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store!  Thanks so much for backing the show!! Main Topic Interview with Becca Scott! Tonight we have a special guest, a woman that hardly needs an introduction. She is an actor, a podcaster, she was Sophie Gray in South Park... but most importantly for us, she is the Producer and sometimes GM of The Calyx Call of Cthulhu live play from Good Time Society on Youtube. It’s Becca Scott! Welcome Becca! Good Times Society on Twitter and YouTube Good Time Society The Calyx - Call of Cthulhu RPG Anthology Series on You Tube All of her links here: @goodtimesociety  We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By Twitter: @MU_Podcast Discord server invite link https://discord.gg/up4hRX

This Episode Keepers Bridgett, Murph and Dave sit down with friend of the show and fellow podcaster Paul Baldowski to discuss The Dee Sanction and Cthulhu Hack. 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 10, 2021. Deadline reports that handsome master of flies and chaos theory Jeff Goldblum will be joining the D&D podcast Dark Dice. Why can’t we get him as our fourth host? Friends of the show Dean Englehart and Jo Kreil’s Apocthulhu book, featuring a great scenario by other friend of the show Chad Bowser, have released Chad’s scenario Amber Waves on Roll20 for a pittance! A pittance I say! $4.99 for the entire scenario, including all the text, background, maps, and pre-gens. Really this is a steal. Fellow gamer Adam has run this a few times and it’s a fantastic world that could easily move beyond just this scenario, and this price is a steal for it.  Gosh, there was something else that happened in the world of Call of Cthulhu gaming this last week… What was it… oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh The Discord Plug Dave - We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming fans.  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! Thank you backers! We have three new Backers we need to mention! I am Tigers - which is possibly the best Patreon handle everDj Shadow PenguinKeeper Doc And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store!  Thanks so much for backing the show!! Main Topic Interview with Paul Baldowski, author of The Dee Sanction and The Cthulhu Hack

Campus Crier First things first. You might think that we have two guests on the show, but you would be mistaken! Bridgett Jefferies has agreed to co-host MUP with us on a trial basis to see how she likes it! So let's give her a heart welcome! New Comet Games has released their latest Kickstarter, Corsairs of Cthulhu! It’s pirates versus tentacles on the high seas! As of the time of recording they have completely funded with more than 28 days left on the campaign. So to Ben Burns and the crew over at New Comet Games. Congratulations!  Friend of the show and all around brilliant artist Pat Long, aka SpiderQueenLong as she’s known on our Discord server, is one of the creative people behind “ChangedStars a Feminist Scifi roleplaying game set in a more hopeful future with some serious hurdles still ahead.”  The Kickstarter went live, or will go live, on the 27th of April. If you haven’t seen Pat’s amazing inked art then you are in for a treat, it bleeds classic sci-fi. You can pick up a PDF of the game for $15 and $40 will get you a hardback. As always we have links and in this instance, art in the show notes. The Shadow of Cthulhu is an art Kickstarter that is from Bryan Fyffe, an all around amazing artist, that is a friend of Former Keeper Jon ;) and is a Disney artist. His campaign has a plethora of small and large art pieces of varying medium, from paper, to sculpture, to framed prints. The campaign has already been funded. Another Kickstarter that has already funded but that you might be interested in is The Bleakness. Billed as an “... uniquely immersive horror experience. Players assume the role of pilgrims, struggling to survive on an ancient road fraught with danger and mysteries. The Bleakness is a system, campaign setting, and detailed adventure arc bound in one text [with] gritty survival mechanics and the threat of the unknown [to] create a high-tension game like no other. There is still 1 day left on the Academies of the Arcane Troika! Kickstarter from Melsonian Arts Council. The book “is a comprehensive toolkit—it will work as well with any game where you might need magical schools, students possessing horrifying cosmic powers, and manipulative and petty faculty members.” I’ve backed this, because Troika!, and I think it might be an interesting drop-in to combine with the PowerWord zine that should be coming soon and some of the other little indie rpgs that I have, like Dee Sanction. Cthulhu in the Deep South is a shifting POV historical fiction podcast series that starts in the Antebellum South and continues through the Civil War and into  Reconstruction. They've just launched Book 5 which is about a carpetbagger getting mixed up in some cosmic horror. Our own Keeper Murph will be a guest on their interview feed on the 1st, but no idea when that will actually drop as of this recording, since it is in the future, but we are in the past. Timeslip problems... 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 Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming fans.  MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you beaucoup to Murph for editing this episode. Patreon 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! Thank you backers! We have two new Backers that we need to mention! Arjen Poutsma Al Smith! Al is a phenomenal person and an incredible GM. He’s in a bunch of horror communities and runs games often. So, if you see him running games, you won’t be disappointed to sit at his table.   And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store!  Thanks so much for backing the show!! Main Topic Running Long Campaigns and podcasting Diversity and Belonging at the RPG table and podcast

Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on April 12, 2021.  Chaosium has just re-released two of their most famous campaigns in brand new hard covers. Beyond the Mountains of Madness and Horror on the Orient Express are both now available from the Chaosium website. Both campaigns have a new layout in the easier to read two-column format, but have not been updated to 7th Ed. rules. We have links as always in the show notes. https://www.chaosium.com/beyond-the-mountains-of-madness-hardcover/ https://www.chaosium.com/horror-on-the-orient-express-2-volume-set/ Dune the RPG is available for pre-order https://www.modiphius.net/pages/discover-dune-roleplaying-game 1d4 Con is a one day virtual con for charity https://1d4con.com/ https://tabletop.events/conventions/1d4con-2021-one-day-virtual-event/schedule#?query= Card Catalog This episode we have a card catalog that goes along with Keeper Dave’s imminent running of Bookhounds of San Francisco nee London, from Ibis on the Discord channel. It is an article about a gang of “acrobatic book thieves” that pulled off a series of daring heists, and how they were eventually captured by law enforcement officials from across Europe.  The parallels between this and any Tome-driven scenario, such as Bookhounds, is easy to see. 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 Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming fans.  MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you beaucoup to Murph for editing this episode. Patreon 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! Thank you backers! And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store!  Thanks so much for backing the show!! Main Topic Bridgett and Carousel of FearsGnome Stew articleSymphony Entertainment https://www.symphonyentertainment.com/

Campus Crier The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on March 25th, 2021.   Modophius has rereleased Achtung! Cthulhu using their own in house 2d20 system. You can pick up the Player’s Guide for 30 pounds, and the Game Master’s Guide for 40 at their website. Free League has released the fifth title in their Chronicle of the Throne of Thorns campaign called Alberetor: The Haunted Waste and will send players far to the south of Davokar and into the Lost Kingdoms of the South. You can preorder it from their website for $43, and as always we have links in the show notes. Monte Cook has a new thing, and it’s… pretty fucking cool. The Darkest House is something totally different for online play. I’ve downloaded the demo and it’s… I’m not saying it’s a game changer, but it’s trying. Discord We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming fans.  MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  And thank you beaucoup to Edwin for editing this episode. Patreon 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!  Main Topic This episode we decided to do another Bestiary, but at the behest of our guest, that we will meet momentarily, we decided to imagine a beast pulled from the works of Hieronymus Bosch!  So after a year and a half we finally found him living in a cave made of scrolls from Babylon and Ancient Greece nestled in the bowels of the History Department’s archives, Please welcome Dr. Gerard. HyperLab Omni - www.hyperlabomni.com http://nathanmoody.bandcamp.com Chad -- Tree Man with Boat Shoes, from the Hell panel of the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. Murph -- For my beast I choose the female bird demon from the Hell side of The Garden of Earthly Delights, specifically the blue little bugger sitting on the high privy chair eating people, and shitting out their souls in the pit of Hell. Dave -- Tondal’s Vision has everything… everything. But I want to talk about the round guy with the trumpet nose… and the doll with the empty eyes and coins coming out of it?

This episode Keepers Murph and Dave talk about the future of the podcast, and answer some remaining questions from listeners from episode 220. Campus Crier Some Chaosium titles have been shortlisted for the 2020 Prix Rôliste Prize! Runequest has been nominated for Best Interior Art & Design and Berlin The Wicked City has been nominated for Best Cover Art! Congratulations to Chaosium! You can find out how to vote in this the French equivalent of the ENNies from the link in the show notes. Fresh news from Free League! Alien and Forbidden Lands are now available over on The Foundry VTT! So if that is your virtual tabletop of choice you can make use of it. In case you are not on the Discord, you might have missed a neat little video clip of a rouge-like video game I posted called Worship. Well it's now on Kickstarter!  Here’s something you don’t see every day. SF/Fantasy RPG set in a world where the Americas were never colonized. It’s called Coyote and Crow and you should back it now.  Another really interesting KS coming out now is Remarkable Cults and Their Followers, a system-neutral source for GM’s to add in cults and nefarious groups to your fantasy games. Sponsor We want to thank Noble Knight Games for returning to sponsor our show. Noble Knight Games has just completed a major revamp of their website! The new site was designed after collecting lots of customer feedback, and the result is a site that’s cleaner, prettier, easier to navigate with improved search functionality. Be sure to check out the Publisher’s Spotlight section, too. Check it out at www.nobleknight.com.  In addition to games and game books, Noble Knight Games also has a wide range of dice, paints, and game supplies. They’ve got Army Painter primer, Citadel paints, dice, token trays, and tons of other supplies to pimp-out your games.  And just for listeners of our show, Noble Knight has a discount code you can use at checkout. Enter the Gift Card code of CHILLS for 10% off any order of $10 or more. This insane discount is valid from now until March 31, 2021!  And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store! We have a brand new Elder Mic design from friend of the show Diana McKenzie! It’s a really crazy morphing of an old on-air mic and an Elder Thing! We’ll be adding in more designs in the near future, so check back often. MUP Discord We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming fans.  MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D  MUP 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! Main Topic More questions from last episode... How does Murph think his War and Peace revisit might somehow inform his gaming? When will we get the French Murph episode? Where's my Alien episode? Is it easy or difficult to reach out to bring in potential guests for the show? Where do you see the show going moving forward? We are searching for a new host… or two! And please help us in figuring out what new backer rewards we should start offering for the show!