Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Episode 182: Much Like the Person In It

March 18, 2016 7:45 AM

Now that backers of our exciting and handsome Patreon campaign get priority access to pose questions for the show, we have a bunch of great questions in the hopper. So let's get to four of them in a special celebratory all-request episode.

In the Gaming Hut Paul Stefko asks us for tips on running games set in artificial realities.

Drew Clowery takes us into the History Hut for a look at the Know Nothings.

Ask Ken and Robin features a Scott Bennett question on keeping a fresh attitude toward older projects.

And finally Steven Hammond revs up Ken’s Time Machine to ask why our sagacious time hero hid a door in King Tut’s tomb from Howard Carter.

posted by graymouser (3 comments total)

The artificial reality idea in the Gaming Hut seemed like it was going to be a bum segment until they started talking about "Normal Again" and some of the ways that this could be used as a one-shot game setup. Then it really fired up, and I think put forward some very clever ideas about doing a game. Excellent stuff.

I loved how the Know Nothing segment just seemed like a magician's scarf of oddities, going from secret societies to the objection to Vatican marble to Millard Fillmore. Ken and/or Robin should probably think about writing a game set in the weirdest version of the 19th century imaginable (the kind of thing that would make steampunk seem bland by comparison).

The fresh attitude segment was blah. Sorry, can't win 'em all. The idea that all an RPG needs is a shiny new set of rules has been the root of a lot of crappy RPG reboots.

King Tut's tomb was fun as it should be. I loved the whole thing with the Pharaoh's Curse. I would've appreciated some kind of interesting ancient-magic part of the reason why the doors were hidden, but that can be tacked on. Also, Akhenaten simply having been an alien is great.

Solid episode, 3 out of 4 segments did something for me.
posted by graymouser at 8:19 AM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Agreed that they managed what seemed to me to be an unpromising premise into something potentially interesting with the Gaming Hut stuff.

The Know-Nothing segment was one of the things they do best. Have either of them used the word KARTASian before? I don't recall it. (I was a little irritated about Ken trying to imply a false equivalency between Republican and Democratic "anti-immigrant" policy..)

Did either of them say anything like "all an RPG needs is a shiny new set of rules"?
posted by Zed at 7:22 PM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

It wouldn't be the full KARTAS experience without Ken making at least one political remark that makes Robin go a little bit quiet.
posted by howfar at 1:38 AM on March 22, 2016 [1 favorite]