Paul Fricker

The ocean and its horrors play a huge role in Lovecraft’s fiction and, by extension, in Call of Cthulhu. With entities such as Cthulhu, Dagon and the Deep Ones, and locations like R’lyeh and Y’ha-nthlei, Lovecraft placed many of his most memorable creations deep below the waves. So how can we make use of the ocean in Call of Cthulhu? What inspiration can we take from nature and folklore? And what memorable scenarios are there that use the ocean as their setting? News Paul at Chaosium Con 2024 Paul will be attending Chaosium Con 2024 in Michigan between 18-24 April. Do stop by the Chaosium stand and say hi. There will also be a large contingent from Ain’t Slayed Nobody attending, so please say howdy to them too.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2024/03/12/robert-bloch-and-the-cthulhu-mythos/ Following last episode’s discussion of Psycho, we’re exploring the life and work of its creator, Robert Bloch. While Bloch is best remembered for the way he fused crime fiction and horror into a new genre, he was also a member of the original Lovecraft Circle. We look at Bloch’s unlikely friendship with HP Lovecraft and how it shaped his career, as well as offering a quick overview of Bloch’s contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos. Matt at Concrete Cow Matt will be at Concrete Cow 24. This is the one-day gaming convention organised my our good friends at MK-RPG. It will take place at the Old Bath House in Wolverton, on Saturday the 16th of March. Doors open at 9:00 and the first games begin at 10:00. Thanks For A Weekend With Good Friends A Weekend With Good Friends 2024 has wrapped up. This is the online gaming convention organised by our lovely listeners, taking place on the Good Friends Discord server. We take this opportunity to thank everyone who made the convention happen. The organisers, Bence, Chris, Martin, and PT, put in a heroic amount of work to make sure everything ran smoothly. David and Miranda organised the panels, covering everything from finding panellists and topics to moderating most of them and handling the streaming. The server moderators, especially Rina, Mike and Nate, dealt with tickets, wrangling players and GMs throughout the weekend. Thank you so much to all of you! And, of course, thank you to everyone who attended, ran games, and took part in panels. This couldn’t have happened without you. If you missed any of the excellent panels, you can find them all on YouTube.

Once again, we’re examining a subgenre of horror, trying to pick out the main tropes and work out how they might influence our games of Call of Cthulhu. In previous episodes, we’ve turned our attention to ghost stories, body horror, survival horror, cosmic horror and Gothic horror. Now it’s the turn of psychological horror to lie on the analyst’s couch and tell us its darkest secrets. A Weekend With Good Friends GM signups are now open for A Weekend With Good Friends and will remain so until the end of day on the 8th of February. There is always plenty of demand, so you should be guaranteed players if you submit any games. A Weekend With Good Friends is the online gaming convention organised by our lovely listeners, taking place on the Good Friends Discord server between 1-3 March 2024. Key dates are: Thursday 25th January – Thursday 8th February – GM signups Thursday 15th February – Thursday 22nd February – Player signups Monday 26th February – Lottery results announced Friday 1st March – Sunday 3rd March – A Weekend With Good Friends We hope to see you there!

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2024/01/16/the-ghost-of-listener-suggestions/ Back in late 2022, we used Discord and Twitter to ask our listeners what kinds of things they’d like to hear us discuss. The response was overwhelming and we ended up with a massive list of possible topics. Although these suggestions were exceptional, there are a good number we’d struggle to turn into complete episodes. Rather than ignore these, we’ve decided to go through the replies and see what we can address succinctly. We started going through these suggestions in a few earlier episodes, but we barely scratched the surface. Here, we delve into several more topics, including Nope, UFO abductions in horror, recommendations of Mythos fiction, different modes of horror GMing, and what constitutes a cheap scare. Thank you to James Mullen, Abe Hughes, Victor and Ryan Finn for the topics we discuss in this episode. Please do let us know if you have any suggestions of your own.

And here's part 5 of our discussion of Shadow over Innsmouth: This is the fifth part of our multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. Last time, we followed Robert Olmstead’s increasingly frantic departure from the town of Innsmouth. This episode, we reach the end of the story. Olmstead now has time to process what he has seen and learnt. Of course, in true Lovecraftian fashion, that just makes things worse. Or does it? Strap yourself in for an extended debate about just what that ending means. We’ll be back next time to wrap up our analysis of the story and to pick the bones for some gaming meat. The Blasphemous Tome Issue 11 You have until the end of December 2023 to secure your copy of the latest issue of The Blasphemous Tome. Patreon backers at the $5 level or higher will receive a print copy, signed by our own gnarled hands. This issue features “Blackshade”, a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario written by Scott Dorward. Christmas Story Reading on the Good Friends Discord Once again, Mike Perceval-Maxwell of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories is organising a Christmas ghost story reading on the Good Friends Discord server. You may have heard our earlier performances of “A Christmas Carol”, “The Canterville Ghost” and “The Viy”. This year, we are reading “Told After Supper” by Jerome K Jerome. Please join us if you can for the live readings at 22:30 GMT on the 18th, 19th and 20th of December. If you can’t make those, however, don’t worry! We also plan to record each reading and release them as special episodes on the Good Friends podcast feed. Paul at Grogmeet Paul attended Grogmeet 2023, where he played Paranoia, Vaesen and Dragonbane, and ran a new Call of Cthulhu scenario called “A Dark Age”. Thanks to Dirk and Blythy of The Grognard Files for organising the convention. Panels From the Illusion Horror Con 2023 Matt and Scott appeared on a number of panels at the latest Illusion Horror Con. These were all recorded and are now available on YouTube. Check out the links below. Designing Compelling Villains Horror Podcasting Exploring the Subgenres of Horror RPGs

The Shadow Over Innsmouth part 4 This is the fourth part of our multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. Last time, we had a long, drunken chat with Zadok Allen, down by the docks. Now, we’re almost ready to catch the last bus out of town. This time, we reach the action-packed part of the story. Lovecraft isn’t known for his action scenes, but the chase sequence in “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” stands out in this respect. We break down Robert Olmstead’s attempt to flee Innsmouth and its inhabitants, finding plenty of gaming inspiration along the way. Links Things we mention in this episode include: The New Annotated HP Lovecraft, edited by Leslie Klinger Franklyn Expedition Shaun of the Dead (2004) Covered bridges “Tam O’ Shanter” by Robert Burns Quatermass and the Pit (1967) Saraband Malleus Monstrorum Tam O’ Shanter News Paul at Dragonmeet Paul will be at Dragonmeet 2023, on Saturday the 2nd of December. While he’s not sure about seminars or other events yet, you will be able to find him on the Chaosium stall. Do drop by and say hi. Matt and Scott at Illusion Horror Con Meanwhile, both Matt and Scott will be attending the Illusion Horror Con. This is an online convention devoted to horror RPGs. While the main focus is Kult, there will be all sorts of games going on over the weekend. Scott and Matt will also be appearing on a number of panels. Check the convention website for times and details Paul Doing Push-Ups for Charity Paul is raising money for Cancer Research UK by doing 100 push-ups every day throughout November. Please see his fundraising page for full details and give generously! Christmas Card and Tome If you are a Patreon backer of the podcast, at the $3 or above, please check your mailing address. We are almost ready to send out this year’s Christmas cards. Backers at the $5 level or higher will also receive a print copy of issue 11 of The Blasphemous Tome. This issue features “Blackshade”, a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario by our own Scott Dorward.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/11/07/the-shadow-over-innsmouth-part-3/ Part 3 out now. This is the third part of our multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. Last time, we jumped on Joe Sargent’s bus, made the journey to Innsmouth, and bought some cheese crackers. Now, in chapter 3 of the story, we finally meet Zadok Allen for one hell of an episode of Drunk History. Sure, this chapter is mostly exposition, but it’s written in such strong dialect that you’ll hardly notice. News Matt and Paul at The Innsmouth Literary Festival Paul and Matt attended the Innsmouth Literary Festival back at the end of September, and they share some of the highlights in this episode. These included film screenings from Chris Lackey and Greig Johnson, and a live performance by Lovecraftian metal band Arkham Witch. Paul Joins Chaosium Paul has moved from being a freelancer to taking up a staff position at Chaosium, where he is now an Associate editor, mostly working on Call of Cthulhu. Read the full article on the Chaosium Blog.

Second part out now This is the second part of our multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. Last time, we explored the origins of the story and then joined Robert Olmstead for a quick tour of Newburyport. Now, moving into chapter 2 of the story, we catch Joe Sargent’s bus from Newburyport, travel across the bleak seaside landscape, and then enjoy the faded grandeur of Innsmouth’s buildings. Come for the salt marshes, stay for the extended discussion of roof architecture! News Paul at Grogmeet Paul will be attending Grogmeet 2023 at Fanboy 3 in Manchester, between the 10th and 12th of November. Eldritch Stories Paul reads Porch Pirate, a story by Mike Mason on Mason and Fricker's Eldritch Stories. Also, Mike and Paul chat about various topics in Eldritch Extras - wherein Paul reads aloud from a blasphemous tome! Look out for a new story from Paul on Thursday. Scott Livestreaming at Symphony Entertainment Scott will be joining our good friends Bridgett Jeffries and Graham Walmsley over at Symphony Entertainment for a short livestream on the 1st of November. The stream will begin at 3 PM EDT/7PM GMT and run for around one hour. Two New Arcs on Ain’t Slayed Nobody Scott has also appeared in two new arcs over at Ain’t Slayed Nobody. “Eclipse of the Heart”, written and run by Rina Haenze, is now out in its entirety. This bloody romp through an ’80s high school prom features Camille Brouard, Kathryn Edmonds, cuppycup, and Scott. Cuppycup and Scott also appear in “The Waking Children”, alongside Bridgett Jeffries and Nic Rosenberg. This is a mini-arc written and run by Malevolent creator Harlan Guthrie, which will be released weekly on the ASN feed, starting from the 24th of October.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/10/10/the-shadow-over-innsmouth-part-1/ This is the first instalment of a multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. It is a dive so deep it goes all the way down to Y’ha-nthlei. While “The Call of Cthulhu” gets all the name recognition, it’s fair to say that “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” is Lovecraft’s most influential story. It has spawned countless sequels, adaptations and imitations over the 90+ years since its first publication, and these show no sign of slowing down. More importantly for our purposes, Innsmouth and its ichthyic, batrachian residents are at the centre of a staggering number of Call of Cthulhu scenarios. This time, however, we start off by looking into the origins and influences behind this tale, then pick through the first chapter of the story, looking for gaming inspiration. News Apocalypse Grizzlies Scott recently joined the Apocalypse Players over at Grizzly Peaks Radio for a special series of crossover episodes, playing “Secret of Castronegro” from The Cthulhu Companion. Expect shenanigans! More Eldritch Stories Paul and Mike Mason have put out another batch of Eldritch Stories. You can find them anywhere you might find podcasts, or over at eldritchstories.com. Scott on Tear Them Apart Scott recently joined Paul Yellovich and Evan Dorkin for a livestream of the Tear Them Apart podcast, discussing all manner of horror films and how they relate to RPGs. You can watch the video below. Paul on Innsmouth Book Club Paul recently appeared on Episode 72 of the Innsmouth Book Club podcast, where he was joined by Mark Griffin from 30 Minutes+ With HPL.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/09/26/glorious/ Following last episode’s discussion of Ghatanothoa (and Yig, but let’s not worry about him for now), we’re talking about one of his rare appearances in media. Glorious presents an unusual and creative take on the Cthulhu Mythos. So unusual, in fact, that Matt spends much of this episode protesting its crimes against canon. It also takes place almost entirely in a rest stop bathroom, unlike most horror films. Glorious is a 2022 American horror film from director Rebekah McKendry, starring Ryan Kwanten and JK Simmons. While it’s a low-budget affair, it rarely looks cheap, mainly thanks to its small cast and limited use of locations. As ever with these media discussions, we pick apart every aspect of the story in our quest for gaming inspiration. Do watch Glorious before listening to avoid being spoiled. If you want to get some idea of what you’re getting yourself into first, you could always read Scott’s review from last year’s October Horror Movie Challenge.

This episode is our latest exploration of the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have devoted previous episodes to Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, Cthulhu, Daoloth and Eihort, Gla’aki, Y’golonac, Tsathoggua, Atlach-Nacha and Abhoth, and Cyäegha and Byatis. We’re turning back to Lovecraft himself in this episode, but Lovecraft as a collaborator. Well, it’s probably more accurate to call him a ghost writer with these stories, but we’ll be generous to his co-authors. The two deities we’re discussing — Yig and Ghatanothoa — both come from Lovecraft’s revisions. It wasn’t until the stories were collected that Lovecraft was even credited, however. Despite this, at least one of the deities has spawned many scenarios and stories, while the other has to be satisfied with hanging out behind a rest stop glory hole. But more about that next episode… News Paul at Gen Con Paul gives us a quick summary of his visit to Gen Con 2023, where he ran “Full Fathom Five” with You Too Can Cthulhu. He also mentions that Chaosium had the new Pendragon Starter Set on the stall, alongside Rivers of London. You can read more about that at his blog, The Frickerverse. Matt and Paul at the Innsmouth Literary Festival Matt and Paul will be attending the Innsmouth Literary Festival at the end of this month, running some games. The festival takes place on Saturday 30th September, between 10am – 5pm, at Kings House Conference Centre in Bedford. Tickets still available!

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/08/15/media-catch-up-books-3/ This episode is the latest in our ongoing series about the media we’ve been consuming recently and how they might influence our gaming lives. As ever, the selection is eclectic, taking in rats, horses, and a magical tattoo in which a horse might conceivably eat a rat for breakfast. 2023 Ennie Awards We were delighted to learn that How We Roll won the silver award for Best Podcast and Rivers of London won silver for Best Rules at the 2023 Ennie Awards. Thank you very much to everyone who voted for us!

As a belated coda to our discussions of Victorian Spiritualism, we thought we’d go through some contemporary accounts of Victorian séances, looking for inspiration. Our earlier discussions glossed over the details of what actually happens in a séance and how they differ from what we see in popular media. The truth turns out to be far weirder than any fiction. Our goal, as ever, is to offer inspiration for games. If you do decide to include a séance inspired by these accounts in one of your games, we’d love to hear about it! News Voting for ENnies Voting is now open for the 2023 ENnie Awards. A number of projects we are involved with are up for awards and we would love it if you considered voting for them. How We Roll is on the shortlist for Best Podcast. Rivers of London has been nominated for Best Rules and Product of the Year. And Chaosium is up for Best Publisher. Paul at Gen Con 2023 Paul will be at Gen Con in August. You can see him on the panel about Horror on the Tabletop. He will also be running what he has dubbed “Full Fathom Five-Point-Five” with You Too Can Cthulhu, riffing on his Miskatonic Repository scenario “Full Fathom Five”. Back Issues of the Tome All back issues of The Blasphemous Tome are now available as PDF downloads for our Patreon backers. This is the fanzine that we produce for our backers, which largely existed only in physical form until recently. Each issue contains a full scenario written by the Good Friends. Anyone backing us at any level on Patreon can now download the entire back catalogue as PDFs. People backing us at the $3 tier or higher before the end of July can also get a discount voucher for a print-on-demand copy of issue 6. For latest details on getting all issues of the tome: Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $3+ backers (June 2023) or Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $1 backers (July 2023) A Weekend With Good Friends The most recent Weekend With Good Friends wrapped up just over a week ago. This is the convention organised by our lovely listeners, and which takes place on the Good Friends’ Discord server. We would like to thank Chris, Martin and Bence, the convention organisers, for all the amazing work they put in to make the convention happen. Thank you as well to all the convention staff for keeping the convention running smoothly throughout. And thank you to everyone who attended! This was also the first Weekend With Good Friends to feature panels. Thank to David for organising them and watching over all eleven of them throughout the weekend! And thank you to all the panellists who joined us for the weekend. The panels were all recorded and are now available on YouTube. Mason and Fricker’s Eldritch Stories Paul and Mike Mason have a new podcast, called Mason and Fricker’s Eldritch Stories. You can find out all about it at their website.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/07/04/the-hounds-of-tindalos-by-frank-belknap-long/ Following on from our time travel episodes, we thought we should find an example of how these tropes have been used in the Cthulhu Mythos. Happily, Frank Belknap Long’s seminal story, “The Hounds of Tindalos”, is about as good an example as we could ask for. As well as showing us a very genre-appropriate method for exploring time, it introduces one of the weirdest and scariest antagonists in the Mythos. We explore the curves and angles of the story, and briefly discuss the life and works of Frank Belknap Long. In addition to his role as a core member of the Lovecraft Circle, Long has the distinction of being the first person after Lovecraft to write a Mythos story. But that was just a small part of a career that spanned over 70 years and multiple genres. News Paul in Bayt al Azif Issue 5 of Bayt al Azif includes an article by Paul in which he discusses his favourite beginner scenarios for Call of Cthulhu. Paul at Continuum Paul will be at the Continuum convention in Leicester later this month, running games and propping up the bar. Matt Interviews Matt recently spoke to our good friends over at Illusion Horror & Con about his scenario “Judgment”, as part of their Ask the Author series. He was also interviewed for issue 2 of Vaezine about the role of Gothic horror in Vaesen. A Weekend With Good Friends A Weekend With Good Friends starts this coming Friday, assuming you’re reading this shortly after the episode goes out. It runs between the 5th and 7th of July, around the clock. This is the online RPG convention organised by our lovely listeners and hosted on our Discord server. While the main source of information is said Discord server, we also have a web page with important details and links. Player signups have closed, but there will be pickup games running throughout the weekend. There are also a number of seminars about Call of Cthulhu and horror gaming. Check out our Discord server for more details.

And here is part 2: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2023/06/20/time-travel-in-call-of-cthulhu-part-2/ As we mentioned last episode, we ran out of time to discuss time. This means we’ve gone back to the discussion, delving into psychic time travel as well as different varieties of time loops. We also spend a bit of time (it’s really hard not to make jokes here) talking about the way time travel has been presented in Mythos fiction and the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The Blasphemous Tome issue 11 The next issue of The Blasphemous Tome will soon be ready to creep its way across the globe. This is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast. Issue 11 features a gorgeous full-colour cover from John Sumrow and a brand-new Call of Cthulhu scenario from our own Scott Dorward, titled “Blackshade”. Anyone backing us at the $5 level or higher will receive a print copy of the Tome, signed by our arthritic hands. For latest details on getting all issues of the tome: Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $3+ backers (June 2023) or Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $1 backers (June 2023) A Weekend With Good Friends Player signups for A Weekend With Good Friends will soon open! This is the online RPG convention organised by our lovely listeners and hosted on our Discord server. While the main source of information is said Discord server, we also have a web page with important details and links. We will update this as things progress. Don’t worry if you missed the cut-off for GM signups. There will be pickup games running throughout the weekend. The important dates are: Friday 2nd – Thursday 15th June — GM signups Friday 23rd – Thursday 29th June — Player signups Friday 30th June — allocation results announced Friday 7th – Sunday 9th July — AWWGF The Murder Shack and Blackshade on Ain’t Slayed Nobody A few years ago, Scott ran “The Murder Shack”, his scenario from issue 5b of The Blasphemous Tome, for our good friends over at Ain’t Slayed Nobody. Cuppycup has recently edited the audio and produced it as a podcast, with music, sound effects and voice acting for a key NPC role. You can hear the end product on ASN now. As if that weren’t enough, a recording of “Blackshade”, Scott’s scenario from issue 11, will be available on Ain’t Slayed Nobody next month. Watch your feed for more details. Sean F Smith Interview Following our recent episodes about Victorian Spiritualism, Scott interviewed Sean F Smith for a follow-up special. Sean is a stage magician and mentalist, with a lifelong interest in the techniques of fraudulent mediumship. The discussion goes into the psychology of trickery, along some history of how Spiritualism and stage magic evolved together in Victorian Britain. Scott on Bud & Griff’s RPG Creepshow Bud and Griff recently invited Scott onto their (relatively) new gaming podcast. As well as discussing horror gaming and podcasting, the duo asked Scott about his weirdest uncanny experience. This gave Scott the perfect opportunity to talk about that time he got roped into performing an exorcism. The episode will be released on their public feed this coming weekend.