Paul Fricker
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https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/05/28/the-carcosa-mythos-in-media-and-gaming/
We’re still blundering around in all this infernal mist. There is a sound of lapping water in the distance, but we’re more worried about the way these streets keep changing around us. You’d think someone would have compiled a street map of Carcosa, but no one even seems to be able to agree about what this place is. Let’s concentrate on getting our bearings and try to ignore that sound that’s not quite the laughter of children…
The Carcosa Mythos in Media and Gaming
We are continuing our in-depth look at The King in Yellow, the Carcosa Mythos and the horrors they have spawned. In previous episodes, we have discussed The King in Yellow and “The Yellow Sign”. This time, we’re focusing on how the Carcosa Mythos has been used by other writers, how it has been adapted for film and television, and what we can steal for our games.
In the course of our discussion, we mention a number of books, stories, TV programmes and games:
- The King in Yellow Tales by Joseph Pulver
- A Season in Carcosa, edited by Joseph Pulver
- Cassilda’s Song, edited by Joseph Pulver
- The Hastur Cycle, edited by Robert M Price
- Rehearsals for Oblivion, edited by Peter Worthy
- The Annihilation Score by Charles Stross
- Kevin Ross’ rendition of The Yellow Sign, used in Call of Cthulhu
- The Yellow KingRPG has another version of the Yellow Sign on the cover
- Sigh Co.’s Yellow Sign badge
- True Detective
- The “Yellow Sign” on the cover of the first edition of The King in Yellow— actually the monogram for the publisher, F Tennyson Neely
- “River of Night’s Dreaming” — an episode of the Showtime series, The Hunger
- The Yellow Sign film adaptation by Aaron Vanek, written by John Tynes
- The Yellow Sign webseries on YouTube
- Insylum by Dennis Detwiller
- Impossible Landscapesfor Delta Green (still in development)
- “The Repairer of Reputations” scenario by Robin Laws. Note: this is not found inOut of Space, despite what we might have said in this episode!
As part of the discussion, we also pick a few favourite Carcosa Mythos stories.
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Matt
- “Broadalbin” by John Tynes, from Rehearsals for Oblivion
- “Movie Night at Phil’s” by Don Webb, from A Season in Carcosa
- “Beyond the Banks of the River Seine” by Simon Strantzas, from A Season in Carcosa
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Scott
- “River of Night’s Dreaming” by Karl Edward Wagner, from The Hastur Cycle
- “More Light” by James Blish, from The Hastur Cycle
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Paul
- “Wishing Well” by Cody Goodfellow, from A Season in Carcosa
- “Suicide Watch” by Arinn Dembo, from Delta Green: Dark Theaters
Games
We also discuss how we might use specific elements of the Carcosa Mythos in our games, as well as brainstorming a few scenario seeds.News
UK Games Expo
If you are at UK Games Expo 2019 this weekend (31st of May to 2nd of June), do say hi to Matt and Paul. Both of them will be running games in the Cthulhu Masters tournament. Paul will also be joining our good friends from the Smart Party and Grognard Files podcasts for a seminar.
And speaking of the Smart Party… Paul recently joined Baz and Gaz for their 100th episode in which they offered a state-of-the-nation discussion about gaming.
A Parcel of Goodies
A fantastically generous listener — Stephen Vandevander — sent us a parcel of goodies. You can hear us unwrap it in the backer segment, along with coos and expressions of heartfelt gratitude. The package included such goodies as The House of the Octopus by Jason Colavito and a spiffy Cthulhu idol from Pacific Giftware. This latter artefact is now watching over our recording studio, bringing fresh madness to every new episode. Thank you very much, Stephen!
And finally, we were delighted to receive a new review from John Fiala, over on iTunes. These reviews sustain us emotionally and spiritually. If you feel moved to contribute to our wellbeing, or simply help others find our little corner of Carcosa, we would love it if you wrote a review wherever you download your podcasts.
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After two episodes about Robert W Chambers and The King in Yellow, we’re getting a little more specific. This episode takes an in-depth look at one of the foundational stories of the Carcosa Mythos. Along with “The Repairer of Reputations”, “The Mask” and “In the Court of the Dragon”, “The Yellow Sign” defines the building blocks of Chambers’ most famous creation. It not only expands on the Yellow Sign itself but tells us more of the play and the effect it has on those who read it.
https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/05/14/the-yellow-sign/
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Episode 158: Mythos Deities: Hastur (The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Podcast)
in Call of Cthulhu
Posted
We’re back and we’re taking a last look around Carcosa, wondering where all these tentacles came from. Robert W Chambers was more concerned with masks, moons and mists. Now there seem to be monsters everywhere and people are calling Hastur a god. Who is responsible for all this? Like everything relating to Carcosa, the answer is elusive and ambiguous.
Main Topic: Hastur
For the past few episodes, we’ve explored the Carcosa Mythos of Robert W Chambers. Its most famous elements — The King in Yellow, the Yellow Sign and Hastur — are usually seen as part of the Cthulhu Mythos, but we worked hard to keep these elements separate. Well, this is the episode in which we mash it all up again. Hail Hastur!
We go on a deep dive into the Lake of Hali, trying to understand just what Hastur is. Bierce created him as a benign god of shepherds. Chambers took the name and made him a star (or maybe a place, or a person…) Lovecraft mentioned the name in passing but never defined anything. Derleth turned Hastur back into a god, or at least a Great Old One. Lin Carter added the Chambers back into Derleth’s work. Call of Cthulhu added new layers of complexity and John Tynes tore it all down and wrote a new mythology. So where does that leave Hastur? And how did the King in Yellow become his avatar when there is no mention of this in Chambers, Lovecraft or Derleth?
Hastur is an unusual deity, even by the standards of the Mythos. The Malleus Monstorum lists a number of avatars with no real thematic connection. He is associated with a variety of creatures, some of which seem like odd choices. Beyond his connection to The King in Yellow, it can be difficult to know what to do with him. We spend the latter half of the episode coming up with ways we might use Hastur in our games.
Links
Some of the specific works we mention in this episode include:
Masks of Nyarlathotep Nominated for Origins Award
The Origins Awards will be announced on Saturday the 15th of June, shortly after this episode goes out. Masks of Nyarlathotep is on the shortlist for Best Roleplaying Supplement. We shall keep you posted about how it fares.
The Blasphemous Tome 4b
Issue 4b of The Blasphemous Tome is slithering towards completion. This is our first attempt at a supplemental Tome, using some of the material we were unable to fit in issue 4. There will also be a bumper crop of specially written material, including a brand new Call of Cthulhuscenario from our very own Paul Fricker. You can also look forward to the mix of articles, fiction and art that you’ve come to expect from earlier Tomes. Unlike the previous editions, however, The Blasphemous Tome 4b will be a PDF-only publication. Anyone backing us at the time of release (probably early July) will receive a copy via Patreon.
Fictoplasm
If you would like to listen to a different take on The King in Yellow, Scott recently joined Ralph Lovegrove on his excellent podcast, Fictoplasm. They speculated about what the foundations of horror roleplaying might have been if Chambers rather than Lovecraft had been its main influence. This was just part of a longer series in which Ralph has explored novels in which fantastical works of fiction have proved more real than anticipated.
Songs
Wise souls fear to speak the name of Hastur the Unmentionable. They know that the right words have the power to tear the world apart, letting madness rush in. Our songs have the same effect. We present two of them in this episode, offered in thanks to new Patreon backers.
Expo Extra Episode (see yesterday's release)
Live from UK Games Expo in Birmingham! Paul joined our good friends Baz and Gaz from the Smart Party and Dirk the Dice from The Grognard Files for a chat about how to run games at conventions. At least one other attendee of this year’s Expo could have benefited from their wisdom. We’ve all had games go wrong at conventions, but none go so badly wrong that they made the national news!
And as a reminder, Paul and Dirk also recently joined Baz and Gaz for their 100th episode. If you haven’t listened to it yet, strap on your ears and do so at once!