The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Paul Fricker, Matthew Sanderson and Scott Dorward

We’re back and we’re spinning the wheel of misfortune. R’lyeh Roulette is not a game to be entered into casually. While you might not place bets in the normal manner, there is still much at stake. Every result carries blasphemous knowledge guaranteed to ravage the sanity of the strongest mind. And that’s without taking into account the risk of randomly selecting Attract Fish. The horror is too great to contemplate.







Main Topic: R’lyeh Roulette IV







This episode is a return to a format we’ve not used for a very long time. When Matt was working on what would become the Grand Grimoire, he put together a spreadsheet containing every spell from every Call of Cthulhu supplement that had been published at the time. So, of course, we decided to use it as a massive random table, rolling a D752 to select random spells. We would then try to work out how we might create a scenario around each spell.







And that’s what we’re doing again.













Links







Things we mention in this episode include:









* The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic







* Loup-garou







* Deadlands Noir







* Werewolf: the Apocalypse







* The Wolf Man (1941)







* Werewolves in European folklore







* The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien







* Supernatural







* Cthulhu Dark Ages







* Magic: The Gathering







* D&D







* Memento (2000)









Folkloric European werewolf, armed with fangs, claws, and finger guns







* Tulzscha







* Quachil Uttaus







* Antiques Roadshow







* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)







* Hastur







* Brown Jenkin

We’re back and we’re suckling. This is more difficult than you might think, at least when Yibb-Tstll is involved. Even once we get past all those pesky nightgaunts, there’s the whole, um, moving target aspect to deal with. And the less said about that snog with Bugg-Shash, the better. Maybe we’ll just stick with Shudde-M’ell. At least he knows how to make the earth move.







Main Topic: Call of Cthulhu Deities — Shudde M’ell, Yibb-Tstll and Bugg-Shash







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, Cyäegha and Byatis, and Yig and Ghatanothoa.







Here, we’re turning to the creations of Brian Lumley, specifically the gods Shudde M’ell, Yibb-Tstll and Bugg-Shash. As usual, we discuss their origins in fiction, how they’ve been developed in the Call of Cthulhu RPG, and how we might use them in our own games.







We planned this episode some time back, before we heard that Brian Lumley had died. Learning the news not too long before recording means that the episode might be less irreverent than you’d expect.







Links







Things we mention in this episode include:









* Brian Lumley







* “Cement Surroundings” by Brian Lumley







* The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley







* Dholes







* Ammonites







* Ubbo-Sathla

We’re back and we’re consuming. Mostly, we’re consuming media. At least that’s the consumption we feel happiest talking about in public. Also, the digestion of media tends to lead to less dyspepsia, bloating and flatulence than more tangible fare. Except for Dan Brown, that is.







Main Topic: Media Catch-Up







This episode is the latest in our ongoing series about the media we’ve been consuming recently and how it might influence our gaming lives. We’re shaking up the format a little this time, however, delving into both television and films. There may even be mention of a book or two.







Links







Things we mention in this episode include:







Matt















* Dirty Harry (1971)







* Doctor Sleep by Stephen King







* The Cellar by Richard Laymon







* The Woods Are Dark by Richard Laymon







* The Streets of San Francisco







* Quinn Martin







* Police Squad!







* The Fugitive







* The Invaders







* Poor Poor Ophelia by Carolyn Weston







* The Sweeney







* The Streets of San Francisco on YouTube







* Quincy, ME









Scott















* The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord







* Suitable Flesh (2023)







* Knights of Badassdom (2013)







* Mayhem (2017)







* Creepshow







* “The Thing on the Doorstep” by HP Lovecraft







* Stuart Gordon







* Dennis Paoli







* Re-Animator (1985)







* From Beyond (1986)

We’re back and we’re enjoying a nice seaside holiday. Of course, when most people talk about the seaside, they mean the bit that’s on land. Somehow, we’ve ended up in the wetter part. Maybe that’s more technically landside. Human languages are messy things. Regardless, it’s everything we could have asked for: cold, murky, and filled with terrifying creatures. If Lovecraft taught us anything, however, it’s that this nice section of seabed could be forced to the surface at any moment. We’ll just have to enjoy its benthic charms while we can.







Main Topic: The Ocean in Call of Cthulhu







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?







Links







Things we mention in this episode include:







The Ocean in Lovecraft









* “Dagon” by HP Lovecraft







* Atlantis







* Theosophy







* Graham Hancock







* I Watched Ancient Apocalypse So You Don’t Have To







* “The Temple” by HP Lovecraft







* “The Strange High House in the Mist” by HP Lovecraft







* Nodens







* “The Horror at Martin’s Beach” by Sonia Greene and HP Lovecraft







* Fear’s Sharp Little Needles







* “The Call of Cthulhu” by HP Lovecraft







* Cthulhu







* The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft







* “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by HP Lovecraft







* At the Mountain of Madness by HP Lovecraft







* The Man From Atlantis







* “Out of the Aeons” by HP Lovecraft for Hazel Heald

We’re back and we’re wondering what’s in this jar on our desk. The contents are murky, but it looks like it might contain the heart of a small boy. Robert Bloch swears by it, but we’re worried that having it makes us accessories to some grisly crime.







Main Topic: 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.













Links







Things we mention in this episode include:







Bloch and Lovecraft









* Once Around the Bloch: An Unauthorized Autobiography by Robert Bloch







* The Man Who Collected Psychos: Critical Essays on Robert Bloch edited by Benjamin Szumyskyj







* Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master edited by Richard Matheson and Ricia Mainhardt







* Lon Chaney







* “The Chaney Legacy” by Robert Bloch







* “The Clown at Midnight” by Robert Bloch







* Weird Tales







* “Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft







* Robert Barlow







* Fritz Leiber







* August Derleth







* Clark Ashton Smith







* E Hoffman Price







* The Opener of the Way by Robert Bloch







* Marvel Tales

















* “The Feast in the Abbey” by Robert Bloch







* “The Shambler From the Stars” by Robert Bloch







* “History of the Necronomicon” by HP Lovecraft

We’re back and we’re abluting with trepidation. It used to be that taking a shower was relaxing. We could just pull that curtain closed and enjoy the jets of warm, cleansing water. Since watching Psycho, however, we can’t help but keep one eye open while showering. That wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t keep getting shampoo in it. Still, it probably beats the alternative.













Main Topic: Psycho







We’re following our recent discussion of psychological horror by exploring one of the defining works of the genre. It’s no exaggeration to say that Psycho transformed horror, in both cinema and fiction, pretty much creating a new subgenre. It is one of the most imitated films of all time, spawning countless pastiches, parodies, and blatant rip-offs. But what is it that makes Psycho such an enduring favourite, even 65 years on? Why does it still make us afraid to draw the shower curtain? And which aspects of it have not aged so well?







Be warned that we spoil the hell out of the film. If you are one of those vanishingly rare people who have managed to avoid spoilers until now, we beseech you to watch Psycho before listening to this episode. Even so, its twists and turns have become so much a part of popular culture that they may still be familiar.







As well as digging into Hitchcock’s film, we also touch upon Robert Bloch’s original novel, and the many sequels each birthed. And, as ever, we look for aspects that might influence our games.













Links







Things we mention in this episode include:









* Psycho (1960)







* Psycho (1998)







* Alfred Hitchcock Presents







* Psycho by Robert Bloch







* One Around the Bloch by Robert Bloch







* Hitchcock (2012)







* Ed Gein

















* Crossdressing Killer trope







* The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris







* Psycho II by Robert Bloch







* Hell! said the Duchess by Michael Arlen







* Homicidal (1961)







* Dressed to Kill (1980)







* a href="https://en.wikipedia.