MU Podcast 029 – Achtung Underground

achtung-underground This episode has only Keepers Murph and Dan, but we think it’s still a pretty full show. We talk about a scenario-inspiration-filled TV show called Cities of the Underworld, a Lecture, and a nice conversation with Chris Birch of Modiphius Entertainment about the recent Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter that blew the doors off of its initial goal. Campus Crier HP Podcraft- Live in Providence! Help Chad and Chris from HPPodcraft.com get to Providence for NecronomiCon in their Kickstarter. Obsidian Portal Reforged is another Kickstarter, and this is to fund the rebuilding of the RPG campaign organizer Obsidian Portal. Ken Writes About Stuff from Pelgrane Press– Ken describes it as so: “A burst of Hite goodness that you can imbibe or not as you see fit, secure in the knowledge that there’s another one coming down the pike in a month at a reasonable price. I’ll be putting about 4,000 words worth of fun together every month — maybe an optional rules system, maybe a longish DramaSystem Series Pitch, maybe a “ripped from the headlines” mini-scenario, maybe a campaign frame or a mini-setting, maybe an extended riff on some worthy intelligence organization or serial killer or astrophysical anomaly. Leave requests in the comments, and I shall take them most indubitably under advisement.” CthulhuProject7 has released the first trailer for their new short film ‘Vomica’, due for release in December 2013. ‘Vomica’ is a horror story set in World War 2 and inspired by the works of H P Lovecraft. Similar to how the HPLHS began, Project 7 started as a Call of Cthulhu RPG group that moved to Live Action play, and then started using their existing props and costumes to make short films. Newly Named Mercury Craters Honor Hawaiian Guitarist, Beloved Young Adult Author, and HP Lovecraft! Scientists find Cthulhu, Cthylla ‘monsters’ in termite gut– Scientists have discovered two new species of “parabasalian symbionts,” members of thriving microbial communities in the prolific viscous hindgut of Prorhinotermes simplex and Reticulitermes virginicus, better known as termites. The newly discovered microbes were named for two Lovecraftian monsters, Cthulhu (Khlûl’-hloo/”Ke-thoo-loo”) and Cthylla (“ke-thil-a”). According to researcher Erick James of the University of British Colombia, in a study published in the March 18 edition of the journal PLOS ONE, entitled “Cthulhu Macrofasciculumque and Cthylla Microfasciculumque, a Newly Identified Lineage of Parabasalian Termite Symbionts,” Murph shares the sad news that one of his favorite authors, Iain Banks, has late stage terminal cancer. Our thoughts are with Mr. Banks and his loved ones in this terrible time. We are taking submission for naming the upcoming MUP Newsletter! And as a bonus, the winning submission will get a free piece of commissioned art from artist, Ian MacLean, winner of our Celia’s Cilia contest. Be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get notifications about the newsletter, or website updates to your inbox on a daily or weekly basis. Update- @JMAbrassart told us that the Beyond the Mountains of Madness campaign has Ubbo-Sathla in it. All I can say is that we either don’t own it, or haven’t read through it thoroughly enough to have seen the mention. Dan is considering making a separate short audio segment talking about Kickstarters that would be relevant to Lovecraft fans and gamers. There will be a poll on the Campus Forum to get a feel for if that would be something folks would be interested in. Then we can take the Kickstarters out of the Crier unless they were specifically of relevance. There is also thought of making the live plays their own RSS feed. We have another poll up to see if the community would like that or prefer to keep them rolled into the main show feed.   Card Catalog This week’s hidden online resource for keepers is: The National Portrait Gallery. This is a UK website that has painting and photos of people from all over the UK, and they’re categorized by period, or with a rather nice search feature. http://www.npg.org.uk/ Lecture Series The lecture from Dr. Gerard at the Miskatonic University History Department, is on “Colonia Dignidad” 6-Word Adventure Update We found our tunnel system. We will be using the Camden Catacombs for the scenario. There are great pictures here from an Urban Explorer. Side Topic We discuss the History Channel show Cities of the Underworld. This show is a wealth of inspiration for amazing real world settings under the earth. Main Topic For the main topic, we have a lengthy talk with Chris Birch, president of Modiphius Entertainment about the fantastic Kickstarter campaign that blew the doors off of their funding goal. He mentions the Kickstarter for zombie mugs and cups that he partnered with to produce Cthulhu and Nazi zombie mugs. Did you miss getting in on their Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter? Although the campaign has closed, there is a short window for people to join in, please message Modiphius using the Contact Page and they will let you know how to get in on it even after it’s done. The Campus Forum topic to discuss this episode is here.]]>