KARTELLIAN CLAMOR

Someone let Johan, Christian P and Dan get an hour to discuss increasingly nerdy and specific graphic design thoughts and practices. Like the process of turning a text file and an image folder into a finished book, knowing when the work is done, the details of trapping, when graphic design merges with art, picking a typeface, minimalist design, hyperlinked page references, etc, etc. 

We were allowed to geek out. And so we did.

Comments, suggestions, questions, praise or vitriol; send it to [email protected] and we'll try to address them in future episodes.

This is a special episode, impromptu recorded late at night at the Dragonmeet Convention in the UK. Not only do we sit together in the same room, we're also joined by five esteemed guests: Chris Bissette (Loot the Room), Zach Cox (SoulMuppet Publishing), Chris McDowall (Bastionland Press), Matt Sanders (Sealed Library) and Andre Novoa (Games Omnivorous). Joining from Stockholm Kartell are Johan, Christian S, Carl and Dan. 

We decided in what can only be described as a split-second decision to spend the episode talking about MAGIC ITEMS. What makes a good magic item and how do we use them in our games? 

Bare in mind that because of the conditions this episode was recorded in, the audio quality is a bit rougher than usual. 

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Comments, suggestions, questions, praise or vitriol; send it to [email protected] and we'll try to address them in future episodes.

Forget one-shots! 

Carl, Christian S and Jonas get together to talk about creating and running dynamic campaigns using the tools and generators in CY_BORG. The generators are based on Christopher Cale's Backswords and Bucklers, but expanded upon and adapted for a cyberpunk setting.

Ten rooms to a dungeon. Ten sessions to a campaign. 

Comments, suggestions, questions, praise or vitriol; send it to [email protected] and we'll try to address them in future episodes.

Christian S, Christian P, Carl, Karl (Skullfungus) and Johan sit down for a passionate discussion about one of the central building blocks or the type of games we usually create and run; DUNGEONS. In particular, designing och writing them. As this is a pretty big topic and we couldn't cover a fraction of it, we'll probably revisit it in some form or another down the line.

We also have an e-mail address! If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, praise or vitriol; send them to [email protected] and we'll try to address it in future episodes. 

Another special episode where Christian S, Johan, Carl and new Kartell member Pelle Nilsson talk about our trip to Gen Con and the things we did and the people we hung out with there. We also managed to hunt a couple of brilliant game designers, publishers and similar industry people for some short interviews. Hear them at the end of the episode. 

Interviewed:

• Andreas Walter, Metal Weave Games
• Fredrik Malmberg, Conan Properties
• AC, Indie Press Revolution
• Brian Colin, Infinite Black/Vast Grimm
• Thomas Pike, Themeborne
• Jarret Crader, Exalted Funeral Press
• Walton Wood, Līber Lūdōrum/Ex Libris MÖRK BORG
• Chris Bissette, Loot the Room
• Kenneth Hite, Trail of Cthulhu, Night's Black Agents etc.
• Mattias Johnsson Haake, Free League Publishing 

In this kind of special episode, Jonas, Christian S, Johan and Fredrik geek out relentlessly about a piece of media that completely took over and overshadowed the Kartell's operation upon release; FromSoftware's magnificent Elden Ring. Particularly, we discuss it through a TTRPG lens; trying to find ways to translate, borrow and mimic the game's qualities onto the role-playing table. 

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Media tips: Onibaba and the nature of the supernatural in games, The Book Cover and The Book Block, Severance, Burning Chrome, Kelly Lee Owens. 

Simon, Jonas, Christian P, Carl and Johan managed to get together for an hour-long chat about one of the most recurring themes and events in many role-playing games; COMBAT. And a lot of other stuff, namely:

• Having an agenda and immediately breaking it /
• Print proofs, pleasant and horrific /
• Healthy constant disappointment /
• What is the opposite of space? /
• UK Games Expo report /
• EXTRA: Print Effects ASMR / 
• Combat as sport vs Combat as war / 
• Environment as weapon /
• Systems or improvised rulings /
• Losing HP isn't getting hit /
• Playing with miniatures in a pool /
• Designing dungeons to encourage fun combats /
• "Dying is a pretty big step in someone's life" /
• Music tips: U2: Songs Of Innocense, Totalt Jävla Mörker: Totalt Jävla Mörker, Primitive Man: Insurmountable, Scorn: The Only Place, Charley Patton, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Konvent: Call Down The Sun /
• Closing words

We made a podcast!

In this first episode, Jonas, Christian, Carl and Johan sit down to talk about, among other things:

• Right now in the Kartell dungeon / 
• Making random generators to read / 
• What we like in a TTRPG book / 
• Skeletons? / 
• Telling a story with stat blocks / 
• Making every word count / 
• Pineapple-based technology / 
• Offical answers (the lack of) / 
• The science of Death in Space / 
• Reading books? / 
• GM knowing the answer / 
• Designing good traps / 
• ...and pit traps / 
• Equipment lists as world building and play invitation / 
• The Platonic solids / 
• Future convention visits / 
• Closing words