Microphones Of Madness

(Gangbusters B/X) When Boss Cardone breaks the truce between organized crime families, Salvatore Moroni recruits an inexperienced group of freelancers to enact some mob justice. The catch? Leave Moroni's name out of the whole sordid affair.  This week: The fallout from the Dead Man's Hand Massacre rains down on the city. Boss Schultz has brought in talent from New York and the city's own masked avenger seems to have taken notice of the "Lucky Gang's" activities. Jimmy, Whistler, and Doc go after Cardone's courier, Weasel, with disastrous results.  MUSIC: Evil Minded Blues by Virginia Liston (1926) CAST: Steve as Jimmy "La Nozze" Figaro, driver and safecracker Matt as  Jackie "Whistler" Delaney, muscle Brian as Charles "Doc" Coffin III, has poor taste in friends and is in over his head

Steve and Rodney discuss the hilarious animated series from DC Universe. 

Steve and Rodney take a look at the Netflix adaptation of Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.

(Gangbusters B/X) When Boss Cardone breaks the truce between organized crime families, Salvatore Moroni recruits an inexperienced group of freelancers to enact some mob justice. The catch? Leave Moroni's name out of the whole sordid affair.  This week: When Cardone's bank proves to be a hard target, Jimmy and the fellas decide to start small with an attack on some of the boss' low-ranking henchmen. Doc gets fully baptized into the gangster life.  A new system and a new series run by Rodney. MUSIC: Evil Minded Blues by Virginia Liston (1926) CAST: Steve as Jimmy "La Nozze" Figaro, driver and safecracker Matt as  Jackie "Whistler" Delaney, muscle Brian as Charles "Doc" Coffin III, has poor taste in friends and is in over his head

Earth 2 Steve returns as the boys complete the Crisis trilogy with a look at Grant Morrision's Final Crisis.

(Gangbusters B/X) When Boss Cardone breaks the truce between organized crime families, Salvatore Moroni recruits an inexperienced group of freelancers to enact some mob justice. The catch? Leave Moroni's name out of the whole sordid affair.  This week: Jimmy and the gang are made an offer they can't refuse and agree to embarrass Boss Cardone for Moroni. While trying to come up with a plan in Flo's Diner, they run across their old acquaintance Lucky who has just gambled away $10,000 meant as payment between Cardone and the North Side boss, Schultz.   A new system and a new series run by Rodney. MUSIC: Evil Minded Blues by Virginia Liston (1926) CAST: Steve as Jimmy "La Nozze" Figaro, driver and safecracker Matt as  Jackie "Whistler" Delaney, muscle Brian as Charles "Doc" Coffin III, has poor taste in friends and is in over his head

There was some kind of glitch and part of the intro vanished into the aether. This week's episode begins with Rodney mid-bit as he and Steve discuss the Amazon Prime series based on Garth Ennis' The Boys. 

The Monday Night Heroes reach the conclusion of Nick's original scenario. Who lives? Who dies? Who goes mad? Tune in to find out. The Monday Night Heroes Lillie (@NekkoTheOdd ) as Levi, an engineer, and proper gentleman Molly as Nathan, a doctor and forensic specialist Steve (@MonNightHeroes ) as Carl, a progressive anthropologist Wesley (@helios1014) as Arcadia, supposedly a writer Rodney (@Rodney_MoM) as Guiseppe, a mob-adjacent wealth relocation specialist  

Earth 2 Steve returns to help Rodney discuss the Geoff Johns penned event-series Infinite Crisis. 

(Call of Cthulhu 7e) Things are heating up in The Phillippines as the investigators split up to uncover clues and tensions begin to rise between the local and American workers. Join the Monday Night Heroes part two of Nick's tropical thriller! The Monday Night Heroes Lillie (@NekkoTheOdd ) as Levi, an engineer, and proper gentleman Molly as Nathan, a doctor and forensic specialist Steve (@MonNightHeroes ) as Carl, a progressive anthropologist Wesley (@helios1014) as Arcadia, supposedly a writer Rodney (@Rodney_MoM) as Guiseppe, a mob-adjacent wealth relocation specialist  

Steve and Rodney use a randomly selected card from 5x7 Dungeons to create a short adventure for medium-level 5e characters. Toward the end of the episode, they discuss the Microphones of Madness theory of building tension in games.  If you would like to check out 5x7 Dungeons for yourself, hit up Dan (gamesmif(at)gmail(dot)com). The cost is $12 for the 3045 (post-apocalypse) set, $20 for Magesport or $25 for both+ shipping. Dan gave us permission to post the map we used to create this episode. Now you can follow along with our descriptions.

(Call of Cthulhu 7e) Nick takes the helm for his original scenario: Suffocation. An unusual collection of investigators is summoned to a logging camp in the Philippines to unravel the mysterious deaths of two workers.   The Monday Night Heroes Lillie (@NekkoTheOdd ) as Levi, an engineer, and proper gentleman Molly as Nathan, a doctor and forensic specialist Steve (@MonNightHeroes ) as Carl, a progressive anthropologist Wesley (@helios1014) as Arcadia, supposedly a writer Rodney (@Rodney_MoM) as Guiseppe, a mob-adjacent wealth relocation specialist

Rodney is joined by Steve of Earth 2 to discuss the Arrowverse adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This episode does contain spoilers.

(Pulp Cthulhu) The secret of The Maizeville Murder is fully revealed and our intrepid investigators must stop Billy Zane before he claims another victim. 

Steve and Rodney explore the multiverse and the myriad of odd decisions that created the seminal DC Comics series CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

(Pulp Cthulhu) **Trigger Warning** Graphic depiction of a murdered woman. Dick jokes. The investigators find themselves on the receiving end of freakish terror and the investigation turns back upon itself. 

Steve and Rodney discuss a must-have collection of stories from Charles Saunders: Nyumbani Tales. Also: Rodney mangles the word "Nyumbani" several times. Grab yourself a copy at this link: https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/nyumbani-tales  

Steve and Rodney start off a new year and a new decade with a look at 5x7 Dungeons, a solo dungeon crawling game by Dan Smith of Smif Ink Games. You can get a copy by hitting up Dan (gamesmif(at)gmail(dot)com). The cost is $12 for the 3045 (post apocalypse) set, $20 for Magesport or $25 for both+ shipping.  

The Yuletide season means ghost stories. This year, Steve and Rodney take on a pair of classic tales from Ueda Akinari's 1776 book Tales of Moonlight and Rain: The Chrysanthemum Vow and The Kibitsu Cauldron.  Happy Holidays from everyone at Microphones of Madness and we'll catch you in the New Year!

The weather outside is frightful and the conversation is a bit frigid as Steve and Rodney wrap up their retrospective of Batman: The Animated Series with Rodney's favorite episode: Heart of Ice.