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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

B-Sides and Rarities

Wasn't that the name of one of Sarah McLachlan's albums? Or at least close to it. I'm going to share a couple layouts from Shimelle's latest class "Scrapbooking Remix". It's a fun one, and one that is making me get crafty.

The first day had us looking at Bella Blvd's Sunshine and Happiness papers. Think cherries, trees and lots of cute bright colors. Now I like cute bright colors, but I'm not much for picking papers with strawberries, cherries and trees... or AM I?? I do, but usually am picking them for the B-sides (we will get to that a little later).

Shimelle shared 4 different layouts with a variety of messages and opportunities to think of how one might utilize such fun papers. I decided to go with as many colors as possible! So I shopped my stash and found some Pink Paislee, "Hometown Summer" papers, although now that I look at that watermelon paper, I'm not certain if it is Pink Paislee... oh well.

When I saw the summery papers in Shimelles handout, I knew I needed to create a summer layout too, given our lovely wintery weather!
I count 6-7 colors here. I love the little boy and girl I cut out from the back of the yellow paper.

Day two, Shimelle picked Everyday Eclectic, by Echo Park. I love Echo Park paper but because we were to look for B-Sides I searched my stash and picked Studio Calico, Pebbles and Crate Paper and I think the yellow is Paislee Press.
 Every one of the papers picked are the B-side, except the yellow one. I couldn't just focus on B-sides and wanted to add some color to the layout. The yellow worked well.

The first layout took no time to create, but then this one had me going back to it. I placed a private journaling card below the photo and attached it with some strong tape.
This class does have me looking at papers in a different way. That's it. What about you? Do you like B-sides? I know I always loved the B-sides on albums, sometimes even more than the popular song.
Have a good night friends!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Project Life | Weeks 33 - 35

I have a more weeks of Project Life to share here with you. These are from mid August to the beginning of September.

Week 33
We have been eating lots of quinoa while below are some pictures of Duchess Bakery. A place near work where you can find some wonderful baked goods, but also some flavorful sandwiches. We have since moved offices and I miss all our afternoon outings immensely.
Week 34
This week my sister and I made pickles, but a lot of the jars ended up not sealing properly! I think we have learned a thing or two from the process, so next year we will have all jars sealed!

 Week 35
I really loved Stieg Larsson's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Trilogy and found I couldn't put the books down.
 Some photos of our weekend visit at home.
I am still keeping up with the Project Real Life and whenever I can I hop into the forum and check the boards. I cannot believe I missed the chat on Tuesday! I will be reading the transcript when I have a moment. This weeks topic was on cultivating your relationships. To me my family is most important and they are who I focus on. I have learned a thing or two in this weeks lessons and plan to take action.

I have also signed up for Shimelle's Scrapbook Remix class and so far I am thoroughly enjoying it. This year has not been so full of making layouts and so I decided to join the class for some crafty inspiration. I hope to have few layouts ready to share this weekend!

Have a good evening friends!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Simply A Moment | October

Alexa over at Trimming the Sails has a beautiful way of writing and she had an idea taken from Ali's, 31 Things class to document a moment in time once a month. She is inviting anyone who is interested to participate. I like the idea of this as it not only increases one's writing skills but it truly gives a snapshot of any given moment and in essence captures your thoughts, feelings, sights and sounds.

Sunday, October 21, 2012. 0810.

Silence. I awaken and glance at the clock. Five and a half hours. Do I try for more? I don’t think so. I pull myself up and find my lounging pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. I feel a slight coolness in the air as I dress. I walk the few steps to my art rom and glance at the thermostat; 19 degrees Celsius, and just then the furnace kicks in. Good. I turn into the spare room and search for the 5lb dumbbell on the floor. I sit on the edge of the bed and hold it in my right hand. I begin to count.

Once I’m in my art room I pull up the shade. I notice the pink edges in the sky from the morning sunrise. I see the smoke in the air from the neighbour’s chimney and wonder how many days we have before the snow that falls will remain on the ground. I turn on my Blackberry and pull up the weather network. Minus 4 degrees Celsius it reads. Not long I conclude. I contemplate what the day will bring and am happy to remember I picked up the groceries yesterday and may not leave the house today. It feels like a good day to stay inside and craft.

Bending to open the container of cat food, I stretch to place one scoop for Norman and one for Sophie. Sophie’s dish still has food in it and I make a mental note to watch and see if she is eating Edwin’s food. I wonder if I should start the coffee and think better of it. Marvin is still asleep. I will wait.

I turn to my Blackberry again and pull up the file containing the list of books I am interested in reading. I think again of last weekend and the girls get together for scrapbooking. Many of the books on the list were entered from the suggestions they had. No. You need to finish the one you started in your Kobo reader. I make another mental note to see if any of these are already on my bookshelf downstairs.

Looking at my desk I glance at the travel album I have put together and start to write a list of things to add to it. Where is that copy of the travel journal I liked and printed off this summer? I sift through some piles with no luck. In the bedroom I hear Marvin clearing his throat and I look up. I notice the sky is no longer pink but blue and I turn to head downstairs to check on the animals and brew the coffee.

Alexa has so generously provided a template for the layout design if you would like to do yours as a digital layout. She has also provided a pdf file of how you might approach your journaling and gives some great prompts. You can find the prompt download here.

If you would like to read more "Simply a Moment" entries, have a look here.

Thanks Alexa!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Summer Scavenger Hunt Mini Book

Hi There! I hope your week is going well! Things are good and I am just working on a few projects but this one I finished last weekend at the scrapbooking gathering with my friends. I also managed to get completely caught up with my Project Life album and will share some more pages soon.

Do you remember this post?

Well I thought I better share some photos of my mini album all complete with photos from the hunt.

That's the cover which I jazzed up a little bit!
My take on the "train". For each photo I added a little description or a memory I wanted to record.
My sister actually took this photo... albeit with my camera and at my direction! We were in the car driving and pulled over to the opposite side of the road to park the car so she could get a nice clear shot - she just happened to be sitting on that side of the vehicle.
 The final page I'm sharing here is of the fountain at our Legislature Grounds.

I have just heard on the news we are expecting snow on Sunday :) Lovely, eh? Well we have had a wonderful summer, but a very short Fall if this is the case! I'm sure the forecasters are wrong... fingers crossed.

Here is something else I have wanted to share... you might remember my window art layout... Ruth shared this photo all the way from London!
I don't know about you, but when I see these "all seeing eye flowers" I would love to have some in a smaller version that I could scrapbook with! Thanks Ruth!!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Project Life | Weeks 30-32

I spent the weekend catching up on some Project Life and photo editing. I need to print out some more photos because this coming weekend, some of us girls are gathering at my friend Robyn's cabin to scrap... my job is to bring the snacks! Any suggestions?

I am almost completely caught up with the past 5 weeks of PL, but I'm still behind in sharing here. So here we go... Weeks 30-33 are from July & August... Let's get started.

Week 30

I tried something different here. I used photos from my cell which I picmixed and this made them 4x4 in size. I use American Crafts page protectors, they have 4x6 pockets. So I printed the photos off on a 4x6 sized photo with a journaling spot I created in PSE. I don't mind how it turned out, but I would love to see some 4x4 options with the American Crafts page protectors.
Week  31
For this weeks PL spread, I used some die cuts kindly sent to me by Jacky. I thought they were a perfect edition given the London Olympics ( you will notice she used a map for the dies). During the Olympic hype, High Street decorated in the spirit.
I am enjoying looking back at these spreads and seeing the progression of our backyard makeover.
Week 33

I mentioned I am taking Becky's Project Real Life and I am enjoying it. She had some great prompts for photo ideas and I look forward to incorporating them into my PL layout from this week. She also has asked us  to put some thought into how we would like our life to look 3 months from now. At the time of writing this post I haven't had a moment yet to sit and think, but plan to soon.

Have a great evening everyone!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

What's On Your Cell Phone? | Blog Hop - Q3

Hi There! Welcome to the What's on Your Cell Phone Blog Hop! You might remember back in July, Natalie from Almost Never Clever asked us to join her in sharing the photos on our cell phones. Well it is the end of the third quarter and she wants to know, what's on your cell phone?

My cell phone photos almost doubled from what I took in the last quarter, with more than 60 downloaded I thought I would share a handful with you today. Some of these you may have already seen posted here.

  • That first photo on the top left were salt and pepper shakers from one of the shops I venture to during lunch breaks.
  •  I tend to take lots of food photos with the cell and my colleagues know to expect it.
  • During the London Olympics the shops got into the spirit of things by hanging flags.
  • Sushi cones... yummo!
  • A pair of shoes I tried on... I didn't buy them but thought they were kinda cute!
  • fish tacos from Original Joes
  • a photo of my passport while waiting in line to have it renewed
  • we took the train to the Il Divo concert and I love that black and white shot with the reflection of my sister in the window

  • Our backyard
  • Those are the tents for Cavalia. My sister Arlene and I went and we loved it!
  • Me and Tammy waiting at the airport for our flight
  • OK - you got me here. I did not really take this photo of Sullivan Stapleton - but I did download it to share with my friend Jen, so it in fact was on my cell phone in the photos section! I thought it would provide you with a little eye candy!! Anyone else a fan of Strikeback?
  • we enjoyed these white pear martini's
  • Our view from our hotel in Vancouver
  • dinner at Joe Fortes
  • window shopping
  • a photo of Marvin and I at Roger's Centre just before the Madonna concert
There you have it! Just a glimpse at what was on my phone from July-September.

Now you can move on to the next stop which is Danielle over at Eco Scrapbook

Nat: Almost Never Clever http://www.almostneverclever.com
Mariah: Its Fun2Scrap http://www.fun2scrap.blogspot.com/
Tammy: Your Memory Connection http://www.yourmemoryconnection.com/
Ginger: Ginger’s Life of Spice http://gingerslifeofspice.blogspot.com/
Danielle: EcoScrapbook http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/
Jen: Down Home South Jersey http://downhomesouthjersey.com/
Beth: Scrapping Wonders http://scrappingwonders.com/
Katie: Katie Stories http://katie-stories.blogspot.com/
Zaira: Hacer Scrapbooks http://hacerscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Storytelling Sunday | A Lifetime of Philately

It’s the first Sunday of the month and that can only mean one thing. It is Storytelling Sunday, a time for bloggers from around the world to gather and tell their stories.

I was quite young the first time I heard that word… phil-at-el-ist. When I overheard my dad talking about philately, I asked him what it meant. He told me it was what he did... collect stamps. My dad loves to talk about stamps and he has a sparkle in his eye when you ask him to show you his collection. That’s just what I did when we visited in September.
These are the same books I remember from 35 years ago, when I was a young child standing in my dad’s office. Back then he had supplies spread out over a table. A water bath, tweezers, pages with black and white copies of old stamps(they showed where the collected stamp was to be placed) and special glue.

I had a few questions I wanted to ask him and this is what he had to say.

How old were you when you started to collect stamps?

I was a young boy. I know it was before I started school.

How did you come to collect them?

I removed them from the envelopes of the letters sent to us. Then when I started school I saved my money and would order them from catalogs. I traded with some of the other boys from school as well.

What is it about stamp collecting that you enjoy?

It is a form of relaxation for me and they are like little pieces of art, each one different from the other.

Do you have any favourites? No, I like them all, but I do like the engraved ones. They are the older style where the ink was placed on metal plates and then transferred or rolled onto the paper. It was quite the process.

 Dad also showed his American Philatelist Society membership card he has held since 1965. Once he turned 65 he was given lifetime membership status.
Thanks Dad!

This story is brought to you by way of Sian's Storytelling Sunday where you can join in on the first Sunday of every month. You can tell a short story, a long one, or maybe share a few words with a photo. Anything goes! You can see more stories from this month here.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Window Art

Hello Friends! Well it doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things after holidays but I have a few things to look forward to this week. Thursday,  Project Real Life begins at Big Picture Classes and I am looking forward to it. I am a little behind but hope to catch up this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, it is our Thanksgiving which just happens to be my favourite holiday. We will be celebrating with Marvin's family and I cannot wait for the cranberry sauce!

Here is a layout I made of one of the windows I saw in Vancouver... I couldn't help but take a photo... I knew you all would appreciate the coolness of it!

Supplies: Digi papers from Jessica Sprague, elements from Sweet Shoppe

The journaling reads: After appetizers and cocktails at the Fairmont Vancouver we walked down Robson Street to Joe Fortes, but before we did, I could not but notice this window of the Louis Vuitton store and think... what beautiful Window Art!  Vancouver, Sept. 21, 2012

What about you? Do you like window art?

Take care friends!


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The Ginkgo Pages Forum - Blog

Welcome, this blog belongs to my website The Ginkgo Pages about the tree Ginkgo biloba. Please post your comment/question or mail me. Thank you! - Cor Kwant
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July 07, 2013

My video of Ginkgo seeds germinating

Video I made of germinating seeds about 3 weeks after putting the seeds in a transparent closed container in moist sand.
Seeds from a Ginkgo tree at Avignon in France.
Location: Park Rocher des Doms (near bust of Paul Sain), situated left of Palais des Papes.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Drew Barrymore's double heartbreak

Drew Barrymore's double heartbreak

Cast member Drew Barrymore poses at the premiere of the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California, February 2, 2009. The movie opens in the U.S. on February 6. [Agencies]

Drew Barrymore was once dumped by the same man twice.

The 'He's Just Not That Into You' actress - who is currently single but has been married twice - admits the experience was very painful but can now see the funny side.

She said: "I once got dumped by a guy twice! The second time I was like, 'Really? Are you sure now?' " After repeatedly being unlucky in love, the 33-year-old star is now savvier about suitable men, and tries not to waste time if she doesn't immediately click with someone.

She revealed: "Luckily I haven't had that many bad dates. I went through that with this lawyer, and we sort of looked at each other at dinner and went, 'Yeah, no. This isn't going to work!' We sort of shook hands and ended the evening."

Drew celebrates her birthday on February 22, just 11 days after her 'He's Just Not That Into You' co-star Jennifer Aniston turns 40, but the pair will not be partying together. Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere of the movie, Drew explained: "We won't be throwing a joint party, but we will celebrate on another night because we're friends, and we like to hang out."

Meanwhile, Jennifer raised eyebrows at the premiere when she reportedly sneaked out of the screening before the film started. She also did not attend the official after-party at Social Hollywood, instead going to the Towerbar at the Sunset Tower Hotel with friends.

A source said: "She looked divine in her black pant suit. She literally glowed at the table as she talked in an animated fashion with her friends."

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Creating a Quick Home Sale

Creating a Quick Home Sale

Three Ways To Make Your Window The Focal Point In Any Room

by Lillian Bishop

Windows aren't always considered the main attraction in a room, but with the right window dressings and draperies, you can create a dramatic look that makes your window the focal point in your space. If you are considering redecorating any room in your home, consider starting with the windows to instantly update your decor. Here are just a few options you can use to create truly breathtaking looks for your windows.

Fabric Cornices

Custom-made fabric cornices can be created to enhance your windows. You can have them created in a printed pattern that coordinates with solid color draperies, or you can select a patterned print that matches the drapes for a seamless, cohesive look. Cornices range from simple valance-style designs that sit at the top of your window to scalloped designs that create a unique framed edge along the top and sides of the window opening. They can be simple upholstered pieces, or you can have them adorned with button-tufted accents, nailhead trim or beaded details. Adding these treatments to your window helps to draw the eye upward, creating a dramatic look for your windows.

Full-Wall Draperies

To create the illusion of multiple windows in your room, have your contractor install a full-length curtain rod or curtain track along your focal wall. Hang floor-length drapes along the entire wall, and use curtain tiebacks to let your window peek through the drapes. If you have two windows on the wall, use the tiebacks to highlight each window. You'll get an elegant look in the room that eliminates the need to repaint the focal wall or choose new wall art. The drapes and windows become the conversation piece in the room. You can also use this idea in a bedroom to create a dramatic backdrop for your bed. Place your bed underneath a small window and line the wall with curtains to create a stunning effect.

Wall Stencils

You can create a sweet look in a bedroom or living room by stenciling the wall around your window. Floral, grapevine or leaf designs lend themselves perfectly to this idea. Choose vivid colors that will stand out on a neutral background, and use stencils to paint the designs around the wall. You can also stencil the window frame and ledge to create a more colorful look. Once you are done painting and everything has dried, add a simple sheer curtain to the window to complete this breezy, romantic look. The stenciled artwork will draw attention to your windows, creating a natural focal point in the room.

Don't be afraid to get creative with your window decorating ideas. With the right draperies and accessories, you can transform a simple window into a stunning centerpiece in your room. Click here to learn more from a go to site

About Me

Creating a Quick Home Sale

One of the things that helped sell my home quickly, at least according to my real estate agent, was the time I spent fixing up the landscaping. I knew about the importance of eye appeal, but who would have thought that something as simple as a storage shed or a backyard veggie garden could make such a big difference in the sale price of a home, and the length of time it takes to sell said home? Well to prove that my landscaping techniques worked, I helped three friends sell their homes using some of my tips and tricks. It seems to have worked, because every one of them were able to fetch their asking price and sell before their goal deadlines. So, I figured I should help others out there who could use a little help in the home selling department… hopefully you'll find inspiration on the pages here.


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Glasgow Exchange Home

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GLC 1000 12.4 oz (350 g) Canine Powder

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GLC 1000 12.4 oz (350 g) Canine Powder Reviews


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Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Weird how times go i thought you soudl know i still think of you a little to much.

So you told me of your past battles, one time going to tell alittle bit more before you stoped.

was i on his side of the bed was that it?

You told me of your injurys, but you never told me that you hurt.

You never let on you struggled but you did say money was tight.

and i would of took you out but that was jsut to much wasnt it.

I know i could of not told you, i know i could of never let on.

but well my dear ifear thats just not me or the way i get on.

Time was short and sweet and still im holdin on.

seems now i want to pass but there is nothing left for me and im just so alone.

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Sunday, June 19, 2016

I love bread. I love Italian bread, I love French bread. Lucky for me I have been able to try some yummy gluten free baguettes of both varieties recently.

Schar Italian Baguettes
Udi's French Baguettes
Wegman's White Baguette

From just that listing one of the biggest differences amongst the three baguettes I tried is that the Wegman's version only has one baguette in the packaging. This would make it the most expensive then:

Schar $6.99 2 baguettes

Udi's $7.99 2 baguettes

Wegman's $5.99 1 baguette

Schar is the softest of the bunch both outer and inner
Udi's is in the middle of soft/hard both outer and inner
Wegman's is the hardest/toughest both outer and inner

Schar is sold on the shelf in the gluten free aisle
Udi's is frozen
Wegman's is also off the shelf but found in the bakery section

Schar is good both right out of the package and heated per directions.
Udi's I was only able to try heated from frozen following the package instructions.
Wegman's was ok out of the package and much better heated per instructions.

All three are good with and without butter.
All three are about the same size.

Schar is unlike any gluten filled bread I have had but I love it.
Udi's tasted just like I remember gluten filled French Bread and it is wonderful.
Wegman's reminded me of gluten filled Italian bread but different but not bad.

So with all this said, my order of choices for baguettes is:

The number one reason for Schar is that I like it both out of package and heated. I like that it is a little sweet. I like that it isn't as messy as Udi's and Wegman's which have very tough outsides. I also like that it is easier to find in stores than Udi's and Wegman's and ordering online if needed.

Everyone's tastes are different, so if you have any baguettes you think I should try please let me know in the comments.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Aldi Gluten Free Ravioli

Ravioli is one of my favorite foods.

When I had to start eating gluten free 16 years ago I was so sad to have to give up ravioli.

Since then a few companies have made gluten free ravioli. I have liked many of them and I will eventually post about them here.

This post is about my favorite by far at this time.

Aldi's Live Gfree Gluten Free Ravioli

And not only just the cheese ravioli
they also have Spinach & Cheese Ravioli

Yummy yum yum yum is the best I can say.
The insides of the ravioli are perfect.
Thick, cheesy, just right moistness, perfect spices, just like I like ravioli.
The pasta perfectly offsets the insides, not too much and not too little.
I followed the directions exactly as stated and cooked for the longer 8 minutes.
There were 12 in the cheese bag and 11 in the spinach and cheese bag, so basically two servings and six ravioli was the perfect amount for me for dinner, although I could have easily eaten all of them :)
Another great part... they are only $3.99 a bag.

If you love ravioli, I say run out to your nearest Aldi and pick up these ravioli now and enjoy!


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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Los Difuntos - "Los Difuntos" CD

Hailing from the streets of East L.A., Los Difuntos carry an endorsement from Rancid's Matt Armstrong (who appears on the hit-worthy singalong 'Lucy'), and thusly, they will probably be consigned to the 'punk' section of your indie record store. However, when was the last time you heard a theremin on a punk record? Yes, these guys are headed for bigger and better things. Fusing elements of classic punk (they reference Joe Strummer on 'Memories') with hints of Tex-Mex (the wonderfully filmic 'Dirge'), rocka/psychobilly ('Poseur Josh'), some Western (they list Hank Williams as an influence), ska/punk ('Lies In Disguise'), and more, Los Difuntos first and foremost write songs that have actual melodies and create moods - and they do it like seasoned pros. This is a diverse record with a superb mix of tempos, sounds, and styles. Los Difuntos are a breath of fresh air in a scene full of copycats and soundalikes. I'll give this one some more spins, for sure, for it's upbeat grooves and catchy tuneage. Dig it. (Nickel And Dime Records)

Los Difuntos page

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Monday, March 27, 2017

You Got Your WFRP in My D&D

A few days ago I saw a post on facebook from a fellow wondering if anyone had tried mixing Warhammer Fantasy elements into their AD&D 1e game.  Immediately I wanted to grab this fellow by the collar, shake him abruptly and yell, "Yes! Yes!  One Hundred Percent Yes!"

Now, from the post it was difficult to determine if he meant Warhammer Fantasy Battle, or WFRP, the roleplaying game, but really it doesn't matter.  Elements from either system can be used, but obviously it's far easier to translate elements from the fantasy roleplaying system into your existing AD&D or RPG game.

Full disclosure...I've been doing this for many, many years.

Sometime in late 1988 I discovered the 1st edition, hardbound volume of WFRP, and I was immediately hooked on it.  The cover art and inside illustration was unlike anything I had seen to date, and while the game system wasn't perfect (what system is?), the game world was original and well fleshed-out and was indeed a Grim World of Perilous Adventure!  Character life expectancy was short, the game world was littered with danger at every turn, and the forces of chaos were ubiquitous if not obvious.  It was a dangerous place to be an adventurer, and I loved the elements that made it so.

I ran a short campaign with a few friends who were less than enthusiastic about learning a new system, but it was easy enough to sway them.  We all enjoyed playing, but soon enough we were all itching to get back to AD&D, a system where the characters survival rate was much higher and everyone felt like they had a better grip on rules etc.  AD&D was (and for many folks still is) a comfort zone.  I was a bit disappointed to leave The Old World, the game universe of WFRP, and the strange and wonderful images of the forces of chaos stuck with me long after I stopped playing.

Fast forward many (many) years.  While prepping for an new group of online (Fantasy Grounds) friends I decide to go homebrew with my game world.  We were going to play Castles & Crusades, and I wanted to expose the players, all of whom were older, experienced gamers, to something they were not at all expecting.  In order to create a sense of wonder and mystery, of newness in a familiar setting, I began to piece together Thayrun, my own personal Grim World of Perilous Adventure!

My process started (as many of us do) with a map and a few grid locations, and then moved on to the nature of my newly birthed game world.  Thayrun was going to be a battleground where chaos had long ago been driven out by the opposing forces of law, but now the seeds of evil left on (and beneath) old battlegrounds were going to germinate and bloom...I placed Skaven (the WFRP ratmen) under a few choice locations.  There were sightings of odd-looking creatures at the edge of ancient forests (chaos beastmen), and those who search the night sky have been spreading rumors of green lights on the horizon.

Why the heck not?  Sure, there were goblins, orcs, trolls, kobolds, giant spiders, gelatinous cubes, beholders, mind flayers and all of the other monstrosities that normally inhabit an AD&D game world, but now I had the added influence of WFRP and all of the rich content of that game world to pull from.  It kept my experienced players guessing when it came to both storyline and encounters.  Characters who had never experienced the awful power of warpstone were now going to have to deal with the horrible consequences  of contact with the raw chaos stuff.

Here is what I'm getting at.

Do not, under any circumstances, be afraid to add or remove elements from your game world.  Pilfering ideas, concepts, monsters, items etc. from other games, game supplements, novels, websites (like mine) and any other source you can find is 100% fine.  Sure, you may have to spend a bit of time coming up with stats that make sense, or creating some back-story for why that weird, glowing rock made a character sprout a scorpion tail and eyes in the back of his/her head, but that's no reason not to do it!

Can you decimate your precious game-balance introducing such things into your mostly vanilla Forgotten Realms game setting?  Maybe.  That's a risk you should be willing to take.  You can always adjust back, I mean, you are the DM, right?  That's the beauty of homebrew, and why so many DM's eventually decide to create their own game-world. It's going to be a process of trial and error, but the experience is well worth the time.

Below is my stat block for a basic Skaven Warrior.  It's nothing special, but it certainly isn't what your players will be expecting to run into when they hit those city sewers...

Frequency: rare
No. Appearing: 2-20
Armor Class: 8
Move: 10” (100’')
Hit Dice: 2
% in Lair: 50%
Number of Attacks: 2 Claw/1 Bite or 1 by weapon type
Damage/Attack: 1d4/1d6
Special Attacks: infection (see below)
Special Defenses: none
Magic Resistance: 10%
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size: M
Psionic Ability: nil

Skaven Warriors are generally the largest and most ferocious of this wicked and twisted race of chaos-mad creatures.  Most warrens (lairs) contain from 50-100 warriors.  Common Skaven are no more than slaves to the warren leaders, but the warrior caste is comprised of those ratmen who exhibit the physical traits necessary to both protect the warren, as well as take on missions outside the warren as needed.  Though equipped with natural weapons at birth, the warriors prefer to wield the curved, jagged short blade known as a Kitchik.

Skaven Blight: These chaos ratmen live in cramped warrens, and not unlike their more common cousin (the sewer rat) they are sometimes carriers for disease.  Often in close contact with raw chaos material (warpstone) they can often transmit this disease with a successful claw or bite attack (Save Vs. Poison)

This disease will manifest initial symptoms within 24-48 hours.  These include fever, dizziness, extreme fatigue, and vomiting.  Foods and liquids will be difficult (if not impossible) to keep down.  Fluid loss is rapid, and if the infected is not given treatment at the onset of the disease he will dehydrate and die within 2 weeks.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Indoctrinating the Noob - Books for the Beginner

A short time ago I was asked a rather intriguing and difficult question.  "If you had to pick three books that paint a picture of the Fantasy Genre for someone, which would they be?"  It was asked in the context of gaming/role-playing, and what books might best introduce a potential FRPG gamer with no experience with any facet of fantasy.

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that my history with gaming really begins with books I loved as a kid.  Early on I fell in love with fantasy fiction, and works like The Chronicles of Prydain and Below the Root were the bridges to more adult fantasy fiction from the earlier books I had been reading in grade school (like The Furious Flycicle by Jan Wahl and my addiction to Encyclopedia Brown books).

 So I get asked this question, and it sounds simple.  The Hobbit is there, right?  OK, what about Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time?  No, definitely not.  Not in the top three.   Amber by Zelazny?  Nope.  Elric by Moorcock?  I don't think so.  What, do you have something against the classics?  Shouldn't a newcomer start at the beginning?

This is hard, because I'm not just introducing someone to fantasy fiction, but I've been asked to pick books that introduce the genre in a way that helps shine a light on what the best of playing D&D might be like.  This is a different animal altogether.  Sure, I'd like to give a noob my entire fantasy library and have them start at Abercrobie and end on Zelazny, but we ain't got time for that!  I've gotta pick a few books that give that 'New Character', 'Dungeon Crawl', 'Level up' kinda feeling.  I want the reader to experience some of the places they might visit, and some of the people (NPC's) they might encounter.

Later on, if they enjoy the reading and the playing, I have a ton of cool books to turn them on to.  For now, we gotta get on with the gettin' on!

So where do I start?  With Gygax of Course, and Gord the Rogue in The Saga of Old City.

It's not the best fantasy novel ever written, not by a lot, but it has all the facets of person, place, and plot that will give the reader a good idea what it means to inhabit the character of, well, a character!  Gord has an interesting background story that is easily digested in the beginning of the book, and moves on to become a near-master thief by the end.  He faces challenges both mundane and monsterous, and if the end goal is to familiarize the reader with aspects of D&D, you could do worse. (In place of this book I might sub The Crystal Shard, if you are a Realms vs. Greyhawk sorta person)

OK, where next?

Well, I want the potential new player to get a feel for the game, really sink themselves into their character, and for this I'd pass them a copy of Joel Rosenberg's book, Guardians of the Flame - The Sleeping Dragon!  Again, I realize that this book was not a tour de force of fantasy fiction, but the plot device of taking the main characters (college students playing a game much like D&D) and transporting them to the fictional world of the game will really help the new gamer understand the fiction they will be playing.  Sure, some might argue that this book will only teach them the bad habit of meta-gaming, but this is an argument for another time.

Gotta pick a third book.  Where is he gonna go with this?  Well, I'm going to stick with my plan here and drop Andre Norton's Quag Keep into the mix.  This book does essentially the same thing as Guardians of the Flame, but we have Andre Norton's voice behind it and it's not at all the same sort of story.  Having played her first RPG with no other than E. Gary Gygax himself, the book was inspired by her game session(s)!  In this short novel, Norton manages to distill some of the best of what it means to be playing a game for the very first time.

I know.  You're probably cringing right now.  What about Conan??  Where the hell is Elric?  Hell, even Kvothe would be better than this crap!  Really?  I think what you want here is easily digestible material that leads almost directly into play.  These books offer fantasy realms directly connected to gaming, and even offer up a glimpse into game mechanics like character sheets and dice rolling.  They are like gaming guides in fantasy fiction format.

These are all books I read AFTER I started playing D&D, and I enjoyed them because they managed to integrate some of the stuff I already loved, but I often wonder how it would have gone down if I had read them BEFORE my first game?  There were no actual-play videocasts or podcasts in 1981.  There was no internet to do a hard target search on Playing D&D.  Books paved the way for how I approached my first game, and every session after that.

If you had to list three books for the new gamer, what would they be?

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Most Important Role...

One of the best parts about DMing is that you get to be 'everyone else', that is you get to play the role of everyone that the characters are not.  For some, this is their raison d'être, the thing that draws them to the DM's seat.

I used to primarily enjoy being the 'bad guys', inhabiting the wicked souls of the men and creatures who opposed the efforts of the party.  There was nothing as much fun as that crazy banter between the bad guy and the hero, so filled with venom and cliche. "Now I have you!" or "see how far you've come only to fail..." were phrases that filled my black little heart with glee.

I'm older now (much older), and the bad guy role is one I gladly inhabit as needed, but it is far from the one that I relish.  These days I look forward to the 'oddball npc', that man, woman, or creature who has a small bit to play, a little clue that's needed, or a thing that must be purchased in order to propel the game forward.  These 'people' are often the heart of the game world, and are often left thin and 2-dimensional even though they are unbound by class, race, gender, or motivation.

City/Dungeon, Wilderness, Town/Dungeon, Wilderness, Village/Dungeon...It's a pattern we repeat again and again ad infinitum. What we (DM's) often fail to do is place our players into new, and yes, mundane places.  What fun might be had at the Mill?  What mystery could be unraveled at the monastery?  Who knows what adventures lie in wait at...the farm?!

The Farmer.  Often simply ignored as the players pass by the back forty on their way to an ancient ruin or wizards tower, the common farmer should not be given such short shrift. Things are happening on the farm beyond the corn, chickens, and cattle...or perhaps beneath.  The farmer's place in the more generic fantasy setting is both iconic and highly important, even though he is often ignored as the players and their characters pursue loftier goals.  Most frequently it is from the farm that the young hero escapes, looking past a hum-drum life to a world of fame, fortune, and adventure.

What a waste.

If you've read my module, Adventure Most Fowl, you'll know that I went to great lengths to provide a glimpse into a strange and wonderful world inhabited primarily by farmers and their families.  A party could spend the formative part of their early level-growth in/around the farming village of Kith and never be bored.  This didn't happen by accident...

I may be a native Philadelphian, but I spent a decade living in/around Houston, Texas.  You don't have to drive very far to spot a farm, and once you start seeing them, the horizon will bring you nothing but.  I was lucky enough to make many friends in that city, not a few of which had friends and family who lived or made their living farming.  It was a life so foreign from my experience growing up in the city that I rarely got my fill of my time spent among them, on the farm and in their company.  The closest I ever got to that life as a kid was camping trips with my dad, and if you are, or know, a farmer then you know that's not even close to the same thing.

The Farm is very often a self-sufficient, solitary lifestyle.  The farmer and his family can go days or weeks without interacting with other folk, and this makes the farm a great setting for strangeness and odd circumstances that would make for more than an interesting adventure.  Placing a farm or two between the city and the dungeon will give the players a chance to 'rest', and it gives the DM fodder for fun and fiendishness. Here are a few examples of things that might make a stop at the farm a 'less than simple' affair:

  1. The Grubner farm, a great place for blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.  The farm also plays host to an ancient oak in the center of it's primary field, a tree that is inhabited by a wicked gnome who is holding the family hostage, forcing them to continue to grow his luscious berries!  With the harvest, the gnome brews a number of wicked potions as well as brandy with a healing touch!  He is in possession of the soul of Magda Gruber, the farmers eldest daughter, which he will destroy if the farmer does not continue his labors.
  2. There's something special about the soil at ol' Reston's farm.  His veggies grow with such rapidity and ferocity that he harvests three times a year!  Some folks think it's that odd rock that sits poking up from his cornfield that has something to do with it...the strange letters on the sides that sometimes glow in the mid-summers moonlight.  It's not.  It's what lives inside the ancient and long forgotten relic of a fertility deity.  It has more power than Reston knows, and it calls out to the players seeking it's release.  Perhaps the party will unlock it's secret...
  3. At the height of the Harvest Moon, the three Karick brothers, breeders of cattle and pig, hold their annual fall festival.  It's a glorious time of food, drink, song, and dance, and the party is most welcome to join in!  They slaughter a cow, a pig, and a goose for the occasion. The wives bake pies and cakes, the kids choose a wheel or two of the Karick Kase cheese, and the men even break out the summer ale that's been brewing beneath the old barn!  Oh, but it's a tasty and wicked brew, and hard to resist (make a Wis save or DRINK!).   If the party isn't careful, they will find themselves drunk beyond their senses and awake with both a hangover, and tied to a stake in the middle of the barn as the farmers prepare them for their wicked ceremony.  What makes a Karick cow so delicious?  Why, human sacrifice of course!
It's not hard to think of the odd things that might happen on a farm in the boonies of your fantasy setting!  It's as easy to drop in your story driven game as a hex-crawl, so don't forget the farm!

While I'm on a farmer-kick, I recently watched Peter and the Farm on Netflix and I was inspired to use a solitary farmer with something of a temper and an alcohol problem as an NPC/Encounter in my game.  It's a really interesting documentary that is worth a watch if you have the time.

Friday, March 17, 2017

The Magic is in the Book...

 I started reading Swords and Deviltry again the other day, and once more I travel with Fafhrd and the Mouser across Nehwon to face untold danger, wicked sorcery, and fearsome monsters.  It's a journey I've taken at least a hands-count of times before, and one i'm always happy to start anew.  While the shelves at Barnes & Noble are stocked to the brim, sometimes there's just nothing new under the sun that attracts me and so I spin the wheel and grab an 'old friend' to get me through.

I was heavily invested in reading several years before I started my lifelong love of roleplaying games, D&D of course my first.  By the 4th & 5th grade I had plowed through a ton of the standard youth reads and had even found some slightly more adult content accessible, such as The Hobbit and David Edding's Belgariad.  For those not of that era (late 70's/early 80's), the local library and a few small bookstores were all I had with regard to the content I enjoyed.  Every book was a treasure, every toy a treat.  I'm not mad or jealous that folks have all the content they could desire at their fingertips these days, but I do think it's probably true that in order to really appreciate something, you might first need to understand what it means to not have that thing.

We had 7 channels on the TV.  Just saying. (and props to my pops, who started with just a radio and his imagination!)

By middle school I was devouring the genre, and by high school I had caught up.  I don't know how many books I had by 11th grade, but it far surpassed my meager comic collection.  Books and reading very much defined who I was, and who I would become as a gamer, and as a person.

I'm a reader.  That's just what and who I am.  It's the fantasy novels of the 60's, 70's and 80's that fuel my games as both player and DM, but primarily as DM.  It's hard for me to shake the Dragonlords of Melnibone or the One Ring or that smart-mouthed Jhereg Loiosh from my psyche, nor would I want to do so.  These are the images of my youth, that same places and people that I brought to life with my own adventurers when I discovered that books were not the end of my love affair with fantasy fiction, and that through RPG's I could 'live out' that amazing story that thus far I had only been able to connect to as part of the audience.

Why would a kid play baseball, if not to feel the same way that A-Rod felt when he swung his bat and knocked yet another ball into the stands?  Sure, you can sit in the stands, cheer, eat a hot dog and wish you were that amazing player, or instead you can grab a bat and a ball and do that thing!  Of course, I never swung a sword or cast a spell, but the imagination is an amazing, versatile thing, and D&D is a powerful tool to help transport the player into that realm where combat and spell-weaving are as real as the every-day world (with less bathroom breaks).  For me, it's the books of my youth and those amazing writers who laid the foundation for my own imaginative journeys.

To the players of D&D and other RPG's today, those raised with Xboxes and On-Demand, who may not be readers or think much of books beyond their scholastic experience, I urge you to head to the nearest library or bookstore, or even pop on to and grab something from Appendix N, or maybe some newer fantasy genre fiction you think might appeal to you.

Sure, you can grab the AD&D books or play Swords & Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord, but the power behind the magic that is OSR games is, was, and always will be the great fiction that forged it.

My son is 11.  He's not a fan of comics or RPG's.  He loves Black Ops and Terraria, but not so long ago I bought him The Hitchiker's Guide to the Universe and he loved it!  I can't express to you how happy that made me, how full of joy I was to be able to share that geeky 42 with him.  He hasn't wanted to play D&D with me, and that's ok.  The greater gift is the books.  If we end up sharing not one single common hobby or interest in life, I know he loves to read, and that is completely satisfying.

Read More.

Read more with your kids.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Need A Loan? Got a Soul? Lyster can help...

On the outer edge of the Merchant's Quarter, in a unassuming building across from Gadia Fing's Fine Foods cart (known to many in the area as the best place to grab a meat pie and cheddar wedge), there can be found one of only two pawnbrokers in Elbion.

Blafrian Yates, the head of Elbion's City Watch, has stated many times that his master likes to keep the number of pawnbrokers low, in order to lessen the amount of questioning required to solve a crime.

That's not to say that Lyster Platt, or the other pawnbroker in town, is a criminal, but oftentimes the true owner of an item is not so easily identified byt the shop keepers in question.

Lyster Plat : Pawnbroker to the Stars

Is a pawnbroker truly a merchant, or is he a mollusk?  It’s an age old question, but for the purpose of expediency we will consider him a seller of goods and place him squarely at the farthest point from the Merchants Quarter,  just a bit too close to the slums.  Strategically positioned on Needs & Wants lane, the name of Lyster’s shop is simply ‘Pawns’, with the universal symbol for pawn shops everywhere directly below, three golden balls hanging from the arms of a scale.

To describe Lyster Gold as a fat man is like describing a dragon as a large lizard.  Lyster has five chins, but three of them are hiding under the largest two.  That said, he’s very agile for a ‘person of size’, and to see him move amongst the shelves and displays of his overly large pawnshop placing new inventory and keeping the other items nice and tidy seems like a delicate dance.  Dressed in comfortable, loose-fitting leathers and a tunic, Lyster is often found sitting behind the solid oak counter of the pawnshop, which is so high as to put him several feet above his customers.  From this perch, he wheels and deals all day from a position of ‘power’.  It’s an old custom, and it works.  Customers are at a -15% with regard to all dealings in the pawnshop.

What about inventory?  What does this fellow stock in his pawnshop?  It’s a total crapshoot.  On any given day Lyster’s inventory can turn in an instant.  Anything that has value can be bought, sold, or even loaned against.  Frequent items in inventory are musical instruments, jewelry, books, fine dinnerware, some clothes items, armor and weapons...the list is almost inexhaustible.

If you’ve arrived at Lyster’s door looking for a loan, his rates are very reasonable.  Assess the loan based on the item, and the value of the item over time.  Will the item be just as useful and valuable in 3 months (all loans are 90 days from the date placed)?  The best items for pawn are gems and jewelry, musical instruments, armor and weapons.  These items are easily assessed, and loans are usually 1/5th the assessed value.  The outright sale of these items is 1/3rd of assessed value.  Lyster does the assessing, and he’s very, VERY good at it, so arguing with him is an act in futility.  He’s well aware that no one WANTS to take a loan from a pawnbroker, and he exercises this leverage appropriately.

All items pawned will receive a corresponding chit for redemption, which is transferrable.  A notation will be made in Lyster’s large book of loans, which he will pull from a shelf dedicated to the volume, which is quite old and comprised of materials that are not easily identifiable (a wizard or alchemist might see that the cover is a draconic hide material, and that the pages are all vellum.  The book, pages, ink and pen used to write each loan is enchanted...more on this in a bit.)  Interest on loans is 5% compounded monthly, a very reasonable rate, and an initial loan fee is also tacked on to each loan, due at repayment.

Lyster, like many of Elbion’s residents, is not a native of the city in the mountains.  He’s actually not a human at all, but a gnome.  Wearing his enchanted ring of shape change, he has assumed the form of Lyster in order to blend into the community more easily, and conduct business without drawing attention to himself.  Loans written that are not redeemed recharge the ring, as the fine print clearly states, by taking a small piece of the loan-takers soul.  Those who default on loans will not notice as this chunk of life energy is yanked from them, but others around them may sense that they’ve become somewhat melancholy or listless.

Lyster also uses these ‘bits’ of soul energy to craft magic items, his true vocation.   Some of the Arcanists of Elbion frequent Lyster’s Pawn Shop, and several know that he traffics in magical items however none of them know anything more.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Getting the Ball Rolling: Starting Points for Your Next Game

We've all been there before, day one, moment one, and more often than not our characters are in the same, boring place.  "Yo
u find yourself in a tavern," or "You've been summoned to the court of..." are common starting points for many, if not most, games.  It doesn't matter if you're playing OSR or 5e, Scifi or Fantasy or Rifts, many DM's just don't know how else to start the game going than with the 'common room' of starting points.

I'm guilty of it as well.  Sometimes it's just the easiest thing to do, but I've also got a few tricks up my sleeve and I thought I'd share them.  These entry-points may not be new(s) to you, but maybe just seeing them again will spark you to drop them into play on your next go 'round.

1) Naked Snaked

"You find yourselves in a dark cell, your clothes and items are gone, and all you have for company are the others around you and the rats."

This is a favorite of mine.  Nothing bonds a new group of people faster than nakedness.  The shared trauma of naked (or loinclothed) captivity causes an almost immediate shared need, and thus a sense of community.  Even races not generally well-disposed to one another will find those ancient biases often fall away in an attempt to gain freedom and find equipment.

My earliest memory of this scenario is actually as a player in a Cyberpunk 2020 game.  Waking up without a shred of clothing or dignity in the back of a derelict van with the other players.  The DM wove a powerful image of helplessness, and seeking clothing, shelter, equipment and finally retribution was a great experience that bonded the characters and the players.

2) En Media Res

"The attacking Giant barrels into the town, swinging what appears to be a tree in all directions.  People scatter and splatter as he approaches the center of town!"

Clearly there is nothing more immediate than a rampaging monster.  As DM's we use them all the time, but rarely do we make it the first sentence out of our mouths.  Creating a general state of chaos, especially with new players or folks who have not played with each other, is again a very easy way to bring the party together.

Sure, they don't know each other's strengths or weaknesses in battle, but they will in short order.  A common foe is regularly used as a plot device to drive players to act in a team-like fashion, but even if your game is sandboxy, this is a fine way to get the group cooperating early on.

It may also me a good way to suss out weak characters, as not everyone survives an unforseen attack...and the death of a comrade, even one just met, can have lasting effects on party cohesiveness.

3) The End IS the Beginning or Leap of Faith!

"You stare into the swirling purple chaos before you.  The wall behind you pushes forward, poison spikes extended.  With few spells, and few hit points left, forward seems your only option...what do you do!

This one takes a bit more prep on the part of the DM, but I've used it, and it's fun.  Prepare a bunch of high level PC sheets ahead of time, and hand them out to players after the players have made their own.  Gather up the initial sheets at the same time.

Now present these high level characters as generally out of resources, and very deep into a dungeon...the swirling pool of colorful chaos is a requirement.  The job of the DM is to get the players to jump into the portal using any and all means.  This part of the adventure is all railroad, and the players may sense this, but it's all just exposition, so as long as everyone jumps in, it's all good.

The players who jump fall into a fresh place...I like to prep an easy cave adventure, but they are then handed their ORIGINAL character sheets and begin play at level 1 (or 0) as the case may be.  The shared stress of the initial experience is once again used as leverage to bring the team/party together.  I've even combined this entry to the game and #2, by having them jump through the portal and then find themselves in new skin, a new environment, and surrounded by goblins, kobolds, or some other opponent in order to keep the action moving!

Again, any players who refused to jump will have died, and so reincarnation (or rejuvenation, play it how you like) will not take place.  Perhaps the team meets that other player in the caves, dungeon, town, etc that they find themselves in after the 'leap of faith'

Maybe you have a new, fun way to get the ball rolling on a new game. I'd love to hear about your DM tricks that help get the action in gear!

#1 : I had some really great response to my post the other day about a share cookbook, but i've only had a few folks send me any recipes.  If you're interested, please shoot me an email or leave a trail of breadcrumbs to your favorite game-time dish!

Thanks to those who already sent me your recipes!  I've started a google docs archive to store everything until we have enough to warrant a good-sized cookbook.  Some tasty treats in there, including Rat on a Stick and A Solemn Guacamole...

#2 My good friend Mike Garcia, who is the unifying force behind Adventure Most Fowl (the first adventure module I wrote for publication) has started a neat little fundraiser for future work TBD.  He wants there to be a bit of seed money to spread around to the creative community, primarily for art and layout work, so he took one of my favorite game-sayings and made a t-shirt out of it.  If you'd like to support his efforts and score a neato t-shirt in the interim, check out his new fundraiser here for Grey Fey!

Monday, March 6, 2017

Most of His Rugs Don't fly, but You Sure Will...

Another sunrise in Elbion, and as we continue our journey through the market square, it's hard not to be swept up in the sights, sounds, and especially the smells that float on the cool breeze.  Fresh baked bread from Delb's Bakery is a constant reminder that you haven't yet had breakfast.  The Kothi carts are busy roasting beans and serving their life-giving brew to the market-folk before they open shop, and to those looking for a good deal early in the day.

It isn't long before your meandering leads you to small alley adjacent to the Street of Antiquities, a well shaded lane with a few poorly-constructed shack-like buildings.  One in particular grabs your eye, a colorful display of scarves, rags and tatters as well as the remnants of various rugs having from the wood scraps that serve as a makeshift awning.

This must be the shop of the infamous rug merchant, Shantiir Mu’udim...

Shantiir Mu’udim: Carpets, Rugs, and Drugs

Three stalls down from Arik Destra, the renowned seller of all things rare and refined, is the shop of Shantiir Mu’udim, a rug merchant who hails from some far desert land that he never seems to name.  The shop is easily located, not because of its proximity to Arik’s stall but instead because the outside is decorated in bright gold and red swatches of paint and silk that falls about the entrance, lending to the exotic feel of the rug merchant’s place of business.

It is likely that characters will be greeted first not by Shantiir, but by scents unfamiliar and pleasing.  Breathing deeply of the smoky, cloyingly sweet scented air of the shop brings a easy calm, an effect of the flowers and oils heated in a small clay vessel on the table at the center of the small shop’s main gallery.

Rugs hang on strange, tree-like stands set against the three other walls of Shantiir’s shop, and the corners are stuffed and stacked with carpets of all shapes and sizes.  The space feels warm and comfortable, as if the merchandise was reaching out to hug you in a soft, carpety embrace.

Is it me, or is it getting warmer in here?  I feel so relaxed.  This place has amaaaazing rugs!

Shantiir always waits a few moments before making an appearance.  Short and lithe, he moves slowly about his domain as if passing through water.  He will seem to arrive on the scene as if from nowhere, but he simply has the hanging rugs positioned in such a way as to create this illusion.  If the characters are in need of a rug, he can show them hundreds.  Prices start at 30gp for something around 3x5, and can get as high as 1000gp for something large and more elaborate.  For 5000gp, he can provide a Flying Carpet, but this is a special order and will take five days to fulfill.

The rug merchant can also get you high in several other ways.  As the market’s premier seller of substances smoked, sniffed and swallowed, Shantiir can provide a shrewd shopper with many foreign mood enhancers, including:

  1. Zyrellan Sweet Leaf [Hallucinogenic, mild] {inhaled via smoking}
  2. Poopa Powder [Stimulant, mild] {inhaled via sniffing}
  3. Myconic Spore [Hallucinogenic, strong] {ingested}
  4. Nerullian Vapor Pots [Depressant, strong] {inhaled}
  5. Yellowjacket Grub [Stimulant, Hallucinogenic, mild] {ingested}
  6. Sophorna Witchweed [Hallucinogenic, Very Strong] {inhaled via smoking}

[for more details of these drugs, visit this Previous Post]

It's hard to leave Shantiir's shop without leaving some gold behind, but if you do manage to save some coin for your evening, there are merchants who will gladly serve your other hungers...

We shall visit one or two of those on our next visit to the Market Square in Elbion.

Friday, March 3, 2017

Too Many Cooks...Write A Cookbook!

It's Friday, and I have a crazy idea for some side-fun action...

I don't know about you guys, but for me D&D/Roleplaying Games and Food are two things that are inexorably intertwined.  From my earliest days of playing with my preteen pals, pizza, soda, chips, and other sundry items were always available when we congregated around the kitchen or dining-room table to play a session.

I think part of the reason that food was always integral to the game was the length of time a game usually takes.  As kids we would play for entire work days, and sometimes we put in overtime hours.  These days I don't have that sort of time to invest in my game (but I wish I did), but I still find that having food available to feed the folks I'm having fun with is a huge part of the game.  Eating together is deeply rooted in our culture, regardless of our individual backgrounds.

These days there's less pizza and soda, and far more interesting food going on at my games.  If I want something quick and simple, I'll throw down some really interesting cheeses, olives, pita & hummus, some raw veg and then some sweets...cookies, brownies, doughnuts...all the classics.  Other times I may start a big crock of chili, or submerge a flotilla of meatballs in sauce.  I love cooking as much as I love gaming, so there's no telling what I might whip up.

SO...I had this crazy idea that it would be fun to start aggregating recipes from around the TTRPG web!  What do you think?  Would you be up to submit your favorite game-time recipe?  Does it have a fun name, like Goblin Balls, or Dragon Steaks, or Elminster's Wicked Wings, or NomNom Numenera Nibbles???  Holy Crap!  I could do this all day!

{breathes}  OK..ok..I'm cool.  Let's continue...

So here's what I'm suggesting.

I've set up a gmail account for the blog Send Me Recipes! []

or contact me via twitter @goblin_stomper
or on facebook

and send me a link to your recipe, wherever it may be, and I will start compiling them into a fun book that we can share with everyone else!  This isn't for money, i'm not going to sell it...I just think it will be a fun project.  I plan to distribute it via a dropbox link to anyone and everyone, so your recipe could be seen by hundreds, even THOUSANDS of fellow gamers..

Of course, no one might wanna send me any recipes, and so it will just be me and my Monster Manual I Meatballs in Sauron Sauce (Cause they have bite! and that sauce is evil much so that your butt may experience the lava of Mount Doom much like that famous ring that short guy threw in)

What do you guys think?

{inner monologue} no one's going to want to do this.  This is stupid.  They just order pizza!  No one wants a Role-playing Cookbook.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Playing the Game the Way I Want!

These Cereals weren't afraid to be who they were...Sugar Delivery Systems!
Says it right on the box...

[Feel free to get triggered before you start reading, might save you time. Personally, I like to read the whole article before I trip out so I get to feel the full effect and rage appropriately]

It's Thursday, it's slow here in the pawnshop now that the rush of the 1st day of the month has abated, and all of the government subsidized folk have repatriated their belongings with my hard-earned tax dollars, and I wanna talk about some stuff.  Earlier this week I posted some lovely new gaming goodness about the City of Elbion, and last night I played and DM'd a bit.  I'm feeling like it's time for some commentary...

I love playing RPGs, and specifically  B/X, AD&D1e and derivatives and retroclones of these games.  For most of my life I've played as often as I could.  As a kid, entire weekends would be consumed by playing these games, and as I found myself busier with the 'real life' i've still made time weekly to play.  During those times when I was unable to play for long stretches, I missed it.  Reading and writing were not substitutes for playing, but they made adequate bed-mates when no one was around to play my favorite game.

When I first experienced the internet (ok not my times on BBS's in the 80's, but later in the 90's with the advent of AOL and then the 'net as a whole), I had little notion that it would become my primary mode of play.  Now, as busy as ever, it's relatively easy to schedule time to play or DM in short bursts.  Is it the exact same as playing at the table?

Is it a new and interesting way to meet, play, and interact with folks from all over the interwebs?

Thanks to  gaming and RPG culture on the internet I've been able to keep my hobby alive and vital, but I'm not 100% sure that I like what that culture has become.

[now is the time in the post where some of you will get triggered.  enjoy the rush!]

We don't all play the same way, and I don't mean with specific regard to RPGs.  There aren't just different games, or different rules, but there are different people.  Some of you often praise the 'peace & love' aspect of the hobby, and quite frankly that shit is really aggravating.  Someone replied to my post with the proposition that playing an RPG would be fun if there was no combat, no enemies.  Really?

[this is the part where, if you've been triggered, you get really mad that I'm telling you how to play.  I'm not, I'm really just reacting to this one supposition about a method of play that seems silly to me.  I don't care how you play.]

Listen, I'm sure it's POSSIBLE play D&D this way, but why would anyone want to?  I can't fathom it, but I'm sure someone wants to, someone has, and others will.

Last night I spent 2 hours in Stonehell, kicking in doors and bashing heads (well, cleaving them.  My dwarf is an axe-man)  Certainly Stonehell would be an awfully boring place if insane inmates, greedy kobolds, and hordes of undead weren't lurking behind every corner of the place trying to end my character's life before he manages to get out with fists full of gold.  This is not everyone's idea of a good time, but I enjoy this way of playing as much as I love sessions that are full of great role-playing and I never pull a sword, axe, or bow.

If we, the older guys, the folks who have been playing the longest are really looking to teach younger folks how to play, as so many posts claim, then we have to talk about the good, the bad, AND the ugly parts of the hobby and it's participants.

Sometimes, I use this space...MY air my feelings about current game culture.  The 'culture' may or may not agree with me, or like what I have to say, but I'm pretty sure I still have the right to say it.  Left or Right, I think we usually agree that freedom of speech is an important civil right, and just because you want everything to be 'peace & love' does NOT give you the right to tell me what to say or think.

Just like in the game, life is full of people you love, people you protect, and most of all people you never interact with.  It's also filled with people you don't like.  Assholes.  Douche-bags.  Morons.  Why does the gaming culture refuse to accept the wonderful and beautiful diversity that is humanity?  This week I was called crotchety, which I most definitely can be at times.  The writing was called 'dickish', which seems like a weak term but ok, maybe it was written with some snark.  I was also called a 'Bad DM' which is not correct.  I'll own the shit I am, but fuck if I'm going to own the shit I'm not.  I'm a damned good DM, I'm a great player, and anyone who says otherwise can fuck an Owlbear.

[uh oh, now he talked about owlbear sex, which we all know is both wrong AND dangerous]

[triggered:  those who think inter-species, mythical sexual relationships are fine as long as they are monogamous and consensual]

[double triggered: the poly rpg inter-species mythical-beast community]

To bring this all back around, I blame the internet.  Yup, that wonderful technology that keeps me in games and gaming buds is also the problem.  Is there a widely adopted technology that doesn't have positive and negative affects?  I don't think so.  So it is with a humble heart that I accept the new generation of 'no enemy having', 'super-inclusive', 'anti-murder-hobo', 'don't tell me how to play' rpg gamers who sit around the table never rolling dice and eating cruelty-free fava chips.  They aren't gaming wrong, they are having fun.

I'm just gonna hang back here with the old dudes and listen at the door, look for traps everywhere, kill the creatures between me and the chest, check the chest for traps, smash the lock on the chest with my axe, steal the gold and gems that don't belong to me, and then spend that ill-gotten gain on more equipment to repeat the process.

...and maybe I'll chat with a whore, steal a ship, and then become a pirate.

If I save a village, it was probably an accident.

If I burn it down, that was on purpose.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

A Visit to Elbion's Merchant Quarter

For our first trip to Elbion, let us pay a visit to one of the merchants who ensure that the citizenry are provided with the best in quality, luxury, and value...

Elbion is a city of secrets.  While many seek knowledge from the sages of the Enclave or the wisdom of the Brotherhood for the enlightenment it may provide, still others seek the cloak of shadow and darkness that Elbion can provide as they attempt to remove and re-invent themselves.  It is here that some will come to escape the chains that bind them to their past...

The Merchants Quarter

Though not as large as the Great Bazaar of Ut, and not as well known as the Market Square in Hargelis, the Merchants Quarter of Elbion houses some of the rarest and most profitable houses of mercantilism in the Kingdoms.

Buildings of grey and black stone ripped from the heart of the nearest mountains,  this section of the city is home to many sellers of goods, as well as inns, taverns, and carts and stalls filled with food and other sundries.  Awash in sounds and smells, the Merchants quarter is bustling with activity from early in the morning until well late into the evening.

From it’s earliest days supporting the scholars who came to study with the Brothers of Implacable Thirst, the marketplace of goods and services in Elbion has taken on an organic shape.  At its center lies the heart of the market, a wide circle of open space dotted with the carts and kiosks of the diaspora, as well as the food and drink of those folks.  The next outer perimeter provides access to the small shops and tents of those nomads who come and go with the seasons. Finally, on the edge of the Quarter there are the stone buildings that are home to the resident merchants.

Talboth Rogg : Purveyor of all things Shiny

He’s not an impressive fellow, standing only five feet tall and looking so thin that a pigeons flapping wings might knock him to the ground, but this wee bit of a man has the keenest eyes and steadiest hand in Elbion, and his art sparkles with the brilliance of a thousand suns.

From deep red ruby’s set into shining platinum bands, to sparkling white diamonds and sea-green emeralds woven into a web to encircle the neck of the most beautiful of women, Talboth Rogg is a jeweler whose work can be found throughout the world, but he makes his home in Elbion.

A closer inspection of Talboth reveals a man of middle years, hair thinning and grey, and age beginning to show itself on the ridges of his forehead as deep wrinkles.    His eyes, often hidden behind thick glasses with small, silver frames are blue and green and reveal nothing of his age.  He wears the simple clothes of a craftsman, brown trousers and a white shirt both covered by a well-worn leather apron with burn marks, cuts, and punctures.  A small pocket on the apron holds any number of tools, and a small jeweler's loop is attached to a gold chain around Talboth’s neck, the only bit of fancy kit on an otherwise plainly dressed fellow.

Characters who interact with Talboth will find him a calm and intelligent fellow, willing to negotiate with regard to items for sale or commissions, and is able to hold his own during said negotiations.  His business acumen aside, he is a generally private person and doesn’t offer up information about himself or others easily.

The jewelry shop is a reflection of its owner, simple and unadorned.  Two small glass cases pull double duty as the front counter.  The rest of the shop is open and airy, with several small tables and some comfortable chairs...a place for customers to sit and relax, perhaps try on a piece of jewelry or discuss needs and wants with Talboth.

It all seems pleasant and unassuming.

You would never know that Talboth Rogg is the Master Thief known throughout the underworld as Sylence, the greatest second-story man to ever plague the wealthy.  The price on Talboth’s head is so high, it’s a wonder he hasn’t turned himself in just to claim it. So terrible was his reign that there isn’t a city or large town within 500 miles of Elbion in any direction that doesn’t continue to list him among their top 10 most wanted, and in many of those places they don’t even care if he’s brought in alive (some even prefer that he's not).

Talboth, or Sylence, rarely killed.  He was a master of the art of burglary just as much as he is now a master jeweler, and his sense of professionalism and honor kept his crimes and misdemeanors of a mostly ‘harmless’ nature.  That’s not to say that he didn’t occasionally require the aid of dagger or garrote to ensure that his own safety was maintained, but it wasn’t his norm.

Sylence’s many great escapades include pilfering the Crown of Dermanc from the famed Tower of the Oligarch, and he was the primary suspect in the case of the missing Diamond Staff of Jacur, though many thought that an inside job.  He was even so brazen, and clever, as to liberate the Bloodstone of Gis from the (almost) impenetrable and magical vault of Bolstus, the ancient and hated Sorcerer of Ayerene.

Here in Elbion he has taken a new name, and thanks to the Mages of the Inner Keep (a governing body with the Library of Antiquity) a new face.  The greatest of thieves is now a man without a past, a jeweler to kings and mages, and a fellow at peace with his past.

...his past, however, will find no rest as long as there is a victim seeking retribution.

Talboth Rogg
Level 15 Master Burglar
HP 85
AC 0 (his magical dagger, Nightshade (A dagger of Venom +2), also provides him with +3 Protection as per the ring/amulet of the same)