trey and gorgon milk here is the better scan from the original.

Originally shared by James Aulds

trey and gorgon milk here is the better scan from the original. richard i just included you for historical. i wonder if the cuban rum one is crossed out because its a 1959 menu. whoever can help and remove the lettering and put in Under Tiki in a similar it would be much appreciated more so if we can have it say adventuring exotica somewhee .

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c2b1yc36vakepr2/AACnfpkt1qq9g6SjAqcKc_dqa?dl=0//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Live and Let Die is the ideal type of the Bond film.

Live and Let Die is the ideal type of the Bond film.

“An ideal type is formed by the one-sided accentuation of one or more points of view.” It’s a version of a phenomenon constructed out of its most distinctive and exaggerated attributes – not a stereotype, as such, but the sharpest delineation of a general tendency.

1. In Live and Let Die we can see all the hedonistic “goods” of the Bond franchise without any of the complicating political context or sidelong appeals to a justifying grand narrative (“oh it’s a Cold War thing,” “well everything was sexist back then” – LALD does not avail itself of these shelters)

2. If you want to say something about the Bond series or character (“you have to consider its progressive effects as well as its conservative framing,” “Bond may be a user and abuser of women but he’s also an irrepressible individualist and conummate professional agent”) you have to include LALD, or someone else will torpedo your apologia with it.

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/undergraduate/introsoc/weber7.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

“BERLIN — A 28-year-old German-Russian citizen took out a five-figure loan to bet that Borussia Dortmund shares…

“BERLIN — A 28-year-old German-Russian citizen took out a five-figure loan to bet that Borussia Dortmund shares would drop, then bombed the team’s bus in an attack he tried to disguise as Islamic terrorism in a scheme to net millions, German officials said Friday.”

http://www.espnfc.com/borussia-dortmund/story/3108585/suspect-arrested-over-bomb-attack-on-borussia-dortmund-team-bus//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Hey Luka, is this caravan thing for one of Paolo’s products?

Hey Luka, is this caravan thing for one of Paolo’s products?

I’d like to work together either way, but I honestly have no idea what the ethical thing to do is, since I am already writing something for him on pretty much this topic.

I’d personally much rather just contribute for free and not worry about any such concerns but I don’t want to burn Paolo.

If it’s not for him… I’m sure we can figure out ways to do this, he’ll probably be cool anyway. I haven’t tagged him in yet because I don’t want to put you or him on the spot.

Have you seen A Magical Society: Silk Road? It has 50 pages of verbiage on types of caravans that is pretty much the opposite of what I’d ever want, but it’s prior art, so worth looking at. If you let me know your email address I could erm fair use for research purposes mumble mumble.

Magonia is the name of the cloud realm whence felonious aerial sailors were said to have come according to the…

Originally shared by Jensan Thuresson

Magonia is the name of the cloud realm whence felonious aerial sailors were said to have come according to the polemical treatise by Carolingian bishop Agobard of Lyon in 815, where he argues against weather magic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magonia_(mythology)

Could you run a game with only tempestarii, e.g. weather magicians? You could push people around with strong winds, try hitting them with lightning and so on.

Two fighting tempestarii could control different aspects of the weather. I mean, it could both rain and be a thunderstorm obviously.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magonia_(mythology)//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

“When we signed up to pump money into this juice company, it was because we thought drinking the juice would be a…

“When we signed up to pump money into this juice company, it was because we thought drinking the juice would be a lot harder and more expensive. That was the selling point, because Silicon Valley is a stupid libertarian dystopia where investor-class vampires are the consumers and a regular person’s money is what they go shopping for.”

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/i-just-love-this-juicero-story-so-much-1794459898//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Do people “reserve” words and tell other people that their common definition and usage are to be replaced by some…

Do people “reserve” words and tell other people that their common definition and usage are to be replaced by some idiosyncratic hobby-horse? It’s new to me.

I’m reserving the word “snurdge.” I don’t know what it means yet, but nobody use it until I’ve come up with 3 different wishy-washy half-definitions that really just reveal my own neuroses.

Hi Mike. Sorry I’m late with these – here is my daughter’s jouster:

Hi Mike. Sorry I’m late with these – here is my daughter’s jouster:

Saphira Hex, female cleric, lvl 1.

STR: 9

INT: 7

WIS: 11

CON: 8

DEX: 11

CHA: 10

HP: 6

AC: 3 (full plate)

shield: Reinforced Round Shield (BF# 1-2)

Medium Warhorse, name Googly Six-eyes

GP: 950

Squire: Prentice Dipper

Thief 1. HP: 4 AC: 8 Long Bow, Boiled Leather Armor, Sword, Dagger

Retinue: 2 Filthy Peasants.

And mine – Skeree rides again!

Attitude of barbarian Grace Jones, physique of Skeletor, hair of an outer space color courtesy of Jeff Rients.

Carcosan warrior, level: 5 (8000xp to next level)

Str 17 (+2):

dex 12:

int 8 (-1):

wis 7 (-1):

con 11;

cha 10;

HP 26:

THAC0: 15 (13 w str bonus)

AC 4 (banded mail)

Alignment: Lawful (Carcosan)

Saves: paralysis 15; poison 9; breath 15; magic device 14; magic 17

+4 to health saves (already figured into poison)

limbs shall be splintered

shove to knock prone on successful hit

+2 damage against animal-int foes.

Languages: Basque, Debased Yuggothic, very basic Anglo-Norman. None of them really fluent.

skills: +1 to survival in mountains. Flamenco dancing.

Equipment:

light warhorse, Gwar Memorial Battle Axe, Banded Mail, shield.

Pen-sized ray gun (does 1d2 damage except on a crit, in which case it does 1d100, but if it does 96 or more damage then it explodes, doing that damage as a grenade, radius 10′)

hand axe.

100′ rope made from the fleece of the Lion of Judea with grapnels and iron spikes every 10′

10 flasks holy water, dedicated to her god, Nice Boots Lets Make Love, from Josie X’s game. 10 flasks of ordinary water muttered over by a priest of Vorn.

Skeree still does not understand money. She has therefore brought a local spare light warhorse, suit of splint mail and shield, lest she be unhorsed.

Among the various cognitive disorder/paranoid fantasy series I’ve seen recently, Legion is probably the most…

Among the various cognitive disorder/paranoid fantasy series I’ve seen recently, Legion is probably the most self-indulgent and also the most fun. The OA gives it a strong run on self-indulgence but is much less enjoyable and seems more horribly earnest. Westworld seems to offer more cultural critique but never decides what it wants and uses repetition even more relentlessly.

The lead guy in Legion is as adorable and sinister as Ben Stiller. The Marvel is mostly under control until the last couple of episodes. The references to early Pink Floyd are frequent and distracting. Several of the characters are self-consciously stupid. I felt for the actress who plays the magical girlfriend, but it seemed like an enjoyable part, if not as cheerfully hammy as the magical girlenemy.

Conclusion: it’ll keep you going while you wait for something actually good to come along, and it has some charming ideas for your campaign.

Damn, male gaze is pervasive, though. It’s like they’re trying pretty hard to be all modern and enlightened, but.

1.

1. You’re on a sailing ship and Denise from GoT sends her dragons to fly over and burninate you. What anti-dragon, ship mounted weapons do you want?

I’ve already got ballistae (a la Jackson’s Smaug) and turret-mounted bombards loaded with shrapnel. Any others?

2. an octopoid kraken grapples the ship! What would you arm your ship with to fight it, knowing (a) krakens haunt these waters;

(b) they’re smart enough not to slither their tentacles right over the muzzles of your carriage-mounted cannons?

All these years and I never even thought about Barbie!

All these years and I never even thought about Barbie!

That’s privilege.

Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger

(Warning: This is one of those posts which is profoundly disturbing, and keeps getting worse the more you think about it. If you or anyone close to you has ever had a disability, be particularly warned.)

The headline of this story has something disturbing about it. What, exactly, does it mean for Barbie’s friend to have been “discontinued,” and why does that sound so much like a euphemism?

The answer is no more pleasant. Becky, Barbie’s wheelchair-using friend, was introduced in 1997 and was quickly a success. It probably won’t surprise you that there were a lot of kids who wanted to see themselves represented in this world, nor kids who simply liked her in her own right.

There was just one problem.

Her wheelchair didn’t fit in Barbie’s Dream House.

It couldn’t get through the doors, or up the stairs, or fit in the elevator.

And since Becky didn’t fit in Barbie’s world, and they didn’t want to adapt the world to her, she was “discontinued.”

If you want a more perfect fucking metaphor for the way people with disabilities get treated, you couldn’t make one up. “This person doesn’t fit in our lives anymore; I guess we’ll just be done with them.”

A nice little thought to keep in your mind the next time you narrowly avoid a car accident.

h/t Peter Clines.

You would think the fact that there are so many ways to acquire disabilities would be the perfect Veil of Ignorance to encourage people to think about this. But, no. 

https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-04-09/becky-barbies-wheelchair-bound-friend-was-discontinued-heres-why//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

If I’d had this when I was a kid I would have turned out even more like I did.

If I’d had this when I was a kid I would have turned out even more like I did.

I think Erik Jensen would get a kick out of it.

And it might goin Chris Kutalik’s frog demon file.

https://books.google.fr/books?id=XCNQ0jRHtKIC&pg=PT3&lpg=PT3&dq=captain+najork+full+text&source=bl&ots=ja3afmS0ew&sig=TtvWxmcrcUeHmmN9jFwqeyt9SpU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3wOOqspXTAhVl4YMKHeF5COgQ6AEIPTAJ#v=onepage&q=captain%20najork%20full%20text&f=false//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Incidentally appended to a discussion of software development, Woozle Hypertwin provides the clearest explanation of…

Incidentally appended to a discussion of software development, Woozle Hypertwin provides the clearest explanation of archaeology and, by extension, structural-functionalist anthropology that I’ve ever read:

to sneak around the back of the restaurant and reverse-engineer the menu by looking at what’s in the dumpster.

The previous image I’d had in my head was provided by an anthro professor who explained it to her students as “like trying to find the programming code behind cultural practices.” I regretfully pointed out that this might not have the same illuminating effect these days as it had 20 years ago, since computers are increasingly just magic black boxes for kids these days.

so if Trump is, as has been touted, the peak oil president, I guess making oil prices jump might not be the optimal…

so if Trump is, as has been touted, the peak oil president, I guess making oil prices jump might not be the optimal strategy?

Originally shared by Steve MacLellan

In just one year, the cost of solar generation worldwide dropped on average 17 percent, the report found. The average costs for onshore wind dropped 18 percent last year, while those for offshore wind fell a whopping 28 percent.

https://thinkprogress.org/renewables-cheapest-new-power-globally-74910c78bbbe//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Ian Borchardt I’m trying to write some DnD retroclone rules for ships and ship combat – so I’m looking for something…

Ian Borchardt I’m trying to write some DnD retroclone rules for ships and ship combat – so I’m looking for something light enough not to take over the whole table, that can be used inside an RPG rather than as a standalone wargame. Could you tell me what you think Poseidon’s Warriors, Thieves World VI and Ramspeed do especially well?

….I’ve also been going back to historical data to base my ships’ characteristics off – I’m kind of lost in the weeds right now describing ships and worrying about how to handle the things for which we don’t have very good data. I could use a masterly, elegant handling of the topic to tell me what I can afford to ignore.

Any help, advice or opinions gratefully received.

Have I mentioned that I come from the land of shipwrecks?

Have I mentioned that I come from the land of shipwrecks? In fact, allegedly the seaway that had the most frequent and deadly shipwrecks in the world up to WW2?

The Gibson archive… of dramatic and often haunting images, assembled over 125 years (1872 to 1997) by four generations of the Gibson family, records over 200 wrecks – the ships, heroic rescues, survivors, burials and salvage scenes – off the treacherous coastline of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

http://images.rmg.co.uk/?service=set&action=show_content_page&language=en&category=&set=173&qw=&page=3&grid_layout=4&ref=news&utm_source=Royal+Museums+Greenwich+Picture+Library+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a58bfecede-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_951cfb5066-a58bfecede-37651429

Almost useless repost because you all follow Luka Rejec anyway…

Almost useless repost because you all follow Luka Rejec anyway…

…but just in case you didn’t click through:

3.eyes glaze over and turn into mirrored orbs, their useless functions taken over by a strange, snuffly and slightly precognitive sense. Range 60′, advantage on surprise saves.

I want to read Luka’s WTF game when it comes out.

Originally shared by Luka Rejec

Remember this one? You guys asked for it a couple o’ weeks ago.

Let’s generate more astral sickness effects, shall we?

http://www.wizardthieffighter.com/2017/32-githyanki-astral-marines/

http://www.wizardthieffighter.com/2017/32-githyanki-astral-marines///cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Things I wish for wistfully but recognize are lousy science fiction:

Things I wish for wistfully but recognize are lousy science fiction:

A federal United States of Europe, formed right after WW2, with checks and balances in it informed by the Nuremberg trials and the general spirit of the International Criminal Court.

A federal Greater United States of Europe, including Ukraine and a democratic Russia, formed in 1991, pursuing friendly relations with the democratic and co-operative Republics of Turkestan and Sibero-Mongolia.

An end to nationalism and the rise of a smart, responsible, and civil-liberty-guaranteeing world government.

Not a flying car but a working public transport system like they had in the Netherlands in the 90s, goddammit.

Thoughtful, useful post from Joseph Manola expresses exactly why I’m hesitant to publish anything about my Tartary…

Thoughtful, useful post from Joseph Manola expresses exactly why I’m hesitant to publish anything about my Tartary campaign:

You can describe a setting as vast and wide-open and full of mystery and adventure, but if you then go on to explain everything about it in encyclopedic detail then it will feel small and cramped and fussy, no matter how many thousand-mile wildernesses you draw on your map. (Exhibit A: the Forgotten Realms.) By the same token, even if your setting is described as crazily complex, it will feel as though it is open to freewheeling adventure as long as that complexity is communicated through broad-brush outlines and maybe a random table or two.

I’ve deliberately kept the level of detail and interconnectedness in ATWC very low, in order to encourage that outsider’s perspective, and to ensure that everything feels suitably open.

I could rattle off a big, hulking book of lore about Tartary almost in my sleep at this point. But I wouldn’t want to read it and I wouldn’t want any player to feel like they had to read it. In this ERB is my guide: John Carter gatecrashes Barsoom and does big, irresponsible things that he would never do if he really understood what was going on. And in doing those things, in behaving that way, he reveals the simple motives underlying sedimentary layers of lore, which are really only alluded to through wall carvings and costume. The religions of Barsoom are frauds – you can tell that when you strip a high priest of his followers and comforts, and see what he really values. The Green Men are cheerful opportunists mostly distracted from their urge to conquer by entrenched honour codes… until John smashes through the hierarchy.

And PCs do this stuff all the time. And for me, at least, happiness lies in enjoying that and having them destruction-test my world. It’s my best defense against getting precious.

Of course, I can also appreciate the virtues of the opposite approach: Tekumel has a deep interior that invites careful stratigraphic exploration. And I can’t really predict what will happen in Tartary without having something of that same layered understanding in my head. But I feel I should resist the urge to dump all that into anyone else’s head.

Originally shared by Joseph Manola

Can You Map the OSR by “The Politics of Personalities?”

Can You Map the OSR by “The Politics of Personalities?”

Yes, probably. But honestly I think I’d rather map it on some kind of edition war axis. Which is to say I absolutely don’t want to do either.

This is nothing against Patrick Stuart’s recent post, which I think is spot on when it talks about various wizards in towers.

Even though he doesn’t mention me, dammit. Even though I’m sooooper important.

I guess I’m a wizard in a sewer. Never sprung for the architecture.

Oh Staypineapple hotel.

Oh Staypineapple hotel. You had a weird name and a gimmick but you were comfortable and reasonably priced. But now you’re emailing me meaningless sales shit that nobody could take seriously, that you yourselfhave to know is just wasting everyone’s time. So I guess I’ll avoid you in future.

I think I mentioned seeing a photo of a particularly unflattering “Dutchman” Balinese theater mask during a Tartary…

I think I mentioned seeing a photo of a particularly unflattering “Dutchman” Balinese theater mask during a Tartary session back in the Beforetime. I finally remembered what book it was from, only to discover that a) I no longer had it and b) that it was going for about $75 second hand these days (I think I bought it at a remainder table for 5 bucks). My old university library has a copy and sometime soon I’ll drive down there and find the pic I’m thinking of, but this will have to do for now.

http://www.balinesedance.org/photosets/balinese-theatre/sets-of-masks/topeng-pajegan-and-bondres/belanda—a-dutchman-foreig.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Polymorph Self:

Polymorph Self:

Dave, playing an ogre mage, has transformed himself into a traveling merchant. The various wares he sells are all parts of himself, allowing him to see and hear inside the houses of the townsfolk to select victims for his thief companion.

The DM recognizes that this is exactly the sort of thing that might happen in the Arabian Nights or Journey To The West, but it raises difficult questions of partible personhood. She allows the crock but places a limitation: every piece of the ogre separated from the whole must bear some mark of identity – a face woven into the carpet, the handle of the lamp shaped like an ear, the necklace a string of tiger’s eye gems and gilded snaggle teeth.

Ramen-San is a pretty good soup noodles and pork belly bar in central Chicago.

Ramen-San is a pretty good soup noodles and pork belly bar in central Chicago.

John is an amazing goddamn first-class bartender. He single-handedly raises it from 3.5 to 5 stars.

1. He mixes well. Get the Paper Crane (equal parts Suntory whisky, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and Yuzu).

2. He recommends superb sake to go with what you’re eating.

3. He has the Jeeves touch. He’s invisible unless you want him, he knows everyone or gets to know them and what they like, he runs the place like it’s nothing, and he’ll talk to you about Japanese whiskies and their provenance, without missing a beat. Damn, it’s good to see someone good in action.

I haz bartender shame.

http://ramensan.com///cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

OK so. I know I’ve been a goddamn firehose of images the last 2 days. It will settle down again, don’t worry.

OK so. I know I’ve been a goddamn firehose of images the last 2 days. It will settle down again, don’t worry.

I think I have some people here who hate public art, or don’t want to know about it, or think it’s not for them.

Here’s a tip for anyone who goes “that’s just a pile of bricks, my dog could do better, what a waste of space.”

While you’re stuck there looking at it with your sister in law I bet you could find something in there to enjoy even if you don’t enjoy whatever you think art is supposed to be. What if you go “let’s think of it as a monster. What does it do? What would my players do if they found this in a dungeon?”

Suddenly it doesn’t matter if you understand it or not, or even if it’s any good.

Monsters of Chicago

Monsters of Chicago

Frida Kahlo girl is for Scrap Princess

Actually all of these are for Scrap Princess

The grapefruit is part of a tampon/underwear ad.

I don’t get the joke but I’m not the target audience, I guess.

Chicago’s statue of Christopher Columbus is surrounded by fasces. For real. Right on.

Bang Chop Thai restaurant in Chicago’s West Loop is only OK.

Bang Chop Thai restaurant in Chicago’s West Loop is only OK.

CH Distillery OTOH, around the corner from it, is very OK.

They do a wide selection of well-made spirits, which they serve in well-made cocktails at their well-appointed bar. I have no idea what the food’s like but the barmen and the drinks are good and the amaro is really something special.

The whole setup looks too trendy to be true. But it’s true.

http://chdistillery.com///cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Along with the usual axes and arrowheads, archaeologists sometimes dig up carefully-made flint tools that don’t fit…

Along with the usual axes and arrowheads, archaeologists sometimes dig up carefully-made flint tools that don’t fit any known function.

These “eccentrics” tend to get ignored in the literature because nobody can think of any plausible theories regarding their use – in fact, most of them aren’t even fitted for human hands.

#Tekumel

#Ancientinternetofthings

#Mayanarmyknife

People flock to the big, flashy stone temples but it’s a mistake to ignore the more modest roadside shrines – those…

People flock to the big, flashy stone temples but it’s a mistake to ignore the more modest roadside shrines – those minor gods often pay more attention to the supplicant’s particular needs.

And size is no guarantee of quality – charlatans are everywhere, good grottoes go bad, priesthoods change with time. Signs of seriousness here: the sacrifices are burnt out in the open and there’s a temple guardian in the form of a mastiff that can smell wrong intentions.

you were wondering about muzzle velocities of cannons…

you were wondering about muzzle velocities of cannons…

…short answer – about 1400 feet per second and up. I would say at the moment the powder lights, you don’t have time to dive for cover if you’re closer than 2000 feet (car safety folks usually assume 2 seconds reaction time to novel hazards). Between 2000 and 5000 you could maybe… but at that distance it’s much harder to see the moment of firing (rather than the big balloon of smoke a second later). If you’re within 300 feet then the time to jump off the far side of the boat is when you hear the word “fire!” because there’s probably a 2 second delay between that and the powder being lit.

http://www.arc.id.au/CannonBallistics.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Today’s fresh goats, just for Paolo Greco

Today’s fresh goats, just for Paolo Greco

The Little Goat Diner is excellent and, I suspect, already well-known to everyone in Chicago. It was hopping at lunchtime on a Tuesday. It’s part of the same business as the apparently amazing Girl & The Goat restaurant.

http://girlandthegoat.com/

…I strongly suspect Olympia Meats is another part of the enterprise.

And then for dessert, a statuette that’s pleased to see you from the National Museum of Mexican Art.

http://nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/

The artist, Miguel Linares Mendoza, calls it El gusano (the worm) but I think we know better.

Could this be what we saw from the road into Chicago?

Could this be what we saw from the road into Chicago?

It looks a lot more orderly from the air. From the ground it just seemed to be a big pile of military vehicle frames and made me think “oh now I understand why there was that meme in the early 80s in RPG products about “Uncle Al’s rocket parts and military supplies” where you could get an untested under-the-counter bazooka.

http://www.russellmilitarymuseum.com/location.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Not a cocktail, but this seems like the best collection for food sharing:

Not a cocktail, but this seems like the best collection for food sharing:

I almost didn’t go to Royce’ chocolates, upstairs from Vosges on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, because I’d already blown my chocolate budget on two and a half Vosges truffles.

I’m glad I did – their tiny Nama, um, rectangles are like a super dense, super rich chocolate mousse. Cocktail stick recommended: they’d just melt all over you if you tried to pick them up with your fingers.

And looking at their Japanese site I was going to say “not in Chicago or Boston? Sucks to be you” but it turns out you can order online. If you have no regard for your wallet or waistline.

https://order.royceconfectusa.com///cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Following Dunkey Halton’s lead, this is a new collection for half-baked ideas.

Following Dunkey Halton’s lead, this is a new collection for half-baked ideas. Theirs are mostly awesome, mine are mostly stupid.

#1: A cotillion struck by lightning: standard high-class social event disrupted by unthinkable cosmic incursion kind of set-up. Character classes are all the usual fallout from such events: zombies, survivalists, fetishy biker gang punks, industrial-fear spermy body-horror monsters etc who have to try to make a new life in a gentrified rural Georgia full of people that want to shoot you on sight. Somewhere there’s a compassionate Dirk Bogarde type NPC doctor – if you can get to him you can at least get a stirring speech and some pathos as you get gunned down by the disghusted locals.

Here’s what I remember of Braunstein 1 – sadly I don’t know everyone’s motivations…

Here’s what I remember of Braunstein 1 – sadly I don’t know everyone’s motivations…

I played the Baron. His motives are simple: get his son out of jail, give him a talking to, go see his mistress Fifi, and get a good job for his bastard.

The University Chancellor’s motives also seem simple: get the students released from jail, do not admit any fault for them or the university in the trashing of the 2 taverns.

The major knows that it was his militiamen that caused most of the damage to the taverns and specifically that they raided the wine stores of tavern 1. He wants to blame it on the students and keep his men out of trouble.

The visiting Prussian colonel wants to inspect the town’s fortifications (which are full of holes), get his son out of jail and stop any French espionage.

Status quo-supporting students are A, E and D:

A is the son of the the colonel. I don’t know what he wants except to get out of jail. He lives at the brothel (tavern 2) because his dad used to live there when he was a student, before it was a brothel.

E is secretly the bastard son of the Baron. He’s a math genius. The Baron wants to get him a good work position without revealing the relationship. I know E’s player and can ask him more about his motives.

D (the “Saxon stallion”) is secretly the daughter of the Banker, dressed in drag in order to study at the university, which does not admit female students. She’s living at the brothel ostensibly as a man. The brothel girls know the secret, as does Fifi (the Baron’s mistress), who is protecting Student D by posing as “his” girlfriend, thereby avoiding other entanglements.

Republic-supporting students are B, C and F.

B is the Baron’s son, he’s a young firebrand, charismatic speaker… but I don’t know what he wants otherwise.

C…. I know nothing about.

F is secretly a French spy. His job is to convert the students, learn about the fortifications, and escape.

The book dealer is also a French spy – he needs to find the right person in town to pass a Bible to, in order to use it for book codes later. There’s a pass phrase with a special response.

The Banker is the proper recipient for the Bible. His brother is imprisoned in France, so he’s helping the Revolutionary French in order to keep his brother safe.

At some point both Prussian and Bavarian troops are supposed to turn up, I don’t recall when or why.

This is really nice to see – the original board for Dungeon!

This is really nice to see – the original board for Dungeon!

Dave Wesely says the boardgame appeared at the gaming room in Lake Geneva some time after Dave Arneson starting running fantasy riffs on Braunstein and before Gary and Dave had any coherent plan for D&D – he seems pretty convinced that the idea of setting games in dungeons came originally from the boardgame.

I think the biggest single tonal shift from Braunstein to D&D is that in the former you are all natives of the place – soap opera characters in your usual surroundings – and in the latter you play outsiders who enter an unfamiliar situation with some assumed motivations and reward structures, which give you default motivations to build on top of.

I guess I should read Jon Peterson’s Playing at the World like Adam Thornton told me to.

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

David Megarry showing us his original prototype board for Dungeon. Afterwards we played the game using 1st edition prints of the game. My Wizard lost badly. #garycon #gcix

Jeremy Duncan I don’t know if your wife would have any advice here?

Jeremy Duncan I don’t know if your wife would have any advice here?

Originally shared by Michael Lee

I know the folks I know on here are mainly gaming oriented. But, if I had someone I knew who had a novel they were looking to submit to a publisher, who would you guys suggest?

Modern Horror with shades of suspense is it’s world.

Jack Shear James Raggi Daniel Sell

god damn we need to use more monsters inspired by obscure Japanese folklore.

Originally shared by Jensen Toperzer

god damn we need to use more monsters inspired by obscure Japanese folklore. I don’t mean kappas and shit I mean like LOOK at this:

“Sazae-oni (栄螺鬼 lit. shellfish ogre?) are creatures from Japanese mythology, resembling large mollusks. They are a type of obake, forming when turban snails, especially Turbo cornutus, reach 30 years of age.

The most popular legend of the Sazae-oni is that of a group of pirates which rescued a drowning woman from the sea and took her back to the ship. They vied for her attention, but soon found that she was willing to have sex with all of them, cutting their testicles off afterwards. The men, obviously upset, threw her into the ocean, where she revealed her true form, and bartered with the captain for their testicles back. The Sazae-oni ended up leaving with a large amount of pirate gold. Testicles are sometimes called kin-tama or “golden balls” in Japanese, so the punchline goes that gold was bought with gold.[1]””

These are GIANT SNAILS which TURN INTO PEOPLE, fuck EVERYONE ON YOUR SHIP, steals your balls, and then sells them back to you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sazae-oni

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sazae-oni//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

Kenneth Hite Sheila Ralston I’ve survived Gary Con and arrived in Chicago – if you would like to get together I’m…

Kenneth Hite Sheila Ralston I’ve survived Gary Con and arrived in Chicago – if you would like to get together I’m free through Wednesday.

My email address is richardjohnguy (at) this company’s mail servers., cellphone is (607) 329-4350.

Did I hear right that Ken’s been under the weather? So far I’m not showing any signs of con crud (crosses fingers).

Gary Con is over.

Gary Con is over. I got to play with some really amazing DMs/GMs/Referees – Dave Wesely (Braunstein), Paolo Greco (hilarious Gangs and Bullshit), Jarrett Crader (DCC funnel), Allen Hammack (who let me finally understand what’s different and interesting about Boot Hill) and Victor Raymond, who ran a wildly intriguing Tekumel that makes me want more. Thank you all.

I also regret not spending more time with Robert Parker, trey causey, Handy Haversack and a bunch of others (Jason Sholtis, Mark Hunt… so many people and I’m so tired right now), but somehow there was never enough time.

This is the second time today I’ve been shown the proper technique to use when triggering an eye (first time was with a big d30). If I ever get hold of one I won’t have to use 2 hands, like I did in the game.

Thanks all! And to Adam Thornton and the whole gang there who welcomed me and helped me figure out which way was up.

Originally shared by John Till

How to Fire an Eye

I made this home video for some art direction that I provided to illustrator Juan Ochoa. The thumb depresses the firing stud on the back of the Eye (opposite the face of the iris) while the first and second fingers keep the upper and lower edges of the Eye …

Playing Boot Hill (Westworld) – you can tell who the bad guys are because they have no respect for the grid.

Playing Boot Hill (Westworld) – you can tell who the bad guys are because they have no respect for the grid.

Pull quote: “Boot Hill has no way to deal with intelligence or problem solving, so we’re going to have to wing it. That’s the sort of game it is.”

Thanks, Allen Hammack – fun shooty times. And we stole a train and most of us actually survived.

“To manage a group of labourers is like managing a group of primary-school children.

“To manage a group of labourers is like managing a group of primary-school children. They have to be provided with food or clothes, and they are taught how to behave … sometimes they start drinking alcohol; sometimes they indulge in feasts. So we have to pay them with caution. We divide them into small groups because larger numbers of workers tend to form a union and sometimes engage in mass holidays or strikes.”

Originally shared by Sean Lin

A key strategy for Aanan is keeping workers indebted while asking for their gratitude and undermining their perception that opportunities exist. In a form of Stockholm syndrome, the oppressed often agree.

https://aeon.co/essays/this-is-what-slavery-looks-like-today-in-the-eyes-of-slavers//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js