Wednesday, September 28, 2011

RIP to Arch West - creator of Doritos

Arch West has been credited with creating the Doritos chip/brand while working for the Frito Lay company. He served in WWII in the navy.

RIP and thanks for Doritos. Many a smile has been generated by that simple food.






Zoouniverse the most interesting link you will see all day or year

Zooniverse hosts a lot of public science projects.
The Zooniverse is home to the internet's largest, most popular and most successful citizen science projects. The currently live projects are here and plenty more are on the way.
Moonzoo, Galaxywatch Ice Hunters, Ancient Lives and, my personal favorite, Planet Hunters.

These are real science projects that you can get involved in. These would be somewhat similar to the gamers who helped solved the AIDS puzzle a short while ago (though probably not as immediately impacting).

Our universe. Join it. Seriously!


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tikal - mayan ruins


Palenque - inspiration

Maya ruins are really cool. Google em - though I will be posting a lot in the coming days. Anyway, thought I would post a pic or two for some lost civilization inspiration (good for Cthuluesque stuff as well).

The palace at Palenque



Palace in cross section
  
Palace construct

One of the first photos from Maudslay's expedition. He did a lot of clearing prior to photographing - a lot



Assault on Blacktooth Ridge for 2.99

On the Kindle.

Wag

I like this word. One given to mischievous humor or droll humor. I did not know it also means to proceed or travel. Its also Walgreens stock code. Wild A** Guess, Wives or girlfriends of footballers and skipping class.

Who'd uh thunk it?

Random city encounter

The streets are not crowded here. Many children move about playing and making mischief. Ahead, the children scatter and the distinct clatter of arms and armor reverberates down the street. A member of the city guard turn the corner and heads down. In tow are four children tied together and two more members of the guard.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Carocol Belize, Mayan Ruin


Add some rooms to the interior and you have a spooky demon infested hell. Or maybe some silk trappings and you have a brothel for the damned.

Troll Lord 1, Einstein 0

With superhuman efforts, a neutrino has broken the Speed of Light Speed Limit Speedily imposed by that mental Speed Demon, Einstein.

Speed

OK, its being double checked but hey, my long held ad long ridiculed position that the speed of light limit imposed by Einstein is simple an observation of scale is slowly being realized.

I can die now.

The great blue hole house and ancient relic



Seriously, there is an ancient relic in there. Waiting to be found. But, it is guarded by some beast of hellish origin.

Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize. Wiki link

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Random city encounter

The owl's hour is quiet. The streets and lanes are nearly empty and black shadows hide many a nefarious deed. It is compact in the lower quarters with narrow alleys connected as if a warren created by some demented rat. A maze offering clandestine movements and easy escapes into the dens of underworld.

A large group shuffles along the alley, hugging the sides of buildings. The starlight briefly illuminates a scar faced man carrying a short thick gnarled cudgel in one hand while tugging on a rope in the other. The rope it attached to the bound hands of a string of cowled figures. The figures moan and whimper and the man tugs hard to quiet them. At the end of the group are two men. One of thick chest and close cropped beard. He is tall and wears armor clad in metal rings, at his side a morningstar dangles loosely. Behind him is the Fat Man as he is called. A corpulent caricature of a human. He is the personal servant of that most malicious lord, the Baron Flatulent.

A breeze catches the hoods covering the faces of the figures and blows them astray revealing young women gagged and with pleading eyes. Here, you stop for a moment. It is a friend. She who hates the Baron Flatulent. Whose family died at his command.. She notices and knows she has been identified. She winks.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Oh my, what lives in here?


Now this is a giant

or troll.

And its how I imagine a fight between humans and a giant.
"Quit hitting my toes. Damn I hate fighting humans."

From Fyodor

Cool looking battlemats

From Zuzzy miniatures.

I have not used these but they look pretty cool. You can get the mats in various sizes. There are only a few types to selection from but probably enough for most games. They are adding more as time goes on.


Joe the Lawyer changes careers. Becomes Engineer

Joe's latest (and first to my knowledge) creation.

In addition to becoming an engineer with a specific focus on ancient medieval experimental siege craft for use against gnomish settlements, he is becoming a lumberjack and clear-cutting his backyard.

Speaking of trees, umbrage

So, umbrage, in addition to meaning offense or displeasure, also refers to shade or shadow as well. As in the shade cast by the leaves of a tree.

'He ducked into the umbrage of an expansive willow and avoided the searching eyes of the fiery beast as it swooped overhead.'


Random city encounter

The salty air wafts cold through down the streets. The breath of the sun has not even touched the rooftops when a crier begins to announce an execution, waking the characters from their deep slumber.

"By decree of Lord Umbrage and the Council of Indignation, the Lady of Huff shall be laid low and at the setting of the sun on this very evening for treason most foul."

The crier begins to repeat himself, as he will do all day when a voice, muffled by the walls of the inn, is heard in the next room. "No. Not if I live, no she will not."

Friday, September 23, 2011

Virupaksha Temple

speaking of trees


The banyan tree.

wiki link

Tree - image only - nice tree


link

this is where a dryad might live

2000 year old gladiator helmet


From Pompeii. I have no idea where it is currently being displayed. Probably back in Pompeii. I bring this up because I just found the article (3 years old) but found the picture fascinating.

Random city encounter

The High Priest of the Temple of Lamentation and Woe has sent forth criers to announce from the rooftops that Vali has arrived and sits in the Chamber of Judgement. He is listening to the petitions of his people and intends to take on one task and fulfill it to that person he considers most worthy.



Thursday, September 22, 2011

Ancient Summerian city - Mari


Cool concept for a city design.

Wiki link.

Random city encounter

The avenue is broad but crowded with revelers, merchants, hawkers and a myriad of others. It is a time of feasting and the annual celebrations have begun.

The beating of drums reverberates down the street and the crowd begins to part and move away from the center of the avenue. Many avert their eyes, a few bend low to the ground and very few others stare openly at the two white cowled priests beating a slow rhythm upon large drums escort another down the avenue. The priest in the center wear white robes as his two escorts though interlaced with purple and red embroidery.

The characters are in the middle of the promenade and know nothing of the local priesthood. What do they do?   

Reaper madness - Reapercon paint job winner

Well, one of the category winners. Awesome paint job.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Adventurer's Medical kit

Everything any adventure could possibly need can be found.....

drum roll


at


AMAZON

When did gnomes become killing machines?

I envision gnomes like thus...

not like thus

or thus

To me, the gnome is a far more fascinating creature as a small earth elemental type humanoid with magical qualities originally ascribed to it (ie the ability to move through earth as a fish through water).

Earliest coins were electrum?

Not necessarily. In the 7th century BC electrum coins were minted in Miletus. The Stater (or standard) electrum was equal to a months pay for a soldier. So what could an electrum buy? I have no idea. But consider that one electrum would be equal to the pay of a sgt in the army today. I am guessing around 2000.00 equivalence (as the army sees it, maybe more) and 1600.00 in real pay. I have no idea.

Now what can that buy?




Prometheus - Alien returns

Prometheus is the newest edition in the Alien series. It has not been released yet. Ridley Scott is directing it. I trust that Mr. Scott will do a fine job with the film. Hopefully it will be both as terrifying as the first movie and as action packed as the second. I could live without the others as they added little to the universe or feel of Alien.

A little more here.

Shock - Justin Lin dropping out of Terminator 5

Jaw hits the floor.

There's a Terminator 5?

link and link


Cleopatra 2525

I went over to Hulu last night looking for something interesting to watch. Hulu has a nice selection of movies and TV shows. While browsing the sci-fi section, I stumbled on this gem.



When complications arise during her breast augmentation surgery, 20th-century exotic dancer Cleo is put into suspended animation. Waking 525 years in the future, Cleo joins two women in their fight against the Baileys, armed flying machines who now control Earth's surface.( From Wikipedia.)
I think the combination of breast augmentation, exotic dancer, suspended animation and flying machines sold it.

There is a fan site here. It has not been updated in a while (5 years).

They also have an online RPG. I guess there was a TPK.

I did not watch an episode but have put way up on my 'to do later to do' list. Actually, I am so curious I may watch an episode sooner rather than later.

Watch here



 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Wooly Rhino origins revealed

In its premiere, this ancient wooly rhino reveals the origins of later ice age rhinos.



I love pleistocene megafauna.

Conan of Cimmeria and books

So I was out in the garage rummaging and found this book (image from net, but same book)


Reminds not only how much I liked these books but how much I like the feel of a book. The e-book thing will never sit with me I don't think.

Monte Cook back to D&D/WotC

Monte Cook is going back to? the D&D line and looks to be heading up R&D. So a new version is on the horizon.

Again.

5th time is the charm? I look forward to the revisions.


Man can llight the universe with a create light spell

Scientists have just created the most awesome light spell ever. Ok, maybe a gamma ray beam spell. This beam of light is,
more than a thousand billion times more brilliant than the sun.
In your eyes you dragon you.

Holy cow

I keep getting busy. This has made me realize how difficult it would be to run an actual blog. It would be (probably is for some people) a full time job.

So here I go again. Once more into the breach.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Shout out to a dungeon generator

Myth Weavers has a neat dungeon generator. This is what I made.


LOL

It comes with encounters as well. I was thinking about trying to make an effort at running a total sandbox hex crawl random dungeon event game/ I would need some resources to do it though.

Random town, random city encounters, random mapmaker, random overland, random room, random plot etc

maybe I could auto pilot it..

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Sea monster in Australia


Eyewitnesses claim that a huge-eyed, semi-aquatic beast attacked a ship in the Pacific Ocean, where it apparently ate at least one unfortunate sailor aboard the vessel.

Old story (well a year) but interesting - in its lack of facts. Who knows though. Something big may yet be found in those depths.

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Travian Browsaer game - A++++

I played 3 whole sessions of travian in the past few years. I may actually try and play the game again. If anyone likes browser games, this is the one to play. The upside is wads of fun and aggression pays off real well. The downside, if you have any children, they will starve as you sit at the computer 24/7.

Check it out

Bagan - astonishing picture

I mentioned Bagan a few days back Here is another picture from National Geographic.


link

We have a new Troll Lord video up


Go out tonight and look at a Supernova

A ticking time bomb exploded (thousands of years ago) and we can now see its light.

Pretty cool.


link

Monday, September 05, 2011

Problem on the blog

So, when some people get on, they get attacked by a viral infection. Malaware!. ONe of the links has malaware in it I have tried digging around to find the offending link, but to no avail. So beware. If anyone has any pointers as to hwo to remove it please let me know. Otherwise - be aware of malaware. I'll be more careful in the future with my links.

State of the Trolls, 2024

State of the Trolls It has been a momentous few years since my last State of the Troll. A great deal has happened since, from the OGL conund...