The Mouth of the Gods

The Hermit

Braelik moved slowly across the courtyard looking about, searching for a sign amongst the many pedestals. They were silent. Atop each pedestal sat a small figurine. Some were made of wood and crudely crafted. Others of stone and precious metals were better made. No matter their nature, all were quiet. The Ahghaust were not speaking to Braelik tonight. The hermit could not recall a time in his whole life when, at the very least, the Maiden of Sacrifice would not speak to him.

Braelik worried. He sat cross legged before a small wooden statue. Little more than child's carving, the figure was carved by Braelik years ago before he left the rock. It remained his most precious carving, the one through which he could speak to the Maiden.

Nothing.

Brealik pulled the ragged jade blade from his belt. This, his first weapon, sliced across both palms. Blood pooled before Braelik's crossed legs. He lifted the figurine from the pedestal and bathed it in his blood while whispering the Maiden's name over again and again.

Nothing.

Braelik then knew the time had come. His mind wandered back to his youth. He sat upon a rock overlooking a winding river. The Maiden was nearby, speaking to him. "You are the Mouth of the Ahghaust. In time, you may come to speak for them, to become their will in this world and open paths for them to return. You will know that time." That had been many years ago.

As Braelik rose he glanced at the sky and the moon. The moon was little more than sliver of pale light on a horizon festooned with so many glittering starts it seemed as if milk were pouring from the heavens.

Then a bat flew by. It coursed through the air coming ever closer to Braelik. Then came near to his head for a moment and then went about its hunt in the darkest. This was the only sign. The only message Braelik recieved from the Gods. He strode resolutely across the courtyard and into the Monestary's grounds searching for Kai, Tolvar, Karaji and even Stark.

They were not to be found in the monestary. Braelik left the enclosure through the Ostinhote, the Gate of the Toad, and headed along the pathetic to Alese as gloomy clouds began blot and smear the stars in the eastern horizon.

Roman Nose

Warrior of the Cheyenne, Roman Nose was the embodiment of everything popular culture has attributed to the plains warriors. Roman Nose rode a spirited, beautiful war pony; he decked himself out in a long trailing war bonnet and bore a rifle into battle. He led many war parties against the settlers crossing along the Oregon Trail. Roman Nose was known for his bold attacks and personal bravery. It is said that his presence alone drove his warriors into a frenzy.

Roman Nose dominated the plains wars from 1860-1868. His death was as remarkable as his life. He attacked a scouting party led by Captain Forsythe. After wounding many of them the scouts took refuge on the small Beecher Island building a wall of trees and digging small rifle pits. Undeterred Roman Nose led mounted attacks across the river in an attempt to dislodge the cavalrymen. He was hot hard on during one of these rushes and pulled to safety by his men where he died.

A Salute to all the Fallen Warriors from all branches of the United States Armed Forces.

Here's a really cool picture/animation of the Planet Saturn. I love the planets, I'm guessing its quiet up there. No phones ringing and such . . . .

Check out 1.34. Looks like the death star has moved into position.

A Castle is Born

Dude working on his castle in France. The tradition of Castle building goes back, oh , I would say 100 to 200 years when wealthy gentry in England and France decided they needed 'old' ruins of castle or such on their land to create the impression of an 'old' family lineage or add to the appeal of the property (I mean, who wouldn,t want a crumbling wall on their property). It's sorta changed in the late 19th century and on throu to today. Castle were constructed to appear like medieval castles but with all modern conveniences. Now it's straight medieval from construction techniques to cold mutton for dinner.

Linky

Ranger Map 1

Here are some iconic wizards from the cinema. I couldn't tell you which I like the best. The Gandalf from LoTR is pretty darn cool.

Okay, found this video in my constant search for background music in the office. Give the words a listen:

Wizards come in many shapes and sizes. Peter and I are mulling over the dress of the wizard on the new PH cover. I'm leaning toward traditional, flowing robes, cloaks and the like. He's leaning more toward the practical, adventuring wizard . . . .

My Thoughts...the one in the tree.

Peter's thoughts...

 

I'm beginning to lean toward peters.

He also does a great Red Sonja as noted in this early sketch of his.

Here's another Buscema sketch of Conan. This one captures that raw nerve of power that is the barbarian. Frazetta was able to capture a moment, while maintaining that motion, but Buscema capture a mood. Excellent stuff.

Significance of five

In numerology, the number 5 is associated with many things. Amongst those aspects is adventure. ADVENTURE FREEDOM Etc. The 5th printing of the PHB is up, if you are seeking adventure, join in the fun. That, or go naked into the Bob Marsh Wilderness. Davis

One of my all time favorite artists, John Buscema. I ran into his art in Davis' Conan Comic book #76...I believe that was the issues, it has Conan on the cover wearing a hawk helmet gripping the claw of a giant hawk...and fell in love with it. Buscema captures something raw in his art. His art is primeval, a theme I wallow in.

See a little More

Here's an ancient riddle for you language buffs, the phaistos disc. Discovered in Crete in 1908, no one has been able to decipher it. Its a cornerstone to some long ago people and or culture.

Probably gnomes.

I would like to know the story behind this picture:

Here's an interesting site. An online resource for charnal houses, mortuaries and the like.

The below is a picture of a martyr from Waldsassen Germany.

Language is the Key

Language has always fascinated me. The way we communicate is bound to our culture and our culture to it. So when there are finds like that one in Turkey, it is truly an open door to the past. It seems they have unearthed a 3000 year old cuneiform tablet.

Researchers working at Ziyaret Tepe, believe that the language may once have been spoken by deportees originally from the Zagros Mountains, on the border of modern-day Iran and Iraq.  They suggest the unknown language could be Shubrian – the indigenous language spoken in the Tushan area before the Assyrians arrived, but never written down.

Read More.

War of Arrows

Sat down over the weekend and watched a really cool movie: War of Arrows. Set in medieval Korea it charts the adventures of Korean, Nam Yi, who sets out to rescue his sister after she (and a whole bunch of people) are kidnapped by a Manchurian raiding party. Nam Yi is an extraordinarily good shot with the bow. The movie develops into a running battle between Nam Yi and these elite Manchurian soldiers. It has some amazing action sequences, is an excellent story and a darn fine movie. Very grounded, with no crazy shooting six shots a second or jumping through trees. A must see!

See the Trailer!

The significance of 5

Discordianism and the law of fives. The law of fives claims everything happens in fives. EVERYTHING!

For example, the 23 enigma claims all incidents or events are related to the number 23. And of course 2+3=5. Rule proved.

The fifth printing of the PHB is up. Which means someday there will be 500. I will long since be dead by then.

Davis

looking for writers/submissions

Well, our new year is about to begin. The troll year starts in August. We need some writers. We here at Troll Lord Games are looking for some modules.
We are paying .03 a word. Pay per word should increase over time should sales indicate it worth it.
What we are looking for are Castles and Crusades adventures @12,000 words.
Adventures can be overland or underground.
Level range can be anywhere from 1-12 but we would prefer the 4-8 range. The adventures should be generic in nature.
Only 2 unique monsters.
Introductory material must be under 1000 words.
No sandbox setting material.
No extra planar adventures.
Not setting specific but can be tied to Airhde as default.
Very limited "to be read" material.
No new classes, spells or what not.
We also want only completed adventures, not ideas. I can not stress this enough. Complete modules.
We will take multi-part adventures but the entire series should be complete before submission. Each portion of the adventure should be @ 12000 words.
Use our monster books and rules.
Email completed manuscript to troll@trolllord.com and title MSG "module submission." Include contact info in the body of the text.
Davis

I finally finished book three of the Hunger Games. These books were much better than I expected. Her characters spot on and consistent. Enough action to keep one riveted and enough romance for those so inclined. Pretty brutal in parts too, much like the worlds we pass through. Highly recommended!

Hey, did anyone see that Bobby Petrino's, head coach, well ex-head coach of the Razorbacks, wrecked motorcycle is up for auction?  My only question is:  does it come with a blonde 22-year old attached to it?

Underwater Monsters

I don't think this creature cares whether or not you make your rent check this month!

Pretty cool monster beneath the seas. Turns out its a Deepstaria Jellyfish.

Read more!

It seems that evidence has mounted...again...that Mars is a more active planet than we thought. It seems the winds are blowing quite a bit, and making earth like sand dunes. One would think, at this point, that people would figure out that we don't know it all yet. Heck we can't even figure out the old water in the boot problem!

Photo taken from Wandering Space.

There is something about the acts of violence one finds nature, from the very small, to the very large. Apparently it seems that some supernovas occur when "Type 1a supernovas are triggered when white dwarfs gain weight, igniting a runaway thermonuclear reaction that destroys the dwarf, producing a fireball of predictable brightness." Its the gaining weight that is the mystery. How they gain has been a hotly debated topic, though it seems some believe that the exploding star was feeding off another star, its gas or the star itself....

Really cool article over at Science News. Read More.

Anyone see Josh Hamilton's four homers last night? Only done 19 times in history, and two of those were prior to 1900. Kind of think the Angels overspent on Pujols!

Try as I might I can't figure out why the Vikings didn't conquer the world and make it one heck of wild place to live in!!

I think we post this vid every few months.

Very interesting article on gaming consuls and the nature of distribution. These thoughts are very much in line with what is going on in the paper industry. Things have been thrown back to the 1970s, with larger stores able to navigate the changed dynamic of publishing, but the opportunities cropping up are allowing many small businesses the ability to give their ideas a try.

Read More

This is a breath taking view of the top of the world, from the peak of Mount Everest. It was taken by mountain climber Barry C. Bishop on their summit of the mountain in 1963.

Okay, so I had a chance to see the Avengers last night. That movie was flipping AWESOME. Definitely check it out and remain in your seats until the LAST of the credits have finished. They did not punk any of the characters.

Mars. The Red Planet. I love that spinning orb. We need to colonize it so I can live upon Barsoom.

Nice quick article at National Geographic.

The eyes have it, bigger eyes means faster speed

Maximum running speed is the most important variable influencing mammalian eye size other than body size, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

So, the bigger the eyes as relating to body mass or size means that the animal is faster than those with relatively smaller eyes relating to body size. This explains why those anime characters can move so fast. It does not explain why the 'floating eye' type creatures are so slow though.

This dude should be real fast - not.

 

Untitled

 

I think we all need a little beard...maybe we can hand these out for the next troll con!

Here's your castle for the day. These ruins stand upon the Rhine River in Germany. There are many such small bergs all along the river, standing atop hills, overlooking the many bending courses of the water flow.

Seems that DNA tracks have been followed across the European land mass from the Med all the way to Scandinavia, where these early humans "paired" with the locals. More than likely they were slaves carted around and sold. Slavery was a large part of Scandinavian culture at the time.

Read More.

Here are some ridiculously crowded islands. These images are pretty cool...this one looks like gnome towns gone wrong!