Daily Cosplay (Batgirl)

The Three Sisters C&C and Kickstarter

As promised, we are back! On Kickstarter, but this time it’s the big one. As you may or may not be aware, last month we sold out of all our main books, the Players Handbook, Castle Keepers Guide and Monsters & Treasure (we have a smattering of this title left). This made it inevitable that we launch a new campaign to get them all back on the gaming shelves.

Bigger and better! We are shooting for 15k to print the PH in cover but we have stretch goals built into the whole that allow us to print that book’s sisters in color as well. As of this writing we are over 11,000 and closing. So with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of help, we all can make this happen.

Join the fray! Here and Here! (it’s the same link, it just seemed appropriate to say it twice!)

Of the First Light

Erde pondered a great while upon the form the light should take and he wondered at the subtle beauty of the distant lights in the heavens, the embers of his first creation. And at last he pulled from his chest a rib and remade it. He tore it into countless thin threads and with the strands he wove a great curtain of shimmering, silver and this he unfolded throughout the heavens so that it hung as a great curtain, the light of which spilled across the land.

But to his amazement the curtain lived, for in his rush to create the light he tore out a portion of his heart, bound to the rib he tore from his chest. It came loose and he wove it into the splinters of the curtain; it was that part of him that knew love and other similar passions. And so he made life as he had in the Void of old. This creation he named the Maiden Ea-Raena, that is the “beauty of youth” in the Vulgate, who the dwarves called Dunareu, though in after days she was called Mailahm, the Maiden of Night. And she wandered the heavens for many years. She was one of the few gods he named, though not the last, but ever his favorite.

Erde marveled in the light of her but after the Arc of Time played out some measure of itself he thought the light too soft and the world’s darker places still remained in shadow. He called to Ea-Raena and asked her to brighten the heavens, so she gathered many of her strands together and wove them into one form and she hung there in the heavens as a ball of silvery light. Though in truth she did not gather all the curtain, for at times, the long curtain would come into view in the far north or the deep south. But even this did not assuage Erde's lust.

~The Codex of Aihrde

Imaginarium

Five Line Movie Review ~ The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I held off watching this movie, it looked interesting, but seemed to be too much of a feel good piece to me. I love Ben Stiller but still kept my distance. But I kept seeing that poster board for it on Apple TV and it called to me. So I watched it and was surprised.

This movie starts with a surprise as the disinterested, miltonesque office worker is not in fact some displaced day dreamer, but rather a meticulous photo engineer. The premise and direction of the movie are very simple, we see the old being cleansed by the new and the resulting nostalgia that always results as people try to hold on to what is gone. But Walter, and the movie, accept their fate and with that in hand embark on a really simple, but cool series of adventures. Their is no pretentious lesson here; its a simple quest to find a moment in time, lost in a most unsurprising way; the love story is so understated its really captivating. Its worth the money you'll spend on it and the ending wraps the movie up so nicely that it leaves one comfortable with our ever changing world.

Weird World

Still one of the best comic fantasy adaptations I've ever read. Devoured this back in the day and it all came to play in my D&D game. The echo of the City of Seven Dark Delights remains in many of the major cities in Aihrde. But swamp dragon, the evil gods, all of it…very cool.

If you can find it, pick it up.

This Has ALOT of People in It

Titan Comics and the Ruby Throne

Titan Comis has announced the release of Elric The Ruby Throne in a deluxe hardcover edition. This launches Titan's new Elric graphic novel series. We are long overdue for some Elric goodness. We really need to capture the Albino Prince on the big screen.

Titan's book should be out in September of this year with an MSRP of $12.99. It does have an foreward by Michael Moorcock.

Word of the Day -- Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French chanson balladée or ballade, which were originally "dancing songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century it took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and the term is now often used as synonymous with any love song, particularly the pop or rock power ballad.

The ballad derives its name from medieval French dance songs or "ballares" (L: ballare, to dance), from which 'ballet' is also derived, as did the alternative rival form that became the French ballade. As a narrative song, their theme and function may originate from Scandinavian and Germanic traditions of storytelling that can be seen in poems such as Beowulf.  Musically they were influenced by the Minnesinger. The earliest example of a recognizable ballad in form in England is ‘Judas’ in a 13th-century manuscript.

Armor Up

This is going to hurt!

More from Peter Toth

This Mouse is Awesome

The video explains how he feels no pain do to this chemical reaction and that chemical reaction, but still he gets stabbed in the face about four times, so I'm not so sure about the pain thing.

Watch and enjoy, chances are this is going to be the fate of someone's character in tomorrow night's game.

Star Wars ~ Casting Announcements

This came out yesterday, but I failed to blog it in a timely manner. I fail to blog most news in a timely manner. So this blog is like a blast to the very very recent past.

At any rate….

Star Wars action figures announced! No really, but cast. Here's the list, I ripped it from Deadline.com as I don't know most of these people, except the first three:

J.J. Abrams has set his final Star Wars VII cast with a mix of up-and-comers, new faces, veteran thesps, returning favorites, and the Big Three – Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. Take a look at the full line-up of Star Wars Jedis and Dark-siders, including Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Adam Driver (Girls), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, About Time), Oscar-nominated Max von Sydow, and UK actress Daisy Ridley as well as franchise returnees Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker."

Its still planned for 2015 I believe. Looking forward to it. As is this guy . . . 

Daily Cosplay

A Series of adventures

So Steve and I were blabbering and wasting time and he wants me to do some short adventures since I have a problem finishing any thing over about 1000 words in length haha.

And I came up with an idea. So here this out and see if you all like it.

It would be called "36 Days (something)." The idea is that the characters are tasked with delivering a metal box to an agent in a city. That would be the simple task! Just get this box to the agent.

The agent is in the city of Elorishia on the island of Eloria where the demon prince Morgeld lives and rules (sorta). The adventures would consist of all the road blocks and tangents encountered along the way. I have 36 laid out.

The adventures would be 1-2 hours long and the length of the module would be around 6000 words or so (about 6-8 pages). Through the adventures the city would be detailed as is necessary. Now in addition, several new character classes would be introduced (city ranger for example, can't remember the name of it) by way of introducing the character classes coming out in the Adventurer's Backpack.

Anyway. Just thinking out loud about that.

Imaginarium

Bone Fields

This sounds like the set of a good Conan or Soloman Kane story . . . archeologists have found a deep well shaft and four chambers that contain the remains of up to 40 Egyptians from the 14th century BC. The tomb was looted long ago and anything of value hauled off to whatever crazed market sold the wares of the dead, but the find is significant. Read more at Livescience.

I can see a horde of the bone grinding undead rising from the tomb, crawling up the shaft, clawing at Soloman's swirling cloak. The Puritan turns to see the horror of the undead . . .

Movie Trailer ~ Godzilla with RODAN!

I'm pretty sure this movie just went from awesome to beyond awesome. Rodan was an awesome monster in the Godzilla movies. I had his model and everything.

I'm pretty sure that's him in the new trailer!

Armor Up (Iroquois)

Can't remember if we've put this guy up before . . .

Pegaso Models

Word of the Day -- Parcae

In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae (singular, Parca) were the female personifications of destiny, often called the Fates in English. Their Greek equivalent were the Moirai. They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared the Parcae. Jupiter also was subject to their power.
The names of the three Parcae were:

• Nona (Greek equivalent Clotho), who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle;
• Decima (Greek Lachesis), who measured the thread of life with her rod;
• Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death.

The earliest extant documents referencing these deities are three small stelae (cippi) found near ancient Lavinium shortly after World War II. They bear the inscription:

Neuna fata, Neuna dono, Parca Maurtia dono

The names of two of the three Roman Parcae are recorded (Neuna = Nona, Maurtia = Morta) and connected to the concept of fata.

Nona was supposed to determine a person's lifespan on the dies lustricus, that is, the day on which the name of the child was chosen, which occurred on the ninth day from birth for a male and the eighth for a female.

The recurrence of the nundinae was also considered a dies festus and as such nefas by some Roman scholars as Julius Caesar and Cornelius Labeo, because on it the flaminica dialis offered the sacrifice of a goat to Jupiter in the Regia.
One of the sources for the Parcae is Metamorphoses by Ovid, II 654, V 532, VIII 452, XV 781.
source: Wikipedia

Storm Gets Her Own Comic

Marvel has announced that Storm is going solo with her own comic this July.  She's is one of the strongest of the X-men characters I think, being both well conceived, written and portrayed, plus her powers are freakin' awesome! Glad to see that she's getting her own book.

I'm not real hip on the more modern look, with the mohawk haircut (I don't know if I'm supposed to use caps for that word, as the Mohawks are a tribe in the North East). Those hair cuts should be reserved for those who wore them best . . . the Osage!

Jeffrey Jones (art)

Daily Cosplay (Alexiel)

Movie Trailer ~ Wolf Cop

Oh lordy, I"m so in! This movie is going to rock . . . even if it is horrible, it will still rock!

C&C on Kickstarter

Today marks the pre-release of the Castles & Crusades Kickstarter. This kickstarter includes the Three Sisters, the Players Handbook, Monsters & Treasure and the Castle Keepers Guide. 

It goes live on Tuesday, but be sure to sign up for our newsletter, the Tusk, today to get special news and announcements . . . be sure to sign up today!

Armor Up (Skeleton)

This just inspired a new deity for the world of Aihrde!

Martin Goumaz

Found! Father of Dragons

A pterodactyloid, a flying dinosaur, was found in Chinese and researchers have determined that it is the oldest of the flying dinos, the pterosaurs. This fellow is quite small, but is the oldest of his kind and is probably one of the ancestors of the giant predactyles that dominated the skies 230 million years ago.

The fossils were found in China and have been dubbed Kryptodrakon Progenitor, to mark them as the first of that genus. They are all marked by a very distinctive bone that springs from the palm and, depending upon the species, attached either to the pinkie finger or ring finger. 

These guys are not related to modern birds as are dinosaurs. Read more at Live Science.

Word of the Day -- Arquebus

The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut, hook gun, or hook tube, is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. In distinction from its predecessor the hand cannon, it has a matchlock. Like its successor the musket, it is a smoothbore firearm, but was initially lighter and easier to carry.

It is a forerunner of the rifle and other longarm firearms. An improved version of the arquebus, the

caliver, was introduced in the early 16th century. The word is derived from the English corruption of calibre as this gun was of standard bore, increasing combat effectiveness as troops could load bullets that would fit their guns (before, they would have to modify shot to fit, force it in, or cast their own before the battle).

Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces (100 g).

She Rolled a One

Painting by Nguyens

Cyborg Joins Justice League

Looks like DC has cast Ray Fisher, from a play called Fletch Clay, to play the role of Cyborg in the upcoming Justice League Movie (see Emo vs the Chess Club below). He looks like he has the face and build for it.

 

However, that superhero is going to be hard to bring to the silver screen and make it look cool. As fun as the movie was, Robocop looked just silly. The Terminator of course did the cyborg type character justice, but its a hard thing to replicate, and the film brought it out gradually, after Arnie looses facial tissue.

Of course then there's Bishop . . . (and Bill Paxton of course).

Emo vs. the Chess Club

Its confirmed that Jack Snyder is on for directing the Justice League Movie. This after he finished the next installment in the Superman franchise…or the next two. Apparently the movie before Justice League is going to be a Batman vs. Superman.

I was afraid of that. Nothing original. Just the same old, same old . . . the tortured mind of the Dark Knight vs the ray of hope of Superman.

Its emo vs. the chess club.

Here's an idea: drop the tortured soul bit, make Batman into a bad ass crime-fighting detective, and Sups into a superhero.

Because this is how that will go:

Daily Cosplay (Yuna)

Movie Trailer ~ As Above So Below

I'm not that huge on horror flicks, and the first person documentary film making established by the Blair Witch Project is not my favorite type of filming but I have to say this one looks pretty cool.

I love the "crawl on your belly to the gates of hell" and the last scene shown here is pretty cool. I may have to check this one out.

Plus, best title of the year As Above, So Below! Very cool.

Blaudun Timberland

Called the Crown of Tefnut for in days of old it marked the northern boundaries of the Ethvold. Today it stands between the Wilds, the Tar Kiln, and the Bleached Hills. It is a tangled forest of weathered hills, deep gulches, meandering creeks and streams. The trees are gnarled black-jacks, maple, sycamore and hawthorne trees. Hosts of berry find home here, growing throughout the forest, along stream banks and in the cool gulches. The forest grows a tangled mess, with no easy avenues to cross it. What trails do exist are game trails only and these haunted by predators of all stripes

Few dwell there that aren't wild and capable for the land is dangerous, peopled by wolves, bears and mountain lions as well monsters that hunt the plentiful game. The men who do dwell there are known for their wines, for they pluck the berries, and concoct a brew that is sold far and wide. Any who drink it enjoy a rush of adrenaline.

The headwaters of the Ardeen River are found within this wood but none have yet found their exact location.

~ The Codex of Aihrde

Imaginarium

Cybernetic Cyberdines

The concept of a virtual world implies that the world is, in some capacity, not real. This is a misnomer of course. The digital world is every bit as real as out world, its simply a different dimension wherein life attempts to self replicate and extend its impact upon the space in inhabits.

We are fast learning how to create cybernetic organisms, small digital creations that live within the virtual world, this other dimension. This research is being done by a wide range of institutions and people, not the least of which is the Worm Open Source project.

Eventually this will lead to the singularity moment, if it has not already. It probably won't happen how we expect it to, some android playing mumbly pegs and suddenly becomes aware its alive, but rather it will start small, some combination of energy, that, for whatever reasons replicates. Perhaps in a glitch in the programming, a jolt of electricity that changes its programming and suddenly it evolves into a self replicating formula . . . it evolves, not through its or someone else's choice, but through the act of chance.

Old King Erik

Archeologists unearthed King Erik of Sweden recently to study his bones and learn more about the manner of his death. Erik came to Sweden's throne in 1155. He was a Christian King and was later sainted. We know he codified the laws of his realm and some bits and pieces.

But he was King during a contentious time in that realm's history so he may have been slain by his rival claimants.

Of course there were still a number of pagans in the realm at the time and he may have drawn the wrath of the dying embers of Odin's folk who fell upon him in the last Viking Rage.

Though probably he was just killed b a rival.

For your viewing pleasure…his head….

Movie Trailer ~ Apocalypse

Armor Up

Michael Volquarts