Toadlike & the Monolith

"Where does an animal sleep when the ground is wet? Cows in the ballroom, chickens in the..."

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:04:51 -0400

“Where does an animal sleep when the ground is wet? Cows in the ballroom, chickens in the farmer’s Corvette. Sometimes a pony, sometimes a pony, sometimes a pony gets depressed.”

- The Silver Jews, Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed

I wasn’t around for this, but I think that D&D had as...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:02:27 -0400

I wasn’t around for this, but I think that D&D had as much street cred as it will ever have during the satanic panic of the 80s.

This is perhaps the most amazing thing I’ve read...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:25:57 -0400

This is perhaps the most amazing thing I’ve read concerning stereotypical D&D wizards.

oldschoolfrp:

Older wizards look more and more insane as they age. Their robes are fancier but more heavily stained. They have countless odd spell components hanging off their belts and wrists, braided into hair and beard, and worn as earrings. Don’t even try to have a coherent conversation with someone who has one or more ioun stones orbiting his head. It will make you dizzy just looking at him.

The more powerful they become, the more spells they try to prepare and keep ready in their heads, all buzzing and snarling with barely contained energy trying to escape and release their power. Some say you can see that magic energy pulsing under their skin or leaking out as light from their eyes or wisps of smoke from their ears.

I think that explains the hats. Who knows what they’re trying to keep hidden under there.

(Illustration by Flint Henry from the Cloudland module for AD&D, Grenadier Models Inc, 1984.)

I finally gave in to #MW3...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:48:51 -0400

… and I’ve been camped like I’ve never been camped before.

Any how, let me know if you are interested in “partying it up” on Xbox Live. Just ask me for my gamertag.

It’s like normal D&D…but cooler.

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:30:59 -0400

It’s like normal D&D…but cooler.

The Slithering Shadow by Robert E. Howard

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:32:12 -0400

A.K.A Xuthal at Dusk

In this story Conan and a female companion stumble upon a sleeping city stalked by a demon from the very ancient past. (According to Wikipedia, this thing comes from Kull of Atlantis’ time.) This is another prime example of how Robert E. Howard can flawlessly portray an atmosphere of strangeness and weirdness in his stories.

I think this story should be a must read for every referee that wants to run a “dungeon crawl” for his group. That is if the aforementioned referee is interested in imprinting a potent memory in his player’s psyche.

Learning Ubuntu 11.10 (part 1)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:00:29 -0400

I’ve been delving into Ubuntu (version 11.10) for the past month or so. I installed the OS in an old laptop with a damaged battery that was laying around the room. I’ve wanted to learn Linux for a couple of years now, but I’ve never gotten around to it. So now that I have a little bit of extra time (thank you under-employment) and an extra laptop, I decided to give good old Linux a real try.

This being my first attempt at using a Linux, I choose Ubuntu because of its reputation as a beginner friendly OS and its gorgeous GUI. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how much better my older, clunkier laptop is running with Ubuntu. It’s like my old computer was given a new lease on life.

As you guys can probably tell, I’m really liking Ubuntu. But my main priority is to learn as much of the Linux as I possibly can. I’m interested in learning enough to be able to operate Linux using only the command line.

Up to this point I’ve taught myself the basics of the command line: copy, pasting, make dir, edit txts, delete, and how to navigate directories. I’ve also gotten into users (creating them and deleting them), groups, and permissions.

I know I have a long, long way to go before I can call myself a Linux “power user,” but I’d like to think I’m doing well.

What do you guys recommend I try out next?

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better than Robert...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:01:12 -0400

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better than Robert E. Howard’s weird tale “Xuthal at Dusk,” I was blown away by “Worms of the Earth.” The story is abundant with horrors from the Stygian depths, revenge, and mayhem; what else can one ask of a Swords & Sorcery yarn? Or any yarn for that matter.

In Toadlike's Dungeons & Dragons Games... (Part 3)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:31:38 -0400

… thieves aren’t allowed as a character class. Why, you ask? Because characters spend their time looting tombs. Everybody is a thief already.

In Toadlike's Dungeons & Dragons Games... (Part 1)

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:30:10 -0400

… laser-guns, laser-swords, teleportation devices, and flying saucers are all integral parts of the campaign.

"Vulgarity: a synonym for modernity"

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:09:06 -0400

“Vulgarity: a synonym for modernity”

- Clark Asthon Smith

Lest anybody think I'm anything but a dork...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:01:56 -0400

…here’s what my weekend is looking like at this juncture:

Savage Worlds RPG session on Friday night. We are continuing our bimonthly fantasy campaign. We last left our heroes at the entrance of an abandoned temple in the middle of very strange lands.
A trip to my local Games Workshop store. I’m getting back into painting miniatures. Coincidentally, GW is releasing a new “version” of their old paints. This maybe annoying for people who are using their current paints, but it’s great for us getting into the painting hobby again.
I’m going to put up flyers for a oD&D game I want to run at a local game store. Hopefully I’ll get to meet awesome gamers interested in old school D&D.
And I’m going on a date with a very attractive woman who has no idea I’m doing any of the aforementioned things this weekend.

Good morning Tumbr-land!

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:33:31 -0400

I’m rocking to “Common People” by Pulp. It’s a great song to kick off the typical, boring Thursday morning.

A Map of Hyperborea

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:31:09 -0400

This map of Hyperborea may come in handy if you ever find yourself trapped in that doomed island of long ago.

Photo

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:00:16 -0400

Edward Kelly a Magician: “Quick turneth that...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:30:30 -0400

Edward Kelly a Magician: “Quick turneth that undead!”

The other guy: “I can not for I have not reacheth the first level!”

What do you get when you let Sam Peckinpah do his own thing? A...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:09:17 -0400

What do you get when you let Sam Peckinpah do his own thing?

A very personal and profound tale of mayhem!

"Angel, I do not know how long we’ll last. We have barely just made it through the past. Angel..."

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:27:21 -0400

““Angel, I do not know how long we’ll last. We have barely just made it through the past. Angel we may have celebrated too soon. We are the villains of the moon and DOOMED!””

- Cold Cave, Villains of the Moon

Lovecraftian Dreams

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:32:05 -0400

I read almost all of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror fiction in just a couple of months. I had to stop cold turkey after a vivid dream:

I sat on a shitter in the university I was attending at the time. I heard the loud flapping of gigantic wings right outside the stall. A distant, electrical voice addressed me. I was having a one way conversation with one of the dread Fungi From Yuggoth!Thankfully I can’t remember (or perhaps blocked out) whatever eldritch secret it wanted to bestow upon my fragile psyche.

Every once in a while I re-read a Lovecraft’s story for the hell of it; often discovering little pieces of information I misunderstood on my first reading. (Again, maybe it’s information I blocked out as a mental self defense mechanism.) Now a-days I treat Lovecraft’s fiction with respect! I’d never binge on it ever again, lest far worse things haunt my visits to the bathroom in real life and in dreams!

That Magic-User on the left is pure Carcosa! That’s my...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:00:05 -0400

That Magic-User on the left is pure Carcosa! That’s my idea of a Carcosan sorcerer: something that looks like it came out of a 70s comic book.

Thank you Oldschoolfrp for sharing this amazing picture.

oldschoolfrp:

From the monster’s perspective the party looks prepared but unimpressed.

(Bill Willingham, from the Cook & Marsh Expert D&D rulebook, TSR, 1981.)