Findings & My Arts

All new edits and work by me + reblogs

[astoralexander]

I call this set… “Noir Princesses”.

PRINTS HERE… https://bit.ly/2NqqOX7

[curlsandstems]

Have you ever seen a violinist going APESHIT?!

Be sure to check out IAmDSharp!

[thegreynightsky]

GO OFFF

[kaypier-deactivated20200518]

More often than not I’ll crack into a sprawling fantasy series and, while I appreciate the luscious descriptions of furniture, landscapes, and clothing, all I’m focused on is that I don’t actually know how this world works. I only know what it looks like.  

Including some functionality to your universe can add to immersion and give your reader a strong foundation on which to build their mental model of your universe. 

You certainly don’t need to use all of these questions! In fact, I recommend against that, as all of these certainly won’t make it into your final draft. I personally find that starting my worldbuilding off with 5 to 10 functional questions helps pave the way for glittery and elaborate aesthetic development later on.

How is the healthcare funded in your world?

How does healthcare functionally differ between the wealthy and the poor? (i.e. can only the wealthy go to hospitals? do poor families often have to rely on back-alley procedures?)

Where are health centers (i.e. hospitals, small clinics, etc.) organized in your cities?

Does it differ in smaller towns?

How does this affect people’s ability to get healthcare?

Is healthcare magical, and if it is, how does that affect the healthcare system? 

If healing is instantaneous, how does that affect people’s views on injury, illness, and chronic ailments?

If you have both magical and physical healthcare, which one is deemed superior and how does that affect society? 

What illnesses are common in your world? 

How does this affect daily life? 

What do the people in your world think illnesses are? 

Is it a miasma theory? 

Humor theory? 

Demons? 

Do they know about biological viruses and bacteria? 

How does this affect healthcare?

How do people get water? 

Is the water sanitary and if not, how do they sanitize it?

How does agriculture work? 

Is it large corporations or individual farms?

What sort of agricultural technology exists in your world and how does it affect food production?

Are farmers wealthy or poor?

What sort of natural resources does your world/country(ies) have and how are they obtained?

How does this affect the average wealth of the country?

How does this wealth affect the culture? 

What livestock or beasts of burden are most valued? Least valued? Why?

What is considered a luxury good vs. a regular good?

What forms of transportation does your world have?

What classes use what forms of transportation?

How far has the average citizen traveled, given your transportation limitations?

Which cities are the most accessible and which are the least? Why?

How do popular transportation methods change how cities/towns are laid out?

Does your world have public transportation? What is it?

Is there a coming-of-age aspect to travel?

Describe your world’s postal system or whatever equivalent there is. 

Who pays for it? 

How reliable is it? 

Are there emergency methods for transporting information?

How does your world keep time (i.e. watches, sundials, water clock, etc.)?

Does your world have a currency system, barter system, or something else? 

If you have multiple countries, do different currencies have different values across said countries?

How does this affect travel?

Do you have banks in your world and if so, how are they run?

Who owns the banks? Government? Wealthy? How does this affect the economy and/or class system?

How does credit operate in your universe?

Does your world operate more on big corporations or small business? Something in between?

How are workers/labourers treated in your world? 

Are there workers unions and if so, what are common views on unions? 

Describe your tax system. If you don’t have a tax system, explain why and how your world is affected by that. 

Can certain social classes not own property, certain livestock, certain businesses, etc.? Why?

How are business records kept? Are business records kept?

If your world has technology, does your world prioritize developing entertainment tech, communications tech, transportation tech or something else entirely?

What does this say about your world?

How does this affect your economy?

To the closest approximation, what type of government does your world have? 

How are rulers/presidents/nobles put in place? 

How much power does an individual ruler have? 

Is there a veto process? 

If you have multiple countries, do they have different types of rulers?

Describe any large-scale alliances (i.e. countries, factions, etc.) that are present in your world. 

How did they come about and how are they maintained? 

Are they strained or peaceful? 

How does it affect the greater politics of your world?

Describe how wars are fought both internationally and nationally. 

Do methods of war differ between countries/races? 

What about philosophies about war?

If there is a military, what is its hierarchy structure?

How does the military recruit?

Is the military looked upon favourably in your society?

What weapons are used by each country/type of people during warfare, and how does that affect war strategies?

Describe the sentencing system of your world. 

Is your accused innocent until proven guilty, or guilty until proven innocent?

How are lawbreakers punished? 

If you have prisons, describe how they are organized and run, and who owns them. 

Does differing ownership change how the prisons operate?

What are the major ways in which laws between countries vary? 

Do laws between cities vary? If so, how and why?

How does citizenship work in your world? What rights and privileges do citizens have that others do not? 

Can certain classes or races not become citizens?

Are there certain taboo subjects or opinions that artist/authors/musicians are not allowed to depict (i.e. portraying the official religion in a negative light, explicit sexual material, etc.)? What does this say about your society?

How do people get around these censorship laws?

What is the official hierarchy of duty in your world? (i.e. is family the most important, or patriotism? What about clan?)

How many languages are there in your world, and how many languages share a common origin? 

How many people are multilingual? 

Which language is the most common?

How is multilingualism viewed?

How are different languages viewed? (i.e. is one language ugly/barbaric while another is romantic and sensual?)

Feel free to add your own questions in reblogs or in comments!

[dmvdberg]

Love to find small little worlds in the forest. Summer to autumn transition is already sneaking through .... :| Picture taken with the Leica M240 and Leica Summicron 50mm f/2

[halleycomets]

does the existence of redwall abbey imply that there is a mouse pope? more at 11

[halleycomets]

i want to address the point that the redwall creatures seemed like protestants with the fact that this further implies a Mouse Reformation, featuring a mouse dissident and indeed.. a mouse pope

[elucubrare]

While it is indeed possible that the theology of Redwall had deviated from the dicta of the Mouse Pope (Pope Mus IV), Protestants don’t, as far as I or the internet knows, have much of a monastic tradition, thus proving that they are Catholic and fall under the jurisdiction of the Holy (Mouse) See. In this essay, I will show that Martin the Warrior should have been excommunicated for his heresies

[baroquespiral]

flagrantly disregarding the possibility that the Redwall animals could be Orthodox

[keshetchai]

Guys they are Anglican, this means not only is there a mouse pope there was a mouse king who really wanted a divorce

[cryoverkiltmilk]

At mouse scale, that would be Henry the 1/8th.

[halleycomets]

this is the only valid speculation thread my post has created

[gethporno]

but why did that mouse king not dissolve the monasteries in order to expropriate land for the crown?

[heelgripper]

No, you know what, let’s get into this, LET’S FUCKING GO *rolls up sleeves* BUCKLE UP I’M INFODUMPING 

Okay, I’ve slept since I’ve read these books, but you get Abbots and Abbesses, right? And I think I remember Brother such-and-such, and Sister such-and-such, and these animals were invariably unmarried. As opposed to the official Abbey Warrior, who COULD be married if they wanted to. 

There were definitely official roles within the abbey that let you marry and have children, like cellar master, cook, maybe gate-keeper? (Librarians don’t seem to have kids but I’ve never met a Redwall librarian who wasn’t really gay so jot that down). 

Redwall Abbey seems to derive its monastic tradition from the abbey of Loamhedge, which suffered heavy losses during a great plague; the survivors moved into Mossflower Forest and became involved in the historic rebellion surrounding Martin the Warrior. 

(There’s also a derelict church in the woods, called ‘Saint Ninian’s’, but this is revealed to be a misunderstanding involving a sign that originally said “This Ain’t Ninian’s.”) 

Redwall Abbey functions as a cultural center for Mossflower, providing shelter, education, and historical documentation via their scribes and library. Interestingly, the abbots, abbesses, brothers, and sisters all seem to keep to a code of non-violence, with very few exceptions. Redwall Abbey may defend itself against direct attacks, but the brunt of the actual fighting is left to lay-beasts (I can’t believe I just typed that with my real hands) and the abbey warrior. 

Politically and socially speaking, the abbey is a …. socialist commune? There’s food and drink and medical care for everyone, as long as you’re willing to pitch in. Children are raised communally. 

There must be SOME concept of saints, because of the whole misunderstanding surrounding St. Ninian’s. Notable abbots and abbesses may be given the saint treatment, becoming revered and maybe getting their deeds put into a tapestry. We see this with abbey warriors all the time. 

Unfortunately, with the origins of Loamhedge obscured, it’s impossible to know where this whole monastic tradition comes from! We have no evidence of a wide-spread organized religion (I’m not counting the cults of enemy hordes, which are invariably one-offs). It could be that there once WERE more religious components to the way the abbey works, we get hints of them: the concept of the ‘Dark Forest’ where people go when they die, asking the spirit of Martin the Warrior for guidance, having celibate members of the monastery hierarchy, the devotion to non-violence … Did this originate in Loamhedge itself? Was there once a network of abbeys with a central authority? What I wouldn’t give to know. 

(As for the author’s inspiration, he’s definitely pulling from medieval European monasteries, particularly the more service-and-community-oriented orders). 

[elodieunderglass]

@contemplatingchicken @fozmeadows 

[mugwomps]

This…is a real book? About mice living a pseudo-medieval life? Seriously?

[elodieunderglass]

I know what this sounds like, but Redwall is not just a real book, but an ENTIRE children’s series, comprising twenty-two books. Its heyday, as far as I can work out, was largely among Bookish Children of the 1990s. 

[ardatli]

@yafgcrich - you had a lot to say about Redwall and the Abbey last time we talked about it. XD 

[paper-rose-doodles]

Okay, okay. I know y’all are thinking that English = Anglican, but Redwall always seemed to me to be much earlier. Much, much earlier - think early Anglo-Christian monastic orders, with their roots in the early Irish church, rather than the rule of Rome. There may be a Mouse Pope (or a Hedgepope or a Molepope) but the Celtic Christian Church of the early medieval period was much less centralized in nature, serving smaller communities with much less rigid hierarchy than Continental Catholicism of the period. That’s one possible reason for the seeming lack of organization when it comes to the world of Redwall.

We see this in the relative diversity of abbey leaders and in the heavy reliance on lay leaders to serve in a variety of capacities. Early religious communities, particularly in the Celtic church, tended to be a mixture of clergy and laity, living together in a walled enclosure. Of those clergy, some would be celibate, but others would not be, as the celibacy of the priesthood was not a given in Celtic Christianity until the 12th century. In many ways, the Protestant reformation was an effort to return to a simpler, less bureaucratic form of the faith, and clearly Redwall is the perfect model of an early Christian religious community. And indeed, early English monastic communities were formed by priests coming from other places - which places Loamhedge in Brittany or Wales (although the topography suggests Southern France or Spain). Since Martin the Warrior comes from what would be Orkney or the Shetland Islands (per the Legend of Luke), it’s logical to connect the community of Noonvale - where Laterose lived - with the early monastic traditions of Scotland and Ireland. On the whole, England/Mossflower came relatively late to the game in terms of medieval Christianity: Roman Christian traditions were stomped out by Saxon invaders, so the reconversion process was left to Celtic missions - priests coming south, north and east from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The badgers of Salamandastron are clearly Norse warrior-kings, the “noble pagans” with their fire mountain and steel-working knowledge.

[penguinteen]

We’re here for this Redwall Discourse 👌

[foofyschmoofer]

@xxmrthorne729xx

[maplefiasco]

[infinitebookshelves]

Reblog if you ACTUALLY READ TAGS

[dmvdberg]

#yes

[wandering-silence-things]

My attempt at a dwarven warship… with built-in smithy forge, tavern, and cidery. :)

[dmvdberg]

Portrait from the Canon PRO workshop

[bardicchef]

d100 carousing table: The Capital

[ FULL SIZE IMAGE HERE ]

Part 1 of 10 of my carousing table series. The Capital is a set of goofy, entertaining outcomes for carousing in large cities. Can be used with standard carousing rules for nearly any system, or to encourage plot hooks, and character development in your game.

These carousing tables are being released for free to the community. If someone tries to stick this in something up for sale, they’re a douchecanoe and should be kicked in the face. Full pdf will be available soon - and will also be free.

If you’d like to support what I do, it’s super appreciated! - By reblogging/sharing these tables around social media! - By dropping by my Ko-Fi account! - By visiting my Etsy store where I make handmade things!

[rottenappleheart]

some notes i’ve been taking on DMing, culled from various sources

Plot & Campaign:

Don’t think of yourself as being “against” the players. They aren’t playing “against” you. They are playing against the world and situations you pose to them, but you should be on their side.

Similarly, don’t think of the campaign as “your” story that you are telling to the players. It is a story that you are telling together. They affect the outcome of it as much (or more) than you do. If the players find a way to ruin your carefully crafted plot, let it go. You have to accept not getting your own way all the time the same way that the players do.

That said, have contingency plans in case the PCs kill or ignore your plot hook, find a way to bypass your carefully created puzzle, or successfully charm your final boss into not attacking them.

Use up your most fantastic ideas - don’t hoard them for later. You never know how long a campaign will last, and you might never get to those cool scenes and setpieces you were saving.

Utilize recurring NPCs. It’s less work for you and gives the players someone familiar to look forward to seeing (or resent intensely.)

Give the players a nemesis - someone or something working against their efforts, even if that is not a “villain” per se.

Have descriptions ready for locations and NPCs, but don’t over-describe. Give them enough details to build a sense of atmosphere without requiring them to draw the scene.

Have a set of possible random events ready to go, and periodically roll to see if any of them happen, to keep your players (and you!) on your toes.

Rules & Rolls:

Like in improv theatre, go for the “yes and” (or “yes but”) response to a player’s idea rather than a “no.” If the rules don’t specifically ban a player from doing something, let them do it. If it’s especially game-breaking and stupid, this is a great time to say “yes, but” and come up with a fun consequence.

Don’t stop everything to look up a rule. If you can’t find or figure out the answer within a minute, tell the players how you’ll do it this time based on your best guess and look it up for the future. Alternatively, if you aren’t sure what the rule would be for what a player proposes, just let them roll a d20 and add a relevant modifier to it versus your best estimate of difficulty level.

Don’t assume that a failed check means “nothing happens.” Failures can be as eventful, interesting, and story-driving as successes.

Calculating small currency amounts, weight encumbrances, and rations is incredibly boring for everyone. Decide ahead of time whether you want to just ditch those elements (within reason - if you are being kind to the players by not making them weigh out every item in their inventory, they should be kind to you by not claiming they are carrying a whole refrigerator.)

Rewards:

Pay attention to what motivates your players most (treasure, money, challenging fights, puzzles, stories) and use that to guide your campaign ideas. Let them tell you what carrot will lead them through the plot.

Make a note of what your players mention wanting out of the game experience (a certain kind of adventure or scene, an item) and find an opportunity to reward them with it.

Come up with a set of treasure/advanced weapons/other loot-ish rewards specific to each player. Whenever they are dungeoncrawling or getting rewards, roll to see which items they receive at that time.

Players:

Provide opportunities every session, if possible, for each character to use their skillset and playstyle, so that they don’t feel like the sidekick in someone else’s adventure.

Encourage the players to make themselves a “battle sheet” in addition to their standard character sheet that lists all their skills and spells (in their own words) and how it works, so that they understand their own potential and remember to use them! You are there to help them out if they aren’t sure of a mechanic, but encourage them to take ownership of their own character’s abilities.

Cliffhangers aren’t actually great ways to end a session (in case the campaign stalls out there, or a player drops out), but you can end with a new situation arising or a hard question to ponder, giving the players something to think about and look forward to returning to for the next session. 

Pay attention to the players’ welfare and condition as much (or more) than to their characters. If they are stressed, unhappy, or angry about something in the adventure (or something another player is doing), you should be ready to moderate that as much as you would moderate an in-game rule.

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Polong

CR 8

Neutral Evil Medium Undead

Pathfinder Bestiary 5, pg. 196

The spirit of a murderer and sadist, bound in blood and stored in a magically-treated ritual bottle, Polongs are the servants of all brave enough to approach them and take command of their bottle prison. In a similar vein to the phylactery of a lich, a Polong draws vitality from its bottle, regenerating 1d8+5 hit points every hour it remains inside… But unlike a lich, the relationship between a Polong and its bottle is reversed–the creature is destroyed when it reaches 0, but the bottle regenerates 24 hours later if it gets shattered, the horror spirit remaining staggered until the bottle comes back. This is so the Polong cannot escape its prison by destroying it, relying on its presence simply to continue functioning and remaining an eternal weak point for the murderous spirit.

Once per day, the Polong’s Bottle-Bound ability can be used against it by someone physically holding the prison, forcing the spirit to make a DC 20 Will save or become Dominated for 24 hours by the bottle’s holder, driven to follow their new owner’s commands. A Polong doesn’t have a lot going for it, but it’s incorporeal, automatically making it fatal versus the common folk, and its sole attack is an incredibly fatal incorporeal touch. Its touch is special, inflicting Terrible Wounds upon its targets in the form of 6d8 slashing damage and an additional 1d4 bleed on top of that. Anyone suffering bleed damage from the Polong’s phantom claws hemorrhages so violently that they take 2 Con damage every round the bleed isn’t treated, as well.

Enraged by their imprisonment, subsequent death, and re-imprisonment after being executed, Polongs exude an aura of malice so palpable that it can shake up even the most hardened of adventurers. Their Murderous Intent lets them make a free intimidate check against anyone drawing within 30 feet of them, demoralizing them if successful. With a massive +24 modifier to their Intimidate skill they’re guaranteed to shake up 75~90% of the party, leaving them at a disadvantage while its phantom claws open them up like a cat ripping into a pillow.

Since they’re Dominated by another being, Polongs cannot be reasoned with if sent after the party. With a 6d8 damage touch attack, locating the horror’s bottle is a fairly big priority if the party doesn’t wish to experience a messy, horrible death. Finding it is relatively easy; Polongs must remain within 1 mile of their bottle at all times, and those bottles exude some pretty powerful necromantic and abjurant energy, making them glow like Christmas trees under magical scrutiny. Destroying the bottle won’t destroy the Polong, but it will severely hamper what the horror can do until it reforms, making it easier to destroy the spirit… Or direct it towards its former ‘owner’ when the Domination finally wears off.

You can read more about them here.

[quarkmaster]

Beat it CCG

Some backgrounds for OctoBox interactive

Artem Demura

[xanth-the-wizard]

Dungeon Master Essentials

I decided to make a list of DM stuff that I personally use or think are important to know when it comes to being a DM. So here’s my list:

Medieval Fantasy City Generator: This generator is now my LIFE. It generates incredibly complex cities with good customization. (Thanks to plantkat for sharing this site in their post here)

Naming Your Towns/Cities: Now that you’ve made your city, time to name it and give it some character! This post contains lots of great information.

Index Cards Rule: Fuckyeahdnd shared a SUPER convenient way of keeping track of turns and HP in combat. I use this system now for every single session I run.

Tricks & Traps: I am AWFUL at coming up with good Dungeon traps and challenges, this PDF includes some incredible ideas. The original poster, Courtney C. Campbell also runs a blog where they share tons of great stuff. (Thanks to we-are-rogue for sharing the PDF in their post here)

Playing Different Types of Characters: Writeinspiration has a masterpost on how to write/play lots of different types of characters.

Unique NPC Jobs: Lauraharrisbooks wrote a list of different Fantasy Jobs which can help populate your world with some unique characters! Another similar post by Thewritershandbook also covers Common Occupations in the Middle Ages. 

Developing Characters by Threes: Monticusrex’s method of creating characters help you really flesh out who they are. Useful for Players and DM’s.

Troublesome Players? Speak Up: Dicebound brings up an incredibly great point. If someone is being a jerk, speak up and call them out. This is especially important and relevant now to crush awful behavior before it even has a chance to show it’s ugly face.

List of D&D Resources: And finally, pretty much anything you might need for D&D.  (Character stuff, spells, online communities/ways to play, etc..) A lot of people contributed to this post but thank you Mushroomancy for posting the original list.

Donjon: And finally, this site is a great resource for looking up Spells and Monsters along with tons of other generators. Not every single Spell or Monster is on here, but most are listed.

(I tried to give credit to the original posters or the actual URL for websites, unless those sites or URLs were no longer active)

[xanth-the-wizard]

Random Town Encounters (1d20) #1

[1] An enormous bear stumbles around town wearing human clothing. They’re attempting to order drinks at the local tavern, but so far they haven’t had much luck

[2] You arrive early morning into a quiet little village. Unfortunately nobody is around to greet you because they have all been turned into candy

[3] A festival is taking place in the center of town. They seem to be celebrating a historical figure that looks oddly similar to someone in the party

[4] Dashing through the streets, a bandit has stolen a powerful magic artifact. Anyone they pass by are turned to stone. A hefty reward will be given to anyone who can catch them

[5] Hm? In your back pocket there’s a piece of paper with directions to somewhere in town. If asked about the location, nobody seems to know where it is

[6] While walking through the streets a child runs into the party at full speed, falling to the ground. They apologize profusely as they begin to collect their dropped goods. This includes a baby dragon

[7] Rumor: The guards in this town are not human, they never sleep. Most people speculate they are from another realm

[8] Enticing smells fill the air, there seems to be a cooking competition in town. And it looks like it’s not too late to sign up. Anybody know how to make a killer quiche?

[9] Rumor: Beneath the city lies an ancient tunnel leading to a thief’s lost treasure. But everyone is too afraid to look for themselves. When prompted on what is down there, people dance around the question

[10] Sentient vegetables rebel against the local chef. At first glance it seems to be a harmless prank, but anyone bit by the veggies begin morphing into vicious vegetables themselves

[11] Magic is outlawed in this district of town. Anyone who casts any spell begins to glow

[12] Little ducklings follow behind the party, quacking merrily. They are perfectly harmless but without their mother. Did somebody order 8 new beautiful children?

[13] Ghosts have driven out the living from the town leaving behind a literal Ghost Town. The Ghosts are actually quite friendly, too friendly

[14] Rumor: Grandma Crabapple, a sweet old lady who lives alone in her cottage up on the hill is actually a Doppelganger. Looks like we’re going to have to eat her famous cherry pie and get to the bottom of this mystery

[15] The local tavern has been recently reconstructed, a group of rowdy adventurers burned it down a few months back. The locals don’t take kindly to any adventurers now

[16] Every year in spring a nearby lake floods, threatening the village’s safety. But every year the cobblestone wall surrounding them keeps them safe. But this year, something goes horribly wrong. And it’s probably one of your player’s fault

[17] Rumor: The local school is teaching children to summon demons and worship the devil

[18] Rotten tomatoes fly as an Orc Bard attempts to perform in the streets for gold

[19] A potion brewer has set up shop in town, they have an extra special brew that grants anyone who drinks it invisibility. But the effect happens randomly and without warning

[20] Perched upon a crumbling building, a gargantuan bird watches the town silently. The villagers claim that wishing upon one of the bird’s feathers can grant a wish. Unfortunately the bird doesn’t shed very often and doesn’t like to be bothered

(Feel free to use and reformat to your campaign. More Random Encounters on Tuesdays! Image credit: x)

[clientsfromhell]

Client: I’d like to hire you for a wedding shoot. Your website says initial meetings are free - is that right?

Me: That’s right. I’ll meet you to show you my portfolio and discuss your budget, requirements, etc.

Client: Great! Can you meet us at [time, date, location]?

Me: That’s a bit outside where I would usually go to a meeting, but sure.

I showed up to the “meeting” and… it’s actually their wedding. he’s in a suit, she’s in a wedding dress, and there are hundreds of guests milling about.

Me: Uh…

Client: Well, looks like I tricked you. Anyway, per your email, this is the “initial meeting” and it’s free. So please get your camera ready and we can get started.

I explained that this wasn’t going to happen. She threatened to sue, and when that didn’t work, told me her groom and his guests were all marines who were about to go overseas. I’m not sure if that was a threat or a call for sympathy.

I left.

[sussexbound]

“Miss Sherlock,” 8-part Japanese-language drama series, made as a joint venture with Hulu Japan.

“Miss Sherlock,” now in post-production, stars Yuko Takeguchi in the title role and is a modern interpretation of the classic Sherlock Holmes tales, solving bizarre and extraordinary cases. Shihori Kanjiya plays Dr Wato Tachibana, a reinterpretation of Holmes’ sidekick, Doctor Watson.

The series will air from April 2018, simultaneously on Hulu in Japan, and HBO’s streaming platform, HBO GO, and HBO on Demand. (X) (X)

[sussexbound]

[hayaomiyazaki]

oh my fucking god

[rinlockhart]