#thunderstone

[misfitsims13]

New Band unlocked 🔥🔥🔥

[gay-people-for-ever]

Idc if some people don't like ninjago nor it ships

[codex-archive]

GENERAL — 73/262 — Thunderstone

Numerous folk tales mention the "thunderstone" – an object that supposedly falls to the ground along with lightning during a storm. Sometimes it falls immediately; other times it appears only after seven days, months, or even years. Its size is said to depend on the strength of the lightning, the depth it burrowed into upon impact, and the manner in which it later surfaced. This led to various popular beliefs about it, which, however, had little basis in reality. In fact, "thunderstone" referred to various prehistoric stone tools or different types of stones notable for their unusual colour, shape, or unique location in the landscape. The thunderstone was reputedly believed to bring abundant crops and to protect fields from lightning, hail, and pests. One custom stemming from pagan traditions was, for example, placing a thunderstone into seeds at sowing time. The stone, however, had not only a magical but also a practical function. It was used to mark territorial boundaries and served as a safeguard for clearly defined territory. Sometimes it could even become part of tools or weapons.

TRIVIA

— Fulgurite tubes have been mentioned already by Persian polymaths Avicenna and Al-Biruni in the 11th century, without knowing their true origin. The actual "thunderstones" in real life are fulgurites, the glassy tubes created when lightning hits sandy soil. They get their name from 'fulgur', the Latin word for lightning. They form in a flash of heat so intense that the sand or rock melts and then immediately hardens again. Tall mountain peaks act as natural lightings rods, which is where they're most often found.

Fulgurites can be surprisingly long, sometimes stretching several meters underground, but they are so delicate that finding one intact is rare. Each one is unique, a branching structure that looks a bit like a root system on the outside while the inside is smooth and glassy, which is why people sometimes call them "fossilized lightning". Today they're valuable because researchers can learn about the energy of the lightning that formed them and, in some cases, even about the atmosphere thousands of years ago.

-> -> ->

[hingadora-plays-games]

Today was one of my regular Saturday board game days, though we were down to just two people, myself and N.

N and I started out the day learning Sky Team, off the store's demo shelf. It's an interesting co-op dice assignment game themed around flying an airplane. The pilot and copilot have a mix of overlapping and different abilities/responsibilities to spend their dice on, in silent cooperation. We only crashed 60% of the five planes we tried to land, which is... not how you want your pilots to perform. Oops.

Followed that with my second game of Thunderstone Advance: Numenera. It's a deck builder where you buy and cards and level up hero cards in the village, using them to defeat the monsters from the dungeon. We had a really odd feeling set of cards in our village, thanks to the randomizer. The rangers I had were giving me more experience from N attacking monsters than she was getting for defeating them.

Finished the day off with two games of Patchwork, also off the store's demo shelf. I don't know how, but I absolutely skunked N in both games. I just had so much more income and board coverage, both. It's a neat game, but it's just so hard to get two player games to the table. That said, it was nice to play it again.

All in all, a pretty nice game day. :)

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

Have you seen Thunderstone (1999-2000)?

Yes

Partially

No, but I've heard of it

Never heard of it

Voting ended onDec 15, 2024

[alteredstatesstuff]

danger at sea

[newtumblerwhosasking]

Does anyone have a spare electric rat? I want to try something

[lailoken]

The Pender Ward:

An Amulet of Personal Protection

"The 'Pender' is an Amulet that serves as a potent, portable, protective ward against malefic forces.

Each Pender Ward is composed from a Hagstone and a Thunderstone that are bound to one another by a length of thirteen alternating beads. Each material is chosen for its significant folkloric associations with protection —the innate virtues of which are then aligned and enlivened in specialized ritual to consecrate it as a personal amulet.

The materials incorporated in every Pender include:

A Thunderstone (a fossilized Urchin, also known as a Faery Loaf, Sherpherd’s Crown, or Snake's Egg, among various other folk-names, and traditionally held to provide the bearer with good luck and protection from dangerous forces such as witchcraft and lightning,)

a Hagstone (a holed stone, also known as an Adder Stone, Faerie Stone, or Hex Stone, among other folk-names, and traditionally held to protect against witchcraft, fae enchantment, and jinxes, thanks to the power of Running Water that was worked into it over generations)

and Pure Copper (a magically active metal, known amongst the Wise to defend against the Evil Eye, as well as offering a degree of protection from lesser Wights of maleficent virtue.)

The alternating beads can be made up from any combination of the following materials —two of which may be chosen by the buyer:

Job's Tears

Obsidian

Serpentine

Jet

Rowan Wood

and Black Tourmaline."

Anyone interested in purchasing a customizable personal ward may do so for $59 on my shop: ☆