$0.99 on eBay

Check out these minis I won for less than a buck on eBay.  Sure, there was about $4 shipping, but still...

Upper left, 40k Ork Warboss.  Below him, Gretchin.  :)

Middle top, Ogryn Imperial Guard with Ripper gun.  Niiiiiice!

Now, what's that PINK thing?  THAT is an AWESOME 40k Knight/Space Marine.  When I get him repainted, you will not believe how cool he is.  Seriously.

That space ship?  Dunno.  Anybody recognize it?

[Holy Humpday!] Phaze of Monon

MONON ( Nightglow )

Alignment:  N

Portfolio:  Moon, Agriculture

Requirements:  Wis 12,  Int 13,  must take Agriculture and Astrology NWPs

Weapons Allowed:  Sickle, Flail

Armor Allowed:  Leather, no shields

Major Spheres:  Plant, Sun, Weather, Animal

Minor Spheres:  Elemental, Healing, Necromancy

Magik Items Allowed:  Any not prohibited to priests, any which function exclusively at night or provide illumination

Granted Powers:

•  Phazes of Monon may see at night under a moonlit sky as if it were bright daylight.

•  Upon reaching 6th level, once per cycle of Khosos (21 days), the Phaze may Cure Lycanthropy.  The cure is permanent, but does not prevent reinfection.

•  Phazes of Monon are themselves immune to Lycanthropy.

•  At 9th level of ability, the Phaze may summon a Moon Dog (MM2 p.92) once every cycle of Celuna (14 days).  It can only be summoned at night, and will remain until dawn.

Other Notes:  •Phazes of Monon are dedicated to the preservation of the natural Whyrld and keeping a balance therein.  To this end, they find themselves well prepared to destroy monsters which would upset the natural balance, especially evil shapechangers such as werewolves, wererats, and dopplegangers.  •Phazes are quite often found among adventuring companies which operate primarily out of doors.  They are free to roam and do as they choose most of the year, but come planting time they feel compelled to return to their homelands and participate with their agrarian duties.  •Despite their opposite spheres the Henges of Monon and the Prism of Solon get along quite well.  They usually do not operate together however.  •Phazes of Monon dress primarily in leather armor with silver accents.  Their sickles are well used, both for combat and for agriculture, and as such tend to be durable and sturdy.  •Female Phazes wear an ornate necklace, called a Monek, during all ceremonies.  All of the various beads and strands on the Monek have specific meanings. 

DM Prep Page [7+8 of 9]

Page 7 comprises a randomized list of the Dungeon Dressing Tables from CotMA.

If you see a Dungeon Dressing entry on Page 6, you flip to the next page to see what the Dungeon Dressing is:

Within the Dungeon Dressing lists, you will sometimes find a Special Appendix IV Random Encounter.

When you do, you flip to Page 8.  I won't say much about these other than that they exist and they look a lot like the random tables above.  :)

I think that the best part of random tables like these are the patterns that emerge "from play".  As a DM, I could plan all this stuff deliberately, but where's the surprise (for me) in that?  When you discover these things at the same time as the players, questions start to percolate in your head.  The answers to these questions expand the game and are very exciting to me as a DM.

• What WAS that mist?
• What are all these pipes for?
• Whose voices were those?
• Why is there a pigeon in the dungeon?
• Why are the wall scorched?
• Where's the right boot?
• Who is M.B.?

You get the idea...

In Praise of Thrift

When I was young, much younger than I am now, I didn't have much money.  I was a poor college student.

I needed a way to store my Warhammer 40k army and so my industrious side cast about for resources I could use.  I was a server at a local Perkins restaurant.  They don't exist in AZ anymore.

I collected cheesecake boxes and 5x5 egg crates to use to protect and organize my army.  Recently, in my new job as Director of Technology Services, I have procured some foam padded boxes from HP and Apple batteries.  The egg carton/cheesecake boxes have to go.

This is a fond farewell to the cheap boxes that have kept and protected my Banecorp Space Marine army for so long.  24 years, in fact.  Amazing.

I used my old inkjet printer to create labels and an icon for my army.  :)

All the boxes stacked up before being consigned to the recycle bin.

I glued the egg carton inside the box.  The minis rattled around a bit, but if you were careful, nothing major went wrong.

Thank you Perkins.  You helped put me through college AND you helped keep my 40k Space Marines army alive and in (mostly) one piece.  Kudos!

[Holy Humpday!] Oracle of Fayn

FAYN ( The Incomprehensible, The Question )

Alignment:  N
Portfolio:  Knowledge, Language, Art
Requirements:  Wis 15,  Int 15
Weapons Allowed:  Staff
Armor Allowed:  Robes
Major Spheres:  Astral, Charm, Divination, Summoning
Minor Spheres:  Healing, Guardian
Magik Items Allowed:  Any allowed to priests, written magikal items of any kind

Granted Powers:

•  Oracles of Fayn may speak, read, and write any human or demi-human tongue.
•  Oracles may cast Tongues and Comprehend Languages once each per day.
•  +4 on saving throws versus scroll spells and malicious writings and glyphs.  If no save is allowed, the Oracle may make a normal save with no bonus.
•  Oracles of Fayn may read wizard spells from scrolls but there is a chance of spell failure.  For the purpose of spell failure, treat the Oracle as a wizard of half his level, rounding down.

Other Notes:  •The Oracles of Fayn are charged with keeping the knowledge of all the Whyrld.  They are eager to learn all they can about everything and most people tend to believe that the Oracles are just plain nosey.  •They always carry on their persons a pouch which contains paper, ink, and writing instruments.  They often transcribe letters for the illiterate for only a few silver coins.  •The Oracles of Fayn are responsible for the Encyclopaedia Questonia, perhaps one of the most comprehensive works of general knowledge there is.  They update it every few years with an additional volume.  •Oracles are often privy to knowledge others may never hear, but because of a vow, they may share it with none who do not belong to their order.  •Oracles always dress in a simple tan vest which bears the symbol of Fayn over the heart.  They wear white linen shirts and square cut black trousers and boots.  Their hands are always spotted with spilled ink.  •The Oracles of Fayn have an intricate network of small shrines and churches from which they gain information throughout Queston.

Squa Tront

Well, whaddya know.  "Squa Tront" ISN'T just a throw-away phrase from one of my favorite episodes of "What's New".  See the bottom/left panel in page 1.

So, I'm reading some blogs and over at Cap'n's Comics, I see this --

Seems there was quite a run of these...  Whaddya know...  :)

[Map Monday] Brasston Commons

I was preparing to use this town/village in a campaign that never happened.  I downloaded the pics off the old Irony Games website along with their demographic data.

I put both pics and the data into a Word doc.

Here's a screenshot:

Here's a link to download the Word doc.  You can edit it however you'd like.  :)