Consumable

No time and in a hurry, need to get an outline down. 

IT Teja stroked at his beard under the mask, trying to wrestle it into place, an impossible task. He looked at his watch and waited impatiently for Arun to pick him up. Arun drove around in this orange Honda Jazz, that could be spotted from a mile away. It was hard to lose that car in a parking lot, or anywhere. IT Teja could see the road sloping downwards for almost three fourths of a kilometer, the distance from which Arun would turn around the corner and drive towards Teja. Arun was late and IT Teja was getting impatient. Finally, the twin beams of the vehicle turned the corner, and started making their way towards IT Teja. 

Arun stopped the vehicle next to IT Teja, pulled down his mask, beckoned him and said "Get in!". IT Teja slipped in without a word, and without touching his mask. "What do you want to do?" asked Arun. "Macha looks like there is going to be lockdown again. Have a bunch of things to do. First, need to score, then we have to visit Hamleys." Arun began to plan out a route, then asked "so MG road or Whitehall? We can pick up from civil hospital or Cox town on the way." IT Teja said "My dude's at MG road, he will get it all packed and ready, we just have to go pick it up." 

Arun floored it. 

They cruised lazily down the empty streets, bathed in the gentle warmth of sunlight filtered through trees, serenaded by emboldened birds. For some reason the conversation came around to NFTs. Arun was wondering what the value of an NFT was, and IT Teja was trying to explain that the value was what people were ready to pay. Arun's argument was that the price of a piece of art was because nothing in the world could reproduce it exactly, so what really was the worth of something that could be reproduced at will. IT Teja tried to argue that in fact, NFTs allowed the content owners to have a proof of ownership, and that art galleries were using NFTs for digital exhibitions. 

By that time they had ended up at the scoring point. IT Teja went in, fired a lamchi, and then came back out to the car. He might have got a few cats in with him. Next, Arun had to go to an ATM, and IT Teja decided to pick up some skins. IT Teja showed the special edition TumbaJamba skins, ones that converted to NFTs once you smoked them. The cover of the skin was also a special limited edition artwork, which you could save and use as a bookmark, or realistically speaking use up as roach. Either way, you owned a token of the artwork used on the book of skins in the end. IT Teja showed the skins to Arun when he came back with the money. 

Together, the two head to Hamleys. Once they were close to the mall, IT Teja called his guy. They picked up the package, which had hot wheels cars, and went home. 

Guernica tribute in Clone Wars

In Clone Wars S05E16, there is a tribute to Picasso's Guernica, which is a painting about the horrors of war, in the backdrop to the fight between Maul and Darth Sidious on Mandalore.

D&D Journal - Adventures at Terra Vol 7

27/10/85/01 Tazius
We bury the one live bandit till the neck, and bury the others. We have the food, play with the dog, and then I start working on the Mancala. This night, I manage to finish making it. Then I try to wake up Galadriel by using the whistle, but it barely makes a peep. She continues to sleep, so I put Bubbles near her, which wakes her up. Bubbles is startled but I calm her down.
Then Galadriel keeps watch. The night passes without event.

28/10/85/01 Tazius
Bjorn wakes up, the Donger, and finally me and the pup. We interrogate the Bandit, who starts crying eventually. We find out that his name is Eric, and he serves someone called Jack. The camp is from a splinter cell led by Mark. We convince Eric to take us to Mark's camp. We make good progress that day. Gondor tells us his story.
He told us he was a soldier, who was disillusioned by the periodic and unnecessary wars. That is where I found Dave. Did you ever think how animals can find us when we are in need? We are a bit secretive so people might think we are secretive. The secret is David has a hidden branch somewhere in the village. Whenever a new person joins the village, they are brushed with the branch, and suddenly all the animals become your friend. This is how even the wild, untamable beasts also become friendly. Then he told us that he was looking forward to the day when we were also blessed with the branch.
Then we ask Eric about him. I dont remember the time before Jack picked me up, but I remember that when I was a youngling, Jack fed me with his hand. Once day, Jack had gone outside, later I came to know he used to go to requisition things from villages. That is our job. But anyway, one day Jack was away from the camp and there were some older people who looked after us. I was one of those inquisitive children, and I went outside camp to look into the wilderness. I was told not to do that, but did it anyway to see what would happen. I saw huge trees, never ending greenery, but the sun began to set and I realised that I had lost my way. I then scraped my knee and started crying. After many hours, I decided if I climb a tree, perhaps I could see the spire of smoke from the big blue fire of our camp. So I climbed the tree, but could not find any fire. That was when I realised I had lost the camp. I worried so much that I fell off the tree and broke my ankle. And I could not walk then. Do you know what happened? Before the sun had risen, I heard Jack's voice calling out my name. He came to pick me up. He was injured but still helped me. That is when I realised that Jack is my Lord. I have never disobeyed his order since then.
I take the first watch then wake up Galadriel. The night passes without incident.

29/10/85/01 Tazius
Another day of walking. We discover that we are going slightly off course. Bjorn confronts Eric, while Donger interrogates him. I give Eric some wine from the skin, which calms him down. He swears that we are going the right way. Galadriel takes the second watch.

30 second medieval epic volume 2

The cupid was up to his mischief again, and shot me, the avenger, and the headhunter. The headhunter had to kill me. I had my sword on the headhuter, so if I would die, he would die too. The village decided to lynch me. I killed a werewolf just as I went down. The headhunter died of grief.

Miniature books

 This was something I wanted to do for a long time, create miniature books. So I cut the pages, sewed or stapled them together, bound them with cardboard and cloth, then filled them up with crayons, sketch pens and ink! Made an entire miniature magic and arcana bookshelf. 

Circuit there but no buttons

 

Both controllers support Select and Start buttons on the circuits, but only Player 1 has the actual buttons

D&D Journal - Adventures at Terra Vol 6

27/10/85/01 Tazius
I find out that I have lost three days in my reckoning. We wake up in the morning and head to the tavern for breakfast, after buying some supplies at the market. I get:

1 whetstone 1cp
3 torches 3cp
1 pole 5cp
1 salt 5cp
1 sling 1sp
1 lamp 5 sp
1 dice set 1 sp
1 mess kit 2 sp
2 cotton cloth 1gp
500 sling bullet 1gp
Crowbar 2gp
1 signal whistle 5cp

I ask Sylph to tell Bubbles (the pup) to keep a watch on Bjorn, because he is suspicious. I have some Blue Dwarven Cheese, and fill up one of my waterskins with Fairyberry Rose wine. I also buy 50 grams of weed from the Tavernkeep. We then head to the meeting house. There are five men with happy masks outside. There Sarry introduces us to Doorgun, a tall male of indeterminate race, wearing another mask. Doorgun will be joining us on our journey. She tells us that Doorman has some experience in brutality. Sarry approaches Bjorn, takes his hand in her hand and says, "please be safe, I will be waiting for you".We then leave.
Outside the Meeting Hall, Doorgun tells us that he will meet us at the assembly grounds. I ask him if he is wearing a mask to hide his ugly face. He says no, he is doing it to hide his shame. I offer him blades, but he does not get the joke. Galadriel leads the party, Bjorn is on the lookout, Doorgun is clearing the path, while Sylph and me Forage. I pick up some wooden branches for woodworking, as well as 2 grams of mould in a flask. We walk through the forest for eight hours, then start setting up the camp.
After we have food, I sense someone appraoching us. I alert the party and quickly climb a tree. There are five peaceful forest people killers. A bunch of men claiming to be on a mission for the Satrap of Multum say they are purging the forest people. Donger (our nickname for Doorgun) charges at the captain of the group. A fight ensues. I shoot down two of the six bandits from my perch on the tree, and miss the third one. The fight continues, and two more of my arrows find their mark, which is pretty good. We kill most of the party, with only one surviving man. In the end we recover:

Scimitar = 7
Light Crossbow = 6
Dagger = 1
Leather Armor = 6
Studded Leather Armor = 1
Human Bodies = 6
Common Clothes = 6
Gold = 17 cp
Letter from Satrap = 1
Circlet = 1

30 second medieval epic

It was a typical idyllic village in the day... but the werewolves roamed free at night, terrorising the residents. There was also a cannibal with a ravenous appetite on the loose. The Cupid fired his arrows, at a werewolf and the gunner. They fell hopelessly in love. The seers identified the cannibal, and that same unfortunate werewolf who had a human lover. The villagers were going to lynch the cannibal, but the gunner shot him down. The villagers lynched the werewolf instead. The gunner died of a broken heart.
Both the villagers and the werewolves went on a killing spree. The only survivors were a witch and a seer.

D&D Journal - Adventures at Terra Vol 5

24/10/85/01 Tazius
Dave asks us what we want to do. We say that we want to go to the camp, investigate it and head to Markum downriver. Dave agrees to send someone with us after we ask him.

Then Sarry takes the stage. "I really applaud the actions of our new allies. There are now two problems before us. One is the parcel stuck between Tarmir and Vellum, and the other is the missing courier at Sorti Tu. We should send a message to Karthak to send his men to investigate at Sorti Tu and Tarmir. Gorman can send his men between Sorti Tu and Tarmir to handle any situation that emerges. We have to make sure that the message does not fall into the wrong hands. We will also send another message to the King of Sahia."
Sarry is in charge of administration, Gorman is head of security of the forest, and Karthak is the head of intelligence, and is never in town. After the meeting, we sit down and share the remainder of the bottle with Sarry. We ask her for advice. She tells us not to underestimate the hubub near the merchant's caravan. She also tells us that we will be paid for our tasks over and above a monthly salary of 20 GP.
Sarry then showed us her house, and told us we would always be welcome there. And also that she would be happy to take care of our needs. Then she took us to a guesthouse, which was well furnished and comfortable. It was grown from a tree. Sylph took a walk and practiced her violin. Bjorn also took a walk and all we know was that he was trying to do something stealthy around Sarry's house, then came back. Bjorn volunteered to sleep in front of the door, for the safety of the party. I work on the Mancala. Then I fortify the doors and windows, and we go to sleep.

RPG/ Fantasy reference list

These books are about life during medieval times, and are great sources for improving your RPGing, or fantasy storytelling. 

The Master of Game: The Oldest English Book on Hunting by of Norwich Edward 

English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages (XIVth Century) by J. J. Jusserand

Pubs: A Collection of Hotel, Inn, and Tavern Signs in Great Britain and Ireland

(no images, is a great a list though, of Tavern names) 

Old Tavern Signs: An Excursion in the History of Hospitality by Endell

A Book of Fruits and Flowers by Anonymous

The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390

Spooky Playground - how "ghost' swings can move on their own

So a friend of mine managed to record a video of a swing that was moving all on its own. There is no trickery here, this actually happened. The video is below.

Now what can cause such a thing? There are a few possibilities:

Vortex Shredding: Has caused buildings to collapse, its periodic low pressure areas at a particular point.

Aeroelastic flutter: Caused the collapse of a bridge, a consequence of the object having an aerodynamic shape is that it starts oscillating.

Crosswinds: two or more gusts intersecting at the exact location of the swing.

Mechanical resonance: Slight oscillations matches natural frequency of the system, causing it to sway.

I'm not an expert, and do not know much about this, just putting together a list of possible explanations.

D&D Journal - Adventures at Terra Vol 4

24/10/85/01 Tazius

The village is growing between the trees. The Sun is setting. Apparently its a secret village not on the maps of other nations. The houses are growing out of the trees. While most of the houses are small, ther are some big houses fused with the trees. We head towards the Tavern, which has a few holes for the sun to shine through. There is a fireplace with no fire roaring right now. There is a surprisingly large bar, with the tavernkeep behind it leaning on the bar and smoking. There are a few tables, and also a few chairs with cushions. We order lunch, which are some apples, and I get a bottle of Fairyberry Rose wine, and drink one fourth of it. I work on the violin-crossbow afterwards, while Galadriel and Sylph just chill. The tavernkeep is smoking something potent. After about an hour, David of the Seven forests comes to meet us, and asks us to follow him. Dave takes us on a tour of the village, and we see blacksmith, a market, some woodworkers, some residential buildings, the house of the village elder, an assembly ground and communal bathhouses at a little distance from the village. Finally Dave takes us to the meeting house. There are some people gathered there. Then Dave addresses everyone. 

"Today's agenda is to welcome our new friends. We also have some good news from our allies near the river bank, as well as discussing the report from Karthak. Then, we will discuss the plan of action to follow. Our allies have helped me numerous times, although there were some misunderstandings on the way. Please welcome Lindir, Galadriel and Sylpharae. Sarry, please take care of the accommodations of our friends. They helped me out when I was on a surprise survey of Niir" A lanky and jovial looking female high elf nods. Then Dave asks if we want to introduce ourselves, and all of us decline to do so unanimusly. Dave says, "as you can see, they are a pretty reserved bunch". A large and reserved looking male human with armoured a broadsword at his hip, chuckles and says, "That's good, they will fit right in". Dave introduces Gorman and Sarry, the elf woman in "shiny" rags, as his subordinates. "Gorman is a little reserved, don't mistake him for being rude". Sarry quips "he just is".  Crador has told me that they have managed to secure the location on the North. It is good news at these times. Sarry, please send a gift to Crador to show our appreciation." He then looks at us, and says "That was a permanent bandit camp infringing on the goblins, our allies near the river who so graciously hosted me. The bandits were killing the goblins mercilessly. This victory was important for us, and the pests wont bother us. Now we must discuss the report by Karthak and discuss our plan of action."

Then, Dave reads out the report from Karthak:

Karthak's people have risked their lives to find the operations of the Bandits.On the Border Near Multum - There are mass poisonings of Animals near the border at Multum
Near Sorti Tu - Nirmil is missing (Nirmil was carrying an important message for the king of Sahia). Our source who was supposed to meet him said he never met Nirmil. Karthak's men have found out that he was last seen entering Sorti Tu.
Between Tarmir and Vellum - Lost contact with an Important Parcel.
Near Markum - Investigate the Sign of Increased Activity. Three days ago, Karthak's men saw an hubub around a merchant's caravan. 

I'm penning my thoughts on the report. Something in Multum is poisoning the animals. We also know that something is getting rid of the dead bodies of the animals, and they are acting strangely, including the wolves, bears and even the rabbits. However, Dave has assured us that regular forest creatures will not harm those who are sympathetic to the forest. At the same time, we came to know of some possessed animals near the goblin camp. This does not seem like a good area for us to check out. At Sorti Tu, Nirmil has gone missing. We know that the Kingdom of Sahia is sympathetic to Dave's people, so this looks like something that we could look into. A parcel has got lost between Tarmir and Vellum, we definitely do not want to go there because of Lana. Markum sounds interesting, and is close to our original destination, but the best lead so far seems to be Sorti Tu, away from anyone who might know us as troublemakers.

Dungeons and Dragons Medieval Tavern Menu

Made a tavern menu for my DM. Feel free to use.




Some additional resources that helped:

Fancy Drink Names
Tavern Menu
Tavern Menu Generator
Signature Tavern Drinks
Great big random list
Drink name generator

D&D Journal - Vox Island Volume 1

Have started another D&D Campaign with a bunch of people I met through a game called Pixel Starships. The Dungeon Master has a really fertile imagination, and the setting is a city where air pressure and sound related technologies and magic have a big role to play. It is a little mental. 

Evening 1
We begin at a tavern called Ale and Soda by Marcellus. Mr Crab, who is a Half Orc Warlock, Gregor, a Half Orc Paladin, and me, a Tiefling Bard meet here regularly. It is payday, and we are drinking like we do regularly. Mr Crab is an engineer, a part of the Wind Worker, who fix all the tech in the city. Gregor, is an Air Marshall, which is kind of like the city watch or the police force. I belong to something like a secret society that controls much in the city, known as the Negra Bova. While Mr Crab and I are in the Tavern, Gregor is late for some reason. We have a few drinks, play a song on the jukebox machine, and have a chSat with Gemini, who has a cool pneumatic wheelchair. During the course of the evening,  we notice that a couple sitting on a table talkin in whispers leave a note on the table. We discretely pick up the note, pay our tab and leave the establishment. On the street outside, I read the note hiding behind Mr Crab's broad back. The note says something about automated transport routes being ambushed, asking the elites to go over there and secure the artefact. We decide to investigate, just when Gregor shows up. We tell him all about the note, and he decides to investigate with us as well. We all buy a riding horse, and go out to the location.
We see the automated transport full of medicines, some valuables, paintings, miscellaneous tech, a massive machine that occupies half the transport. The corrupt Gregor fills the saddlebags on his horse. Gregor and me tie up our horses to the automated transport. I climb onto it and pocket a trinket. Mr Crab has trouble riding through the bushes to reach the wagon. Suddenly, a hellhound attacks Mr Crab. We see two more hellhounds approaching the wagon. A fight follows. Mr Crab climbs a tree, and his skeleton gets lit up by a lightning bolt. He falls, but manages to grab a branch and barely hold on. Gregor gets hurt badly and starts running away with his horse, straight into one of the assailants. I take the assailant near Gregor down using dissonant whispers, making him bleed from his eyes and ears. I also take an arrow to the shoulder, but I am better off than the other two, still on the Wagon. A couple of arrows that I fire miss their mark. Right then, a bunch of witches from black mountain come in and join the fight, attacking the hellhounds. I discretely return the stolen goods from Gregor's horse into the wagon. Serves him right for running into battle on my horse. Suddenly, there is a jet of smoke and fire in the sky, and a man in an iron suit lands right next to one of the witches, and says "hand over the artefact".

This plate

So cool this plate is. Perfect for eating Idli. Got it from some relative during Munji, might seem like a basic gift, but it is a gift that keeps on giving. Cant go wrong with awesome plates.

D&D Journal - Adventures at Terra Vol 3

24/10/85/01 Tazius
Bjorn talks to the goblins and convinces them to let us join in on the feast. We are led to a barebones cave with rocks for chairs, beds, and a skyhole on top. A goblin points to a rock jug in the spring cave. Sylph sings a lullaby for some reason, and it is so soothing that everyone takes a nap.
A little while later we are called to the feast, where we meet not one, but two old friendss. Triev Rallen has somehow ended up at the feast after some solo adventures. There is also Dave there, whom we interrogate for abandoning us. He is actually David of the Seven Forests. His home is in the forest of Miir. The forests of Niir, Miir, Liir, Riir, Fiir, Diir and Kiir are spread across two continents. Dextra has Niir, Miir, Liir, while Laeva has Riir, Diir, Kiir. Nobody knows where Fiir is, it could be in some spectral plane, or a forest that once existed and now has disappeared. Dave also told us that the cities in Kastin were doing something bad to the forest, "They were always nasty to our allies. We have done nothing but give this world our bounty." The neighbouring Kingdom of Sahia though, are sympathetic with the forest guardian, and treat their forests better.
We enjoy the feast, where I stop the urge to print the pretty green backsides of the goblins. There is Kor, a hobgoblin boss with a massive broadsword and a longbow. After the feast, we discuss future plans. Dave wants to kill the bandits. We find out that the Goblins are actually having some kind of a symbiotic relationship with the forest, and are actually good. All the humans on the spikes outside were bandits, the animals were tainted animals, and the beasts wont learn the lesson to stay away. We also find out that the beasts roaming the forest may have something to do with the creature that we killed in the Sewers. Dave reveals to us that he has agents all over the forest, he was initially suspicious about us, and that we have now won his trust.
Later in the night, we find out Syl's story. Syl is a princess. The Drow mate with humans to reduce skin sensitivity to sunlight, which is how she was born. She was smuggled away as a kid and adopted and taken to a conclave. Someone attacks the conlave and she is the only survivor, she became a
wizards apprentice, to take revenge. The wizard uses black magic, and traps her in a forest where he controls all the treas and creatures. She sings to the forest, wins them over, turns the forest around and uses the forest to trap the wizard, then runs into us after the fire.
Syl asks me to start making a violin crossbow, and I begin the task. Galadriel meanwhile, is still plagued by ants. Its a big camp after the feast, with Milo, Triev, Galadriel, Syl, Bjorn, Me and Dave.

24/10/85/01 Tazius
The next day I follow the Aasamir everywhere, he has a word with the Goblin King, and we leave for Niir Faqmass, after having a walking breakfast. We camp for the night, I take the first watch, while working on the crossbow. The night passes peacefully, with just too many crickets. Galadriel takes the second watch and is hounded by ants again. Syl wakes up half an hour later than everyone else. We start the business of making breakfast again. We reach a small village, which is Faqmass. It is an idyllic settlement, where everyone looks happy, helpful and cheerful. I have a bad feeling about this.

March 2020 Time Tracker

This was my March