#Perilous Land

[vintagerpg]

Romance of the Perilous Land (2019) is Osprey’s other debut RPG. Things here are familiar and new in equal measure. It is obviously a game of Arthurian adventure, but unlike Pendragon, it doesn’t attempt to adhere to any sort of canon. Despite the tag line of the game being about British folklore, it does not conform to the England of reality. There is no map, its a mythic place with undefined borders. This is good, because Pendragon already has the reconstructed romance covered, and this lets us romp in the Camelot of our childhood imaginings. Robin Hood is in here, too! Because even though he shouldn’t be, he should be, if you get me.

Continuing this notion of new but familiar, this is definitely a hack of D&D. It cites the OGL at the end of the book and lists David Black’s Black Hack as a prime source of mechanics. I can’t see specific Black Hack mechanics (I have a hard time parsing the different versions of D&D at this point, official or unofficial) but the class-based, d20, roll under attribute system is definitely smoothed down in ways the hearken to modern hack design. There are lots of nice things that ground the mechanics to the theming — characters are unambiguously good, “race” is mechanically absent, class is supported by trade-like backgrounds, there are armor points and the magic system is points-based as well. Valor points, earned through good behavior, can be spent for a variety of advantages. Its a rare thing: a simpler sort of D&D custom tailored to provide a familiar system for a different sort of game.

(Another mark in the game’s favor: its inclusion of illustrations featuring Black characters and women who are knights really annoyed a certain racist metal musician and maker of shitty RPGs. Fuck that guy).

[weirdlookindog]

Tawny Kitaen and Zabou Breitman in Gwendoline (1984)

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played Romance of the Perilous Land ?

By Scott Malthouse

Romance of the Perilous Land is a roleplaying game of magic and adventure set in the world of British folklore, from the stories of King Arthur to the wonderful regional tales told throughout this green and pleasant land. It is a world of romantic chivalry, but also of great danger, with ambitious kings, evil knights, and thieving brigands terrorizing the land, while greedy giants, malevolent sorcerers, and water-dwelling knuckers lurk in the shadows. As valiant knights, mighty barbarians, subtle cunning folk, and more, the players are heroes, roaming the land to fight evil, right wrongs, and create their own legends.

[dia-the-fangirl]

hello idk why i’m doing this. I’ve just had this in my head for a while. So THEME SONGS FOR RANDOM BOOK CHARACTERS GO AND ALSO A COUPLE SHIPS

WINGFEATHER -

Leeli - Raise a Hallelujah. “My weapon is a melody”

Podo - God Only Knows. “God only knows what you’ve been through, God only knows what they say about you. God only knows the real you, cause there’s a kind of love that God only knows”

Artham/Peet - At All Costs. “I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine. Felt this, no, I haven't, I hope it would be all right to stay right here beside you, and promise as one does I will protect you at all costs. Keep you safe here in my arms. I will protect you at all costs”

KOTLC -

Sophie - Fight Song. “Losing friends and I’m chasing sleep”

Biana - Warrior. “every scar on my skin is a beautiful reminder of a moment when I didn’t give in and I walked through fire”

Sokeefe - What Makes You Beautiful. “Baby you light up my life like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, and when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell, you don’t know you’re beautiful”

Fitzphie - I Want it That Way. “Ain’t nothing but a heartache. Ain’t nothing but a mistake. I never wanna hear you say, I want it that way”

WOF -

Clay - You’ve Got a Friend in Me. Self explanatory. Glory - Kings and Queens. “Once I start breathing fire you can’t tame me. And you might think I’m weak without a sword, but if I had one it’d be bigger than yours”

Peril - Roar. “I got the eye of the tiger the fighter. Dancing through the fire cause I am a champion. And you’re gonna hear me roar”

Cricket - Speechless. “I won’t be silent, no you can’t keep me quiet, won’t tremble when you try it. All I know is I won’t go speechless”

Blue - I’m Blue. “I’m blue da bu dee da bu dye, da bu dee da bu dye, da bu dee…” ok I’ll see myself out. Darkstalker - Centuries. “Some legend are told, some turn to dust or to gold, but you will remember me for centuries. And just one mistake is all it will take to go down in history”

Sunlow - Love Story. “I sneak out to the garden to see you, we keep quiet cause we’re dead if they knew” (I actually wrote a parody of this song for Sunlow… tell me if you want me to post it)

RIORDANVERSE -

Annabeth and Reyna - Unstoppable. “I put my armor on, show you how strong I am. I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am unstoppable. I'm a Porsche with no brakes. I'm invincible, yeah, I win every single game. I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play. I'm so confident Yeah I'm unstoppable today”

Percabeth - Stand by You. “Even if we can’t find heaven, I’ll walk through hell with you. Love, you’re not alone, I’m gonna stand by you”

LAND OF STORIES -

Conner - Good Kid. “I never try to do anything, I never mean to hurt anyone, I try to bee a good kid, a good son. But no one ever will take my side. All I ever do is take a fall. I swear that I’m a good kid, guess I’m good for nothing at all”

anyway that’s all I can think of right now. Reblog with more from these fandoms!

[princess-of-morkva]

i see merlin trending, i wanna post something.

no but seriously how did that happen. not that i'm complaining

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Perilous Landscape by Alayna Lemmer-Danner

[xtruss]

The Last Flower At The Top of The World—and The Perilous Journey To Reach It

Scientists Journeyed to a Stretch of Gravel Off The Coast of Greenland—The Farthest North You Can Go and Still Walk on Land. These Photos Show What They Found There.

— By Sarah Gibbens | Photographs byJeff Kerby | May 08, 2024

An Arctic Poppy thrives on the Northern Coast of Greenland. Among the plant life in this region, these hardy Flowers are like Giants. Some, like this one, grow in clumps that protect themselves from harsh weather. Like a satellite dish, they will slowly turn to follow the sun. On an expedition to understand what lives at this latitude, an Arctic Poppy like this was found about 20 inches south of the World's Northernmost Plant.

At the top of the Earth, the northernmost stretch of land a person can stand on is Inuit Qeqertaat, also named Kaffeklubben Island by early 20th Century Danish Explorers. The region is a dark gray stretch of gravel on the northern coast of Greenland where land slowly gives way to frozen sea ice.

To find what lives amid these rocky soils, climate change researchers and National Geographic Explorers Brian Buma and Jeff Kerby and their team embarked on a journey to survey the region. There, they found a common species of moss (Tortula Mucronifolia), the world's northernmost plant, and a yellow and lime-green Arctic poppy (Papaver Radicatum), growing just a few inches south of the moss.

On the nearby mainland, Greenlandic archaeologist Aka Simonsen discovered a ring of roughly 700-Year-Old Inuit Stones, which may be the northernmost archaeological remains.

Growing in Extremes: The Northernmost Stretch of land in the World, Inuit Qeqertaat, sits off the coast of Johannes V. Jensen Land, a Peninsula in Far Northern Greenland. National Geographic Explorer Brian Buma traveled there to find the northernmost plant-a common moss—and the northernmost flower a few inches south-an Arctic poppy.

Rosemary Wardley, NGM Staff; Martin Gamache, National Geographic Society Sources: Jeff Kerby, Scott Polar Research Institute; Brian Buma, Environmental Defense Fund; SkySat imagery from July 13, 2023, Planet Labs PBC; ArcticDEM, Version 4.1

The research team left their own mark on the mainland coast, staking plots and recording the vegetation they contained to create a highly detailed digital map of the area they surveyed. Information collected from this trip will be the first data logs in what Buma and Kerby hope will be a long timeline of research in the far northern region.

Here, above the Arctic Circle, the planet is warming four times faster than anywhere else on Earth. Changes here will have ripple effects across the globe, which is why the team braved harsh conditions to find what lives on the edge.

The expedition team was led by climate scientist and National Geographic Explorer Brian Buma. The north coast of Greenland was used as a staging point while shuttling gear across sea ice to Inuit Qeqertaat (Kaffeklubben Island).

Brian Buma collected samples from different layers of this snow glacier to understand the unique properties of water in this rarely visited region. This part of the world is a polar desert, and precipitation is scant, so the samples in this glacier represent many years of snow.

From above, the northern coast of Inuit Qeqertaat—and thus the northernmost stretch of land on Earth—is visible. It was near this shoreline that the team found the edge of terrestrial life, including a common species of moss, officially the farthest north, and the northernmost flower on earth—found about 20 inches south of the moss. The small, gravelly island is about a mile north of mainland Greenland.

This is the northernmost flower on earth, a lone and somewhat ragged Arctic Poppy, sitting near the shoreline of Inuit Qeqertaat. Poppies dotted the northern edge, with a few purple mountain saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) only slightly farther up the slope. In the background, Brian Buma surveys various contenders for northernmost plant before a final survey determines this flower to be the official runner-up. Seen just behind the flower, a tuft of ‘Mucronate screw moss’ (Tortula mucronifolia) claims that title.

Identifying mosses and other tiny Arctic flora requires a hand lens and careful attention to detail. Up close, Brian Buma examines their adaptations to cold weather, such as small hairs coating a plant's exterior.

Aka Simonsen, a Greenlandic archeologist, prepares to leave camp with Brian Buma, just as the weather begins to turn. After just a few hours the northernmost island, the team left, intending to return the next day. The window to return quickly closed after a few days when bad weather turned into a storm that brought strong winds and heavy precipitation. The July storm dumped nearly a foot of snow and drifts reached several feet. Harsh conditions trapped the team at their base camp for a week.

Aka Simonsen measures a ring of large stones that may have been used to anchor a tent. The stones are roughly 700 years old and likely left by the Thule people. These artifacts were found on the mainland, near the team's base camp and could be the northernmost documented archeological site on Earth.

When the plane returning to retrieve the team landed, it got stuck in snow, and a makeshift runway had to be constructed by scooping snow with snow shoes. Gravel was placed by hand so the plane's tires wouldn't slip on ice or stick in snow during takeoff. Scientists who return to this northernmost region will be able to use the team's detailed digital map to chart how the ecosystem is changing as the planet warms.

[deermouth]

no one--including our downstairs duplex neighbors, i'm sure, has ever truly gotten to know the huge silver maple on our front lawn, in the past 5 years i've lived here. tonight i realized my error and sat with my back against it a while. i hope maybe it will tell me its name in dreams, as i politely requested, but regardless I hope it knows i love it.

[musicandoldmovies]

Tawny Kitaen and Zabou in The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak

[mossmx]

merlinktober DAY 25: perilous lands

[vigilskeep]

this is not the point of the shadow-cursed lands at all but i match the vibe SO well here

[internetgiraffekid1673]

YES I AM STILL DOING OC-TOBER! I DON'T CARE THAT IT'S MID-NOVEMBER, I'MMA FINISH THIS DAMMIT!

By the way. Remember when I told you I did prompt 21 last time? Yeah that was a lie, that was prompt 20. TODAY is prompt 21, draw your OC with your favorite character

I have a lot of favorite characters from a lot of favorite medias, but I have firmly decided that my favorite book of all time is Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella by Megan Morrison. It's the second book in a series, and it is SOOOOOOOO good.

Anyway, my favorite character from that book is the blue fairy Serge. He's a fashionable model of professionalism who is waiting for his asshole boss to retire so that he can fix the fairy-godparenting business to help children in need instead of just rich brats. All of his carefully laid plans are abruptly hijacked when he gets an apprentice in Jasper, the crimson fairy who RADIATES dramatic theatre kid energy. I refuse to spoil anything else though.

In the Land of Tyme (the world where this book is set), witches are created by selling their souls to the Great White Fairy in the Sky (who's an asshole, but not explicitly a satanic allegory). To maintain their lives and powers, they have to consume innocence, usually accomplished by eating children. Witch and fairy magic do NOT mix, don't play nice with each other, repel each other, and make the users of both physically weakened and ill. It's like poison.

While Hazel's done some heinous stuff, she's not a cannibal, and she only preys on other evil people. Serge has no way of knowing this, and would be absolutely horrified in a number of ways if he met a child witch, while Hazel would just be confused.

Everybody go read The Land of Tyme series by Megan Morrison, it's been intricately worldbuilt to a degree that I would actually describe the books as lessons on civics, ethics, and politics disguised as fractured fairytales. They're REALLY REALLY good. Anyway.

[weirdlookindog]

Tawny Kitaen in Gwendoline (1984)

[schlock-luster-video]

Wishing a happy birthday to Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak star Zabou Breitman!

[nearly-magic]

when an author deletes a fic you really REALLY liked 🥺😔 legit was the first fic i ever read and its gone (ignore that it says 2021, im just still not over it)

my tears of sorrow do not find the ears of a hearing soul, for i am now left without companionship or comfort in this bleak and forlorn world.

[scifipinups]

Tawny Kitaen The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (Gwendoline) (1984)