#dinosaur laser art

[the-muffin-master]

remember this? THIS is how they look like now! feel old yet?

thank you to one of my best friends (who's playing a bg3 campaign with me) @ink-cartoon for helping me with the colors!!! although we MIGHT have exaggerated a bit on the hair...

[fastman27]

Dinovember day 13: Carnotaurus

[taxi-davis]

Battle of Pterosaurs and Drones by Holly Wood

[fundeadasylum]

He’s singing “I Don’t Know What We’re Talking About”.

.........this is stupid i’m so sorry

[theresattrpgforthat]

Mint's TTRPG Library

Here is a list of links to the Collections I add Itch.io games to on the regular, where I often go to in search for games to meet folks' recommendation requests.

These collections are large and unwieldy. I'm not certain that they're easy to navigate, but if you want to do some browsing, you certainly have options!

Systems

Belonging Outside Belonging Breathless Caltrop Core Charge Descended from the Queen Firebrands Forged in the Dark Honey Games (Honey Heist) Into the Odd Lasers + Feelings LUMEN Par-AGON (Paragon System) PbtA Push Together We Go Troika (A bunch of Troika supplements) Tunnel Goons (AKA Goon Games) What’s So Cool About _?

Genre

Adventure - With Pulp! (Westerns, Dinosaurs, Spies, Time Travel) Bittersweet Futures (Post-Apocalypse) Botanical Adventures (Plants) Bring Me The Evidence! (Mysteries) Cogs and Steam (Steampunk) Delicious Delights (Food & Cooking) Dirtpunk (Revolution, Rebellion, Fighting) Eras Both Real & Imagined (Historical, Faux-Historical) Everyone Loves A Competition (Competitions, Sports) Fae and Fen (Faeries & Goblins) Fangs, Fangs, Fangs (Vampires) Grim & Gritty (Gritty & Grimdark Fantasy) Hearts & Threads (Romance) Manners & Mischief (Social & Political) Mechs and Tech (Mechs & Robots) Modern-Day Mishaps (Modern-Day Setting) Monsters & Mutants (Monsters, Monster Hunters, Pokemon - simulators) Neon Lights & Cyber Nights (Cyberpunk) Oh So Anime (Anime & Manga themed) Paranormal Activity (Ghosts, Cryptids, Death) Pastoral & Cozy (Cozy Games, Witch Games) Paws and Feathers and Scales (Animals) Sorcerous Intentions (Magic-Users) Stars and Science (Science-Fiction, Space) Sword & Sorcery & So Much More (General Fantasy) Teenage Hijinx (Teenagers) The Sea Calls (Oceans, Aquatic, Pirates) With Great Power (Superheroes, Magical Girls, Fantasy Superpowers)

Other

Abstract Games & System Bones (SRDs, Genre-less) By Pen and Paper Played (Epistolary Games) Funky Fresh Flavors (Miscellaneous) GM-Less Solitary Adventures (Solo Games) System-Neutral Settings (Adventures & Settings) The Art of Creation (Collaborative World-building) Two Can Play At That Game (Duet Games)

[toopimpabutterfly]

making my INTRO!!!!! or this is my intro. ykykyk. (meet my shitty way of designing intros and stuff too,)

HIHI call me Jésus I'm 16 Apache Mexican American. With some other stuff cause yeah. just mentioning that cause. I will say a lot of stuff yk. I'm autistic and scitzohenic but PLEASEEEE I NEED FRIENDS and PEOPLE TO talk to about my current interests!!!

MOVIES

Oh to go. on ABOUT THIS.. here's my letterboxd I fucking love movies.

DOGMA, MOONLIGHT, CLERKS, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, GOOD WILL HUNTING, FIGHT CLUB, NAKED LUNCH, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, CONSTANTINE, HELLBBOY, GUMMO, MAD MAX + FURIOSA, GODZILLA, I SAW THE TV GLOW, AVATAR, JACKASS, MID 90S, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS, WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S, FRIDAY, THE MATRIX, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, THIRTEEN, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, TRAINSPOTTING, THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLYNT, DUCK TILL DAWN, THE WATERMELON WOMAN, DONT BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL, BOYZ IN THE HOOD, 12 MONKEYS, MENACE II SOCIETY, WATCHMEN,MALL RATS, KIDS and a lot more.. coughs.

TV SHOWS

PREACHER, THE BOYS, THE MAXX, ÆON FLUX, THE BOONDOCKS, LOITER SQUAD, CLERKS ANIMATED, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE, BOJACK HORSEMAN, BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD, JACKASS THE SERIES, SMILING FRIENDS, THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW, FUTURAMA, KING OF THE HILL, MORAL OREL, BLACK DYNAMITE, HOME MOVIES, SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, THE OBLONGS, and more stuff again. Assume that a lot tbh.

MUSIC

THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, KENDRICK LAMAR, ICE CUBE, N.W.A, BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDY'S, LEONARD COHEN, NINE INCH NAILS, OUTKAST, TYLER, THE CREATOR, NAS, DR DRE, BONE THUGZ, QUASIMOTO, EAZY-E, KMFDM, ALEX G, WEEN, CHEMLAB, JANE'S ADDICTION, GERMS, ANGRY SAMOANS, NEW ORDER, JOY DIVISION, COWBOY JUNKIES, JESUS LOVES JUNKIES, PIXIES, DINOSAUR JR, HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE DEAD MILKMEN, NECROS, CIRCLE JERKS, HOLE, and a lot more. I love hardcore punk, crust, hip-hop, rap, and basically everything tbh.

MISC + FIXATIONS

I love comics like the Punisher, The Maxx, Preacher, Bratpack, the clerk's comic, Watchmen, Hellboy, little things. I like reading, TOO . I LOVE HUNTER S THOMPSON!!! Mostly Fear and Loathing in las Vegas, Hell's Angels, and the Campaign Trail 72, and other books like Revolt of the Cockroach People, Get in The Van. Little books like that sorta. GAMES TOO I like Faith the unholy Trinity, DOOM, POSTAL, GTA, DUSK, and a few others!

I collect DVDS, games, VHS tapes, books, CDs, records, laser discs, literally any piece of physical media . All of it. I like conspiracy theories, civil rights activists, some art history, Malcolm X. I'm a punk I go to local shows and stuff and might sometimes post that when I can. I have a HUGEEE fixation rn on Dogma(1999) and Kendrick Lamar. But I heavily enjoy the viewaskew universe rn and want to interact with more of the little fandom please... my dad got me into the movies and we watched them all together n stuff. I do powerlifting as a hobby and like to go on walks around my town and say nonsense please interact. I will post whatever I want here really tbh.. BYE.

TAGS!!!

#toopimpabutterfly <- tag for everything I post

#TPAB lyric posts <- me lyric postin, nuff said.

#TPAB rants <- mostly vent or ranting about my horrible life. how fun

I got socials too, discords are irlwillhunting MAIN and h0peeradicated as alt. My Instagram is topimpthebutterfly . Spotify is here .

[sol-consort]

I was re-reading your Turian post about what they would be attracted to with the bird comparisons and honestly for a long time I didn’t think the Turians resembled birds at all and thought it was weird they were called that but you’ve made me see it, they are in fact birds

The way the world works and information is traded is a wild thing my man, it was only through mere coincidence that I started seeing them as birds bc of some random reddit comment that stumbled my way on a flop post.

I finished ME1 not seeing the resemblance at all. Hell, even during ME2, I still didn't get the whole bird imagery everyone insisted upon so much. Turians reminded me of lizards more, beareded dragons specifically, even dragonborns dnd wise since I was coming fresh out of dnd games.

I guess little things piled up over time. The fringes on their heads reminded me of bird feathers, the sharp beak that resembled that of a bird of prey, the whole eagle symbolism overlapping with the military.

Their lack of lips to make room for a flat-ish beak. Their colourful face tattoos and how some bird species cut stripes of colourful leaves and papar to decorate their feathers with. How turians have literal claws instead of hands and feet.

Honestly, a person would only need to glance at the turian early concept art before the bird symbolism becomes crystal cleaer. They're less of "eagles soaring through the skies" birds and more of a "chicken ancestors" birds

Their vocal cords are, in fact, very capable of squeaking + their fringes flare up and puff as a form of facial expression.

The best frame of reference we have is dinosaur-esque flying reptiles from before the meteor hit the earth. They're described as bird-like yet still check the boxes in the reptile qualification just like the turians. Maybe the turians are just the dinosaurs of Pavalan that managed to out-evolve nature instead of going instinct from the radiation. Pterosaurs come to mind

So either turians never evolved wings, or they had to de-evolve the wings away in order to afford their metalic exoskeleton, having both is pretty taxing genetically. Much like humans used to have tails, and now only our tailbones remain, turians might have had wings at one point, which explains the awkward joints and sharp bends in their limbs.

Or actually, it's probably the feathers that make much more sense to have been removed from their genetic pool through natural selection since feathers = little to no metallic exoskeleton = death from the sun laser. Their fringes could either have been support structures to make their feathers appear more puff, or it could be a phenotype for the sole purpose of mimicking feathers to attract a mate? Their sharp face mandibles could also have been part of one gaint beak at some point, but got in the way of their exoskeleton, causing it to fracture and split until their front face became almost flattened down.

I mean–

If the shoe fits?

[magnusnox]

♡ RileyxMatthew ♡

I couldn't resist! I needed to redo that scene with those two as a gift for my good friend @the-muffin-master (´• ω •`) ♡

They're adorable! ;v; ♡

Also! Follow my friend, they make great arts! ( •̀ᴗ-)૭ ⋆˙

@the-muffin-master / @dinosaur-laser-fight

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #489 - "Primitive To The Core"

Originally posted on June 2nd, 2010

Story - Juan Pablo Osorio Script - Franco Villa Art, Letters - Xavier Basa Colours - Brian Valeza

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

Later revised and annotated for Transformers: The Lost Seasons

wada sez: In the Sunbow cartoon, the Dinobots were created by Wheeljack and Ratchet, taking inspiration from dinosaur fossils as seen in S.O.S. Dinobots. The later episode “Call of the Primitives” established that all animalistic Transformers, including the Dinobots, belonged to a shared “Primitives” category, as referenced in the title here. The first panel here is presumably depicting the events of “Dinobot Island, Part 2″, where the Dinobots rally the island’s living dinosaurs to fight the Decepticons. The third panel shows their original Cybertronian modes, taken from The War Within. The big retcon here is the idea that the Dinobots were actually rebuilt from “laser cores” of existing Transformers from Cybertron, more in line with the Marvel Comics origin for the characters, rather than from scratch by Wheeljack and Ratchet as the cartoon itself established. Now, what on Earth is the “organic mimicking virus” they’re infected with, and what connection does that have to the concept of the Primitives? I’unno. Over a decade later, Villa returned to comment on the strip congratulating himself: “10 years after this comics, Simon Furman came up with the same idea in his Secrets & Lies!” Clean art below.

[the-muffin-master]

first part is here! you can tell I'm getting increasingly more unhinged lmao ask me about my character, coward, DO IT YOU WON'T

bonus: how it all began for me because I was feeling nostalgic

his sad, pathetic wet cat appearance captivated me

[skyland2703]

Got any headcannons for how members of the different dino teams would interact?? Imo Shelby and Amelia would totally just info dump about dinosaurs/aliens to each other

Oh a sht ton of them 🤣 let’s seee (your Shelby and Amelia Headcanon is 10000000x valid OML)

Shelby would LOVE Javi’s music. And Javi would FREAK OUT if he gets to meet music icon Kira Ford. And cue all of them writing a Dino something song together— and Tyler bombs in with awkward singing when they try to record/post it.

Conner would get along waayyy too well with Chase. Riley and Ethan would be somewhere in the back shaking their heads and going like ‘you’re kidding, right?’

Zayto and Dr. O being dads to their respective teams, and panicking about “WE DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS MANY DUMB KIDS” and Keeper chimes in with a “if you’ve gotten the kids, you must take their responsibility.”

Oh and Solon cooks for EVERYONE. And then we have Koda and Aiyon just stuffing their faces.

Ivan, Zayto and Aiyon comparing notes on Earth Knights and Rafkonian Knights.

“WHAT?? YOU THREE ARE ALIENS?!! AwEsOmE” <- Tyler

“I wish I had an alien girlfriend” also tyler. To which he gets uh… beat down from the lady who has once kicked a laser beam attack into half.

Conner going “You wrote an actual song about dinosaurs?? LAAAMMEEEE” and getting punched by Ethan because tricera rangers solidarity.

Ollie and Kendall shaking their heads at all the chaos that unfolds. Ollie: ��So you have an entire underground lab? With THAT MANY GADGETS?!!?” Kendall: “I sure do” Ollie: COOL!! Show me!!” Kendall: “yeah if we leave these people here they’re gonna blow up the place”

Kendall DOES get insanely invested in Dr. O’s batcave. Then we have Ollie shaking his head because “you can go look at labs with him but not me?? 🥲” and Kendall’s reply being something like “I trust you to look after the kids <3”

Amelia geeking out about the Dino Zoo and the V E R Y real dinosaurs. James Navarro takes her on a ride on his ankylosaurus. Javi also joins in giggling like a little kiddo

Kendall and Ollie don’t get along as well. Ollie and Riley meanwhile. Could be twins from alternate dimensions. At least Ollie is happy that Aiyon isn’t as big of an airhead as Chase is— AND Aiyon just tried to eat a chair… “i take that back”

“Dr O I’m sorry I broke your wristwatch” Izzy says, handing Tommy his Dino morpher, “it flung out of my hand while I was trying to throw Koda’s spear as a javelin”

Trent is sitting somewhere in the background, sketching everything, and realises someone— Zenowing— has been looking at his art.

They narrate the story of Koda becoming a baseball star to Izzy and she’s like “I’m signing Riley up to be my manager”

“And we were track rivals” moments.

More drama.

Shelby and Amelia comparing notes about Tyler and Javi. Cute? Check. Overemotional? Check. Angsty Daddy Issues Trauma? Check. Heart of gold? Check. Himbo boyfriend material? Check.

“You were also evil and then turned good?” Heckyl and Tarrick’s conversation. “Yes, but I also had a wife and child. We do not come from the same plane.”

That’s about all I can think of atm— but I’ll be sure to add more!!

[spacepopechilitheninth]

How The Hotdaga and Puppet History are connected through an obscure rock opera that came out in 2005: A Theory

this is true in my heart. has shane madej ever professed any interest in Ludo? maybe not, but neither did I until the mania set in a few weeks ago. let's dive in:

CHAPTER INDEX

Broken Bride

The Hotdaga

Puppet History

The Narrative

A Morning in May

PART ONE: BROKEN BRIDE

Broken Bride is a 2005 EP rock opera by the St. Louis based band Ludo. It was written by Andrew Volpe (loml) and one song was co-written by Tim Ferrell. I don't expect the individuals reading this to sit through the half hour it takes to complete it, but if you find the time and interest I HIGHLY encourage you because it is a wonderful piece of art and storytelling.

The story focuses around a main character- a time traveler- who gets lost in time while trying to prevent his wife's death in a car accident in 1989. It begins with him stuck in the age of the dinosaurs, and continues with him stuck in an apocalyptic future.

Sound familiar?

PART TWO: THE HOTDAGA

If you're reading this now, then you'll surely already know the timeless tale of the HotDaga- with the plot-heavy later seasons focusing around the story of a young holographic corn getting lost in space on her journey to prevent her wife's death in a volcano on their wedding day.

The highly "futuristic" elements of the show- the space travel, the chrome aesthetics, the Risky Fixin's lyrics being laser engraved on the moon, etc- suggest it taking place in a more futuristic setting.

Now, the primary "antagonist" of Broken Bride is the bringer of the end of the world- The Red Dragon, a symbolic figure of the devil in the Book of Revelations. Now, don't we know anyone else who's red, powerful, has Christian symbolism, and is the bringer of the end of the universe?

That's right.

There are a few main parts to the future setting of Broken Bride:

The Red Dragon

The "followers"- zombies, and a "false prophet" king

The setting of a city, overtaken by zombie hordes and the dragon itself

Violent descriptions of war

The Lamb- the Savior, the time traveler

And There are a few main parts of the latter half of the HotDaga:

Space Pope Chili IX

Pam and Baby Brandon + Chili Pirates, and Joblet- the leader of the Plupples who's allegiance to Chili IX isn't revealed until later (false prophet, anyone?)

The urban environment- the O-Nion Space Station, which is later destroyed by Chili XI

The backdrop of the chili wars

Maizie's quest to save her wife

See my point yet?

PART THREE: PUPPET HISTORY

"But wait," you say. "What about the beginning of Broken Bride? There are no dinosaurs in The HotDaga!"

And you're right. There aren't. But if there's anything Shane is good at, it's playing the long con. Seemingly separated, Puppet History and the HotDaga are two very odd pieces of media with nothing in common. But under the guise of an inspired mix of elements from Broken Bride?... That's a full story.

As we're all familiar with, the last season of Puppet History concluded with the Professor TIME TRAVELING (though against his will) back to the AGE OF THE DINOSAURS.

EVEN THE FIRST THING WE SEE IS A SUBTLE BROKEN BRIDE REFERENCE. YOU WHAT IT IS? A PTERODACTYL. YOU KNOW WHAT THE CREATURE ASSOCIATED WITH BROKEN BRIDE IS? THAT'S RIGHT.

Anyways, long story short, the Professor gets eaten.

This, however, is not the true ending, as he inexplicably survives and makes it back to the present period without any current explanation.

Or does he?

PART FOUR: THE NARRATIVE

"So," you say. "If this is all some long elaborate plot played out by Shane, how is it all connected?"

My friend, I will tell you exactly that.

If we look at the timeline of Broken Bride, we can assume the events of the HotDaga and Puppet History are happening simultaneously, though millions of years apart through time travel.

The Professor is sent back to the age of the dinosaurs- Maizie and the gang are set in the future with the intention of traveling back to the past.

Now, if we follow the correct order of events, once Maizie and Pam jump through the wormhole they will accidentally wind up in the prehistoric age, where they cross paths with the Professor. The pair will stumble across each other and agree to help each other back to their respective times.

But, as we all know, that doesn't quite work out.

The three will jump forward to the apocalyptic future from which Maizie and Pam came, but some time after. Space Pope Chili IX will have ravaged the universe, leaving only a small part of the O-Nion Space Station to try and defend themselves against the rabid hoards of food zombies.

Somewhere along the way, the group gets split up and the Professor and Pam are lost.

PART FIVE: A MORNING IN MAY

Broken Bride ends with the "lamb's" accidental victory, and he is greeted by angels who grant him one wish. His only request is to see his wife one last time on the day she died, during which he decides to come with her on her fatal car ride so they can pass together.

I believe this is the bittersweet ending Maizie will find.

I know what you're asking- "What about the others? How is Puppet History happening in the present?"

Well, that's simple- The Professor isn't actually The Professor, but a WITCH HOLOGRAM concocted by Pam as she barely manages to scrape together a makeshift time machine to escape to the present.

How, you ask? Well, let's say, this machine needed a special kind of mineral... one that is only mined on Tomat-0... one that lives in the eyebrow hairs of a certain blue peach...

"But wait, isn't Joblet dead?"

You poor fool. That's what Shane WANTS you to think. Joblet is a treacherous, disgusting little creature who could worm his way out of anything. OF COURSE he's still alive.

He strikes up a deal with Pam to jump back in time to avoid an inevitable death, and the two miraculously end up in our present- but as sentient food aliens and hot dog witches don't exist (yet??) they have to come up with a cover.

So tell me, dear followers, who would a time traveling hot dog witch and a treacherous blue creature choose to impersonate? Who would the literal false prophet choose to impersonate?

That's right. Joblet and Pam are the Professor, and the real Professor is lost in the future, fighting Space Pope Chili the Ninth alongside Maizie.

This is where the story deviates from Broken Bride canon, since the ending only focuses on the time traveler, but Shane knows EXACTLY what he's doing here. The HotDaga conclusion was already written by Andrew Francis Volpe almost twenty years ago. Shane is about to write the conclusion of Puppet History now.

You Agree. You Agree With My Ludo Theory.

[bizlybebo]

Sending good vibes, I haven't been Tumbling BC I am drawing so much art fight stuff but I wanted to say hi :)

HIII ENDYYYY !!!! SENDING YOU LASER EXPLOSIONS AND HAMMERS AND DINOSAURS I HOPE YOURE HAVING SO MUCJ FUN WITH ART FIGHTT

[theresattrpgforthat]

My absolute favorite D&D setting is Eberron. I love it to pieces, although I’ve never gotten the chance to play in it. My favorite things about the setting are 1) the potential for both pulpy adventure and juicy noirish intrigue and 2) the frequent moral ambiguity of characters and factions. The magitech is fun too, but that’s just a bonus. So I’ve been thinking: is there another game that can tide me over while I wait for the Sharn campaign of my dreams?

THEME: Pulp and Intrigue

There’s a lot of themes you’re trying to hit here all at once, so I’m going to do my best here. I’m breaking it down as follows:

1. I’m looking for games that can accommodate pulp adventure (dramatic, fast-paced, simple stories)

2. I’m looking for games that can also accommodate noir themes and intrigue.

3. I’m looking for games with morally ambiguous factions and people.

Atomic Robo RPG, by Evil Hat.

Action! Science! Robots! Punching! More Science!

Are you ready for some two-fisted science adventure? Then it's time for the Atomic Robo RPG! Have you ever wanted to face down global conspiracy as an immortal atomic robot or Carl Sagan? The Atomic Robo RPG makes it possible.

The Atomic Robo RPG brings you the most explosive Fate Core System experience yet. This is action science like you've never seen it before, coming straight at you from the pages of the popular Atomic Robo comics by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. Play as an Action Scientist or immortal robot, super-spy or pulp adventurer—or something stranger still from the hidden corners of super-science!

This game combines wacky hiking with big conspiracies and various morally grey corporations and societies. Sure some of the folks you meet are probably pretty cartoonishly evil, but you work for Tesladyne - how morally good are you? Either way, get ready to shoot things with lasers, create impossible machines, and fight an undead Thomas Edison after he tries to get revenge on your boss.

Fae Noir, by Green Fairy Games.

The Great War is over, but its scars have yet to heal.

Will you play a pistol-packing elf or magic-slinging private eye? Fast-driving bootlegger or tango-dancing troll?

It is the Roaring 20's and everyone wants to forget the horrors of a war that spanned continents and dimensions. But the changes it wrought are not so easily dismissed. Humanity struggles to understand a world of re-awakened magic and folklore come to life. The fae, failed invaders from the lands of faery, find themselves adrift in the unfamiliar modern world, living relics of the past. It is an era of jazz and exploration, of art deco and danger; a time when the fists and courage of individuals can determine the course of history.

Fae Noir is a role-playing game set in the chaotic, pivotal decade of an alternate world where creatures of mythology returned from self-imposed exile at the height of World War I.

This is an intriguing mix of magic and noir set in a time period full of tension and high stakes. You can play as a human or one of ten different Fae races. Characters use a point-build system, and the game is run primarily off d8s. The stats given to characters are more focused on adventure than on social situations, so if you’re more into kicking down the front door of a local gangster or holding your breath in the canal so that you can sneak into the local prison rather than sweet-talking the mayor at the next soiree.

Escape from Dino Island, by Sam Tung & Sam Roberts.

Escape from Dino Island is a thrilling adventure game about intrepid heroes trapped on an island overrun with creatures from a lost age—dinosaurs!

Players take on the role of everyday people who are brave and competent, but also in over their head. The game is designed to help you create the kind of stories that are full of action and suspense, but in which fighting is rarely a good option.

Will you escape with your life? And what kind of person will you become in your quest to survive? There’s only one way to find out…

If you want pulp adventure this is a great little game to get you there. Escape from Dino Island doesn’t have much in noir themes on the tin but if you want to ask questions about how the dinosaurs got there, how your characters got there, and who might be trying to profit from this while situation, you might have the makings of a bigger mystery. (Plus there’s dinosaurs, and if there’s one thing I know about Eberron, is that it’s got dinosaurs.) 

Urban Jungle, by Sanguine Productions.

The early 20th century of the United States was rife with fantastic change: from the rise of industry giants, to the great experiment of Prohibition, to the tragedy of the Great Depression, onto the dawn of the Atomic Age. The sky was tamed, the world was mapped, and the possibilities of science seemed limitless, all blue skies and buttered toast…

… for some folks, anyway.

A complete game in one volume, URBAN JUNGLE makes you a player in an anthropomorphic world of pulp-adventure, hard-boiled crime, and film noir. You’ll tangle with hardened gangsters, with jaded debutantes, with world-wear wary veterans, and with all kinds of shady characters.

Urban Jungle has a number of different cities to base your stories in, from the New-Orleans-style Bellegarde, to the Californian-inspired San Dorado, to the tribute to Miami that is Sunshine City. The GM section has some solid advice, such as the kinds of threats you can send against players, and how to use NPC death. The idea is that Urban Jungle will eat you alive (metaphorically) if your characters aren’t careful - there’s money to be made and schmucks to swindle, so you’ll have to be smart, savvy, and suave to get what you’re looking for, whether that be answers, safety, or your next meal. 

Swords of the Serpentine, by Pelgrane Press.

You round the bend past the lower fort and there she is: the great city of Eversink, sprawled out on scores of islands across the sheltered water. She may be ancient and corrupt, slowly and inexorably swallowed by an endless bog; but she’s alive in a way most cities aren’t. She’s a melding of faith and stone and wood and water – and mud – that’s unique in all the world. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve come to kill a rival, earn a fortune, learn a secret, or hire an army. You’re home now, and the Sinking City will embrace you. All you need to do is survive.

Swords of the Serpentine is a sword & sorcery game of daring heroism, sly politics, and bloody savagery, set in a fantasy city rife with skullduggery and death. The rules adapt the GUMSHOE investigative roleplaying system to create a fantasy RPG with a focus on high-action roleplaying and investigation inspired by the stories of Fritz Leiber, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, and others.

Your characters will discover leads that, if followed, propel them headlong into danger and forbidden knowledge. A lead might point the way to sunken treasure, jungle ruins, the missing key to a sorcerous trap, or the true identity of a notorious murderer. The GUMSHOE game mechanics ensure that you’ll always notice leads if you look for them. It’s up to you to choose which one you'll follow into whatever perils lie ahead, in hopes of fortune, glory, justice, or just staying alive another day.

If you want magic and mystery, Swords and Serpentine has it. If you want alliances and intrigue, this game also has it. Eversink is a city with many different organizations fighting for a piece of the cake that your characters can get involved in, make deals with, and try not to get stabbed in the process. There’s also a robust social system to help your characters navigate political situations where their opponents might have sorcery, curses, alchemy and more up their sleeve - and all the corruption that comes with it. 

If you want to track down foul sorcerers in a corrupt and decadent city, clamber through underground ruins to sneak into an enemy’s home and rob them, or wage a secret war against a rival political faction, you’re in the right place.

[cassiopeiagarcia]

Cass was crouching behind a rock, completely covered in something that she really hoped was not animal shit and something else that she was pretty damn sure was animal shit.

She was being as quiet as possible, putting all her attention on simple things; where she placed her foot next or if the terrain made any noise as she stepped on it.

She was outside of Akila City. There had been a sandstorm not long ago, but she had been able to wait it out inside her ship, Chaos, which also acted as her home. When Fernando and María had given their three kids enough money so that they could get their adult lives started, Cass bet they hadn’t been thinking that their middle daughter would go straight to the Spaceport and purchase whatever ship she could get her hands on.

A medium-sized one, with space for three people, white, with missile launchers and laser guns, with engines that didn’t allow her to travel too fast… but she could grav jump, and did most times, so it was fine. As long as she kept her shields up at all times, even when she was sleeping, she would be fine. Even if piracy was the new in and being a respectful citizen and not stealing other people’s private property was out.

But none of that mattered, now. Because she had found the creature she had been stalking for the past few weeks. A Mossgnath. A gigantic creature, resembling that thing that Earth inhabitants used to call dinosaurs, covered in moss and very easy to confuse with a rock, if they were young or a small mountain, if they were adults or elders.

They were nervous creatures that ran away whenever they heard the softest sound – probably their ears were overdeveloped to escape the beasts that roamed the area, like the Ashtas. Blood-thirsty, extremely aggressive creatures whose body was made of scales so hard not every gun could penetrate their skin.

She got out her sketchbook, and started drawing. Little by little, line by line, making sure the sound of the pencil on the paper was inaudible… at least for her. But the Mossgnath didn’t seem troubled.

The gentle giant was sitting down, munching on leaves from a nearby tree, being the perfect model for her artwork without even knowing about it.

It wasn’t long until she had finished – at least tracing the basic shapes, she could work more on it when she was safe somewhere else.

Drawing number one thousand eighty-nine.

When Cass had enrolled in university, she had never thought that would be her life. She hadn’t been particularly into sciences; in fact, she would have preferred to study art. But her parents had been pretty strict about it, wanting her to have a good future, saying maybe at first she could study something useful, just so that she would have a backup plan and then, perhaps, go to painting classes…

And now, here she was. Collecting data that she would later on sell to MAST, or to the Freestar Rangers, or to anyone who was willing to pay.

Observing things most humans hadn’t laid eyes upon.

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

MONDAY MUSINGS: CLEVELAND-LLOYD QUARRY

Today, I am going to tell you a story. A story about a couple of paleo undergrad students in their taphonomy class talking about a famous quarry in Utah. But first, a little background.

First, the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry is a large dinosaur quarry in the San Rafael Swell of Utah near the town of Price. It is in Jurassic National Monument and it is the resting place of at least 50 individual Allosaurus. That is a lot of predators found in one spot. Other predators have been found here as well including Ceratosaurus (1), Torvosaurus (1), Marshosaurus (2), Stokesosaurus (2), and Tanycolagreus (1). There are also a high number of Stegosaurus (4) and Camptosaurus (5) and a handful of sauropods (3 Camarasaurus and one Barosaurus, one Diplodocus and one Apatosaurus).

Due to the high concentration of predators in the area, the quarry has been interpreted as a predator trap. Unfortunately, so far, there isn't a ton of concrete evidence aside from the numbers to back that claim up.

A big thing to note with the Allosaurus: nearly all of them were sub-adults or juveniles.

Now, back to the story. I was in my third year? Maybe fourth, I don't know, it was so long ago now. Anyway, I was in college, taking a course called taphonomy (the study of what happens to organisms after they die, through burial until we recover them). We were looking at a map of the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry and our professor, Dr. David Varricchio was having us go around the table in pairs or small groups to give explanations of why so many Allosaurus sub-adults in one area.

It started out pretty normal: youngsters might have stuck together and hunted in packs.

They were following a Stegosaurus herd trying to sus out the weakest link.

The environment was a flood pond, clay nested in a topographic low between levees and that clay was smectitic (filled with ash) making it sticky not unlike tar.

This type of clay will add 10lbs to the bottom of your shoes (it's why we don't start digging until summer. The spring makes this clay impossible to walk through. I mean, look at my poor boots). Imagine weighing as much as an Allosaurus and stepping into swelling clays. No bueno.

Well, eventually, we had gone around maybe two or three times and we were running out of typical reasons so my best friend and I, we came up with something...inventive.

Once upon a time, there was an Allosaurus civil war...

No, this is really good, I promise. You see, you always send the younger generation out to fight your wars right? That's why they're all sub-adults. The herbivores were their food stashes. The reason they also don't seem to have a lot of injuries? They were using their laser vision to kill each other which leaves no marks on the bones!

Thank you Animedino1 for having art haha.

Anyway, there was this pregnant pause after we had finished our explanation in which our classmates weren't sure how to respond and Dave looked like an error message was playing in front of his eyes. He replied saying "Well, I can't falsify it so I guess it could be true." So there you have it. A very well-known paleontologist said it could be possible so until further notice, I will believe in Allosaurus civil wars.