#exalted funeral

[vintagerpg]

The Vorpal Almanac (2023) is also not what I would call a traditional monster book, but in the spirit of deconstruction and recontexualization that has run through this week’s posts, I think we can extend it some leeway.

It’s a collaboration between Levi Combs (words) and Sally Cantirino (art) and I love it a lot. It is unambiguous: a collection of 22 unique swords, an illustration (a portrait of the weapon and a previous owner) and flavorful quote on one half of the spread, a brief history and mechanical notation on the other half. An appendix consisting of a few tables allows for customization or the creation of new blades. Elegant. There are a lot of interesting weapons here (and skeletal owners, worth noting) but I think my favorite is Stormclaw, which can sometimes shoot out a bolt of lightning and acts as a lightning rod protecting the wielder from electrical attacks. There are probably more interesting blades in the book, but I like how Stormclaw feels unique and storied through the combination of a name, unusual magical properties and a brief and somewhat unremarkable history. More (all?) magic items should have at least this much individuality.

Monsters, though? Sure. Named swords of special history go back probably as far as swords themselves. Excalibur is probably the most famous, but there are heaps of them, every hero owning at least one (I have to say, though, one of my favorite things about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is that their named weapons aren’t special, to the extent that Fafhrd’s “Graywand” is whatever sword Fafhrd happens to be holding at a given moment). Tyrfing is perhaps my favorite legendary sword, forged under duress and cursed to kill a man whenever it was drawn. It’s one of several that inspired Michael Moorcock’s demonsword Stormbringer, and I think we can all agree that Stormbringer was a monster. I’m happy to call Netherfang and Nygotha from The Vorpal Almanac the same.

[thefandomentals]

Fight for freedom and master your own fate in Forsaken, a new game from Kyle Tam (MORIAH, Hit The Road Jack) and Exalted Funeral.

[rpgsandbox]

Welcome, traveller, to the fungus-wracked tangle of Dolmenwood, and beware, for all here is not as it seems…

Dolmenwood is a fantasy adventure game set in a lavishly detailed world inspired by the fairy tales and eerie folklore of the British Isles. Like traditional fairy tales, Dolmenwood blends the dark and whimsical, the wondrous and weird.

Streamlined rules and helpful introductory materials guide novice players, while unique new magic and monsters bring a fresh sense of the unknown to veteran role-players. We’re launching the three Dolmenwood core books, plus a range of delectable extras.

Check Out a 76-Page Preview PDF!

Check out our free 76 page preview PDF of material from the 3 core books!

Preview also available at DriveThruRPG and necroticgnome.com (no account required).

Rife with intrigue, secrets, and magic, Dolmenwood draws travellers of adventurous spirit, daring them to venture within.

Explore the wild places of the Wood, travelling through bramble-choked dells, fungus-encrusted glades, and foetid marshes, bedding down among root and bracken amid the nocturnal babbling of strange beasts.

Unearth treasure hoards in forgotten ruins, haunted fairy manors, dripping caverns, crystal grottoes, unhallowed barrow mounds, and abandoned delvings.

Confront fell beasts, roving fungal monstrosities, terrible wyrms, tricksome fairies, and restless spirits of the long deceased.

Recover saintly relics and shrines lost in the befuddling tangle of the Wood, gaining the favour of the Church by returning them to civilisation.

Forage for weird fungi and herbs in the untrod depths of the woods, many with useful magical powers—and many that can be sold for profit.

Strike against Chaos, defending civilisation from the encroaching forces of the wicked, half-unicorn Nag-Lord who lurks in the corrupted northern woods.

Unravel secrets of deep magic, charting the obelisks, dolmens, and ley lines littered throughout Dolmenwood—but beware the sinister Drune cult that wards them.

Seek the counsel of witches and hags, masters of magic that can heal, hex, or divine the future.

Meddle in the affairs of the nobility, allying with a noble house in its intrigues and power plays in the courts of High-Hankle and Castle Brackenwold.

Journey along fairy roads, ancient magical paths bordering on the ageless realm of Fairy that allow travel throughout Dolmenwood—and perchance to realms beyond.

Return to the homely hearth to share tales of peril with quaint locals over a mug of ale and a well-stoked pipe.

The Dolmenwood Player’s Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 192 pages approx., 1 ribbon marker) contains the complete game rules plus all character options.

Player’s introduction to the intrigues and mysteries of the forest realm of Dolmenwood.

Familiar character creation with the six classic stats, level and XP, Hit Points, and Armour Class.

6 playable kindreds: goat-headed breggles, starry-eyed elves, tricksome grimalkin cat-fairies, everyday humans, fungus-riddled mosslings, and bat-faced woodgrues.

9 character classes: cleric, enchanter, fighter, friar, hunter, knight, magician, minstrel, and thief.

4 kinds of magic: mighty arcane workings, fairy glamours and runes, holy prayers to the host of saints, and the odd knacks of mosslings.

Detailed, flavourful equipment with lists of adventuring gear, armour, weapons, mounts, hounds, inn lodgings, tavern fare, beverages, pipeleafs, fungi, and herbs.

Simple core rules: roll a d6 or a d20 plus modifiers versus a target number.

Easy-to-follow procedures for travel, camping, foraging, dungeon delving, encounters, combat, and downtime.

Full examples of play and introductory materials make the game easy to learn.

The Dolmenwood Campaign Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 464 pages approx., 2 ribbon markers) presents a lavishly detailed campaign setting, ready for years of adventure.

Referee’s introduction delving into the regions and history of Dolmenwood.

Mysterious lore of the lost shrines, standing stones, ley lines, fairy roads, Wood Gods, and fairy nobles.

7 major factions: the Chaos-godling Atanuwë, the wicked fairy Cold Prince, the sorcerous Drune, the human nobility, the breggle nobility, the monotheistic Pluritine Church, and the enigmatic witches.

12 settlements detailed with major sites and NPCs and beautiful maps.

Expanded procedures for weather, getting lost, encountering monsters, fishing, foraging, and hunting.

200 pages of fantastic locations waiting to be explored.

Over 280 NPCs with their own desires and schemes.

Referee advice on starting and running campaigns, awarding XP, designing adventures, and creating dungeons.

Starter adventure to get you right into the action.

Hundreds of magical artefacts from enchanted oddments to mighty relics.

Over 250 rumours to drive adventure.

Easy-to-reference presentation designed to minimise page flipping and prep time.

The Dolmenwood Monster Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 128 pages approx., 1 ribbon marker) details a bestiary of creatures that lurk under Dolmenwood’s eaves.

87 fully detailed monsters dripping with flavour, including encounter seeds and beautiful illustrations.

48 mundane animals including unique Dolmenwood fauna such as gobbles and gelatinous apes.

9 types of of normal humans: anglers, criers, fortune-tellers, lost souls, merchants, pedlars, pilgrims, priests, and villagers.

27 NPC stat blocks for common adventuring classes.

Adventuring party generator for rolling up NPC adventurers on quests of their own.

Over 300 rumours describing monsters as featured in local folklore.

Monster creation guidelines to keep players on their toes.

Easy-to-read stat blocks and bullet point presentation for quick reference.

Dolmenwood uses a lightly customised version of the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules system, tailored to Dolmenwood and with some major quality-of-life upgrades. Players of all editions of Dungeons & Dragons will find the Dolmenwood rules very familiar.

Ability Scores: Roll for 6 ability scores: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma.

Kindred, Class, and Level: 6 kindreds, 9 classes, levels 1–15.

Hit Points (HP): Roll 1d4, 1d6, or 1d8 (determined by Class) for HP. Re-roll 1s or 2s. 0 HP is dead!

Armour Class (AC): AC 10 = unarmoured, better protection raises AC.

Initiative: Streamlined side-based initiative makes combat fast and exciting: each side (monsters / adventurers) rolls 1d6 each Round—highest roll acts first.

Attacking: Roll 1d20, add Attack bonus and modifiers, try to beat the target’s AC, roll damage.

Saving Throws: Roll 1d20, add modifiers, try to beat a fixed target number on the character sheet.

Ability Checks: Roll 1d6, add ability modifier, 4 or higher succeeds.

Skill Checks: Roll 1d6, add modifiers, try to beat a fixed target number on the character sheet.

As an adventure game in the heritage of the RPGs of the 1970s and 1980s, Dolmenwood espouses the danger and excitement of the old-school play style.

Emergent character creation: Unique and surprising Player Characters emerge from quick random rolls, rather than from detailed character build optimisation.

Exploration, puzzles, and tricks: Players’ ingenuity and creativity are challenged by devious puzzles, traps, and tricks. Simply rolling dice to succeed is often not an option!

Creative thinking encouraged: Easy-to-learn rules for exploration, encounters, and combat provide referees with a robust framework from which to make impromptu rulings on players’ outside-the-box antics.

Fast, exciting combat: Combat encounters are quick to play out, leaving plenty of time in game sessions for exploration and role-playing. As in real life, combat is not fair or balanced—players whose clever tactics tip the balance in their favour will prevail!

Zeroes to heroes: Characters advance from humble beginnings to heights of great power.

Open-ended sandbox play: Campaigns focus on freeform stories evolved over the course of play, with players driving the action.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Sat, September 9 2023 4:59 AM BST

Website: [Exalted Funeral] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram] [youtube]

[rogue-os]

New ttrpgs came in the mail! really excited to get into these, especially The Bureau (I really love Control). got these from Exalted Funeral which is quickly becoming my favourite ttrpg store but damn I wish shipping wasn't so expensive to AU.

Liminal Horror and The Bureau are made by Goblin Archives

FIST and Mandlebrot Set are made by CLAYMORE

[gridshock]

GRIDSHOCK 20XX was released for ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying one year ago today! To celebrate, you can pick up the lavishly illustrated 4-zine set in print or PDF for half price at Exalted Funeral.

Enter a world that ended - where superheroes lost and villainy reigns - but new heroes rise.

You can get 4 print zines for $25, or 4 PDFs for $15 for a limited time.

https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/gridshock-20xx-pdf?_pos=1&_psq=grid&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[neonrotrpgs]

Two Expansions for BDSM are out! CBT is standalone small skirmish game that works with any bdsm campaign. And MILF is an invaluable database of giant mutants and new mutations that has a whole one-shlop at few ends and lots of good art!

https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/m-i-l-f?_pos=2&_sid=a7bd820ec&_ss=r

https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/c-b-t?_pos=1&_sid=a7bd820ec&_ss=r

[guidedbynors]

I’m excited to Play Isle of Ixx! If anyone wants to join, which it out. We have 3/5 players already!

[weirdlookindog]

The Dance of Death

German, 18th century

"The Dance of Death originates in mediaeval plays and folk rituals performed on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December), and in funeral sermons. In the most popular version, Death (in the form of a skeleton) dances in succession with people representing particular social ranks (Pope, emperor, king, lawyer, peasant, etc.) and takes away each in turn, demonstrating that nobody however exalted in this life, can escape death. Conversely, nobody, however humble in this life, is in the end worse off than the rich and mighty"

source

[laurasimonsdaughter]

The King of the Cats

A fun little folklore plot that shows up in Scotland, Ireland and England is the death (and succession) of the King of the Cats.

The story usually begins with a man being told, either by a cat or a disembodied voice, to inform a certain person that another person has died. Both persons are called by their full name, usually strange names, which are unfamiliar to the protagonist. When the protagonist comes home he tells what a strange thing happened to him. Upon overhearing the message the house cat jumps up and declares that they are now the King of the Cats, immediately leaving never to be seen again.

There are other versions of this type of story, more widespread over Europe, where there cat may be a fairy or troll in disguise. Or there isn’t a cat at all, but a house gnome or elf instead, and the announced death is that of a relative or enemy. But it’s the concept of a King of the Cats who can be succeeded by a cat that is currently an ordinary house cat, that delights me so.

The name of the deceased Cat King and the successor differ per story:

In this version from Lancashire they are called Doldrum and Dildrum.

In Joseph Jacobs’ version, which is an amalgamation of several English variants, they are called Tom Toldrum and Tom Tildrum. (This version even includes a whole feline funeral procession.)

The oldest recorded version of this story is from the Beware the Cat by Baldwin (written 1553, published 1561). Only the dead cat in question (Grimalkin) is never called the king of the cats, and the cats receiving the message (Puss) is a female cat, who is sad to leave her home.

In this Scottish version the successor is unnamed, but the dead Cat King is called Old Peter.

The stories sadly do not say a lot about what it means to be the King of the Cats, apart from some mentioning a sceptre and crown, but Lady Wilde does have something to say about him in her Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888):

A most important personage in feline history is the King of the Cats. He may be in your house a common looking fellow enough, with no distinguishing mark of exalted rank about him, so that it is very difficult to verify his genuine claims to royalty. Therefore the best way is to cut off a tiny little bit of his ear. If he is really the royal personage, he will immediately speak out and declare who he is; and perhaps, at the same time, tell you some very disagreeable truths about yourself, not at all pleasant to have discussed by the house cat.

Her second example has a content warning for animal cruelty, so I will put it underneath a cut, but it does imply that the Cat King might be capable of reincarnation…

A man once, in a fit of passion, cut off the head of the domestic pussy, and threw it on the fire. On which the head exclaimed, in a fierce voice, "Go tell your wife that you have cut off the head of the King of the Cats; but wait! I shall come back and be avenged for this insult," and the eyes of the cat glared at him horribly from the fire. And so it happened; for that day year, while the master of the house was playing with a pet kitten, it suddenly flew at his throat and bit him so severely that he died soon after.

[whencyclopedia]

Enheduanna

The Akkadian poet Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE) is the world's first author known by name and was the daughter of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, r. 2334-2279 BCE). Whether Enheduanna was, in fact, a blood relative of Sargon's or the title was figurative is not known.

It is clear, however, that Sargon placed enormous trust in Enheduanna in elevating her to the position of high priestess of the most important temple in Sumer (in the city of Ur) and leaving to her the responsibility for melding the Sumerian gods with the Akkadian ones to create the stability his empire needed to thrive.

Further, she is credited with creating the paradigms of poetry, psalms, and prayers used throughout the ancient world which led to the development of the genres recognized in the present day. Scholar Paul Kriwaczek writes:

Her compositions, though only rediscovered in modern times, remained models of petitionary prayer for . Through the Babylonians, they influenced and inspired the prayers and psalms of the Hebrew Bible and the Homeric hymns of Greece. Through them, faint echoes of Enheduanna, the first named literary author in history, can even be heard in the hymnody of the early Christian church. (121)

Her influence during her lifetime was as impressive as her literary legacy. Entrusted by her father with great responsibility, Enheduanna not only exceeded those expectations but changed the entire culture. Through her written works, she altered the very nature of the Mesopotamian gods and the perception the people had of the divine.

Life

Enheduanna's name translates as 'High Priestess of An' (the sky god) or 'En-Priestess, wife of the god Nanna'. She came from the northern city of Akkad and, as Kriwaczek notes, "would have had a Semitic birth name on moving to Ur, the very heartland of Sumerian culture, she took a Sumerian official title: Enheduanna – 'En' (Chief Priest or Priestess); 'hedu' (ornament); 'Ana' (of heaven)" (120).

She organized and presided over the city's temple complex, the heart of the city, and held her own against an attempted coup by a Sumerian rebel named Lugal-Ane who forced her into exile. The Akkadian Empire, for all the wealth and stability it brought to the region, was constantly plagued by uprisings in the various regions under its control. One of Enheduanna's responsibilities in the region of Sumer would have been to keep the populace in check through religion.

In the case of Lugal-Ane, however, she seems to have been bested, at least initially. In her poem The Exaltation of Inanna, she tells the story of being driven from her post as high priestess and cast into exile. She writes a plea for help to the goddess Inanna requesting her to petition the god An for help:

Funeral offerings were brought, as if I had never lived there.

I approached the light, but the light scorched me.

I approached the shade, but I was covered with a storm.

My honeyed mouth became scummed. Tell An about Lugal-Ane and my fate!

May An undo it for me! As soon as you tell An about it, An will release me. (lines 67-76)

Inanna apparently heard her prayer and, through divine intercession, Enheduanna was finally restored to her rightful place in the temple. She seems to have been the first woman to hold this position in Ur and her comportment as high priestess would have served as an exemplary model for those who followed her.

Continue reading...

[vintagerpg]

The only place to go is down! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat with Josh McCrowell, the evil mastermind behind His Majesty the Worm. Grab your tarot deck and prepare yourself and your kit bag for the endless dungeon underneath the city. Venture deep enough and survive the darkness long enough and you might come across the Worm himself!

[guybitesatgames]

You, Exalted player. Having trouble naming your new character or NPC? As far back as first edition, you could have fired up Voidstate's Exalted Name Generator* and gotten a couple dozen names, easy, and only a small percentage of them would be "Moon Moon" or "of of of of of". But some time in the past year or so, that site went down and now we're back to naming things by hand.

However.

Courtesy of the Wayback Machine and some minor skullduggery, I've pulled the list of words used to populate that generator. You'll find them, unedited except for formatting**, below the cut. Scroll around and you're sure to find some nouns, adjectives, and verbs that'll make your character or charm name feel sufficiently Exalted-y.

*I am in no way associated with the original creator. I did not make this list; I only seek to preserve it.

**Original spelling has been preserved, because it is possible that (in some cases) archaic spellings were included intentionally. If something looks weird, look it up, use your judgement, blame it on Old Realm.

 Colour

      Alabaster      Amber      Amythest      Ashen      Azure      Black       Bright      Brilliant      Cerulean      Citrine      Crimson      Ebon       Flaxen      Golden      Grey      Pale      Quicksilver      Radiant       Saffron     Scarlet      Shadowy      Silver      Vermillion      Violet       White

   Condition

      Adamant      Blazing      Blind      Celestial      Distant      Drunken       Elder      Empty      Eyeless      Final      First and Forsaken       Flaming      Forsaken      Hidden      Hungry      Invisible      Last       Masked      Ravenous      Secret      Silent      Veiled      Weeping       Whispering

   Emotion-negative

      Bitter      Blighted      Deadly      Death      Dirgeful      Ferocious       Funereal      Grieving      Grievious      Hateful      Poison       Rancourous      Sad      Savage      Sorrowful      Sour      Unrepentant      Vengeful      Venomous      Wrathful

   Emotion-positive

      Auspicious      Benificent      Blessed      Bounteous      Exaltant       Excellent      Flawless      Harmonious      Heavenly       Incomparable      Joyous      Jubilant      Perfect      Sagacious       Silken      Virtuous

   Heroic

      Battleworn      Glorious      Great      Invincible      Mighty       Stalwart      Triumphal      Triumphant      Unconquered       Undefeated      Victorious

   Movement

      Ascending      Descending      Flickering      Flowing      Fluttering       Leaping      Running      Soaring      Still      Towering      Unfettered       Wandering

   Number

      Eighth      Eleventh      Fifth      First      Fourth      Last      Ninth       Number One      Number Ten      One Hundredth              Second      Seventh      Sixth      Ten Thousandth       Tenth      Third      Twentieth One Thousandth

NOUNS

   Animal

      Bat      Bear      Bull      Carp      Coyote      Crane      Cricket      Crow       Dog      Dolphin      Dragon      Eagle      Ghost      Grasshopper       Hyena      Jackal      Leopard      Lion      Locust      Mammoth       Mantis      Monkey      Owl      Ox      Panther      Phoenix      Raiton       Rat      Raven      Scarab      Serpent      Shark      Snake      Spider       Tiger      Viper      Vulture      Wolf      Yeddim

   Body Part

      Blood      Claw      Eyes      Face      Finger      Fist      Hand      Heart       Mind      Nail      Silhoutte      Soul      Stance      Tooth      Wing

   Building

      Bier      Catacomb      Citadel      Demesne      Forge      Fortress       Gate      Keep      Kingdom      Labyrinth      Manse      Monastary       Monolith      Obelisk      Pillar      Prison      Rampart      Redoubt       Refuge      Ruin      Spire      Temple      Tomb      Tower      Vault

   Celestial Body

      Cloud      Heaven      Heavens      Horizon      Moon      Rainbow       Sky      Star      Starfall      Sun      Sunrise      Void      Wyld

   Charm General

      Attack      Attitude      Discipline      Evasion      Exercise      Form       Glance      Intuition      Invigoration      Meditation      Method       Prana      Spirit      Stance      Style      Technique      Temper       Understanding

   Charm Combat

      Attack      Block      Blow      Counterattack      Evasion      Fist       Form      Hammer      Kick      Prana      Stance      Strike       Technique      Throw

   Location

      City      Depths      East      Forests      Heavens      Land       Mountains      North      Oceans      Seas      Sky      South       Underworld      Wasteland      Waves      West      Woods

   Metal or Stone

      Bronze      Copper      Granite      Iron      Metal      Obsidian      Onyx      Ore      Steel      Stone

   Natural Object

      Blossom      Boulder      Cliff      Dawn      Day      Dusk      Forest       Frost      Garden      Hill      Ice      Iceflow      Lightning      Lotus       Midnight      Mist      Monsoon      Mountain      Night      Oak       Ocean      Orchid      Paradise      Rainbow      Reed      River     Rose       Skies      Sky      Storm      Thunder      Thunderhead      Tsunami       Twilight      Waterfall      Willow      Wind

   Negative

      Abyss      Anger      Ash      Ashes      Bitterness      Death      Dirge       Dust      Havoc      Loss      Misery      Oblivion      Pain      Plague       Sadness      Vengeance      Venom      Wrath

   Person

      Assassin      Bodhissatva      Bureaucrat      Empress      Guardian       Hero      Hunter      Killer      King      Lord      Lover      Maiden       Master      Prince      Princess      Queen      Sage      Scholar       Tyrant      Warrior

   Precious Material

      Crystal      Diamond      Emerald      Gemstone      Glass      Ivory       Jade      Moonsilver     Oricalchum      Platinum      Ruby       Sapphire      Silk      Soulsteel      Starmetal

   Relation

      Ally      Child      Daimyo      Daughter      Father      Lord      Master        Mother      Ovalisque      Serf      Servant      Slave      Son

   Weapon

      Axe      Blade      Bow      Fist      Gauntlet      Hammer      Knife       Lance      Shield      Spear      Staff      Sword

VERBS

   Destroying

      Breaking      Consuming      Crushing      Destroying      Devouring       Piercing      Scorning      Smashing      Smiting      Stealing       Sundering      Tearing      Thrashing

   Loving

      Esteeming      Glorifying      Kissing      Loving      Praising       Treasuring      Worshipping

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: August

August, eighth month of the Gregorian calendar.

It was named for the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar, in 8 bce.

Recorded from Old English, the name comes from Latin augustus ‘consecrated, venerable’.

Its original name was Sextilus, Latin for “sixth month,” indicating its position in the early Roman calendar.

One of the earliest evidence for august is from 1594, in a translation by Robert Ashley, translator and book collector.

August is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin.

As an adjective

1. [1594-] Inspiring or worthy of respect (originally on account of birth or position in society); impressively eminent or respected; imposing, reverend, worshipful. Sometimes as an honorific epithet.

"To mingle with a body so august." —Lord Byron, Two Foscari iv. i, in Sardanapalus 259

"We have a human sufferer in Him—the augustest indeed that ever shared our flesh and blood." —R. C. Trench, Sermons in Westminster Abbey xiv. 152

"I would happily relax my hold if you honorably promise to accompany me to my august superior whom I unworthily serve." —H. H. Skinner, Jiu-jitsu 40

2. [1602-] Inspiring reverence and admiration; impressing the emotions or imagination as magnificent; solemnly grand, stately, majestic.

"The funeral was long remembered as the saddest and most august that Westminster had ever seen." —T. B. Macaulay, History of England vol. IV. 534

"[It] renews its ancient glance with an auguster beauty." —J. Martineau, Essays Philosophical & Theological 2nd Series 149

"Little open emotion was evident in the august halls of the Court." —B. Doherty, Gun Control on Trial vi. 110

3. Having great importance and respect in society 4. Marked by majestic dignity or grandeur

Synonyms & related words

baronial, colossus, cosmical, dignified, distingué, exalted, formidable, Homeric, magisterial, opulent, palatine, pantheon, personage, redoubtable, resplendent, splendiferous, titan, uncrowned

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[miriani-lavellan]

Some interesting little tidbits about the world that are gleaned from Mementos found: It looks like there's already an almost full list here.

After the Exalted March against the Dalish, the Antivan crows signed some kind of treaty or agreement promising to take action if another march against the elves was going to take place. It seems they did 'stand with the Dales' in some form.

The Crow mementos in general seem to indicate when they realised the influence they had, they also began to discuss how they should use that influence, and the responsibilities they had.

When an archdemon is slain, the Grey Wardens recover a fang to keep as a trophy.

The Wardens keep a record called The Book of Ashes to record not the dead, but the Wardens who survived the Blights.

Scrying exists to tell the contents of certain containers or the function of certain magical items.

The Shadow Dragons disguise their manifestos and propaganda as spellbooks, in the hope the Venatori will pick them up and read them without realising what they are, and thus have their mind changed.

The Wardens wear blue because it's a local dye available in the Anderfels - I think we can probably say 'Anderfels Azure' is derived from Brona's Bloom. Poetic, as it's one of 'the first to fade when blight emerges' and that they mell of warm honey and rainy spring mornings—things the blight forgets.' The uniform is a reminder of what the Blight takes, and a hope for its return all the same.

Antivans typically have coffee (with or without an alcoholic addition) after dinner.

The Antivan Crows might once have been the Antivan Ravens. Both birds appear in early motifs, until finally crows won out.

Somehow, Blackwall's carved rocking griffon (or one of them) found its way into the Dellamorte estate.

Early post-Veil writings are found in a source called 'The Days of Death,' in which an ordinary elf records the realities of mortality, and grapples with the new need for food and shelter. Other early writings indicate they were attempting to map their new home.

One of the ways Kal-Sharok survived the Blight was by abandoning the caste system.

There's a scandalous... hit piece? book on the Inquisition, called 'Inquisition Exposed.' It's illustrated. Edit: My bad, it's smut. It's just smut.

In Nevarra, it's popular to give children coming of age a gift of necromantic, allegorical illustrations.

During the Storm Age in Nevarra, there was a trend of artists mixing their own blood into the paints. They were discouraged by the Watches as it kept leading to works of art getting possessed.

There's an undead thief making troubled around Nevarra City known as the 'half-made bandit'. He escaped from an anatomy class.

A Cassandra mention when considering the funeral of a Nevarran prelate.

Some spirits prefer possessing inanimate objects over the living.

Emphasising the Mourn Watch and the Mortalitasi in general's complex relationship with the Chantry, once a (probably possessed) Chasind shaman ended up sheltering with them.

Ancient Qunari did not have horses.

There seems to be, or have been, an element of ancestor worship in Qunari religion.

[unlawfulgames]

So I just noticed that I am not seeing anyone mention The Book of Gaub on this website, which is a crying shame.

Being straightforward with you, I’m one of the authors—but even so it’s one of my favorite ttrpg supplements ever. Not just in the quality of the writing and art within but the quality of the book itself as an object. I mean look at this!

That embossed cover, that duo-tone book cloth that is just the right amount of rough on the fingers, and that beautiful seven fingered hand by Charles Ferguson-Avery.

Within we have the lovely dark writing of seven different and equally talented authors fused together by the expert editing of Paolo Greco of Lost Pages.

A finger trails the letters across a dusty tome. A finger points the way down a dark haunted alley. A finger feels for the pulse of life on a long decayed corpse. A finger scratches the floorboards beneath your feet. A finger chewed down to a white bone. A finger that is not there. A finger catches a shed tear and slides it into a bottle. These are the Seven Fingers of the Hand of Gaub.

Seven Fingers which lay out the theme for forty nine hideous spells and associated horror mini-fiction, forty nine disturbing magical paraphernalia, one hundred calamities, twenty monsters (and how to twist them to your usage) and twenty hooks for if you’ve not already found a tale to put fear into your players.

And the art—oh the art. By author-artists Charles and Rowan, Enoch Duncan, Trevor Henderson and Jonathan Newell.

Did I mention it has a soundtrack? It has a soundtrack, a deep chilling ambience for your table made by the talented Ethereal Girl

And if you don't trust me, how about a couple reviews?

Oh and of course! Where do I buy this most delicious of horrors? Well you can get it straight from Lost Pages but it is also carried by multiple indie distributors such as Spear Witch, Peregrine Post, Exalted Funeral, Noble Knight Games, Soul Muppet and more!