#pilgrim bar

[sushiisiu]

hope they get incurable diseases from this bathroom

[mikegraves]

hes playing an acoustic bass ☹️

(feat @starboystation as knives and @simonrriley as neil ^_^ luv u treehouse)

[gmanmedias]

Ramona Flowers vol. 1

💞 💞 💞

💗 💗 💗

💞 💞 💞

[piningpercussionist]

Before my laptop screen cracked, I took a Fuck Load of screenshots from episode one (primarily of Kim, naturally.)

I'm not gonna post them all rn, or even queue them really, but I did want to post all the ones I got from this little shot!

[eopederson3]

¿Turistas o peregrinos? O Cebreiro, Lugo, 2011.

Stayed in a very pleasant room in the PR behind the people.

[teenyweenyeenymeeny]

I think Young Neil’s hair lightens to Almost blond in the summer if he spends any time outside and also he gets freckles

[revenantpark]

Boy what the hellll boy

[wigoutlet]

The old watering hole...thankful for the good times in Provincetown

[maximumzombiecreator]

Since I've had a few people asking about megadungeon stuff recently, and I am an avowed megadungeon megafan, I thought it might be fun to walk through an actual example of megadungeon play that exemplifies what I like best about it.

This post is going to be the first in a series talking about a room from a megadungeon that I ran over 20 years ago (brushing past that fact quickly lest the horrors set in.) It was a major room, probably the most complex and important in the dungeon, and the players passed through it frequently throughout the campaign. In this post I'll introduce you to the room, and then in later posts I'll talk about what it does well and how to use that lesson more generally. Below the cut is a reproduction of the map as I remember it.

Without getting into The Lore too deeply, some dwarves accidentally dug into hell, as one does. Classic trope, nothing wrong with using them. They quite sensibly shut the mine down and sealed if off, but word got out. A human king heard about this, and took over the mine, expanding it into a temple complex to curry favour / barter with hell. It went badly, as such things do.

This concourse connects several wings of the dungeon, spanning several floors. An enormous devil face statue emerges from the northern wall, above the second floor balcony and below the fourth, and a column of light shines through a hole in the ceiling onto the center of the floor. Several floors of balconies overlook the chamber, though the stairs to the fourth floor balcony have long since collapsed.

This chamber was not too far from the main entrance, with the party first encountering it on their second delve into the dungeon, though it would take two more delves for them to gather the courage to enter it. At the time they first encountered it, it was swarming with imps and other little devils worshipping the big face.

I'll summarize the key:

A. Hallway from the Entry Chambers, the first and easiest section of the dungeon.

B. Doorway to the Pilgrim's City.

C. Doorway to the Unholiest of Unholies. Sealed and warded against simple spells.

D. Doorway to the Old Dwarven Quarters.

E. Doorway to the Nobles' Section. Barred from the far side.

F. Portcullis to the Pilgrim's City. The mechanism has rusted out and no longer functions.

G. Doorway to the Halls of the Clergy.

H. Doorway from the King's Inner Sanctum.

I. Doorway to the Archive.

J. Doorway to the King's Inner Sanctum, locked.

K. Doorway to The Indulgences.

Stairway from floor 1 to floor 2.

Light from the hole in the ceiling.

Broken stairs from floor 2 to floor 4.

Big ole devil face. Its eyes are a one-way illusion, allowing anyone within the face to view the room below.

Okay that's a lot, thanks for sticking it out. While I don't want to wander too far off topic into the rest of the dungeon, I'll just briefly note that the Pilgrim's City and Old Dwarven Quarters are easier sections of the dungeon, the Nobles Section and Halls of the Clergy are slightly more difficult, the King's Inner Sanctum, Archive, and Indulgences are very dangerous, and the Unholiest of Unholies is, as one might expect, where the worst things (and best loot) in the dungeon are. This was 2nd edition AD&D, so there was not a presumption of fights being balanced, and traipsing through more dangerous sections of the dungeon at lower levels wasn't uncommon. The players also understood the varying levels of danger fairly implicitly, since the custom at the time was that any time you went a level further away from whatever the ground floor was, things got more dangerous. The only exception to this is the Unholiest of Unholies and I think we can agree that when it's beyond a magically sealed door under a giant devil head the danger is telegraphed.

Next post I'll start talking about what made this room work so well in practice.

[opencommunion]

“'These are very dark days, very difficult days,' the Reverend Munther Isaac said, speaking to Al Jazeera from Bethlehem in the West Bank. 'I think the restrictions this year have definitely increased. Even for us here in Bethlehem – and Jerusalem is literally 20 minutes away from here – we don’t have access.'

'Jerusalem is very important for us, especially at Easter. We’re accustomed to … praying in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,' he said. 'This is part of our daily life under occupation. The war has added to our pain because of the magnitude of death and killing.'

... Rafi, a Christian youth coordinator, said Israeli settlers had made the Old City an almost no-go zone. 'Even before the war started, we saw the settlers attacking the churches and even the Christian cemeteries,' he said. 'They were attacking any priest or any nun walking inside Jerusalem. Even the pilgrims walking the Way of the Cross [Via Dolorosa] were under attack.'

Many Palestinian Christians from the occupied West Bank have been deprived of walking the Via Dolorosa this year. Even before the war, Palestinian Christians had to request permission to visit the Old City well in advance of celebrations. Last year, the Greek Orthodox Church slammed what it called Israel’s 'heavy-handed restrictions' on freedom of worship during Easter.”

[apricops]

if you're a GM for a DnD or DnD-adjacent game and you need a quick and dirty way of bringing a group of player characters together, don't have them meet in a bar. Have them meet on a pilgrimage.

Pilgrimages are pretty universal - people from everywhere at every time have made a big deal about going to visit holy places or relics.

Pretty much everyone can have a reason to be a part of a pilgrim caravan: martial-types can be hired guards, rogue-types can be guides or on the lookout for marks, wizard-types can be there out of scholarly curiosity or piety, etc.

You can literally putting the party on a line leading directly to your first plot point.

If you have any interesting ideas you want to show off, you can put them on that direct line to the first plot point.

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

The Reunion of Lion and Guilliman

It’s a big deal, of course. The primarchs, resplendent in their armor, formally greet each other and shake hands on a dais. Lights flash around them as pict after pict is taken, servo skulls hovering close as they furiously record the occasion. Thousands of their sons stand to attention, organized by chapter in perfect parade formation, a rainbow of colors and heraldry buffed to an exquisite sheen. The great and good of the Imperium fill the audience, each weighed down with garments and jewelry worth whole planets. Speeches are given, glorious words about brotherhood and friendship and strength in the darkest hours. Outside, pilgrims swoon in ecstatic frenzy at the glory of the moment.

The real reunion takes place after the festivities die down. The primarchs remove their armor and retreat to a room that has been hastily cleaned after millennia of disuse for just this purpose. It is a humble room, no more than a lounge, made for casual conversation and socialization. Its unique quality are the dimensions of the furniture, for this room was made for a very specific group of brothers—brothers who, bar two, are now gone.

Lion sniffs at an arrangement of bottles on one of the tables. “Mjod,” he growls.

“The Space Wolves were generous,” Guilliman says.

“Is this really necessary?” Lion frowns.

Guilliman says nothing, only raises an eyebrow at him. Him, and the rest of the galaxy, and the state of humanity, and the crumbling Imperium. Lion considers his life and the future awaiting him. Then he seizes a bottle and downs it in one go.

Hours pass. There is laughter, and there are tears. Stories old and new are shared. There is considerable commentary on the current Imperium—commentary that, should it have come from lesser men, may have been described as complaining. A full ten minutes are devoted to cherubs alone. (“I spent a week shooting them down until someone told me what they were.” “I swear by Terra herself, I thought they were Chaos abominations.”)

There is no fighting. That will come, eventually; tomorrow, or in a week, or a month. They are very different people, with different ideas and plans, and both are proud men disinclined to compromise. Conflict is inevitable. But not tonight. Each has lost too much to sacrifice this rare moment with his only surviving peer.

The night winds on. Bottle after bottle is consumed. Lion’s tabard lies discarded on an armchair. Guilliman’s laurels hang from a lamp. Both are flushed with mjod, hair flying free of carefully coiffed hairdos. Lion is lying on the floor, hands folded neatly across his chest, staring into the middle distance at the ceiling. Guilliman is facedown on a couch, muffled muttering emanating occasionally from his body.

A thought dawns on the Lion. It is a joke he heard once from M’kia. Lion is ambivalent on the topic of jokes, but this one fits the current situation too well to be ignored.

“Brother,” he says, “I have realized something.”

A grunt issues from Guilliman, signaling him to continue. Lion begins the joke.

“It occurs to me that if I had a throne for every time the galaxy was split by a warpstorm, and you asked me for help running the Imperium, I would have two thrones. Which isn’t much, but it is strange that it happened twice.”

Silence. Guilliman’s shoulders shake as muffled sobbing emits from the couch.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: A thing of beauty

“I now announce that the grand temple of Zavana open!”

The priest nodded to the team of lay brothers behind him and forty Zuthiliuns pushed the massive temple doors open. A joyous chorus of gasps of awe arouse from the gathered followers as they finally laid eyes on the inside of the grand temple for the first time.

Three miles in length with a height of ten stories, the Grand Temple of Nazareim was unlike anything the world had ever seen. Every square inch was a dedication to the story of Nazareim from the holy book from young up bringing to his triumphant slaying of the dark pantheon of old. Row upon row of pews and prayer rugs lined the walkways while intersections were dotted with fountains of holy waters to be anointment in. Yet most impressive of all however was what lay at the center of the temple.

Nestled in the heart of the vast open space was a tree of truly breath taking size. It’s trunk extended high above and it looked as if the branches were holding the roof up through sheer force of will while a the holy tomb of Nazareim themselves lay at the base.

At the sight of such grandeur many of the followers and pilgrims fell to the ground and began praying; the depths of such beauty and majesty overwhelming them that their limbs had been sapped of all their strength. ��

“Go,” the priest echoed loudly as he stepped aside, “enter your holy ground and walk amongst its splendor.”

Without needing further invitation the thousands of Zuthiliuns began milling into the grand temple. Families and friends of those who had collapsed gently picked them up and carried them inside as they continued to weep tears of joy.

The priest smiled and nodded as the followers passed by. They’d offer a blessing or word of encouragement but did not join the masses as they filed in. Their eyes remained on a lone figure in the crowd who had not joined the flow of followers flocking inside.

Like a stone in a rushing river the lone figure stood stoic before the doors. Their gaze passed along the gathered masses before gazing up at the massive doors as they finally swung fully open. They watched for a long time before dropping their gaze once more to the masses.

For a moment the lone figure’s eyes and the priest’s locked.

The priest’s expression hardened and they tilted their head towards the back of the crowd. Saying nothing, the figure took one last look at the temple before turning back and making their way through the crowds. -------------------

It was many hours later and after several dozen sermons from within the grand temple that the priest found himself wandering the darkened streets of the nearby town at the base of the mountain. Unlike the holiness of the mountain or the temple at its peak, the stench of living sin was palpable here. It was enough to make the priest hack and cough as they made their way through the streets to an otherwise indistinctive bar.

Pushing open the door the priest made their way towards the back of the bar where a lone figure was sitting alone nursing a half-finished drink as they watched the news.

“Busy day?” the figure remarked as the priest sat next to them.

The priest said nothing in reply. Removing a satchel from their back they tossed it to the table with a heavy thud. A portion of the top opened and several silver credit chips fell out and slid across the table to the figure.

“Your payment,” the priest spoke harshly, “and for your silence.”

The figure turned their attention away from the news and picked up one of the spilled credit chips. With a flick of his fingers the coin flipped itself between his knuckles one at a time before spinning out back into the bag.

“As we agreed upon.” The figure replied.

Without saying another word the priest turned to leave but was stopped by the figure as they began collecting the spilled credit chips.

“Tell me priest,” the figure spoke, “does it bother you?”

The priest and turned back to the figure.

“Does what bother me?” they asked as the figure removed their hood to reveal a frail human.

“That for all your pontificating you men of faith turned to a nonbeliever to forge your house of worship?”

The human figure saw the priest’s hands clench into fists in frustration before relaxing.

“You are but an instrument for our lord to speak to us, nothing more.”

The human laughed. “I am that.” The human agreed, much to the priest’s surprise. “But I should warn you that I heard no voice of the supposed divine as I drew my plans; and if I did the bastard should learn to speak louder.”

The table shook as the priest spun around and brought their hands down hard against the table.

“Do not dare to mock our lord!” the priest demanded. “You were of use and I tolerated your blatant blasphemies, but now that use has come to an end.”

“I bet it burns you.” The human countered unmoved by the priest’s threat. “That for all your prayer and claims of being the voice of a god you could not think of anything as grand for a place of worship than a box with a door.”

The priest let out a hearty laugh. ‘Is that not what you have done?” To his surprise the human’s grin grew wider.

“I never cared for your god. I only took this job so that my name and legacy will live on long after I am gone. People will travel from across the quadrant to look upon my works and weep from its beauty, while my name becomes renowned.” They leaned in close to the priest and whispered “Can you claim the same after your followers leave you?”

[piningpercussionist]

..

Girl drummer

I am, former girl drummer

Hi.

- Noel Welsh 💥🎶🥁

ooc: despite the setting I have chosen, Kim is Not Drunk here; she's just gotten to the bar as you've approached her, in my mind

Stellar opening. Five of five stars. Congratulations, I guess? You've narrowly avoided a very harrowing encounter.

*Kim's voice is dry as she sets down her bottle, rubbing the bridge of her nose before she spins around on the bar stool to actually look at who's approached her.*

*She looks him up and down for a moment, brow raised.*

I have a name, you know. Suspect you do, too. Generally what people offer, in an introduction.

*Grabbing her bottle back off the counter behind her, she takes a long swig from it before resting it in her lap, tapping her fingers along the neck of it.*

It's Kim. Kim Pine. And you are...?

[newkatzkafe2023]

Oooooo things got me wondering

If the Monkey Kings met an electric horror y/n? Who's in a disguise of an innocent looking woman only to know how dangerous she is when provoked? Oooo I wanna know!!!

A dangerous woman is like a Strom, unpredictable yet captivating leaving an indelible mark on everything she touches-Unknown

(Lmk Wukong) He was heading for pigsy's to join Mk and his friends for lunch, when he saw a very pretty face, aka you. Wukong found your whole appearance breathtaking and beautiful, especially your pretty heterochromia eyes. Wukong immediately began chatting with you for a while and bought you to pigsy's. You both spent time together and bonded over the months until somebody had to come and challenge him to a fight. Wukong grew immediately annoyed As he was in the middle of playing video games with you and was going to step out and teach them a lesson, but you told him to let you handle it this time. Wukong grew Weary but agreed as he watched you leave his small house, after a while he heard screaming. Wukong quickly ran outside but I found that the screaming was not from you, it was the challenge as he was in the middle of getting eaten by a giant haunting monster AKA YOU!!! When you turned back to normal He wasn't sure what to think yet, But not like he's gonna tell you your other form had awakened many shameful things within him🫣

(HIB Wukong) You were a new neighbor from the village he stayed in, and you immediately became very popular due to your kindness and social nature. Luier and Silly girl loved to hang out with you especially when you come up with the most fun activities, but Wukong had felt something strange about you. That proved to be true as a creeper had been eyeballing Luier and you didn't like it and stay close to protect him, but then the guy grabbed Luier in the arm making the poor boy scream and Wukong fly into action. Though you beat him to it as you turned into your Eldritch monster and mauled the guy into letting go of Luier. later Luier had so many questions about your form as Silly girl climbed on your tentacles, while Wukong looked on with a Deep blush😳

(MKR Wukong) He met you at a Buddha temple. The monk was praying in, and found you to be a little unusual but you were very respectful and kind to him. Wukong would blush a bit, as you would flirt and tease him but you both genuinely enjoy your time together, but a few days later another blood thirsty demon had attacked the village and kidnapped the monk making Wukong fly into action. That's when you grew into a giant Eldritch creature and slaughtered all the invaders with your Sharp tentacles, teeth and haunting eyes, The pilgrims were most likely tramatized. Meanwhile Wukong started at your Sharp fangs drooling and blushing imagining bring you back to his home😏

(NR Wukong) He wad hitting on you like crazy at a motorcycle race he met you at, though you didn't care much for him at first he was Interestingly eccentric and a hilarious Individual. So you freely met up with him Whether it be at the bar or at another race, until one night you both were walking home together, when a group of sleaze scurbs started bothering and cat calling you. Wukong was immediately pissed and was gonna teach these guys a lesson, when he watched you grow into a Eldritch creature with a murderous expression. To say those guys shat and pissed themselves was a Humongous understatement as they ran away screaming and crying. Meanwhile Wukong had never been so turned on in his life🤤

(Netflix Wukong) He trys way to hard to impress you, with his achievements and skills but you just thought he was cute. Wukong at first felt odd about being around you especially when out of all the people in the village, you could befriend it had to be him but after continuously chatting and bonding For a few weeks you both become two piece in a pod, but one day some demons started harassing the two of you. Wukong was immediately pissed at their insults until he saw the group pale infront of him, as the look at something in horror he was immediately confused Until he turned around himself and looked in shock. It was you In the form of a giant creature clearly not from this world, and with your Sharp tentacles ripped those guys a new one. You had apologized Wukong about not being honest with him about your true form but It looks like Wukong was Too busy staring at your tentacles while have very dirty thoughts🫢

(BMW Wukong) He was drooling over you for a good few weeks now, as you would strutted around the village minding your own business. Wukong had flew over and began to woo you over, and you would giggle and flirt back and then run off. Though one day he didn't find you at your usual spot and that's when he saw you being harassed by a demon, demanding for your money and other valuables and Wukong It was going to step in. That's when he saw you glitch out or something and turned into some kind of horror crypt reature infornt of your aggressor, The next thing anybody knew the guy was peeled inside out and eaten and you went on your marry way. Meanwhile Wukong stood there with heart eyes and Started to faintly hear wedding bells😆

(Destined one) The destined one had developed a mini crush on you when you first met. You were the first friendly face that greeted him in the village. You gave D.O. and Bajie one a tour of the village, being all smiles and cheering to them, but something was off, especially about you. Now this is the most peaceful village he's ever been to, don't get him wrong It's great, but does it usually be a demon attack once or twice but that's not happening for some reason and enemies follow him all the time. One night, the destined one couldn't sleep and decided to get some fresh air, when he saw a demon invader running away from something. But he couldn't see what. Then he saw you just walking calmly in the same direction as the invaders. He quickly got a bad feeling and followed to protect you if anything went wrong, but he quickly learned that you don't need protection. The Destined one watched you grow and become a haunting and Disturbing creature savagely attacking the intruders, now he understood why the Village was so safe and he has a boner now😦

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG🦑🐙

[bobemajses]

Tim N. Gidal, "Night of the Cabbalist", 1935

In this photograph, which also has been called Night at Meron or Lag B'Omer on the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, a man sleeps atop a small building, waiting for the night to pass and the moon to wane. In a surreal way, time seems to stand still, and yet it marks Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the omer, which begins on the second day of Passover and continues until Shavuot. The photograph documents the major celebration held in Meron, in Upper Galilee, believed to be spot where Bar Yohai, the second-century rabbinic scholar and mystic whom kabbalists consider to be the author of the Zohar, is buried. The man on top of the roof is one of thousands of Hasidim and kabbalists who gather to celebrate, sing, and dance. It is not unusual for Jewish pilgrims to travel to Meron and other burial sites to prostrate themselves on the tombs of holy people, where they beseech the deceased to intercede with God on their behalf.