In my original plans for this post I wanted to generate some names for new members of Santa’s flying reindeer team, but instead I went down a rabbit hole of Christmas canon. For example, much of our (meaning American) ideas about Santa Claus came from poet Clement Moore’s work “A Visit from St. Nicholas” which …
A few more for the adventurers’ library. More Unusual Magic Books Arven’s Guide to Quick Calculation: Written for merchants, bankers, traders, and anyone else working with cash. Reading this magic book once will allow the character to forever eschew the use of an abacus or other calculating instrument, for they can now do simple …
In the AD&D universe one of the most prized treasure items a magic-user character could discover was a book of magic, because it gained access to a range of spells and not just the one or two that the player gained with each level. That’s the way it started out, anyway. Things might have changed. …
Tolkien’s work is full of evil fortresses, towers, and strongholds. My favorite among them is Angmar. Isn’t that an evocative name! It just oozes evil. Others are Thangorodrim, Minas Morgul, Durthang, and Barad-Dur. Unpleasant-sounding names, all of them. In that vein, here’s some evil place names that would fit very well into Middle-earth, all randomgenned …
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien HarperCollins, 2001 (Originally published 1977) Though a longtime fantasy and Tolkien fan I held off on reading The Silmarillion for many years. It seemed too dry, too complicated. But after I’d tackled the more recently published The Fall of Númenor I wanted more of …
Selection of my favorite Twittersnip magic spells of the year 2024, chosen from my X feed. 2024 Magic Spells (Best of) Amphibian Trailblazer: The mage can lay down an invisible trail for others to follow over both land and water. Claws of the Peacock: Curse that makes a character overly concerned with their attractiveness …
My favorite Twittersnip magic items of the year 2024, chosen from my Twitter feed. 2024 Magic Items (Best of) Athena’s Purification Tonic: Drinkers receive wisdom and strength (+2 each) like that of the Greek goddess. Lasts for a few hours. Physical components are an owl feather and gorgon blood. Beetle Slippers: Made of wool …
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