https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceeMVJuQ0I&t=206s
Around halfway
$ but can play online quick. Many many versions of dnd type games.
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Health - 10 minute intense exercise (could be) beating up on cancer
Evidence is pretty good. And it sure can't hurt.
The Newcastle researchers found that exercise boosted the activity of genes that support mitochondrial energy metabolism, enabling cells to use oxygen more efficiently.
At the same time, genes linked to rapid cell growth were switched off, which could reduce the aggressiveness of cancer cells, and exercise-conditioned blood promoted DNA repair, activating a key repair gene called PNKP.
The study involved 30 volunteers, male and female aged 50–78, all overweight or obese (a risk factor of cancer) but otherwise healthy.
After completing a short, intense cycling test lasting approximately 10 minutes, researchers collected blood samples and analysed 249 proteins. As many as 13 proteins increased after exercise, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), which helps repair the DNA of damaged cells.
“These results suggest that exercise doesn’t just benefit healthy tissues, it may also create a more hostile environment for cancer cells to grow,” said Dr. Orange, a Clinical Exercise Physiologist at The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
“Even a single workout can make a difference. One bout of exercise, lasting just 10 minutes, sends powerful signals to the body.”
Words: Doom meant Judgement or Law in Old English
So Doom meant Judgement or Law in Old English. That's just kind of weird, don't you think? Word meanings change all the time, but associating law with our current purely negative meaning of doom is pretty sad. Or maybe in the old days, the only time you dealt with a law is when it was coming for you. Still, kinda sad.
Monday, January 12, 2026
Spotify - get better randomization
MORE RANDOM. Gonna try this:
- Open Spotify on a real PC
- Cntrl+A, drag them to a new playlist.
- Put that playlist "through a shuffler". As in, some 3rd party tool somehow. I used https://spotifyshuffler.com , and it supposedly let's you sort of kill your account on their website if you want. I might.
- Works, after a couple of tries.
- WELL I cant find a way to "delete my account". It just auto logs in after the first time you log into spotify and give it access to ALL YOUR INFO. Annoying. How do I undo this now, to be safe?
- FAQ says:
- How can I close my account?
- The shuffler only ever has temporary access to the Spotify account. Each time you return to the site access is requested again [[[this is misleading the way he words it]]]. If you'd like to remove the access you can do so via the following link: https://www.spotify.com/uk/account/apps/
- Or more like https://www.spotify.com/us/account/apps/
- Resave new playlists... so you can see it on your phone
- Obviously this is one point in time, and you'll have to keep redoing this to get
- new random orders of songs
- and even just new "faves" that you add each week. Boo.
Super inconvenient. And the fkers at spotify say they'll never give true random. I see a bunch of websites for shuffling, but surely that is for PC only. UPDATE: Yeah, you have to install the "windows app" and then do it there. Then u see on phone too, after.
Media Quality -
I'm turning it from "auto" to HIGH. Tempting to go Lossless (aka actual super high) but,... cellular sucks so maybe not.
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Monty Haul Origins, Gygax. Plus Holmes info not common
New to me YTer: On Holmes https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m2B8Pnyz1tc&pp=0gcJCU0KAYcqIYzv
Monty Haul, re: Gygax, re: the Monty Haul style is fun: https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-origin-of-monty-haul.666872/
- James (Jim) Ward says he still writes modules and puts a lot of treasure in there, but a lot of folks complain. He says it is fun, just scale up difficulty of encounters.
- A blog with another story by him: https://themagictreerpg.blogspot.com/2008/10/adventures-of-monty-haul-1.html
- Other ppl talking about still putting in some hard things in 5e so players still might have to run away (we do that).
Obscure Zines that had some cool cover art. One named Monty Haul.
Some still current blogness on Monty Haul Zines and whatnot:
Bucketlist d&d and OSR Modules
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1h3k68b50Yg&t=192s
Lich house has a big list
Lichhouse's lists below. Some wotc ones, i havent done.
B/X or BECMI
- X1 The Isle of Dread - dino
- X2 Castle Amber - more and more ppl talk about it. I think a "funhouse" style. Yellow + giant busting up a castle from up top cover.
- B1 In Search of the Unknown
- B2 The Keep on the Borderlands
- B4 The Lost City - the purple one with the guy wearing the golden monster deity mask and multi-flail thing.
AD&D (or kinda)
- Tomb of Horrors S1
- Ravenloft i6 - Yep, was solid. Still felt weird putting "dracula" into D&D, but it was well done.
- G1-G3 - the giants, almost done.
- Vault of the Drow D3 - coming up soon!
- The Temple of Elemental Evil
- Night Below - I've heard this one a lot lately, including the British folks.
- The Caverns of Thracia - one of the big Jaquays ones.
WOTC (including 3e 3.5e, 4e, and one 2e maybe)
- The Gates of Firestorm Peak (looks like 2e?)
- The Sunless Citadel - one of my favorites.
- Lost Mine of Phandelver
- Tomb of Annihilation
- Curse of Strahd - used some of this when we did Ravenloft/i6.
- Thunderspire Labyrinth (4e) (Instead of Keep on the ShadowFell)
- [The Red Hand of Doom] - another guy brought it up. Buy pdf or convert to 5e, new blogger site, https://chaoticneutralchronicles.com .
Some OSR ones like
- Stonehell Dungeon
- The Hole in the Oak
- Tower of the Stargazer
- Barrowmaze
Deep Carbon Observatory- (graphic in vid was the one w/ the hidden title) review -- Don't think this is my style:
- Various factions are racing against the PCs, but none is as iconic as the Crows, the nastiest rival adventuring group I've ever encountered in 20+ years of TTRPGs
- Evil NPC with "murdered mages" and An opium pipe.
[Veins of the Earth][this wasn't his list, but another]. https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147664688/Veins-of-the-Earth- Oh, by or for the super duper duper "adult themed" Lamentations of the flame Princess. I think I must pass.
Quote for Veins of the Earth sounds awesome though -
Blurb from the publisher: 'The endless descent...
At the deepest point of the dungeon, behind the throne, beyond the rooms where the battles took place, after everything is done and the enemy dead, there is a crack. A black empty space where the wall joins the stone floor, a foot and a half high and three wide. A breeze comes out. You'd never notice it. You could lie on your belly and fit inside.
It never ends.
You have existed, up to this point, on the illusion of a plane, bordered by mountains, rivers, seas or the politics of maps, and this life has been a lie. Its borders are made up, its seas are gateways, its mountains are cradles of deep life. There is no plane.
You were raised within a history running back through recorded time, written in ink, carved in stone, scooped from clay, hidden in songs. Your primal myths are an eye-blink of the memory of that place. Your history is a candle burning out.
The real world, the deeper, more true world, is bordered only by light above and fire below, and perhaps not even by that.
When you loathe gold for its weight and count your wealth by a radius of illuminated rock and think yourself lucky to do so, then you have passed into the Veins of the Earth.
Expertly written and profusely illustrated by the veteran team of Patrick Stuart and Scrap Princess
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Magic-User in B/X, Tenkar’s
Level 10.
Level 25.
Level 35.
Magic user in B/X. Low levels, how to. Tenkar’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8L0nTXKffA&t=326s
- Levels 1-3, job is support.
- Stay behind 2 bodies from front.
- Avoid open rooms.
MU should hide among these to avoid archers, which are the main danger. Remember, any hit will waste your spell.
- Corners
- Pillars
- Darkness
And naturally, a LOT of people rely on the DM to give them something. I mean, at least a Sling would be fine to do something, I mean seriously it would get boring. But a lot of ppl give scrolls or a wand that does low damage ranged spells. One commenter gives his MU a wand power that does 1d3 + level dmg, but with "save against wands" for enemy.
BTW, in the AD&D sense:
- What Good is a First Level Wizard?
- “Whenever possible, stay away from the enemy."
- Even choosing among the basic weapons is tricky. Each offers a distinct advantage. First, consider the melee weapons. The staff is a likely choice: it inflicts the most damage of any of the wizard’s weapons and costs the least. A good bargain. If lost, a staff is easily replaced. It is also likely to be found in magical form. If the DM allows for it, a fine quality or exceptional quality staff able to provide non-magical attack or damage bonuses could be commissioned at low cost — if a weapon maker skilled at constructing staves can be found. For that matter, a better quality weapon of any sort allowed by a wizard should not be too expensive.
- The only advantage here is that the wizard is virtually guaranteed first selection of any magical protections that the party may come across. Magically protective rings, bracers, cloaks, etc. are almost always given first to wizards. These items weigh little and most provide saving throw bonuses as well as Armor Class bonuses.
- A knife or dagger can be used either as a melee or missile weapon. Although it causes less damage than a staff, a dagger, too, is frequently found in magical form. Knives and daggers have the benefit of being easily concealed. Several should be carried and at least one kept handy in case the character is caught in a net or in close quarters.
- Both the dart and the sling are effective missile weapons. The sling is cheap, highly concealable, inflicts good damage if bullets are used, has virtually limitless backup ammunition in the form of stones, and has excellent range.Darts, however, are the weapon of choice in close combat. Despite their seemingly puny damage, their high rate of fire means both higher total damage than the sling and multiple target capability. Also, if a wizard’s attack or damage capability is magically enhanced in any way, the higher rate of fire capitalizes on that improvement. Improving damage by +1 means only one more point of damage each round with a sling, but potentially three more points of damage with the darts.
- AND
- Even a beginning mage can probably afford a trained war or hunting dog.
Shadowdark spells new
Listed https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VOn6JD9rCs8&t=665s
Druid
- Downdraft - tier 3 (lvl 3 )- target flying creature. Str check or forced to land. Larger than you creatures have adv on roll.
- Cool metal- tier 2- 1d4 dmg per rnd. No save
- Cal lightning- tier 3 - 3d6. Outside only. No saves
- Elemental breath - tier 4 - cone, near, 3d6+3 dmg to all. No saves
- Fire shield- tier 3- 2d4 fire dmg if enemy close. And u take half dmg deom cold. No saves for enemy
- Freeze surface - tier 3- freeze water 5 rnds. Can just coat the top of something with ice too
- Fey cloak - tier 2 - lije inviz if dont move. Turns off and on for 10 rnds. Every time stop moving u r inviz again
- Fey door- tier 4- go into big rock, bring 1 friend, teleport somewhere u can see
- Greater sleep - tier 3- lvl 4 or weaker category creatures. Dmg or super shaking them wakes
- Earth tremor - tier 3- mini earthquake, rocks pop up, u fall amongst them take 2d4 per rmd for 5 rnds… dex save 13 dc means zero dmg each round u make save
- Ice armor - tier 2- lasts 5 rnds, +2 ac, +4 on crit success. Creatures near take 1d4.
NECROMANCER
- Deathly whispers - tier 2- u soeak thru any dead body or undead creature u have previously touched. U cant see or hear from it tho.
- Talking skull - tier 2- 25 words , then skull inert. But u pick trigger
Fighting Fantasy - Vault of the Vampire, chest riddle
Idea for dnd riddle. From Spellsinger’s yt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsXCFx-7FWM&t=837s
The text
Gfgfho sid bqnnvq pe Thffgqjde
Sid dgbho lbhm ng sid wzmhbmu nod
Ugsdf gvmeqfc bme ejeux tdqzszud mhojt
Ng ejmfru zslptsdr dqbeu
I thought bqnnvq might be armor, but then it was so misspelled as armmur I figured not, then I quit trying after the first line and a glance at the rest (figured some 2 letter words were “of” and some three letter words were “and” or something… shoulda tried harder). Well turns out it sure was armor… spelled “armmur”. I mean “armour”, since it’s the British way of spelling. They got me. Looked it up, found answer on blog below. There are some actual misspellings (how many? Just the first word maybe… great, since we start at the start) in there to throw u off though. [UPDATE: the screw up on that first word is considered a mistake, apparently. ]
Here’s the answer https://berolisden.blogspot.com/2011/11/vault-of-vampire.html
123: You remember that Lothar referred to the Count saying "Forward and back" and laughing. You translate the code on the chest by advancing every other letter one place in the alphabet, and regressing the remaining letters one place.
Herein the armour of Siegfried
the chain mail of the valiant one
three hundred and fifty separate links
of finest armourers craft
I started to translate based on https://berolisden.blogspot.com/2011/11/vault-of-vampire.html
Hehin the amour of
Friday, January 9, 2026
Archaeology yt ideas dnd and just plain interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c1f_fBMuhQ
5:50 time, Bark hut early in vid
9:30 time, Human sacrifice… like 55 at a time in Illinois.
Time 16:30, the Egyptian symbols (r kinda like Soviet ones), like Farming and Herding. Hook and flail. Crook? It’s the shepherd hook.
Underdark Ecosystem - Flumph is useful
Never knew. Thanks to: https://oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/ again.
I don’t think there’s been a more humble origin than the flumph, introduced in the 1981 Fiend Folio as a hovering jellyfish that floated around defending itself as needed. But later publications turned it into an interesting and useful part of the Underdark ecosystem. It detects strong positive and negative emotions and changes its own colors to reflect its mood, making it a valuable companion that can sense the approach of violent monsters with ill intent.
2e Orc/Goblin Art, inspired by LoTR/Hobbit cartoons.
Let's discuss some 2e Orc/Goblin Art, inspired by Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit cartoons.
These orcs or goblins are much like the style from the cartoons of old. The large almost toad-like mouths, the tiny noses, etc.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
My Hexcrawl or Wilderness clues, and dungeon clues
- Tracks in the morning dew. (spiderwebs in grass with dew)
- Disturbed spiderwebs.
- Crunched up leaves from likely large feet or many boots.
- An odd vine that turns out to be a rope or snare on closer inspection.
- Mismatching leaf patterns of the ground (covering a pit trap).
- Bushes or brambles recently cut out of an older path.
- A hack mark on a tree indicating someone wants to remember it (something hidden near?) or use it as a trail blazing guide.
- The lack of birds in the area.
- Startled birds from a distance.
- Missing sounds (no birds or angry squirrels in the day, or no crickets at night).
- A swarm of flies and a smell of rot (dead game, corpse, or undead?).
- Bones, cloth, burnt out campfires. …
- And some advice from earlier tonight I was a player, don’t send the whole party to investigate a distant out of place green “grassy?” mound in the distance when there are rumors of a lazy green dragon in the area, heh.
I replied to a guy here, one of Tenkar's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2hgtCsc6s
And Tenkar has great dungeon examples halfway thru.
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