Trilodroid: 2026

It was Cary Grant, not Jimmy Steward. Whoops!
Main character was a jerk by his actions… cutting lines at cabs, lying, chey, but that part was all comedy. He was more just a rapscallion. Scoundrel. And I guess it was that personality that let him fight back against the baddies.
Watched the whole thing, it was a solid story. Started slow but something watchable about this old movie.
Were some of Mount Rushmore scenes real? The hotel with that view maybe?

FA2 Nightmare Keep module… v high level

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/h7UPSahM7SQ

Levels 18-20

It’s a Forgotten Realm TSR thing.

Pathfinder kingmaker - tip vs verdant chambers

https://www.gamerguides.com/pathfinder-kingmaker/guide/walkthrough/chapter-2-dire-narlmarches-expedition/a-just-reward

I have been suspicious of the dryad. Is this a fight? Gotta solo from super far, inconvenient.

Saturday, August 15, 2026

Next time Drow

The party's melee guys have AC that is like impossible to hit. ~23 AC on fighter(?) and 24 AC on Barb, yeah I accidentally let that get out of control with that DEX item that the Barbarian got.

Drow might Use a spell similar to true strike, give recipient a +10 or +20 to hit. Cleric will cast on dudes… maybe a wand with limited charges. COMPARE TO PATHFINDER TRUE STRIKE - it gives +20 to hit (gotta use it next round) and hits perfectly thru full concealment like inviz or darkness.

Maybe they attack while party vs. fire salamanders.

Next time fire salamanders

Give helpers. Tiny fire elementals… a bunch!! Surround. +2 flanking. Maybe +4 flanking special.

I think give resistance to slashing?? MaybE. Think fire lava children and their resists physical attacks

Small fire elemental https://www.imarvintpa.com/dndlive/Monsters.php?id=348

Smallies maybe can mob attack to auto hit or burn
*maaaaybe ill have the small ones merge into a biiiig one, and itll speak once (rare) in a voice of all 10 little ones together. Deep and weird.
OOORRRR all the smalls hold them at bay while far away, giant bonfire, drow summon another fire Huge fire elemental. Use 3.5e elder stats. DMG REDUCTION 10. +18 to hit. BLINDFIGHT.
X
Imprint on ur party mind of the ElderElementalGod - the elementals yell out the n many voices-at the moment of merging the smaller elementals into the LARGE MINI i have
Statblock for elder fire elemental https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elemental.htm

35 ft tall!!!!
Blundsight on 2 biggest
Two darkness cast on it drom drow to hide it and more darkness cast on party
Cast light spell to counter… arcana knowledge check

***note in 2e dnd, gotta summon elementals. The Drow did it!! A big fire pit with them coming out.

* 2e had 3 sizes, and biggest were 18 hitdice! Bigger or same HitDice than a dragon. Was +15 to hit (thAC0 was 5 on that one).

Friday, August 14, 2026

Next time Vs. Dragon ideas,

G3
Dndbeyind has best tactics
Reds have climbspeed for tight lairs
Elder has more super lair and super legendary things
Elemental fire helpers
Retreat into lava tunnel
Blindsight
Darkmantle minions help blindsight
Kobold helpers —
Minions jack up ranged and concentration spells
Volcanic vents heavy obscure - blindsight— i think tail attack a vent cover!!!
Grapple — grapple then run to lava?!

Tenkar below

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=npflAw9tzH4&t=207s

Tenkar ideas vs. dragons.

My ideas plus his

Dragon room feels like a trap
In g3, secret exit - high, low? Is it an illusion floor????
Would it let anybdrow enter? Firefianta there more like… would it allow tribute or do giants hate dragons? No firegianta down this low actually this is underdark
Is there a gas fire bomb trap? Immune fire.
Water hole esxape.
Minions???
Magic items it uses?
Alarm spell? Silent alarm. Or it just smells and hears.
CASTS DIMENSION DOOR, … probably not plane shift
Wraithformnspell?

Have a ring or wand
Have a permanancy spell w globe of invulnerability
Have a trapped wizard it made cast globe invulnerability… maybe wizard in STASIS

Thursday, August 13, 2026

FF B&W art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28NiCeNXH8s&t=457s At time 7:35, a monster, sort of dinolike but way meaner and scarier.

Time 21:21, monster samurai sort of. Chinese armor i guess.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Next time and future

NEXT TIME MAYBE

The Elghoon , deadliest humanoid in underdark

https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/dr/DragonMagazineAnnual1996/elghonn/

FUTURE WOODS OR SWAMP

Mold man https://adnd2e.fandom.com/wiki/Mold_Man_(Creature)

Wood man https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Wood_man

Mold man other https://adnd2e.fandom.com/wiki/Mold_Man,_Malatran

Confluence point of crooked river and Shrike River

Ideas to use from pathfinder km game.

I just like the description. Reminds me of that confluence of the 2 color rivers around Glacier or Yoho ntl park.

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Underdark minor monsters to include

Shrieker mushrooms to attract things (dragon?).

Mushrooms with tentacles… dnd cartoon style

Other mushrooms?

That napalm gelat cube? .

New gelat cube idea, napalm cube

Tenkar talks https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jtCTijqH3uE&ra=m

Comment by Garrickstangle5…

“ made and used (to great effect) a variation called the napalm cube or n-cube. Adventurers have a knee-jerk reaction of Oh, g-cube, use fire. Its 'juice' is partly acid but mostly lamp oil and it catches fire really easily. Two rounds after catching fire, the heat on its outside causes internal pressure which causes it to explode in gobs of burning sticky jelly, out to the same radius as a fireball (hence the name napalm cube). My adventurers don't ignore the clue of 'smells like acid and lamp oil' anymore.”

1

Saturday, August 8, 2026

The Toadies - new music

New album 2026 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrADhEPIXc

The Charmer. Very good song. Lots good.

And some fans say best album is Hell Below Stars Above.

Great live version “i burn” maybe my fav somg od theirs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hNtNQQt4WDw&t=1232s

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Pathfinder, whoa, almost died! - Warg Speech, Swamp Description and ideas

First the tank got clobbered by yhe giant with chains on two orcs, swung around, smash!

Then the dern crawling hands that crit for 19 dmg, owwww! And srrangle, no castinf verbal!

UODATE- it gets better. The battles r getting interesting. Forgot swarms are completely immune to all regular attacks, only aoe spells hurt.

I lije this bog swamp story area. Good descriptions. Has choices. Even has some choices requiring dice rolls.

IDEAS

Worg - the beast before you is unusual ly large , and its eyes, especially angry. Its menacing grin might almost be taken for a smirk.
Worg speaks - I see no reason to fued. We might help each other. (It grins, almost a smirk.). You don’t know the diff betw a wolf an a worg, strange for such a tasty morsel as yourself. - Bring me 3 bodies to eat and I will tell u where an old skninny tasteless old man buried his chest.

Will o wisp - intelligent. V deadly. Immune to like most spells. 30 ac vs lowbies is harrd impossible.

Sorcerer build - i guess yndead and become a lich?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/11knwft/what_to_know_and_what_to_optimize_in_a_lich/

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

TEXT FROM:

The insatiable bog gurgled hungrily after us, but we didn't look back.

Sodden and weary, we finally made it back to solid ground. And a palace of sorts rose before our eyes! — A spacious hut made of mud like the rest, but decorated with pebbles, bones, cattail spikes and snail shells.

In front of the "palace" was a wide and shallow reservoir. Its green water reflected the leaves of huge ferns and primitive clay figurines.

The buzzing of gnats was nearly deafening. We were not far to the center of the swamp — and a firm and steady path led there through the thick bushes. At its end, that tall dry tree stretched mightily upwards, clawing at the firmament.

[Knowledge (World) 17] We carefully examined the clay figurines, trying to fathom who they might portray.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

TEXT FROM BOG part 2

[Succeeded at a Lore (Religion) check]

There could be no doubt — this was Gogunta, master of the great swamp in the demon Abyss.

But what is this? While we were examining the idol, a large bright-blue dragonfly came out of a hollow in the tree and sat invitingly on the very tip of one of our noses. It was so remarkably strange — it didn't react to our movements, and seemed quite content to remain where it sat.

(Lawful Good) The idol reeked of evil, to say the least. We were certain we must destroy it.
(Chaotic Evil) [Fortitude 18] Suddenly The Mercile grabbed the dragonfly and held it in front of his mouth... oh gods, did he just decide to eat it?!
(Neutral) We thought better of interfering with the sinister idol, and continued our journey.

--=-=-=-=-=-=-

TEXT FROM WARG:

Grarrukh: The beast before you is unusually large, and its eyes, especially menacing grin might almost be taken for a smirk.

Grarrukh: "Greetings, traveler. Before you draw your weapon, I wi[sh to know the] reason for feuding between us. We might even be of some use to ea[ch other.]"

Amiri: "Wait, why is this wolf talking? Is it magical or something?"

Grarrukh: "I am no wolf, female. I am a worg. Surprising you could live to your age [get this far] without learning the difference. Well, it's never too late to teach a les[son to an] insolent two-legged morsel..." The beast slowly licks its teeth."

Amiri: "Who are you calling a morsel, you pelt?" Amiri glares at the [beast, her hand resting] on her sword."

Grarrukh: "You say we could be useful to each other?"

Grarrukh: "Bring me someone delicious. Three or four bodies will be [enough,] [and] as a sign of gratitude, [I] will tell you where an old traveler buried his [...]"

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Faery movie, damn good

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfBPZl7d_M&t=669s&pp=0gcJCb4LAYcqIYzv

Based on book

OSE modules

Incandescent grottos - big boss dragon.

Overland monster rolls ouch. Cyclops, displ beast, 6 legged lady centaurish clawed dangerous we fight.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Crystal ppl monster origins

Maybe Planescape https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/tsnng/

Reminds me of Dark Souls and Elden Ring crystal mobs.

Video game, Pathfinder Kingmaker… silly

I just made a list of things I can’t tolerate in an RPG. I get this game, and one silly ass thing after another. Hard to feel like D&D at all.

It has all of them, immediately. I hope it gets better.

Problems are

Bard in my party
Gnome in party
All melee types are women.
Barbarian is a woman
Paladin is woman
Undead elf with chainshirt is woman, a fighter type with neg energy spells
Super,chatty npc crap
Bossy women npcs
Gggaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Etc

Monday, August 3, 2026

8 kinds of fun, the Angry Gm

https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/

He eventually lists them.

I have comments on “the challenge seeker”. For example, a puzzle that takes too long is terrible.
Fellowship… can it extend to NPC joining, like the gnome in Sunless Citadel? Meepo? But why not the Titan in G3? Likes to be more powerful than npc, or just too much trouble or just too many characters?
Discovery - i disagree. Discovery is fun. Moral dilemmas suck.

…

The original list https://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf

- - geez, they made a mistake right off the bat. Listed Quake, the vid game, and listed Competition under it, but that’s not one of their 8 thingies. …. I guess maybe their point is that th list of 8 isn’t exhaustive.

2e Planescape, the writer(s) - Planar Slang

Excellent read on how to tiptoe add some planescape to a normal campaign https://theplanardm.com/introduction-to-planescape-4-4-adding-planescape-to-your-campaign/

Ah ha, Planar Slang, it is a thing. Derived from the colorful speech of 16th, 17th, and 18th century thieves, beggars, etc. https://theplanardm.com/planar-slang/

This entry was fun, a first person account of https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/sislan/

Vocabulary, Like,here https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/suisseen/

He or she always uses funny little specific speech patterns and these words to refer to people. Some speech reminds me of the lost children in mad max 2 or 3. It is like some who were lost amongst the planes and … became like yokels. Also reminds me of Farscape lingo and Firefly/ Serenity lingo. I am enjoying it.

Basher- does it always mean attacker? — that site above says A neutral reference to a person, usually a thug or fighter.

Sod - does it always mean attackee? Nope, sometimes just unlucky sods, in the British way.

Screed - untruth or nonsense.

Graybeard - old folks of knowledge

Berk - maybe traveller between planes?

Wash - means malarkey

Dead book - means u gonna die

Chant - means knowledge or experience or something . See https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/terithra/

Bark - maybe one who is about to die, see https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/terithra/

They often use slang like “ain’t”

Quote

'Course, a berk who tries to strike the membrane in melee must get close to the suisseen - close enough to be within the creature's watery exterior. That

suisseen - close enough to be within the creature's watery exterior. That means he's subjecting himself to an attack by the beast - fact is, the suisseen gets a chance to strike the sod even if it's already made its attack for that round

Example

often dragging him back to the Misty Shore for discipline - which means the dead-book for the bark.

Tree diversity usa

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vChrI9TP5o&t=339s

SE wins time 5:39

And a sliver of florida has 330something species

Gygax and Arneson - a Seventh Game was Created by Humanity

I love this little piece, how it opens up your mind. We are starting to see all the ramifications of D&D (every other video game created, movies, etc. etc.). What lies in the future?

https://kotaku.com/fantasys-widow-the-fight-over-the-legacy-of-dungeons-1833127876 quote:

Stormberg, a former archaeologist with circular glasses, clean-cut blonde hair, and an excitable disposition, sees the 1973 birth of Dungeons & Dragons as nothing less than a major moment in human history. “For two millennia, no new games had ever been created,” he said. “Human beings had only created six types of tabletop games. Dice games, plot games, card games, board games, miniature games and pen and paper games like Hang Man.”
“A seventh game was created by humanity. A seventh game! That didn’t exist before! And it was created by two guys who lived in the United States in my lifetime! It’s just a game, right, but millennia have gone by without a new type of tabletop game being created. This is the event horizon. We’re right here on the event horizon. We can’t see it. We’re not far enough away from it to understand how it has changed the world.”

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Gygax interview

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t4A1IsQY2D4&t=766s&pp=2AH-BZACAQ%3D%3D&ra=m

With the DungeonDelver. Great stuff.

Tidbits

Talked about old TSR as corporate took over shoulda been more employee owned but the new top dogs wouldn’t do it (greed). And the cheapening of the books instead of the indescribable schhol textbook style stuff that the ad&d 1e was made from.
He like a Harry Potter (first one?) best. Lotr Fellowship of the ring was his second fav (it had just come out and he loved it but Harry Potter he had seen rt before). Said ti was a bit too long and the flutes and chanting of the elves felt a little wonky. REALTED he had mentioned humbly that he didn’t read the 1e DmG book in a long time. Rather read from another guy… sort of like being your own cook. Other people’s cooking is more interesting.

Loot needed - results so far

After beating the hard Entrope and half the drow… don’t we need loot?

Should it be something the Entrope brought from ANY realm? Maybe as it FALLS APART into various elements upon death, the one thing it couldn’t eat was left behind.

An amulet of plane shifting!

Golden, circular, as big as an outstretched hand open fingers. Has a green (then purple) glowing gem in the center supported by four golden … spindles/arms/fingers/bridges (what is the word?) …

POWERS - once a day it can bring two people to another dimension. Choose from Etherreal, astral, Prime material plane, ??? AND ONE PER WEEK can send 4 ppl and return them same day IF they don’t miss the 24 hour limit. TAKeS 30 minutes to cast the 4 ppl version (Once a month or once a week).

ITEM 2 from https://minvarpg.com/tools/loot-generator

Sphere of Infinite Sight

This item feels slightly warm.

Effect:

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement). You can use an action to cast scrying (DC 17) with this sphere. The sphere can see across vast distances and into other planes. It has 3 charges per day.

THE DROW - atlre foimg to detect magic and realize the party has very powerful stuff. (Can u detect magic into bag of holding???). ANSWER - bag of holding hides it. UNLESS you open the bag of holding and they are detecting at the same time!!!!

RUIN EXPLORERS Anime gives Dungeon ideas

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DZVlsU8QDsQ&t=778s&pp=0gcJCaMLAYcqIYzv

Ruin Explorers (1995) likely has some good trap and dungeon ideas. See time 13:00 on this vid. But there is a LOT of extreme goofiness and squeaky dub voices to get past. I guess it is aimed at 13 year olds or something.

Saturday, August 1, 2026

D&D Zero yt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I54YA3qp64Q&t=877s

Dnd 0. Supplements. Caltech’s addons.

Imlike the art, dragon at time 14:47.

Dnd inspiration from Tarzan, the new adventures of (1935)

On tubi.

Near end of first episode, maybe 27 min or 37 min… the shot of the ruins as an archway with giant vines hanging down. Large columns in a row to either side fading into the distant background.

Some cool scenes and scenery. Ideas. The swarming savages. The ruins in the jungle. Sure there are some goofy parts, but a lot to be gleaned.

Magic Schools by daddy rolled a 1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvreYg6Cjk&t=2181s

Commenter- ericpeterson87… says

Book, Ursula LenGuin’s Wizard of Earthsea and the Isle of Roak. maybe started the schools thing in 1968
Master Chanter
Master Namer
Master Summoner
Etc
Those book(s) use True Names and other softer magic ideas, not Vancian. More art than science.

Friday, July 31, 2026

Search engines finding stuff google butied

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_PfF_MtSo

Million short

Boardreader

Archive.ph

Yacy

Ahmia

Talos and more Ray Harryhausen

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=csgrhy5S-tY&t=314s

Need to buy figures

Album art, metal often

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClTxi_ALLLpwWtqAk7kKQAty-oGhVJzWmH1FfHfin6yjh73MeII4oSMLvKJQhnsvn165nvoqlN5NvWZs_WNzmCQ1IbjjAYm8AkMJglyq27EUTi980lNaW85F3CUzVpM69exTcTuvA/s1600/Nazareth+-+Hair+of+the+Dog+%25281975%2529+front+back+album+cover.jpg

Nazareth 3 headed demonic

The Changeling (movie 1979/1980)

Spooky. Good. Disturbing. About 3/4 through it. Wheelchair covered in dust and cobwebs at the top of the stairs. Is she related to the boy? Oh….

https://mihocinema.com/the-changeling-1979-227464

The acting is really good.

Well… I’m not crazy about the rich and corruption angle. I prefer a more grounded, normal humanistic movie. Not some thing that glorifies this type of money grubbing political type.

But! The ending seems to be ramping up. Maybe satisfying , let’s see.

Broader movie landscape thoughts - -

The Amytyville Horror was released the same year 1979. The Shining in 1980. The first Spielberg movie about a haunted house was a tv movie in 1972 (nobody watched), but his (he wrote it) blockbuster haunted house movie Poltergeist with the line “They’re here” must have not been long after, maybe 1982. Lotsa haunted house movies.

Dnd names

Names

Marsh

Springford

Thornton

Sherwood

Wannberg

Hunter

Gray

Morse

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Hilarious analysis of prestidigitation

Hilarious analysis of prestidigitation by “xp to level 3” guy https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ixXjdVt4kI&t=917s

Scooby-Doo’s influence on D&D

The influence would seem to be there overall, but it is seemingly obvious in the episode

Hassle in the Castle, s01:e03 of Scooby-Doo Where Are You?

Old knight armor in haunted castles (one that is basically a trap with the axe coming down next to Shaggy’s head)
A magic carpet
a trap door (Daphne says “they say these old castles are full of traps” or something )
A talking skull
It’s in a castle!
Finding loot (giant key clue) in an old chest
Catacombs
An old mummy sarcophagus in the background
Magic items (ok it’s just a top hat and wand but you know… )
A ghost

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Wrath of Khan, even better on rewatch

So why did he (Kahn)keep his right glove on? The world may never know.Supposedly Michael Jackson started his thing two years earlier in 1979 but it became a thing a year after this movie in 1982 (which is when us youngsters saw it) … so is it related or not? Coincidence I think. https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/19bfia8/what_is_the_purpose_of_this_device_that_khan/?solution=a5815bf4a4387efba5815bf4a4387efb&js_challenge=1&token=7afd7253fec22262ff1c52b1703fe9ecff6f378825601f4c8e1634b30517e585&jsc_orig_r=

Ole Ricardo Montalban was a heck of a villain. But the Pock scene and the lines of Kirk and son afterwards were moving. Good stuff.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Results so far, our campaign - Entrope statblock, work in progress for 5e

G3, third level, mostly clear. Room 8 and room 15(?).

Wand of viscous globs… used the 5e version. Will only last an hour… sunlight (sunsword) will destroy in one hour. Kid beat me to it, used dimension door. Smart.

Killed 8, aka half the drow with a level 8 spell. Rest of drow retreated.

Then uncovered… the Entrope (2e monster). For next time! I've never been compelled to use a 2e Planescape monster, but this one works for what we are doing in G3 I think. It's like the drow worshipping the elder elemental evil type stuff have caused problems/caught the attention of this thing.

The Entrope is a fairly difficult sounding foe till you figure him out.

https://adnd2e.fandom.com/wiki/Entrope
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/entrope/
Ote the book is Planescape Monstrous Compendium https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ps/2635/
Some 2e stats below... so think of them in 2e terms and convert.
For 5e conversion: I'm going to add 1 die to each super attack AoE thing... hell maybe I should add two, but we'll see.
For 5e conversion: Maybe add a +5 per melee dmg.
WHAT ELSE
2e stats below, as I was saying...
Intelligence: Low to average (7-10) (((doesn't talk, but understands common))).
Hit Dice: 11+6 --->>88+6 max HP for 2e, so in 5e terms probably stay around 200-300HP range (i used 300hp).
Movement: 12 for 2e, that means speed 60 ft. for 5e. VERY fast.
Damage/Attack: (3 attacks) 1d8/1d8/1d12 for 2e, so add +5 for each for 5e.

And for 5e, I think allow it to do these attacks AND the super AoE attacks ... almost every round instead of every 3 rounds (yes i did that and it worked great as a solo boss). Need to do some math to be sure though... maybe every 3 rounds is better (But TELL the party??? Or do the visual description... all four of its eyes are lit up, BAM, a major AoE attack, now only one eye is lit up, next round 2 eyes light up, once four are lit up again, BLAM! UPDATE- yes i used the eyes lighting up) .

XP Value: 10,000 for 2e, (that means dangerous at medium to even medium high levels maybe even in 5e).
Dangerous tone right off the bat in description- There are holes throughout the multiverse. Call them conduits, portals or any other name, they're still holes. The Inner Planes are no exception. In fact, these planes in particular are full of tiny leaks where bits of one element seep into another plane. Some graybeards theorize that one day, in the far distant reaches of the future, the borders of the Elemental Planes will completely break down and all the elements will combine. Such a thing could signal the end of the multiverse, if it's true.
Combat: Because the entrope can literally break down the fabric of reality, it's nothing to fool around with. Anywhere within the Inner Planes, the beast can “eat” through elermental borders, creating a small, temporary hole in space leading to any other Inner Plane. The rent results in a mass of the foreign element bursting into the plane with great power. While the entrope itself isn't harmed by this action, anyone within 25 feet is subject to the elemental explosion. The results depend on which plane the hole leads to (a decision made by the entrope):

Air, Earth, Mineral, Ooze, Salt, Water: Matter or air explodes through the hole with great force, inflicting 3d10 points of impact damage (save versus breath weapon for half). Victims must save versus breath weapon or be knocked down and/or back 10 feet; they're also stunned for 1 round afterward.
Ash, Dust, Smoke, Steam: Particulate matter bursts through the tear, inflicting 2d6 points of impact damage (save versus breath weapons for half). What's more, all victims must save versus poison or cough and choke for 1d6 rounds, incapacitated.
Fire, Lightning, Positive Energy, Radiance: Raw energy gushes through the rent, inflicting 8d6 points of damage (save versus breath weapon for half).
Ice, Magma: Energy (along with varying amounts of matter) erupts through the tear, inflicting 6d6 points of heat or cold damage (save versus breath weapon for half). Victims must save versus breath weapon or be knocked down and/or back 10 feet.
Negative Energy: This hole sucks the life energy from all victims, draining one experience level from each. (((In 5e Terms, it'd just last a day)))
Vacuum: Matter and energy is drawn into this rent. The implosion inflicts 3d6 points of damage (save versus breath weapon for half) on victims and requires them to make a save versus death magic to avoid being pulled into the plane of Vacuum before the hole closes. (((In 5e terms.... OMG this is scary as hell. Good thing party has some wish ring stuff.)))

The entrope can open these holes once every three rounds. The rest of the time, it defends itself with two huge claws (1d8 points of damage each) and a gigantic tooth-filled maw (1d12 points of damage).
The strange creature is also immune to the effects of all elements, even ignoring impact damage from thrown boulders or similar attacks. Graybeards know of only two ways to harm an entropy[entrope they meant]: strike it with a magical weapon of +2 or greater enchantment, or subject it to nonelemental-based spells such as cause light wounds, magic missile, and so on.
ok
So Extras I might add for our 5e campaign -

maybe it can go into a hole in one spot and teleport to anywhere nearby and reappear (yes i used that)... making a new hole. OUCH. So maybe that makes it seem gone for half a round or something? Think of it like 5e Lair Actions or something, in which case it is skipping the turn of one or two goodguys and then appearing in backlines to do dmg on casters.
Head or body changes (i did not change looks)

it's head might change to be the head of a dragon for a split second when doing certain elemental attacks
head might be more like an UNDEAD(?? or is that spacey enough) for a split second when doing a Negative Energy attack. How about... Black Void like a blackhole??
head might be like a beholder (it already looks like one) when...
head split second like a fish-sea-serpent-whale when water and salt attack
head split sec like a ... volcano(????) when doing ash, dust, smoke, steam............ maybe something better, but what..........

If it hits with a claw, maybe it gets an auto-bite and doesn't have to roll to hit for bite? Or maybe if it hits with 1st or 2nd attack, it auto hits on just one more attack. If MISS MISS then HIT I'm rolling for 3rd attack, that's it... it'll either hit with 3rd attack or not. (Update - i just once had it get to roll for a bite when it did a free action of two oincers that both hit).

So in 5e Terms -

can say arcane type dmg would work, like magic missile or eldrich blast. I might still stick to +2 magic weapons or greater, since the party has SOME of those.

NOPE, they mention Radiant. Would RADIANT dmg count... that'd make the sunsword yet another counter to something so... not sure it should count. Think about it though. Radiant spells aren't super common, the warlock has them and has eldrich blast. Maybe that'd be OK since only Sunbeam would work for Druid....

Since it is about entropy, I think a RANDOM save stat roll is appropriate for each big AoE attack. So it could be anything if I do it this way... might be Int, might be Dex, might be Con. Is that cooler/funner?

UPDATE AFTER ENCOUNTER , I gave these extras and changes

Spit a boulder one round (i was gonna keep dmg around 1d10+5, as extra action
Spit a mini lightning bolt one round as an extra action, for 4d6
+10 on its initiative
Dc17 on most of its stuff. And I picked randomly between wisdom, int, dex, con saves. Idea was wisdom or int could predict or figure out a new explosion sooner. And sometimes let the kid pick between 2 saves.
Gave it 15 foot reach, but only 10 foot attack of opportunity
Gave it a tail attack ad an extra action one round. 1d12 plus 5 dmg.
To Hit was +10 on pincers, bute, tail, etc.
300 HP.
Had legendary resist sort of… I think it took half dmg. Only used twice… let the final max Blight spell do full dmg since the Barb had gotten sucked into a Vacuum/Air plane and the fighter got ash poison cloud into incapacitated for 5 rounds (on a 1d6).
It had underground free movement like swimming through rocks, 60 ft movement.
Party of four are level 15 against it.
Barbarian got a crit on first round… he has a +2 to hit but no plus dmg. Wasn’t sure how to do that because was trying to stick to the 2e “need a plus 2 magic weapon to hit”, so decided that that weapon would do half dmg.
Fighter eventually used a plus 1 weapon for 1/3 dmg.
Necrotic did full dmg against it. Blight, etc.
Psychic would have done full dmg, but used legendary resist so i think i said it’d take half on that crazy mental prison spell, … even tho maybe it is supposed to do full dmg even on a save, just no actual prison????
Radiant, fire, cold, lightning, acid(?) did no dmg.
It would attack 2 or 3 times even when it dis the explosion. I think I sometimes or always counted that as an extra action.
Gave it 3 extra actions per round, basically anytime it wanted.
Used 2 legendary resists sort of, like i said. But always allow some dmg.

(((Recap… Round 1 the barbarian hit crit huge dmg and a second hit but halfed, warlock mental prison huge dmg but halfed, Entrope went 3rd [I gave it +10 on initiative] it did explosion eh and attacks… druid lightning bolt (round 1 or 2) no dmg, fighter using flamesword so low or no dmg all in round 1. Actually in round 1 the explosion was the Energy Drain, and the kid barely made the save for both melee guys. I let him know what he avoided. For round 2… ))) (((trying to remember- barb missed most attacks I think, boulder spit, Entrope did explosion of magma and ice (now i realize was probably supposed to pick One type listed???) bcause warlock i think is resist to both. So lots of hard calculations on how much dmg per element type and did they make the saving roll and do u half it before or after or does it matter. )))
It went like 5.5 rounds or so.
Round 3 was either fire lighting etc or change places with round 2’s magma ice. Forgot to add an extra die of dmg for fire lighting but did remember for others. The fire lightning energy probably hit 2 guys.
Second to last round was Round 4(5?) was a Vacuum explosion and sucked up Barbarian. Let him know was temp. Floating around in a air and cloud world with like nothing around. [Here is where a DM needs to figure out how long till he would be pulled back into the normal material plane. At the end after dead monster I had the hole open and and bring him back. Maybe shoulda had party use wish spell instead. )
Last explosion round Round 5(6!?) was the Ash, etc. And it knocked out the fighter. Good thing the moster was almost dead from the blight.

Sidenote, what is this?! https://www.reddit.com/r/dndmonsters/comments/yl9ims/monster_manual_expanded_ii_2nd_edition_update_2/

Movie - Night of the Comet

Better than expected. What a slice of 1980s west coast teen movie… favorite pieces so far are

The competition around initials on arcade games… Tempest was cool.
After practice with a Mac-10 machinegun, it keeps jamming… the younger sister says something like “That’s the problem with these things. Daddy would have gotten us an uzi.” This is definitely 1980s lore we all knew.

Origins and future influence (I think)

28 Days Later. Speedy zombies. Empty city.
Shaun of the dead. Zombie comedy. Empty city.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

The Odyssey TV Series from 1997 is truer, more fun

Things I'm liking:

Christopher Lee's scene... that whole into the lava with the goat scene was great. The poetic language, great.
Monsters

There was a sea serpent, very cool.
Scylla is freaky and scary. Looked 10 times cooler than the Aliens-Egg-Laying-tube-worm-tail looking one from the 2026 movie.
Main guy being of Italian heritage makes him seem a lot closer than Matt Damon being Greek.
And the Whirlpool monster actually exists, and is awesome. Charybdis is the name.

Origins (in reverse?)

The Dance from O Brother Where Art Thou (a super loose adaptation of the Odyssey, a fun one) seems to reference this TV series about the Odyssey from 3 years before:
From O Brother'
From 1997 Miniseries, they nod exaggeratedly also and walk around in a big circle.

Friday, July 24, 2026

Art - covers of Dragon mag in 1990s mostly

Supergood, but what IS that thing https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/dr/Dragon172/

Dozen more https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/dr/

Foreshortening dragon face is great https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/dr/Dragon238/

I did have a dream not all that long ago, where an alligator in water nearby turned into a dragon (green, not purple) but this reminds me of it a tiny tiny tiny bit:

Raistlin new book mentioned... good ole Raist:

The Odyssey 2026 movie... whelp, kind of disappointing, but some good

Disappointing. I tried to like it more for the kid. It's not terrible. But it was disappointing in:

1. Setting. Drab as fk. Where's that cool Mediterranean cave & island world?
2. Casting. Killing me in the suspension of disbelief department.
3. Historical accuracy in look. Killing me in the suspension of disbelief department.
4. Modern day dialog, dear lord. Killing me in the suspension of disbelief department.
5. The monsters were not cool, they went for gross.

The cyclops was passable, maybe, but... I lie, I did not like the design look, a twisted face and nose with a "missing" eye, though the actor/CGI was fine (but gross).
Scylla... lol, you will never see a picture of it online b/c it was so.... meh. It's a damn sock puppet in the movie. I've got a picture, check below. And this picture looks "better" as a still than in motion... was a split second piece of the film, you barely saw it at all, and not in a "cool reveal" way either.
Charybdis the whirlpool monster was completely missing.
The Sea serpent sent by Poseidon was missing.
Gods were missing.

6. Body horror, yes body horror in this tale is about as weird as you would imagine. BTW,Circe in Nolan's version apparently hates men (despite her being an Earthgirls-are-Easy-type in the original poem).
7. Audio sucked. Whispering dialog all day, hard to hear. Then super loud terribly distorted sounds during action.

2026 movie Scylla is darn sad. Rock skinned tube worm style. Elbow joints in its neck(s). Toothless, eyeless. Just gross, nasty, and uncool. When you first see it, it looks like a sock puppet, 100%.

And this reddit post , the first couple of paragraphs, knocks it out of the park on what it did incorrectly. Once it rants about Matt Damon's Odysseus as being too "above reproach" i disagree. I can get past that because in a MOVIE I do like a hero who is a good guy. The kids were flipping out about how in class, they taught how bad Odysseus was, etc. While, yeah, as a kid myself I was completely pissed at him for leaving his family for 10-20 years, and shacking up with the Nymph and witch, ... I hate all hero types in most stories when I think about them in a realistic way b/c they are ALWAYS screwing over their family ... when I want entertainment, I like the hero to be likeable. That's all.

And then the post says what they did to Odysseus is "This downgrading of the moral architecture of the original work reminds me of what Guillermo del Toro did to Frankenstein." I say wrong wrong wrong, it is an UPGRADE of the moral architecture. I hate it when critics think being morally a shitbag is a better story. F*ck 'em. Well I'll excuse this b/c it is perhaps the main point of the original story, for some reason. I guess it as a story has endured for two reasons 1) supernatural coolness for my brain types and 2) shitbag morals for the gossip crowd brain types.

And this dude gives details on all the good parts of the movie, which I seem to agree with mostly (except I hate not seeing real Greece, not seeing cool monsters, etc.): by thigerlel

"There's no Greece in the movie because it's not about Greece. It uses Odysseus's journey to talk about the 20th Century, which is also why there' s the Bronze Age line. By coming up with the Horse, Odysseus breaks the implicit mythical trust humanity had on each other, a la Pandora or Eve unleashing sin. The veterans of Troy become the Sea People, who spread arround genocide in Troy, pillaging in other islands, rape if Cercei hadn't been prepared. Odysseus isn't curious in this version because he's guilty, and his delay in getting home is reframed as him having become so twisted he can't look at his old family in the eyes again. He listens to the sirens not because he's full of whimsy, but to suffer for all that he's done. He created an atomic bomb, there's no putting it back in the box, and their civilization will crumble until another one rises that will forget their mistakes and repeat them (us). It's an origin story for our current affairs. Odysseus is certainly a story teller. The structure of the film is less about him being passive and more about him orally narrating events to Calypso just as the story was originally spread around. In fact, there are no fantastical elements in the movie; creatures only appear in stories told to other characters. The landscapes in these tales often lack delineation, becoming surreal, endless beaches reminiscent of the Freudian sea of the unconscious as Odysseus's tale is nothing but a way for him to work though his feelings. Athena, who seems the most tangible mythical element, is revealed to be the face of the child Odysseus caused to be beheaded in Troy, just Odysseus's conscience. The actors look modern and the armors look out of place because it's a story about all time periods, extending into the future perpetually (they still look like shit)"

Thursday, July 23, 2026

History medieval Europe

Greatly done by an Irishman, no bloddy ai crap

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kVEldvGXg4w&t=337s

Free pdf Dolmenwood module

The Weaver and the Redcaps. On the official website of anecrotic gnome.

Old Star Wars concept art paintings

Are the best this yt has more than ive ever seen

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Eepb2B4z3uE

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Ettercap, Ettercop, Cobweb, Spiderweb

These things are all related. Check out the whole Wordsmith entry for it:

This week’s theme
Words with hidden animals

This week’s words
auspicate
ettercap

The Crying Spider, 1881

Art: Odilon Redon

ettercap or attercop

PRONUNCIATION:

(ET-uhr-kap or AT-uhr-kop)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A bad-tempered or spiteful person.
2. A spider.

ETYMOLOGY:

A variant of attercop, from Old English attorcoppa, from ator (poison, venom) + coppa (spider). It’s the same element that shows up in cobweb, literally spider’s web. Earliest documented use: before 1525.

NOTES:

If you know someone who is always spinning webs of gossip or ready to bite your head off, this is the perfect label for them. The form attercop got a modern boost from J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins uses it to taunt the giant, venomous spiders of Mirkwood, and the insult works. No spider, Tolkien tells us, has ever liked being called attercop.

USAGE:

“At least we can see the auld ettercap into the ground now, Christ be praised.”
Pat McIntosh; The Counterfeit Madam; Constable; 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ask the infantry and ask the dead. -Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, Nobel laureate (21 Jul 1899-1961)

Monday, July 20, 2026

Sound of fantasy horn (real) - Carnyx horn, Iron Age.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=68Hds0OYrbg&ra=m

Time 8:27

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/06/06/the-carnyx-a-long-curved-instrument-used-by-the-celts-during-the-iron-age/ says -- Prior to 2004, fragments of only five such instruments had been preserved, from Germany, Switzerland, France, Scotland, and Romania, but in November 2004 archaeologists discovered more than 500 fragments of unique military and religious objects in a Gallo-Roman site at Tintignac, in southern France. These objects, all made of iron and bronze, included 10 helmets, a dozen swords and scabbards, iron spearheads, a shield, two animal heads, one foreleg, a cauldron, and seven carnyces. Once one of the carnyces was restored, it proved to be the most complete carnyx ever found.

wikiped -- Six of the carnyces had boar's heads, while the seventh appears to be a serpent-like monster.

-- The carnyx (pl.: carnyces; /kɑːnɪks/, KAR-nicks) is a wind instrument that was common in Celtic cultures during the Iron Age, between c. 200 BC and c. 200 AD. It is a type of trumpet made of bronze with an elongated S shape, held so that the long straight central portion was vertical and the short mouthpiece end section and the much wider bell were horizontal in opposed directions. The bell was styled in the shape of the head of an open-mouthed boar or other animal.

The Celts used the carnyx in warfare, probably to incite troops to battle and to intimidate opponents, as Polybius recounts.[1] The instrument's significant height—typically around 1.8 metres (6 feet), standing as tall as its player—allowed it to be heard over the heads of the participants in battles or ceremonies.[2] The carnyx was not only used by the Celts but also by the Dacians in modern Romania, and depictions have even been found on a Buddhist sculpture in India, attesting to the far-flung connections of the Iron Age world.[3]

https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/10dvmb3/a_nearly_complete_1st_century_bce_carnyx_found_in/ says -- A nearly complete 1st century BCE carnyx found in 2004 at Tintignac, France (the one in the left picture, with a reconstruction in the right). Fashioned as a snarling boar, the carnyx was a war horn used by the Iron Age Celts between c. 200 BCE and c. 200 CE

Search This Blog

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Tuesday, August 18, 2026