Looking back over August and towards September

Now we move into September (and hopefully some cooler weather here in Georgia, USA) which is seventh month of the Roman calendar.  September does not seem to have any particular ties to myth or man among the Romans, however,  as Seven is usually viewed as a magical number, magic and spells will be our theme for this month.   Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see.

During the week of 6th-10th September, I will be in Washington, DC, with family visiting them and museums.  My plan is to set the journal to update during that time but I will likely not be able to approve comments from new people but I will do so as soon as I can.  I shall return with new and inspired ideas and photographs of the wonders of the Smithsonian.

August was not as productive as it could have been, but still we had the following posts:

Conscience of the Eight – Remorseless Killer and Hunter of Sen’tek

Conscience of the Eight, Remorseless Killer and Hunter of Sen’tek

Quote: Some would feel regret on leaving you to lie in a pool of your own blood, I may, but only because I have stood too close and bloodied my boots.
Tell me of your conscience, what would it have you not do?

Review – The Sensitive prestige class (for Pathfinder)

The Sensitive prestige class is very well-written and it is perfect for a gothic horror campaign but may prove difficult to fit into other sorts of game.

L5R JYTB Campaign Report 18

Scorpion Surprise

This interlude took place the earliest of the three, shortly after Soshi Utami gets back to Scorpion lands in late Summer and finds her commission as a Gunso in the 7th Bayushi Legion activated and she is sent to the Yogo Towers.  Once there Soshi Utami is called before the Scorpion Magistrate Bayushi Minhzang who dispatches her to see what has happened to a small Unicorn caravan, lead by Ide Yat-Sen, that has gone missing in the hills.  The caravan headed up the Crescent Moon Pass to get from the Yogo Towers to Beiden Pass.  They never arrived.

Utami is given command on a newly formed patrol consisting of two Scorpion samurai, a pair of Bayushi cousins -Jojuri and Roiki- who loath each other, Yogo Toshiro, a Soshi-trained shugenja, and five newly recruited ashigaru.  Utami meets her peers over dinner and outlines their mission and schedule.

Tuesday Magic Item – Spectral Feast

Ivek opened the sealed ceramic container.  “Uk, I would not eat this.”

“Luckily, you do not have to,” snapped Volosh the Blue, “it is for the ghost.  Hope that he likes the smell.”

Spectral Feast

These are simple meals enhanced with rare and secret spices, kept sealed in ceramic jars warded with protective and preserving charms.
When opened, the smell of the food is nearly irresistible to incorporeal undead.

Review – Mythic Menagerie: Kingdom of Graves

Mythic Menagerie: Kingdom of Graves is a 13-page PDF (11 pages if you remove the cover and credits/OGL page) for the Pathfinder RPG designed by Sam Hing, developed by Owen K. C. Stephens and published by Super Genius Games.  This is part of Super Genius Games’ Mythic Menagerie line.

Interesting Thoughts from other Gamers (8)

Here are some of the interesting pieces on or about gaming I have read recently on the web:

Mistwalker, the source for Ravenloft for Pathfinder conversions with a very slick PDF.  (Which I learned about from the 3.5 Private Sanctuary.)

Pathfinder Chronicler is hosting a Pathfinding Fiction contest!

Over at From the Sorcerer’s Skull, The City is being built.

Not strictly gaming related, but very interesting, the history of the Lost Fort, dealing with historical castles, forts and other such interesting and useful things.

New Magic Item – Jade Oroboros

“I may die but I will not fall!” cried the priest, dropping to his knees as the dark magic crushed the life from him.

“We shall see,” cackled the foul blood wizard and began a chant to animate the poor man’s body.  As the body swayed and began to stand, the jade bracelet flared with magical fire.  Within seconds, the priests body was consumed with holy fire, leaving nothing but ash behind.

One Magic item, two systems, first off, Legend of the Five Rings (4th edition):

Jade (or Chuda) Oroboros

These exquisite bracelets are made of delicately carved jade in the form of an oroboros (a snake eating its own tail).  Each one is specifically made for each member of the Chuda shugenja school from a piece of jade that has been with that person since birth (or since they joined the Chuda school).

L5R Thoughts – the Snake Clan

As I have mentioned, the minor clans fill an important role in the Empire of Rokugan filling odd but useful niches and making the Empire a more interesting and complex place.

One of these is the Snake Clan, which was founded by Isawa Chuda who had saved the Emperor from assassination by a blood cult headed by one of the Imperial Magistrates.  The new Chuda Family and the Snake Clan were tasked with rooting out blood cults and defending the Empire (and the Emperor) from such mystical threats.  In canon, the Snake clan become corrupted and possessed by a great evil.  The entire clan is wiped out except for a handful of blood wizards by the Phoenix, these survivor remember their name and eventually become the shugenja family of the Spider Clan.

Not so in my Rokugan. 

Tuesday Magic Item – Hunter’s Cloak

Suddenly the wood was alive with hunters aiming all sorts of weapons at us.  We had totally failed to spot them before they revealed themselves.  We slowly put down our weapons. Defeated by hunters, how embarrassing.

Hunter’s Cloak

These cloaks are made of heavy cloth of a neutral color, the clasp is usually made of bronze and usually in some sort of hunting motif.  First made by the elves, these cloaks have been widely copied since.