(Glaugust 2026 part 1)

Magic Amulets

Amulets primarily have repellent properties and can be used to boost turning/intimidation rolls.

Metals: undead. Each type of soul, according to Plato, recognises its material.

Gemstones: dragons. The chromatic dragons especially are subject to the different types.

Symbols: spellcasters. Spells are fickle creatures.

Bones: Fey creatures. The smell of death drives them mad.

Feathers: Psionics users. A thin veil, properly prepared, has the same effect.

Vials: animals. Water, blood, and alcohol are popular choices. Some prefer venom, however.

Lockets: incorporeal creatures. Love and Strife are opposites, and Love unites body and mind.

Review Another's Blogpost

https://hilanderrpgs.bearblog.dev/the-best-thing-ive-written/ 

This post is great, thank you everyone, and Mr. Highlander. 

More people should make things like this for newbies.

Spells of the Evil King

Summon cavalry charge.

Fear.

Quest.

Execute.

Imprison.

Command.

Sequel to a Blogpost from Last Year (Yours, or others')

My blog is only a few months old :-P

https://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2025/12/why-not-shadowdark.html 

Simplicity and complexity in games are a means to an end, which is creating a satisfying play experience. Chess accomplishes much with simple rules, but Twilight Imperium is also complex and fun. For role-playing games, a broader and deeper rules system, whether Stonetop or Adnd, allows for more variety in very long games and campaigns. I got tired of Knave after a two-shot. I might like to try ADND at least once. 

Primates

In the religion of Monke, as a cleric, you gain a new rank at the following levels:

2: Dryopithecus can climb as fast as they walk.

3: Ramapithecus is immune to poison.

5: Australopithecus can walk with any two limbs.

7: Habilis can strike once a day with unerring accuracy.

11: Erectus can control fire.

13: Neanderthalensis can instruct new members of the primates.

17: Sapiens can speak all languages.

19: ??? 

Water Levels

Gamifying rainfall levels warrants its own post.

Achievements:

Speedrun mode (complete the challenge in 500 words or less) ✓

Completionist (complete all prompts in a challenge) X

Hive pocket Beetle opening is too strong

1. Beetle, beetle

2. Beetle on beetle (stack 1), pass

3. Queen bee adjacent to beetle, pass

3. Beetle off beetle (b) one space away from queen bee (w), place queen bee equidistant from w. pieces

4. Beetle on beetle (b), move queen bee adjacent to queen bee (w)

5. Beetle on queen bee (b), 

Options for black:

5. (...), beetle on queen bee (w)

... By symmetry, white eventually forces a draw.

5. (...), move beetle one space away from stack (1)

6. Ant traps beetle (b), pass

... By forcing black to pass, white easily surrounds the black queen bee.

I might propose a fix for this in a later post...

I actually should look at past posts for ideas now :-)

Biblical prophecies concerning the underworld

Hades, or Sheol, is torn in two: a place of grief, where those who reject their creator are left alone; and a place of rest, with Abraham, whose faith was counted as righteousness. In ancient times, all the dead remained there, whether righteous or wicked. Enoch and Elijah entered not this place.

When the Messiah died, he entered the kingdom of death and rescued the just, having obtained victory. One half of the underworld was emptied upon His resurrection, and the faithful were judged and found blameless through His blood, and the angels rejoiced in heaven. Nonetheless, the Sheol still gets filled.

One day, the trumpet will sound, and Hades will be emptied again, as well as the Bride of Christ from among the living. The Holy Spirit will cease His slowing of evil during the forty-ninth week of years prophesied by Daniel.

After seven years of judgement, Jesus will return with the church and the just from Heaven and Hades and give new bodies of glory to them. The survivors on earth will be judged and either allowed into the Lord's kingdom on earth or sent to the Lake of Fire, made not for humans but for demons. The antichrist and his prophet will be sent to the Lake of Fire without judgement.

For a thousand years the survivors and their offspring will live amongst the glorified in the kingdom of God. Near the end of them, Satan will be loosed from bondage and will lead an uprising against the Heir, an unsuccessful one. At the end, the Father will resurrect and judge those remaining in Sheol and the not yet judged on Earth. Some will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where there is eternal torment; and the others will be glorified and enter the second creation.

Solving Cain's Jawbone: Progress report

After about two years since I bought my copy, here's my analysis so far.

Collected data:

Poetry fragments that cross pages (6 solved pairs of consecutive pages and poems identified).

Sentences that cross pages (2 unsolved pairs of consecutive pages).

Repetition of a certain name on nearly every page.

Spelling errors.

First-person narration throughout.

References to flowers, food, and literary figures.

Repeated indirect references to a name (solved).

(A long list of all names mentioned).

(A list of times the narrator acknowledged themself).

Fragments and words in Greek and French (translated).

(A long list of references to death).

(A very long list of one-sentence page summaries).

(A half-started list of longer analysis for each page).

Conclusions reached:

Re-ordering the pages is insufficient to solve the mystery of the six murders.

Since Torquemada was known for cryptic crossword clues, it is likely that the more nonsensical sentences are structured as clues in a similar way.

The main difficulty in solving the puzzle lies in interpreting the text.

Theories:

I believe the mystery has three layers to it:

Ordering the pages,

Interpreting/deciphering the text,

Reconstructing the narrative from the information given in the narrator's perspective.

(I have worked on it sporadically, mainly in the holiday seasons.)

I really hope the solution isn't getting published any time soon.

A challenge for Gretchlings (GLOG monsters)

Is this a blog bandwagon of my own?          ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄

One of my favourite things about the GLOG is the abundancy of classes made by the gretchlings and the ease of making them (especially wizards). It's super easy, barely an inconvenience!

Templates: A, B, C, D, (Δ), with abilities, 

a spell/technique-list (optional),

mishaps and dooms (for magic-dice users)

I ask you all, however: what about monsters?

My first blog bandwagon!

Here's my submission for the randomness blog bandwagon.

Househack part 2 (combat)

I just realised I'm sort of doing the homework: https://jrients.blogspot.com/2011/03/three-years-gone.html

Initiative is rolled every round (Initiative die as a stat? Stats in another post.)

Take 2 actions on your turn (you can do any combination):

Move: Speed will be a stat to determine distance travelled.

Engage in combat (resolved at the end of the round).

Shoot a ranged weapon).

Special: Everything else.

What happens when 2 participants are tied?

They will alternate their actions. Use a coin flip or an agreement to decide who goes first.

Engaged participants:

Roll your attack dice (XdY, see part 1) vs the opponent's attack dice. Pair the dice against each other in descending order. The winner deals a hit for every weapon die higher than their corresponding armour die. For every hit, roll a die of the weapon's damage dice against the opponent's armour dice. Winning damage dice are converted into wounds. (HP and hits in another post.)

Hit location (2d6):

Result	Body part
2	Left foot
3	Left hand
4	Left leg
5	Left arm
6	Left torso
7	Head
8	Right torso
9	Right arm
10	Right leg
11	Right hand
12	Right foot

Armour:

When defending against hits, roll 1dY of the corresponding armour dice if the hit location is covered with armour. If you have a shield, roll that die as well alongside the other.

d4: Not armour, but protective.

d6: Textile/organic

d8: Mixed

d10: Mail 

d12: Plate

d4: Buckler.

d6: Small shield

d8: Round shield.

d10: Kite shield.

d12: Tower shield.

Weapons:

Damage\Attack	d4	d6	d8	d10	d12
d4	Unarmed	Improvised /club	Flail	Chain weapons /pole hooks	Whip/meteor hammer
d6	Knives	Axes	One-handed cutting swords	Two-handed cutting swords	Quarterstaff
d8	Fist weapons	Maces/ warhammers	Longsword	Small spears	Cutting polearms
d10	Light daggers	War picks	Rapier	Light spears/Greatswords	Heavy polearms
d12	Rondel/stiletto	Large daggers	Estoc	Heavy spears	Long thrusting polearms

I hope this doesn't fall apart in playtesting...