Archery Tricks

I'm not sure on the validity of the techniques shown in the following video but it is interesting enough to watch and maybe even consider as a style for some hidden tribes in a tabletop roleplaying setting or campaign.  Enjoy!

Lopburi Monkey Festival, Thailand

Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel there is a new video showing the Lopburi Monkey Festival in Thailand.  Watch, and then add something similar to your tabletop roleplaying setting.  Enjoy!

Petroglyphs, Petroglyphs, Everywhere

Well, everywhere might be overkill but no matter where you go you'll find that people like to leave a record of their having been there.  We record out history.  We leave graffiti in the most intimate places.  We seem to need to let others know that we are or were alive.  If you approach the addition of Petroglyphs (actual carvings rather than something simply drawn or painted on the surface) to the walls, floors and/or ceilings of some of the places in your roleplaying campaign setting from the perspective of the person making the carving, you'll find it fun when your players become intrigued and eventually figure out what your alter ego has to say.  Read more here!

Weather Sound Effects

A little something to liven up any game are sound effects, if they can be non-intrusive to game play.  A Facebook Friend recently steered me to the PartnersInRhyme.com site which has a variety of sound files that you can use to really enhance your storytelling.  Hear more here!

The Confluence of Rivers

Where rivers meet, and where a river meets an ocean or a sea, it is known as a confluence.  An article earlier this year on TwistedSifter.com highlights ten such confluences and the effects are dramatic  See more here!

Bear Species

There is a page over on BearWithUs.Org giving a rundown on 8 Species of Bear.  Read more here!

DARPA's Cheetah Robot

Working on a scifi setting and trying to figure out the movement rate of a quadrupedal robot? DARPA has been kind enough to create one and have it clocked in a speed test.  It's called the Cheetah and it's fast.  Enjoy!

Mummy Dog

Tired of having only bipedal mummies in your campaign setting?  An article at artdaily.org includes a photo of a mummy dog to help you shake things up.  Read more here!

Tolkien Recipes Kickstarter

There is a new Kickstarter called "Medium Rare and Back Again: A Tolkien Cookbook" that looks like it might be loaded with recipes one could add to a Medieval Fantasy campaign setting.  See more here!

Lyminge Saxon Hall

Earlier this month is a report on BBC.co.uk about a Saxon drinking hall discovered under the Lyminge village green near Canterbury in Kent.  Watch their video here and read more on the Guardian website here!

Peles, A Neo-Renaissance Castle

In the Carpathian Mountains of Romania stands a beautifully constructed castle known as Peles Castle that was constructed in the Renaissance style in the Late 1800s/Early 1900s.  Read more here!

Medieval Armor Article on JPGKingdom

There is a recent article on JPGKingdom.com showing some very interesting and sometimes weird Medieval helmets and armor.  See more here!

Great White Origin Story Still Mysterious

Sometimes it is enough just to roll up some monsters and throw them at the player characters.  On the other hand, musing about the origins of the fiercest creatures in your campaign can also be a fun mental exercise.  Furthermore, if you sometimes like to throw your player's characters into the prehistoric past of your world, and allow them to discover fossils in the here-and-now of your campaign, then a bit of evolutionary musing can even pay off at the table.  A flurry of recent articles on the ancestry of Great White sharks might be just the thing to get your paleontological juices flowing.  Read more here, here, and here!

Axe Heads Only

It was reported on the bbc.co.uk website that a Bronze Age pot was discovered in Jersey containing 21 axe heads.  A lesson to GMs that not all treasures need be complete or immediately useful.  Read more here!

How Long Sewer Tunnels Can Last

A recent article on he telegraph.co.uk website drew my attention to the current plight of the currently-functioning, ancient Roman sewer system which is undergoing renovation to prevent its collapse.  Of course, there's been some work on it over the years but it amazes me that a mile long tunnel can be maintained for over 2,000 years (it began as a canal around 500 BC, in the time of King Tarquin) with relatively little change to its original engineering.  Read more here!

Diamonds are a Treasure Seeker's Best Friend

Over on lifeslittlemysteries.com is a neat little article on how diamonds are made.  Good to know for GMs who like to have trivia and details in their back pocket.  Read more here!

Wilton Castle Ghosts

On Halloween, over on the Bree Heritage website, they ran an article titled "The Ghosts of Wilton Castle" with some cool details of this historic location.  Read more here!

Get the Drift on Continents

There is a cool little article on lifeslittlemysteries.com about whether or not continents have always existed.  It makes for interesting reading for the setting creators among us.  Read more here!

Sandy's Ocean Story

The devastation from Hurricane Sandy was terrible and our hearts go out to all who were affected.  Another side to that castostrophic event is what happens to the ocean during those violent days.  Read and see more analysis on Deep Sea News here!

Inga's Adventures

Over on ingasadventures.com are some interesting articles about her travels including some beautiful photos. See more here!

Declassified Air Force Flying Saucer Schematics

The Air Force has declassified some schematics for a Flying Saucer that you could easily port over to many types of tabletop roleplaying games.  See more here!

Altoids Tin Survival Kit

The Field and Stream website had an article many years ago of how to make a survival kit that fits in an Altoids tin.  This is a good little lesson in what someone might carry in a small space that can prove very useful.  Read and see more here!

Egyptian Princess's Tomb Discovered

Recently reported on the ForgottenDM.blogspot.com blog, an Egyptian princess's tomb has been discovered near Cairo.  Some of the images are very evocative and should be inspirational for your own setting creation. Read more here!

Medieval Prosthetics

A recent io9.com article shows off a Medieval prosthetic hand.  A little something to consider for your tabletop roleplaying setting if you happen to use critical hits tables and the players want replacement parts.  Read more here!

Campaigns Can Be Taxing

Many Medieval Fantasy tabletop roleplaying campaigns have some form of taxation or tithing as a mechanism to regulate player character wealth.  An interesting twist might be to institute a policy of Peter the Great and not only include a beard tax, or something similar, but make sure characters wear a medallion proving they have paid.  Read more here!

Long Live Imagination

Some excellent setting and storytelling inspiration can be gained by a visit to the LongLiveImagination.com website's gallery.  See more here!

Isaac Asimov: The Three Laws of Robotics

If you have never heard them before, or just might enjoy a refresher, here is Isaac Asimov explaining his Three Laws of Robotics.  It's the sort of thing he considered when creating settings for his stories.  Enjoy!

Half a Burial

Over on the dailymail.co.uk website, they are reporting of an archaeological find of burial sites from 4,700 B.C. where the dead were sliced in half at the waist before being laid to rest.  Read more here!

HMS Bounty Sinks

Late last week, the (replica of the) HMS Bounty sank off the East Coast of the United States losing one of fourteen hands and possibly (as of this writing) the captain.  Learn more about he HMS Bounty here!

Wind Maps

For those of you who create tabletop game settings or maps, the hint.fm/wind/ website might prove useful in creating maps of wind patterns.  See more here!