Tenrecs are NOT What One Imagines

There is a bizarre little creature native to Madagascar that is called a Tenrac and, though it resembles a tiny hedgehog, is related to whales and sea cows.  Go figure then read more here on BBC.co.uk!

The Guoliang Tunnel through Taihang Mountain

YouTube user Goorney has several videos showing off some of the amazing features of the Guoliang Tunnel through Taihang Mountain in China.  Enjoy!

True Facts About the Angler Fish

The often interesting io9.com recently pointed toward a ze frank YouTube video on the Angler Fish that should prove fun to view.  Enjoy!

Watching the Stars

If you're trying to add some depth to a tabletop roleplaying setting, try describing the night sky.  To get some inspiration on how to do so, check out a video or two at the JPL News YouTube channel here!

30,000 Year Old Engraved Stone

Earlier this month, Sci-News.com reported the finding of an engraved stone believed to date back 30,000 years.  Consider that when writing up the history of your own tabletop roleplaying setting.  Read more here!

Book in a Book

Check out the fascinating article on the edmontonjournal.com website about an "18th century Latin dictionary published in Switzerland hides inside the fragments of an early 13th century Italian manuscript of the Justinian Code."  Your tabletop roleplaying setting might benefit from hiding some tombs inside of others.  See more here!

Free Harnic Christmas Adventure

If you like running holiday themed adventures, check out the FREE Harnic Christmas adventure.  It's a comfortable eight pages and no doubt it could easily be adapted to many Medieval Fantasy roleplaying settings.  See more here!

Bifurcated Snake

If you ever wondered how a Medieval Fantasy or Ancient setting might depict a hydra feasting on prey, check out this YouTube video showing a "Two Headed Snake feeding." You might also like to read up a bit on axial bifurcation on the Nerdy Science blog here!  Enjoy!

Bardic Tellings of Beowulf

If you want to get an idea of how some bards might handle the stroytelling of Beowulf, check out the videos below.  Enjoy!

Maharashtra Rock Sculptures

Dozens of ancient rock sculptures have recently been rediscovered in India and they date back 6 to 9 thousand years.  Read more here!

Underground Mayan Observatory

According to a recent National Geographic YouTube video, the Mayans had an underground observatory.  Enjoy!

Fantasy Coins

Tom Maringer is an artist and craftsman making fantasy coins, some for The Game of Thrones line.  Check out his work here and I'm sure you'll find it inspirational in your setting creation work!

Pipestones Transported

A new study of 2,000 year old pipestone artifacts found in Ohio in the early part of last century might be revealing something unexpected.  The items may have been transported from elsewhere rather than being locally produced as once thought because of similarities in the local stone to that of the stone used in their carving.  Something to keep in mind when adding artifacts to a tabletop roleplaying game setting as a possible red herring.  Read more here!

Underwater Landscape

There is an interesting and inspirational photo I was linked to see on InterestingPlaces.es, a site worth bookmarking for future foraging.  See more here!

Mysterious Places on the Sea

Over on lifeslittlemysteries.com is a neat pictorial called "Dark Waters: The Most Mysterious Places on the Seas."  You can add these places to many tabletop roleplaying campaigns.  See more here!

Frogs vs. Fungus

Some predators just lie around and wait.  Check out a Natural Geographic YouTube channel video showing how a few decades of fungus growth are wiping out a Central American frog population.  Watch!

Dinosaur Extinction Might Be Linked to Volcanoes

There is a theory that rather than meteors being responsible for the downfall of the dinosaurs, it may have been volcanoes that caused their extinction.  Something to contemplate as you flesh out the deep history of your own setting.  Read more here!

Statues from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos

There are some very cool statues from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos that are on display at the British Museum.  Original one of thirty-six colossals suspected to have been there, it has a fascinating history.  Read more here!

De Brazza's Monkeys

There is an interesting creatures known as the De Brazza's Monkey that lives in Africa.  It has a wise, introspective appearance which would lend itself well to anthropomorphism.  See more here!

 

Estalia - A Setting from Grobius Shortling

There is a rather interesting website created by someone named (or going by) Grobius Shortling who states that he has been creating related settings since the early Sixties.  Check this out for a bit of inspiration (and some lovely ideas for maps).  See more here!

Caño Cristales - The River of Five Colors

There is a fascinating location in Columbia, the river known as Caño Cristales which is also called The River of Five Colors.  Read more here!

Setting Songs

Have you ever written a song or even a poem for your tabletop roleplaying game setting?  Here's some inspiration for you.  Enjoy!

Solar System Comparisons

If you are doing a little setting creation and you want to get a handle on comparisons of bodies within our solar system, check out this handy chart here!

Barbados Threadsnake

There is a wiki entry that many tabletop RPG setting creators will find useful.  It is on the Barbados Threadsnake and details how this tiny creature can often go unnoticed.  Add some lethal venom and put this snake into a lock trap.  Read more here!

Angus McBride Tolkien Artwork

There are some amazing images over on Gandolf.com of Angus McBride's artwork highlighting some Tolkien scenes.  See more here!

Huge Croc

There was some good footage posted to YouTube last year (originally from 2007) showing an enormous crocodile from Australia.  Enjoy!

Retro-Fitting the Explanations

No one can ever create everything that is needed for any tabletop roleplaying setting, nor have reasons for everything that happens in the moment at the table or transpires behind the scenes.  In a Doctor Who episode not long back, the iconic noises of the Tardis were explained to great comic effect.  See how they handled a mystery three decades in the making.  Enjoy!

WWI Soldiers Found Preserved in Shelter

It was reported on telegraph.co.uk that "German soldiers [were] found entombed in a perfectly preserved World War One shelter."  This might be a scenario idea for a zombie apocalypse game.  Read more here!

Canadian Dinosaur

A new type of dinosaur called the Xenoceratops has recently been discovered in Canada.  Read more here!

Saxon Dining Hall in Kent

The Telegraph ( telegraph.co.uk ) has reported that a Saxon Dining Hall uncovered in Kent is bound to yield a great deal of interesting finds as more is explored.  Read more here!

Sinkholes

IScienceTimes.com has a new article on the phenomenon of sinkholes.  Read more here!

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!

Medieval Pumpkin Pie

Over on the kitchenproject.com is a History of Pumpkin Pie including recipes with Medieval roots.  Read more here!

Could Tardigrades be Vacuum Packed?

Earlier this year, on the scishow YouTube channel, they posted a video regarding the extremophile known as Tardigrades, AKA Waterbears or Moss Piglets, stating their amazing ability to exist in some of the most extreme environments on Earth.  They also discuss a NASA experiment where they survived in the vacuum of space for ten days.  Obviously, for tabletop game setting creators, these creatures represent, if scaled up, a great threat to adventurers which could make their home on nearly any plane.  See more here!

Ancient Mayan Tomb

One of the oldest Mayan tombs ever discovered, about 2,500 years old, has been reported as found by the BBC.  It includes a "necklace depicting a vulture-headed human figure."  Read more here!