Do Something Scary...

Ok, so we all need to get out of our comfort zone, out of our box occasionally...

Like a lot of us - I'm an introvert - painfully so, sometimes.  And it does get in the way of my personal and professional communication.

I needed to try something to break some patterns, to pick up a few tools.  To scare myself a bit.

So, a voiceover class...

There are about 20 of us in a room - sometimes with pre-prepared scripts, sometimes cold-reading. We read to the group - a disparate mix of students, actors, salespeople, a construction worker, a couple of engineers, a couple of homemakers, under the tutelage of our instructor.  We are about halfway through the seasons - essentially a survey of the various applications of voiceover - ads, dramatic, cartoon, narrative, gaming, etc.

So how does the concept of standing in a recording booth, reading a script off a stand, apply to the real world?  Well - I (we) get coached to slow down, relax, convert nervousness to energy. Make any script our own by interposing our personality and interpretation. All applicable to face-to-face communication, as well, I suppose...

I'm not sure if anything will come out of it, but I definitely feel a spike in energy throughout the class and afterward.

And for your entertainment, some behind-the-scenes of Antonio Banderas voicing Shrek's Puss In Boots....

So, anyway - remember to step out of the comfort zone occasionally.

That said, I realize this is my 200th post - throwing my little ideas out into the aether... Hopefully a few of those ideas have found homes on other's tables...  Enjoy.

Legendary weapons - July 2015 RPG Blog Carnival

Scott at Of Dice and Dragons is hosting this month's RPG Blog Carnival, with the subject of 'Legendary Weapons.'

Initially, I reblogged an old post on "Catholic +1 swords" - several historic or semihistoric weapons of kings and warriors that are hallowed relics for their association with alleged deeds. However, I also wanted to contribute something original, so will now commence to wandering about in another thought experiment....

Serendipitously, Talysman recently also discussed the creation of legendary weapons. These are not weapons enchanted by arcane or divine magics, but by powers gained through great, or perhaps infamous, deeds. He outlined a few criteria for the weapons, both mundane and esoteric, to make the weapon grow in power and capability as it was wielded.

Thought experiment time - three fates of the same weapon as it absorbs powers en route to becoming legendary...

Our weapon - a simple, but well-crafted, longsword, its grip wrapped in pebbly ostrich hide, a massive gold nugget capping the pommel, adding value, the dense metal giving the sword a well-balanced heft.

Found on Youtube

A pair of dragons fend off knights bent on rescuing the princess...

Geomorph Map Contest, Traps!

Skipped a few weeks of Joe Wetzel's weekly Geomorph Contest, so, as per usual, a couple of dodgy, last-minute entries...

Trap 1: Kobold's Paradise:  A series or corridors built out by a troupe of kobolds with a penchant for the classics.  All in one area... Explorers will trip a portcullis (P), blocking retreat.  A stone ball (S) will tumble down a narrow corridor, squashing any who fail to dodge into a side-tunnel.  A pair of well-hewn corridors lead to a lovely tapestry, marred by several holes.  Those, of course made by a pair of crossbow traps (C).  On the other side, a stone block (B) will fall, both blocking retreat and perhaps crushing a straggler... Those exploring farther may be trapped under a weighted net covered in bells (N), notifying allied gnolls that fresh slaves have been delivered.  And finally, a trapdoor will open to engulf the first 1-2 in the marching order, its hatch snapping shut, the fate of the trapped unknown....

Trap 2: Explorers entering a large hall from any of the four doors will find a smooth stone floor. Hung from the arched roof is a naked girl in a cage, calling, "Please sirs, before the ogre returns and eats me!"
The 'girl' is actually an aged naga, her true form hidden in illusion.  Upon stepping below her cage, a pair of massive springs release, hurling a stone block against the far war.  Perhaps a sharp-eyed explorer, less-distracted by the apparent damsel in distress will have noticed the stained wall and floor.
After the sprung trap is re-set, the naga descends from her cage to consume pulped adventurers (her teeth long gone) and pick through the detritus for a few valuables...

RPG Blog Carnival, June 2015 - "Summerland"

Happy summer solstice (slightly tardy, I know).

Phil at Tales of a GM has been kind enough to host this month's RPG Blog Carnival, and offered up 'Summerland' as a theme, whether imagining a Plane of Summer, activities of the season, festivals, or the solstice.

I didn't really plan to do an entry, but as the sun goes down at 9:15 PM here in the Northwest, strangely enough, I ponder that the days are cycling shorter once again, to those eventual dark days of winter....

And perhaps brief meditation on a population who may not welcome the long days....

Vampires and other denizens of the night gather to celebrate the shortest night of the year - the so-called Night of Hunger, where few emerge to feed, especially in the Northlands, where the nights are a mere pause between the crushing long days...

As the sun finally falls on the solstice, the night-walkers emerge, furtively, to gather at certain places of dark power. Carrying valuable vials of clerics' blood and other desecrated holy relics, they gather around black flames, feeding their offerings to the night, so that it may, once again, grow stronger, giving them the time and strength to prey on those weaklings who need the light...

source

The ceremony is brief, by necessity, for the burning light will return soon.  Best not tarry long...