In Jagat, the setting for Arrows of Indra, dice are a hugely important pass-time, and also of significance in ritual (as they were in epic India).
The “dice” of the Bharata lands (or of the historical India) are typically cowrie shells or knucklebones; though in some cities they use square (2 or 4-sided) sticks to the same effect. Cowrie shells were typically used in gaming and gambling, while knucklebones were used for the former but also had a powerful ritual significance; the bones (coming from dead creatures) were connected to Kali in her form as Nirrti (the utterly black manifestation of Kali who represents dissolution). Thus the knucklebones are a powerful oracular tool; used by shamans or priests alike, typically by rolling three knucklebones to get one of 64 combinations of possible fortunes.
Cowrie shells were usually rolled in groups of three or four; where the top (opening) part of the shell was “1″ and the bottom was “0″. However, rolling all 0s was usually given a double-top score (so that with four shells, rolling four 0s meant you had a result of 8; so that the possible results for the shells was 1, 2, 3, 4, or 8).
Just as Bharata citizens like to gamble on the kalari arena, and horse races, and almost anything else, they love to gamble on dice games. Most dice games involved the use of a board or track, where pieces must make a full circulation in order to win (in a game not unlike parchesi, ludo, or “Sorry”, with the chance of eating other pieces). But it is also common to have straightforward rolling-contests where after a number of tosses the higher roll wins.
(it should be noted that a dice game forms a crucial part of the Mahabharata, as the even that leads to the inevitability of the apocalyptic Kurukshetra War)
Did you know Genghis fucked up China, the Middle East and Russia forever? Did you know he changed the climate? Did you know he killed John Wayne? Did you know he caused the Dalai Lama?
Find out all the details, in my latest article! And if you liked it, please share it!
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In this week's adventure, the PCs met Bat Masterson for the first time!
He made quite an impression. They first ran into him when he got in a fight with the corpulent and corrupt Marshal Deger, restraining the marshal with his cane to help his buddy Bobby Gill make a run for it. Gill had been drunk and bad-mouthing Deger on the streets of Dodge, and when Deger waddled over to arrest him, Bat decided to intervene. This earned him a pistol-whipping from Wyatt Earp, an arrest, and a $25 fine. Bobby Gill only got a $5 fine.
Masterson decided right away he would team up with the political enemies of Deger, to take him out and make his own place in Dodge.
The PCs also met Cooter's Aunt Henry, who was in town to preach the bible, to sell moonshine, and to try to find Cooter a wife and herself a husband. Many hijinks ensued.
Finally, a group of gunmen came to Dodge, each charged with trying to kill Sheriff Bassett. They had been offered a reward on Bassett's head by a mysterious patron, but only if they killed him one-on-one in a fair gunfight. Bassett himself took down two of the shootists, Miller and Smith killed the Mexican named Sanchez, and one of the others was killed by his own partner. Finally, the last of the gunmen turned out to be Bassett's own friend, the retired sherriff of Hays City, who had been pretending to be in town to help Bassett out. Bassett very reluctantly killed him too.
They never did find out who was responsible for hiring the men, but they all had in common that they had participated in a massacre during a range war. Bassett was left wondering if they had been sent to kill him, or if the person who hired them really wanted Bassett to kill them (or for them to kill each other to eliminate competition for the prize).
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So, Hillary Clinton has just said that at least a quarter of the American people are a "Basket of Deplorables". Particularly Trump and his most stalwart supporters.
That's led to this:
Jesus Christ. Someone totally needs to make that movie!!
My first thought when I saw that meme was "They forgot Harambe!"
But then I realized: "No. They all got together to avenge his death."
This is the first election in ages, maybe in my lifetime, where the Right has been better at political humor than the Left. The left are so old and trapped in their ever-increasing list of Things You Can't Make Fun Of, and so joyless in their miserable worldview that... well, that they're going to lose.
And "The Deplorables" was Hillary Clinton's "47%" moment. Like Romney, she has lost the plot when she suggested that the masses are revolting. Unlike Romney, this crazy bitch actually intended for her contempt to be publicly shown. And even crazier: she said it literally the week before she claimed that the last thing we need is "name-calling" from a presidential candidate.
So, I know it's been coming for many months now, but as of this blog entry I'm making it official: the RPGPundit is endorsing Donald Trump for President.
Before you think "well that's no big deal, you're right-wing", don't fall into that trap. I'm a libertarian. I believe in free speech and personal freedoms first and foremost. And this year is the FIRST TIME ever, in my entire adult life, that I have supported a Republican candidate for president.
I backed (to my shame) Dukakis in 88, Clinton in 92 and 96, (very lukewarmly) Gore in 00, Kerry in 04, Obama in 08 and (very reluctantly) in '12.
The fact is, I was not some stalwart right-winger. Nor have I changed. It is the LEFT that has changed on me. They moved. They gave up that idea of personal freedom, of defending speech (even hateful speech). The democratic left was for much of my life the party that defended Enlightenment values of our civilization. In the last few years, they've turned into the party that despises those same Enlightenment values and despises our civilization.
The Right has changed too. There's still Theocons in the GOP, but they're a minority now, and have LOST the influence. Their guys failed. Most of the Right doesn't give a shit who you want to fuck. Everyone cheered when Donald Trump said he'd defend LGBT rights at the convention.
And if you think that Trump is the racist candidate, think again: the Trump GOP cheer whenever they hear that Latinos or Black voters are increasing support for Trump, something that's been happening with increasing frequency lately. But don't just take my word on all this:
Here's what Trump supporters think about LGBT rights:
(note the applause)
Here's how far it's moved:
Here's what Trump supporters think about black people voting for Trump:
And he makes a very good point: Trump has killed no black babies that I know of. Hillary was responsible for the death of thousands of black babies, in Haiti, when she allowed Haitian-Aid money to be redirected to her Big-Business pals in exchange for bribes.
Here's what they think of Latinos voting for Trump:
So, I hope you see what I did there.
So here's to The Deplorables: The black people, gay people, Latinos, Asians, freethinkers, Arabs, Christians, Jews Atheists or Wizards, women, transgenders, coal miners, truckers, farmers, internet trolls, gamers, geeks, sex workers, hicks & rednecks, anarchists, twinks, conspiracy-theorists, satirists, meme-designers, fly-fishers, bull-dykes, Methodists and all the other associated American scum that Hillary Clinton has such contempt for.
The ones who are going to give the election to Donald Trump.
The ones who are going to cheer when she finally goes to prison for everything she's done.
I'm with them.
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PS: I think that my DCC campaign group have just finally found a name for their party!
Hey all! I'm not exactly bereft of ideas when it comes to what to write next for my gig at Break.com, in fact I've got enough article concepts to last me at least the next six months or so.
But, I'm always open to suggestions. So, if you have any ideas for future articles, please feel free to let me know. Is there something you'd like me to write about, along the same lines of the articles I've done so far?
So, if you have a suggestion, something you'd like to see me write about, and it fits the weird/esoteric/macabre social/religious/historical/occult format of Break's Monday theme, let me know! Thanks.
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The following table, inspired by those found in many classic modules, details an example of rumours that might be heard in any large city in the Arrows of Indra setting; though I had it in mind for the area around Upaplavya, in the Matsya kingdom (a good relatively peaceful minor kingdom in which to start a campaign). Any of these rumours can serve as a potential adventure seed.
D20 Rumour/Adventure Seed 1 Krishna is raising a band of all sorts of warriors, holy men and adventurers to conquer Mathura and liberate it from his wicked uncle, Kansa. He gives no pay but promises great reward to those who join him. (T)
2 Four days south-west of Viratapuri, in the Desert of Thar, there can be found the ruined palace of a mighty Siddhi, his treasury of magic items was never found (Partly true- there is a ruin in that location but it is of a minor palace, now occupied by Rakshasa bandits)
3 The hills around the road into Kunti Kingdom are being haunted by great numbers of Aleya ghosts (partly true; there’s only a single Aleya in the area)
4 The armies of the Maghadan Empire are marching to invade the Matsya kingdom (false- for now)
5 Lord Baladeva of Tusari (a town one day’s ride from Upaplavya) is holding a great wedding banquet for his son, where there will be contests of archery, hunting, charioteering, and dueling, with prizes for the best warriors. (true)
6 The friendlier tribes of Bhil Barbarians south of Matsya have reported attacks from a pack of Sharabha, well outside of their typical terrain. They don’t know how the Sharabha got there, but suspect a nearby hostile tribe (true)
7 A young boy in the village of Kanharka has been blessed by Varuna, who sent a Water Deva to save him from an attack by lions. (partly true: the boy’s father made up the story as a scam, but now the boy’s life is in danger from unholy enemies of Varuna)
8 The powerful Rajpal Kichaka, commander of King Virata’s armies, is raising a great force to defend the kingdom against the threat of the Maghadan Empire (false)
9 A warband of Gandharvas from the Dwaita Jungle have come out of there to slay all of the inhabitants of a bordering village for some villagers’ trespass on their lands (false)
10 In a lake near Lampuwa village, a trio of Apsara celestial maidens have been seen; they are seeking a great hero of incredible beauty to take as a husband (partly true: they are in fact seeking Holy-aligned heroes to slay a dangerous Unholy Witch)
11 A wealthy Rakshasa siddhi has arrived from Mathura; he’s seeking unscrupulous men to form a raiding party to enter the Gandharva territory deep in the Dwaita jungle, to steal magic from them. (true)
12 Prince Uttar, King Virata’s son and heir seeks to hire bodyguards (false)
13 Agents of the Principality of Kusa are hiring almost anyone they can to join the Principality’s armies in the war against the Maghadan invaders (true)
14 A cave was recently uncovered in the hills east of Viratapuri that has an entryway to the Patala Underworld; King Virata seeks to personally buy any Patala Glowing Gems that brave adventurers might be able to bring back from the depths (true)
15 The great Siddhi Ramdasa of Upaplavya has discovered a way to travel to and from Mount Kailash instantaneously (false)
16 A band of cannibalistic barbarians have set up camp on the northern border of the Thar Desert, the local lords would reward whoever might remove them (true)
17 A great Yaksha sage has recently arrived in Upaplavya; he’s deeply lovesick for a human woman who would not return his affections, and has taken to drunkenness and brawling. (true)
18 The Pandavas have been organizing groups of brave adventurers to make incursions into the Khandava jungle, seeking to clear it of dangerous monsters, and offering rewards to any who bring back the heads of Nagas, Asuras, or other dangerous supernatural creatures (true)
19 King Kansa of Mathura is offering an astounding reward to any who can bring him the means to slay Krishna (true)
20 In the forest outside Badwari village a group of Vanara thieves have disguised themselves as ordinary monkeys; they’re hiding an enormous treasure (false)
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I've been telling y'all about how the Cordon, the neighborhood I live in, has become a kind of hipster-haven of Montevideo. In years past, it was a very quiet central neighborhood of the city, where everyone's grandma lived. But starting about two years ago it's just exploded into a place full of new hipster madness.A couple of years before that, it had attracted a number of stores for design and office furniture. And long ago, I mean like 70 years ago, it was a fancy suburb (which seems crazy because now it's right in the heart of the city, but that shows how much Montevideo has expanded over the years).
Here's a taller apartment building in the Cordon. These are less common here than in some of the neighborhoods around it, but just recently a few new ones are in the process of construction as more people want to move down here.
Here's a quirky street bench, courtesy of an office supply store that's just off-camera.
Not every new place opening up in hipster-Cordon is good. This is a homeopathy store, for example, selling snake-oil to imbeciles. It's called "elfos", because homeopathy in Uruguay is tied up with new-age stuff in general, they probably sell crystals for 'healing' in there too, and organic snacks or some other shit.
But, but, check out the red building beside and above it! Isn't it beautiful? I especially like the roof area with the covered place to have a parilla (BBQ) on the rooftop. The Abbey too has a rooftop parilla, though mine isn't covered.
Finally, here's a recently opened bar a block from my house. I swear there's a new bar, restaurant, or cafe opening up in the Cordon once a week! This one is apparently a very popular nightclub with the young people, and it's called "ThePutaMadre Bar". "Puta madre" is hard to translate, but roughly speaking it's the "Your Mother is a Whore/slut Bar". But "putamadre" is also something you say down here the way we'd say "god-dammit". It's an extremely versatile word.
Anyways, stay tuned for more, later!
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