Author: David Schwarm

  • Banana Milk

    Recap

    This week at Alakazam Comics in Irvine, CA, the Game show continues the slaughter of an evil undead dwarven cult in the Crypt of Talhund. We meet a gnome in a crypt studying Daumathoin, battle some skeletons with gems in their chests, and slaughter some revenants. It’s another battle-heavy week in search of shards!

    Summary

    Constructed beneath Talhundereth, the Crypt of the Talhund was where priests of Dumathoin (known as the Talhund) were laid to rest. The mind flayers who attacked Talhundereth long ago also plundered the crypt, and the psychic stain they left on this sacred place persists to this day.

    Treasure

    I am reading a great book of Slavic mythology

    excellent dice all the way around the table.

    DM Louis just killing it with his new One Ring dice tray!

    DM Louis has an evil skull ring which I feel all DM’s should have.

    Milk

    This week we had banana milk, which is more like juice or left over horchata, but Glen did try to chug it.

    Garner’s Weekly Challenge

    Did we assault the skeletons?

    Travel updates

    Brian was in Washington DC

  • Ace of swords

    This week we are guided by the Ace of Swords

    The image of the sword piercing the crown represents your awakening mind and your realization challenges need to be faced. It’s now easier to think and see things clearly. You might want to find somewhere to vent and need someone to talk to. If you can’t immediately find someone you trust enough, you might be tempted to put your feelings into writing, perhaps in an internet forum.

    The card suggests a breeze wafting through the trees, rattling the eaves as it passes through. It indicates a new idea, a new concept providing that refreshing aha! moment. It shows a time of new ideals and sheds light on a new way of doing things. The sword is lifted and you are eager to test it and see how sharp its edge really is.

    The Ace of Swords is, like all of the Aces, the purest embodiment of its suit. It symbolizes breakthroughs and mental clarity. In relation to your personality or the action you take, it implies a strong element of focus, determination, and an intellectual capacity. It may suggest change through conquering internal forces, leading to new beginnings.

  • Frogs

    • Anti nuts brownie
    • Anti raison cookie people
    • A Shayna Maidel
    • Chocolate cake breakfast
    • Gatorade water
    • Harry Potter
    • I work with kids
    • Jewish play
    • Jim – Gold & Turquoise.
    • Keith
    • Kevin’s kid Dune, Part 1 hatred
    • Kristi job offer
    • LotR
    • Lydia in South Carolina
    • No travel
    • Pickle ball
    • Raisin cocoanut breakfast cookie
    • Rudy has coffee commitment
    • Russ hip surgery2:30
    • Russ is an exception
    • Russ stress
    • Sponsor @ Men
    • Sponsor question
    • Stop Drinking
    • T-hom playlist
    • Tina @ convention
    • Titanic
    • Vince / Greg Iggy Pop
    • Vision board
    • Work book
    • Work theme
  • Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Ohler, Shaun Whiteside (Translator), Stefan Rudnicki (Narrator)

    Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi GermanyBlitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Ohler
    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    A fantastic book about drugs during World War Two within the Nazi leadership–excellent information, significant research, and fantastic writing. I stumbled into this book from a notebook blog by the author, Ohler, who wrote during raves (which I think is fantastic). It is strongly recommended for history fans, drug researchers, and fans of weird history.

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  • Vestigial Wings

    Recap

    This week at Alakazam Comics in Irvine, CA, the Game show continues the slaughter of an evil drow cult. The Henlifel brothers and our skeleton horde is slain by a giant fireball while we rest and combat ensues.

    Characters

    Brian – Calypso – Fairy Druid/Barbarian
    Cody – Zachtos the Wizard/Cleric
    David – Garner – Gnome Bard (lexicographer and logographer)
    Dylan – Ramen the Wizard
    Glenn – Tiefling Warlock
    John –
    Michael –
    Richard –

    Not there

    Louis – Bugbear Assassin
    Henry – Elf scum
    Mike – Half-Orc Stork Paladin
    Taylor – Mushroom Fighter riding an Owl Bear

    Summary

    Since that attack, various bandits and monsters have squatted in the abandoned temple. Sometime after the mind flayers’ reign, aspiring lore-seekers brought one piece of the shattered obelisk into Talhundereth’s chapel and another into its crypt, hoping that studying the pieces in close proximity might reveal more about the obelisk’s previous powers. That group was twisted by the psychic magic resonating in the crypt. The lore-seekers lost all interest in scholarship and abandoned the fragments.

    Cult of the Obelisk

    The most recent faction to enter Talhundereth is a gang that calls itself the Cult of the Obelisk. These cultists were drawn to the broken obelisk, responding to a psychic call to serve a greater force. Once Humanoids—such as humans, dwarves, and elves—the cultists embraced the power of the Far Realm and transformed into Humanoid mutates. They believe the obelisk provides them a conduit to an entity from the Far Realm.

    A malevolent Aberration called an encephalon cluster never leaves the obelisk’s side. The encephalon cluster occasionally gouts bizarre offspring called gemmules, which the cult members view as progeny of the alien intelligence they worship (and which they treat like vicious pets).

    The cultists capture any unsuspecting individuals they find in Talhundereth and feed them to the encephalon cluster as sacrifices to their strange god—if the gemmules don’t eat the captives first.

    The Cult of the Obelisk is led by Ontharyx Henlifel. Ontharyx abandoned his family to follow the malign whispers that led him to the obelisk. Ontharyx‘s sons have come with a few retainers to see whether they can talk some sense into their father. These drow are in Talhundereth’s reading room (area T14) and might parlay with the characters.

  • A Preference for the Chant of Frogs

    Warmer. Rain in the night. Frogs again. At first the waterhole (four feet long at most) had one frog or two. Now they are a small nation, loud in the night. The innocent nation, changing blissfully in praise of the spring rain. Last evening, I pruned a few little trees–including the beeches I had planted.
    Today I have to go down to see Fr. Vernon Robertson, who evidently7 wants me to get involved in something–and I will try to to. He has been pestering me to come to Louisville to five a talk at Bellarmine College. And this is confirming me in my resolution to keep out of all that.
    Almost every day I have to write a letter to someone refusing an invitation to attend a conference, or a workshop, or to give talks on the contemplative life, or poetry, etc. I can see more and more clearly how for me this would be a sheer waste, a Pascalian diversion, participation in a a common delusion. (For others, no; they have the grace and mission to go around talking.) For me what matters is silence, meditation–and writing; but writing is secondary. To willingly and deliberately abandon this to go out and talk would be stupidity–for me. And for others, retirement into my kind of solitude would be equally stupid. They could not do it–and I could not do what they do.
    March 16, 1968,VII.68

  • The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han

    The Burnout SocietyThe Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han
    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    epic. so epic.

    The idea that control has been replaced by achievement is just gold. This is a must read for just about everyone alive. I have no idea if this is taken seriously in the academy, but I found it like profound and an invitation for further study.

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  • The Future by Naomi Alderman

    The FutureThe Future by Naomi Alderman
    My rating: 3 of 5 stars

    I enjoyed this book–a fun, simple SF romp. The characters are not great, and the plot is plodding sometimes, but the complexity and cultish underpinnings compensate. There is also some good apocalypse thinking that is fun these days.

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