In this video, Neal Litherland talks about the cost of attending conventions as a creator, why very few people make any money doing so and why you do it anyway.
Greeble Hunt: Paper Shredder
In this video, I dismantle a broken paper shredder, in my eighth dismantling of items looking for greebles and other parts that might be usable in scratchbuilding.
D10: Numenera Rumours – Creatures: Destiny I
Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has ten rumours for that setting. The rumours, which are similar to the Hearsay that can be found in the official books, can be used as adventure hooks or as simple misinformation.
- A nano has been seeking help with a dread excavator that is currently disassembled. Those who have heard about the nano believe they are insane to even think of messing with the things, but the nano apparently found something in a numenera ruin that they believe can be used to control the machines.
- A newly-constructed building is considered to be cursed, as a number of those who have used it have disappeared, never to be found again. Unknown to most, the builder made a deal with a conundary, promising that the creature would have prey to feed on if it helped in the building’s construction.
- A settlement is being plagued by at least two balithaurs, who seem to be acting in a manner that is even more disruptive than usual. If the matter is investigated, the balithaurs can be seen wearing what appear to be, and are, numenera devices; they are under the control of someone who is trying to deliberately cause harm to the settlement.
- An inventor is looking for people to capture babirasa for them, as the individual believes that they can make use of the natural electricity generated by the creatures as a source of power. A reward is only being offered for live and unharmed specimens, not injured or dead ones.
- Anhedrons are known to be searching for something they call the Meeting of All Things, and it’s said that a number of recently encountered anhedrons have been seeking out a specific person. Unfortunately for the anhedrons, they do not seem to know what that person’s name is. It’s thought that this individual might know something about the Meeting of All Things, which is why they are being sought out.
- Choanids are hill-sized creatures that are constantly secreting toxins. Recently, a community has been afflicted by sickness that has been determined as being like that caused by a choanid, yet none can be discovered in the area. Someone has successfully managed to use a numenera to effectively bottle choanid toxin and is releasing it in the settlement.
- Cuiddits are levitating spheres that follow beings around until destroyed or driven away; they can sometimes be helpful but also sometimes harmful. Recently, explorers of a numenera ruin seem to have disturbed a cache of these beings which are now roaming the surrounding countryside causing random damage.
- Cynoclepts are usually found alone, but recently the surrounding area has been troubled by a number of the creatures preying on cyphers and amber crystal, and raiding those who own such. The cynoclepts are proving to be a serious problem, and they appear to be originating in a nearby ruin.
- Esculants are known to not always try to eat living creatures they encounter, only to follow them. Someone is paying money for details of these happenings, such as how long the creatures followed and where they stopped. It’s said that the employer believes that there is a hidden motive behind the creatures’ actions.
- It’s rumoured that there is an entire community consisting just of flesh ghosts in Beyond, where they live and work as if they were the people they originally were. It’s also rumoured that those who travel to this community may not always return, as the flesh ghosts are harvesting them for parts.
Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.
100 Shrines for a Fantasy Setting, 100 Encounters for the Fantasy Taiga (Black Spear) and 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Emerald City V Now Available
100 Shrines for a Fantasy Setting, 100 Encounters for the Fantasy Taiga (Black Spear) and 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Emerald City V are now available to buy from DriveThruRPG.
Shrines can be discovered in various locations and 100 Shrines for a Fantasy Setting has 100 such to find. They can range from parts of larger structures to places in their own right.
Taiga is cold, lowland and sometimes forested terrain closer to the pole and 100 Encounters for the Fantasy Taiga (Black Spear) has 100 encounters for such that can be used to enliven a journey.
When asking around for information, characters may hear rumours, and 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Emerald City V has 100 such related to Seattle in the Shadowrun setting. They can be used as background colour, misinformation and adventure hooks.
Tactical Plastic Report, Episode 11: Religions in Army Men
In this video, Neal Litherland talks about religion in Army Men’s setting.
Stages of Drawing Map – City 4
A brief video showing the stages of drawing Map – City 4.
What the Mountains Hold
What the Mountains Hold is a piece of fiction from Settlements of the Dragonsbreath Mountains, one of the supplements for Cities of Sundara.
The burly, onyx-scaled lizardfolk took a deep breath of the hot, gritty air, his crimson crest and frills extending as he savored the sensation as one would a fine tobacco. The boom of a volcano erupting in the distance added another dimension to the simple pleasure. Gnav smiled as he exhaled.
He didn’t need to look behind him to know that his charges were averting their gazes and shifting their feet. The sudden, sweet inflection of their scents was as good as them telling their Cinderscale guide that they were uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because of him. How could he pause to enjoy a place that was the spitting image of the hells portrayed in the holy books of so many faiths?
The three men wouldn’t say anything, though. They were laborers from the town of Osmen Slough, a once-prosperous mining settlement that was now steadily buckling from senescence and stagnation ever since the ore dried up. Age had already etched its first lines on the men’s faces, put bags under their eyes and shortened their breaths. They had left Osmen Slough in search of better prospects before they were no longer able to.
And right now, Gnav of the Razor Skulls was the key to those better prospects. He continued on the rough defile that cut between two jagged mountains, and he didn’t look back. The crunch of boots on gravel told him that his charges were keeping up. The jaunty pattern of their steps told him that they were desperately eager to be done with the journey. Eager to see whether all of the talk about Ironfire was fire or merely smoke.
Since slaying the red dragon Arvothaxx, most of Gnav’s jobs had consisted of escorting travelers to and from the City of Steel. The travelers felt protected, if not at ease, in the presence of a dragonslayer. That suited Gnav just fine. It meant quiet journeys with few questions and plenty of time to enjoy the ambiance, especially on this journey.
Gnav and his charges had already been on the road for two days, and they would be on the road for at least three more. The Razor Skull had had to cross through the heart of the Dragonsbreath Mountains to meet the laborers, of whom he had received word from a relative of theirs living in Ironfire. Even for a seasoned native like Gnav, the journey had not been easy, and he took petty pleasure in the fact that they would have to go back through the heart of the mountains. Home sweet home to him. Volatile hellscape to them.
The laborers’ breathing was getting ragged, and the day was barely half over, but Gnav didn’t slow down. He knew that he was doing them and Ironfire a service. If they couldn’t handle the heat, rock and smoke now, they would never make it in the city. And Gnav knew just the place to test his charges’ tolerance for heat, rock, and smoke…
The laborers shared a drink from a shriveled waterskin. Gnav quickened his pace. Lava rumbled off in the distance.
About an hour later, the defile yielded to a towering volcano. Gnav and his charges were like insects before it. The rumbling lava had grown louder, too. The laborers gasped with nervous awe and sweat sweetened their scent. Gnav smiled, a gesture that was partly mischievous and partly predatory.
“Rest soon,” the Razor Skull rasped.
The laborers gulped and nodded. Gnav knew that they were trying to convince themselves that this, whatever this was, was still better than Osmen Slough. For their sake, Gnav hoped that they were successful.
He led his charges around the volcano, and as they passed into its lee, the laborers’ eyes widened as a lake of lava came into view. In loose crescents radiating from the banks of the bright lake stood clusters of buildings of black rock with scaly, red roofs, roads winding between them. A foreboding cavern loomed at the back of the town, due south from where Gnav and his charges stood. The Cinderscale paused to take another deep breath, savoring it more than the last now that the air was more heat than grit.
“Are we there?” one of the laborers dared to ask. “Have we reached Ironfire?”
Gnav chuckled, a throaty, entirely inhuman noise. “No.” He looked back at his charges. They were standing closer together and gripping their hiking staves tightly. Their faces, clothes and hands were smudged with dirt. “This is Desire’s Fall,” Gnav said, “We will rest here and restock our rations before continuing on to Fireheart. After that, we will go to Thousand Step Gorge, and then we will be at Ironfire.”
One of the laborers frowned. “Why so many stops? Wouldn’t it be better to go through the mountains as quickly as possible?”
“These mountains are dangerous. We must meet them on their terms,” Gnav replied matter-of-factly. “That means that when they offer us one of the treasures they hold, we graciously accept.”
“So why is it called Desire’s Fall, then?” another of the laborers asked.
Gnav smiled. “You’ll have to follow me if you want to find out…”
What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for Cyberpunk Businessfolk, 100 Magical Experiments to Find (5E), 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Impossible Lands V and Map – City 4
What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for Cyberpunk Businessfolk, 100 Magical Experiments to Find (5E) and Map – City 4 are now available on DriveThruRPG and 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Impossible Lands V is available on Pathfinder Infinite.
Defeated enemies have pockets, and What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for Cyberpunk Businessfolk has 100 items that could be found in the pockets, or other location, of a cyberpunk business type. They range from junk through odd to having use.
Mages and wizards can perform magical experiments and 100 Magical Experiments to Find (5E) has 100 such for labs and towers. They range from the odd to the dangerous. This is a conversion of the original supplement to 5th Edition.
Characters may come across rumours when asking around and 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Impossible Lands V has 100 such for them to hear. They can be used as adventure hooks, misinformation or background colour.
Map – City 4 is a hand drawn map of a city at 300dpi resolution in eight versions that can be used for personal and commercial use.
Releasing in November 2025
November 1st
- 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Impossible Lands V
- 100 Magical Experiments to Find (5E)
- Map – City 4
- What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for Cyberpunk Businessfolk
November 8th
- 100 Encounters for the Fantasy Taiga (Black Spear)
- 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Emerald City V
- 100 Shrines for a Fantasy Setting
November 15th
- 100 Encounters for a War-Torn Land (PFRPG)
- 100 NPCs To Meet On The Docks
- 100 Snow and Ice Encounters (SWADE)
November 22nd
- 100 Edeinos for the Living Land
- 100 Traits for Modern NPCs
- Boots On The Ground (Army Men)
November 29th
- 100 Hooks and Rumours for Fading Suns: Lost Worlds II
- 100 Planetary Industries
- Filler Art – Golem Door
- Locales of Sundara: Stone Pole Tattoos
Neal Litherland Reads “Ashes and Dust: A Changeling The Lost Story” from Like A Good Neighbor – Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle
In this video, Neal Litherland reads the fiction “Ashes and Dust: A Changeling The Lost Story” from Like A Good Neighbor – Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle.