Giant Friday - 4/4!

I did it!  I promised a post every Friday for the next four weeks and here it is - post four of four!

It's been a lot of fun to expand on the ideas that I had, regarding the creation of my own little world for D&D.  I wanted to build it from the roots, so it's been great to begin from the birth of the world, and throw down some ideas of how it would progress and develop.

So here we go!  Part four of four!  Here are the two bad guys of the Giant Realm.  They worked alongside the other nine in the beginning, all with the same goal of creating a world of balance.  Towards the end of the Age of Creation, these two giants became bent on not just maintaining the world, but taking more of it for themselves than they should.  They created monsters and brought up creatures from the depths that we not made to see the light of day.  They tried to carve out a bigger territory than any other Giant, but were quickly quashed by the other nine.  They have fought ever since - mostly the nine keeping an eye (and frequently a strong hand) on the activities of them; making sure they are kept in control.  Kept balanced.

Let's go!

The Fire Giant, Drathkus.

Habitat:
Volcano ranges and deep cracks in the world's crust.

Weapon:
Fire Gauntlets (double the regular damage from gauntlets, plus fire damage); fire breath (AoE cone); Summon (fire) elemental (once per encounter).

Familiar:
The Giant Ember Lizard, Akthor.  Unable to breathe fire like dragons, this lizard radiates heat constantly, and can fan that into a full flame when necessary.  It usually settles down into a single blade of fire spanning most of the length of its body, down the spine.

Appearance:
Black skin, darkened by the ages of his proximity to fire and flame; he has glowing dark eyes and dull red tattoos across his back and down his arms - glowing red as he summons spells.  Short hair and beard.  Dressed in dark red dragon hide.

Temperament:
Angry.  Doesn't talk much, other than to tell any intruders to get out of his territory.

Alliances:
The Giant of the Depths, Fextheus,

Enemies:
All other Giants.

The Giant of the Depths, Fextheus.

Habitat:
Underground, deep in the caverns and creases of the world.

Weapon:
The Morningstar, Drokbrog (twice the normal damage of a Morningstar); Magma spray (AoE cone); Smoke Shroud (akin to the Cloud Shroud of Arekaros); summon (rock and lava) elemental (once per encounter).

Familiar:
The Obsidian Dragon, Kavras the Chosen.  With incredible intelligence and a viciousness to match, Kavras loyally follows Fextheus to the ends of the world.  While angry, Kavras knows he is under the command of Fextheus, having fought at length when they first met, only to be defeated after weeks of one-on-one battle.  At the conclusion of the encounter, Fextheus realised he would never find a creature more worthy of his own longevity and bestowed that gift upon Kavras; that they could learn from each other and grow together as a formidable team.

Appearance:
Fextheus' skin has grown dark with the exposure to the dirt under the world, and hardened after countless ages of forcing his way through the cracks in the world's crust, as he moves the inner part of the world around to keep it in motion and to keep the seasons changing.  He doesn't feel any effect of Kavras' rough, cutting scales, since he has dug deep through ancient obsidian and carved his way through the bedrock and foundations of the world since the dawn of time.
His hair is shaved off and his beard is trimmed to a point on the chin; his eyes glow red, and orange glistens up and down the tattoos on his arms as a mirror would reflect lapping flames.
Only the toughest dragon hides make his clothes; nothing else can withstand the heat, let alone the rocky, jagged environments they are introduced to.

Temperament:
Full of rage that is only quenched by hard labour or destructive battle; Fextheus cannot stay still.  A tormented soul, he tirelessly works through endless nights to maintain the movement within the depths of the world.  Although he can stop for a time, months without this labour can pass as hours for the ageless Giant.
Bonded to the core of the world, Fextheus is doomed to stay in motion for the entire duration of his - and the worlds - existence.

Alliances:
A darker spirit then the other ten Giants, Fextheus will entertain the company of The Fire Giant, Drathkus.  Although they go to the meeting of the Giants every century, this is all he can stand of the other Giants, since all they do is try to control what he does.

Enemies:
He does not care to spend any more time than necessary with anyone but Kavras, unless it's surrounded by countless others in the heat of battle... And he doesn't much care for who's side he's on.


HUZZAH!  It is done.  Four of four!

I've had a really great time doing all of this.  Granted, the drawings got quicker and looser as the project went on, but the writing developed a little more (Fextheus was the last one I wrote up, compared to either of the two giants I wrote about four weeks ago!) in its place.  Which I don't mind all that much, since I enjoy that, too.

Anyway.  I'm off.  I've got some more writing to do...

Peace.

Giant Friday - 3/4.

Four down, seven to go, four spaces left.  Let's fight.

I've been padding out the lore of the giants in the world; giving them the purpose of world builders and describing what they did at the beginning of time.  It's been really fun.  I'm going to write some more about it and develop it all further; and make up at least one story arch for each one regarding campaigns in my world.

Some of the campaigns will center around tracking down the giants for information, some will be created and requested by the giants themselves; once the characters reach a decent level.  These are immortal monsters, after all.  Not just anyone can do what they ask.

Without further ado, two more giants!

The Forest Giant, Glemziar.

Habitat:
Deep woodlands.  Lives in lean-to's made from large trees strung together with thick vines across a small stretch of forest canopy.

Weapon:
Gauntlets, "The Twins of the Forest" and two "daggers" (deal the same damage as short swords (1D6 piercing)); Leaf Shroud (creates a flurry of leaves that obscure him - much like the Shroud Cloud that Arekaros can create); summon (plant) elemental (once per encounter).

Familiar:
The Dire Bear, Dathkor.  Mirroring Glemziar's close-combat style and heavy-handed approach to problems, Drathkor is all business.  Heavy-set and scarred from a life full of running through the heavy forest and fighting some of the biggest enemies the world has seen, Glemziar and Dathkor make one of the most formidable close-quarters fighting units in the Giant kingdom.

Appearance:
Olive skin and dark brown hair and beard and dark green eyes; three braids of hair at the side of his head (two on one side and one on the other); adorned with giant beads and bones.  Beard is braided at the chin and similarly decorated.  Green tattoos across his chest and shoulders glow when he's in combat.

Temperament:
Although extremely formidable as an enemy, he is very friendly.  He loves to hunt and is extremely agile.  If a task requires him to be active, he'll favour that over some more important, less laborious tasks.

Alliances:
Very strong bond with Ents and other Treefolk; solid rapport with large beasts of the forests; he can influence several large animal species to the point of outright control and numerous small species to deliver messages, block paths, or attack if necessary.
He aligns himself with the works of The Cave Giant, Huth'kah, The Stone Giant, Takver, The Earth Giant, Zaxlor, The Hill Giant, Mak'hep.  He also shares company with The Ice Giant, U'thuzza, and The Wind Giant, Arekaros.

Enemies:
Very protective of what he has created, he doesn't abide the presence of anything that would harm his home.  Whether that would be flooding or burning.  The Lake Giant, Laznir, the Sea Giant, Vosor, The Fire Giant, Drathkus, and The Giant of the Depths, Fextheus are not welcome to the heart of the forest.

The Lake Giant, Laznir.

Habitat:
Lakeside; usually building structures that extend out a short distance into the lakes, and frequently semi-submerged.

Weapon:
The Trident, Crodius (deals twice the damage of a normal trident, and a large net.

Familiar:
The Dire Toad, Nexmir.  Although Laznir is usually found by the side of a lake, there are times when he goes out in search of new dwelling places.  Because of this, his familiar cannot be completely attached to an aquatic environment, but can still thrive in one.  Adorned with spines, Nexmir has natural armour, and attacking him with a melee attack requires a DEX check so as to avoid the spines.

Appearance:
With dreaded hair and a shorter beard, Laznir avoids metal and fur when he can, since they rust and get soggy, respectfully.  He dresses in dragon hide, since it provides the heat retention and waterproof qualities that Laznir requires for living on and in lakes.

Temperament:
Very dependent on the season; through the wet season, he is content and welcoming, but through the drier seasons, if he is unable to move across the world to an area with heavier rains, he gets very protective of his territory.

Alliances:
The Sea Giant, Vosor, as well as The Hill Giant, Mak'hep, The Earth Giant, Zaxlor, and The Forest Giant, Glemziar.  They share trade with one another and usually hold similar ideals; they are more closely involved with the creatures of the world than the other Giants, since they inhabit areas much richer in wildlife than others.

Enemies:
Does not get along with The Lava Giant, Drathkus, and doesn't usually cross paths with The Cave Giant, Huth'kah, The Wind Giant, Arekaros, The Ice Giant, U'thuzza, The Stone Giant, Takver, or The Giant of the Depths, Fextheus.


That's it for this Giant Friday!  Thanks for stopping by.

Next week is the last planned post for Giant Friday, and I'll be writing up the details of the "bad guy" Giants - Drathkus and Fextheus.  Not originally bad, but I'm still deciding on how they became that way.

I've also got the second part of Magic Monday in process.  It's probably going to hit either the second Monday of the month or the first of next and I'll just make the whole series a 1/2-part-at-a-time kind of thing.  I think it'll be better that way, to be honest - that way I'm not spamming the blog with huge long posts full of cards...  I'll be spamming this blog with shorter posts full of cards...

Peace.

Magic Monday! Episode 1, part 1.

I've been playing Magic: The Gathering for about four and a half years.  I was introduced to the game as a concept (and the players as a stereotype) back in university, where (as you can see through my old post history) I studied for my Masters in Games Design.

Now as a concept seems straightforward - I heard about the game, knew it was a game, etc.  Nothing more, for me, was attached to that idea.  It's a nerdy game for nerds.

As a stereotype player, that image was not one of the unwashed masses, but of those who could more readily suspend their disbelief - a key part of getting passionate about games like this.

Now as time has gone on, I am far more at home with being a nerd.  I'm fine with talking about stats and characters and all of that (still way out of touch with MtG lore).  The reason is fairly easy.  Friends of mine who are not nerds - indeed; friends who are closer to jocks, for a more American comparison - can talk at length about the reason they pick a particular player for their NFL fantasy league draft.  And no-one really says much about it.  But let me tell you why a particular Hydra works well in a Green/Red deck - or why Neheb, the Eternal would make a sound Commander deck choice - then there's an ineffable stigma attached that leaves somewhat of a sour taste in the mouth.  As if I could be doing something better with my time.

Anyway.  I'm a nerd and that's ok.

What I want to do with this series is just introduce and catalogue my decks here, one a month, and talk about why I have the cards I do.  I have passed through the new player phase of wanting to put everything in every deck, and I've whittled my decks down to as close to 60 cards in every deck.

Some decks are exempt from this limitation, but it's not because I want as much a possible in them, but I have crafted them for fun and function; not just strictly performance.

For the sake of space, I'm going to work through the deck grouping the cost of cards together, and for the sake of time, both reading through this and typing it all up, I'm going to have this split into two parts.  At least for this episode.  This post is going to be looking at the Artifacts, Instants, Sorceries, and Enchantments in the deck.  The next post will consist of the Minotaurs themselves and I'll go through them in the same way I've gone through these ones.

So here we go:

This deck is Red/Black; so I run with 14 red and 13 black lands.

For two-cost artifacts, I run one Throne of the God-Pharaoh and two Prowler's Helms.  If I'm attacking as much as I can, I want to see some benefits - taking life from the opponent and/or their creatures with these cards is nice.

Three-cost artifacts next - one of each.  My two-costs give me some pros to attacking, and my three-cost give me some boosts for playing red and black spells period.  Take life from them, give life to me, etc.

Non-creature, non-artifacts.  One-cost.  I run with two Viper's Kiss, Two Muggings, and one of each of Riot Spikes and Furious Resistance.  Easy boosts to plays that I can pop on with no real worry of not having the mana to spend on them.

My only two-cost; Lightning Strike.  And I go with two of these.  Cheap damage to the opposition.

My three-cost; boosting already-enchanted creatures - particularly good if there's a general "Enchant Creatures" card in play, since the means all of the creatures down will benefit from this one card.

Four-cost, and one that I am still wrestling with when it comes to actually keeping in the deck.  I have a few copies of the cards I really don't want to lose, so this card is only focused on one or two cards that I'd want back.  So It would sit in my hand for a long time before I'd really need to use it.  Which isn't all too good in the long run.  One in the deck.

Five-costs:  Shadow Slice (one in the deck).  Very nice if I can cipher it and make use of it more than once, but a relatively late-game card in this deck.  And Flurry of Horns (two in the deck) - not the worst cost for a quick two creature tokens with haste.  More Minotaurs is always good.

And the six-cost.  By the time I play these, either the opponent has a big enough creature that warrants me destroying, or I have lost a big enough guy to merit bringing back and also dealing damage to the other player.

So there are the non-creature spells I have loaded up and ready to go in the deck.  It's highly likely that I'll see something as I record these cards and find that I want to take them out, but for now, I'm super happy with the way this deck plays, casually.  It's a lot of fun to see what I can make work.

Part two will be up soon.  I'll be piecing it together through the next week and I'll probably get it posted on the second Monday of the month.

Ask someone about this game.  It's a lot of fun.

Peace.

Giant Friday - 2/4.

Yes, yes!  Here it is - the second of four Giant Fridays!  Today sees a much rougher iteration of the giants I've written up; I had a great time playing around with shape and basic look by slinging a Sharpie around and just kind of going with it.
I've also written in another attribute - the familiar!  This was as close as I could get to "pet" without actually calling them pets.  Long-lived companions that share a bond with the Giants through the centuries.  The Giants can bestow their longevity on their companions and share near-immortality with them in order to have an accompanying creature with which to perform the tasks in the world that they were assigned long, long ago.

I'll post more about the history and lore of the giants of my world at a later date; it's been fun to explore what I'd probably call writing doodling.  Instead of just drawing and going with it, I've been pulling up some Google Docs and going crazy creating rules and mechanics and stats and such for all sorts of monsters and items.  It's a lot of fun.

Anyway.  Here we go!
I'm just typing out all of this from Google Docs instead of copy+pasting it like last week, since that super messed up the formatting.

The Wind Giant, Arekaros.

Habitat:
Cloud-covered mountaintops.

Weapon:
The Heavy Bow, Aktheros (deals twice the normal damage than a longbow).  Cloud shroud - using the wind to whisk up sleet and dust to obscure himself; anyone attacking into or within this cloud has disadvantage, while Arekaros does not.

Familiar:
The Giant Eagle, Aeswar.  Flying as high as any other beast of the world, Aeswar graces the skies for sometimes days on end without needing to come down to land.  Eating and sleeping on the wing, he is still only ever a shout away from Arekaros.  And when called, is it is for war, Aeswar descends in a flurry of feathers and talons; eviscerating the enemy ranks - usually taking an unfortunate victim/snack or two as he retreats.

Appearance:
Blue hint to his skin, with darker blue tattoos across his chest; long white hair and a full white beard, with dark blue eyes.  Dressed in furs, with heavy leather quiver and straps.

Temperament:
Understanding; intelligent creatures that find him usually do so deliberately, so he affords them an audience for their efforts.  If they are lost, he will help them find their way back to safety.

Alliances:
Gets along well with The Ice Giant, U'thuzza, The Sea Giant, Vosor, The Earth Giant, Zaxlor. and The Hill Giant, Mak'hep.

Enemies:
While not complete foes, Arekaros is simply indifferent to the rest of the Giants.

The Stone Giant, Takver.

Habitat:
Rocky mountainous regions; sparse undergrowth - mostly open areas.

Weapon:
The War hammer, Gutnaar (deals twice the normal damage for a war hammer) and a giant shield (+3 to AC; only wielded by large or bigger creatures).  Traps and "small" projectiles (rocks); Summon (rock) elemental (once per encounter).

Appearance:
Hide clothing; long hair, with right-side shaved, and a full beard.  Black tribal tattoo down right arm.

Familiar: 
The Griffin, Takii.  Agile and adept at traversing rocky terrain, Takii usually walks to whatever destination they are heading to.  Not at all clumsy on the wing, however, Takii often flies to great heights when flying to either drop a hapless enemy to their death, or to rain death upon them by releasing heavy rocks from above.

Temperament:
Calm; does not often concern himself with the everyday lives of small creatures.  Will entertain basic conversation - enjoys talking about the topography of the local areas.  A patient hunter; although formidable with Gutnaar, he is an accomplished trap setter and can work to scales that the other Giants would not have the dexterity to achieve.

Alliances:
Shares ideologies and interests with The Earth Giant, Zaxlor, The Hill Giant, Mak'hep, and The Cave Giant, Huth'kah; gets along well with The Forest Giant, Glemziar, and The Lake Giant, Laznir.

Enemies:
Takver doesn't necessarily refrain from contact with the other Giants, but he does shy away from open waters, icy mountains, and the lava pits and volcanoes of the lands.  He can hold his breath long enough to traverse most lakes without having to come up for air, but that's not usually the case at all with the oceans.  His tolerance for temperature is as even as his temper, so any extremes are usually avoided.



So there are the entries for today!  A couple more for the roster.

The giants of the land were created to morph and shape the world into a form that met a balance that they held to be acceptable.  While some still fight for territories and some are just bent on destruction, for the most part they live in harmony with the world and each other; meeting every few decades - as they have since the world was first created - to discuss any changes that may need to be made.  In recent centuries, they have started to entertain the needs of the smaller, intelligent creatures of the world, but that voice is small and not always considered.

I'm having a lot of fun.

Peace.

Magic Mondays.

Following the idea of Giant Fridays, I'm going to start posting a Magic Monday every month.

I've got a few decks together over the years that I've enjoyed playing a shaping, and I have a great deal of fun using them in a game.  Granted, most - if not all - of the cards in them are no longer tournament legal, but out of the two other people I know here that play, neither of them care - one, in fact, still plays with white-edge cards.  Super illegal.  I don't win much against him.  Maybe twelve times in four years, to possibly overestimate.

I really don't mind losing, since all we're going to do is reshuffle and play again a minute after the end of the game.  Losing is something that helps me figure out how to do things better next time.

Anyhoo, I figured I'd throw up a list of cards that I run with the decks that I've put together.

I'll say this right at the start:  I am extremely upset with myself that I dismantled the first deck I ever made in order to reuse the cards.  I had a Red/Green deck and a Blue/White deck that I'd put together at the very beginning of my interest in the game - the cards given to me from my a good friend so he could teach me how to play.  I knew that I would normally have kept all those cards together in the same decks forever, and I wanted to push myself to do something new and so I broke them up to use the cards again in different decks.  I have regretted it since the day I did it, and I'll never, ever remember the first 60 cards I played with as Red/Green.  That makes me sad.

Right now, I'm building themed decks.  I'm less about aggro, control, etc. and more about Minotaurs and Hydras and whatever colours they utilitse.

I'll post about the Minotaur deck first.  It's the first deck I ever put together deliberately.  Instead of seeing what colours I wanted to combine, I thought I'd look at the creatures, and then any instant/sorcery/artifact cards that could work well with them.  It just so happens that most Minotaurs fall into Red/Black, so that's the deck I have.  I really like it and I would say it's the deck that I've put most money into.

Not a whole lot, mind, but certainly more than any other deck I have right now, since I've been creating this one for nearly two years.  Once of the cards was around the $8 mark, so I got that for a special occasion (I can't remember if it was my birthday, or after a huge week of overtime.  Or both).

I have a blast playing it.  I'd play it all day.  It's my go-to deck for warming up.

I'll list those cards and why I've got them this coming Monday.  Magic Monday.  And I'll aim to post about other decks on the first Monday of the month at least until Christmas.

Then I'll use this as an excuse to build more decks...

Peace.

Giant Friday - 1/4.

Welcome, welcome!  Here is the first installment of Giant Friday!  For the next four Fridays, I'll be posting up some character information and ideas about some of the giants in my D&D world; they are serving the purpose of caretakers of the world, with each giant dwelling in a different environment.

They travel from place to place within their territories and environments, and interact with each other occasionally (some more frequently than others).

The way I like to make creatures, characters, weapons, and quest for my world is simple.  Look at a creature type weapon

Finished is the enemy of done.  That is; these are all WIP and I am going to add to them for a long time after posting about them, but I don't want that to keep me from posting them, you know?  I can't wait until something is finished before I share it with the world, because then I won't be able to produce anything.  So here we go.

Here are two that I've been working on this week:

The Ice Giant, U’thuzza.

Habitat:
High mountains and the Ice caps.

Weapon:
Ever-Frozen Ice Axe, Th’all.  Frost breath (15’ cone). Shard blast (25’ cone).
Summon (ice) elemental (once per encounter).

Appearance:
Laden with thick fur garments, a full head of hair, and a full beard.  
A heavy cloak thrown over his shoulders, fur-lined bracers, and hide clothes -
all held together with strong leather straps. He has a harness behind his cloak
that holds Th’all when he’s not using it; he carries it with him wherever he
goes, since he may simply decide to create a new or reuse an old dwelling as
it takes his fancy.

Temperament:
Withdrawn.  A hermit who busies himself with hunting and carving massive
and ornate patterns into the bones of this quarry.  He’ll entertain company for
a short while, but is by no means graceful at ending any conversation or meeting.

Alliances:
Closest relationship is with the Wind Giant, Arekaros; has made acquaintances
with the Hill Giant, Mak’hep, Stone giant, Takver, and Lake Giant, Laznir.

Enemies:
Has fought for centuries with the Lava Giant, Drathkus, for territory.  There are a
few places around the world at which that battle is ongoing, but for the most part,
their territories have been well-established.

The Earth Giant, Zaxlor.

Habitat:
Open plains and large forest clearings.

Weapon:
Giant spear, Xegor. Can earthshift to create a wall of earth from the ground, that
he can use to trap or block opponents.  Summon (earth) elemental (once per encounter).

Appearance:
Short, dark brown hair, shaved to mohawk; beard that’s trimmed to mirror his hair
(short at the sides down to long at the chin).  Dressed in hide and light furs from
the waist down, with large carved totems hanging from his belt, and iron rings on
three of his fingers. Tattoos on his forearms.

Temperament:
Very even-tempered, and uses magic more willingly than some other giants.  He is
usually the first Giant who is called to aid some from time to time because of his
penchant for magic.  He can travel extremely quickly with the use of his magic -
he’ll use his earthshifting abilities to spring him up and forward at great lengths and
speeds, and to cushion his landing on the other end.  Even though this can be
quite a destructive ability, he usually makes sure he leaves areas as close as he
can to how he found them.

Alliances:
Strong friendships with the Forest Giant, Glemziar, and the Hill Giant, Mak’hep,
and good alliances with all other giants; frequently takes the role of mediator in
disputes.  He is the most trusted of the Giants by the other Giants and will even
represent smaller creatures in an audience with the other Giants.

Enemies:
None.  The only giant that is not on the bad side of any others.

So there are the two that I've been focusing on over these past few days. It's been
a lot of fun; especially going back to basics and drawing out some thumbnails for the
giants. I'll post those on the fourth Giant Friday - I've still go a lot going on to try and
find some shapes to use for their poses, but it's been super fun getting back into just
doodling with a proper purpose.

I've also been tidying up my rules for Zombie House; I'm not adding much to it at all
this time around (which is great news, since that shows that the last time we played
the game, we had a pretty clean run through), but splitting the rulebook into two
smaller books - one for the zombies and one for the humans. I think that this will help
a great deal, since then both sides aren't waiting for the other to finish looking up a
rule if they also need to confirm a rule.

We're also making a start on the back deck - the porch has got some panels down
that aren't doing too well. Just wear and tear, but to the point that I'm not confident
that a certain one will take my weight much more...

So that's where we're up to!

Peace.

Projects.

Following the post I made last month regarding outlets, I've been pushing to do concurrent projects throughout the day.

It works.  Sort of.

I'm still working on a few things at once, and it's going pretty well.  See now, if a project needs something and I don't have it, I'm not waiting until I do have it to keep going at all - I simply move onto the next project and work on it a little, then once I've acquired the thing I need for the first one, go back to that and work on that some more.

So I've had some D&D homebrew on the go, with both writing and illustrating; I've had a few DIY bits at home; the toy design project I have going; I'm trying to plan out a rabbit hunting trip and plan for the next phase of creating a garden for next year.  It's a whole lot of fun.

For the next four weeks, I'm going to post up some illustrations and information on my D&D homebrew stuff, along with everything else.  I thought it'd be fun to share some stuff, and I'm going to hold myself to a weekly schedule for the next four weeks (starting small).

I'm working on a few things throughout the world I've made right now; namely giants.  As with most of the things I create, I know that there is something out there already in terms of lore and rules, but I really enjoy simply taking the title or name of that thing and starting from there; building my own creatures, factions, orders, weapons, etc.  Giants are no different.  I know that I could go to the Monster Manuals and look them up; get their stats, traits, and flavour texts - but I'd much rather start with the idea of a group of isolated giants and create their environments and habitats; their relationship with each other, and their relationship with the world.  Just build everything up from the ground.

So for the next four weeks, I'll be posting one or two at a time; their information, and some doodles I've been creating to go with them.

Henceforth, for four more weeks, Fridays will be known as Giant Fridays.

It's also becoming that wonderful time of the year when people all over the world are preparing their gardens to overwinter and so I reckon there'll be something related to that coming up.  Because wifey and I are super excited about all that, and it's started to cool down a little bit.  I could wait for a drop another ten or so, but I don't mind.

Peace.

Goats!

One of my coworkers has cows.  27 pregnant cows, 2 non-pregnant cows, 2 calves, and a bull.
We were talking tonight about the ins and outs of livestock ownership.  Which got me super excited about getting some chickens and goats!

It's something that wifey and I have talked about for a while - one of the things we wanted to be able to do in our own house was own animals like this.  So we're really excited to get going with something.

That's just an update for the farm.  We're thinking about getting a couple of goats and a few laying hens.

Other things that were wanting to accomplish this year include:

Building a compost bin.
Building a shed (or repurposing an old, fallen-in shed) for goats (before or after we get them...).
Removing the grass from a garden area to prepare it for fall planting.
Building some structure for vines to grow up either this fall or in the coming spring.
Re-deck the back porch (at least three panels).
Install the air conditioner (but that's mostly done).

I think that's it.

We (I) have some stellar 5-year goals:

Build a big shed/barn/shop/cave.
Build a hanging/processing hut.
Get chickens and build a coop (probably the other way around with that order).
Renovate the old house.
Dig a pond.
Use the (renovated) old house or a brand new pod for an AirBnB place.
Get a cow.  Or three.
Build a sweet tree house.

I'm very excited to get out and explore the property again as it cools down and as the leaves clear - we have much more access to places when the undergrowth has thinned out, and it makes cutting things back much easier, since we're not fighting the leaves every step of the way.

There are a few areas that I think we need to focus on.  Primarily because there's just so much trash strewn across the wooded parts of the property.  Whoever lived here last did not take very good care of the place.

But we're excited to bring it to life again!

Peace.

Toy Design continued.

I've made a little more progress with the sculpt.  I've added some basic shoe shapes and filled in a few holes on the legs.

My plan moving forward is to cover the rest of the torso (I filled up the back after taking these pictures) to make a more solid base to then block in the head and the arms.  I think blocking in the arms will be tricky, since they will be a little flimsy by this point, with the torso and legs being solid Milliput.

Regarding Milliput; I kept my sculpting tools covered with a little bit of Vaseline and oh, man!  It helped so much!  I got some really nice smooth lines across the surfaces that I was able to reach, and I was able to smooth out some extra filler for the holes in the legs really easily.  I love Milliput now.

The pictures:

The feet weren't covered last time, when I blocked in the legs.  This meant the armature was flopping all over the place.  The blocks for the feet remedied that and kept the thing steady from the first shoe I made.  I tried my best to keep the shoes the same size and shape...  I think I'll find out if I've done a good job with that once I remove the guy from the base.

Talking about removing this thing from the base, there will be some small pieces of wire sticking out of the bottom of the soles of the feet from where I anchored the armature, but I figure I'll sculpt some bases to the shoes once they're accessible.

The pants are super rough and messy at this point - the goal for these is to build up the creases in the pants from the ankles up, filling the holes as needed.  I'm going to move to Greenstuff for this part of the process, since I want that contrast with the Milliput to give me a better idea of where I need to add material and where I can get away with not adding so much.

I'm so excited to get anything on this looking near-finished, but I'm making sure I follow through with all of the blocking out before I move onto the refining phase(s).  The creases in the pants and the t-shirt, the laces on the shoes, the rolled-up sleeves.  All of it.  I'm very excited to get going with it.

Which is a great place to be.

In other news, I found this guy in Kid 2's room!  I love Praying Mantises; they're one of my favourite insects.  One day, I'll keep one for a month or two and me and the boys will watch it eat - thus cementing it in the top 5 favourite insects in their minds, too.

I'll have another update tomorrow with some of my board game mechanics; we playtested it again the other day and it went really well.  Kind of expedited the rules because of the circumstances we were in, but even that new idea of simplifying the winning qualifications worked!  And I hadn't created it with that in mind, so that makes me a little happier that it went so well.

For now, I'm going to doodle some and enjoy the end of a night of relative productivity.

Peace.

Toy Design.

I've been wanting to make a toy for a long time.  A vinyl-type figure, but one that can be customised.

A little like those Munny figures, I guess.  But my own design.

I figured that a little bloke would be the figure that would suit my design style best - either that or some huge monster, but I don't have enough wire or Milliput for that.

Side note, I'm not a huge fan of Milliput.  I have yet to use it with Vaseline to keep my sculpting tool from sticking to it, so it may work out better than Greenstuff.  My favourite sculpting medium on a small scale.

Now, I have a hard time working on projects that won't get finished the day I start them, so I'm really pushing myself to work on this, and to work on this in steps without rushing into the next phase and ruining the thing.  So it's a great practise of patience for me.

Here's the process that I've been working through:

First off, I made a super-rough paper model to visualise my initial idea.

Got a few angles because art and such.

Then using the paper figure as a template, I created this wire form.

The things I like about this phase:

- Once I had the basic shape, I could move it around and adjust it pretty easily.

- I could make the various parts (arms, legs, torso and head) separately and keep it from being one continuous wire frame.  This was good because if I had messed one part up (which fortunately I didn't), I could have simply started over with that one piece without compromising the whole thing.

- It's one step closer to the next phase - blocking it in with Milliput.

Now the hands are not at all formed.  Not in any way.  I've left the wrists with a little more wire to stick out so that I can sculpt some hands and add them on.  I may well do this separately from the model entirely before attaching them; sanding both sides down flat before pinning the hands into the wrists.

My plans for the hands are relatively simple - the left one will be open and the right one will be sculpted to hold something.

What thing?  I'm not sure.  I'm going to aim to sculpt it around a 1/8th" dowel rod or brass pole section.

The mods.

My aim for the figure is that it will be a standalone figure that has nothing added to it.  A standard figure; nothing more.

Once I've created the mold for the figure and sorted out the details to get the cast right, I'm going to use it as a base to form my additional items and mods on.  So far, these are my plans:

Cut off an arm and use the cut as a base to create a prosthetic/cyborg arm.
Use the back as a base and sculpt a backpack.
Use the back of the pants as a bas and sculpt a tail.
Use the back as a base and sculpt some small wings.
Use the right hand as a base and sculpt a weapon.
Use the left hand as a base and sculpt a shield.

These are my ideas so far, and I'm sure further idea will include another figure entirely at some point.

But I'm doing my best to do this step by step.

Peace.

Outlets.

I think I've been more productive tonight than usual.  And I think it's because I'm embracing a few things.  At once.

I have my blog page open, YouTube playing, a file of reference pictures on screen, and a sketchbook in front of me.

And I'm doing all of it.

I've written six posts (five for a new blog, all of which are scheduled for release over the next five Fridays) including this one, caught up on a lot of my subscription stuff on YouTube, and filled out a couple of pages in my sketchbook.

Bouncing from one to the other to the other has given me the brain space I need to open up a little in projects and work on more than one thing at once.

See, I get to feeling so guilty that I'm "abandoning" my hobbies or passions when I focus on just one that I start to get to the point where all I'm thinking is "Man, if I had just done something else, I would have been a little more ahead in that by now, instead of this one hobby."

Which isn't fun.

But I'm happy that I've been writing this evening, I've watched plenty of content from fishing, to electronics, to game reviews, to vlogs; I've sketched out a few things and new ideas, and I'm happily planning on doing that again tomorrow.

It's been a good night.

Now to go home and see how stuck our car is in the mud at the end of our field...

Peace.

Procrastination (2018).

I've heard it said that one who procrastinates does 30 minutes of work in 7 and a half hours, then 7 and a half hours worth of work in 30 minutes.

At no point in the day am I so motivated than 23:30.

I want to carry on writing by book, creating poetry and art; brush up on my French, physics and biology; edit photos and videos; and order my coin collection.

But I only have 30 minutes left.  8 now.  I was watching a video about gyroscopes and tidying up the coins I had strew across the desk.

Found a D-mint Buffalo nickel with a slight mint defect this evening, as well as a 1968 and 1969 S-mint nickel.

Got to go now, though.  Packing up the desk space for my coworker to take over, and entering in my time for the week - and requesting some time off.

In 6 minutes.

Peace.

Spring is here. A-sa-pa-ring is here.

Life is Skittles and life is beer.

It's a song.

I love the spring.  All this new life and growth and warmer weather.  It's a fantastic time of the year.

Here are some updates:

First off, snakes.  Not too many at all.  Two, in fact.  But nice ones.

The Midland Brownsnake (although I recently learnt that it's just "The Brownsnake" now, since there are no discernible differences in traits between and locations; there are no subspecies.  It's just The Brownsnake).

Another Brownsnake from the same place; different day.  A little smaller, but I'll take it.

The American Bullfrog.  Quite a big one - just about eating size.  Taken from the same pool that the snakes were found in - the second snake I got was small enough to be a feasible meal for this chap.

American Toads.  Five of them taken out of the same pool a day later.  As I took these fellas literally across the road to release them into a ditch, two more toads - an American and a Fowler's - found their way to the pool.  It's more dangerous at this time of year, since they can get more easily trapped in the lower water of the pool.

The Mississippi Mud Turtle.  I found this one in a large, shallow puddle in my front garden.  I was wearing my water shoes at the time so, as it smugly cruised into the middle of the puddle, I called its bluff and waded in.  I put it in the boys' water table so they could see it - they loved it.  Kid 1 a little more apprehensive than Kid 2, but it was a fun hands-on session.

We have rabbits.  They're cute to watch, and if they reproduce too quickly, they'll be tasty to eat.  That's a win-win.

As well as the budding wildlife, I'm also doing some projects.  Nothing new there, really.  Two of them:

I picked up this old hatchet head for a dollar at a yard sale.  It was pretty rusty, but a nice bath of white wine vinegar and a scrub down with some wire wool got that sorted super fast.  I then hit it with 120 sandpaper (a little coarse for this job), with the intention of using fine wire wool after that to clean up any of the sandpapers scratches.  Of which there are many.

A good friend told me that I should use a buffing wheel on a bench grinder instead, so I'll be heading round to his place sometime soon to do just that.  Get this baby nice and shiny smooth before having another friend sharpen it like never before on his whetstones.

I think they're still called whetstones.  I've only ever read about it.

Using a whetstone for an hour in D&D will make your blade fine and give you a +1 to damage with that blade.  Fact.

I've been taking commissions for a few weeks/this past month.  I read recently that it's good to have three hobbies: One to keep you creative, one to keep you in shape, and one to make you money.  This is kind of the "keep creative" and "make money" hobbies rolled into one.  I'm having a pretty fun time making them.

People are sending me their clothes (usually jeans, which are actually the easiest thing to work with), and then I simply make them into these dolls.  It's a nice way to cherish your old clothes without having them take up and wardrobe/closet space.

THEY ALSO MAKE GREAT GIFTS TELL YOUR FRIENDS

Of course, along with the hobby topic, I am still as immersed in D&D theory as ever.  With no time to run games, I've taken to listening to a podcast for DMs (Dungeon Masters' Block) and I've started to design my own world.  I think it'll be fun and fascinating to be able to open up a completely original storyline based in my own world in this game system.

That said, here's my world.  I've made several copies of it so that I can mark all over it with notes about the countries, cities and populations, races and clans, etc.  I'm very excited.  This is the first world design I've taken on since my Masters, so it's going to be nice to get some dust off the ol' cogs.

And Kid 1 is super into drawing out maps right now, too, so we sit down and map things for ages.  Here he is putting some more countries and trade routes on one of mine.  It was very fun to work with him on this.

That's about it for this update.  It's hard for me to think of a more viable way to use this platform, since a lot of what I post in on Instagram and there are fewer people, it seems, who are interested in longer forms of information.  I'll keep pushing and seeing what it is that really makes me tick when I write about it and what responses I get and thoughts about posts in the future.

It's nicer to be able to post a few pictures at a time with separate updates and information for each, even though they're mostly on my Instagram feed.  But it'll also be nice to find something that I can keep on here exclusively, so if you have any ideas, please let me know.

I appreciate it.

Peace.