Not so much reading this week as last week, but a fair bit more writing. I finally got around to updating and modernizing my Polyhedral Pantheons article from 2007.
Hall of Fame Additions
Body Models
Not all high-level athletes look alike. Nina Matsumoto has a page full of pictures (photoshoot by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein) of Olympic-level athletes that exhibits an incredible range of body types.
athletic body diversity reference for artists is an excellent resource for people who want to draw physically capable people fitting a large number of body types.
Added to the Hall of Fame under Graphics Resources.
Polyhedral Pantheons
Several years ago I wrote an article on Polyhedral Pantheon Design. This article predates this blog, so when I imported it from the original site to this one it has basically languished, unread, back in the depths of history.
This weekend I updated it and expanded on it. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
- Polyhedral Pantheons Revisited (includes PDF worksheet)
- Polyhedral Pantheon Clerics
- Polyhedral Pantheons: Pathfinder Edition
- Polyhedral Pantheons: Applied
All in all I’m pleased with this series so far. There are still a few posts to come.
Added to the Hall of Fame under Campaign Setting Design.
Blog Posts
Canonfire!
Argon is back with Secrets of the Runes IV. I should probably go back and dig up the links to previous entries in this series.
Wampus Country
First there was Buzzard Gulch, now it’s Frogport, “a ragtag assemblage of slippy-sloppy buildings on stilts, rope walkways between treehouses, and barges roped together. Although a number of humans call Frogport home, its majority population is of course the eponymous frogs – bipedal, intelligent frog-men who have called that part of Snollygoster Swamp home since the time of the ancients.”
The more I read about this setting, the more I want to read. I’m not sure I want to play in the setting, but it’s a fascinating one.
Science & Technology
Google Goggles
Who searches using words any more? Take a picture, look it up.
It doesn’t work on everything, though — apparently it has trouble with people, cars, plants, that sort of thing. Books, landmarks, artwork, and many other things, though, it seems to be pretty good. Will also try to decipher text, if you take pictures of printed works.
This is remarkably cool… and I’m guessing it’ll be built into the magic spectacles they’re working on.
YouTube
John Cleese on Creativity
John Cleese has been known to do a creative thing or two in his life, so I reckon he’s probably a good choice of speaker.
The five things you can have to encourage creativity:
- Space
- Time
- Time
- Confidence
- a 22″ waist… sorry, my mind was wandering. Humor.
(Time is there in two different roles.)
The discussion of Open and Closed modes, and the transition between them, is valuable as well. As is the value of delaying decisions as long as possible in order to give yourself time to consider better alternatives, and how ‘impossible intermediates’ (non-solutions) can still lead you to a good answer because they prompt other ideas. The closing bit about how to destroy creativity around you and why this is important (this bit is sarcastic) is spot on.
This was brought to my attention at a great time for me, since I’m working on a series of posts about a structure to encourage creative thought in a certain area.
Push Button, Add Drama
My face hurts now. And my throat. I don’t remember the last time a video made me laugh this hard.
And, as much as I don’t watch TV as a rule, I would check these guys out. They deserve it.