With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand more densely together. The latter, too, kept up a sort of independent movement of their own, rustling among themselves when no wind stirred, and shaking oddly from the roots upwards. When common objects in this way be come charged with the suggestion of horror, they stimulate the imagination far more than things of unusual appearance; and these bushes, crowding huddled about us, assumed for me in the darkness a bizarre grotesquerie of appearance that lent to them somehow the aspect of purposeful and living creatures. Their very ordinariness, I felt, masked what was malignant and hostile to us. The forces of the region drew nearer with the coming of night. They were focusing upon our island, and more particularly upon ourselves. For thus, somehow, in the terms of the imagination, did my really indescribable sensations in this extraordinary place present themselves. —Algernon Blackwood, " The Willows" (1907)

This looks like a great campaign! Check it out!

Today, I am remembering what a pleasure and honor it was to work with Russ Nicholson, best known for his illustration work in Fighting Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer. Russ worked for many other operations in his 50-year career, including 20 illustrations for my own small publishing company, North Wind Adventures. It's been about 3.5 years since Russ passed, and I still hold out hope that I might one day get my hands on a few of the originals that he did for us. Unfortunately, during one of our last conversations shortly before he'd passed, he told me that he'd had a flood in his basement and feared they might have been destroyed.

Two days ago marked the 122nd natal anniversary of the great Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage. His works were largely credited under the house name Kenneth Robeson, and for 16 years he wrote 159 of the 179 Robeson Doc Savage novels. Doc Savage predates Superman and Batman and can be considered the original "superman" due to his physical perfection and broad intellectual mastery. Dent himself was not unlike his fictional creation in many ways. He was a lifelong learner and explorer who continued to develop new skills whilst traveling the world. He took courses in technology and the trades. He earned an amateur radio and pilot license, passed both the electricians' and plumbers' trade exams, and was an avid mountain climber. He would develop one skill and then move onto the next. As one example, he purchased a 40-foot double mast schooner, sailed the eastern seaboard, and hunted for treasure in the Caribbean. He did all these things while writing Doc Savage novels and taking on other writing jobs. Lester Dent was indeed a renaissance man.

Great new video by Justin at Books, Bricks, and Boards in which he covers his top 10 things he loves about Hyperborea. And at the end he mentions a special offer that we are presenting in collaboration with his channel. Be sure to check it out! youtu.be/7qkxUzLZerk?is=qqXB…

As @ArneconTFotT starts to wrap up, I would like to express my appreciation for being invited by the good people at from the Arneson camp, such as @Blackmoor_Film. I would furthermore like to express my gratitude to @WeeWheaton and Dan the Final Arbiter for running games in my stead as I went through a frustrating period of laryngitis.

Proper way to start Arnecon. Already met @Blackmoor_Film, @YoDanno, and @KevinLamb74. Good times ahead!

Our world of adventure is getting a new, 32x40-inch folded map on durable, synthetic "trail map" paper, which can be unfolded and folded repeatedly without breaking down. We also are going to make it a two-sided affair, with the central continent zoomed in on the reverse side. Stay tuned for a preorder on this new presentation of the HYPERBOREA map! Cartography by Mr. Glynn Seal!

Four days left to back this incredible project, created by one of the finest minds in sword-and-sorcery adventure gaming today.

Del is a treasure. We've been working together for over 10 years and he is one of my best pals in the world.

I just picked up Search for the Sorceress from Double D Enterprises at DriveThruRPG: In this one-night adventure for characters level 4-5, the party must find a sorceress trapped inside the floating head of a long forgotten deity in the Astral Plane. There they must avoid the denizens of that realm, the Cenomonks, and the dreaded Void Maggot, amongst many other perils. If they can rescue the sorceress they will be rewarded handsomely. If they fail, they may be entombed in the Head of Obed for all eternity!