Oh Shiny: NASA to look at shiny rock

For all those who thought it might be gold... No. No rush to buy seats on SpaceX Big F...ing Rocket to claim the multi-ton gold pebble in the first Interplanetary Gold Rush for Mars.

Its colour is Chromium (III) Hydroxide (with a slight red tinge from the light its reflecting).

You never know, I could be wrong.

Cartographers Guild: Iron-gate

Irongate guards the town of the same name.

Plot Hook: The Tomb of Crown Prince Otar Mkun

On a detect concealed entrances roll (of 1-2 in 6) The Player Characters stumble across a small tomb carved in the side of a hill.

1- Beyond the Stone that conceals the easily accessed entrance from the view of random travellers passing by, the tunnel, ten feet wide, ten feet high, descends twenty feet into the hill.

2- Deep within the hill, a thirty feet diameter circular chamber fifteen feet high at its ceiling's highest position. A Bronze Statue as tall as a man depicts a bare chested, unarmed man wearing a kilt and a helmet with two great horns. The statue is worth 20gp in bronze melted down. It is infact the Crown Prince Otar Mkun whose family ruled in the region five thousand years earlier. Anyone stealing the statue or desecrating the tomb attracts a Minotaur who pursues the PCs until death.


That should provide your players with a plot hook.

Short Fiction: Age of Warp - Cochrane

title: Age of Warp - Cochrane

"As you can see," Zephram Cochrane stepped over the electrical lines, making his way forward pursued by the hover-camera. "The Rockhampton still requires a considerable amount of work before she can carry colonists out to... wherever."
"But," Zephram pointed through a hatch at the warp reactor. "She has a fully operational warp reactor."
"The Dilithium crystal itself was tricky to grow," The hover-camera bumped against Zephram Cochrane's head invoking his ire. "Do you mind?"
"Where was I?" Cochrane looked past the hover-camera. "Growing dilithium crystals... Lilly!"
"Lilly!" Cochrane slipped past the view of the hover-camera momentarily before the cam returned him to centre focus, his back to the lens. "What was that thing you wanted to discuss with me earlier?"
"I wanted to talk to you about the..." The small woman noticed the hover-camera loitering behind Zephram Cochrane. "Is that a hover-cam behind your back Zeek?"
"What?" Zephram Cochrane raised an arm and looked below his arm-pit at the hover-camera he had forgotten. "Oh right... yeah... just filming a cam-tour."
"Anyway..." Zephram returned his attention to the woman who had stayed with him through the Warp program. "What was that thing?"
"I wanted to discuss that..." Lilly eyeballed the camera as it moved. "...issue of the 'Swiss' Protocol."
"The 'Swiss' Protocol?" Zephram Cochrane remembered something he had been ignoring for a decade. "ah."
"Stop Recording." Zephram Cochrane turned his attention to Lilly leaving the hover-cam floating in the air behind him. "You found one?"
"A Borg Nanomachine." Lilly held up the specimen container. "It was in my comb."
"Captain Picard killed one of the Borg right in front of me." Lilly looked at it closely. "It must have got on me then."
"It seems to have deactivated in the aftermath," Lilly considered how close she came to becoming Borg. "While attempting to assimilate my hair."
"Well then," Zephram Cochrane smiled at his unsuspecting quarry. "Lets see if we can assimilate it."
"You still have to get the Rockhampton under way." Lilly smiled and pocketed the prize. "And give the Warp five Engine speech."
"Oh god," Zephram Cochrane laughed at the idea of an engine that would take a century to grow its own warp crystal. "The little engine that could."
"Right," Cochrane nodded in acceptance "lets get the speech done and then back to the Rockhampton."


"All right Lilly," Zephram Cochrane stared at the Readout. "Activate the Nanomachine."
"N-One activated." Lilly watched the data of the microscope display the Borg Nanoprobe altering the cut of the Dilithium Crystal. "and functioning as programmed."
"Incredible." Zephram sat back, staring at the screen entranced by the Nanomachine. "Its creating in a moment what would have been impossible with any existing Dilithium Crystal fabrication systems."
"A whole other Warp Field topology in
 superposition," Zephram Cochrane looked at Lilly with a look she had not seen in his eyes since first flight. "And when its done we will have Warp Ten."
"That will certainly be faster..." Lilly contemplated a distant memory and whispered: "than I have gone Before."
"Oh yes." Zephram looked up from the microscope. "very fast."


"All right Captain Mills," Zephram Cochrane stared at the Read-out from the orbital shipyard that fed him the warp drive data for the NCC Rockhampton. "Retract moorings and ease her out of Space dock."
"Moorings..." The Moorings retracted releasing the Rockhampton to space. "...retracted."
"All right Captain," Zephram smiled. "Take her out past the breakwaters and Engage Warp Drive."
"With pleasure Doctor Cochrane." The Colony ship Rockhampton pushed away from the  spacedock at one quarter impulse and at two kilometres jumped to Warp with a single Word from its Captain: "Engage!"


"To hell with them all Lilly." Zephram Cochrane stared at the report on the Administrative news net data tablet dominated by Lilly's dead face. "God damn arse backwards murdering bastards."
"No more objections Lilly," Cochrane dropped the data tablet and pulled the warp ten crystal module and its dormant nanomachine rider from the warp crystal fabrication microscope and carried it toward the Phoenix sitting on the maglev track in the centre of the hanger. "Time for that test flight I keep putting off."
"Doctor Cochrane?" Zephram Cochrane spotted a young Henry Archer hugging an arm full of documents. "I hadnt realized you were back."
"Henry?" Zephram Cochrane pushed the gantry against the hull of the Phoenix and climbed it with his prize pausing to insert the new warp crystal before turning to look at Archer. "I'm going to put you in charge of the Warp five Engine."
"Doctor Cochrane," Henry Archer dropped a data pad in surprise and scooped it up only to realize Doctor Cochrane had slipped from his field of view to loot a crate of Rations from a shelf. "I'm honoured you would consider me."
"Don't let it get in the way of having a life Henry," He had just condemned Henry Archer to die in a desk job waiting for a warp five dilithium crystal to grow. "God forbid there wont be an Archer at its launch."
"What about you?" Henry hadnt considered children or the Departure of Doctor Cochrane from the Project. "What are you going to do?"
"Right now I'm going to take Lilly out for a flight." Cochrane pushed open the hatch and piled millitary rations into the small storage locker of the Phoenix keeping a bottle of Bourbon at hand. "Time to go Lilly."
"Lilly?" Henry Archer sorted through the files sure one mentioned she had been shot dead by in a barfight started when Green accused Cochrane of selling out Earth to the Aliens. "Sir?"
"I christen thee..." Zephram Cochrane gulped the Bourbon and with an angry and rage filled swing, shattered it across the Titanium cockpit of the Phoenix. "the Lilly."

Art Folio: The Wyvern

The Wyvern is a Rogue from the Thyatian Empire. A man in need of a destiny.

Art Folio: Groth Garlson

He volunteers you to climb the mountain overlooking your village and confront the Gargantuan Stone Troll... no biggy.

Bad Astronomy: what is Oumuamua?

Best bet is Oumuamua is Manganese (III) which is a supernova product, though where it got the methane-ish ice from is anyone's guess.

I sampled five times and got these results:
1. 4/5 pixel samples ret. as Manganese (III).
2. 1/5 pixel samples returned as dichromate.

What supernova that might have come from is anyone's guess. What the dichromate return means? Anyone's guess.

Update: a slightly more useful image showing the difference between the bright (Methane Ice impacted on the surface) and the dark (Oumuamua).

Art Folio: I just realized I suck at art

Not even close to the real girl...

End Game: Brexit vs National Security

The purpose of Brexit is to separate Britain from the EU and break up Britain. So lets put a big red line through the names of everyone who voted in favour of Brexit. They are guilty of Treason, end of conversation.

Now we understand that the Traitors are in charge of the ship of state and there is no way in hell that every name mentioned in the tax Dogers orgy know collectivly as the Panama and Paradise Papers will be rounded up and shot for resisting arrest under charge of Treason eliminating the source of Brexit, Britain must continue forward if just for national security Reasons.
National security will no longer come from government. It will come from recognizing that the state is every citizen equally. And Brexit was an assault on every citizen.
Sedition is by definition any act causing government, law, constitution, sovereign to be held in hatred and contempt. For the people of Britain to go forward, it must be through the consensus of every citizen least even one citizen hold government, law, constitution, sovereign to be held in hatred and contempt.

That is the door beyond which lies a real future, and yes there are worse things than national extinction. All manor of ancient horrors.

Come and See the real thing. Come and See.


Sean Robert Meaney

Rules Cyclopedia: Falling Damage and falling objects

When a character falls, they take 1d6 damage per ten feet fallen (to a limit of 20d6). This is irrespective of the mass of the character. Now if a character weighing 200lb falls ten feet and takes 1d6 damage then they have been subject to the damage inflicted by a 200lb falling object. A two hundred pound object falling ten feet from the ceiling exerts the same damage to the character that the two hundred pound character would experience making the same fall.
If a two hundred pound object inflicts 1d6 to a two hundred pound character over a distance of ten feet, a two hundred pound object inflicts 2d6 damage to a one hundred pound character simply because this is double the impact mass of the one hundred pound character.

The effect of impacts by Stone Bricks of various weights
Weight (Size)                                         Damage per 10ft
Character weight:               75lb        100lb     150lb    200lb       250lb
1lb (0.00587 cubic feet)      1hp         1hp         1hp       1hp           1hp
170.24lb (1 cubic feet)        3d6          2d6         2d6       1d6           1d6
1 ton (13.15 cubic feet)     20d6       20d6        15d6     12d6          9d6
76 tons (1K cubic feet)      20d6       20d6         20d6     20d6         20d6

This of course does not factor in continuous crush damage. Let's call that 1hp per round per multiple of PC weight. This is useful because armour weight effectively helps reduces the damage taken from the initial impact, and from subsequent crush damage.

Example: Fared the 9th level Sworder (44hp) is crushed under a one ton block dropping from the ten foot high ceiling. He takes 9d6 (28hp) from the initial rock fall, but after that the 250lb warrior takes (2240lb ÷ 250lb=8.96hp) 8hp per round until he dies three rounds later (44hp)-28hp, (16hp)-8hp, (8hp)-8hp. His Companion Mirandar the Elf has one round to get the rock off his fellow adventurer before Fared is crushed to death.
Alternatly Mirandar the 75lb 9th level Elf (40hp) sees the rock falling and knocks Fared forward taking 20d6 (67hp) damage which kills him instantly.

Effect of Arm. Wt. on damage from 2,240lb block falling 10ft

                                                       Unarmoured weight

Armour             Arm. Wt.   75lb   100lb     150lb      200lb    250lb

Unarmoured          0lb        20d6  20d6      15d6        12d6      9d6

Shield                       10lb     20d6  20d6       -1d6        -2d6      -1d6

Leather                    20lb     20d6   -2d6       -2d6        -2d6      -1d6

Scale Mail                30lb     20d6  -3d6        -3d6        -3d6      -1d6

Chain Mail              40lb     -1d6    -4d6       -4d6        -3d6       -2d6

Banded Mail           45lb     -2d6   -5d6        -4d6        -3d6       -2d6

Plate Mail                50lb     -3d6    -5d6       -4d6        -4d6       -2d6

Suit Armor              75lb     -6d6    -8d6       -6d6        -4d6       -3d6

As you can see, armour contributes some protection from the impact of a falling object though heavy armor contributes its best protection to those of 100lb weight. Those with greater or lesser weight recieve less benefit from heavy armour.

Age of Warp: LCARS cards 121-130

Sharing Poetry: A Poem (in Zulu)

I-POEM

Baba

Umama

Ingane

Uncle

Siblings

Izihlobo zegazi

Hut

Izinkomo

Plow

Ukuhlakulela

Isithombo

Uddy

Ukunyathelisa

I-Crow

Ukumemeza

I-Pirate

Ukuhlasela

Ukuze uphonse

Ukusongela

Ukwesabisa

Ngo-Mashi

Amawashi

Umkhumbi wemikhumbi

Ukucindezeleka Ngokushesha

Ukungaphumeleli

Musty

Umsindo noma ukulala

Ukuze uphume

Abaningi

I-Armpit

Ivule

I-Ox-inqola

Bald

Isigqila

I-traffic jam

Ukuguqula

Zizenza

Ukuhamba

Ukugwema

Ugibe

Umphikisi

Ukuze umkhonto

Ama-Rhinoceros

Ukunyathela

Ukuze uthande

Okusikiwe

Ukuhlunga

Ukuze isitembu

Ukuze uphuze

Ukukhipha

Mica

Isiliva

Ukukala

Radius

Wedge

Ukuphahlazeka

Ukuhambisa

Ukumisa

Idamu

Ukuvuselela

Ukuvukela

Ukuphonswa

Ukudonsa phansi

Ukubhubhisa

Ukuhleka ngokuzwakalayo

Ukuthokoza

Ukusakaza

Inkondlo.

Sharing Poetry: A Poem (In Yoruba)

A IBI

Baba

Iya

Ọmọde

Arakunrin

Sibling

Ẹjẹ ẹjẹ

Hut

Ẹja

Ṣagbe

Lati ṣe

Radish

Muddy

Ilana igbesẹ

Okun

Lati kigbe

Pirate

Lati kolu

Lati ṣe jamba

Lati ṣe irokeke

Lati ṣe ibanujẹ

Lati Oṣù

Waves

Deck ti ọkọ

Ni Aṣiṣe Ti a gbe

Lati aipe

Musty

Ohùn tabi sisun

Lati sọ silẹ

Ọpọlọpọ

Armpit

Swollen

Ox-cart

Ipele

Eru

Ijabọ ijabọ

Lati Pamọ

Pretend

Agbegbe

Lati yẹra

Lati dẹkùn

Alatako

Lati ọkọ

Rhinoceros

Lati tẹ mọlẹ

Lati tan

Akara

Lati sieve

Lati fi ami si

Si lulú

Lati jade

Mica

Silver

Lati ṣe iwọn

Radius

Wedge

Lati ṣẹku

Lati gbe

Lati ṣẹda

Lati tutu

Lati ṣawari

Atako

Lati ṣubu

Lati fa mọlẹ

Lati run

Lati rẹrin nlanla

Atunwo

Lati tuka

A Poem.

Age of Warp: LCARS cards 101-120

Sharing Poetry: A Poem (in Yiddish)

א פּאָעם

פאטער

מוטער

קינד

ונקלע

סיבלינג

בלוט קרובים

הוט

פיך

אַקער

צו האָדעווען

ראַדיש

מוטנע

Footprint

Crow

צו שרייען

פּיראַטע

צו באַפאַלן

צו וואַרפן

צו סטראַשען

צו אָנשרעקן

צו מאַרץ

Waves

דעק פון שיף

Closely Pressed

צו באַשטימען

Musty

געזונט אָדער שלאָפן

צו פאַלן אַוועק

פילע

אַרמפּיט

Swollen

אָקס-וואָגן

באַלד

קנעכט

פאַרקער אַרייַנשטופּן

צו פּערווערט

פּרעטענד

Movement

צו ויסמיידן

צו שלאַנג

קעגנער

צו שפּיז

רהינאָסעראָס

צו צעטרעטן

To tan

סטאַינעד

צו זיפּ

צו שטעמפּל

צו פּודער

צו עקסטראַקט

מיקאַ

זילבער

צו מעסטן

ראַדיוס

Wedge

צו פּלאַצן

To move

צו בויען

צו דאַם

To incite

ופשטאַנד

צו אָוווערטראָו

צו ציען אַראָפּ

צו צעשטערן

צו הערן אויס הויך

Cheering

צו צעוואַרפן

א פּאָעם

Sharing Poetry: A Poem (in Xhosa)

I-POEM

Utata

Umama

Umntwana

Malume

Sibini

Izalamane zegazi

Hut

Iinkomo

Ukulima

Ukuhlakulela

Isalathisi

I-Muddy

Ukunyathela

I ngxowa

Ukumemeza

Pirate

Ukuhlaselwa

Ukutshiza

Ukusongela

Ukusongela

NgoMatshi

Iifolo

Isitya senqanawa

Ngokucinezelekileyo

Ukusilela

Musty

Isandi okanye ukulala

Ukuyeka

Baninzi

IArmpit

Ukuguquka

Ox-inqwelo

Bald

Khoboka

Ukubambeka kwetrafikhi

Ukuguqula

Zizenza

Movement

Ukuphepha

Ugibe

Umchasi

Ukukhangela

IRhininoceros

Ukunyathela

Tan

U kugcinwa

I sieve

Ukwenza isitampu

Ukuba ngumpu

Ukukhupha

Mica

Isiliva

Ukulinganisa

Radius

Ukutshata

Ukuqhekeka

Ukuhamba

Ukumisa

Kwidama

Ukuvuselela

Uvukelo

Ukuphanga

Ukuhla

Ukutshabalalisa

Ukuhleka ngokukhawuleza

Ukunyamezela

Ukusabalalisa

Umbongo.

Age of Warp: LCARS cards 081-100