Picture inspiration: Grenadier of Napoleon's Old Guard

Credit: Wikipedia.

I have a bucket list of sorts of all these stories I'd like to write. It's a mixed bag, some are science fiction, others are fantasy. In the case of the latter, one of them is to write a story set in an early modern/modern historical setting, but completely fantasy based as opposed to just historical fiction. The reason is that there's an entire swath of history that is for the most part ignored by fantasy writers. That period stretches from the end of the Middle Ages up to around the late nineteenth, when steampunk (which I consider more fantasy than science fiction) takes over. Naomi Novik's Temeraire series is an exception, taking place during the Napoleonic Wars and featuring dragons, but it's an exception that proves the rule.

Why it takes so long for George R.R. Martin to write each A Song of Ice and Fire novel

Credit: Dorkly.

Clearly, he's too preoccupied with scaring the bejeezus out of people.

Red Knight by fluxen

Credit: Sang Han.

A better title would probably be "If Red Sonja wore sensible armor", but then again, that chainmail bikini is what makes her so iconic, even if it is unrealistic.

(h/t Women Fighters In Reasonable Armor)

I want this foam replica of Doomhammer from World of Warcraft

Zak S can hit things with his axe all he wants, I prefer just bashing heads in with this sucker. Doomhammer has a long history in the Warcraft Universe, extending back before the popular MMO.

According to WoWWiki, the hammer belonged to the father of Ogrim Doomhammer, the warchief of the Horde during the events of Warcraft II. While the weapon itself is not indicative of leadership of the Orc Clans, it has been wielded by Warchiefs like Ogrim and Thrall. In fact, Ogrim himself gave Thrall both the hammer and leadership before dying from wounds received while aiding in the liberation of his fellow Orcs from internment camps.

I'd love to have this thing, not just because it looks badass, but it would also go great with the Thrall action figure I bought several years ago. Anyway, if you want a Doomhammer of your own, head on over to ThinkGeek.

(h/t Nerd Approved)

Zounds! Wizards of the Coast rereleasing three Dungeons & Dragons First Edition manuals!

Wizards surprised pretty much every D&D and RPG nerd today when they announced that they were going to release limited edition reprints of the original Dungeons & Dragons manuals, including the Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, and Player's Handbook. The books will cost about $35 each and the money goes towards a worthwhile cause - the Gygax Memorial Fund. The goal of the fund is to build a statue in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in honor of Gary Gygax, who gave the world D&D 36 years ago. Unfortunately, the books will only be available in America, which will probably mean we'll soon be raided by nerds from Canada and elsewhere. We really need a wall and a Night's Watch up there.

I admit that I have never played D&D in my life and probably never will, but damn, even I'm excited about this!

(h/t Nerdvana)

On D&D 5th Edition

Credit: Penny Arcade

Sexventures are generally the best kinds of adventures.

This D&D Dragon Dice Bag is +5 to nerdy

Credit: KnitnutbyJL.

Unfortunately, someone already bought it, but KnitnutbyJL has another up for sale on Etsy.

(h/t GeekAlerts)

Much like winter, D&D 5th Edition is coming

Wizards of the Coast announced today that they're going to begin work on the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but in an interesting twist, they will be taking fan input during the process. I've never played D&D in my life, so I can't really comment on it, but you can find commentary here, here, and probably elsewhere. I do know that 4th Edition is about as popular as a paladin in a whore house, so hopefully 5th Edition will not suck.

(h/t Nerdvana)

Epic D&D playtest battle makes me feel funny in my nerdy parts

Credit: BoardGameGeek

Holy crap, is that a triceratops!?

Jeffs Gameblog has a pretty interesting story from way back in the late 80s when some folks at TSR, Inc. playtested a supplement to Dungeons & Dragons called Battlesystem.

"Finally, we held the ultimate playtest - eight people each designed their own armies, using the recently developed "Creating Armies" rules. The TSR designers are a sneaky, underhanded bunch, and they all pored through the manuals trying to create the nastiest, most powerful, most outrageous armies they could find. The final battle took place on three planes (Ethereal, Astral, and Prime Material) with about 40% of the total forces invisible when the game began. There were devas, planetars, mezzodaemons, galeb duhr, and 10,000 gibberlings - each with a sword and a girdle of storm giant strength. There were catapults firing mirrors of life trapping that contained powerful monsters. There was a force of 220 invisible shadow dragons. There were three hundred-handed giants (see the Legends and Lore volume for details). There were drow cavalry on nightmares (they didn't last long). It took 8 hours of playing time (and 4 large deep-dish pizzas) to get through two turns . . . but it was an incredible amount of fun, and a lot was learned.

That led to the sixth draft . . . and eventually to the seventh."

Holy mother of Lord Ao; I don't understand most of that, but it sounds like the most awesome thing ever. The quote comes from Michael Dobson in the 100th issue of Dragon, a magazine dedicated to D&D.

Eight hours just for two turns.

(h/t The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope)

Things that invalidate arguments #257: Robin playing a Dungeons & Dragons parody

Robin vol. 2 #3.
Credit: Schwarbage.

I would read a comic series where Tim Drake (Robin, Red Robin from the Batman comics) and Young Justice play D&D or Pathfinder.