ZAVOD - Pripyat (Music Video)

Some post-apocalyptic music for your inspiration...

Fan-Fingered Geckos!

Who do I meet almost every night when I get off the train at the Rehovot Train Station? None other but the local, wild (though urban-dwelling) Sinai Fan-Fingered Geckos (Ptyodactylus guttatus). there are at least two of them and they like to lurk on the station wall next to the lamps, which attract various delicious insects. So here they are!

Gods of CHAOS!

Here is a list of the Chaotic/Chthonic Gods of my Barbarian Conqueror King setting with all their different names across cultures.

Language and naming in Barbarian Conqueror King

Now on to the languages and naming systems of Barbarian Conqueror King.

Most people in Kanahu speak Kinhan, which replace the "common" language in this setting. It has a written alphabetic system, an innovation which was adopted by the neighbouring lands of Enyom and Queddar and even by the commoners of old Sakkara, as it is far easier to learn and use than the High Sakkaran hieroglyph system. In "metagame" terms, this is similar to Semitic languages, so most place (and person) names should sound Semitic (or at least fitting to the Bronze Age Levant).

The people of Enyom speak the Enyomi tongue, which is closely related to Kinhan; anyone who knows Kanahi can understand simple sentences said in Enyomi on a proficiency roll of 11+ (Intelligence bonus applies) and the other way around. Enyomi uses the Kinhan alphabet. In "metagame" terms, Enyomi names should also be vaguely Mesopotamic.

The humans of Quedar speak Quedari, which is more distantly related to Kinhan and Enyomi and uses the Kinhan alphabet. anyone who knows Kinhan or Enyomi can understand simple sentences said in Quedari on a proficiency roll of 18+ (Intelligence bonus applies) and the other way around. In "metagame" terms, Quedari names should sound vaguely Arabic.

The Gecko-Men of Queddar speak their own language, which sounds like a combination of chirps and clicks. It uses a strange variant of the Sakkaran hieroglyphs for its religious texts, and a variant of the Kinhan alphabet for secular writings.

Sakkara has two languages - High Sakkaran and Low Sakkaran. High Sakkaran is the language of priests, royalty and sorcerers, and many sorcerers in other Human lands use this as well. It uses very complex hieroglyphs, which are difficult to master. Low Sakkaran is spoken by most Sakkaran commoners, and uses the Kinhan alphabet. In "metagame" terms, names in both tongues should sound vaguely Egyptian.

The Lizardmen of Punt, as well as its small Human population, use three languages - the Red Tongue (spoken by priestesses), Green Tongue (used by most Lizardmen) and Blue Tongue (spoken by sorcerers). All three share the same hieroglyph system. In "metagame" terms, Lizardmen names should sound vaguely Mesoamerican.

The Men and Lizardmen of Mala speak Malan, a language distantly related to the Green Tongue. This language has no written equivalent, though the few literate Malans speak and write in the Green Tongue of their neighbours.

There are two more languages in this setting: Serpentine, which was once used by the Serpentmen and now rare (uses pictographs); and Chaos-Tongue, which is used by various Beastmen & cultists (has no written equivalent).

The Lizards of Kiryat Tivon

My mother lives in Kiryat Tiv'on, Israel, a small town not far from Haifa. Her house is situated near the wadi (valley) and in a lightly forested area, so there is quite a good amount of wildlife there, including reptiles. Here are a Mediterranean House Gecko and a Rough-Tail Rock Agama I met at her home yesterday and today. All are wild animals who have colonized my mother's house and backyard.

A Perosnal Medical Update

After suffering from fever, coughing and shortness of breath for the whole weekend, today I have been diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and given antibiotics. Right now I'm on sick leave at home. I do have some final amendments to add to my thesis but other than that, this means resting until I get better.

However, I do have a more worrying medical problem - digestion issues, with 3-5 stools a day, bad appetite and nausea. The doctor did not come to a diagnosis regarding this but did ask me if I had a history of intestine cancer in my family; she then sent me to a gastroenterologist (the appointment I have is in July due to the shortage in manpower in the Israeli medical system. I did get worried from her 'cancer' questions, though I do understand that they are part of the regular diagnostic process.

Hopefully I'll get better soon.

I Have a New Job!

I am happy to announce that I have been hired to work full time for a small local company, called Designate Technology Initiatives, which specializes in "library" (read: Google Scholar) research and academic-level writing for a plethora of customers, from students, through other businesses, to official bodies. This means I spend 8 hours a day, 4-5 days a week, writing 8-12 pages of high-quality text, usually in the humanities or social sciences. While this is hard work, it is interesting and satisfying.

For this reason, I might be a bit less available for gaming stuff for the following few weeks until I adjust to the new job. Of course, I will still work on Outer Veil stuff and USE ME booklets. Once I'll fully adjust myself, I'll be back to gaming. Oh, and with more money for miniatures!