Free Early and Renaissance Music - Classical Guitar Recordings

If you're looking for some music to play in the background of your Medieval Fantasy RPGs, particularly in tavern situations where a bard might be performing, have a look at the Musical Selections section of jsayles.com.  While much of it is from the Renaissance period, one might argue that many Medieval Fantasy games border on the tail end of that period and that much of this music borders on the front end of the Renaissance.  Certainly, many of the instruments in use crossover well enough.  Enjoy!

Can You Spot the Horse?

A recent article on the BBC website in the Science and Environment area of their News section discussed recent findings regarding how ancient cave art depicting spotted horses has helped steer scientists to look closely at DNA of ancient horses.  Past research had shown only brown and black colored horse coats but more recently they have discovered that dappled horses may have also been fairly common, as cave artistry might suggest.  Read more here!

"Berlin Researchers Crack the Ptolemy Code"

This news is about a year old but I've just discovered it for myself and thought I would share it with others.  Apparently, a research group has managed to make some sense of the long-frustrating maps of Ptolemy and, in doing so, have added about 1,000 years of history to many Germanic population centers.  Just a little something to think about before giving players handout maps; they don't need to be perfectly accurate.  Maybe you don't want them to take 2,000 years to decode them, but they can be a little off.  Read more about it here!

Insect Identification Guide

Although this one is only for North America, I thought it was such a neat little application that I'd better share it with veryone.  Check it out!

Lunar Cycles Explained

If you're planning on having a world with similar tides and weather to our own, you might want to know a bit more about our moon and it's affect on the planet.  To learn more, check out this website here!

"Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds" on Elfwood.com

There's a very detailed series of articles on Elfwood.com called Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds that should be well worth your time to read.  Check it out!

A Little Fiction on the Monsters of British Columbia

Over on the moonwillowpress.com for Halloween was a particularly fun piece of writing on The Legendary Creatures of British Columbia I wanted to share.  It includes some lore on Ogopoga Monster, thought to be either a Basilosaurus or a plesiosaur, depending on who you ask, as well as some other folkloric creatures.  I hope everyone had a Happy Hallloween and Enjoy!