Historical Thursday - Gear Through the Ages

There is a fascinating pictorial on Imgur.com showing soldiering gear through many periods from 1066 A.D. to 1916.  See more here.

It's easy to see that a soldier's load was never light.  None of this shows what sort of other items might have been pressed upon them in the interest of the unit, as well as food and water (and other beverages) when beasts of burden were not able to be used.

Historical Thursday on GRYMVALD.com

Sifting through History to
enhance our tabletop RPGing.

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Worldbuilding Wednesday - Comet-Catching Rosetta Probe

Today we take a look at some real world worldbuilding as the European Space Agency's probe, named Rosetta, was scheduled this morning to be the first ever to orbit a comet, named 67P/C-G.  Aside from the re-broadcast of the actual event, you can find a ton of other links with background on the mission and more information here (scroll down).

Worldbuilding Wednesday on GRYMVALD.com
The nuts and bolts of Worldbuilding
for our tabletop RPGing.

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The Tuesday Sundries - Will Bird and the Roman Gladius

There's a wonderful story of a Roman Gladius found by a WWI soldier titled "Will Bird and the Roman Gladius" which you can read here.

The Tuesday Sundries on GRYMVALD.com
Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on GRYMVALD.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.

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RPG Media Monday - Photogenic Castles

From the world of photography, by way of the-Open-Mind.com, comes "25 Beautiful Castles from Around the World."  See more here.

RPG Media Monday on GRYMVALD.com
What can be gleaned from Media
and used in our tabletop RPGing?

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Setting & Society Sunday - Old Things

Sometimes it is hard to imagine the origins of some everyday things like pants, shoes, socks, and the like.  While we cannot know for sure if the oldest examples we have of some such things are the original examples of those things, they give us at least some idea of how long they may have been around.  This can help us to put some perspective to our own tabletop RPG setting creations as being rooted more in reality than we may have thought before knowing about the examples.  So, with that in mind, here is a pictorial article from BoredPanda.com on "16 Oldest Surviving Examples of Everyday Things."

Setting & Society Sunday on GRYMVALD.com

Looking closer at Setting and Society

as a part of what is presented by GMs.

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Saturday in Space - Martian MOXIE, Getting There, and What to See for Now

NASA has plans to send a machine to Mars that will make oxygen.  If successful, a larger version will follow.  Read more here in a New York Post article.

A couple of articles on Space.com that caught my attention include this first one regarding a propulsion engine previously not thought to be viable.  Recent tests of the microwave thruster system seems to indicate otherwise.  If true, it opens up huge possibilities in extended space travel and self-sustaining satellites.  Check out more on this development here.

Meanwhile, from a more down to Earth perspective, August could prove to be an exciting month for those who like to look to the stars.  A recent article suggest "How to Spot 5 Cosmic Treats in August Night Sky" include a "double-double star," "cosmic chrysanthemum," and more here.

Saturday in Space on GRYMVALD.com
What's happening in Space and

what can it mean for our tabletop RPGing?

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Flora & Fauna Friday - Nat Geo Vids & Hazen Audel

If you work on any tabletop RPG setting material and aren't subscribed to the National Geographic YouTube channel, you're missing out on a lot of fun videos and consistent inspiration.  They have a lot of full shows on the channel, and many clips from shows they have done, as well as quick looks at shows that are coming up on their television station.  While to some this might feel like signing up to receive a string of commercials, I personally find little tidbits and springboard ideas even from some of the flat-out promos.  Take, for example, the follow two clips for the currently running Hazen Audel show "Survive the Tribe."  The host and show are new enough on the scene that neither has a page on IMDb yet.  He's a self-styled adventurer-explorer-teacher-presenter-etc. and his demo reel on Vimeo even has some fun moments.

Flora & Fauna Friday on GRYMVALD.com
Examining animals, plants, and the
environments we use for our tabletop RPGing.
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