This is what you get if you mix two potions and then roll 07 on d100: "Mild poison which causes nausea and loss of 1 point each of strength and dexterity for 5-20 rounds, no saving throw possible; one potion is cancelled, the other is at half strength and duration. (Use random determination for which is cancelled and which is at half efficacy.)"
I don't think I'd even heard the words 'miscibility' or 'efficacy' before this.
Oh, a little note reminds you to roll in secret and give no uncalled-for clues until necessary.
If you're travelling the astral plane there's a one in twenty chance you'll meet something. Roll 38 on d100 and the something will be
Tiamat, 5 headed dragon star of the D& D cartoon. I have never used any of these tables but they are awesome.
I don't believe this fabulous blog has done a book recommendation (cue some editing later if I actually have) so let me start now by mentioning three of my favourite reads. Well, I say reads. What these books have in common is that they're more sort of dip-in and dip-out volumes. Such as the one I've quoted from above my First Book Recommendation The 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters' Guide.
Hmm, could have done with focussing the camera first. Never mind. Maybe it's a property of the bizarre forces contained within that have caused the distortion. Yeah, that's the most likely explanation.
As well as being full of every rule for every situation you could possible come across in your life as a brave adventurer it also contained actual drawings of naked ladies (well, demons and mermaids - close enough) that made it the ideal purchase for the 13 year old boy. I didn't even realise until now that they have released special commemorative editions of the 1st ed AD&D rulebooks this year. A quick scan around shows that the limited release of these new editions has ensured they've gone up in price already. Let's put a price tag on that proustian rush.
My Second Book Recommendation is West Yorkshire Train Times, perhaps the best combined volume of train timetables produced anywhere in the country.
Each timetable contained within is available individually but there's just something about this omnibus that satisfies, its substantial page count affording it the status of a latter-day Bradshaw's. Many of the timetables extend beyond the borders of West Yorkshire (oh yes, you'll find both Manchester and Scarborough in here!) meaning details of most of the North's train services can be at your fingertips with the turn of a page. This is the stuff.
On a side note, I quite like the fact that the railway signs of three consecutive PTEs all use an 'M' branding on their stations. You could take a journey from Huddersfield to Huyton and come across the following.
And if those two weren't anoraky enough for you you're going to love my Third Book Recommendation The London A to Z.
My own love affair with the A to Z began naturally enough with my own native edition from Manchester. It was already several years out of date when I used it to explore streets that were no longer there and routes that could no longer be followed. The sight of Manchester Central and Manchester Exchange stations dangled a long gone carrot of exploration (that's a recognised metaphor, isn't it?) in front of me. But it's the majesty of the London edition that makes me gasp in awe even now. Never mind all the hoo-hah about the inaccuracies of Apple Maps there's something that speaks to me in turning a page and discovering a whole new world to explore. I now have a 2012 edition, updated to include Overground stations and Olympic venues. There are other, useful but less elegant, atlases but you can't do better than an A to Z. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Phyllis Pearsall, the extraordinary woman who created the first A to Z.
More soonliest.
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