Tome of the Skull

Sladjana Vukelic returns to our pages with this Tome of the Skull.  She's an absolute master of weathering and distressing.

 

 

Feed the Shoggoth

When a cultist invites you to play a round of "Feed the Shoggoth", run.  Abraham Marsh of El Primo De Innsmouth returns to our pages with this creepy display.

 

Nasty Knife

Wyrdcor returns to our pages with this nasty forged iron blade.  Definitely not the sort of thing used by the good guys.

 

Glowing Nirnroot

Nirnroot is one of the iconic alchemical ingredients in the Elder Scrolls games.  This glowing physical recreation comes to us from 3DSVS Store.  I know I'm not the only player that can hear that distinctive nirnroot chiming sound just looking at these pictures.

 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Krajda Edition.

This traditional-style Cthulhu idol comes to us from artist Konrad Krajda.  I really like the runic inscriptions.

Graven Skull

Skeleton Spooky Jack returns to our pages with this nicely done graven skull.

 

Hand of Y'golonac

Robert William R. Scheiner brings us this prop "Hand of Y'golonac" he created for his tabletop "Call of Cthulhu" game.

 

 

Sword and Scabbard

A nifty tableaux featuring a collaborative effort between Broken Wand, creator of the LARP safe Jarl sword, and El Marques LARP Shop, who crafted the ornate leather scabbard.

 

 

The Things Below

"The Things Below" is an interactive storytelling project from artist Fred Burdy.  In place of a traditional narrative it uses prop documents, photos, and ephemera to create an immersive tale of things perhaps better left unknown.  Click through to take a look at the full gallery.  It's an impressive piece of work.

 

Elder Thing

While the rest of us were celebrating Valentines Day with candy and flowers, Jason McKittrick was off to Antarctica to bring us this nicely done Elder Thing.  

 

Happy Valentines Day

"One of the blackest of black magics is the binding of a human spirit.   In occult circles the abhorrent rituals required to place a soul under the control of a necromancer are rightly feared, both for their immediate and long term consequences.   More often than not the practitioner who dares to experiment with such matters finds their own spirit at risk.

We present to you today a talisman used for that very purpose, crafted from the heart of a suicide.  Traditionally, those who took their own lives were viewed as a spiritual risk to the community as a whole.  Their restless souls could trouble a town or village for years.  In most cases they were mere annoyances, but particularly bitter or angry ones could be terrifying, lashing out at anyone nearby and slowly growing more powerful over time.  Preventing such occurrences required burying the heart of a suicide at a crossroads.

Unfortunately, not everyone viewed a restless spirit as a liability.  For some they were a precious resource with significant magical power.

The heart used in this binding talisman shows the characteristic distortion of one placed inside a box while fresh.  The moist tissue molded to one corner of the container and then dried out, displaying a distinctive ridge.  At some point the heart was recovered from it's resting place at the intersection of two roads and the spirit ritually bound.  During the ceremony iron spikes were nailed into the desiccated flesh, allowing the necromancer to trap the soul within.  Only through service to it's new master could the victim gain some measure of freedom and avoid the torments of punishment."

 

"You've captured my heart" takes on new meaning when you've actually bound someone's soul.  From the archives, a prop heart and magical talisman appropriate to the holiday.

The Legacy of Auguste Delagrange

I am continually amazed how the vampire Auguste Delegrange has taken on a life, or un-life, of his own since his humble beginnings.  Louisiana Dread brings us this recap of his reign of terror, complete with details even I wasn't aware of.  Heh.

Grimalt Mask

Artist Tomàs Barceló brings us this "Grimalt Mask".  He has a real gift for creating pieces that capture the feel of ancient artifacts.

 

Edible Swirling Magic Potions

"I'm hosting a DnD one-shot murder mystery for my birthday. So I made some potions for my party! First time really doing something like this." 

I saw this post pop up on my Reddit feed and was immediately interested.  One of the most popular posts on Propnomicon is this DIY for making swirling magic potions from back in 2010.  It looked like "Redhood Jason Todd" had used the same technique to produce some cool tabletop props.

Imagine my surprise when the potions not only looked great, but were actually drinkable!

That absolutely blew my mind, and sent me down the rabbit hole of edible glitter, lustre powder, and shimmering cocktails.  I've used mica powders to make potions for years, but until yesterday I had no idea edible glitter made with mica was actually a thing.  

This opens up so many cool possibilities.  Potions for tabletop and LARP use are the most obvious, and I think you could kick up the immersiveness a notch with some unusual flavors.  With that in mind I ordered this set of 15 edible glitter powders from Amazon along with 50 flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans and the bizarre Bean Boozled beans (affiliate links).  That includes flavors like buttered popcorn and cafe latte along with the downright gross booger and moldy cheese.

My plan at this point is to try dissolving two or three beans of the same flavor in about an ounce of distilled water heated up in the microwave.  After that I'll mix in the lustre powder and use a funnel to pour it into an appropriate bottle.  If nothing else, I have a feeling my Harry Potter obsessed grandkids will enjoy testing the various formulations.  Heh.

 

Dragon Armor

This post is actually about the armor from Arte sul Cuoio, but I have to point out the ridiculously photogenic elf wearing it.  This is what everyone, including myself, thinks they look like in costume.

That said, click through to check out the full set, including a pair of fully articulated leg greaves.  An absolutely insane level of craftsmanship.

Household Devil

A khovanets, or house devil, has a lot in common with a house elf.  Like them, it brings good fortune and luck to the master of the house.  What makes it different is that it steals all that prosperity from the neighbors.  This particular specimen comes to us from the talented Alisa Tochylovska.

 

The Murderer of Thomas Fell, Mundo Tentacular Edition

"The Murderer of Thomas Fell" is a one shot adventure for the "Trail of Cthulhu" tabletop game. Portuguese mythos gaming site Mundo Tentacular has a great post featuring some amazing custom props created for the scenario by artist Ricardo Ramada.  The collection includes photographs, maps, illustrations, a charcoal rubbing of a carved stone tablet, and more.  The highlight is the ill-fated Mr. Fell's personal diary describing the events leading up to his unfortunate end.  Click here for the original post in Portuguese, or head over here for the Google translation into English.

LARP Armor Set

Enric Pujol Art returns to our pages with this ornate "Ulfr" LARP armor set.  It features multiple hand-tooled leather armor segments, custom hardware, and a tailored arming jacket.  Click through for a full 360 degree gallery of the set.

 

Pages of the Necronomicon

Francois Launet has been one of the premiere Mythos artists for decades.  It's a testament to his talent that his dozens of Goomicronicon illustrations have defined my mental picture of what the Necronomicon actually looks like.  In addition to this look at the Seal of the Vortex you can find a huge library of his work over here.

Shaman's Skull Mask

Ordacraft has a real gift for creating horribly wonderful pieces.  Their latest is this primitive shaman's skull mask, complete with horns, teeth, and some excellent fiber embellishments.