You Gotta Have Heart

A centuries-old heart...

Silent for generations...

Begins to beat once more.

Long before modern medicine understood the heart's function, it was believed to be far more than a simple organ. Across Europe, it was regarded as the vessel of the soul, the seat of emotion, memory and life itself. In folklore, the preserved hearts of witches, saints and executed criminals were said to retain a fragment of the owner's essence long after death. Such relics were hidden away, sealed beneath glass, or entombed with iron to prevent whatever remained within from stirring once more.

The Tell-Tale Heart places one of these forbidden relics into your audience's hands.

Beneath an aged Victorian display dome rests the genuine mummified witch's heart, pierced with iron nails and preserved for centuries. It is introduced as an object steeped in folklore, a vessel that has lain dormant for generations, waiting for another living heart with which to resonate.

Dan Baines of Lebanon Circle Magic is no stranger to these pages. His latest illusion features a mummified heart that actually starts to beat while a spectator is holding it.  The Tell-Tale Heart isn't just a cool gaff and magic item, but would be an absolutely killer prop to roll out for a tabletop game. 

 

Impossible Landscapes

"Impossible Landscapes" is widely considered one of the definitive Delta Green tabletop scenarios.  One of the reasons for that is the sheer number of props and handouts, both official and otherwise.  Dump Stat Adventures brings us a selection of items from their run. 

 

Faking It

Perry Daniels has posted a great video on YouTube featuring an in-depth look at creating and weathering prop documents.  He starts off with one of the cheap Chinese copies of the grail diary from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and proceeds to upgrade the whole thing into something far more impressive.  Given the price point, it should come as no surprise that most the of the original inserts are printed on standard printer paper.  Mr. Daniels goes through and replaces them with more realistic alternatives.  That includes hand-drawing the Petra map, using actual newsprint for the clipped newspaper articles, using real photographs, and then weathering the entire book with an airbrush wash.  

There's a lot of information packed into the video.  That includes something I've never seen before- recreating the smell of an old book using a spray from a commercial scent library.  That's next level. 

Up From the Depths

We wrap up the week with a cool idol of Dagon from from Black Shawarma Shop over on Etsy.   

 

Mi-Go Specimen

I go, you go, we all go, for Mi-Go!  Jason McKittrick of the Cryptocurium brings us this "Mi-Go Pupa" specimen, the final release in his "The Doom That Came to July" series. 

 

Cthulhu Bas Relief

This bas relief of Cthulhu comes to us from artist Molech996 over on Reddit.

 

 

The Book of Pain

Professional book binder Alex Libris brings us this one of a kind tome.  It's a commissioned piece, and the carved leather cover embossment is based on the owner's "Lady of Pain" tattoo.  Featuring a cover of hand tooled leather with custom brass hardware and buckles.