Tome of the Eternal Serpent

This Ouroboros-adorned tome comes to us from the talented Alex Libris. 

LARP Alchemist's Kit

This beautiful alchemist's kit comes to us from leather crafter, and Propnomicon sponsor, Stefan Meo.  I can personally attest to the excellent craftsmanship of his work.  If you happen to discover something you like in his shop you can get 10% off for the holidays by entering code "PROPNOMICON".

Last Stand

This excellent LARP tableaux is a collaboration between PlaneShifting Art, Talos Workshop, and Aris Ioakimidis Photography.

It Bites

The talented Karen Main returns to our pages with this toothy creature.

Bandit Stash

This cool little treasure trove comes to us from Jonnathan Haracz. The mammoth tusk is a nice touch. It reminds me of the "not all treasure is gold coins" discussion in the original D&D Dungeon Master's Guide.

Denizen of the Upside Down

This wriggly inhabitant of the Upside Down comes to us from Brazen and Bold Productions.  "Stranger Things" has featured some excellent creature design work.

Faux Tome

Ivana Vuksanovic returns to our pages with this nicely done stash box disguised as a traditional gothic tome, complete with chain.

Heavy Armor

Steven K. Smith Props is responsible for this detailed recreation of the Theron Guard armor from the "Gears of War" video game franchise.  Scroll down his Facebook page to check out a video of him suiting up. 

Peddler's Backpack

Here's something you don't see every day- a prop backpack.  Tomàs Barceló Castelà crafted this beautiful piece along with the numerous prop items that adorn it. 

The Great Grimoire of Cthulhu

MilleCuirs returns to our pages with another wonderful bit of tomecraft, the Great Grimoire of Cthulhu.  The tooling is phenomenally well done.

As an aside, my sloppy typing revealed Google now knows the correct spelling of Cthulhu.  Truly, the stars are right!

The Legend of the "Black Knight"

Head over to GNDN to check out their write up on creating a backstory for the Black Knight.  No, not the mounted heavy cavalry, clanking armor kind.  This Black Knight is an alien spacecraft that has been orbiting the Earth for thousands of years, or so a certain sub-sect of conspiracy theorists would have you believe.

For “fun,” I’ve been poking at the Google Newspaper Archive and Wikipedia, and trying to dig up some more articles / background info. Inspired by Ken Hite’s “The Dracula Dossier,” I briefly thought I might phony up a whole, physical mock dossier, but that would be a lot of work, so I’m just going to post my copy-pasted bullet points.

The idea is that you can use this ‘raw material’ to flesh out some RPG thing you’re writing background for. Periodic alien visitation, ancient alien satellite left in orbit, prehistoric human space-faring evidence, etc. Maybe change the names / dates / locations if you need to. I’ve got most of the Black Knight Satellite ‘events’ on my list, and I’ve added some more arguably ‘relevant’ material.

What follows is a great example of Yog-Sothery, brewing up an entire mythology based on a few hard facts and a whole lot of creative conjecture. It's an incredibly effective narrative technique that I'm surprised isn't used more often. Most of the modern Alternate Reality Games do it using faux websites to build up the game world. It's far more effective when you can take our world and make it part of the game, so to speak, by putting a believable spin on actual events.

The Spawn of Propnomicon

I have a post about a nifty bit of Yog-Sothery in the pipeline.  Unfortunately, a small project I was peripherally involved with is taking up a large amount of my time- my grandson, who arrived early this morning.   And so the accursed bloodline carries on!  Heh.

Update:  Thank you all for the very kind words.  My wonderful daughter in law is doing fine, and my son is ecstatic.  I'm looking forward to changing diapers once again.  More importantly, I'll be able to share more stories of changing my son's diapers back when he was a tiny little monkey boy and not the 6' 8" security manager he is now.

Cthulhu in the Wild

This Cthulhu idol in the wild comes to us from Abraham Cruz of InsaneGames Mexico.

The Fakest of Fake Vampire Killing Kits Sells. Or Does It?

The long saga of the worlds fakest vampire killing kit entered a new era yesterday. Earlier this month I pointed out that it was once again up for sale. Yesterday it hit the auction block and sold...maybe.

The item listing on Ebay is very strange. According to the bid history a single person bid twelve times and ended up winning with a final bid of $1,100.

What makes that even more unusual is that Sterling Associates had another vampire killing kit up for bid at exactly the same time. This one is pretty nice, in contrast to the sloppy work on the other one. Surprisingly enough, the exact same bidder made exactly the same number of bids and won with exactly the same high bid of $1,100.

The weird bid pattern may be a normal part of auctions taking bids from Ebay and a live venue at the same time. That said, I suspect we'll be seeing both of these kits again.

Mask of the Leviathan

The talented Jason Soles is back with this wonderfully creepy Leviathan Cross mask, cast in bronze.

Burial Goods

Mr. Zarono returns to our pages with this Lovecraftian prop tableaux.  One can only imagine what strange ritual the skull, knife, and parchment are part of.

LARP Healer's Kit

This handy LARP healer's kit comes to us from PropCorn Design Studio.

The Cats of Ulthar

It is said that in Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, no man may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him who sitteth purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique Aegyptus, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Meroë and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.

- H. P. Lovecraft, "The Cats of Ulthar"

I suspect Joe Broers does not wear a horned head-dress with a curious disk detwixt the horns, but one can never be sure.  He brings us this nicely done resin figure paying homage to the titular felines of Lovecraft's story.

Bottled Horrors

The gifted Karen Main returns to our pages with this creeptacular pair of leech specimens.

A Touch of Innsmouth

Even the denizens of Innsmouth celebrate Halloween.  This stylish Deep One hybrid couple comes to us from Literally Mechanical.  The gills were cast in silicone, while the scale makeup was applied using eyeshadow brushed on through a pair of fishnet stockings. 

Crystal Cthulhu

Alex White brings us this Cthulhu figure cast in clear colored resin.  The flawless, bubble free appearance is thanks to the use of a pressure pot to draw off any air trapped during the initial resin pour.

Paper Props of the Great War

This collection of WW I era banknotes and ephemera comes to us from artist Michael R. Maranda.

Elder Sign Coin

"WMN-109" brings us this nicely done Elder Sign coin.  Based on the striations around the sign itself I think it was 3D printed, molded, and then cast in metal.

Update:  As he points out in the comments, this piece is actually based on Zero Mostel's work.  Everything other than the Elder Sign star is copied from his Summon Azathoth circle on DeviantArt.

The Fakiest of Fake Vampire Hunting Kits is Back!

Three years ago I ragged on Sterling Associates for fronting one of the fakest vampire hunting kits ever committed to auction.

Now it's back.  Clearly, the original buyer wasn't happy after getting physical possession of their prize.  Were they upset about chair legs being passed off as "hand carved stakes"?  The apparent flame-thrower that scorched the entire interior of the box without leaving a mark on the exterior?  The obvious letter opener blade being used as a dagger?  The upholstery tacks nailed into everything?

Who can say?

What we can see is that the sponsor of this auction is, quite intentionally, making sure there aren't any detailed pictures of the interior.  Their disclaimer has also expanded considerably:

STERLING ASSOCIATES STRIVES TO PROVIDE ACCURATE, OBJECTIVE, FAIR INFORMATION ON ALL LOTS. WE WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS. WE ADVISE THAT YOU, OR SOMEONE ON YOUR BEHALF, INSPECT ANY ITEM(S) AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS BEFORE BIDDING. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. PLEASE SEE TERMS CONDITIONS.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to sell a vampire hunting kit. They are, quite literally, works of art. What's dishonest and unethical is trying to pass them off as actual period artifacts instead of evocative assemblage pieces.  Leaving yourself wiggle room to fleece the unsuspecting and gullible is equally odious.

After the Bomb

Sweet fancy Moses, Sander Propworx really knocked it out of the park with this chainsaw and barbed-wire bat.  Both weapons are LARP-safe foam with simply amazing paint finishes. 

The Crimson Journal

Alex Libris is back with another gloriously hand-crafted leather tome.  This time it's an 800 page journal featuring a tooled leather cover in crimson, brass hardware, and fitted leather bindings.

Trophy Fish

Record lake salmon or barracudas mounted on the wall are a dime a dozen, but this?  This delightful sea creature is a real trophy.  It comes to us from master fisherman Andy.