The Book of the Third Eye

 Mille Cuirs brings us another impressive example of tomecraft with the Book of the Third Eye.  Featuring a hand-tooled leather cover with custom made inset eye.

 

 

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. 

 

Personal Effects

One of the reasons the "Call of Cthulhu" TTRPG resonates with me is that I love the classic Mythos era of the 1920s and 30s.  Everything from the clothing and architecture to magazine advertisements fascinates me.  Hence my enthusiasm for this excellent video from Gentleman's Gazette.  The channel normally concentrates on matters sartorial, but their "12 Things Every Man from the 1930's Had in His Pockets" focuses on the everyday carry of close to a century ago.  That includes everything from the different styles of billfold in use, to the popularity of pocket knives- some of which weren't too different from modern-day multitools.    

 

Fake Chat App

Over on the Reddit Delta Green forum, jdavenport has posted a great tool for anyone running tabletop games in the modern era.  It's Chatter, an app that generates screenshots from chat programs.  It currently has three modes- a modern smartphone messenger screen, the liquid crystal look of a vintage Nokia 3310 cell phone, and a Windows 95 AIM clone.  Here's a direct link to the web app itself.  The author has also open-sourced the program and uploaded the full code to GitHub.

 

 

Hail to the King

Jason McKittrick of the Cryptocurium continues his celebration of "The Doom That Came to July" with this nicely done statuette of the King in Yellow.  A limited number will be available in two different finishes starting tomorrow.

 

 

Eldritch Fertility Statue

A new curio from Burned Raven Tales is always a cause for celebration.  This time it's a faux bronze "Eldritch Fertility Statue" that mixes a familiar Lovecraftian form with the exaggerated feminine attributes of paleolithic Venus figurines.  

 

 

Folded Almanac Book Prop

The talented Eric Jordan is back.  This time he brings us a handy guide for dungeon delvers in the form of a medieval-era folding almanac.  He not only shares an extensive gallery of the finished prop, but an entire thread about the creation process.  That includes the trial and error approach he used to determine the page layout for the book.  He not only had to deal with multiple pages, but those pages themselves unfold into even more leaves.

 

Wikipedia has a great write up about this unique style of pocket library.

"A folded almanac, sometimes called a physicians folded calendar, girdle book, or vade mecum, refers to a type of medieval English almanac consisting of multiple folios which are folded multiple times and bound together to create a dense yet compact vessel for information which would be used in medical practice."

Deep One Spear

Artedarme Workshop specializes in creating unique LARP-safe foam weapons.  Their latest is this nautically-themed Deep One spear.  

 

 

The Head of Mimir

"Me? I'm the greatest ambassador to the Gods, the Giants, and all the creatures of the Nine Realms. I know every corner of these lands, every language spoken, every war waged, every deal struck. They call me… Mimir! --smartest man alive, and I have the answer to your every question."

Parts N Crafts brings us one of the coolest video game props I've seen in a while- the head of Mimir, god of wisdom, from the latter-day God of War games.

 

 

Gage Prentiss Cthulhu Statue

Longtime friend of the site Tim Lonegan dropped me a note yesterday about this incredible piece.  He commissioned a truly unique Cthulhu statue from artist Gage Prentiss, himself no stranger to these pages.  I strongly recommend clicking through on the link to check out the full gallery of photographs and the detailed backstory behind the statue.  

You'll have a chance to view the piece in person at the NecronomiCON Providence art show in August. 

 

Anders Lerche Cthulhu Idol

This hefty beast comes to us from Danish artist Anders Lerche.  It's an unusual piece in that the casting is a latex skin filled with urethane foam.  I believe that would make it not only a nifty Mythos prop, but a LARP-safe weapon as well.  Heh.  

 

Handouts for Operation Fulminate

Over on Reddit, the intriguingly named Mothmansight has posted a collection of handouts for Operation Fulminate: Sentinels of Twilight, the introductory scenario in the Delta Green Handler's Guide.  They help round out an investigation that already includes an impressive number of printed props. 

 

Cthulhu By Gaslight

Good morning, friends.  Seth Skorkowsky returns to our pages with a review of "Cthulhu by Gaslight", Chaosium's official campaign transplanting "Call of Cthulhu" into the Victorian era.  He offers details on the differences from a 1920s campaign, both in terms of rules and historical background, with great advice on some of the unique quirks of the specialized gaslight skills.

If you aren't following him already you should add him to your viewing list.  He's consistently one of the best sources of "Call of Cthulhu" information on YouTube.

 

The Innsmouth Relic

Jason McKittrick dives deep into the Special Collections at Miskatonic University to bring us this intriguing "Innsmouth Relic".

"Recovered from beneath the Gilman House, where crude tunnels wound through the foundations of Innsmouth and descended toward the sea. This framed artifact features a weathered marine cult relief, marked with strange glyphs, blue green patina, and barnacle growth from its long exposure to the depths below."  

It's available for purchase starting at 6 PM Eastern tonight.  Just click through to get all the details on Instagram.

 

I'm Back, Baby!

I'm back!  Everything went smoothly with my double bypass.  I'm well on the way to full recovery, but it's going to be a while before my totally metal chest scar is completely healed.

 Thank you all for the well wishes on my previous post.  They were just what I needed. 

  

Temporary Hiatus

Much to my surprise, I'm taking a temporary hiatus from Propnomicon.  On Saturday I woke up, grabbed a shower, sat down for a delicious cup of fresh-brewed coffee, and suddenly experienced a feeling of intense pressure in my chest.

To make a long story short, I'm having bypass surgery tomorrow.  Recuperation is going to take some time, and I won't have access to my computer for at least a week.  Things should be back to normal after that.

 One bit of good news- the long delayed Miskatonic Antarctic expedition package will finally happen.  I've actually had all the items for years now, but kept putting it off.  It seemed like I never had the time to handle taking orders, packaging everything, and taking care of shipping.  Turns out, if you procrastinate too long you might get a reminder that the clock is still ticking.

Thank you all for your patronage and friendship.  We'll talk soon.

Mask of Mithra

This beautiful mask of the ancient Iranian diety Mithra comes to us from Canadian artist Menighbe.  Cast in resin and then finished in gold and silver leaf.

 

 

Innsmouth Resources

Over on Reddit, JoeKerr19 was looking for some help:

"Hey everyone, I'll be running DG soon and I'm looking for as many photographs, archives, autopsy info involving the Raid of Innsmouth. Does anyone has a cache of pictures, files etc? The more the merrier."  

That caught my eye because of the rather large number of such resources here on Propnomicon.  Unfortunately, as part of the general enshittification of the internet, Google and other search engines no longer do the kind of deep search that finds most of them.  I'm reposting my answer over there here in the hope they'll start showing up again.

You can find all of these, and a slew of related material, by clicking through on the Innsmouth tag. 

The Innsmouth Submarine- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2012/01/innsmouth-submarine.html

Innsmouth Submarine Officer- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/prelude-to-innsmouth.html

Innsmouth Matron- this has been used in a few books- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/innsmouth-look.html

Innsmouth Submarine Crew- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/innsmouth-crew.html

The Innsmouth Papers- FBI analysis of gold seized during the Innsmouth raid- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2007/12/innsmouth-papers.html

Innsmouth Marines- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/04/reinforcements.html

The Innsmouth Wharf- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-wharf.html

S-Class Submarine Plans- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/s-class-submarine-plans.html

Gillman House Luggage Label- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/08/gilman-house-luggage-label.html

Esoteric Order of Dagon Priest- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/05/dagon.html

Seal of Dagon- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2008/09/seal-of-dagon_21.html

Innsmouth Fisherman- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-raid.html

S-8 Submarine in Dock- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-submarine-aftermath.html

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Dossier

Nuke Bear Craft is a huge fan of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. post-apocalyptic game franchise.  He's not only recreated a slew of props from the game, but taken part in multiple airsoft sims set in the same universe.  That was the reason for this awesome dossier, complete with photographs, intelligence reports, and medical readouts. 

 

Cthulhu Portal Key

Maarten Verhoeven has become one of the premiere Mythos artists thanks to his intricate, digitally sculpted designs.  He has a real gift for creating forms on a screen that look even better translated into three dimensions.  Case in point, this Cthulhu portal key.  It's a wonderful blend of organic and geometric forms. 

 

Unicorn Horn

Burned Raven Tales is no stranger to these pages.  Their latest piece is this specimen of a black unicorn horn, complete with a labeled presentation box.  Just the thing for your cabinet of curiosities. 

 

 

Alchemist's Bag

Outcast Props returns to our pages with this nicely done full leather alchemist's bag.  It's designed to serve as a portable workshop and laboratory, with multiple slots for potions, vials, ingredients, and a removable drawer for document storage.  It mirrors a lot of the design cues from historical medicine chests going back to the age of sail.

 

 

Bottled Terrors

Tele-Pots brings us some classic "thing in a bottle" specimens.  On the left a demonic fetus, on the right a spawn of Cthulhu.   

 

Spirit Bound Skull

Artist Axel Torvenius brings us this human skull pierced by a myriad of iron nails.  That was one of the traditional black magic techniques for binding a spirit into your service.  

Just make sure the nails are never removed. 

 

Shaman's Dagger

Artedarme Workshop returns to our pages with this LARP-safe shaman's dagger.  They've done an outstanding job of recreating the look of real obsidian and bone.  That's no small feat. 

 

Deadly Harvest

Artist Nathan Vent brings us this trio of mandrake roots, harvested at considerable danger to himself.  

 

 

D&D Handouts

Over on Reddit, PMbyday_DMbynight shared some excellent handouts from his latest Dungeons and Dragons campaign:

 "During the last session of our D&D, I made handouts for my players. While I handed it to my players, they did not open it right away. They turned it over, checked the seal and held it up like it actually mattered. The whole table was quiet for few seconds. That’s the moment I know physical handouts are essential.

Since last year, I have been making simple “parchment” at home using cheap brown paper, printing on it and aging it a bit. Nothing really fancy or expensive but once you put it in an envelope or add a small prop, it starts feeling like an object from the world!

It is honestly one of the best and easiest upgrades to immersion at the table."

As you would expect, the comments include a lot of very positive player reactions to getting tailored handouts.  That jibes with my own experience.  I've also seen players totally ignore the clues and information included in prop documents.  That can occur even when the participants are experienced investigators.  When it does, I normally have them roll a perception or intelligence check for their characters and offer up varying levels of detail depending on their success (or lack thereof).

Is it meta-gaming to expect players to pick up on things?  You bet, but it's also fun and immersive.  Having the character's abilities as a backup gives them another chance to take advantage of what they've been given. 

 

Hail to the King

Artist Yu Chung brings us this excellent King in Yellow statuette.  Check out his feed and you can see the entire process of it being digitally sculpted, sent out for 3D printing in resin, and the final paint job.