Dwarven Trade Stone

When you order your custom forged sword from a dwarven smith does he write up a receipt from his handy accounts book? Of course not. Paper crumbles and burns. Stone? Stone lasts. Dayne Hodson brings us proof of that precept with this rare dwarven trade stone.

Found primarily in parts of Europe, Dwarven Trade Stones are used for proving that one has placed an order with a Dwarf.

Due to the time it takes for a Dwarf to forge an item, they would give one of these stones to the one requesting the forged item, than tell them to return at a later date with the same stone. The stone would then be examined to identify which item they had requested and proof of the trade.

Because many races seek out to purchase a Dwarfs forging skills, be it man, beast, fae or otherwise, many of these stones are lost before they can be traded back to the Dwarves.

Diadem of Dagon

Swedish artist Hanna Hedvig brings us this hand forged be-tentacled tiara dedicated to Dagon. 

Delta Green: The Movie

Oats Studios is an experimental project from director Neill Blomkamp, the man behind "District 9" and the aborted live action "Halo" movie. It's an independent production house specializing in short genre films that wouldn't make the cut in the traditional studio environment. Instead, they rely on crowdfunding and literally selling off digital props and assets. "Firebase" is their latest short, and it's essentially a Vietnam-era "Delta Green" scenario brought to life.

It's not without flaws, including some stiff acting and dodgy dialogue, but it's one of the very few films to really dip into the realm of cosmic horror. It also offers up an interesting twist on one of the major plot points of "Watchmen", both the graphic novel and film incarnations. I suspect that's not accidental.

Dragon Fossil

Photographer Sabrina Raymond brings us this well preserved dragon fossil recovered by the staff of Iron Antler Forge.  How long can mainstream science continue to deny the existence of dragons with evidence like this?

War Helm

Sander Propworx returns to our pages with this gorgeous LARP helmet. 

Duergar Trail Ration

Wats6831 returns with another fantasy RPG inspired meal. This time it's the food of the dread Duergar, the Grey Dwarves of the Underdark.  The Reddit discussion is over here.

The Duergar (gray dwarves) are the hated subterranean cousins of the surface dwelling shield dwarves. Vast Duergar kingdoms exist beneath the Surface in the Underdark. Duergar are known for their foul tempers, penchant for cruelty, grim and bitter dispositions. Their food is as coarse and uncouth as they are. Clockwise from top left: Sour Deep rothé pepper cheese (Limburger), boiled Deep rothé kidney (whole beef kidney), foraged roots and tubers; skirret and Fellroot (ginger and turmeric roots), contorted strangler fungus (Enoki mushrooms), onion & mushroom gravy hand pies.

I really liked these projects when they started. They were interesting thought experiments about the diets of stereotypical fantasy races and how that could be adapted as player snacks during a game. Now it feels more like "What gross food can I get my wife to vomit in the sink?"

I understand not everyone has an adventurous palate. That's what makes the lack of effort to actually create something genuinely tasty all the more puzzling. Why just plop a fresh beef kidney into boiling water, the absolute worst way to possibly cook it? If you're going to posit the Duergar have access to fresh kidneys, mushrooms, onions, and root vegetables, why not try one of the dozens of real world recipes using those ingredients?  Why pair un-prepped kidney and its ammoniac tang with Limburger, of all the cheeses?

Maybe I'm over reacting.  I just assumed a project focusing on bringing fantasy foods to life would feature a bit more craft.

Demonic

This nicely done demonic mask comes to us from artist Morgan Hughes.