Lunabee's "rise" to prominence in the art toy subconscious is nothing short of amazing, and is an inspiration to practioners and toy designers all over. Having kept her head down and continuously produced custom-pieces after hand-painted custom pieces - each showcasing her style and design-direction - Lunabee has etched out her niche in the art toy world and culture, without fanfare and PR-frills, and even has "toy designer" firmly in her pocket, with a recently released Skelanimals design for Series 1, and another coming in Series 2. Here at TOYSREVIL love her work, and have featured her intensely before, and this interview is a long time coming!


TOYSREVIL: Your advancement in the toy-realms has been nothing short of a lighting flash! Oodles of customs and production toys with Toy2R, all within a span of .. how many years has it been, actually? How did you actually start? And what made you stay so far?

LUNABEE: Yeh I'm surprised at how quick everything took off :) My very first custom that I sold was in April 2009 so its nearly 2 years since I started. My friend Cris had been bugging me for ages to give customizing a try as at the time I was solely  a freelance illustrator and he thought my style would translate well onto vinyl so he gave me a quick lesson and thats how it all began. The support I get from the toy community is just overwhelming and combined with the fact that I love painting and creating these characters and their stories its not at all hard to keep at it. I can honestly say if everyone hadn't been so friendly and supportive I would never of continued and moved forward like I have. Naturally, the Toy2R Production toys were a total dream come true, the thought of more production pieces is certainly a motivator.


TOYSREVIL: Who is Sarah Miskelly? What does she do, and who is Lunabee to her? And what makes Lunabee so special? (Actually, who comes first?)

LUNABEE: Well Lunabee deprives me of sleep and a social life most of the time, I feel guilty when I'm not working so it's very hard for me not to work. I like to go to bed at the end of the day, look over at my desk and see a finished custom or a custom that is mid-creation, that makes me smile. I have tried to separate the two 'personas' to an extent  for instance when i'm being promoted in shows /blogs I am often referred to as "Sarah Miskelly" which i don't like, i like to be called Lunabee when it's concerning my toy art. Naturally the 2 are intertwined, my personality and imagination always express themselves in my toys.

I think Lunabee is special (in the toy world) because i think the Lunabee 'style' is quite distinctive. I had already developed a particular illustrative style before I started with the toy customizing so it just sort of slid over from there. I'd like to think people like and recognize my customs for the detailing, character design and colour palettes as they are the most important elements to me.


TOYSREVIL: And indeed your palate is one of the more recognizable aspects of your style, along with your visual imaginary, IMHO. That said, your customs are always very distinctive. What is your concept of creation, and how do you approach any 3D-work? And can you share with us your execution of concepts? And how long on average does one custom take? (From a small 3" Dunny to the largest custom figure you have attempted).

LUNABEE: I have sketchbooks filled with drawings, I ALWAYS draw out a custom before I paint it, the few times I haven't done this have ended in what i would call a 'generic' custom with no real direction and i hate that. Any custom I start, or even finish, that I feel hasn't been considered enough goes straight into an acetone bath and is started again. I don't put any work out there that I don't feel is good enough.



LUNABEE: My 3" Dunnies take around 3-5 hours depending on the detail, my recent monster dunny series had a lot of time invested on it particularly for Dr Frankenstein. My biggest custom to date was my Knucklebear, definitely a labor of love! It took around 6 days with painting 5-7 hours a day. When I finished it I was so proud I had managed it! I've attached a few photos from my sketchbook, I have never showed any of my sketches off so this is a first. I draw quickly and scribbly with a fineliner as i usually just get an idea in my head and want to get it down on paper as soon as possible.


TOYSREVIL: And we are grateful to see them! Thanks! Who are your design / creation heroes/heroines? Who stirs you up and excites you? Do they influence you as well? What are you influenced by? What makes you tick?

LUNABEE: I have many, 64 Colors being one -  their work just makes me smile and makes me think wow, I have to keep pushing to reach that kind of excellence. I am lucky enough to own a painting and several custom toys by them and they are just stunning.  Cris Rose, as well as being a very close friend of mine, is someone who constantly inspires me with his motivation -  he will mention an idea he has then within a week he'e either completed or half way to making it! There are a tonne of artists out there whose work I greatly admire, Caia Koopman, Jeremiah Ketner, Amy Sol, Audrey Kawasaki, Chiho Aoshima to name a few. I think my work is influenced by many things including greek mythology, childhood memories, nature, animals, old horror films.. the list is pretty endless.


['Nakoda' Dunny Custom from Lunabee x Cris Rose / circa 2010]
TOYSREVIL: I like all the mentions of your inspirations, and can somewhat see them (mostly) in your customs and descriptions thus far ~ Kudos! Now from 3D to a straighter plain - We've seen very, very little of your 2D-artwork as Lunabee, Is that deliberate? Why is that?

LUNABEE: This is an excellent question actually. Because I work as a freelance illustrator as well as a painter, all of my work I do for my illustrating side of my job is 2D (www.miskellaneous.co.uk is my website) so working on the 3D toys is a lovely change from that. However all the work I create as an illustrator is digitally created, so last year I started keeping a sketch book of painted characters. (I've attached a few) it's all quite raw but it's something I am working on. I would love to start selling paintings alongside my toys so watch this space. :)


[Earlier Illustrations & Paintings by Lunabee]
TOYSREVIL: Yay! That's so cool! And congrats to your recent show at Dragatomi! Is this your first show? Egging to do a solo show? What would be your dream lineup, so a solo show to represent works from yourself?

LUNABEE: This is my first major show yes and to showcase alongside 2 such talented ladies (Julie West and Sneaky Raccoon) was awesome. With regards a solo show, it is certainly something I want to do in the future but maybe I need to get a couple more 2-man 3-man shows under my belt first! When I finally get the chance to do a solo show I want to be able to showcase toys and paintings.


[Custom Koibitos from "Girl's Night Out"]
TOYSREVIL: If I were to ask you what is your single, most absolute favouritest custom toy have done to date, which custom would that be, and why?

LUNABEE: That's a tough one....I think it would have to be my Medusa custom for the Dragatomi show. I adore Erick Scarecrow's sculpts and Medusa is my favorite character in greek mythology so it was a bit of a dream to paint her. Any custom that requires super-fine details and combines beauty with monster is a winner for me.


TOYSREVIL: I think you may be one of the very small handful of female artists I have had the honor to interview. No doubt this industry is very male-dominated ~ Is that a good or bad thing? Can girls shine?

LUNABEE: You know, I really don't think it has made any difference - I think talent is talent regardless of gender. It certainly hasn't caused any problems for me - both male and female artists shine just as brightly in my eyes.

TOYSREVIL: With 1,337 Followers on Twitter, is there anything you'd want to tweet, but for the 140 character-limit? (And seems you are more active on Twitter than Facebook).

LUNABEE: I think twitter for me is a good thing, I tend to waffle on and lose my point half way through sentences when chatting to people so being forced to fit it into 140 characters makes me say what I actually need to say. I find Facebook is more for personal networking, most of my schoolfriends/ family are on there, then I got loads of requests from people in the toy scene so i thought well why not, maybe they will be interested in what i get up to outside of painting toys (not that i have much time for anything else!)


[Commissioned Custom PAWS]
TOYSREVIL: If you were to have a resolution for 2011, what would that be? Could you share it with us?

LUNABEE: I do have a resolution, well 2 actually. One is personal, I started running in 2010 to help improve the health of my lungs after suffering with pulmonary embolisims in 2009, so its my goal to keep running and improve as much as I can. I have charity runs in May and July booked which will keep me motivated. On a work level I would like to work on my 2D painting work and get some canvases up for sale on my store. To get another production toy would be awesome too in particular a Dunny, my fingers are crossed! :)


[Custom Dunny by Lunabee - gifted to me while I was lying in hospital bed with Stroke]
TOYSREVIL: You KNOW I have my fingers crossed for you! (Moreso "Health" and yes, "Toys" too :p) What should the world look out for Lunabee in  2011? And in the coming future? And why the nick "Lunabee?

LUNABEE: Well the Lunabee name was formed from a nickname i already had and the fact I am quite nocturnal, I paint a lot at night but nightbee wasn't quite as pretty as lunabee :) When I came up with the name it just felt like it fit perfectly.

2011 is set to be rather exciting with another Skelanimal Qee on the way and a very exciting release on my store in April which is something I have never done before, details soon! I have also started playing around with sculpey so you can expect a few sculpted toys in the very near future popping up in my shop. I have been working harder than ever this year and will continue to do so throughout 2011, I feel very fortunate to be doing a job I love so much.

By: Nsenga Burton

The latest controversy burning up the Internet is the availability of Phillip Greaves' book,"The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure," which he self-published and was available on Amazon. No we are not making this up and yes, you could have gotten it through your Kindle. Customers went crazy and threatened to boycott Amazon unless they removed the offering, which they eventually did. The book is described as an "attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles ... by establishing certain rules for these adults to follow," which attracted more than 800 angry customer comments. Since attracting those complaints and coverage in TechCrunch and all of the morning news shows, sales of the book had skyrocketed before Amazon finally pulled the plug. According to Slate.com, the advice book was the 158,221st best-selling e-book on Amazon. After TechCrunch covered the book, it skyrocketed to 146th—"an increase of over 101,000% in less than a day," Gawker's Adrian Chen notes. It reached 65th place before Amazon pulled it from the site. Yikes! People are up-in-arms about the book and are questioning whether Amazon, which initially refused to pull the book, should have stricter guidelines for filtering what it sells. The bigger question to us is why so many copies have been sold? Forget Amazon -- what does that say about us?

Read more at Slate.com.

Social networks push human interaction to the utmost limits. In a comment I left at Julien Smith’s blog, I talked about how time and friendship are being distorted by the Internet. I want to elaborate on the ideas, and also talk about the math.

Internet Time and Interactions

In the old days, we’d see friends when we saw them. We’d write or call now and again as well. The frequency of touch was far less often than today. With social tools, we have far more opportunity for frequency of touch, and it’s amplified by the fact that a lot of that touch is broadcast-style. Let me explain.

Old days: I’d see you at a family event. We’d talk. I’d send a letter or call you some time after that. We’d not see each other for months.
New days: I post something on Facebook or Twitter. You see it. I don’t say something directly TO you, but you remember that I’m still out there. You realize that it’s been a while since we talked directly.

The difference in these two interactions is in how the unintentional brushing past of my digital self stirs up the realization that we haven’t connected directly lately. It’s a reminder. It’s a statement that we haven’t had meaningful contact of a one-to-one sense in a while.

In thinking about this, I started doing some math. It really sheds some light on the complexities of our new digital lives.

Human Math

• If I talk to 100 people on twitter for 6 minutes each, that’s 10 hours.
• If I respond personally to 120 of the 600 or so emails and contacts I get a day, that’s 2 hours.
• If I call 10 people for six minutes each to “catch up,” that’s another hour.

100 small Twitter conversations.
120 emails.
10 phone calls.

13 hours.

That’s not work. That’s not necessarily business (though touch and networking aids business). That’s just contact.

13 hours a day on just that.

And that’s just 100 or so people. That’s not the 146,000 Twitter followers, the 58,000 RSS subscribers, the 11,000 LinkedIn connections, the 4550 Facebook friends, that I have right now.

That’s 100 or so people.

Is a Social Crash Coming?

We’re going to have to start contenting ourselves with more “ambient connectivity.” I think that lots of us already do understand and accept this. I believe that the frequency of touch requirements of the hyperconnected are much lower than the average human out there.

But that sure raises an issue, doesn’t it?

In a world where the hyperconnected accept and understand “ambient connectivity,” but where the rest of our connections and friends from the “real world” don’t, what will that do to relationships of all kinds? How will that translate?

Is there a much more painful crash before us? A social crash?

[Note: Almost done - this is the last post studying the text - and there will be one final post about the module's value, it's place going forward, and ideas for utilizing it in any campaign. For all visitors, please feel welcome to comment and be part of the PDF compilation of notes and comments - email me at oldschooljump(at)gmail(dot)com . To go back to the beginning of these posts, click here.]

[Contributor Note: Special thanks to Mr. Martin for actually doing a timed test for traversing steps and approximating 50 feet of descent per minute - making the Black Cyst about 500 feet below the Undertemple. To the right is a corrected - but still approximate - illustration of just how deep our adventurers are.]

Before really studying the Black Cyst, adventurers should consider opening the 'purple glowing stairway' and testing to see how long it will last... then journey down... that would be the cautious thing to do in order to know for certain how long the passageway will last... here we go.

We've made it down to the Black Cyst. We are racing against time and under threat of an unnatural cold, all the while we are in an unnatural and even hyper-magical darkness. We have very little explanations, over a dozen mysteries, almost a hundred theories, and no explanations in the text. It's clear that Mr. Gygax has guaranteed that players face mysteries that the DM won't reveal - because he can't.

The text describes the way down:


...and eventually ends...


What do these quotations tell us? That part of the journey down involves some type of magic or super-natural means, but the bottom steps are definitely constructed - presumably by the Cult. The stone of the central hemisphere adds to the 'hellish' mystique of where we are, as it is a 'needle-sharp mineral' of some kind. While 'close encounters' with the rock can be dangerous, the real threat is tearing these robes, which seem to have functionality akin to a protective space suit, don't they? We have encountered what I'll call Gygax's 'suggestive symbolism' quite a bit in this module. It should be clear that the goal is true mystery for players.

Not a lot of text to work from, but the absence of things has proven to be just as significant, so let me emphasize in an 'old school' way:


Sorry to shout, but there is nothing in the text of the Black Cyst to indicate we have left the Prime Material Plane. If we have descended into some kind of 'hell' it is not one that alters magical items or spells in any way. Additionally, it is not stated that everything radiates evil or magic, even though we would almost expect the whole place to shock a spell caster hoping to cast detection spells here. If we are 'somewhere else', then we have left the World of Greyhawk, but have not visited another plane according to the words in the text.

The final 'constructed' steps indicate that someone or something created this, and the steps are the familiar black stone found in other parts of the Temple. Once again, near hysterical expectation of an encounter makes this place even more eerie: nothing is awaiting them at the bottom of the stairs. No demons, devils, or undead. Nothing.

Nothing, that is, expect the vicious cold. The text indicates that exposed flesh immediately takes two to twelve points of damage - three to eighteen if it touches metal. Deadly. Characters would have to suddenly be considerate of what they are carrying and how they are carrying it. Only the cloth of the ritual robes can assist here, and the keystone of it all - the Wailer horn - is iron...

The Black Cyst, itself, is a hemispherical chamber - half of a sphere with a strange altar location in the center of it. The name of the place 'enters' the characters minds as they make their way inside it. The central location appears to be absorbing light, not that any magical light sources seem to go unaffected by the exotic and unexplained 'dark nature' of the place.

Carefully making their way to the center, they encounter the Form on the Block. The 'Block' is an altar-like shape of stone, but at twelve feet long, four feet high and six feet wide - it's large for an altar. A smaller piece seems attached to it on the ground - a step of some sort - which measures three feet wide, two feet high, and four feet long.

This isn't hard to visualize, but the rectangular proportions and their ratios aren't all that significant upon first glance: 4:6:12 - if I 'boil these down', I can get 2:3:6, which could fill in the equation 2 x 3 = 6 nicely but uselessly. Factoring down a notch I can get 1 to 1.5 to 3, which is a progression of sorts. I haven't found anything 'hidden' in those ratios but certainly a lot could be put in there by a DM expanding on this area...

One missing textual detail is the orientation of the block - as a rectangle, we aren't clearly shown if it is perpendicular to the entrance or if a 'short end' points towards the entrance way the heroes use to get in here.

To the head and foot of the main block are two 'devices of black metal', which are cressets

Hovering atop this block 'altar' is... something described as:


That's all the text that Gygax gives us to describe what could be, according to the friendly Introduction, a terrible and extremely powerful deity. That's all we get.

I believe because of this bit of text, and how 'rushed' and somewhat 'underdone' the Cyst's key text appears to be, that the module has been unfairly labelled as 'anti-climactic.' I wouldn't choose to argue that description here, but I would offer the following:

• Given that the Temple is dedicated to 'He of Ultimate Darkness'
• Given that the Cult that resided here was over a century more advanced than the surrounding bronze age societies.
• Given that the Temple itself contains 'hyper-natural' and literally maddening phenomenon that are not detectable or preventable by magic.
• Given that the Black Cyst is at least eight hundred feet inside a mountain - more than the length of two football fields.
• Given that even magical light sources here are dimmed by unexplained phenomenon.
• Given that the characters ability to wage combat is limited by harsh and, once again, 'hyper-natural' cold.
• Finally, given that the characters have only a few hours before they are trapped here...

...I would pose the question: just what kind of 'climax' was expected? No matter what the 'survival rate' of the adventuring party, there are only seven robes for the path down here, and just a few dice rolls concerning the descent in the shaft could kill one or more characters... I seriously doubt that seasoned adventurers standing in the Cyst are hoping for any confrontation or 'climax' at all... anything approaching a combative 'climax' would be a slaughter, as anything pushing the characters into the needle rock surroundings could shred them to bits, compromise their robes, and would possibly be with an imprisoned deity...

As for the short passage of description - let's break it down closely, given how much detail we have already consumed from our research:


So far, the Temple's real 'key' isn't darkness, but the sound that the Wailer for Tharizdun provides. Here in the Black Cyst, blowing the horn causes the southern doorway to slide down into the stone, opening a way to the small chamber beyond. This doorway is described as 'broad', perhaps to accommodate a pair of individuals entering.In addition to being a nice module puzzle, this does suggest that the chamber to the South and the lower stairwell were specifically constructed after Tharizdun was vanquished - the key to operating both is the Wailer. The stone of the floor of the main Black Cyst chamber was probably also of this kind of construction.

The Black Cyst, according to the Introduction, was discovered after Tharizdun disappeared, but may have been deep here in the mountain for millenia. No answers are given in the text as to when the Cyst came to be - even the DM can only wonder, but it does seem to be that there is a difference between the central area of needle rock and the chambers and floor that the Cult built. Given this, the actual Block and Step were also constructed after the Cyst was discovered, which was after Tharizdun disappeared. The central 'sphere' of the Black Cyst must predate the connecting chamber and stair column, we just can't know by how long.

If players can speculate on this, they can begin to see that even this area is about the Cult and not just about Tharizdun's presence. When the secret door in the South opens, the chamber beyond holds two - not three - chests. They are...


...but certainly appear to have been safeguarded here. Adventurers faced with these chests should be checking the time... but if this chamber were Tharizdun's 'quarters' or 'living space', there would probably be no reason for the security, so we should probably assume that these measures were taken by the Cult, or at least its founding members.

When opened, which can only be done by speaking Tharizdun's name, more ritual incense and cones are found - no valuables. Another example of sound as a 'key' of sorts.

Each chest also contains an odd metal bar about three feet long, with a triangular end. This is a giveaway as a puzzle - the triangular 'keyholes' are in the sides of the Black Step. As a Cult clue, it presents a notion of binary participation which is in alignment with the Chapel - it was the two outer walkways which had the most foot traffic, and the 'movie on the wall' showed a procession of pairs. Two keys. Two keyholes on opposite sides of the Step - thus two cultists would be expected to execute 'opening' the Step. Perhaps a third was meant to use the Horn? Remember the cold down here - handling any objects requires careful attention to avoid some serious cold damage. After all the strangeness in the Temple, try to imagine role playing a small group of adventurers struggling to navigate this 'icesphere' worrying about whether they'll have a free hand to carry treasure to the surface... or to hold one of the 'crowbars'.

If the keys are inserted and turned - revealing knowledge of some kind of gear technology, perhaps - the Step moves into the Block and reveals an opening. The Cult, apparently, has a toy box, or perhaps a 'secret stash'... Notice that this will only work properly if cones and incense is placed and lit in the devices to the sides of the Block. Everything present in the center of the Cyst is bound by the ritual - more proof that this Block is a Cult concern, and not placed here by Tharizdun himself or another agency.

We have finally made it to the last, final paragraph of text, yet we have to go carefully and think about these items - they are our final clues or evidence for any theories or ideas we have about this cult and whatever Tharizdun is, was, or will be...

In the secret compartment revealed beneath the step, we find three things: a black metal tube, a small black metal box, and a bag of metallic, black cloth.

The text emphasizes that these items 'are freezing COLD.' The capitalization for emphasis suggests that the temperature of these three things cannot be overstated. Are they the coldest items in the Temple? Perhaps they represent a focus for the wrath of Greyhawk deities or just concealed here even during the 'latter day' cult we have theorized? If they are artifacts or relics of some kind, that might explain why the great lengths to keep them hidden...

Let's carefully examine each and give it some thought.. as this is the last full paragraph of text in the area key for the entire module. These are our final pieces of evidence...

The first item, the long tube is a wand of force, a particularly useful... what? Is it a weapon? Indeed, it has been described by some as a Light Saber, and the reference shouldn't be ignored. Star Wars was released in 1977, and The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980 - always check those dates! The item has three functions - let's look at them:

1. 'Force Blade' - a user can create 'a shaft of nearly invisible, blue-white energy' that can function as a 4 foot long bastard sword equal to a +5 weapon. This is certainly useful for combating creatures from another plane, isn't it? In spite of the impression it makes, the visual appearance is much scarier than anything in the Star Wars movies: it is nearly invisible! Consider how deadly this would be in the hands of someone in, say, a dark robe who could see in total darkness and had no need for light... More important than the dangerous weapon it can become is the additional description in the text: 'It cuts stone at 5 inches per cut, metal at .05 inches per cut. Finally, we have a solution to one of the numerous mysteries here in the module! Now we know of one tool that was used in the construction of the Temple, and it opens up the possibility of similar tools. To cut 5 inches into stone with a single strike... imagine how long it would take a team of people if they all had such a tool. What is the siege value of such a tool?
2. The wand can also create a Wall of Force at 10th level casting strength. What are the construction uses for this spell in light of the massive stone in the Temple above? Tactically, an invisible wall can be useful against enemies in the darkness.
3. It can also create 'a nearly invisible plane of energy' functioning as a Bigby's Forceful Hand spell. Yet another useful ability for moving heavy stone or in combat. This third function requires a spellbook with a Bigby's Hand spell within in, so it is geared towards magic-users 'who know the greatest secrets'...

The wand is rechargeable through 'absorbing' certain force related spells - worth the trip to the Cyst all by itself. It presents a 'missing piece' in regards to the mysteries of the Temple's construction, and some of the subtle hints that magic users were held in high regard by the Cult. Perhaps the mysterious 'secrets' in the Cult's inner circle involved 'sacred knowledge' of construction - perhaps their priests were also skilled in masonry and stone. To refer back to the Star Wars movies, and even games, this one item can turn almost anyone into a Jedi master or a Sith lord. We can guess which of the two character types would be a better visualization of the Cult of Tharizdun.

The second item, the small box of the same black metal as the wand, contains what remains of the legendary 333 Gems of Tharizdun. It is also trapped - with sixty needle traps! The text indicates that in the cold of the Cyst, the traps don't function. Talk about cruel - a cautious party might wait until reaching safety above before examining the box. Ouch! The box contains 333 gems, but only a few of them are worth 5,000 gold pieces or higher - and they cannot be devalued - the remaining gems are of 50 gold piece value. Beyond the traps and the gems, the box itself has another secret - it actually has three stone legs, as the fourth is actually a magically attached cube of force - a potent treasure. Keep the gems in mind for our next post - they have not received enough 'fanfare' in the module text.

The third item, a bag of metallic, black cloth is tied closed with a metal wire - how often do you encounter metal wire in a fantasy campaign? Inside is a book 'bound in black, scaly hide. Its pages are all of black, and the sigils and glyphs inside are inscribed in silver. A visually frightening appearance definitely belonging to the cult. The text states an interesting line: 'If anyone other than a cleric of Tharizdun opens and attempts to decipher it...'
This is possibly the only text in the module that gives confirmation that Tharizdun ever had clerics. Perhaps 'thin' evidence, but it confirms the the thought that Tharizdun was a deity and did have a 'formal' clerical order and received worship. Up until this point in the text, we have the trappings of a religion - a Chapel, the idols, etc. but we couldn't take for granted that he was actually a deity of sorts. We'll talk about this more in the next post. For the moment, adventurers can use a Read Magic spell to determine its title: Lament For Lost Tharizdun. Does the necessity of the spell prove that the tome is magical? It may be too fine a point, but could have great significance moving forward - another topic for our next post. After interpreting the title, whoever is so bold as to determine the name of the book has their mind go blank as they take three to thirty points of damage! Does the book carry the same kind of 'cursed state' as other parts of the Temple? It is not explicitly stated that this is cold damage, so this is left open ended. Without question, this tome is valuable, significant to any campaign but it still carries questions: What hide is it bound in, a demon or devil's? Is it the flesh of Tharizdun himself? Were the Cult's founders adept at hunting demons, themselves being far worse and more evil? More to speculate upon, but opening up tons of possibilities for our next post in terms of how to place this module or re-purpose it for other campaigns.

As far as 'treasure hauls' go, this is significant - everything is of high value. The text states that the book and its bag will fetch 33,000 gold pieces from a sage. The wand is worth 30,000 gold pieces according to its description in the back of the module's text. The gems are two to eight in number and start their valuation at 5,000 gold pieces. Quite a haul, and commensurate with the risks of madness and death that the Temple holds.

That's it for the module's keys and the information they contain. After garnering these treasures, what's left of the adventuring party needs to ascend - quickly - up the steps and get the hell out of here. There's still the wilderness trek back to civilization, hopefully loaded with some significant treasures.

As far as the Form on the Block and the concept of Tharizdun, we are still left with hanging mysteries which we have to discuss, but the deliberately vague text in the module key to the Black Cyst does serve the purpose of keeping the characters in the Cyst while the DM counts off rounds. Considering that the 'purple steps' only last for three hours, time is critical. Three hours, at six turns per hour give characters 18 turns in the Black Cyst. Period. It is entirely possible that a whole party could be trapped in the Cyst, so it does seem a bit of an oversight for Mr. Gygax to not include contingency write ups for such a circumstance. In any case, from a story perspective, we have to wonder whether clerical appeals for divine assistance or even a magic-users Wish spell would be of much help - it might alert certain deities that the party is somewhere that they should not be.

From a role-playing and campaign drama perspective, it is very likely that the characters will have a 'shaken' and somewhat fearsome view of temples - even those dedicated to Good-aligned Greyhawk deities - after this descent into an unexplainable and forlorn place.

We'll tie up what loose ends that we can, and take a broader look at the module's place now and in the future.

PART 9, AFTERWORD, COMING SOON...

These phrases, lifted out of Psalm 66 are resonating with me right now. I've been making more of an effort to meet with God in Scripture lately and this is what I read earlier today. I don't want to just read to prepare for the next lesson or to check a passage off an annual checklist, but rather, to continue a process of transformation that God began in me years ago.

As I spend more time reading the Bible (intent about what I'm reading and discussing what I'm reading with God), I'm seeing more and more of Him at work around me. Not only that, but I'm seeing more and more opportunity for Him to work through the various circumstances of life... if someone would just use those circumstances to reveal His presence (i.e. actually BE the hands and feet of Jesus in those situations).

I wonder what the world would look like if we were better at telling people what He's done for us? What if we were really great at giving God the credit for the awesome things He's doing? Would people see the church more clearly if we had the courage to brave the dark crevices of each other's tribes with light that brings life instead of judgment that piles on guilt and shame?

Exciting things are happening in and around us here at WestWay. God is working in some awesome ways to draw people to Himself and be reconciled with them... and I'm convinced we're on the edge of seeing even more. The Holy Spirit stirs within the soul of the Body given fully to Him. Let Him move. Let Him move you to reveal Himself to people who haven't been noticing Him already.

Against a lot of advice as well as my own desire to make CelleCast a neutral media channel where different views can be presented, I want to speak up in open advocacy for the people of Iran in their struggle for liberty. And I want to relate it to the theme of the Fourth Speaker in our presentation of the power of mobile media. First of all, let me say that what I see going on is extraordinary. I am the kind of guy that gets all choked up when I read and hear stories relating to our own American revolution. The risk, the bravery, the principles at work in the character of our founding generation here in America stirs emotions like little else. Quite often I wonder and actively seek out modern manifestations of that same type of character playing out today. Unfortunately it is hard to find in our own country anymore. Most Americans today are under a spell of complacency/entitlement/fatalism, accepting a continually growing corporate state. Something our founders would not tolerate. That we would endure intense hardship to make the world a better place for future generations is a vanishing virtue here. But in Iran, the hardship of the people under the shadow of the clerics oppression has brought out that virtue. Back in June when the protests began, I expected the resistance to subside within two weeks. Like many, I turned my twitter icon green and in August turned it back. Then I kept hearing more reports. Resistance from a people with little resource, no weapons, and an unsympathetic US state department. What is this? What drives them? How can we help them? Could we not do for them what the French did for us 235 years ago? I heard amazing stories. I heard that Iranian people from all generations were hitting the streets at risk of arrest, property confiscation, and being cannon fodder for the Basij. Older Iranians would actually make themselves human shields to protect the younger ones from being shot (opposite of what terrorists do in FORCING others to shield them). The protests have continued into a near permanent state now, and I am getting emotional over this every time I think about it. Our twitter icon has been a permanent green for a while now, with our call-to-action number on it. But what else can we do?

One of our founding principles of CelleCast is to empower people with a way to speak out in situations where tyrants suppress the the voice of the people. What a perfect example we have in Iran. Iran has an educated population and a culture that predates muslim extremism, yet a completely ideological islamic government that controls the media and actively suppresses any and all dissent. Unless you have been completely asleep politically for the last year, you are aware that the people there are using social media to get around these barriers. This is critical. No dictatorial authority can stand without control of the media, and the new social media revolution is all about circumventing top down control and getting raw content out from the shadows where people can consume and process it themselves. Blogs are getting out written accounts, bypassing newspapers. Cell phones and digital cameras are getting out video accounts, bypassing television. AND cellecasting CAN get out audio accounts, bypassing radio.

Why CelleCasting?
The value of cellecasting for the people of Iran is that they create audio reports from any phone, which get published immediately and can be plugged into any site and copied by various bloggers and media outlets. Users simply need to be able to dial a phone number to publish what they witness. This empowers EVERYBODY. During peaks in the demonstrations, the regime blocks the internet, cell data channels and routinely confiscates recording equipment from people in the streets. With cellecasting, every last phone is a recording device! Creative workarounds have been deployed to protect protesters identities as they are exposed as active users of social media. What better protection could there be for the leaders than every last person being seen as equally dangerous? I am Spartacus!!! The biggest barrier we have right now in making this start to flow is awareness.

Talk Radio Opportunity
Just about any organization out there with a conscience (with the exception of the Obama administration) has at least started to openly condemn the violent, oppressive crackdowns in Iran. Once our own president finally gets involved, and starts working to bring more pressure on the government there, lots of play-it-safe people will start to come out of the woodwork and stand with us for the people. Please don’t wait til then. Please go on the air and help us promote the power of cellecasting to the people of Iran. Tell your listeners to send cellegrams to their families in Iran.. to email them our dedicated number, and record an episode for the effort that we can post on our audio tweet program.

We’ve had some political upheaval here in Australia.  Really it barely stirs us to raise our heads from our trashy novels and gaze lazily out to sea; politics in Australia is very tame.   But I thought this one was an interesting reflection of the rise of the feminine and the princess archetype that’s being activated. In [...]