I'm not artist: Six items from Ocarina of time made by Turtle Shell Ablatives, a ProtecCo company.

Six items from Ocarina of Time made by Turtle Shell Ablatives, a ProtecCo company. 

Deku Shield: I think the Deku Shield is the game’s most thematically interesting shield as it is made from the bark of the Great Deku Tree and inscribed with the Kokiri symbol. Those two facts really ground the shield in the lore of the world. It's only usable by child Link and is extremely vulnerable to flame so it is often relegated to being a basic or starter shield rather than a memorable item.

I remember really liking how this came out when I drew it but looking at it now I'm not impressed. I guess that is the march of progress. 

For the holy warrior more concerned with venerating the gods of nature then personal protection there is the Ironwood Buckler. Bark harvested from sanctified ironwood trees is inscribed with the symbol of your choice and then treated with resins and holy oils to keep it as hard as iron. Don't let prohibitions against metal armor keep you from safely spreading the will of the gods to even the most hostile of audiences. 

Holiday Hat for the Holidays

Wishing everyone a nice holiday.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Ocarina of Time forged by three master smiths.

Five items from Ocarina of Time forged by three master smiths.

Megaton Hammer: This hammer is swung with an even greater force than its already incredible mass would suggest. The strike of this hammer can shatter stone, flatten steel, or even cause a small earthquake. Legends speak of a Goron ancestor hero wielding the hammer in battle with Volvagia, the fire dragon. The ancestor hero sealed the dragon’s spirit in the burning heart of a volcano.

Training under a master smith, three apprentices bickered bitterly over who was the greatest smith. When the master decided to retire, they challenged their three pupils to craft a flawless forging hammer. The smith that crafted a perfect hammer would inherit the master’s entire workshop. Each of the three apprentices poured all their skills into a hammer they hoped was the equal of the challenge. The master rejected each of the hammers for a different reason. They became resigned to close their shop instead of passing it to a new master. The apprentices realized that individually, they could not succeed, but together they were more than capable. Working together, the apprentices forged a truly flawless hammer. When they went to present the hammer to their master, the master had departed. The former master left three pairs of golden tongs, signifying each smith as a master.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Ocarina of Time you could find in a curious shop.

Five items from Ocarina of Time you could find in a curious shop.

Lens of truth: In Ocarina of Time, Link can recover the lens of truth from Dead Hand’s cold dead hands. The glass allows Link to discern illusions, perceive the invisible, and gaze inside sealed chests. 

Having gotten turned around walking the city at night, you find yourself on an unfamiliar street. It is lined with small shops offering all sorts of wares. Without realizing it, you find yourself drawn to Lil’s Trinkets, an outdated store with a cat sleeping in the window. The shop is illuminated by an army of candles that can only manage to make the interior dim at best. A disembodied hand covered in wax stands on a shelf with a small flickering flame hovering above each finger. The tag reads, “Glorious Hand, a guiding light against the darkness of ignorance.” You can’t seem to find the price on the tag.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Ocarina of Time you could see during ajourney to the shining temple.

Five items from Ocarina of Time you could see during journey to a shining temple.

Light Arrow: Link’s arrows are empowered with the goddesses’ light after he frees all seven sacred sages. The arrows allow Link to dispel magical barriers and strike lethal blows against Ganondorf. As an added bonus, monsters slain by light arrows almost always drop a bunch of rupees. Mechanically it is a nice way to provide the player more rupees in the endgame, but I also think that the hero of time being able to abuse the sacred power for personal gain is an interesting unspoken complication to the narrative.

From atop the temple of the triple goddess, a ceaseless light shines out onto the lands of the people. Even during the darkest night, the lands of the people are held in a twilight by the presence of the sacred light. The light shines from the crystal head of a spear that was once wielded by the greatest evil to ever rule over the people. The Hero of Song, the greatest of all the people’s heroes, defeated the great evil by securing three blessings from the three-that-are-one. Only after the hero received all three blessings were they able to defeat the great evil. Modern incarnations of the Hero’s Song tell that the hero slew the evil with their own spear and then triumphantly sang the three blessings into the once accursed weapon. Placing the newly hallowed spear atop the greatest temple on the highest rise so that its light might act as a ward against suffering for the people and their lands. The hero than left the lands of the people to pursue the corrupting force of evil in far off lands and have many great adventures. Recently rediscovered verses written down long ago say the hero defeated the great evil, but was reluctant to partake in the people’s revelry when they learned of the victory. The last act of the hero was to sing a mighty barrier around the spear's resting place that could withstand almost any force. The effort robbed the hero of their voice and led them to a life of solitude hidden away from the people.

12/9/18 post will be late

Life has been crazy this month. I will be posting today's post as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience. 

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Edit: Post is up. Find it here.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Ocarina of Time you could find in a pulp hero story.

Six items from Ocarina of Time you could find in a pulp hero story. 

Bomb: Bombs only become available to Link once he obtains the bomb bag. After that, Link can blow open cracked walls, destroy weak stones, and give giant lizards heartburn as he sees fit. 

During the gala celebrating the newly unveiled Park City hazardous waste containment and neutralization center, a clockwork automaton crashes through the glass ceiling bringing the party to a standstill. The machine announces that the infamous Doc Clock has directed their minions to place bundles of dynamite all over the containment facility. If the waste stores at the plant were to be released, it would quickly wash down river and render the entirety of Park City unlivable for a generation. With the facility on the outskirts of town, no one is sure the bomb squad will make it in time.

I’m not an artist: Five items from Ocarina of Time you could find in an endless forest village

Five items from Ocarina of Time that could be found in a village in the endless forest. 

Deku Stick: Improvised weapons and temporary torches, Link uses these sticks in the same way many children do. Unlike Link, most children are not on an adventure with the fate of intertwined worlds hanging in the balance. In drawing the deku sticks, one was bare while the other had deku nuts still attached. I imagined the stick with nuts sounding like a rattle when swung. 

Children practice the basics of all sorts of skills by playing with sticks. Fishing, drumming, fencing, and even wand skills are all first learned by playing. This connection between children and their sticks is reinforced by the ritual of dowsing that all children in the village undertake as they come of age. Adolescents entering adulthood are tasked with venturing into the forest near the village alone and return with the stick that calls to them. The adolescent, returning with a stick, returns as an adult in the village. The nature of the stick is interpreted by the elders to determine what vocation is best suited for the newly christened adult. Most people in the village keep their dowsing sticks as mementos of the ritual that determined their place in the world. 

Cards: Link's Awakening Complete Set

Here is my take on every item in Link's Awakening. You can go here for a pdf containing all the cards in a printable format.

I like to look back at my progress when I reach these milestones. It is clear to me that every drawing is not created equal. I am really happy with some of these; the organ, secret medicine, and slime key jump out as my top three. I am less happy with others; the coral triangle, second magnifying glass, and marimba are some of my least favorite from this set. Overall I am satisfied with the set. When I get down about some lackluster work I try to remember that this blog isn't about producing high art, it is about practicing my drawing and being creatively fulfilled, and I am happy to have published four complete sets. 

As I write this Ocarina of Time is completely drawn and ready for posting and I am wrapping up work on the items from Majora's Mask. I've got plenty more posts to go before I can say I have drawn and posted ever item in the Zelda franchise. 

Thank you for sticking around. You can check out the other completed sets here. Next week we will be starting our trek through the items of Ocarina of Time.

Please don't profit off my work without my consent, but feel free to use these personally as you see fit. 

Make sure to be excellent to everyone. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: She-Ra fan art

Have a free bonus sword!

I took the chance to procrastinate important tasks by watching the new She-Ra and drawing her amazing sword. 

I grew up watching the reruns of 80's He-Man and She-Ra and I am enjoying the new She-Ra series immensely. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: The last four items from Link's Awakening that you could also find in a faerie court.

Four items from Link’s Awakening you could find in a fey court.

Full Moon Cello: This is the first dungeon instrument that Link recovers on Koholint Island. I kept my interpretation close to the official game art because the concept is so wonderful. 

The Cello de Lun is said to have the most beautiful song in all of the Four Courts of Tempus. The instrument’s strings are gossamer strands of moonlight and as such can only be played at night under the open sky. Boastful members of the Tempus Faerie claim to have heard the immaculate song of the Cello de Lun, but rumors say that only the luthier that crafted the instrument has ever heard it played. There is little hope to ever hear the cello played as it sits in the vast treasure vaults beneath the grand city of Everday, the seat of the Estival Court, where the sun never sets. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link's Awakening you could find in a New Year’s Celebrations.

Five items from Link's Awakening you could find in a New Year’s Celebrations.

Yoshi Doll: Link must win the Yoshi doll in a claw game. This nod to the Mario franchise is the first item in the trading sequence. 

The Caverns of Ygg are home to a number of settlements that have prospered among the subterranean mushroom forests and lightless rivers. Life underground is fraught with many perils. To prepare children and new arrivals for the particular issues that face cavern dwellers, puppet shows are performed in theaters, churches, common halls, and even the streets. Classic examples of plays include The Raptors of Ygg, a play that details the hunting methods of the dangerous reptilian predator, The Poisoned Spring, a play concerning how to determine water quality, and The Dust of Madness, a cautionary tale concerning the spores of the fungal forests. 

Inktober 2018: Week 5

Here are the last three images from "week 5" of Inktober 2018. 

I did almost all of these on time and I even liked a few of them. I know nothing I made is amazing but I always enjoy the process of doing an ink drawing everyday.

-Ceph

Inktober 2018: Week 4

Here are my attempts for the fourth week of Inktober 2018. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link’s Awakening an aristocratic child might have on a grand adventure

Five items from Link’s Awakening a children might have on a planar adventure.

Face Key: The dungeon keys in Link’s Awakening are matched to the theme of each dungeon. The Face Key fits in a face shaped lock that opens the Face Shrine.

With the suspicious deaths of each of their parents, three orphans were sent to stay with Lady Vitalia Soriano, the guardian named in all three wills. Lady Soriano graciously welcomed the children into her home. They were permitted to enjoy the entirety of her modest estate save the family mausoleum on the fringe of the property. The children resisted their curiosity for many weeks until the pull of the forbidden tomb was too great to resist. The children were disappointed when they entered the mausoleum only to discover a simple resting place for the Soriano family honored dead. As the three were about to leave the tomb, one noticed an errant mandible lying atop a coffin. As the child placed the jawbone back into the casket, the mausoleum left their world and appeared in a lifeless expanse populated only by other mausoleums, tombs, and graves. 

Inktober 2018: Week 3

Here are my attempts for the third week of Inktober 2018. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link’s Awakening you could find in the Grand Bazar.

Five items from Link’s Awakening you could find in the Grand Bazar.

Magic Powder: Link is by no means an accomplished mage so he needs this magic powder to cast even the most basic feits, such as lighting a torch without a spark. 

The Grand Bazaar is a major nexus for the wealth of many countries and even a few planes. Many people come to the Bazaar looking to make their fortunes. Of course not everyone find their fortune. In fact, many people lose everything and end up having to find creative methods to earn their next meal. Some of those methods involve earning a living through pickpocketing and purse-cutting. Visitors to the Grand Bazaar are often warned to never carry all their coin at once and to always make sure to bind their purse with a stout cord or sturdy chain.

Inktober Week 2

Here are my Inktober drawings for week 2. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link’s Awakening a demon hunter would carry.

Five items from Link’s Awakening a demon hunter would carry.

Secret Seashell: If Link is able to find enough of the seashells that are hidden throughout Koholint Island, he can have his sword enchanted by the ghost haunting a mansion. I was surprised to find a gather quest in such an early Zelda game. I don’t remember this aspect of the game at all so there is a good chance I missed it playing the game as a kid.

Every demon hunter identifies their quarry differently. Early in her career, Vasilisa discovered a shell that whispered infernal secrets instead of the soft sounds of the ocean. In time she found she could make sense of the daemonic chittering. Somehow this shell was able to listen in on conversations between infernal entities hiding in the mortal world. Vasilisa has made a name successfully hunting creatures that specialize in hiding in plain sight. Sooner or later, someone will realize the secret to her success. What happens if the demons she hunts learn someone is listening to their private conversations?

Inktober 2018: Week 1

Here are my first seven attempts from Inktober 2018. 

Keep on creating!

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link's Awakening found in a detective story.

Five items from Link’s Awakening a pulp investigator would have. 

Flippers: Link uses these to dive below the surface of water. 

Every private investigator knows they will eventually be called to sneak into some abandoned building through the inevitably flooded basement. With a pair of trusty flippers and a lung full of air, there is no limit to the trouble an investigator can get themselves into.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link's Awakening a burglar would have.

Five items from Link’s Awakening you can find in a cat burglar’s bag.

Mermaid's necklace: These pearls replaced the mermaid’s bikini top in the american releases of Link’s Awakening. It was clearly a reflection of the values of the time to censor the implication of a topless mermaid. 

The Pearls of the Empress are a string of flawless pink and white pearls held together by gossamer strands of translucent kelp. It was the prize of the undersea exhibit in the Royal Museum of Imperial Expansion. The museum houses the spoils of the many expeditionary crusades that pushed the empire to its furthest extent. News of the theft has been kept from the public. Those with knowledge of the theft believe it to be a political statement. After many years of stagnation, the empire’s control has begun to wane. Official fear news of the theft would be seen as a symbol for the reclamation of power back from the empire by the peoples that have been absorbed by its expansions. Seeking to avoid widespread rebellion, the Imperial Police have abandoned official protocol in the search for the pearls.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link’s Awakening that you could find in a Merfolk Ambassador’s suite.

Five items from Link’s Awakening that you could find in a Merfolk Ambassador’s suite. 

Magic rod: While this rod may appear to be generic in its magical properties, it can really only throw fireballs. However limited the magic in this rod may be, Link gets a lot of mileage out of this bottomless Roman candle.

One must carry an ambassador’s scepter of office to be recognized as an emissary of the Merfolk Diaspora. Holding the scepter keeps the bearer’s skin from drying out when outside of water, allows them to breathe air or water interchangeably, and offers the ability to communicate in the major languages of whatever area the ambassador is stationed. When a new ambassador is appointed, the scepter is presented to them as part of a secretive ritual that links the new owner to the scepter.

I'm not an artist: Five archaeological items from Link's Awakening.

Five items from Link’s Awakening that could lead to the location of a missing archaeologist. 

Letter: A love letter written by a goat pretending to be a beautiful woman. That sentence is why I enjoy soft fantasy as a genre. A millennia of established world building isn’t needed to have a Goat live in Animal Village.

A letter from the archaeologist Dr. Colleen Tannis has arrived requesting funds for her next expedition. Dr.Tannis has a reputation for pursuing forbidden histories and secrets better left forgotten. For the last few years, Dr. Tannis has been searching for the lost city of Inan. Legends speak of the fateful night when the many sages of Inan sought to elevate one of their own to godhood using a long lost ritual. The stories do not agree whether the ritual was a success, but they do all agree that every inhabitant of Inan and those in the surrounding area were killed in an instant. Few in academic circles truly believe the infamous city ever existed, but Dr. Tannis is undeterred. Since this letter was postmarked almost four months ago and no one in the academic world has heard from Colleen in almost six months, Dr. Tannis is probably obsessing over artifacts uncovered in some far-flung dig site after securing funding from some private source.

I'm not an artist: Five Link's Awakening items found in an Academy for Witches.

Five items from Link’s Awakening you can find at the Sibylline Academy for Witches.

Broom: Link is given the broom in thanks for delivering a letter to a lonely man in a long distance relationship. The relationship is actually a sham. Mr. Write is actually being catfished as the photo included in the letter is not representative of the letter’s author. 

Any witch worth their salt rides a broom. In her youth, Josephine Sibyl was bullied mercilessly for being too poor to buy a broom. Instead she had to borrow a worn broom from the school and return it at the end of every semester. Josephine Sibyl eventually rose to fame as a wildly talented witch and champion of the common people. Her adventures earned her much renown and even more gold. When Josephine founded the Sibylline Academy for Witches, she left it an enormous endowment to ensure that any student in need have the equipment essential for an arcane education provided at no cost. The endowment has grown over the many years due to Sibylline graduates happily donating to the endowment that gave them the tools to succeed when they were in need. 

I'm not an artist: Five Items from Link's Awakening you can use this Labor Day Weekend.

Five items you could use this Labor Day weekend appearing in Link’s Awakening.

Small key: A minor key with plenty of uses. I drew this one as a more modern house or lock key. I don't think many people would be too offended at this apocryphal key shape appearing in their pseudo-medieval fantasy settings. If you are one of those offended people, I guess stay out of my topsy-turvy genre blending universe. 

With summer unofficially coming to a close, racers are scrambling to secure spots in the last big race of the season. Alejandra Ricco has had a great season, but with her recent disasters on the track she needs something like a miracle to finish the season on the podium. While working under her car after hours, Alejandra heard what sounded like footsteps approaching her workbench and then her keys falling to the ground. Alejandra didn't see anyone when she came up from below the car, but she found nine identical keys on her keyring that weren’t there early that day. Each key was warm to the touch with “wanna race?” etched into its face in a script she could barely decipher. Ever curious, Alejandra stuck one of the keys into her ignition and the car roared to life. In the same instant, the key was consumed in a gout of flame. For a few hours after, the car was in pristine condition but it slowly deteriorated into the same mess it was before and now also smelling of Sulphur. With nine races left in the season, has she just wasted an opportunity she can’t get back or can she find a way to win the season on her own without the help of the mysterious benefactor?

I'm not an artist: Five dangerous toys from Link's Awakening

Five dangerous children’s toys from Link’s Awakening.

Mermaid Scale: The scale of a mermaid given to Link after he has returned the mermaid’s missing bikini top, or her necklace in the tamer US release. This scale opens a secret passage hidden behind a statue of amournful mermaid. Theoretically, the mermaid is morning the single missing scale that holds it back from being a perfect masterpiece.

Emira and Malik were sad when they had to leave their friends behind when they moved to a new town. Nothing could have prepared them for finding a magical dragon scale hidden inside a hollow wall of their new home. This prismatic dragon scale pulled Emira and Malik into a world inhabited by tyrannical dragons and their groveling servitors. Only the boldest or most guileful dragons are able to maintain control of their fiefdoms for long. The draconic overlords constantly play a brutal game for supremacy of the Dragonlands, where their underlings are the disposable pieces. Quetzal, a devious dragon of minor influence discovered Emira and Malik just after they arrived in the Dragonlands. After learning about Emira and Malik’s pastoral home, Quetzal is more than willing to help the siblings discover a way back, if only so they might come to that world as a conqueror.

Cards: A Link to the Past collected

All the items from A Link to the Past in one helpful spoiler sheet.

Click here for a single pdf with all the images from this set.

I like these spoiler sheets because it lets me look at all the cards at once. I see the drawings I really dislike next to the drawings I think are acceptable and it makes me feel like I am making progress. Since this is a project to force me to have a lot of consistent practice, I am happy to see that there is any progress at all. 

Next week we will have the first installment of items from Link's Awakening. Until then, be excellent to everyone. 

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Finishing A Link to the Past with six jars from the Fairy Market

Six items from A Link to the Past you can find in the fairy market.

Medicine of Life: A blood red potion that restores Links hearts completely. This is a great placeholder for any potion you would need. You could also add various colors to make it more specific. 

The fairy market opens its doors for nine days every nine years. People and creatures from every corner of this world and many others come to the massive market to trade in all sorts of food from the mundane to the truly unique. They say one can find anything they desire in the fairy market if they know where to look. That includes more time. A seemingly ageless alchemist offers an elixir of life that adds ten years to a person’s life with one sip and fifty years to their life if they drink the entire potion. The potions are sold in a silent auction on the last day of the market and never to anyone who purchased a potion at the last market. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from A Link to the Past needed for a ritual

Five items from A Link to the Past needed to create soulbound armor.

Red Mail: The final major item found by Link in his quest to defeat Gannon. This armor provides improved damage reduction on top of the Blue mail. It also provides another pallet swap for Link that includes a swanky purple hat. This drawing is my rendition of the Stone Armor set from Dark Souls. 

Any armor can be used as the vessel in the soul binding ritual. The process is much less costly and difficult when the soul had a deep personal connection to the armor. Armor that a warrior fought many battles in and eventually was slain in provides the most natural connection for the displaced soul. In fact, soulbound suits of armor can spontaneously form if the restless soul’s connection to the armor is deep enough.

Stone armor is cumbersome but offers unparalleled protection. Otherwise lethal blows bounce harmlessly off this personal fortress. This armor would be more common were it not so difficult to obtain. One must venture into the forbidden gardens and capture one of the guardian golems without damaging the construct enough to deactivate it. If the golem can then be dragged outside of the forbidden garden and its animating energies, the creature’s stone skin can be harvested and worked into a fine suit of armor.

i'm not an artist: Items from A Link to the Past a Ranger Scout would have.

Five items from A Link to the Past any Ranger Scout would be proud to own.

Boomerang: A basic boomerang that stuns enemies, grabs items, and flips switches from afar.

The wide open plains seem to open up infinitely in all directions. Many areas are devoid of anything that could provide meaningful cover or act as a landmark for reference. Ranger Scouts earning their plains patches can take advantage of the open air to master the boomerang. The returning nature of the boomerang also helps Ranger Scouts not lose their tools in the long grasses.

Stories of the hero in green have been passed from one generation to the next since the hero first appeared to save the world from the forces of darkness. When children hear that the hero often employed a boomerang in their adventures, many inevitably wish to learn to use the weapon. It is not uncommon for children to embellish their first boomerang with images of creatures and symbols from the stories that inspired them to learn the boomerang in the first place.

I'm not an artist: Five super items from A Link to the Past

Five items from A Link to the Past. Each with an adventure seed from the super powered city of New Metropia.

Blue Mail: The blue mail offers Link increased damage reduction and a cool new pallet swapped sprite. The armor is found in an ice themed dungeon and it really only connects with the dungeon’s theme via the color blue. The symbol on the chest is based on various images from color theory so I’m thinking about colorful as a concept when I see this breastplate.

Rainbow Defender became the first openly homosexual crime fighter in New Metropia almost seventy years ago. The citizens of New Metropia were not always accepting of Rainbow Defender, but they have always defended the rights and liberties of each and every person. Always appearing in their distinctive rainbow colored armor, they are all but invulnerable to harm. Some theorize that the armor has actually been passed down to a new generation allowing the original Defender to retire.

 The Radiant Raiment was bestowed to a particularly devout paladin in service of the Searing Light. This crusader of the light was last seen traveling towards Sengiriztan, a land avoided by all but the bravest or most foolish due to its fearsome reputation for being secretly ruled by a vampiric oligarchy.

I'm not an artist: Five items from A Link to the Past once owned by a monster hunter

Here are five items from A Link to the Past, each with an adventure seed connecting to a monster hunter.

Magic Cape: An invisibility cloak found buried in a grave. 

Vicentix De Leon was a famously successful monster hunter that disappeared suddenly after a very public disagreement with the Cagliostro family. Vicentix often said much of their success was due to their cloak of disappearance. Rumors said the cloak was cut from death’s own robes and it has been passed down the De Leon family for generations. With the disappearance of Vicentix, most assume the cloak will never be passed to a future generation.

For their safety, robes are provided to apprentice necromancers that hide their presence from mindless undead. These robes are woven with silken strands infused with necrotic energy that masks the apprentice’s vital life force. Without these robes, many apprentice necromancers would not survive the initial training.

I’m not an artist: Five summer camp items from A Link to the Past.

Five items from A Link to the Past with some summer camp themed adventure seeds.

Bombos Medallion: The bombos medallion is a weapon of massive destruction. Activating the medallion engulfs the entire screen in a torrent flames and explosions. The medallion is locked in an ancient glyph-etched tablet that sits atop a cliff that is unreachable by normal means. As the only optional medallion in the game, it is a reward for players who thoroughly explore the world. 

Not all summer camps are held in log cabins along the banks of placid lakes. A camp for gifted students is held at Babylon University in Arizona. The camp offers gifted students the chance to study subjects like dead languages, ancient mythology, and lucid dreaming. One thing that makes Babylon Camp for the Gifted stand out is the extensive on campus arcade. Campers are able to enjoy the arcade during their open evenings after a long day of educational activities. Pazu's Arcade and Games has been a staple of Babylon University campus life as long as anyone can remember. Rumors persist of a private invitation only room full of banned and custom games. Campers learn they have been invited when they receive a black tempest token from any of the arcade's machines. 

On the far edge of the unforgiving desert is a village of sun worshipping folk. They have learned to live in harmony with the scorching desert sun. They channel the sun's heat to boil water, forge metals, and even burn their enemies. The greatest master of the channeling arts was exiled from the village from a fear that they would inadvertently destroy the village or harm the villagers. The sundancer has made their home atop a cliff face that they have blasted into smooth glass. Content in their isolation, the sundancer has made no conventional means to climb the unassailable cliffs. Any who seek to study with the sundancer must first find a way to the top of the cliffs. Then they must find a way to endure the sundancer's fiery techniques. Those that have studied under the sundancer's tutelage and survived are gifted a small copper chime from the sundancer's body wrap. 

I'm not an artist: Travel essentials from A Link to the Past

Here are five items any wanderer would need from A Link to the Past.

Ether Medallion: A golden medal that gives its owner the ability to call down lightning strikes and control the weather by raising their blade to the heavens. Those that survive being struck by the lightning are paralyzed by the overwhelming power of the medallion. 

Gold is as good as gold. The traveler's saying means all types of money and currency have value somewhere. When a traveler comes upon a cache of coins minted in Stormhold, they should take as many as they can carry because there will always be another money changer that can exchange those Stormhold bolts into Termina rupees or Imperial credits. 

Shamans, druids, and animages the world over visit the storm-callers of Mt. Abarat with the hopes of training under the masters of storm magics. Deep inside the Imojen mountain range, many would be pupils abandon their quest when the difficulty of traversing the mountains is too great. To receive their titular powers, Imojen Storm-Callers must climb to the peak of Mt. Abarat during the height of the rainy season. Those that reach the summit find an ancient stone tablet inscribed with ancient hieroglyphics. If the prospective storm-caller is able to decipher the message, they will discover they have always known the storms' true names. With this knowledge unlocked, the climber can truly assume the mantle of a storm-caller. 

I'm not an artist: Powerful forces and an irredeemable object

Five items from A Link to the Past.

Magic Hammer: The last hammer I drew was for blacksmithing. This hammer is a wooden mallet suitable for wood working or head bonking. I know that a knot in the center of a mallet head would probably lead to a broken mallet, but I love the way knots look. 

This could be the mallet used by the hermit monk who built the Temple of the Five Bells. The monk, with their trusted donkey, hiked into the trackless peaks of the Mountains of Heavenly Silence with a vision of founding an isolated temple. The monk and donkey were not seen for nearly a decade. The next time the monk was seen, they were erecting a sign post that directed travelers to the new temple. It is said, that when the first traveling monks arrived at the Temple of the Five Bells, the hermit carpenter welcomed them and then sat down with an elderly donkey and the pair died at the same moment, having seen their life’s' work completed. 

The heartwood of an ancient tree is a powerful material component. That is especially true when the tree is a treant elder that has been bonded with the hamadryad matron of the western wilderness millennia. During a brief moment of privacy, the elder treant pulled this mallet from their own heart and gave it to a group of outsiders while saying, "Swing this at the right moment so that the forests will be there for our children's children." This act of creation claimed the elder's life. The first forest spirits to discover the outsiders with the elder's lifeless body assumed the outsiders slew the treant. In their grief they were unwilling to hear the outsiders’ story. The outsiders managed to escape with the mallet and are now hunted by avenging forest spirits and colonial agents eager to see the untamed forest fall to axe and saw. 

A door for #DnDGate

There has been some pretty toxic stuff on twitter today. Here is my little contribution to try to resist hateful people in the hobby.

This door can only be opened when it is touched by four individuals who accept and respect each other as individuals.

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This is just a random aside post. See you all back here on Sunday. 

As always, be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Swords and stuff from A Link to the Past

Three swords and some useful items from A Link to the Past. 

Magic Mirror: This magic mirror can show you your true self. Unfortunately, it does that by teleporting you to a dark reflection of reality where everyone is a caricature of their true self. The only way to avoid being transformed into an impotent reflection is to carry a powerful protective ward.

This mirror does not have to be a link to another dimension. This mirror could be the hand mirror of fey royalty. Allowing any who gaze at their reflection to change their appearance by shrouding their true self in a glamour. To ensure any would be thief is punished, the item carries a curse. Any user other than the true owner runs the risk of becoming so enamored with their own reflection that they are unable to look away. Adventurers finding a mirror locked in the decaying fist of a skeletal corpse should be wary of looking into the mirror lest they fall prey to the mirror's enchantments. 

This could also be a device that allows access to Spyke™, the fantasy video calling service that connects you to the entire world, and many others, for secure and reliable communication over the high speed ley line connections. Terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited.

I'm not an artist: Shields from A Link to the Past

Three shields and two jewels from A Link to the Past.

Red Shield: This shield is an upgrade from Link's starting shield. I think the way Link obtains the shield is the most interesting part of the item. If Link throws his original shield into a lake, the fairy that lives in the lake will appear holding an upgraded version of the shield. She will ask Link if the shield she is holding is his and remind him that she likes honest people. If Link is honest and answers no, the fairy rewards his honesty by giving him the upgraded shield. If Link is dishonest, the fairy punishes Link by keeping the shield he threw into the lake. This is a direct reference to the tale of the Honest Woodcutter in Aesop's Fables. Aesop's fables are full of great stories to pull out and use almost entirely whole cloth in your games. Since they are almost as old as dirt, you can also read them for free because they are in the public domain. 

One could also have this shield be dropped by mask raiders that abandon all honor and attack a village in the dark of night. When it is discovered the shield bears the colors of an allied clan, the village elders send a small party to discover the reason for the attack. Hopefully they can discover the truth before the prospect of all-out war is inevitable.

I'm not an Artist: First five from A Link to the Past

Here are the first five items from A Link to the Past. 

Fighter's Sword: A sword given to the protagonist at the start of their journey. I found that blunt tipped swords are often executioner's swords since they would only need the slicing edge and never the stabbing tip. 

This sword could easily be used by a beefy shirtless brute hiding their face in a black sack, or a heavily armored tank with very few weak-spots. 

A less obvious bearer of this blade could be a revolutionary seeking to overthrow a despotic ruler. The despot employs execution too often and too freely upon their enemies. The revolutionary hopes to one day remove the tyrant from power by removing their head.

Cards: The complete set from The Adventure of Link

Every item card from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in one helpful spoiler sheet.

You can find all the cards for this set and the back options in a single file here.

It is nice to have these breaks between sets to give myself a little reward for keeping to my posting schedule. I will see everyone next week with the first set of items from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. There are 56 cards in that set so it will be a little while before we get another complete set. 

Use these personally however you see fit but do not profit from my work without my consent. 

Be excellent to each other. 

-Ceph