Dungeons & Dragons

Dracorex was a dinosaur of the family Pachycephalosauridae, that lived during the Late Cretaceous of North America. The type (and only) species is Dracorex hogwartsia, meaning "dragon king of Hogwarts".
It is known from one nearly complete skull (the holotype TCMI 2004.17.1), as well as four cervical vertebrae including the atlas, third, ninth and eighth. These were discovered in the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota by three amateur paleontologists from Sioux City, Iowa. The skull was subsequently donated to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis for study in 2004, and was formally described by Bob Bakker and Robert Sullivan in 2006.

Dracorex, a herbivore, had a skull with spiky horns, bumps, and a long muzzle. The species also sports well-developed supratemporal fenestrae and a heavily-armored flat skull – lacking the characteristic pachycephalosaurid dome. Coupled with these two features is the excessive number of osteoderms in the form of irregular osteodermal crust: a number of nodes, larger hornlets, and spikes. Disregarding this, Dracorex is physically comparable to Stygimoloch. In the Pachycephalosauridae family, the Asian taxa includes a number of (somewhat) flat-headed pachycephalosaurs (Homalocephale calat'hocercos, Goyocephale lattimorei, and Wannanosaurus yansiensis). However, prior to the discovery of Dracorex, the only semi-flat-headed pachycephalosaur from North America was Stegoceras validum (inclusive of Ornatotholus' browni). Even then, the semi-flat-headed trait was only present in juveniles of the species.

Aside from having a flat, nodal skull, the most prominent feature of Dracorex is the pair of huge and unrestricted superior temporal openings. The supratemporal fenestrae are much larger front-to-back and side-to-side than in Homalocephale, and larger than in Goyocephale. Only a fragmentary Wannanosaurus skull shows fenestrae as large as those of Dracorex. This fenestral architecture has been seen in ancient archosaurs, but not in other pachycephalosaurs.

Consequently, if unreduced superior fenestrae are morphologically primitive, then Dracorex is more primitive in the temporal region than any other known pachycephalosaur. However, Sullivan (2003, 2006) demonstrated that the oldest known pachycephalosaurs were, in fact, fully-domed, and that the flat-headed morphology appeared later in the fossil record. This suggests that doming may be primitive for pachycephalosaurs and that a reversion to the non-domed, flat-headed state is a secondary (derived) character reversion, coupled with the re-opening of the supratemporal fenestrae. Indeed, while Stegoceras has been considered to be transitional between domed and flat-headed taxa, it may indicate the beginning of a character reversion to suppression of doming and opening of the supratemporal fenestrae in some taxa.

The excavated specimen was most likely a young adult. However, based on ossification of the mid-cervical arch with the centrum, it was near maturity. The animal was approximately 10 feet (3 m) long.

However, at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Jack Horner of Montana State University presented evidence, from analysis of the skull of holotype specimen TCMI 2004.17.1, that Dracorex may well be a juvenile form of Pachycephalosaurus.

Classification
In the original description, Bob Bakker included Dracorex in the family Pachycephalosauridae within the subfamily Pachycephalosaurinae. In the latter in the Pachycephalosaurini tribe together with Pachycephalosaurus forming a clearing next to Stygimoloch . To carry out the analysis of the relationships between the genders, he observed the differences in cranial ornamentation.

In a comprehensive study of numerous fossils of Pachycephalosaurus published in 2009, John R. Horner and Mark B. Goodwin , a strong variation warn ontogenetic of the skull : large morphological differences between juveniles and adults. For them, the flat Dracorex skull , the nodules at the front end, the small spines at the back, and the thick but non-dome-shaped frontoparietal, indicate that the only known specimen is a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus

Alternative interpretation
Dracorex may be a closely related individual of Stygimoloch and / or Pachycephalosaurus in which the cupola and horns are not well developed either because the animal was a juvenile or a female. This consideration was supported at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Jack Horner from Montana State University presented evidence, from analysis of the skull of the only extant specimen of Dracorex , that this dinosaur could be a juvenile form of Stygimoloch . In addition, he presented data indicating that both Stygimoloch and Dracorex may be juvenile forms ofPachycephalosaurus . Horner and MB Goodwin published their findings in 2009, showing that the spine / nodule bones and cranial domes of all three species' exhibit extreme plasticity and that both Dracorex and Stygimoloch are known only from juvenile specimens, while Pachycephalosaurus is only known from specimens. Adults". These observations, plus the fact that all three forms lived at the same time and place, lead them to conclude that Dracorex and Stygimoloch may have simply been juvenile Pachycephalosaurs that had lost their spines and developed domes as they aged. The researchers were unable to break out Dracorex's skull to sample it,  and had to use a cast of the skull for descriptive purposes.
A 2010 study by Nick Longrich and colleagues also supported the hypothesis that all flat-headed pachycephalosaurus were juveniles, suggesting that flat-domed forms, such as Goyocephale and Homalocephale , represent the juveniles of domed adults. 
In 2016, Goodwin and Evans analyzed the youngest known ontogimorphs of Pachycephalosaurus , collected from the Hell Creek Formation. While this material would normally refer to DracorexSince it represented one or more individuals younger than the only known Dracorex individual and displayed similar characteristics, the items showed that the unique characters in Dracorex and Stygimoloch represent morphological characters consisting of a morphological continuum for Pachycephalosaurus . In other words, these younger individuals showed that Dracorex characteristics were probably transient and can be easily traced on a growth curve to Pachycephalosaurus , where Stygimoloch and Dracorex are incorporated into this genus. As such, DracorexIt is probably not a single species, but a more modern synonym for Pachycephalosaurus .
This study has not been challenging and represents the most recent analysis of this genre. In conclusion, an ontogenetic relationship is established, being infantile, juvenile and adult individuals of the same species, between Dracorex hogwartsia , Stygimoloch spinifer and Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis , the latter being the bearer of the valid species name, as it is the first of the three to be described.

Name
The name Dracorex hogwartsia was inspired by young visitors to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis as a tribute to both dragons (Dracorex means "dragon king"), which the animal resembled, as well as the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling (hogwartsia for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the fictional school from the popular series).

References
^ Bakker, R. T., Sullivan, R. M., Porter, V., Larson, P. and Saulsbury, S.J. (2006). "Dracorex hogwartsia, n. gen., n. sp., a spiked, flat-headed pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota." in Lucas, S. G. and Sullivan, R. M., eds., Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35, pp. 331–345. [1]
^ Erik Stokstad,"SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY MEETING:Did Horny Young Dinosaurs Cause Illusion of Separate Species?", Science Vol. 18, 23 Nov. 2007, p. 1236; http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5854/1236.

El agua en la piedra es una aventura para juegos de rol que se puede acabar en una sola sesión (one-shot). Es ideal para personas que comienzan su camino en los juegos de rol. Los encuentros y desafíos tienen una dificultad media y están diseñados para ser resueltos por cuatro personajes de nivel 2.

En el pacífico pueblo de Piedra mojada, medianos, elfos y gnomos viven en armonía y prosperidad; sin embargo, este año una inesperada sequía sacudirá los corazones de quienes lo habitan. La partida tendrá que cruzar el bosque encantado y deberán combatir la sequía con ingenio, sólo así encontrarán la torre de la maga y, tras resolver algunos acertijos, podrán descubrir qué pasa con el agua que tanto anhela el pueblo.

Esta aventura consta mayoritariamente de retos que ponen a prueba las habilidades de los personajes y el pensamiento lógico-matemático de los y las jugadoras, así como su capacidad de observación y escucha activa y dinámica. Se basa en el clásico juego de Dungeons and Dragons de la compañía Wizards Of The Coast y se publica bajo las reglas de Licencia de Juego Abierto contenidas en el documento SRD 5a edición.

This is an unpublished,  semi-edited edition of my 'special essay', completed during my third year of my Classical Civilisation undergraduate degree in Classical Studies.

The paper acheived a first-class grade and explores the extent to which modern trading card games remythologise classical and neo-classical sources to engage with the modern viewer.

Though I have edited it partially for errors and cogency. Some errors and naivety will remain, considering my academic immaturity, and the restrictions of the task, at the time of writing.

La tesi indaga il potenziale utilizzo del gioco di ruolo Dungeons & Dragons come strumento pratico-progettuale nella formazione aziendale delle soft skill. Si analizza il valore pedagogico di gioco e narrazione, per poi definire la natura specifica del gioco di ruolo. Il materiale bibliografico riferibile a questi argomenti è di natura quasi unicamente teorica, conseguentemente il principale risultato raggiunto è la proposta di una metodologia pratica per la progettazione di una Narrativa Fluida Funzionale utilizzabile come strumento formativo, già testata con successo durante Lucca Comics & Games 2019.

The thesis investigates the potential use of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons as a practical tool for soft skills training in a work environment. The educational value of games and storytelling is analyzed, to later clarify the specific nature of role-playing games. The bibliographical material concerning these topics is mostly theoretical, therefore the main result reached is the proposal of a practical method for the design of a Functional Fluid Narrative usable as an educational device, which was already tested during Lucca Comics & Games 2019.

The Drachenfels (Dragon's Rock) in the Siebengebirge uplands between Königswinter and Bad Honnef in Germany. The hill is located in the North Rhine-Westphalia area.
History
The ruined castle Burg Drachenfels, on the summit of the hill, was built between 1138 and 1167 by Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne and bears the same name. It was originally intended for the protection of the Cologne region from any assault from the south. Originally it consisted of a bergfried with court, chapel and living quarters for servants. The castle was slighted in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, by the Protestant Swedes and never rebuilt. As a strategic asset it had outlived its usefulness.
The rock, like the rest of the Siebengebirge, has been the site of a trachyte quarry since Roman times, which, amongst others, delivered the building material for the Cologne Cathedral. Of all the hills in the Siebengebirge, it is closest to the river Rhine, which facilitates easy transport by barges, thus making it an excellent place for a quarry. Quarrying ended in 1836, when the Prussian government bought the quarry. In 1922 the first protection measures were put in place and in 1956 the site was declared a national park.
Legends
Several legends surround the Drachenfels, most famously that Siegfried – the hero of the Nibelungenlied – killed the dragon Fafnir, who lived in a cave in the hill, then bathed in its blood to become invulnerable. Hence, the hill is named the "Dragon's Rock", Drachenfels.
About a third of the way up is the Nibelungenhalle, built in 1913, a gallery of paintings by the symbolist painter Hermann Hendrich depicting scenes from Richard Wagner's operas.
Another legend tells of prisoners being sacrificed to a dragon. One of these was a Christian virgin, who, in her fear, held up a little cross. In fear of this holy symbol, the dragon jumped into the Rhine and was never heard from again.
A third, less pious, story has it the dragon one day attacked a boat laden with gunpowder, causing an explosion which destroyed the ship and killed the dragon.
Siegfried is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, with Sigebert I being the most popular contender. Older scholarship sometimes connected him with Arminius, victor of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Sigurd's story is first attested on a series of carvings, including runestones from Sweden and stone crosses from the British Isles, dating from the eleventh century.
In both the Norse and continental Germanic tradition, Sigurd is portrayed as dying as the result of a quarrel between his wife (Gudrun/Kriemhild) and another woman, Brunhild, whom he has tricked into marrying the Burgundian king Gunnar/Gunther. His slaying of a dragon and possession of the hoard of the Nibelungen is also common to both traditions. In other respects, however, the two traditions appear to diverge. The most important works to feature Sigurd are the Nibelungenlied, the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda. He also appears in numerous other works from both Germany and Scandinavia, including a series of medieval and early modern Scandinavian ballads.

World-building in Dungeons and Dragons as an Environmental Experience

An ecocritical based analysis of the worldbuilding in Dungeons and Dragons, focused on the relationships between the concepts of natural and social environments, and the liminal spaces in between.

This master's dissertation examines communication methods and strategies employed by EFL learners when playing tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs) in an online environment. While research has been undertaken into the use of RPGs as a language learning tool, these studies have yielded very little data that can be used to inform both future research and classroom practice in regard to tabletop RPGs in the English classroom. This study aimed to obtain more in-depth data into both EFL learner's interaction strategies when playing RPGs as well as to gain a deeper insight into learner opinions of the kinds of merits these games have as a learning tool. The study used a mixed-methods approach to obtain quantitative and qualitative data from adult EFL learners. A group of learners took part in 2-3 gameplay sessions where they played the free RPG Microlite20 over the internet with the researcher acting as a game moderator (GM). These sessions took place over the span of a few weeks. Data was obtained from both the gameplay sessions and interviews with the learners that took place after the sessions. The data found that the RPG games such as Microlite20 provided a wealth of interactions that allowed learners to engage in negotiation of meaning. This would suggest moving away from the "teacher as game master" approach that is assumed to be the default in both the research and classroom activities as it allows for a greater scope for encouraging student negotiation, reformulation, noticing and peer-teaching. In addition, it may improve learner engagement in these kinds of activities, which the data from this study found to be a major hurdle in learner motivation when playing these games. It is also suggested to make further modifications to game frameworks and elements to ensure that RPGs are providing as much linguistic input and output as possible.

Dalam sejarah festival Oscar Academy Award yang berlangsung sejak 1929 sehingga 2019, tiada seorang pun tokoh dalam bidang lakonan dari adaptasi adiwira komik yang berjaya menjulang piala tersebut kecuali seorang, Joker versi Heath Ledger. [Naim 2019]

Pada tahun 2020 pula muncul pula filem Joker (2019) yang dibintangi oleh Joaquin Phoenix yang membawa watak sebagai Joker yang penuh dengan thriller dan sadisme. Dengan kejayaan Phoenix membawa watak ini, beliau telah berjaya memiliki piala Oscar pada di bawah label Best Actor yang mana seperti yang saya katakan tadi tiada seorang pun watak adiwira yang berjaya menjulang anugerah tersebut sebelum Heath Ledger (1979-2008) melalui filem The Dark Knight (2008).

Sebelum Phoenix membawa watak Joker ini, desas-desus berbunyi bahawa adakah beliau dapat memainkan watak ini dengan cemerlang kerana ramai peminat Joker di luar sana yang membandingkan Joker versi Heath Ledger.

Long before dragons were busy being the best things in Game of Thrones, the world has been telling tales about them. And guess what: they don't all end in monsters being slain and maidens being rescued.

In Iran, for instance, a dragon is chained up to this day, waiting to break free and bring the apocalypse. In Japan, another one's busy ruling the sea. The Chinese would ask why you'd even consider trying to kill such an auspicious creature, and the Vietnamese call a dragon dad. In India, a dragon stole the rains, and in Australia, one gives them back.

Almost anywhere in the world you look, in fact, there be dragons. Here's the proof.

GreeceIt's thanks to the Ancient Greeks that dragons are dragons: it was their word drakon ("serpent") that gave us the name we use today. And their specimens certainly lived up to it. They were pretty much everything you'd want from a good dragon, i.e., horrifying and nigh impossible to slay — unless you just happen to be a hero with the gods on your side.

Take Hydra, for instance, the gigantic sea serpent that breathed and bled poison, and would grow two more heads for each one cut off. (Hercules worked out he could stop the heads sprouting by sealing each stump with fire.) Or Cetus, the sea monster that Poseidon sent to eat the princess Andromeda after her mother boasted that she was more beautiful than any sea nymph. (Perseus swooped in with his flying sandals and killed it, and the gods memorialized the story in the stars.)

Or the Ismenian dragon, son of the god of war, who guarded a sacred spring. (Cadmus killed it and planted its teeth in the ground, where they turned into fearsome warriors who would help him found the city of Thebes.) Then there was the dragon at Colchis that watched over the magical Golden Fleece. The creature never slept or even closed its eyes, but the sorceress Medea helped Jason to steal the treasure by bewitching the dragon unconscious. Incidentally, some legends say that on his way back to Greece, Jason ran into and slew another dragon, in what's now Slovenia. That's why the capital Ljubljana has a dragon on its coat of arms.

Ishtar Gate of Babylon; nowadays Iraq and Syrian history.
The Dragon of Ishtar (gate)

Dragons - Serpent Gods from the Old Kingdom
--
1/Apep
The Ancient Gods Speak.
Apep (also known as Apophis), a terrifying great sea-serpent, is one of Egypt’s most noted dragons. Apep lay in wait in the Egyptian underworld to ambush the sun god, Ra, who had to voyage through it each night ready to rise again. Apep would viciously attack the boat Ra was in as he crossed the sky during the day, and when there was an eclipse, it was believed to be due to Apep swallowing the vessel whole. Despite Apep’s menace, he never gained complete victory over his eternal enemy. However Apep was also never believed to have been fully vanquished. The reddening of the sky at dusk was said to demonstrate that the serpent had been overcome by the sun’s strength.

2/Ankh-neteru
A serpent god. Afu Ra [the sun god] had his boat pulled by twelve gods through Ankh-neteru’s body, entering the tail and exiting the mouth. This results in Afu Ra being transformed into Khepera, the ancient god associated with the creation of the world.

3/Denwen
During the third millennium B.C. he was described as a fiery serpent. He would have caused an inferno that would have destroyed all of the gods had he not been thwarted by the Egyptian King.
The ancient serpent god was known from the Old kingdom as the "fiery one". He was renowned for his dragon like powers that enabled him to breathe fire, it is said that he was about to destroy all the deities in the pantheon in a fiery conflagration when, according to the Pyramid texts, the dead pharoah stopped him from doing so. Considered by Egyptians as the symbol of the final theat, of absolute evil, they wisely kept their distance from him.

4/Nehebkau
A a servant of Ra, Nehebkau was an Egyptian serpent with human arms and legs. It was the great serpent upon which the world rested, and is sometimes represented with a man’s body and holding the eye of Horus. Nehabkau was known to guard the entrance of the Underworld and accompanied the sun god on his nightly journey through it as well. Although Nehebkau began as a mischievous serpent dragon that the gods could not trust, Ra tamed him and he became one of the helpers to the dead. His key role was to protect the Pharaoh in the afterlife.

5/Ouroboros.
Ouroboros, a “tail eater” dragon, constantly holds its tail in its mouth. It represents the cycle of life, death and rebirth, leading to immortality symbolizing the cyclic Nature of the Universe – that creation comes forth of destruction, and life out of death First discovered in Egypt as early as 1600 BC, Egyptians worshipped Ouroboros, as Sata, (Satan) or “Tuat”, on whose back the sun god rose through the underworld each night.

In Greece, it is the symbol of the universe and eternity. The serpent biting its tail is found in other mythological cultures as well, including Norse myth, where the serpent’s name is Jormungand.

6/The Uraeus
The Uraeus was the symbol of sovereignty, worn on the royal Egyptian headdress. It is used as a protective symbol, as the Egyptians believed that the cobra would spit fire at any approaching enemies.

7/Wadjet
Becoming Osiris. The Ancient Egyptian Death Experience. Ruth Schumann Antelme.
An Egyptian serpent guardian sent by Osiris to protect Pharoah and control the Nile. The cobra goddess was the patroness of Lower Egypt. Wadjet was part of the Osirian myths and was always viewed as a protector of Egypt, depicted as a woman with a cobra head or as a cobra about to strike at the nation’s enemies.

8/Wadjet (Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet, Edjo, Buto) was one of the oldest Egyptian goddesses. Her worship was established by the Predynastic Period, but did change somewhat as time progressed. She began as the local goddess of Per-Wadjet (Buto) but soon became a patron goddess of Lower Egypt. By the end of the Predynastic Period she was considered to be the personification of Lower Egypt rather than a distinct goddess and almost always appeared with her sister Nekhbet (who represented Upper Egypt). The two combined represented the country as a whole and were represented in the pharaoh s “nebty” name (also known as “the two ladies”) which indicated that the king ruled over both parts of Egypt. The earliest recovered example of the nebty name is from the reign of Anedjib of the First Dynasty.

In the Pyramid Texts it is suggested that she created the first papyrus plant and papyrus swamp. Her link to the papyrus is strengthened by the fact that her name was written using the glyph of a papyrus plant and the same plant was the heraldic plant of Lower Egypt.

Crystal Mountain
Gebel Izaz or Crystal Mountain is situated between the Baharyia Oasis and the Farafra Oasis, in the northern part of the White Desert.
Despite its name, the Crystal Mountain is not really a mountain, rather a rock, ridge or better; a decayed and calsified corpse, petrified and sparkling like a crystal.
It is an unusual hollowed circular stone imbedded with crystals.
A stop here, however, is definitely worth the time, because it is a perfect spot for lovers of formations, who adore watching the enchanting quartz crystals.
The sun rays make the big rock with its arch to spark even more.
The man-high arch is natural and small and is situated in the centre of the structure.

Review by Alexandros Diakosavvas and interview with the artists Kostis Stafylakis, Alexis Fidentis and Theo Triantafyllidis on the occasion of the work Notes to Readiness: Step 1, an artistic participation in the show ENTER by the Onassis Foundation and Onassis USA. May 2020.

The work was modelled after an online Dungeons & Dragons sessions inspired by the culture and literature of Preppers' subcultures.

The Wawel Dragon (Polish: Smok Wawelski), also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish folklore. His lair was in a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill on the bank of the Vistula River. Wawel Hill is in Kraków, which was then the capital of Poland. It was defeated during the rule of Krakus, by his sons according to the earliest account; in a later work, the dragon-slaying is credited to a cobbler named Skuba.

The oldest known telling of the story comes from the 13th-century work attributed to Bishop of Kraków and historian of Poland, Wincenty Kadłubek.

The inspiration for the name of Skuba was probably a church of St. Jacob (pol. Kuba), which was situated near the Wawel Castle. In one of the hagiographic stories about St. Jacob, he defeats a fire-breathing dragon.

According to Wincenty Kadłubek's Polish Chronicle, the Wawel dragon appeared during the reign of King Krakus (lat. Gracchus). The dragon required weekly offerings of cattle, or else humans would have been devoured instead. In the hope of killing the dragon, Krakus called on his two sons, Lech and Krakus II. They could not, however, defeat the creature by hand, so they came up with a trick.
They fed him a calf skin stuffed with smoldering sulfur, causing his fiery death. Then the brothers argued about who deserved the honor for slaying the dragon.
The older brother killed the younger brother Grakch (Krakus), and told others that the dragon killed him. When Lech became king, his secret was revealed, and he got expelled from the country. The city was named in recognition of the brave and innocent Krakus.

Jan Długosz in his 15th-century chronicle wrote that the one who defeated the dragon was King Krakus, who ordered his men to stuff the flesh of a calf skin with flammable substances (sulfur, tinder, wax, pitch, and tar) and set them on fire. The dragon ate the burning meal and died breathing fire just before death.

Another version by Marcin Bielski from the 16th century gave credit to the shoemaker Skuba for defeating the dragon.
The story still takes place in Kraków during the reign of King Krakus, the city's legendary founder, and a calf's skin filled with sulfur was used as bait to the dragon. The dragon was unable to swallow this, and drank water until it died. Afterwards, Skuba was rewarded handsomely. Bielski adds, "One can still see his cave under the castle. It is called the Dragon's Cave.

The chapter examines how wargaming directly influenced roleplaying games, both in their tabletop and digital iterations, to the point of establishing combat as a core component of roleplaying, narratively as well as in terms of game rules. In particular, it charts the central role combat customarily assumes in roleplaying games from the creation of Dungeons and Dragons in 1975 to current Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Firstly, through an interdisciplinary viewpoint which combines historical and cultural studies' perspectives with narrative theory, the literature review examines the history of roleplaying games in direct connection with the hobby's wargaming origins, as well as with the games' literary and cultural sources. Following this, a textual analysis of selected influential games, both tabletop and digital, aims at revealing the role of combat in each game by examining both quantitative and qualitative elements in the games' artwork, narrative elements and ruleset. In addition, the chapter examines the role of player readings according to both cultural and narrative theories. The findings underline the fact that the legacy of wargames, along with several cultural elements inherent in speculative fiction, have allowed combat encounters to remain entrenched in the core of the roleplaying experience, even when the designers have previously stated antithetical intentions in terms game design. Along with further research which would determine the exact benefits players

This paper situates gamer discussions of the fantasy race the drow, or dark elves, in masculinity theory. I examine threads from a Facebook group discussing the topic, and code the reactions of men participating. I discuss how some gamer masculinities that are displayed reinforces a belief of epistemic privilege among White men that allows for hegemonic responses to discussions that involve structural racism. I propose larp gamer masculinity as a hybrid masculinity, complicit in its support of hegemonic models but appropriating elements of subordinated populations to allow individuals to feel like an “outsider.” In these gaming discourse spaces, men employ an anti-intellectualized form of digital hooliganism as a rationale for their claims. These men dismiss claims of discrimination as they see those as characteristics outside the scope of the game. The resistance exhibited by these men reacting to changes should be viewed differently than extremist discourses.

Con el presente artículo se busca dar a conocer la metodología utilizada para analizar el juego de rol Calabozos y Dragones, así como el desarrollo de la investigación, aparato teórico metodológico, los respectivos resultados y conclusiones para establecer los elementos de conformación de la narrativa experiencial en un medio de comunicación particular como Calabozos y Dragones. La denominada narrativa experiencial, en este caso específico, operó como metodología de análisis, resultando en la identificación de los elementos fundamentales para la generación de momentos significativos en la mente de los jugadores de Calabozos y Dragones. Se encontró que las interacciones de los jugadores y de los personajes con sus entornos son los hechos que predominantemente generan la experiencia, es decir, la interacción entre los jugadores, con los dados, las hojas de personaje, las reglas y la música ambiental es lo que determina la experiencia en su línea de tiempo; mientras que el conjunto de interacciones entre los personajes y el ambiente virtual es lo que determina los momentos significativos generando la narrativa experiencial en conjunto.

Resumo: O RPG D&D é um jogo de interpretação fantasiosa sobre uma narrativa contemporânea acerca do medievo. Desta forma, se apropria, associa e (re)produz o medievo de forma peculiar, (re)construindo uma "Idade Média fantasiada" caracterizada, também, por aspectos mitológicos que, muitas vezes, não são definidos historicamente. Esta investigação é parte do projeto de pesquisa em desenvolvimento com financiamento do PIBIC-UFBA sob orientação do Prof. Dr. Marcelo Pereira Lima. Como se trata de um trabalho preliminar, vamos apresentar as principais diretrizes que norteiam a tentativa de problematizar inicialmente como e por que são produzidas essas representações que permanecem no imaginário contemporâneo sobre a Idade Média.

Vermilion is both a brilliant red or scarlet pigment, originally made from the powdered mineral cinnabar, and the corresponding color. It is commonly used in Hindu culture, primarily by women, and was widely used in the art and decoration of Ancient Rome, in the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, in the paintings of the Renaissance, and in the art and lacquerware of China, during the time it was said that China was the home land of Dragons.

The word vermilion came from the Old French word vermeillon, which was derived from vermeil, from the Latin vermiculus, the diminutive of the Latin word vermis or worm, wormlike creature like a snake or winged and flying serpent, as a dragon.
The name originated because it had a similar color to the natural red dye made from an insect, Kermes vermilio, which was widely used in Europe. The first recorded use of "vermilion" as a color name in English was in 1289.
The term cinnabar was used interchangeably with vermilion until the 17th century, when vermilion became the more common name. Now the term "cinnabar" is used in mineralogy and crystallography for the red crystalline form of mercury sulfide HgS. Thus, the natural mineral pigment is called "cinnabar", and its synthetic form is called "vermilion". In ancient times, the term "cinnabar" could also be applied to red lead.

A theatre creation, even the most minimalistic or humble, holds many elements, depends on many people and is easy to mess up by one person not being there at the right moment. That naturally implies a strict discipline and hierarchy. Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game with a giant book of rules, a mathematical calculation element and a Dungeon Master, a person who literally creates the game world. Nevertheless, while players are advancing in the game with the storytelling, character development, acting, improvisation and analysis they are also being entertained in friendly atmosphere. In many cases a good game session is not only a powerful creative tool and a bonding social activity but in many ways it also works as therapy, helping people to get through life with depression, anxiety and trauma. I think there's something we can learn from the game and bring this knowledge to the theatre.

This paper discusses the communication in tabletop role-playing games that we call metadiscourse. Prior study of gaming and the act of play prove that the space is inherently social. However, we speculate that, through metadiscourse, the social aspect of the tabletop role-playing game is central to group cohesion and perpetuation of the gaming subculture. Metadiscourse involves conversation not linked to the current game but could be cordial and relational, critical, or completely unrelated to the game. However, it is an informal conversation that would not occur if there was no game. In metadiscourse there are determinations of gaming capital, or elements of value. Participation in metadiscourse allows an individual to feel included in the game and gaming subculture. However, metadiscourse demonstrates a level of gaming capital through situatedness and affordances that can act as a gatekeeping function for individuals.

Los juegos de rol de mesa y los grupos de jugadores de mesa crecen en Argentina. En los últimos años, este crecimiento ha ido acompañado por la creación de clubes y eventos relacionados con este tipo de juegos. En un contexto global de virtualización no sólo del ocio sino también de la vida cotidiana en general,  este fenómeno resulta paradójico a simple vista. Es a partir de esta problemática que plantearé algunos interrogantes en torno a los sentidos y representaciones que los jugadores le atribuyen a la práctica en la actualidad. Metodológicamente, este trabajo se ha desarrollado a partir de la observación participante en tanto jugadora en mesas de juegos de rol, eventos y entrevistas con miembros de un club de juegos ubicado en el barrio de Almagro, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.


Tabletop role-playing games and groups of board game players are growing in Argentina. In the past years, this growth has been accompanied by the creation of clubs and events regarding these types of games. Given the context of increasing virtualization of leisure activities and daily life itself, this phenomenon appears to be a paradox. The main purpose of this article is to pose some questions about the representations given by current players of these games. Regarding methodology, this work has been developed under the heading of participant observation as a player in different groups of tabletop role-playing games and also events and interviews with members of a gaming club located in the neighborhood of Almagro, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Legend of the Grosse Biesse

Once upon a time, deep in the woods of Marche-en-Famenne, in the "Fond des Vaulx" (Back of the Vault), lived a bearded race of dwarfs (nutons) wearing pointed caps.
They were very kind and hardworking.
Because they were shy, they never showed up. However, they provided many services to the population.

One morning, to the general surprise, the dwarfs invaded the city. They were everywhere: in the attics, in the cellars, in the cupboards...
The Count of Marche had one of them captured.
He asked him why his people had fled the caves of the Fond des Vaulx. The little man replied that the "Big Beast of the Fond des Vaulx" had frightened them.
Then the count remembered the existence of a strange beast that was hiding in a chasm, " Li Trô thi Ô fosses  "
She was as big as two elephants, had a long pointed tail, a crocodile head, scales like plates, a long neck and large teeth. His back was lined with a cut-out ridge and his mouth was spitting fire. She looked like a dragon. The Count immediately ordered to beat drum to gather soldiers and Marchois in order to kill the animal. All, armed to the teeth, went in search of the monster...
Meanwhile, in the woods, a little girl was playing hide-and-seek with her dog.
Worried not to see him again, she moved further and further away and arrived at the Fond des Vaulx.
Suddenly, the leaves of the trees spread away... A huge head with two big bright eyes appeared.
The monster came forward, spitting fire. Panicked, the girl recoiled. The dog leapt from his hiding place, rushed to the dragon and bit his tail.

The beast began to moan like a tiny animal. The little girl took pity on her, comforted her and cared for her.
Our three new friends decided to go back to town. At the sight of the monster, the frightened people tried to kill him. The little girl begged them not to do any harm to her because, she cried, her new friend was harmless and very kind.

Everyone was convinced. The count had a great feast at which the beast promised not to frighten the nutons any more. The "Big Beast", (Grosse Biesse )nicknamed by the citizens of Marche, returned to live in its abyss, promising to return to say hello to them from time to time.

And so every year, you can see the Grosse Biesse (Big Beast) of the Fond des Vaulx at the Marche carnival.

Dune (n.)
"mound, ridge, or hill of loose sand heaped up by the wind near the coast of a sea," 1790, from French, Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dune, all of which are perhaps from Gaulish *dunom (making it cousin to down (n.2) "small, rounded hill").
The French dune "sand hill" (13c.) is held by Diez to be an Old French borrowing from Dutch duin or some other Germanic source. Italian and Spanish duna are from French. The English word is perhaps also partial a dialectal form of down.

Verb
tarr (first-person singular past tense tarra, participle tarrë)
to cut (vine)
tarr (Irish)
Alternative forms
tarra
Origin & history
From Old Irish tarr‎, tairr ("belly, stomach").

Dread Trident examines the rise of imaginary worlds in tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons. With the combination of analog and digital mechanisms, from traditional books to the internet, new ways of engaging the fantastic have become increasingly realized in recent years, and this book seeks an understanding of this phenomenon within the discourses of trans- and posthumanism, as well as within a gameist mode.  The book explores a number of case studies of foundational TRPGs. Dungeons and Dragons provides an illustration of pulp-driven fantasy, particularly in the way it harmonizes its many campaign settings into a functional multiverse. It also acts as a supreme example of depth within its archive of official and unofficial published material, stretching back four decades. Warhammer 40k and the Worlds of Darkness present an interesting dialogue between Gothic and science-fantasy elements. The Mythos of HP Lovecraft also features prominently in the book as an example of a realized world that spans the literary and gameist modes.  Realized fantasy worlds are becoming ever more popular as a way of experiencing a touch of the magical within modern life. Following Northrop Frye’s definition of irony, Dread Trident theorizes an ironic understanding of this process and in particular of its embodied forms.

Located on a limestone promontory overlooking the River Wye, Chepstow Castle, even today, dominates the landscape and takes the breath away.
It’s both magnificent in its medieval might as it is in its beauty and attention to medieval craftsmanship.
Built initially by William fitz Osborn and later William the Conqueror himself, Chepstow saw a succession of medieval Titans – some good, some bad – take possession of its mighty walls.
From the exceptional William Marshal, earl of Pembroke to Roger Bigod, the recalcitrant earl of Norfolk, who on occasion opposed Edward I; to the highly volatile and infinitely more dangerous Hugh Despenser the Younger, favourite of Edward II.
It was here in 1326, that Edward II and Hugh Despenser the Younger fled and eventually set sail  to escape – possibly for Ireland – from Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer as their invading army sought the overthrow and destruction of the king and his royal favourite. Chepstow Castle reached it’s peak of power and status in the fourteenth century.

Chepstow Castle, located in Monmouthshire, South Wales, was first built c. 1067 by William FitzOsbern and then significantly improved c. 1190 CE by Sir William Marshal (c. 1146-1219 CE), one of England's greatest ever knights who served four kings and acted as regent for Henry III of England (r. 1216-1272 CE). Chepstow Castle then became the home of a succession of rich and powerful medieval and Tudor nobles. Despite its innovative design, and the expense of its formidable defensive features - or perhaps because of them, the castle was never attacked in the medieval period. Chepstow is today a fine example of 11-13th-century CE castle architecture and boasts the oldest castle doors in Europe.

Early History
Chepstow Castle was first built from around 1067 CE by Earl William FitzOsbern, an ally of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087 CE). As with any medieval castle, the location was an important consideration for the castle's future defence and its strategic value. Accordingly, Chepstow Castle was built at one of the gateways to Wales on a limestone cliff overlooking the River Wye. The dramatic curve here in that river gave the castle its Welsh name - Striguil, meaning 'the bend'. Domesday Book (1086-7 CE) records Chepstow Castle as an asset (one of only two castles to be so categorised) because its owner could outweigh the heavy costs of its upkeep by charging a toll on crossing river traffic.

The Norman castle was one of the first to be built in stone, and it is also unusual for not being located near an urban centre. The solid rock base made the castle impregnable to undermining, and its high walls and towers made any attack by siege engines next to impossible. It is perhaps no surprise then that the castle was never attacked in the Middle Ages but it was largely intended as a fortified base from which to attack southern Wales rather than a point of defensive retreat.

The first version of the main rectangular stone castle keep (donjon) was built c. 1072 CE, one of the earliest to be built in England and Wales. The tower cleverly saved costs by having a thinner wall on the river side, and it had the main entrance on the first floor, a typical defensive feature of the period. Another cost-saving device was to reuse locally-found old Roman bricks and tiles in the lower courses, a reminder that the border region between England and Wales had a long history of conflict. Either side of the tower two enclosed courtyards or baileys (aka wards) were built. After FitzOsbern's son Roger de Breteuil participated in a rebellion against William the Conqueror, the Crown took possession of the castle. Sometime before 1119 CE Henry I of England (r. 1100-1135 CE) then gave Chepstow to a loyal follower, one Walter de Clare. Walter's nephew Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare so impressed King Stephen of England (r. 1135-1154 CE) with his martial qualities that he was made, in 1138 CE, the Earl of Pembroke and the castle became thereafter attached to that title. 

Sir William Marshal
Chepstow Castle really took its present form thanks to Sir William Marshal (aka William the Marshal), considered one of the greatest of all medieval knights. Undefeated in medieval tournaments, he was knighted aged 20 in 1166 CE and once spared the life of Richard I of England (r. 1189-1199 CE) in battle when the king was but a prince and involved in a rebellion against his father Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE). Sir William married, by an arrangement set up by Henry II, the 17-year old Isabel de Clare, daughter of the immensely rich 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and as she was the heiress, it gave William prestige, wealth and, of course, castles. Amongst these were Pembroke Castle and Chepstow Castle in Wales. Sir William improved both of these mighty fortresses.

Serving Richard I of England (r. 1189-1199 CE) and King John of England (r. 1189-1216 CE), Sir William reached his peak as the Protector of the Kingdom - king in all but name - when he acted as regent for the young Henry III of England. Following his death on 14th May 1219 CE, Sir William, as was his wish, was invested as a Knight Templar and interred in Temple Church in London where his effigy still rests. Chepstow Castle then passed on to each of Sir William's five sons in turn as they all met various mishap and misadventure but still found time to extend Chepstow.

Marshal's Building Project
When Sir William inherited Chepstow the castle had been neglected for some time but the Marshal would extend the massive rectangular castle keep, adding to it a magnificent Great Hall. The castle also benefitted from its new owner's experience in siege warfare in France, with the first twin-towered gatehouse built in Britain. The towers project forward of the gateway to better protect it with further defensive measures including a double tier of arrow loops (narrow windows), a machicolation hole for dropping nasty things on attackers below, two wooden gates and two portcullises.

One of the unusual features of Chepstow is the great entrance doors of the Great Gatehouse and these, dated using tree-ring analysis to the 1190s CE, were another of Sir William's innovations. They are the oldest castles doors in Europe and were covered in iron plates to make them impregnable to battering and fire. The inner sides are of interest as their latticework shows evidence of the oldest surviving mortise-and-tenon joints in Britain. Today the doors are kept safely inside the castle and replicas stand at the actual castle entrance. Further additions to the castle included increasing the height of the original Norman walls, adding various round towers, and constructing a second line of defensive fortifications with some of the earliest wall arrow loops in Britain. Sir William was rewarded for all his efforts by a visit to the castle from Henry III of England in July 1217 CE.

After Sir William and his five sons, Chepstow Castle saw a long line of powerful owners including Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, who built the western gatehouse c. 1272 CE amongst other improvements. The late 13th century CE saw four large bolt-firing catapults (springalds) mounted on the castle's towers during the Welsh uprisings, and the Crown took ownership again from 1302 CE. The next owner was Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester. In the 13th century CE several small round windows, interior arched recesses, and pointed window openings were added to the main tower. Better accommodation and various facilities were built in the baileys, too, as the castle's owners sought ever more comfort.

The name of this high and bizarre rock - Hercules' Club - perfectly captures its shape.

There is of course a number of legends explaining its strange form. One of them says that it is actually a club of Krak, the legendary ruler of Krakow, who apparently used this terrible weapon to kill the Wawel Dragon.