text:
Masque of the Red Death
Authors: Jacquie Cassada, Claire Hoffman, Carla Hollar, Harold Johnson, Rucht Lilavivat, Nicky Rea, Andrew Scott and Peter Woodworth
Summary of content:
Stephen "ScS" Sutton
Since third edition D&D arrived, fans have eagerly awaited for a third edition of Masque of the Red Death. Many fans have created their own conversions, most notably the good folks who run the RPGA Living Death series. After so many years, White Wolf rewarded the loyal fans with this new version of Gothic Earth. Unfortunately, the book Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death suffers from many problems. This review might take a while, so I will sum it up here:
The Good: Artwork, Villain Section, Monster Section, and Lairs Section
In general, the editing work is poor. There are numerous inconsistencies throughout the book, the organization is often confusing, and certain points of information are completely absent. For example, the rules do not state how many bullets a navy pistol carries in its magazine (six, I guess?) or long it takes a mystic character to finish learning a sphere (yes, I mean sphere).
In many places, the writers of the individual chapters confuse style and game mechanic, bogging down the reader with needless preaching. This becomes very frustrating in the sections where the writer should be communicating the specific rules. The authors mar their creations with petty details that add nothing to the overall story of Gothic Earth. Readers will be probably be bored with the antics of Sargon the pre-Red Death Emperor, or the complete inventory of a proper ladies costume.
Fans of the original setting will discover that the new book often paraphrases the information of the first Masque setting. Archaic concepts like character kits and minor/major spheres make a return. The material makes many references to rules located in the DMG and the Ravenloft Players Handbook, and thus the use of this book depends on a well-stocked library.
Rather than rant on and on about every little problem, I would like to bring up the good parts of the book (many of which are at the very end of the book).
Firstly, I would like to comment on the artwork of the book. The illustrations are nothing short of excellent; nearly every single picture captures the style and themes of Masque of the Red Death. Each artwork is indeed worth a thousand words. Though the artists use a variety of different styles, they have designed each picture to capture the flavour of Victorian gothic horror. Let us give a standing ovation to Talon Duning, Jeff Holt, Marcio Fiorito, Brian LeBlanc, Jeremy McHugh, Claudio Poza and Beth Trott. While were at it, let us also give Richard Tomas a pat on the back for directing the art.
The villain section, Appendix I, will treat fans of the original Masque to a reunion with many of their old favourites. The Red death gets a quick overview while the chapter reiterates the old hierarchy of evil, from mites to dark lords. Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and Professor Moriarty return bigger and badder than ever with third edition stats. New comers like Sarah Winchester, The Maestro, and the horrifying Madame La Laurie join the cast, and Imhotep finally makes an appearance as a very original creature.
Next,Appendix II features a stunning variety of monsters for dungeon masters. I fell in love with the concept of Masques, mini-templates added to classic D&D monsters to give them a Gothic Earth theme. Creepy creatures such as the foreigners, the Lost Boys and the Brutes will enflame the imagination. Indeed, special attention is due to the creature-creator for designing Brutes and Skulkers as both monsters and character races. Now that's thinking ahead!
Appendix III introduces readers to the concepts of Lairs of Evil. Reworking Masque's concept of "domains", the chapter features a plethora of new rules to help create lethal lairs. Concepts like Levels of Wakefulness, Defences, Agents, Corruption and Trigger Events will have player characters at wits end.
Finally, Appendix IV, Adventures in Gothic Earth, is an excellent resource. This chapter features two adventure synopsise and a variety of adventure hooks.
Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death suffers from many serious problems. The book is in many ways a reprint of the original, yet it lacks the organization and completion of the first Masque of the Red Death. Worst of all, some important pieces of information are mysteriously absent. The quality of the book gets better towards the end, though the first chapters remain frustrating to read. I wanted very much to like this new version, but the book is just not up to the standards of professional quality.
Two gas lights out of five.
I implore the development team to develop errata documents post-haste.
Alexei "Igor the Henchman" Podgouzov
Before starting this review, let me state possible reasons of bias I might have towards this product. I was already in love with the Masque of the Red Death setting for years before this book was printed, so I can't really claim to be a totally impartial customer. Also, before I decided myself to go and buy this book, I've read some discouraging reviews of it, so it is easy for me to be pleasantly surprised by this book's merits. Its like going to a movie everyone told you would be a disappointment, and finding it wasn't so bad after all. I now think the negative reviews I've read were due to the reverse effect: when you expect a product to be a shining hit, its almost sure to come short of your expectations (hence why many Star Wars fans felt betrayed by the two last movies). That said, lets move closer to the point.
Masque of the Red Death setting takes place on an alternate version of our planet Earth in the last decade of the 19th century. It is a sort of "What If" setting that takes the horrors of the standard Ravenloft setting and transports them into the Victorian era of our history. Famous characters like Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper all coexist in this setting, and the forces of evil, subtly controlled by an extra-dimensional horror known only as the Red Death, strive to slowly bring about the fall of human civilization and its ideals.
Players assume the role of everyday folk, who, through discovering the existence of the forces of darkness and opposing them, get the chance to slightly tip the balance in the struggle through their actions. This is a perfect setting for DMs and players who aren't afraid to do some historical research and enjoy Victorian horror atmosphere. Playing Masque of the Red Death turns every history book in your local library into a potential game product, as any real world event can be turned into a horror adventure with but a little imagination. The downside of the product is that it is not a complete stand-alone. To use it, you must be familiar with the rules specific to the Ravenloft setting for D&D, as many of those are referenced (but not reproduced) in the book. This tends to limit the product's audience to people already familiar with the world of Ravenloft. I'll now discuss the contents of the book chapter by chapter.
Introduction: Nothing much to be said here. A few pages of explanation on what is the Gothic Earth setting and what its about. This section features an in-game document penned by Miriam Van Helsing (sister to the famous monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing from the Dracula novel).
Chapter One: A History of Gothic Earth deals with the world's history, as one might expect. This chapter tells about how the Red Death came to our world as well as what actions have been taken by its minions to increase its power, and by its enemies to oppose it, throughout the millennia that followed. This history section is more detailed than the history overview in the old MotRD boxed set, but is still heavily based on it. I was quite pleased with the touching upon of old African civilizations – makes you realize history wasn't frozen before the Athenian times. The chapter ends in a list of the most significant political events that happened in the 1890s.
Chapter Two: Next Chapter, An Atlas of Gothic Earth, touches upon the cities of Alexandria, Cape Town, Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco, Vancouver, Mexico City, Port-au-Prince, Buenos Aires, Lima, Bangkok, Calcutta, Constantinople, Saint Petersburg, Singapore, Brisbane, Christchurch, Bucharest, Dublin, London, Paris, Rome and Vienna, as they existed at the end of 19th century. This chapter is larger than its double from the old boxed set, but there's little here that isn't paraphrasing from there.
Chapter Three: Next comes one of the "crunchiest" pieces, the Character Creation chapter. I must say I was very impressed by how the book handles character classes, though I have to warn you it might not fit everybody's tastes. The book presents six "generic" classes, called Adept, Athlete, Intellectual, Mystic, Sleuth and Tradesman, and 17 "variant" classes, that take a generic class and tinker with it until you get a new archetype, albeit related to the generic class that gave it birth. For example, the Charlatan is a variant class of the Adept. Like the generic adept, the charlatan is a wielder of arcane energy, but unlike his more "bookish" generic counterpart, he is more of a stage-man. As such, he doesn't need books to prepare spells, gets bonus to sleight of hand and illusion spells and additional class skills. As counterbalance, he loses bonus metamagic feats, gets slightly less skill points and risks taking nonlethal damage when casting spells, to reflect a more "self-taught" background. The variant classes are Charlatan, Metaphysician and Occultist for the Adept, Soldier, Explorer/Scout and Shootist for the Athlete, Physician, Scholar/Scientist and Parson for the Intellectual, Medium, Shaman and Spiritualist for the Mystic, Criminal, Journalist and Dandy for the Sleuth and Performer and Mechanic for the Tradesman.
Though I admit this system is not as flexible as I would have liked, I can't really think of a character concept that wouldn't fit into one of those somehow (mostly thanks to the Generic Tradesman class, that accommodates a great many jobs and careers). Then come nine prestige classes: Antiquarian, Artifact Hunter, Exorcist, Forbidden Loremaster, Lycanthrope Hunter, Master Inventor, Qabalist, Spy and Undead Hunter. A list of skills and feats specific to the Masque of the Red Death setting follow. From what I've seen, they make sense, and some of the feats actually look quite good. Overall, I find this a very good chapter, with the exception of the inconsistencies of the Mystic Class (more on the flaws of that class below)
Chapter Four: Then we come upon the Money and Equipment chapter, which features a list of items specific to a Victorian setting. Unfortunately, the book doesn't repeat items already listed in the D&D Player's Handbook, although most of these should be considered antiquities in this setting, and as such, aren't likely to be affordable (nor very useful) for Gothic Earth heroes. The chapter features firearms, pricing for transportation and telegrams, as well as a broad choice of items ranging from the typewriter to the tomahawk, priced in American dollars of the time.
Chapter Five: This section explains how magic in the MotRD setting is different from standard D&D magic (and even that of the standard Ravenloft setting). Suffice to say magic has got far more hazardous, time consuming and risky to use. Since the Red Death has corrupted magic to its source, casting a spell, no matter how benign, requires the character to make a powers check or begin to slowly turn into a minion of the Red Death. In D&D, magic is part of the everyday adventuring trade. On Gothic Earth it is likely to be only used as a last resort, even by characters gifted with magic abilities. The chapter is complete with full spell lists for Adept and Mystic class (more on the flaws of Mystic spellcasting mechanics below). There's a brief discussion of magic items on Gothic Earth, but no new items.
Chapter Six: Next chapter is Combat. It is not as long as one might have expected, since it doesn't bother repeating information in the D&D Player's Handbook. It mainly touches the notions of firearms, explosives, undead-turning, and healing.
Chapter Seven: This chapter deals with Madness and Mystery. It discusses the use of Fear, Horror and Madness saves, curses and Powers Checks, but doesn't repeat the actual mechanics (these are in the Ravenloft Player's Handbook). Also discussed are the topics of Superstition, Omens and gypsies (including the Vistani).
Chapter Eight: The following chapter is another favorite of mine: A Practical Guide to 19th Century. This chapter explains the way of life in the 1890s, from fashions to social classes to technology to entertainment and so on and so on (it even explains the Language of Flowers). Also featured are lists of noteworthy events in the 1890s regarding literature, music and inventions. It also lists nine of Gothic Earth's secret "Qabals" (yes, the same as in the old Gothic Earth Gazetteer, plus a new one, called the Necessity's Children). Though it is impossible to completely convey a whole epoch in 20 pages, it does provide a global idea of the Victorian society and gives a small start for your own research.
Appendix I: the Villains of Gothic Earth is the jewel of this book. I found the villainous NPCs featured here are among the most well-thought NPC's I've seen in a gaming product. Simply put, whole campaigns can be made around every one of these villains. Dracula, Imhotep, Frankenstein's Monster, Professor James Moriarty, the Maestro, Madame Delphine LaLaurie and Sarah Winchester. A most macabre gallery to be sure, though most come from either pre-existing literature or real world history.
Appendix II: Monsters in the World, features new creatures and an innovative concept of "masques", that allow to tinker a standard D&D creature and make it usable in a Victorian horror story (and it actually works!) I won't go in too much detail on this one. Limited quantity of new monsters is compensated by excellent quality. Enough said.
Appendix III: Lairs of Evil I've actually found a little bland, so much that I started to skip forward a few lines at a time by the middle of the chapter. Basically, the chapter deals with the creation of horrifying locales to serve as lairs to the master villain in the adventure. Not that there's bad advice here, but nothing stellar either.
Appendix IV: Finally comes the fourth and final appendix, Adventures in Gothic Earth. It deals with creating adventures in the Gothic Earth setting and instilling a sense of fear into the players during the game. As can be expected, little of this information is new, but it is still generally good. The section (and the book) ends with a list of adventure ideas for a Gothic Earth campaign.
Now lets sum up all the good I've got to say about this product: first of all, great job on layout and art in this book. I'm doubly pleased to say this because I've found many recent Ravenloft books lacking in this respect. Its good to see the designers understand that 50% of interest in a horror RPG book is the atmosphere, and saw to it that the book has lots of it. Victorian-style fonts and chapter introduction pages look great, as does the art. The latter is superior to what I've grown accustomed to see in Ravenloft products and I've found it conveys the feel of the setting marvelously well. And when the book is filled with great material and ideas, there's really very little I can find to complain about.
Unfortunately, there are things to complain about, despite all that I have said earlier. Inconvenience number one: No world map included. While I'm less bothered by this than some, since I still have the old map from the original MotRD boxed set, new DMs will have to do their own research for something as elementary as political borders, city locations and railways. In my opinion, a map definitely should have been included. Alas, it wasn't. There are also some problems with editing at times, which I think have bothered me less than some other readers whose reviews I've read. A missing dot here, an inelegant typo there, it sometimes detracts from reading. A better editing job would have caught many of these irksome errors. As I said, this has bothered me less than it could bother some (I've heard of a passage somewhere in the book mixing Mystic Domains with the Spheres of 2nd edition, but if its there, I haven't managed to find it). And, finally, the single greatest flaw of all, the Mystic class. Three chapters in this book deal with Mystics (Character Creation, Magic and Villains), and unfortunately every on of the three seems to have its own interpretation on how Mystic spellcasting is supposed to work.
This is that much more of a shame that the problem would have been avoided had the writers perhaps cooperated better when writing the book. In the end, though, the rules on the Mystic's spells are unfortunately incomplete and often confusing. Giving the matter much thought, I've managed to piece together the following "definitive" system that reconciles most of the three chapters and saves you from having to alter the character stats in the Villains appendix:
The rest of it should be pretty clear.
Final verdict: a solid 4 out of 5. I would have given it a full 5 had it included a map and clear rules for mystics. At any rate, these flaws should not stop you from buying this book if you're interested in the Gothic Earth setting. This book is a major improvement from the original boxed set of bygone 2nd edition days, much like Domains of Dread was a great (though not perfect) improvement upon the original Ravenloft Black Box. Highly recommended.
David "Jester" Gibson
For those not 'in the know' this product is a 3.5 hardcover update of an older boxed set originally published back in 1994. Both the hardcover and boxed set are campaign expansions of the Ravenloft campaign setting, but instead move much of the feel to another place and time. They are not –technically- separate campaign settings, although they could easily have been treated as such. There is almost no overlap between the two worlds save for a handful of rules and the general theme.
Packaging this separately with all the necessary rules to play would have made more sense from a marketing and sales perspective. Those Ravenloft fans likely to buy the book would pick it up regardless if the 'loft logo was printed large and prominent on the book or tucked away somewhere on the bottom. Only loosely tying the book to Ravenloft might attract other gamers to the book and by extension Ravenloft. Masque: the gateway game. But instead this is only an expansion and two or three other products are required to play this.
The book starts with an introductory letter from Mirian Van Helsing written for the sake of her brother. Her brother, whom she calls "Van Helsing" in place of his first name, indicates they must have been very close. This opens the very brief introduction that explains the very basics of the world, required books and what follows in the chapters to come. Following this is the first real chapter that details the full history of the world. Much of this is a rehashing, if not direct paraphrasing, of the text from the original boxed set. It is a good summary of relevant world history and offers enough useful examples of how the Red Death is used. Quick guide on combining actual historical events and the supposed supernatural subtext for real occurrences. This chapter closes with a quick description of a few key themes of the 1890s and a brief timeline of the next decade's headlining news. Not much that is original here; most of this chapter seems cribbed from the decade-old earlier edition. Not that much needed to be changed. It worked then and it works now.
Chapter two sets up the world giving a brief description of the goings on occurring on each of the continents along with a few related cities. Each city is given a description and history as well as a paragraph or two of Forbidden Lore to serve as adventure hooks or examples of how the world works. Like the original, much of the action apparently takes place in the cities instead of rural countrysides. The chapter itself is well written and does a good job summarising so much history and covering such a dry topic. The Forbidden Lore often stands out and the much effort was spent matching the feel of the various cities and adapting existing legends. The only flaw is there is simply not enough pages to do justice to such sprawling cities as London and Paris, thousands of years of history, events in the various lands across the globe and touch on every nation. Only the major places get any coverage.
The third chapter shifts into the crunchy with character creation rules. This is where the flaws of the book are exposed. The primary flaw is poor editing with many rules being badly explained, if they are explained at all. Shifting away from the four classes and multitude of kits that dominated the original this includes six 'core' classes and related variants that can be used for almost any conceivable role. Some of the variant classes seem mildly redundant (is not a shootist just an athlete with firearm feats in place of sword or bow or cricket bat?) Much of the differences between the 'core' classes and variants are merely the selection of feats and skills. For example, the chart of Athlete progression is almost identical to that of the Soldier and the two classes could easily have been merged. This is hardly isolated. All the Mystic classes have the exact same progression of spells per day and yet the same chart is reprinted four times! Likewise three of the four Adept classes also have the same progression. It seems that because some of the classes deserved variants all classes had to have variants. This is several pages of blatant wasted space. Likewise, since every variant class has the exact same progression of saves and Base Attack Bonuses why reprint these? The variants are not slight customisations but actual classes in and of themselves. A far more efficient system would have been only altering the class skills and bonus abilities and having identical progression for everything else. This would have freed up almost twelve whole pages! Instead we are treated to what is essentially a massive chapter on twenty-three classes.
Following this are the Prestige Classes. There are some nice classes here that would be very useful in fleshing out higher level characters, the writers did an excellent job of making almost any conceivable character possible (as long as they fit the setting). But there is some poor editing here as well. The Lycanthrope Hunter is essentially the same class as the Undead Hunter with the L-word replacing the U-word. It would have been far, far easier to have a Hunter class and let the player chose from a list of targets. This would have allowed such variants as the Hag /Arcane-caster Hunter or Fey Hunter.
The third chapter continues with a large list of skills. I would like to have seen more distinction made to the educated versus self-taught, especially with the differences between social classes at this time. It would have been nice to see some skills reserved for the upper crust and refined and some skills that only the seedy could excel in. Or it would also have been nice to see some feats reflecting these differences, but there is not. Other than this complaint the skills are nicely compact with good use of the umbrella skills of Knowledge, Profession and Craft. The feats themselves are nothing special with a handful of period appropriate new feats. There are some odd exceptions such as feats that could speed up magic or alternate firearm proficiencies. The decision to limit shields only to soldiers seems strange, as the point of armour and weapon feats was to allow any character to use any item if they so chose but at the cost of potentially weakening class abilities.
Chapter four is reserved for money and equipment offering descriptions and prices of the new items of the era. Some discussion is also given to currency and the availability of equipment. Interestingly half the information on weapons (i.e. their damage and range) has been moved from this chapter to the one on combat. Also many weapons such as tomahawks and woodcutting axes are given no combat information and must be converted from the similar items in the Player's Handbook. There is a fairly extensive list of new items and Victorian odd-and-ends, some strikingly odd. They include such things as opera glasses but neglect such items as walking sticks Many items also seem ridiculously under-priced.
Chapter five discusses magic and its alterations bringing up Power Checks and the limits of magic on Gothic Earth. This system has been very nicely updated from the original managing to keep both the danger and risk of magic while offering some chances of hope. Magic here is very corrupting and has some terrifying elements of danger involved. Magic is very slow to cast in the Gothic Earth. Very, very slow. While I can understand the reasons and ritual having to spend four rounds doing nothing to cast a third level spell all but eliminates the use of magic in combat. There is the distinct possibility that each time a character starts to cast a spell the situation will change and it will no longer be necessary. It would be nice to at least see optional rules for casting in haste, such as an increased risk of failure or additional corruption. A feat to this effect would have been a smart move. This chapter also gives some good information on the role of magic items in a campaign and the extended rules for learning arcane spells. While the rules for leaning new Adept spells are appropriate and well done the rules for acquiring new Mystic spells are missing from the book! They are nowhere to be found! Sloppy to say the least.
As mentioned earlier the topic of chapter six is combat. This is a brief chapter primarily devoted to explaining explosives and guns as well as some brief advice on how to recover from injury and madness. A very brief chapter to say the least. Madness and mystery follows next in a chapter devoted to the modified fear and horror rules plus additional madness information. The rules for curses, omens and the Vistani are also included. I did not see a solid reason why chapters six and seven were not combined; both were very small. One thing of note is the new Superstition rules, a small section but a very nice addition to the game. It is an excellent idea and one easily stolen for the main Ravenloft setting.
Chapter eight is one of my favourite additions to the book and includes something I found sorely lacking in the original boxed set. World and societal information! Included is a brief summary of Western society (with a heavy English/US slant) including such topics as class, fashion, customs, lifestyle, technology, music, literature, transportation and more. The only problem with this chapter is that it simply is not long enough. A guide to the world and what it was like is invaluable for quickly running an adventure or setting a story on the Gothic Earth without having to pour through books in the library.
The book then shifts onto Appendices. Why these are called Appendices when they could just as easily be called chapters is a throwback to the original boxed set and not really necessary. The information contained here is supposedly for Dungeon Master eyes only. The first Appendix describes villains such as the Red Death, to the best it can be described, as well as several of its many agents. The superficial rankings of the Red Deaths agents are carried over from the boxed set. There is so little need to force the heroes' villains into the categories of demilord or lord. Again these are just labels and have no real game effect. It is also hard to imagine an appropriate monster that could possibly be an overlord. If Dracula, the first and oldest vampire in the world is not an overlord who is? Seven fiendish NPCs follow: three from literature, three from history and a couple extras just for kicks. The character or Moriarty returns and sadly he is exactly as he was in the original boxed set. It is nice they followed continuity but this was unnecessary the first time and is even more redundant now with the more accommodating class structure of Third Edition. Not every evil being needs be a monster, and making a human one inhuman detracts from the evil man can do quite nicely on his own. For a setting that emphasises human corruption and the descent into evil this is particularly inappropriate. It does make Sherlock all the more impressive and at the very least they removed the line of Moriarty growing tired of Holmes.
Appendix II introduces eight new monsters. Some of these just scream to be used and are nicely horrifying and others… not so much. Introduced here is the concept of 'masques', a simply brilliant idea that allows many monsters that might not typically fit into the Gothic Earth to be added. An excellent addition, but I wished they had not used a chimera in one of the examples. Bugbears and ogres I can understand but some beasts are simply far too unbelievable and fantastic.
Appendix III gives the rules for Lairs in the Gothic Earth, updated sinkholes of evil that make-up for villains not having domains or as many special powers as typical darklords. There are some nice ideas here but the overall concept of every powerful villain having a quasi-sentient lair with the same cookie-cutter attributes (Life's Blood, Heart of Darkness and Soul of Light) just seems limiting and forced. It is simply too structured and formulaic. There is following tradition and honouring it and then there is conforming and being restricted. The example of a lair though is quite good although having the 'big bad' monstrous seems unnecessary for such an environment when a living flesh and blood creature would be more appropriate.
Finally, Appendix IV gives advice on crafting adventures along with some very nice examples. There are quite a few good ideas here. Some of the hooks seem a tad fantastic, especially for the Gothic Earth, but most are just perfect and fitting.
The book has a different look from the standard Ravenloft line. The font of the titles and sections is a cursive script that, while fitting and lovely, is hard to read at times and is noticeably smaller than the standard. In some places it seems smaller even than the body text. The art and game-information boxes also have a different feel with many of the illustrations having a different feel. This is all very nice. The headers at the top of the pages and chapter descriptions tucked in the corners are also an excellent change.
Once again the concept is good and the setting is good, while this time it is paired with more setting information and the newer and improved rule systems. At first it seems perfect, fixing so many of the problems and rough patches of the original. Then the problems come in. The few rules are often not fully explained or even missing outright. There is still not complete firearm rules for 3E or rules on how they work against armour. Many of the new items of only given the briefest or description and no associated game information. Far too much of the book is fluff description and not nearly enough crunchy game rules. A cursory glance at the original boxed sect and accessories along with an encyclopaedia could have provided much of the same information, what was needed from this book were the rules. Also the constant references to see the Ravenloft Player's Handbook and Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide grow tiresome quickly.
Again the product has great potential and is a very fun setting. The world is good and many of the problems of the original were fixed. Although this product has the opposite problem and simply does not give enough or the rules to play the game. The most glaring and oft mentioned omission is the Mystic's lack of how to learn domains.
Three severed digits out of five. With a reprint and a full errata this would be knocked up to four.
Coan "Coan" Harvey
First off and right off the bat as it were: I have never owned nor ever read the original Masque of the Red Death: Gothic Earth. As such this review will no doubt appeal more to those who are wondering just what Masque of the Red Death is and if they should give it a go. Be advised this is an opinion and your views may differ from my own. All in all, I loved this book. From start to finish every chapter had a purpose and that purpose was fulfilled. Please note however that the 3rd or 3.5 Edition of the Players Handbook, DM's Guide and Ravenloft Players handbook is needed (you wouldn't go wrong with the Ravenloft DM's Guide either).
Chapter One: History. The book covers a fair amount of important historical eras within a short space, this works well as it prevents tedium setting in while highlighting areas that you may wish to research. It is also interesting to read how the enigmatic Red Death perverts history and has a hand in some of the greatest travesties of humanity while also getting the feeling that man isn't having their hand necessarily 'forced'. Slavery, genocide, wars etc were initiated by people –the Red Death simply helps with a nudge or two. The list of major political events is also excellent and helps to give an idea on how the world is changing of the years.
Chapter Two: An Atlas. My major gripe here is that the book lacks a map with names and territories listed for the 1890's. Of course continents change little but countries and empires do between 1890 and today –the Ottoman Empire being a prime example of this. Overall this chapter highlights a brief description, history (covering the initial foundation of the city to 1890) and Forbidden Lore of certain towns within countries. The Lore gives a deeper look beneath the apparent façade of natural life and helps to give a DM ideas on possible adventures, and the player thoughts on what encounter showed him the real world is full of nightmares of the flesh (and sometimes not even that).
Chapter Three: Character Generation. With 23 character classes, 9 prestige classes, new skills and feats, this chapters weighs in at a hefty 68 pages. Generally I found this chapter excellent as you can't really play a Cleric or Ranger at the turn of the 19th Century, let alone a halfling. This is a human world and each player is going to have their own particular thoughts on their own particular character. Thankfully these classes can cover just about any kind of character. But please recall that in Gothic Earth, the fantasy has been taken out and replaced with terror. Ordinary people battling the night are what is called for with skills taking a front row seat ahead of class abilities. For example while some classes can have the Evasion ability no one has the Improved Evasion ability. Dodging explosions completely is for the movies not for a terror filled adventure. High skills per level (the Dandy has 10!) and bonus Skill Focus feats are also common.
There are problems with the Mystic class but I didn't really a major problem with it. Errata can be found at the Fraternity of Shadows forums (and at the parlor soon I hope). The new skills are jolly good with specialization in Knowledge and Forbidden Lore allowing the DC of checks to be lowered. For example if you had Knowledge (Ancient History (Egypt)) you would be exceptionally good at knowing about all the great dynasties. You also have brand new skills like Prognostication and First Aid. The new feats are also good with some fine ideas like Feign Death and Mimicry Voice. As it is there are 17 or more new feats (depending on how you classify the changes to old feats through firearm intervention).
Chapter Four: Money and Equipment. A solid chapter with the all the new gadgets of the 'modern age' being introduced. Typewriters and bowlers hats abound as well the cost of the new forms of transportation like Railways and Riverboats. The prices to send words by national or international telegram are also included. Oh and if you were wondering about buying a repeating Carbine or maybe even a sawed-off shotgun? Now you can. Bonus marks for saying it is hard to buy handcuffs if you are not a policeman or detective but can get them from certain places of ill-repute.
Chapter Five: Magic. Highly different to the typical D&D Magic, the use of the arcane or mystical powers can result in a variety of problems. Madness, corruption and such can drag the unwary down. I like this chapter as it really sets the setting apart and shows how dangerous the occult can be. There are also 3 new spells (I'd wouldn't mind seeing some more in a later product) and a discussion on why magical items are so rare on Gothic Earth as well as why they should be treasured and perhaps feared by those who wield them.
Chapter Six: Combat. Listing the stats of rifles (which are highly deadly), handguns and different forms of explosives this chapter also has some mention on the different forms of healing available to the characters after the battle. Hospitals and Mental Health Facilities are now available as magic potions are replaced by the needle and thread of a surgeon.
Chapter Seven: Madness. This adjusts and expands the rules for madness, horror and fear saves (originally presented in the Ravenloft Players Handbook). There are two more minor madness effects added and it is clear that in a world of science and reason, battling the night wears on the mind heavily.
Chapter Eight: A Practical Guide to the 19th Century. One of my favourite chapters this really is what its name implies. Now you too can learn the importance of clothing, burial customs, famous plays and novels of the time as well as the secret Qabals (Cabals) that plot for power within their secret societies. Bonus marks for showing the sheer idiocy of some chauvinist men of the time 'bicycling can provide an unhealthy stimulation to a woman and ruin her marriage prospects'. Excellent chapter and a wealth of information for DMs and players alike.
Appendices: Villians (I), Monsters (II), Lairs of Evil (III), Adventure building (IV). Most of the appendices are strong and full of useful information. I would say the weakest of these is the Lairs of Evil. I found it bland and not as useful to me. However if you're a fan of houses and land coming to a state of almost living thanks to evil, you'll probably love it (especially if you like Sinkholes –explained in the Ravenloft Dungeon Masters Guide).
I was also surprised to find that the more human villains of Gothic Earth were the most interesting to me. Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster are fine but to me they lack the subtlety that overlays the evil beneath. Professor Moriarty was to be my favourite but he doesn't even have any skill ranks in Knowledge (Science (Mathematics)). I have heard this is an updated version of the original Moriarty from the boxed set but they could have redone him in my opinion. As such he is tied for me with "The Maestro" a rather ingenious killer. Other villains are included and I look forward to seeing more (and perhaps one or two 'good guy' write ups) in future products.
The Monster section is just terrific, with my favourite being 'The Foreigners' a decidedly creepy race. The new 'Masque' abilities are needed so to give DMs ways of getting monsters into the world without random encounters. Thankfully they are well done and can make a typical goblin into an adversary worthy of a whole adventure if wanted.
The Adventures in Gothic Earth section is needed for any beginner to the setting and covers why Masque of the Red Death is so different and how to get the most out of adventuring in it. Tools for the DM (a summary for those who wont have the Ravenloft DM Guide) and even a guide to creating adventure through a step structure. It ends it off with two adventure summaries a DM can use (roughly 2-3 pages each in length) and a host of adventure hooks that cover all sorts of adventure styles.
All in all, this book is A grade. Editing could have put it up to A+ but for the newcomer this campaign setting 'expansion' is a setting onto itself. The book is easy to read and generally easy to understand while conveying a lot of information to make Gothic Earth a setting of grand designs and history.
Recommendation: For anyone who wants to up the ante for their role playing and get to a new level of adventuring.
I give it 4 out of 5 and look forward to 'Masque of the Jade Dragon'.
Please send your Reviews of art, books, movies, music, television shows, and video games to email@example.com


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In New York by Marc Brown is picturesque, overwhelming, and amazing. It's a tall book on the largest city by one of the most well-loved author/illustrators.
If you can't go to New York City, then this book will be a great second best. It's a tour guide to NYC and it has suggests of websites with addresses and places you don't want to miss. I had to double check, and this isn't just a picture book of NYC, it's an informational text too. A nonfiction book illustrated by the wonderful Marc Brown.
The illustrations were created with layers of watercolor and gouache on illustration board using brushes and sponges. I'm not surprised that he used traditional ways to work his magic. And as my painting teacher would remind me, if I want to try something like this, I'll have to get my ruler out. I'll use this with school-age students, recommend it to parents, teachers, and children when they want info on New York City for a report or for a great guide if they are going to move or for a visit.

subset: commoncrawl


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The different stages of kidney failure increase in severity as kidney function falters. Stages 1 through 5 are indicators of the extent to which the disease is progressing. Simply because an individual is experiencing a particular level, or stage, of sickness does not mean he is dying. Rather, the stages present doctors with a reference point as to the treatment necessary to help patients regain health and avoid a terminal prognosis.
The term chronic kidney disease (CKD) refers to the five stages of kidney disease. An individual with a diagnosis of CKD falls within one of these five stages of increasing severity. CKD progresses gradually, usually over the course of months and years. Stage 5, also known as endstage kidney disease or renal failure, is a near-complete shutdown of kidney function. At that point, the body is completely reliant on dialysis to mechanically cleanse the kidneys of waste.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the test used by physicians to determine what level of kidney failure a patient is experiencing. GFR monitors the amount of blood that flows per minute through the millions of tiny filters inside the kidneys. In an article written for "Kidney Beginnings: The Magazine," Dr. Stephen Z. Fadem says "when measuring GFR, a marker substance such as creatinine is used. Creatinine is a metabolite from muscle. As new muscle builds, old muscle cells are torn down and release this metabolite into the blood, where it is eliminated by the kidneys and excreted into the urine."
A high level of creatinine indicates the kidneys are not functioning properly. The higher that level rises dictates whether or not a patient is diagnosed as being in a higher stage of CKD.
Stage 1
Kidney function is normal with no significant symptoms of CKD in Stage 1. However, some factor points to CKD as being present. This usually is a urinalysis showing an increase in protein--an indicator the kidneys are not removing waste properly. There may also be a genetic trait or kidney abnormalities that are cause for caution. Medical treatment includes observation, testing and control of blood pressure. The GFR is 90 or above.
As heart disease is the primary cause of death for those with CKD, physicians will monitor associated risk factors including hypertension, cholesterol levels and diabetes treatment.
Stage 2
In Stage 2, kidney function is somewhat reduced and testing will have shown other areas of concern. Treatment consists of observation, blood pressure control and management of other risk factors like diabetes, diet, smoking and lack of exercise. The GFR falls between 60 and 89.
Stage 3
Advancement to this stage indicates moderately reduced kidney function. Stage 3 is actually divided into two sections--3A and 3B. The first shows a GFR between 45 and 59, while stage 3B is reached when GFR sinks to between 30 and 44. Treatment continues to be focused on observation, control of blood pressure and even stricter management of additional risk factors.
Stage 4
GFR has sunk to a level between 15 and 29, indicating severe loss of kidney function. Treatment focuses on planning for endstage renal failure, including preparation for dialysis and exploration of transplant options.
Stage 5
This is very severe, or endstage, kidney failure. GFR registers below 15 and dialysis must start immediately. Many patients live long and maintain a relatively vigorous and energetic lifestyle, even with the need for dialysis.


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Waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee has always been a dream of ours, but now, it's a close reality!
Sawa is a Japanese Instagrammer who combines her love of caffeine and flowers by creating beautiful works of art each morning. Her ongoing series is called La Fee De Fluer, where she arranges florals, ribbons and dried foliage around inviting cups of coffee.
If you're reading this then you probably love coffee as much as we do. You're also probably wondering how to put coffee in everything without looking like a caffeine addict. Well, we've compiled some recipes that show you how to do just that! Click the image to read more!
Got that special someone in your life who loves coffee and going on adventures? Well make sure they (or you) start the morning right by sipping some coffee out of these mugs.
Many coffee trends have come and go, but this one is a favourite of ours! You may or may not have heard of rose lattes – a delicate infusion of caffeine and flowers. Almost too pretty to drink, these beverages not only offer the benefits of caffeine but also carry a calming aroma with them. This gorgeous rose latte is from The Coffee Room, a small coffee shop in the Philippines, but you can find these elegant drinks all over the world. Farm Girl in Notting Hill…Continue Reading "Unique Coffee Experience | Rose Latte"
How to Make an Americano | Perfect Coffee Be a Cake Insider! Sign up for CakeMade's newsletter for cake decorating news, trends and tutorials. http://bit.ly/1neFl9g Watch more How to Make the Best Coffee videos: http://www.howcast.com/videos/494728-How-to-Steam-Milk-with-Espresso-Machine-Perfect-Coffee Learn how to make an Americano from the experts at Third Rail Coffee in this Howcast video. My name is Mike Jones, and I'm a barista at Third Rail Coffee right by Washington Square Park in New York City. I'm going to teach you some basic coffee-making skills. I'm going…Continue Reading "How To Make An Americano"
Lehnartz Turkish Mill Brass Coffee Grinder.avi Using my antique Turkish hand mill coffee grinder manufactured by the German company C. Aug. Lehnartz. The Carl August Lehnartz company is, to my knowledge, no longer in business. Here is a video showcasing what this mill is capable of producing. I think Carl had this grinding thing figured out. : )
OE LIDO Hand Coffee Grinder Tech Bulletin 1 If you are curious (or live in TEXAS) you may want a little info about the assembly of the OE LIDO hand coffee grinder…so we are showing you the final assembly process just in case you need to repeat it down the line.
GSI Manual Coffee Grinder Quick review of GSI's hand coffee grinder. Pros; Inexpensive Durable Ceramic burr grinder Works well Adjustable grind size Cons; Heavy Hard to hold onto Cranking handle gets in the way No instruction manual included. (not too big of a problem though) Overall, not a bad deal on a portable hand grinder. Priced at under each, (mine was on Amazon) you may want to include a few in your preps.
OE Pharos Coffee GrinderCategories Hand Coffee Grinders
OE Pharos Hand Coffee Grinder Overview Orphan Espresso describes the new OE Pharos hand coffee grinder….the hand coffee grinder for the 21st century.


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74033Re: [TexasCzechs] Searching for Employer of Maid-my ancestor
Expand Messages
- Apr 19, 2014I recently did my DNA through ancestry and it shows the percentage, and mine showed Europe Jew, I was not aware of any of that in my bloodline. It does give you a percentage and trace amounts, that could determine if it were true? I had a lot more Scandanavian than first thought.Peggy Harmon, CPC"Texas is My Heart"New Braunfels "is my home"On Saturday, April 19, 2014 2:31 PM, Shantelle Grace <buzzinggrace@...> wrote:
Where do I go from here? My great great grandfather, Josef Volny, was illegitimate. He was born in Rychaltice in House No. 12 on 31 May 1859. His mother's name was Barbara Volny and she was born as well in Rychaltice in House No. 12 on 01 May 1835. It was always a family story that we were part Jewish or had some Jewish blood in us. Then when I started researching my genealogy, I found out that a distant cousin also did some research and found out that supposedly Barbara Volny was employed in the home of a Jewish family and became pregnant. Can this be true? I don't know. I was trying to find out the employer, but unfortunately, Rychaltice does not have any 1857 census records. So am I at an impasse?My question is, would she have been employed locally or in a bigger Jewish community? I have been coordinating with Martin Pytr in the CR. He has given me a list of the villages that had some Jewish records kept in the Parishes. From this list, I have looked at the census for Pribor in 1857, found about 6 Jewish families. I also looked at the Census for Hukvaldy for 1880 and found one Jewish family: Shonhof. They employed a maid from Merkovice and a cook from Petrivald. In 1890, they employed a Pospech? from Rychaltice.So what should I do? Keep looking at census records for 1857 around the area for those that exist? Anyone else have a similar dilemma?Any insight is greatly appreciated.Thanks.Shantelle Grace
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About This Product
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Style: Case-Mate Barely There iPhone 5C Case
Protect your iPhone 5C with a customisable case. This form-fitting case wraps the back and sides of your iPhone 5C with a flexible plastic shell, while still providing access to all ports and buttons. Designed for the iPhone 5C, this lightweight case is the perfect way to show off your custom style.
- Designed for the Apple iPhone 5C (also available for iPhone 5/5S)
- Durable & lightweight hard plastic case.
- Access to all ports, controls & sensors.
- Printed in the USA.
- Designer Tip: To ensure the highest quality print, please note that this product's customisable design area measures 13.5 cm x 7.4 cm. For best results please add 0.6 cm bleed.
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2 cups cooked chicken (I had some rotisserie chicken leftover from earlier in the week and used that! Time saver!)
1 19 oz. can mild enchilada sauce
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1 tsp sugar
1 can of black beans, drained and rinse
approximately 10 white corn tortillas
8 oz shredded cheddar-monterey jack blend cheese
1/4 c chopped green onion
1/4 c chopped tomotoes
The recipe is really very easy to throw together. First, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium/large sized mixing bowl, mix together the chicken, enchilada sauce, salsa, sugar and black beans. I've also made this casserole before with corn instead of black beans and both ways are delicious!
Next, top with the chicken/sauce mixture. Then top with the shredded cheese, green onion and tomatoes.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly! I like to allow it to cool for just a few minutes before serving.
I made up a quick fruit salad to serve with this, which had an ambrosia apple (peeled and diced), strawberries and mandarin oranges. I always like to make sure there is fresh fruit and veggies, and lots of color on our plates at dinner time!
* I've used crushed tortilla chips in place of tortillas before, and it's just as good! I would say about 2 c of crushed tortilla chips would be enough.
* I've used corn instead of black beans
* Use some rotisserie chicken instead of cooking chicken from scratch!
I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do!
© Cruzin' Thru | 2014


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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in the process of deciding whether to allow genetically modified salmon to be sold to American consumers and how to label them if they are sold. Margaret Warner gets two perspectives. Continue reading
A massive egg recall over fears of a salmonella outbreak raises new questions on whether the Food and Drug Administration can handle its regulatory role. Betty Ann Bowser has more. Continue reading
After a salmonella outbreak led to more than half a billion eggs being recalled, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said new measures must be taken to ensure food safety laws are enforced to prevent future problems. Jeffrey Brown speaks with food safety expert Caroline Smith DeWaal and journalist Elizabeth Weise. Continue reading
Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser reports on the safety concerns surrounding the diabetes drug Avandia after U.S. health advisers recommended it stay on the market with increased warnings to consumers despite associated heart risks. Continue reading
In other news Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration may consider new regulations to cut sodium content in food products to help stem the growing health consequences. Also, a military group told Congress that school lunches are to blame for the obesity epidemic that is hurting eligibility for the armed services. Continue reading
Lee Hochberg reports on the difficulty in tracking the source of tainted foods and the complicated trail from production to sale. Continue reading
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that drugmaker Pfizer will pay the government $2.3 billion for illegally marketing the anti-inflammatory drug Bextra, the largest health care lawsuit settlement in the department's history. Continue reading
Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, agreed to plead guilty under a $2.3 billion federal settlement over unlawful marketing of the anti-inflammatory drug Bextra. Ray Suarez reports on the record fine. Continue reading
A Food and Drug Administration panel on Tuesday called for greater restrictions on the widely used pain reliever acetaminophen — even recommending banning some medications that contain it — in a bid to prevent potentially harmful overdoses. Continue reading
A bill that would give the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products and marketing moved closer to becoming law when the Senate approved the measure Thursday. Judy Woodruff gets two views on the legislation. Continue reading


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Quantum Optics and Spin-Photon Entanglement with an InAs Quantum Dot
A major goal in quantum information science is experimentally realizing a quantum network, requiring a scalable architecture. In this quantum network, the electron spin of a single charged InAs quantum dot (QD) can serve as a quantum storage device. The electron spin state can be coupled to photons using the QD's optically excited trion state, which allows for fast optical manipulation of the spin state with short laser pulses, and the ability to map quantum information between distant QD spins using intermediate spin-photon entangled states. In this presentation, I will review the progress towards realizing an optically driven QD spin architecture, and I will report on our recent demonstration of a QD spin-photon entangled state.
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Featured in All Out EmotionFeatured in Art Universe
Model by Alice LefayBackground by *ELENADUDINACreated using Photoshop CS3various colour blending modes & filters added
music violin sadness sad emotional girl lady woman
Very beautiful work Michelle!
thanks so much Sharon
Lovely work
thanks so much
Lovely, simply lovely
thanks so much John
Lovely work Michelle
thanks so much Vivien
Ohhhhh love that background, fab work
thanks so much Kymie
Very clever and beautiful Michelle! Ur right into PS ah?
thanks so much Dale, yeah seems like the weather to sit down and play around in PS
Another michellerena masterpiece.. :-))
thanks so much Dave
Another beautiful creation Michelle.
thanks so much Steven
Beautifully touching work Michelle :) xx
beautiful work
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However, with blogging, I've already done this and due to a lot of How to Start a Blog and Turn it into a Business .. Adsense pays a relatively low rate for their ads, but it's generally the best option available for beginners.
So do your homework with this list and start a blog the whole world, and your . Recommended for: Individual and business blogs and websites small business owners who want a quick-fix website on a very low budget..
Business blogging cheapest start blog -- expeditionRegardless of how Google bashes guest posting practices — this strategy works. Obtaining a targeted audience and serving information they want has always been the key to online success. If you are having any problems installing WordPress on iPage then this guide may help. If you set-up a store through your blog, you absolutely must make sure the payment transactions are secure.
So few people know about SV, but I have to say it is pretty good. What is the cheapest way to get started? You make it sound very simple. With what I want to offer on my blog, which of the two would you recommend to generate enough traffic and make connections within my industry? You may want to include a bicesterlink.info which is story sign probes into russia trump campaign will down a hosted solution for newbie bloggers, based on WordPress itself!
Business blogging cheapest start blog - - going
You are far better off spreading them out than uploading a bunch of articles at once. Thank you so much for your insight. I'm working on a complete overhaul of my blog colors, fonts, even the name!! I have interest in this topic and i would like to contribute by guest posting on you blog. Wix is a cloub-based web development platform whose brand name stresses originality, simplicity and above all, free. Thank you for sharing! It comes with an e-commerce solution built in and they also have quick and awesome support from what I hear.


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Today, you rarely see someone walking around Waikiki with a camera the size of a football around his neck, but it's still fairly easy for a local to spot a tourist. The key to dressing like a local in Hawaii is to keep things simple.
Invest in Some Slippas
Hawaiians live in "slippas." Do not call them flip-flops; if you do, you might as well tattoo "tourist" on your forehead. Head into almost any store and you'll find "rubbah slippas" lined up in colorful rows. They are simply a rubber sole with a rubber thong that goes between your toes. When you get to the beach or enter someone's home, you just "slip 'em off."
Don't Overdo the Aloha Wear
You may be tempted to buy matching his and hers aloha-wear outfits. Buy them, but don't wear them -- at least in public. Hawaiians do wear aloha shirts and muu muus, but they rarely go the matching route. Muu muus are the loose, flowing dresses seen throughout the islands. Locals usually prefer the more subtle prints, such as those that mimic tapa cloth. Made from bark that has been soaked and beaten until it is soft and pliable, tapa cloth was used for clothing and household goods. Subtle geometric designs were painted on the cloth, using vegetable dyes. Tapa-style aloha wear often is worn at formal occasions.
Board Shorts and T-Shirts Are In
Board shorts and T-shirts are popular in Hawaii for both men and women. Board shorts are knee-length and come in a variety of prints and colors. T-shirts with surfing or fishing designs are common. Locals go to surf shops, department stores and even farmer's markets to pick up bargains. Hawaiians rarely wear T-shirts with Hawaii plastered across the front; head out the door in one of these and you will be labeled a tourist.
Forget the Gimmicky Sunglasses
Wander into any ABC Store in Hawaii and you're apt to find sunglasses with pineapple or palm-tree frames -- or you'll find the lenses covered with a see-through image of the ocean, Diamond Head and/or more palm trees. These are great if you want to bring the folks back home a fun souvenir. But if you put them on and walk around Hawaii, your cover is blown. Bring or buy a nice pair of sunglasses you'd feel comfortable wearing back home.
Go Casual
Leave the jewels, furs and neckties at home. Fresh flower and kukui-nut leis dress up any outfit. Kukui nuts are the seeds of the candlenut tree. They come in brown, black and a spotted brown-black version. Strung into leis, they go nicely with the tapa-style aloha shirts. For ladies, the holoku, a form-fitting version of the muu muu, works for formal occasions. Holokus often are worn as Hawaiian wedding and bridesmaids' dresses.


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This property has been removed by the agent. It may be let or temporarily removed from the market
2 bedroom detached house to rent2 Bothy Cottages, Nuneham Courtenay
Removed £900 pcm| £208 pw fees apply
Property Description
Letting information:
|Reduced on Rightmove:
|27 September 2016 (362 days ago)
Key features
- 2 bedrooms
- Kitchen
- 1 reception room
- 1 bathroom
- Parking
Full description
Detailed Description
Downstairs: kitchen and reception room.
Upstairs: 2 bedrooms (1 double and 1 single) and bathroom.
No garden, but space at front of property to sit outside. No pets.
1 year assured shorthold tenancy.
Deposit: 2 months rent
Private water
Private sewage
Oil-fired central heating
By appointment only.
More information from this agent
To view this media, please visit the on-line version of this page at www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-61487588.html
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Property reference R11334. The information displayed about this property comprises a property advertisement. Rightmove.co.uk makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the advertisement or any linked or associated information, and Rightmove has no control over the content. This property advertisement does not constitute property particulars. The information is provided and maintained by Savills Rural Lettings, Oxford.
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"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." –H.D. Thoreau
Wild Things in Winter
"Help!" says the little twig. "I thought it was supposed to be spring!"
Winter Returns
The first of several posts on Winter Storm Valerie.
Candy-Coated Spring
Emerging from a deep snow always feels a little like waking from a dream–one where the world is candy-coated, time stands still, and all that matters is playing fetch, taking pictures, and memorizing the beauty of an unexpected storm.
Spring Frenzy!
Stillwater Diary, April 19. 2017 It's mating season! The birds are singing their hearts out, serenading their lady-loves, the mountain lion is squalling like a cat in heat (because she is a cat in heat!), and the jackrabbits are duking it out on the Great Plains. This seems like a very peculiar ritual, but jackrabbits […]
A Certain Slant of Light
Magic surrounds us, ephemeral and fleeting, alive for mere moments and too often thrown away.


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What does felicity mean?
Definitions for felicityfɪˈlɪs ɪ ti
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word felicity.
Princeton's WordNet
felicity, felicitousness(noun)
pleasing and appropriate manner or style (especially manner or style of expression)
happiness, felicity(noun)
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
Apt and pleasing style in writing, speech, etc.
Something that is either a source of happiness or particularly apt.
(Semiotics/semiology) Reproduction of a sign with fidelity. eg. "The quotation was rendered with felicity."
Origin: From the noun felicity, and also the English form of Felicitas, a name borne by early martyrs.
Webster Dictionary
the state of being happy; blessedness; blissfulness; enjoyment of good
that which promotes happiness; a successful or gratifying event; prosperity; blessing
a pleasing faculty or accomplishment; as, felicity in painting portraits, or in writing or talking
Felicity is an American primetime television drama series that was produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for the WB Television Network. The series revolves around the fictional college experiences of the title character, Felicity Porter, portrayed by Keri Russell, as she attends the "University of New York," based on New York University, across the country from her home in Palo Alto, California. The show ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2002, with each season corresponding to the traditional freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years students attend at universities. The series was created by J. J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard were executive producers through Imagine Entertainment. A recurring episode opener of the show is a stark camera shot of Felicity sitting in a dorm room or apartment holding a tape recorder, recalling events in order to make a cassette tape to send to an old friend named Sally Reardon. This occasionally provides a method for Felicity to narrate an entire episode. At the end of episodes like this, Felicity is often shown to be listening to a tape that Sally has sent in reply. In 2007, it was listed as one of TIME magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME." AOL TV named Felicity one of the "Best School Shows of All Time." In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Felicity Porter one of the "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years."
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
fe-lis′i-ti, n. happiness: delight: a blessing: a happy event.—v.t. Felic′itāte, to express joy or pleasure to: to congratulate.—n. Felicitā′tion, the act of congratulating.—adj. Felic′itous, happy: prosperous: delightful: appropriate.—adv. Felic′itously. [Fr.,—L. felicitat-em, from felix, -icis, happy.]
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of felicity in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of felicity in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
What more felicity can fall to creature, than to enjoy delight with liberty.
To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity.
The pleasure of the senses is always regulated in accordance with the imagination. Man can aspire to felicity only by serving all the whims of his imagination.
The true felicity of life is to be free from anxieties and perturbations to understand and do our duties to God and man, and to enjoy the present without any serious dependence on the future.
I have now reigned about 50 years in victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to fourteen.
Images & Illustrations of felicity
Translations for felicity
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1998 jetta 2.0 atuo trans indicator light on dash in drive when car is in park
1 Answer
When the display reverses, that indicates the transmission ecu holding a fault code. The car is driving in third gear only. You need to have the transmission scanned.
1 of 1 people found this helpful.
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text: It's the 2011 Raleigh Grand Prix. I don't plan going full commuter; I'm actually planning to transition over to more road work during the summer when I'm not in school. I've started upgrading parts, so far Ultegra shifters (older 2x9 to fit Tiagra), Tiagra brakes w/ dura-ace pads, San Marco saddle, and I just ordered some 105 pedals. Plus, I had all the cables redone. My friend is going to sell me his Ultegra grouping when he builds his new bike so it should be a major improvement then. I use it a lot at school since the campus is pretty big (UCSD), so I really just need the lock and I have my backpack for everything else.


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Keith Urban is Coming to Bozeman
Four-time Grammy award winner and 2016 Grammy and ACM nominee Keith Urban is bringing his 'ripCHORD World Tour' to the Brick on August 4th! Performing with him will be Brett Eldredge and special guest Maren Morris.
Four-time Grammy award winner and 2016 Grammy and ACM nominee Keith Urban is bringing his 'ripCHORD World Tour' to the Brick on August 4th! Performing with him will be Brett Eldredge and special guest Maren Morris.
He'll be in town Friday, January 19th to play solo acoustic - all the Everclear hits you know and love. Tickets are on sale NOW for this intimate show at Faultline North.
The Montana Folk Festival - one of the largest, FREE festivals in the Northwest returns to Butte, Montana on July 8th - 10th, 2016 and we've got the details.
If you're hanging around Bozeman this New Year's Eve, you're probably wondering what your options are. Here's a list of some of the best places to ring in 2016 in Bozeman.
If you missed your chance to see the fantastic Johnny Cash tribute band, Cold Hard Cash, in Bozeman recently you've got another chance in January at The Badlander in Missoula and we've got all the details.
Be prepared for a hot evening at The Badlander with the psychobilly sounds of Reverend Horton Heat. If you've never seen these guys live, it's about time!
A second show has been added to the schedule for Luke Bryan's Bozeman tour stop.
Grace Potter will be live at The Wilma in Missoula, MT on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 13).
Bozeman's newest music venue will play host to The Cold Hard Cash Show on Friday December 18th. Faultline North is located just north of Griffin Drive and we've got the details!
CMA Entertainer of the Year and two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan is bringing his 'Kill the Lights Tour' to the Brick in Bozeman in 2016, along with special guests Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch.
Ben Sollee is a hugely creative talent that is not to be missed so we're letting you know about this show early! He'll be in Bozeman at Faultline North on January 24th.
I highly suggest you get your tickets soon for Blitzen Trapper in Bozeman if you want to go to this show. Faultline North is a great new venue on the north side of town.


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Why It's Exciting To Be A Spider-Man Fan Right Now
Spiderman had his tough times in his standalone cinematic universe, not that it was completely bad — just not that great.
When the news about Spider-Man joining the Marvel universe broke many fans rejoiced.
Just yesterday Marvel announced that it will be casting Tom Holland as Peter Parker in the third iteration of Spider-Man. In addition to that they even announced that Jon Watts will be directing it. Wait! Who is Jon Watts? It's seems like a smart choice though, read here to know what makes him good.
Well, surely they will reboot the entire franchise but it will be completely different from the way Sony did it. Firstly by casting a younger Peter Parker we can expect the story revolve in his high school years. So get ready to experience more of Harry and Gwen but that doesn't just stop there.
Since Marvel is the one assisting Sony then we surely know that both Spider-Man and Marvel's heroes will toss around. And from the way Marvel has decided to give Spidey 11 films it seems like Marvel is set in motion to bring the right elements from the pages of the comic books to the big screen
I am one of those people who liked Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man but sadly he was cut-off. Nevertheless things are different now, Spider-Man is in high school and to get that high schooler feel Tom Holland feels like a decent pick. I mean you gotta see his performance in The Impossible, it will make it clear to you'all that he can do justice to the character — at least it seems like that.
And c'mon who are you kidding, if Sony tried to reboot Spider-Man all by themselves it could had been far less exciting than it is today. I mean imagine Spidey not only flexing his muscle to fight his own villains but also helping his Marvel counterparts takedown Thanos or Team Up with Daredevil to fight Punisher. Allowing Spider-Man into the MCU gives future writers and directors endless possibilities. The future seems quite exciting now.


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57 Unassigned
Trailside Park Area
Offered at $14,000,000
Property DetailsLand
Park City, UT 84098
Trailside Park Area Area
55.71 acres
Vacant Land in Trailside Park Area
Park City, UT 84098 MLS# 11605051
55.71 acres
Offered at $14,000,000
About The Property
Parcel is surrounded by public open space on three sides. Hiking and biking trails. Easy access from Silver Summit Parkway. Awesome views of Park City Ski Resort and surrounding hills. Currently zoned RR.
Contact Info
Steve Blankenship
Phone: (435) 640-6966
Phone: (435) 640-6966


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One in six people in Southwest Virginia struggles to put food on the table every day.
It's a sobering statistic, especially during the holiday season – a time of year many people associate with decadent meals and overflowing refrigerators.
It's more than a statistic for Pamela Irvine who comes face to face with hungry adults and children every day. Irvine is the president and chief executive officer for Feeding America Southwest Virginia, an organization that provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. Feeding America member food banks supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and three million seniors.
"Working here was deepened my faith in people and shown me that the miraculous can happen if you put in the work. It has also shown me that it is not easy feeding people," said Irvine.
In 2012, 67 Virginia Tech employees donated more than $11,000 directly to Feeding America Southwest Virginia through the annual Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign(CVC).
For every $1 donated, the food bank distributes $9 of food, enough to provide three meals for a family of four.
The success of the organization, according to Irvine, depends on everyone taking part and investing their blood, sweat, and tears.
Virginia Tech employees are helping by donating through the CVC and through several other collaborative efforts.
In the past, Virginia Tech has worked with Feeding American Southwest Virginia to create the Hokies Against Hunger fund, as well as several other projects. Additionally, through a partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension's Family Nutrition Program, Feeding America Southwest Virginia provides nutrition knowledge and food preparation skills outreach to food bank partner agencies and their clients.
Last year, the organization's food bank provided 16.9 million pounds of food, provided 41,199 households a month with groceries, and served 2.6 million on-site meals. Their responsibilities include locating, securing, storing, and transporting large quantities of donated food, distributing the food to the less fortunate at food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, elderly care programs, after-school programs etc., and reducing the cost of feeding the hungry.
Please consider donating to any of the 1,000 charities participating in this year's Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign. The online CVC Pledge System enables salaried Virginia Tech employees to make fast, easy, and secure donations via payroll deduction. All donations are tax deductible, as allowed by law.
First published on November 11, 2013.
Written by Nadia Groome, a junior majoring in communications at Virginia Tech
Feeding America Southwest Virginia
- Distributes more than 17 million pounds of food annually
- Supplies 417 partner agency feeding programs with food for the hungry
- Serves 26 counties and 10 cities in Southwest Virginia.
- Provides food for over 122,000 hungry people every month.
- Oversees 136 Children's Feeding Sites, including Backpack Programs.
- Provides enough food for Children's Programs to serve approximately 724,926 meals and snacks annually.


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So here is a compilation of my outfits from a typical work week. I work in a business casual environment, but I always tend to dress up a little more (dress for the job you want, not the job you have, right?!) I really love skirts/dresses so I try to wear them as much as I can! Here's the recap: MONDAY Pants: New York and Co. Outlet Top: Old Navy Blazer: Old Navy (they also offer additional colors online only- the raspberry punch is super cute!) Necklace: Lia Sophia TUESDAY Skirt: Target Read More
Blue (Da Be De)
In the past, I never would have worn such bold colors...I would usually stick to neutrals with an occasional "pop" of color. But I am in love with this super comfy/cozy sweater dress from Old Navy! It can be worn with boots, heels or flats, which I love. And you can change the look of the outfit in so many ways: with a scarf, jewelry or leggings/tights. I wore it with blue studs (sorry, can't really see them) and a blue necklace from the Loft Outlet that I picked up during Black Friday Read More
Casual (chic) Friday
Happy Friday! So here at the office we have Casual Fridays, which I love. So I put together this outfit...definitely casual, but a little chic too (or at least I hope!) Before diving into Pinterest and other fashion style blogs, I was unsure if I could do a striped sweater with a statement necklace like this (figured it might be too much going on, etc.) In the past, I would only think to wear this necklace with a plain color (i.e.- black, white, cream, gray, etc.) But I like the look of the Read More
Tis the Season!
Happy December! It's officially Christmastime in our house! We put our tree up last night...I love going through the ornaments, remembering the story/memories behind each one. I LOVE Christmas! We also put up a few lights outside this year. (In the future, I'd LOVE to do icicle lights on the whole house...it's so pretty!) I went outside to take this photo last night (get ready for it...) in shorts and a t-shirt! It was almost 70 degrees. In December. In Chicago. I'll take it! I made Read More
Gobble Gobble!
Happy (late) Thanksgiving! Now that the food coma has worn off and the Black Friday sales are over, I thought I'd recap my long weekend in Indiana. It was so nice to be off for a long weekend and to be with family! It was a fun-filled few days! Here are the highlights: My cousin and her husband (my cousin-in-law-- is that the official title?!) and I did a 5k Turkey Trot. This is the 2nd year I've done this one, and luckily, the weather was semi decent! It really was a "quick and dirty" Read More


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The PBR's best will return to the Broadmoor World Arena for the Rumble in the Rockies Sept. 30 - Oct. 1.View Page
Joao Ricardo Vieira won his first non-PBR Major event since 2014 while Kaique Pacheco and Seven Dust went head to head. Meanwhile, Luis Blanco and Jorge Valdiviezo fight to push forward. Re-live it all in their words.Article Comments
Joao Ricardo Vieira carried some extra luck with him in Colorado Springs on the way to his first BFTS event win of the season.View Page
Last fall, all Luis Blanco could think about was how much he didn't like operating rooms. Now, a little less than a year later, he finished a career-best third place in Colorado Springs on his surgically repaired ankle and has the Built Ford Tough...View Page
Joao Ricardo Vieira went 3-for-3 to win the Rumble in the Rockies, presented by Cooper Tires, Sunday afternoon. It was his first BFTS event win of the season and it moved him into fourth in the world standings.View Page
Round 2 of the Rumble in the Rockies will continue to be a test, and World Champion Bull contenders Crossfire and Beaver Creek Beau will be waiting for the riders who pass.View Page
Ryan Dirteater took Round 1 of the Rumble in the Rockies, presented by Cooper Tires, Saturday night and continued his late season push.View Page


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American Bloomers is the union of three Los Angeles singer/songwriters who own their craft, creating a new sound that's steeped in classic rock and folk harmonies. Loyal to a style of Authentic pop, the band tracked to two-inch tape, keeping live takes, first takes, and adding thoughtful overdubs. Their recently released debut EP, "Part One" has been embraced by music fans and critics alike.
The first single, "Never Had The Chance" is currently up for Best Vocal, nominated by the Hollywood Music and Media Association. With lyrics that echo of heartbreak and heart wake; they have a knack for illuminating those bittersweet subtle ironies of love, drugs and other relationships.
Premiering this July, the Bloomers have the title track in a PBS Medical Awareness special 'My Future Baby' which features their original song "Dream On Me".
Characterized by three-part harmonies, the founders of American Bloomers are Jaime Wyatt, Jane Sheldon, and Jonathan Sheldon.
For American Bloomers' reviews and more info: Press | American Bloomers


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