Bessie Love and the Crown of Eternal Mastery

We once again provide a glimpse of a time when Bessie Love (as part of her secret battle against supernatural evil) perhaps saved the world... but at the very least took a powerful magic item out of malicious hands. As per usual, we translate the item into roleplaying game terms via the d20 System.

 

On Halloween, 1928, Bessie Love had her first of many encounters with evil-doers trying to harness magic and enchanted artifacts left behind after the fall of ancient Atlantis. She prevented a necromancer from harnessing the powers of the Gourdians, and, in doing so, came into possession of the Crown of Eternal Mastery. She even wore it to a Halloween Party that night--where she accidentally gained some insight into its powers. (Bessie found herself to be a better dancer than she had ever been before, as well as feeling more limber and dexterous while waring the Crown. She took this to mean that it enhanced a person's agility and dexterity. She failed to imagine the full power of the item, and she put it away in her collection of magical artifacts without ever realizing the truth.)

THE CROWN OF ETERNAL MASTERY

This is a large, elaborate headdress that consists of a caul that's covered with a complex and tangled arrangement of gemstones and pearls on strings or set into delicate platinum frames.  It represents the pinnacle of magical craftsmanship based in a fusion of the now-mostly forgotten Atlantean magical disciplines of Biomancy and Technomancy. It absorbs all knowledge and skills possessed by someone who dies while wearing it, allowing others to later access and use it as if it was their own. Each pearl contains the sum total of experience and knowledge possessed by a person who has passed on. Each gem houses not only a person's knowledge and experience but their personality as well.

   If it is subjected to methods that reveal magical auras, the Crown of Eternal Mastery is revealed to be imbued with powerful magics of an undeterminable variety. If the character attempting to analyze the item's magical aura is a skilled at creating enchanted items, he or she can make an Arcane Lore or Spellcraft skill check (DC18) to determine that there are faint undercurrents of abjuration and necromantic magic in the otherwise alien emanations.

Using the Crown of Eternal Mastery

When worn, the Crown of Eternal Mastery provides the wearer with a +2 bonus to Will saves. Additionally, the character can gain bonuses to skill checks and attack rolls for a limited time.

   Unless the character somehow gains access to ancient Atlantean means of determining the functions of magical items, the Crown of Eternal Mastery will initially seem to function at random. Whenever the character wearing the Crown makes an attack roll or skill check, the GM should roll against the following table. The character gains the indicated bonuses for the duration of the encounter; until another skill check is made; until the character falls unconscious or goes to sleep; or for six hours. The GM decides which of the three options makes the most sense in the context of when the item is triggered.

   The bonuses provided by the Crown stack with all other bonuses. The bonuses do not count for purposes of damage resistance against non-magical weapons.

d20 Roll    Result

1                +4 bonus to all Strength-based skill checks.

2                +2 bonus to all Strength-based skill checks,

                  +2 bonus to all melee attack rolls/melee damage rolls.

3                +4 bonus to all Dexterity-based skill checks

4                +2 bonus to all Dexterity-based skill checks,

                  +2 bonus to all ranged attack rolls.

5                +4 bonus to all Constitution-based skill checks.

6                +4 bonus to all Intelligence-based skill checks.

7                +6 bonus to all Craft skill checks.

8                +4 bonus to all Wisdom-based skill checks.

9                +4 bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks.   

10              +6 bonus to all Perform skill checks.

11              +4 bonus to attack/damage with bladed melee weapons.

12              +4 bonus to attack/damage with blunt melee weapons.

13              +4 bonus to attack/damage with thrown weapons.

14              +4 bonus to ranged attack rolls.

15              +8 bonus to all Knowledge skill checks.

16              +8 bonus to all Perform skill checks with instruments.

17              +8 bonus to Acrobatics and Perform (Dance) skill checks.

18              +8 bonus to Hide and Move Silently skill checks.

19              Roll twice on this table, ignoring and re-rolling additional

                  results of 19. Gain both benefits.

20              Gain instant knowledge of the purpose of the Crown

                  and how to properly use it.

Whenever the character is under one of the benefits of the Crown, he or she feels like some unseen presence is there, watching. The GM should also secretly roll 1d6. On a "6", the character hears a faint voice, a barely audible whisper that is so faint the character can't hear what is being said. The third time the character hears the voice, he or she is finally able to discern the words: The voice is explaining how to use the Crown of Eternal Mastery.

Using the Crown of Eternal Mastery Properly

The character wearing the Crown of Eternal Mastery may attempt to invoke its powers once per round. To do so, the character takes a standard action, and the player rolls a Willpower saving throw (DC11). If the roll is successful, the player declares which of the following benefits the character gains:  

   * +4 bonus to all attack rolls, and a +4 bonus to all skill checks under the physical attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution).

   * +4 bonus to all attack rolls, and a +4 bonus to all skill checks under mental attributes (Intelligence, Wisdom).

   * +4 bonus to all attack rolls, and a +6 bonus to all skill checks under the Charisma attribute.

   * +6 bonus to all Demotions, Disable Device, Hide, and Move Silently skill checks.

   * +8 bonus to all Knowledge skill checks.

The bonuses lasts for six hours, or until the character chooses another set of bonuses. The bonuses also end if the character falls unconscious or goes to sleep while wearing the crown. (See "Drawbacks of the Crown of Eternal Mastery", below, for more.)

   If the Will saving throw to properly activate the Crown's benefits fails, the GM rolls on the table of random bonuses.

Drawbacks of the Crown of Eternal Mastery

If the character falls unconscious or goes to sleep while wearing the crown, one of the personalities in housed in the gems takes control of the character's body. The character retains all physical attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution), but the Charisma attribute is temporarily reduced by 2 points. Mental attributes (Intelligence and Wisdom) are replaced by those of the controlling spirit. The possessing spirit has access to all of the player character's memories and skills, as well as well as its own. The spirit is motivated primarily by a desire to keep the player character safe and help him or her to succeed. (Whether the GM plays the character while it is inhabited by a different spirit is up to the GM.)

   If the player character dies while wearing the Crown of Eternal Mastery, his or her spirit is instantly absorbed into one of the Crown's gems and is added to the preserved knowledge and skill mastery preserved within it.

Destroying the Crown of Eternal Mastery

Any method that will destroy a normal magic item will destroy the Crown of Eternal Mastery. However, 1d6+2 angry ghosts emerge from the Crown and attack those who are attempting to destroy it. 

--

All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2022 by Steve Miller. 

A high-flying early action/comedy!

A Dash Through the Clouds (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Phillip Orin Parmelee, Jack Pickford, and Sylvia Ashton

Director: Mack Sennett

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Josephine (Normand) is more fascinated by airplanes and pilots than she is by her would-be boyfriend (Mace). After he jealously acts out and ends up being pursued by an angry, blood-thirsty mob, he comes to appreciate Josephine's love of aviation, as she and a pilot (Parmelee) come from the sky to rescue him.

 

"A Dash Through the Clouds" is a fun little action comedy where Mabel Normand screen presence and more natural acting style than her fellow cast members combine with a sense of excitement and wonder over the still-new technology of flight to almost make up for the thin and somewhat poorly structured storyline of the film.

While watching this film for its entertainment value might be reason enough to check it out, an added bonus is to watch it for the scenes featuring the rickety, early airplane where pilot and passenger sat on the wings, in front of the engine, with nothing between them and the sky. It's even more remarkable to see that it's actually actress Mabel Normand who's taking to the sky onboard the plane. because she glances over her shoulder toward the camera as it is lifting off. 


All the bits with the plane, whether it's landing or taking off, or being shown in flight are fascinating lots of fun to watch--and I imagine viewers who are aviation buffs like our heroine will find it doubly so. While this wasn't the first film to feature the then-new technology of planes, I think it may be the first where a plane and a pilot is a central and indispensable part of the plot.

Click below and join Mabel Normand on a dash through the clouds!  

Trivia: "A Dash Through the Clouds" was Parmelee's first and only film appearance. He was a real-life aviation pioneer--exactly the sort of dashing daredevil he portrays in this film. He died at the age of 25 as his plane crashed on June 1, 1912, just days after completing his scenes for the film. (The film first appeared in theatres on June 26, 1912, almost 110 years to the day of this post appearing.)

Musical Monday with Coldplay

Magic (2014)
Starring: Ziyi Zhang, Chris Martin, and Peter Fonda
Director: Jonas Aakerlund
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

The best music videos are those that are narrative short films, be they silent movies where the song they are made promote serves as the score, or mini-musicals. Beautifully shot and skillfully edited performance videos where someone is just standing around singing while the band plays are nice and all, but they are far less interesting and creatively worthwhile than something that tells a story.

And, boy, does this video tell a story.

In "Magic", a female illusionist in a traveling show (Zhang) is married to a vicious, abusive man (Fonda). Her assistant (Martin) is secretly in love with her, and, to not only become closer to her, but to also free her from her situation, he becomes not only a master illusionist but actually masters real magic. 

This is a well-acted little fantasy film (unsurprising, since both Zivi Zhang and Peter Fonda are talented, experienced actors) that blends seamlessly with the song it underscores as the narrative weaves its way around Chris Martin singing and practicing magic. If the plot had unfolded just a tiny bit different (in regards to the fate of the villainous Fonda--there's nothing necessarily wrong with it but I just wanted more) this would have gotten Ten of Ten Stars!

Check it out. I'm fairly certain you won't see anything more magical on this Musical Monday!

Coffee Beanery's French Vanilla

It's Sunday morning, so it's time for another coffee review! (As is standard when I do these reviews, I tried the coffee black; then with Unsweetened Almond Milk; and also with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. I also drank it hot, room temperature, and iced in all three modes.)

"Drink coffee like you're one those French girls."

COFFEE BEANERY: FRENCH VANILLA

I may be developing a hot-and-cold relationship with Coffee Beanery... and I'm not referring to drinking their coffee either hot or iced. No... it's because I disliked their French Vanilla blend as almost as much as I loved their Michigan Cherry blend, which I reviewed last week.

French Vanilla-flavored coffee is one of those drinks that comes in as many varieties as there are coffee shops and roasteries. Often--like with this blend from Coffee Beanery--it's a medium-roast that's done with vanilla beans added, or a vanilla flavor infused through other means. Other times--like if you go to Starbucks--the French Vanilla is a medium- or light-roast with some variety of vanilla syrup added, and perhaps a little milk. Heck, the coffee shop might just break out the vanilla flavored almond milk, like they used to at my favorite (now sadly gone) indie coffee stand. (On a similar note, the best French Vanilla coffee I have had anywhere was the stuff they used to serve at Seattle's Best... another coffee outlet which is now gone. Their blend is still available in grocery stores, thought, and I've had the same good experience with it at home as I used to in the shops.)

However it's arrived at, the desired result with a cup of French Vanilla coffee is that it's on the milder side when it comes to the intensity of the coffee, with the vanilla flavor either being there in place of some other sweetener or manifesting itself as a pleasant aftertaste. A smooth, creamy quality is also typcial, hence the reason why it's often made with at least a splash of milk in the cup.

I am a big fan of well-made French Vanilla coffee. I often drink my home-brewed coffee with sugar-free French Vanilla creamer or with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Unfortunately, what resulted when I brewed a sample package of Coffee Beanery's French Vanilla blend, what resulted was not well-made. If I hadn't read the label, I wouldn't have known it was a medium-roast, nor allegedly French Vanilla.

The coffee smells nice as it brews--when does coffee not smell nice as it brews?-- and it both looks and smells promising as it's poured into the cup. But the flavor? The flavor is that of burned coffee. I couldn't detect any vanilla in the foreground, background, or as an aftertaste. All I got from a black cup of Coffee Beanery's French Vanilla was a burnt flavor with a sour aftertaste that put me in mind of that terrible cup of Starbucks Pike Place blend I had a few months back. Since I rarely drink any coffee black, I thought that was perhaps the reason for my reaction and that it would get better when I added some "mixers" to it.

This turned out to not be the case.

When I tried this brew with the Unsweetened Almond Milk, the aftertaste grew worse than better and it did very little to improve the burned taste. I then tried a cup with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. This was sweet enough and strongly flavored enough to overcome the basic vileness of the coffee, but it still wasn't very good. It tasted like ashy dirt mixed with Italian Sweet Cream. And there was still no hint of vanilla flavor. Drinking either mixture at room temperature did not improve the taste much, although the aftertaste was a little milder.

In attempt to tease out the vanilla flavor, I broke with the usual protocol here and tried a cup of Coffee Beanery's French Vanilla with some Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and a little Stevia. The only vanilla I could taste was the vanilla in the milk, and the nasty aftertaste was as bad as ever.

This blend did not fare better iced when consumed black. The burned flavor was present, as was the aftertaste; both were milder, as would be expected from an iced coffee, but they were unmistakable. I admit that I didn't even bother trying it with just the Unsweetened Almond Milk, but instead added a little Stevia immediately. The coffee was better tasting this way, but still nothing that I would recommend to anyone else; everything I've complained above was still present although milder. Iced and with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, is where this blend worked best with the nastier flavors being almost completely washed out. Of course, the reason for this was probably because 1/3rd of the cup was creamer, since I was almost out of the blend at this point. (The Coffee Beanery sample packs only yield one pot, so I only have about two-thirds of the coffee to work with that I've had with many of my other reviews.)

No one around here is dancing with joy after drinking this French Vanilla blend.

So... in the end, I have nothing good to say about Coffee Beanery's French Vanilla blend. It's possible that I somehow screwed up when I brewed the pot upon which this review was based... possible, but not very likely. I made this post as I've made pots of coffee ever since I got that particular coffee maker 2-3 years ago. If you've tried this blend, and you've had a different experience than the one I did, please leave a comment below.

For now, I hope my next sampling of what Coffee Beanery has to offer is more like their Michigan Cherry than their Frend Vanilla. Keep an eye on this space to see if that hope comes true.

Saturday Strangeness with Xing Xu

Mushrooms (2022)
Starring: Laura Dromerick
Director: Xing Xu
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A woman wanders a lakeside orchard and... oh, just watch it. You tell ME what makes a good summary.

YouTube is a great place for filmmakers to share short films that otherwise might never be seen by random members of the public. Sadly, they mostly end up in obscure corners of the site, so while they may now be out there to be discovered and appreciated, they still go mostly unseen. But at least they're there for ME to find and feature in post here, upping the chance of these creative efforts to be seen.

Every so often, I come across one such film that makes me say, "I don't think I know what this film is about, but I like everything about it!" The latest of these is "Mushrooms" from New York City-based writer/director Xing Xu. She describes herself as an artist who makes "music videos and magick art".

I might classify "Mushrooms" as a music video--the spooky, sometimes chilling music by Nurse With Wound is a prime driver in this two-minute film--if not for the free-verse narration. It's a non-narrative bit of filmmaking that I THINK is about beginnings and ends and the life that exists between them, but it could also just be a bit of spookiness that I should have saved for the 31 Nights of Halloween extravaganza crossover with Terror Titans in October.

But why don't you take a couple minutes (literally) to check out this neat little bit of art. And, like I asked above, if you can give us a good "teaser summary"--share it!

(Also, keep an eye out for another work from Xing Xu on a future Musical Monday.)

Happy birthday, Gina Gershon!

Actress Gina Gershon turns 60 today. Here are some pictures celebrating her decades in front of cameras!

Then there's that time the world ended...

Koko's Earth Control (1928)
Starring: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

In 1928, the world was destroyed through the actions a psychopathic cartoon dog that gained that power due to the irresponsible behavior of an animator (Fleischer) and his magic ink. Clearly, some superior being must have stepped in and remade the world, or you wouldn't be reading these words, or be able to click below to watch the video evidence of the horror that unfolded.

Princesses of Mars, Part 42

           

June is the month for marriages, so here are some images of the Princesses of Mars with their princes.

The Evangeline Lilly Quarterly

It's a Musical Monday with Evangeline Lilly... and we're leaving some things to the imagination!

Coffee Beanery's Michigan Cherry

After a year of mostly reviewing the wondrous flavored offerings from the Bones Coffee Company, I am close to having covered all of them. With that in mind, I am going to be turning to a different source for stuff to write about while feeding my caffeine addiction: The Coffee Beanery.

 

The Coffee Beanery is a roastery and coffeeshop chain based in Michigan. Founded in 1976, the company presently offers 50+ varieties of flavored and regular coffee that can ordered through the mail or enjoyed at one of their 80 or so retail outlets. You can read a brief history of the company at Wikipedia.

As their logo signals, they're a little more staid in their approach to marketing their products than other roasteries from whom I've been sampling wares. Where I was first attracted to Bones Coffee by their creative packaging and amusingly named blends, Coffee Beanery came to my attention through a lawyer I know who recommended I check out some of their blends. Like their logo, those blends are mostly named in ways that describe exactly what they are, with equally straightforward graphic designs on the packaging. All the blends I've looked at so far have been labeled "100% Arabica Beans".

Much like with the majority of my Bones Coffee reviews, the Coffee Beanery pieces will be based on sample packs. I will state up from that these reviews might be a little more barebones, as the Coffee Beanery's samplers are half the size of those sold by Bones. As a result, I only get one pot of coffee out of each. Maybe I'll exert some self-control and drink the coffee in smaller mugs, or maybe I'll think of some other way to keep things in line with the Bones Coffee and Signature Select reviews. Time will tell!

Right now, at this moment, the review that will launch the quest through the Beanery Realm is of a flavor that I was one-hundred percent certain I was going to love. (It could also lend itself to some off-color references, but I'm far classier than to engage in that sort of thing. Yup. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

 

COFFEE BEANERY: MICHIGAN CHERRY

I love the taste of cherries. One of the do-it-myself flavored coffees I enjoy is mixing either a light- or medium-roast with sour cherry juice, a dash of Unsweetened Almond Milk, and some Stevia. It works best iced, but it's also pretty good hot or room temperature. 

When I opened the Michigan Cherry sample pack, I felt certain I was going to love the coffee that would be brewed from it; the grounds within gave off a fabulously delicious aroma of cherries. That wonderful smell hovered around the coffeemaker as it brewed, although it was not so strong so as to fill the kitchen nor be detectable down the hall in my office.

The cherry aroma remained strong as I poured to coffee into the cup, and it blended tastily with the medium-roast coffee flavor as I took the first couple sips of the coffee, black. By chance, I got distracted and did not get back to the coffee until it had cooled to room temperature. I tried it like this, and I found that it tasted almost like it had hot. Unlike some other flavored coffees, the Michigan Cherry blend did not shift significantly in flavor between hot and cool... the cherry flavor grew a bit stronger but that was it. 

When consumed with Unsweetened Almond Milk, the cherry flavor was enhanced while the coffee flavor retreated. This was even more true when I drank it with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. Again, the flavors remained stable as the drink cooled, and it was a mellow and pleasurable drink throughout.

If you are drinking Coffee Beanery's Michigan Cherry for the cherry flavor, though, the best way to have it is cold and over ice. The cherry flavor is front and center whether you drink it black or with milk or creamer added.

The one thing that I LOVED about this blend, even more than drinking it, was the aroma. The smell of cherries rose from every cup--whether hot, room temperature, or iced--and it lingered even after the cup was empty. I can't explain how a drink with such a mellow flavor could have such a strong aroma, but I loved it.

When it comes time to replenish my coffee supply, I'll be getting a bag of Coffee Beanery's Michigan Cherry. I want to try this blend with Unsweetened Almond Milk or Unsweetened Chocolate Milk, or a mix of those;, I want to try it iced and with vodka; I want to try this blend mixed with a whole host of other flavors mixed in, and I think they'll all be great!

SHADES OF GRAY COFFEE FACTS #1:

Jackie Kennedy hated bad coffee with an almost psychotic intensity. Every time she drank a cup, her husband, President John F. Kennedy, prayed to God he wouldn't be called upon to nuke Brazil.