Jam a sliver of desire into the head of the DM

Zak already  highlighted this post from False Machine, but I link it here for my own future reference, and say it applies not only to the illustrations:

Because the game is not written down in front of you. It takes place between you and other people. And generally the game doesn’t need to inspire everyone playing to the same extent. Mainly it needs to jam a sliver of desire into the head of the DM. They will then actively seek out people to make the game happen. Very often games are forced into being by one person with a weird idea stuck in their head. So that’s what art has to do. Jam that idea into the brain.

In a comment on G+, Zak says "all illustrators are always also the game designer". I have long held a similar (though perhaps more trivial) idea: that it's a fun exercise to page through your favorite RPG products and interpret the illustrations as rules.

The District of the Field of Mars in the Ancient City

Campus Martius Antiquae Urbis from Harvard's Houghton Library blog.

Hieronymus Bosch: Hell (Detail)

One Page Dungeon Contest Winner

The winners of the One Page Dungeon Contest have been announded. Congratulations to the winners. Go check out their entries!

Thunderbolt Mountain miniatures

Scott of Huge Ruined Pile turned me on to Thunderbolt Mountain miniatures.

Wizards are horrible freaks

Strike a diabolical bargain in order to cast any spell you know (even exceeding allowed spells per day), but save versus Spell or permanently lose 1 point of Charisma.

Face these consequences if your Charisma falls too low:

Charisma Score	Consequence
3	Everyone treats you with open disgust.
2	Strangers run from you.
1	Strangers try to kill you on sight.
0	Humanity lost. Turn your character sheet over to the Referee, you monster.

1-9 with 2d6

I read a thread about Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign right before I went to bed, and this is the first think that popped into my head when I woke up.

On a d6, assume that a roll of 1-2 = 1, 3-4 = 2, and 5-6 = 3.  Roll 2d6, and multiply. This gives a flat result of 1-9.

EDIT: As pointed out in the comments, this is not flat at all. That's what I get for posting while half asleep. As Dallas M on G+ pointed out, 3 * (1d3 - 1) + (1d3 - 1) + 1 produces the desired results. And his further formulation is even better:

Start with range 1-9.
Roll 1d3: that chooses one of the subranges 1-3, 4-6 or 7-9.
Roll 1d3: that chooses a result in the chosen subrange.