Announcement: The Bestiarum Vocabulum of Dr. Sigmund Amsel

DontTreadOnMike — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:10:01 +0000

Dr. Amsel has just informed me that he has indeed been working on a bestiary. But this bestiary does not catalog ordinary creatures. Rather, it catalogs “mythical” creatures and contains instructions on how to combat them and protect against them. I believe it will become an essential tool in the arsenal of any who “hunt the night” as it were.

Dr. Amsel has allowed me to share with you the table of contents for the book and the chapter descriptions.

The Bestiarum Vocabulum of Dr. Sigmund Amsel

Chapter 1: Humans

Chapter Description: This chapter deals with humans who have supernatural abilities, whether they attain them through devotion to magic, pacts with demons, or through a curse. There is another chapter devoted to the human undead, therefore the subject will not be covered in detail here.

I. Vampires
a. Strigoi
b. Moroi

II. Werewolves

III. Witches

IV. Conjurers
a. Sorcerers
b. Necromancers

Chapter 2: Demons

Chapter Description: Demons are spiritual beings from another, non-physical plane of reality. Their benevolence, indifference, or malevolence towards mankind can vary wildly as does their ability to interact with the physical realm. There are two main groups of demons: Greater Demons who are entirely non-physical and separate from our plane, and Lesser Demons, who may be physical or non-physical, but can and often do interact with our plane.

I. Greater Demons
a. Nephilim – Demons of Supernatural Power
b. Archons – Demons of Secret Knowledge
c. Djinn – Demons of Wealth and Worldly Power.

II. Lesser Demons
a. Se’irim
b. Mara
c. Familiars

Chapter 3: Magical Creatures

Chapter Description: This chapter deals with natural, physical creatures who posses supernatural powers, but who are not human. Generally these creatures are rare and secretive and are often therefore the subject of legends and folklore.

I. The Fae (Elves and Fairies)

II. Goblins

III. Trolls

IV. Golem

Chapter 4: The Dead

Chapter Description: This chapter will cover the human undead that lurk in tombs and walk the Earth and how to protect against them.

I. Ghosts

II. Zombies

III. Draugr

IV. Homunculi

V. Liches

Season’s Greetings from Amsel’s Alchemy Lab!

DontTreadOnMike — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:26:40 +0000

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! You may be wondering why there have been no updates from Dr. Amsel during this past year. Shortly after my last update, Dr. Amsel emerged from his seclusion and announced that we would be embarking immediately on a trip. Our first stop was Budapest. From there we travelled east into Asia Minor. Our route became so convoluted and confusing that at times I didn’t know where we were. I never knew where we were going next, and in fact I doubt Dr. Amsel knew either. He was following clues in some investigation, the details of which were never fully known to me. After traveling around Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa for 7 months, we finally headed home where Dr. Amsel once again locked himself in seclusion. I have been able to piece together that he is working on some sort of encyclopedia of creatures from around the world. He has promised me that his work is nearly complete enough to show to the world. I will of course update you when Dr. Amsel updates me. My anticipation grows more and more each day.

Happy New Year from Dr Amsel!

DontTreadOnMike — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:42:42 +0000

Well actually, Dr. Amsel has been in seclusion since the lunar eclipse on the night of the winter solstice. I don’t know what he’s been working on or what it has to do with that extraordinary and beautiful cosmic event but I’m starting to worry that he is overworking himself.

In any case, I’m sure he would like to wish everyone a happy new year, if indeed he even realizes what day it is. I think I should go check on him…

New Project: Necronomicon

DontTreadOnMike — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:46:46 +0000

Working my own necronomicon. I want it to be rather large so right now I’m just coming up with random crazy scrawlings and mind-shattering etchings that barely hint at the hideous unfathomable forms of Lovecraft’s monsters. Updates soon.

Wisdom from the Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam.

DontTreadOnMike — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:23:40 +0000

XXXI

Up from Earth’s Centre through

the Seventh Gate

I rose, and on the Throne of

Saturn sate,

And many Knots unravel’d

by the Road;

But not the Knot of Human

Death and Fate

XXXII

There was a Door to which I

found no Key:

There was a Veil past which

I could not see:

Some little Talk a while of

Me and Thee

There seemed ~ and then no

more of Thee and Me.

XXXIII

Then to the rolling Heav’n

itself I cried,

Asking, “What Lamp had

Destiny to guide

Her little Children stumbling

in the Dark?”

And, “A blind understanding!”

Heaven replied.

XXXIV

Then to the earthen Bowl did

I adjourn

My lip the secret Well of

Life to learn:

And Lip to Lip it murmur’d,

“While you live

Drink! -for once dead, you

never shall return.”

Finished the Black Pullet!

DontTreadOnMike — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:59:35 +0000

I finally finished my Black Pullet project. It is up for sale on my Etsy store.

Lovecraftian Cthuesdays

DontTreadOnMike — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 02:54:54 +0000

There’s a brand new trailer for H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s Whisperer in Darkness

I can’t wait for this movie to be finished!

Dr. Amsel’s Green Lion – Alchemical essence extraction glove.

DontTreadOnMike — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:11:06 +0000

I believe I have finally made a breakthrough on the theory behind Alchemical Essence Extraction. All that remains now is to try to implement my theories. Here is a rendering of what such a device would look like.

Click to Enlarge

I call it “The Green Lion” which, to those of you who are initiated into the science on alchemy, is a hint at how it will work. If successful, the glove would allow its wearer to break down any material into its basic alchemical components and store them for later experimentation.

-Dr. Amsel

Ancient Artifacts

DontTreadOnMike — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:40:14 +0000

My wife works in the lab at a major museum. Here are a few images she’s taken….

Medieval Grimoire: The Black Pullet

DontTreadOnMike — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:25:26 +0000

So I finally decided on an old book to recreate.: The Black Pullet. It’s a book from the 1700′s-1800′s about a soldier in Napoleon’s army who survives an ambush in Egypt. He is taken in and nursed back to health by a mysterious old man who lives in a pyramid and who teaches him how to make magic rings. It’s short enough (80 pages) that it would give me good practice without being too hard. I also chose it because it has a lot of interesting illustrations…which I had to recreate myself because the only references I could find were of poor quality. I laid out the text and hand drew all of the illustrations. I have the book block finished and now I’m moving on to the cover. Here are a few photos of my progress so far.

The title page

Some shots of the inside

The aged paper effect.

I really like the way this technique turned out. It’s very simple. Using a laser printer, print out the image you want. Then take a cookie sheet and lay the paper flat. Pour in enough coffee to cover the sheet completely. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes, making sure it stays submerged. You might have to push air bubbles out from under neath the paper to keep it down. Then pour off the coffee and put the cookie sheet with the paper into the oven on 200f. Keep an eye on it. You want it to dry out but not burn, otherwise your images will come of when you try to lift it. I got the best results by waiting until one of the edges curled up, then I GENTLY pulled up the entire paper so that it wasn’t stuck to the pan. Then I put it back into the oven until all of the edges curled up and the paper was obviously dry. As always, be careful not to burn yourself.

The spine

I bound the book using the following youtube tutorial…

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joi3_WsUxE0

Part 2a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a9weLk4Q9k

Part 2b
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg7SHE9MX30

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aFejGSuEpk

Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNIT8j1HuUc

It’s very easy to follow and so far it seems to have worked very well. After I stitched the pages together but before I put the glue on the spine, my book seemed very loose and weak. Once the glue went on it became quite tough and now seems very durable. So don’t give up halfway through. Finish it to the end. Now on to the cover!