Madstone Lantern (pics) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Madstone Lantern (pics) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ALRUFF
06-06-07, 04:46 PM Hey, all! I put this in the D&D General forum, but this is where it really belongs.

I posted my Dragonshard Lightbulb on this thread a couple of days ago, and got a pretty good response, so I thought I'd post my latest creation! This lantern is based upon the Madstone from Eberron. Maybe the apparatus makes you crazy if you shine it one someone or something... I don't know. I chose the Madstone for two reasons.

1) It's creepy as all get out.
2) I like green.

Anyway, if you want to see it, head over to my site and check out the art section (http://www.wbandc.com/art.htm). For my more generalized viewers, I didn't call it a "Madstone Lantern," because they wouldn't know what it was. D&D geeks, though? You know where the love is.

By the way, you can totally unscrew the crystal. It has a brass lightbulb fitting.
ALRUFF
06-07-07, 10:20 AM What? No love for the Madstone Lantern? :cool:
hiryuu
06-07-07, 10:39 AM They both looked a little too steampunkish for Eberron, but they're both pretty darned awesome. I like the green. It resembles some moldy form of unearthly fan, perhaps meant to suitably cleanse the air of unwanted particulates of some hitherto unknown fashion.
ALRUFF
06-07-07, 04:07 PM A most excellent description, sirrah!
hiryuu
06-07-07, 08:14 PM A most excellent description, sirrah!

The Selenites are, however, quite admant at their proposition that it more closely resembles a "trans-aetheric universal harmonization crystal," which, by means of its strange and disparate colours, attracts the varied forms of minute nocturnal entomological life forms that dot the interior of their underground tunnels, which, upon contact, cause a feedback loop of crackling aetheric energies that disintegrates said insect upon contact.

But I don't trust the Selenites. Greedy bastards.
ALRUFF
06-07-07, 09:01 PM The Selenites are, however, quite admant at their proposition that it more closely resembles a "trans-aetheric universal harmonization crystal," which, by means of its strange and disparate colours, attracts the varied forms of minute nocturnal entomological life forms that dot the interior of their underground tunnels, which, upon contact, cause a feedback loop of crackling aetheric energies that disintegrates said insect upon contact.

But I don't trust the Selenites. Greedy bastards.

Your response is made all the funnier by the fact that that is a selenium crystal.
hiryuu
06-07-07, 09:10 PM Your response is made all the funnier by the fact that that is a selenium crystal.

Indeed.

But now, I will seek their sweet, sweet moon-gold.
kentonblack
06-07-07, 09:14 PM holy crap. that is an awesome little lamp you have there
gaerfindel
06-07-07, 11:15 PM They both looked a little too steampunkish for Eberron, but they're both pretty darned awesome.

I don't know...I rather like the look. Seems like something an inquisitive would carry with him into the depths of the Lower Wards.

I like the green. It resembles some moldy form of unearthly fan, perhaps meant to suitably cleanse the air of unwanted particulates of some hitherto unknown fashion.

Huh. Now there's a thought...
hiryuu
06-08-07, 01:03 AM I don't know...I rather like the look. Seems like something an inquisitive would carry with him into the depths of the Lower Wards.

Too many switches and finishings and pseudo-technological trappings. I'd imagine the inquisitive on a budget and unable to afford an everburning torch would use, well, a torch (or just a piece of an unshod dragonshard, which on its own is still pretty expensive, and a torch is still cheaper, so I'll just pretend he found the shard on the half-rotten corpse of a bugbear he had to wrestle away from an otyugh). Eberron's not steampunk, it's just D&D with all the tricks your PCs used to pull in old D&D with spells used in the world at large (casting continual flame on frickin' everything, using the tenser's floating disc wheelbarrow, using prestidigitation to clean, and so on).

A constant light or continual flame effect doesn't need a fixture of any sort, since it doesn't produce heat, so there wouldn't be on built. A "switch" would just be a bag to throw over the lit end or to stow the rock in. The only trapping you'd likely see on such an object would be a currently existing trapping, such as placing the source of light inside a hand-held lantern. Eberron's physical technological development and architectural aesthetic remains firmly entrenched in the early renaissance (before even the Da Vinci period), which places it well outside of the trappings of the late 1800s.

To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin!
gaerfindel
06-08-07, 06:22 AM Too many switches and finishings and pseudo-technological trappings...Eberron's not steampunk, it's just D&D with all the tricks your PCs used to pull in old D&D with spells used in the world at large

Eberron may not be steampunk to you or your players/DM. That doesn't mean I can't use the trappings of steampunk to create flavour. Being a DM is all about stealing; using whatever interesting bits evoke the atmosphere you're looking to create. I like inquisitive campaigns with all the pulp/noir kitch you can stuff down your throat. To that end, the occational 1930s era art deco lamp powered by a magically enchanted d'shard is just the thing to act as set dressing on the desk of some airship captain or watch commander. YMMV.

To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin!

See? Now I'm gonna swipe that idea and use it for my own campaign ideas...
ALRUFF
06-08-07, 06:58 AM To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin!

I want to play in your game. Can I play in your game?
hiryuu
06-08-07, 12:56 PM Eberron may not be steampunk to you or your players/DM.

It's not just me/my DM. Keith Baker says so.

People are saying ... "It's steampunk!" It's not.

However.

That doesn't mean I can't use the trappings of steampunk to create flavour. Being a DM is all about stealing; using whatever interesting bits evoke the atmosphere you're looking to create. I like inquisitive campaigns with all the pulp/noir kitch you can stuff down your throat. To that end, the occational 1930s era art deco lamp powered by a magically enchanted d'shard is just the thing to act as set dressing on the desk of some airship captain or watch commander. YMMV.

That's fine. Bear in mind that you must now deal with the idea that magic can now be directed from an independent source to another source to achieve a set effect, and that innovation's mark upon the world (i.e., making dual-spell effects much cheaper on magic items, and allowing for flow of power from one large source to multiple small sources). 'cuz, you know, it has a switch. YMMV.

Also, please, please, please don't presume to tell me what being a DM is all about, because every time, it's going to be different. However, I'm not gonna continue much farther. I like this thread, the thing, and the dude who built the thing, and I don't want it to erupt into an argument.

See? Now I'm gonna swipe that idea and use it for my own campaign ideas...

They kept telling me this was insulting when I said things like this. However, enjoy. Not sure what the political climate of the late 1800s has to do with your campaign, but hey.
hiryuu
06-08-07, 01:01 PM I want to play in your game. Can I play in your game?

If I was running it in Houston, you would so be in.

BY the way, there's tons of rock shops (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&q=rock+shop&near=Houston,+TX&fb=1&view=text&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1) in Houston, so you shouldn't have to shop at woo-woo stores to pick 'em up, since i know you mentioned it in your last post.

I have titled the adventure "The Madstone Lantern,
or, The Heroes, Taking a Break From the Rigors of Privateering for Her Majesty by Order of the Honorable Ulysses S. Grant, Discover a Most Curious Device and its Pursuers."
ALRUFF
06-08-07, 02:48 PM If I was running it in Houston, you would so be in.

BY the way, there's tons of rock shops (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&q=rock+shop&near=Houston,+TX&fb=1&view=text&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1) in Houston, so you shouldn't have to shop at woo-woo stores to pick 'em up, since i know you mentioned it in your last post.

Indeed! In fact, I got my gypsum/selenium combo crystal for this thing at Jeanne's! Magic Cauldron -> TINY QUARTZ -> $15.00

Jeanne's -> Giant Frikkin' Crystal -> $5.00

Thanks for the tip, though, Hiryuu! I really appreciate the help!

I like all of you, too, and I don't want to argue. However, I would like to cross a point of debate because you've said some very interesting things.

You know, I find that really interesting that Baker says that Eberron isn't steampunk... considering all of the gears and automata and... you know... trains... If he wants to go the "not steampunk" route, I'd say he has a bone to pick with the art director.

People say that Gormenghast is one of the first real Steampunk books. Well, I wouldn't agree, but what makes Peake's work all that different from Eberron? Basically nothing. In fact, Eberron as a society is far more advanced, with many of its ideas (telegraphs, airships) derived from a more Victorian, industrialized age.

What could be the motivations for the artist to deny steampunkiness in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? A last-ditch cling to creativity? Who knows?

I'll be he does. I'm going to post this in a new thread and we'll see what happens. If you guys want to keep talking about the lamp, though, I am definitely game.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ALRUFF 06-06-07, 04:46 PM	Hey, all! I put this in the D&D General forum, but this is where it really belongs. I posted my Dragonshard Lightbulb on this thread a couple of days ago, and got a pretty good response, so I thought I'd post my latest creation! This lantern is based upon the Madstone from Eberron. Maybe the apparatus makes you crazy if you shine it one someone or something... I don't know. I chose the Madstone for two reasons. 1) It's creepy as all get out. 2) I like green. Anyway, if you want to see it, head over to my site and check out the art section (http://www.wbandc.com/art.htm). For my more generalized viewers, I didn't call it a "Madstone Lantern," because they wouldn't know what it was. D&D geeks, though? You know where the love is. By the way, you can totally unscrew the crystal. It has a brass lightbulb fitting.
ALRUFF 06-07-07, 10:20 AM	What? No love for the Madstone Lantern? :cool:
hiryuu 06-07-07, 10:39 AM	They both looked a little too steampunkish for Eberron, but they're both pretty darned awesome. I like the green. It resembles some moldy form of unearthly fan, perhaps meant to suitably cleanse the air of unwanted particulates of some hitherto unknown fashion.
ALRUFF 06-07-07, 04:07 PM	A most excellent description, sirrah!
hiryuu 06-07-07, 08:14 PM	A most excellent description, sirrah! The Selenites are, however, quite admant at their proposition that it more closely resembles a "trans-aetheric universal harmonization crystal," which, by means of its strange and disparate colours, attracts the varied forms of minute nocturnal entomological life forms that dot the interior of their underground tunnels, which, upon contact, cause a feedback loop of crackling aetheric energies that disintegrates said insect upon contact. But I don't trust the Selenites. Greedy bastards.
ALRUFF 06-07-07, 09:01 PM	The Selenites are, however, quite admant at their proposition that it more closely resembles a "trans-aetheric universal harmonization crystal," which, by means of its strange and disparate colours, attracts the varied forms of minute nocturnal entomological life forms that dot the interior of their underground tunnels, which, upon contact, cause a feedback loop of crackling aetheric energies that disintegrates said insect upon contact. But I don't trust the Selenites. Greedy bastards. Your response is made all the funnier by the fact that that is a selenium crystal.
hiryuu 06-07-07, 09:10 PM	Your response is made all the funnier by the fact that that is a selenium crystal. Indeed. But now, I will seek their sweet, sweet moon-gold.
kentonblack 06-07-07, 09:14 PM	holy crap. that is an awesome little lamp you have there
gaerfindel 06-07-07, 11:15 PM	They both looked a little too steampunkish for Eberron, but they're both pretty darned awesome. I don't know...I rather like the look. Seems like something an inquisitive would carry with him into the depths of the Lower Wards. I like the green. It resembles some moldy form of unearthly fan, perhaps meant to suitably cleanse the air of unwanted particulates of some hitherto unknown fashion. Huh. Now there's a thought...
hiryuu 06-08-07, 01:03 AM	I don't know...I rather like the look. Seems like something an inquisitive would carry with him into the depths of the Lower Wards. Too many switches and finishings and pseudo-technological trappings. I'd imagine the inquisitive on a budget and unable to afford an everburning torch would use, well, a torch (or just a piece of an unshod dragonshard, which on its own is still pretty expensive, and a torch is still cheaper, so I'll just pretend he found the shard on the half-rotten corpse of a bugbear he had to wrestle away from an otyugh). Eberron's not steampunk, it's just D&D with all the tricks your PCs used to pull in old D&D with spells used in the world at large (casting continual flame on frickin' everything, using the tenser's floating disc wheelbarrow, using prestidigitation to clean, and so on). A constant light or continual flame effect doesn't need a fixture of any sort, since it doesn't produce heat, so there wouldn't be on built. A "switch" would just be a bag to throw over the lit end or to stow the rock in. The only trapping you'd likely see on such an object would be a currently existing trapping, such as placing the source of light inside a hand-held lantern. Eberron's physical technological development and architectural aesthetic remains firmly entrenched in the early renaissance (before even the Da Vinci period), which places it well outside of the trappings of the late 1800s. To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin!
gaerfindel 06-08-07, 06:22 AM	Too many switches and finishings and pseudo-technological trappings...Eberron's not steampunk, it's just D&D with all the tricks your PCs used to pull in old D&D with spells used in the world at large Eberron may not be steampunk to you or your players/DM. That doesn't mean I can't use the trappings of steampunk to create flavour. Being a DM is all about stealing; using whatever interesting bits evoke the atmosphere you're looking to create. I like inquisitive campaigns with all the pulp/noir kitch you can stuff down your throat. To that end, the occational 1930s era art deco lamp powered by a magically enchanted d'shard is just the thing to act as set dressing on the desk of some airship captain or watch commander. YMMV. To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin! See? Now I'm gonna swipe that idea and use it for my own campaign ideas...
ALRUFF 06-08-07, 06:58 AM	To be honest, this stuff is still so totally badass, I've already gimped these pictures for my Spanish-English war on Mars in 1876 d20 Past campaign. And I'm so calling it a Madstone lantern. It's gonna be a MacGuffin! I want to play in your game. Can I play in your game?
hiryuu 06-08-07, 12:56 PM	Eberron may not be steampunk to you or your players/DM. It's not just me/my DM. Keith Baker says so. People are saying ... "It's steampunk!" It's not. However. That doesn't mean I can't use the trappings of steampunk to create flavour. Being a DM is all about stealing; using whatever interesting bits evoke the atmosphere you're looking to create. I like inquisitive campaigns with all the pulp/noir kitch you can stuff down your throat. To that end, the occational 1930s era art deco lamp powered by a magically enchanted d'shard is just the thing to act as set dressing on the desk of some airship captain or watch commander. YMMV. That's fine. Bear in mind that you must now deal with the idea that magic can now be directed from an independent source to another source to achieve a set effect, and that innovation's mark upon the world (i.e., making dual-spell effects much cheaper on magic items, and allowing for flow of power from one large source to multiple small sources). 'cuz, you know, it has a switch. YMMV. Also, please, please, please don't presume to tell me what being a DM is all about, because every time, it's going to be different. However, I'm not gonna continue much farther. I like this thread, the thing, and the dude who built the thing, and I don't want it to erupt into an argument. See? Now I'm gonna swipe that idea and use it for my own campaign ideas... They kept telling me this was insulting when I said things like this. However, enjoy. Not sure what the political climate of the late 1800s has to do with your campaign, but hey.
hiryuu 06-08-07, 01:01 PM	I want to play in your game. Can I play in your game? If I was running it in Houston, you would so be in. BY the way, there's tons of rock shops (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&q=rock+shop&near=Houston,+TX&fb=1&view=text&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1) in Houston, so you shouldn't have to shop at woo-woo stores to pick 'em up, since i know you mentioned it in your last post. I have titled the adventure "The Madstone Lantern, or, The Heroes, Taking a Break From the Rigors of Privateering for Her Majesty by Order of the Honorable Ulysses S. Grant, Discover a Most Curious Device and its Pursuers."
ALRUFF 06-08-07, 02:48 PM	If I was running it in Houston, you would so be in. BY the way, there's tons of rock shops (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&q=rock+shop&near=Houston,+TX&fb=1&view=text&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1) in Houston, so you shouldn't have to shop at woo-woo stores to pick 'em up, since i know you mentioned it in your last post. Indeed! In fact, I got my gypsum/selenium combo crystal for this thing at Jeanne's! Magic Cauldron -> TINY QUARTZ -> $15.00 Jeanne's -> Giant Frikkin' Crystal -> $5.00 Thanks for the tip, though, Hiryuu! I really appreciate the help! I like all of you, too, and I don't want to argue. However, I would like to cross a point of debate because you've said some very interesting things. You know, I find that really interesting that Baker says that Eberron isn't steampunk... considering all of the gears and automata and... you know... trains... If he wants to go the "not steampunk" route, I'd say he has a bone to pick with the art director. People say that Gormenghast is one of the first real Steampunk books. Well, I wouldn't agree, but what makes Peake's work all that different from Eberron? Basically nothing. In fact, Eberron as a society is far more advanced, with many of its ideas (telegraphs, airships) derived from a more Victorian, industrialized age. What could be the motivations for the artist to deny steampunkiness in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? A last-ditch cling to creativity? Who knows? I'll be he does. I'm going to post this in a new thread and we'll see what happens. If you guys want to keep talking about the lamp, though, I am definitely game.