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Weights of Common Substances

Compiled by Andrew Roy The table below provides density figures for many common (and some not-so-common) substances. This information is useful for determining the weight (or volume) of objects and cargo. This table was pieced together from a wide variety of sources, listed in full at the bottom of the page. The inspiration for this comes from the old Dragon magazine article, "How Heavy is My Giant". These figures have not been rigorously checked. Do not rely on this as a scientific reference! Note on measures: Specific gravity is a measure of an object's density. A cubic centimeter of water at 4°C weighs 1 gram, and has a specific gravity of 1. The specific gravity numbers below can be read as "grams per cubic centimeter" (or kg/liter). A solid object with a specific gravity greater than 1 will sink in water. Weight in pounds per cubic inch and foot is also provided to save non-metric users some time on the calculator. Material Specific Gravity Pound...

Mohs Hardness Scale

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. Rating Test Rock Other Tests 1 Talc Can be scratched by fingernail 2 Gypsum Scratched by copper/bronze coin 3 Calcite Scratched by copper/bronze coin 4 Fluorite Scratched by steel; scratches coin 5 Apatite Scratched by steel; scratches coin 6 Feldspar Scratches glass 7 Quartz Not scratched by steel 8 Topaz Not scratched by steel 9 Corundum Not scratched by steel 10 Diamond No mineral harder The table below shows the hardness for various gemstones. Gemstone Hardness Serpentine 1.5 Amber 2-2.5 Chrysocolla 2-2.5 Tortoise shell 2.5 Pearl 2.5-3.5 Jet 2.5-4 Coral 3.5 Rhodochrosite 3.5-4.5 Rock crystal 3.5-5 Lapis Lazuli 5.5 Moonstone 5.5-6 Turquoise 5.5-6 Opal 5.5-6.5 Tanzanite 6 Chalcedony 6.5-7 Jade 6.5-7 Peridot 6.5-7 Garnet 6.5-7.5 Kunzite 7 Quartz 7 Tourmaline 7-7.5 Zircon 7.5 ...

Melting Points of Common Metals

Temperatures are approximate. Metal °K °C °F aluminum 942° 669° 1236° copper 1357° 1083° 1982° gold 1338° 1064° 1948° iron/steel 1808° 1535° 2795° lead 601° 328° 622° nickel 1726° 1453° 2647° platinum 2045° 1772° 3222° silver 1235° 962° 1764° tin 505° 232° 450° titanium 1933° 1660° 3020° zinc 693° 420° 787° Note that the following metals are alloys of the above: brass - copper/zinc bronze - copper/tin; usually, 90%+ copper (common is 95%) 1 electrum - silver/gold Also note that although aluminum and titanium are quite common in the Earth's crust, they do not occur naturally in a metallic state. Their manufacture was not mastered until the 20th century. (Aluminum was first easily produced by Charles Martin Hall in the town of Oberlin, OH.) 1. Sometimes metals other than tin are used, although tin is the most common. Source: Tesarta

Hex Areas

A lot of gamers use hex paper for maps, battle schematics, etc. Hexes are usually defined by how far across they are from one flat side to another. This is great for most purposes. Occasionally, however, you want to know the area of a set of hexagons. The formula, unfortunately, is a bit daunting for the non-mathematically inclined. Here's a simple table showing the area of various hex sizes: Distance across hex Area of hex (rounded) 1 1 2 3 3 8 4 14 5 22 6 31 7 42 8 55 9 70 10 87 15 195 20 346 25 541 30 779 35 1061 40 1386 42 1528 45 1754 50 2165 75 4871 100 8660 125 13532 150 19486 175 26522 200 34641 250 54127 500 216506 1000 866025 The formula, in case you want to insert values that aren't on the table or want exact values, is: (6tan30*Distance^2) / 4 .

Populations of Medieval Europe

The table below contains the approximate population of various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. Numbers are in millions. Region 1000 1300 1500 1700 Balkans - - 7 8 Low Countries - - 2 3 British Isles 2 5 5 9 Danubian Countries - - 6 9 France 5 15 16 19 Germany 3 12 13 15 Italy 5 10 11 13 Poland - - 4 6 Russia - - 10 18 Scandanavia - - - 3 Spain and Portugal - - 9 10 Source: The Medieval Technology Pages

Human and Animal Lifespans

The following information is compiled from a number of sources. Additional lifespans may be found at Dr. Bob's All Creature Site . These represent estimates of the life expectancies of the population as a whole. In many instances life expectancy varied considerably according to class and gender. Life expectancy rises sharply in all cases for those who reach puberty. All statistics include infant mortality, but not miscarriage or abortion. Humans by Era Average Lifespan at Birth (years) Upper Paleolithic 33* Neolithic 20 Bronze Age 18 Classical Greece 20-30 Classical Rome 20-30 Pre-Columbian North America 25-35 Medieval Islamic Caliphate 35+** Medieval Britain 20-30 Early 20th Century 30-40 Current world average 66.12 (2008 est.) *: At age 15: 39 (to age 54) **: The average lifespans of the scholarly class were 59–84.3 years in the Middle East and 69–75 in Islamic Spain.

Animal and Creature Group Names

Animal Name albatross rookery alligators congregation angels* host antelope herd ants army, colony, nest, swarm apes shrewdness, troop apparitions* academy asses drove, herd, pace auks colony, flock, raft baboons flange, troop bacteria culture badgers cete, colony, company, set banshees* racket barracudas battery basilisks* tackle bass shoal bats cloud, colony bears (adult) sleuth, sloth beavers colony, family bees grist, hive, nest, swarm behemoths* spectacle birds brace, congregation, dissimulation, flock, volary bison herd bitterns sedge, siege bloodhounds sute boars sounder, singular bobolinks chain bucks brace, clash buffalo gang, herd, obstinacy, troop bullfinches bellowing bullocks drove butterflies flight, flutter buzzards wake camels caravan, flock, train capons mews caribou herd caterpillars army cats (general) clowder, clutter, glare, nuisance, pounce cattle drove, herd, team centaurs* eminence cheetahs coalition cherubim* compas...

Populations of Medieval Cities

15,000-22,000 23,000-49,000 50,000-125,000 528 AD Hamadan Carthage Alexandria Istakhr Ctesiphon Antioch Milan Ephesus Constantinople Miletus Salonica Rome Ravenna Rayy Sardia Smyrna 737 AD Ctesiphon Alexandria Constantinople Fustat Antioch Hamadan Basra Kuta Damascus Mosul Nishapur Rayy Salonika Shiraz Toledo Wasit 1000 AD Damascus Alexandria Baghdad Fez Antioch Constantinople Hamadan Basra Isfahan Cairo Kalrouan Cordoba Mecca Mosul Nishapur Palermo Rayy Seville 1212 AD Aleppo Alexandria Baghdad Brescia Antioch Cairo Bruges Basra Constantinople Bukhara Damascus Cordoba Milan Florence Samarkand Ghent Shiraz Hamadan Tunis Herat Venice Isfahan Kairouan Konya London Mahalia Marrakesh Mecca Mosul Naples Nishapur Novgorod Padua Palermo Paris Pisa Qua Rabat-Salé Rayy Rome Sana Seville Tabriz Toledo Verona Wasit 1346 AD Antwerp Alexandria Cairo Avignon Baghdad Constantinople Basra Barcelona Florence Bergamo Bologna Genoa ...

Historic City Populations

Greek City-States Populations were generally around 20k-30k. When they got larger they'd break away to form a new city (exceptions: Athens, 100k). Renaissance 100K+ in many, 50K+ in others

Miscellaneous History

Roman Empire Duration of the Republic: ~500 years Duration of the Empire: ~400 years

Symbolism of Heraldry

Colors and Metals Argent (white or silver): Peace and sincerity. Azure (blue): Loyalty and truth. Gules (red): Military fortitude and magnanimity. Murray (sanguine): Not hasty in battle, and yet a victor. Or (yellow or gold): Generosity. Purpure (purple): Royal majesty, sovereignty and justice. Sable (black): Constancy, sometimes grief. Tenne (tawney): Worthy ambition. Vert (green): Hope, joy and sometimes loyalty in love. Heraldic Lines Dancette: Water. Embattled: Fire or the walls of a fortress or town. Engrailed and Invected: Earth or land. Indented: Fire. Nebulee or Nebuly: The sea or water. Ragulee or Raguly: Difficulties which have been encountered. Ordinaries Bar: For "one who sets the bar of conscience, religion and honor against angry passions. Battune Sinister: Marks a royal descent that is barred by illegitimacy from succession to the throne. Bend: Defense or protection. Bordure or Border: Frequently adopted as a "diff...

Three Act Structure

Syd Field, author of "Screenplay" and "The Screen Writer's Workbook", has outlined a paradigm that most screenplays follow. A paradigm is a conceptual scheme. This paradigm is the structure that holds screenplays together. According to Field, screenplays follow a three-act structure, meaning the standard screenplay can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution.

Mythosa Regions Map

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Mythosa Overlay Maps

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Europe United States

Mythosa Climate Map

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Order of the Obsidian Tower

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The Order of the Obsidian Tower is a society of wizards dedicated to the acquisition and control of magic. It is based in Spÿre but maintains chapter houses throughout Karnathas, Aeranoth, and Zarkhir. Members of the Order are feared and respected (mainly feared) due to the resources the organization is said to possess. The Order is primarily concerned with the preservation of arcane knowledge. Its members believe that magic in the "wrong hands" is dangerous - whether the nethermagic once wielded by the Mystarchs, or a powerful magic item acquired by an adventurer, or anything used by the Blood of Aan.

Cultural Keywords

From Testarta.com:  My friend Robin writes fantasy novels. She uses the following list when she creates new cultures for her books. I have found it to be very useful when I'm working on settings for my game worlds. It is especially helpful when I'm "stuck" and need a little push - the list frequently suggests an interesting facet or angle that I can expand upon.

Color Psychology

Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms? Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate. Black Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil. Villains, such as Dracula, often wear black. White Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorati...