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Cultures and Beyond - The Podcast Transcripts (The Art of World Building, Book 6) discusses techniques on inventing names, organizations for good and evil, and armed forces like the army, navy, and air (or space) force. An extensive look into creating cultures led to four detailed episodes on determining cultural vision, scope, origins, social classes, and the all-important customs that reveal culture. A similar deep dive into inventing magic systems examines the principles behind devising great ones and just what is meant by a law of magic and its applications.

Only a fool steals from a wizard. Talon Stormbringer thought he knew the risk of stealing from Viland Shadowbreaker - until he got caught. The wizard will spare him if Talon fetches the deadly silver elixir from the Everway, a supernatural land of lost souls and worse, ruled by the Ever Fiend. Talon had assumed none of it was real but agrees to go despite a band of people he can't trust accompanying him. Of all the things they might discover on their journey, one is the hardest to learn.

Cheating is normal. That’s what Jane told herself, anyway. It happened all around her: her parents, couples in high school, and now, her own relationship. College is supposed to be different. Again, that’s what Jane told herself, but in her favorite class, she’s partnered with the one guy who has taken it twice before. Isn’t she cheating then? But he calls her sweetheart, and he sits so close.

Mental models are blueprints we are able to use in a variety of contexts to create sense of the world, interpret information correctly, and understand our context. They provide us predictable outcomes. A recipe may be the most basic type of mental model; each component has its role, period, and place. Nevertheless, a recipe isn't applicable to anything beyond your realm of food. Therefore, we find ourselves ready of attempting to learn a wide variety of mental versions (or latticework, as Charlie Munger places it) to get ready ourselves for whatever will come our method.

In 2008, Roger Igo was a naive construction contractor who lost nearly everything to a businessman whose unethical business practices made the national news. But from the devastation emerged the Bell Tower on 34th, an upscale wedding and special events venue in Houston, Texas, known for its Old World beauty, accommodating staff, and events that no one will ever forget. Keep On Going chronicles the extraordinary history of the Bell Tower on 34th, from pioneering Texans to a disastrous betrayal to one man's fight for the future.

First, vampires in space. And now...zombies. Really? Jebediah and the others are trying to get over the horrors they faced in deep space, and now this. When a mysterious ship from space arrives on Resolve, it unleashes a horde of undead that might spell the end of the survivors and their dreams of peace. Will the specters of the past save them, or seal their fate?

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Vandals, then keep reading...the Vandals didn't leave us any histories written by themselves. Thus, most of the ancient sources on their past were written by their enemies and adversaries, who didn't look too kindly on them. This is especially true for later historians who idealized ancient Rome and blamed the Vandals for its fall. But the question is, how much of it is true? This guide will try to give some voice to the voiceless Vandals.

A child's magical journey in search for the value of change and traditions.

Nardus is terrified he may have doomed his kingdom. Instead of resurrecting his beloved wife and children, he brought forth a malevolent winged-monster who is advancing on his people with a mind-controlled army. And now his last hope of redemption lies in discovering an age-old magical secret. Twins Alderan and Aria’s hostile history delivered them to opposite sides of a brewing war. And as Alderan struggles to master his abilities while torn between loyalties, Aria’s growing powers could hold the key to the kingdom’s fate.

Finance is the only function intertwined in every business decision. Despite this, it is often misunderstood and underappreciated within small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Finance is more than numbers; it is a toolbox to craft a culture of accountability, credible goals, and an enticing narrative about the future. In Relational Finance, Ben Lehrer breaks down the finance function into five easily digestible components, the finance spectrum: 1. Data 2. Reporting 3. Projections 4. Planning 5. Capital.

Ignoring self-doubts and their kids’ concerns, two aging Midwestern widows Ann and Donna resolve to hit the road - the mother road, Historic Route 66 - if they can find what’s left of it, in a dinged, 20-year-old roadster. They are primed for a break from routines, but don’t anticipate facing down personal demons, being enticed by the possibility of relocation, or finding romance on this supposedly innocent road trip. Nor are they prepared for the serious challenges that await their return.

Born in Belgium, Karel Jan Bossart moved to America and worked with brilliant and colorful aircraft designers in the 1930s. After the Second World War, he developed the first American intercontinental ballistic missile, employing radical innovations in design. Initially skeptical, the US Air Force embraced his plan after they realized that the Soviet Union was close to completing a similar weapon system.

Chris Loury is penniless and painfully geeky. So when the struggling illustrator makes a wish that grants him supernatural visions, the lines start to blur between his comics and reality. After he crosses paths with a protector who calls himself an angel, Chris must decide if being a hero is worth the danger. When his newfound confidence helps him connect with the girl-next-door, he hopes he can balance a relationship and a superhuman secret.

The first three books in the Mark Twain on the Moon series, now in one volume! In an alternate 19th century, young Samuel Clemens sets out for the mining camps of America’s wildest frontier: the Moon. Travel with Sam and his partner Calvin as they venture into the desolate, deadly wastes of the Mare Imbrium and the Montes Caucasus, in search of wonders, adventure, and a fortune in precious water ice.

François is at it again, this time tackling the CEMM Guzzler - a big, important pinnace - and going to Balls Green after the notorious filcher, A. Niall Pilfry. His quest: the King Key Sextant, legendary for its power to make men do unspeakable things.

When De Cocksdorp's head dyker Joosie Twaat wakes to find her finger has been sloppily inserted in her own now-leaking dyke, François and his crew immediately come to help De Cocksdorp. But small leaks become large leaks, and large leaks become gushes. And before long, Joosie's gaping dyke threatens to flood the whole town.

Driven out by a violent band of claim-jumping miners, Sam Clemens and his partner Calvin strike out into unexplored Lunar territory - and now they're heading the expedition! But when disaster threatens their former colleagues, the Clemens-Bemis Expedition must take on refugees. With supplies running short and dissent rising, is mutiny over the all-too-close horizon? Then Sam encounters the impossible: an unknown girl in a pressure suit, who manages to save his life, introducing him to the mysterious cavern dwellers of home.

Learning to create a unique, immersive place one podcast episode at a time. World building strategist Randy Ellefson turned his successful book series, The Art of World Building, into a popular podcast of the same name, with episodes loosely drawn from each book in the series...Ellefson breaks out in new directions while expanding on how to invent planets, continents, sovereign powers, settlements, history, maps, and more...Build better, faster.

Author Randy Elrod knows what it’s like to have your whole life blow up in 12 hours. In one day he lost most of his family, friends, and peers. His social networks and the business that provided his income became a barren wasteland. What had once felt like a stalwart tribe of people left him with almost no friends or natural support system.

World building strategist Randy Ellefson turned his successful book series, The Art of World Building, into a popular podcast of the same name, with episodes loosely drawn from each book in the series. Fifteen episodes are collected here, based on a theme: They’re about creating life and inspired by chapters of that volume. Ranging from 25 to 35 minutes each, the episodes discuss gods, species/races, plants, animals, monsters, heroes, villains, and even the undead.