June 21 2017

Caverns, Dungeons, and Beyond 6/2017 Giveaway Results

If you have missed it in the past, I try to do a giveaway about once a month to the magnificent folks that help me create by either making single donations or who are a Patron.

Anyone that donates a $1.00 or more or that is a Patron is entered into the next drawing. After that drawing, you would need to donate again or remain a Patron to qualify for the following one. This is not anything I have set up as a reward perk, but rather something I am doing to show my appreciation.

This month I did the drawing much later in the month than normal, and so decided to do two!

Given away to our winners, Indi Martin and The Hearth of Britannia were a “Scales” and a “Fireball or Tears” customized D6 die. Prizes were donated by Caveloot.com and can be purchased from the store.

This is the first time I am letting this tidbit out, but I do plan on something extra special as a yearly giveaway in December this year 🙂

Until next post, peace my readers!

-Stile Teckel

Category: Caverns, Dungeons, and Beyond, Indi Martin, The Caverns Store | Comments Off on Caverns, Dungeons, and Beyond 6/2017 Giveaway Results
March 15 2016

Help to Give Indi Martin Her Birthday Wish ~+~ The Recap Band Behind the Scenes

I heard that for her birthday Indi Martin wanted 20 supporters on Patreon.

The Tortoise and Hare Patreon is one of the best I have ever supported. Regardless of your pledge level, you will be entered into quarter drawings like this one!

"Horned Wood Nymph," ink, marker and pencil on toned tan paper, Indi Martin, 2016. This piece is our 1Q2016 Patreon…

Posted by Tortoise & Hare Creations on Monday, March 14, 2016

She is only one away from having her birthday wish come true. So why don’t we aim for 25? Go sign up!! You will not regret it. She gives way more back then she gets in my opinion! Include a note “The Caverns sent me”. How hard is that?

She also collaborates with people continually to help improve their projects. Like this one from these fantastic guys who are working on their next music album on Kickstarter.

Take a look behind the scenes at Recap's "Pronoia" album (2016) with this drum recording video. Taken during the actual…

Posted by Recap on Monday, March 14, 2016

The Recap Band are some incredible musicians among many other talents any person would be proud to have. More importantly, they are genuinely good individuals who are very deserving of their new Kickstarter being funded. So if you want to get some fantastic music, at very reasonable pricing, help them hit their next stretch goal. I WANT VINYL! Not sure why, but I do!

Do me a solid and if you back it, include a note saying “You friend Stile sent me over”.

Going full circle though they are close to hitting the first stretch goal which is custom album art by Indi Martin!

Category: Artwork, Indi Martin, Music, Spacebards | No Comments »
March 5 2016

Tortoise & Hare bringing the Supernatural On

Many of you know I often talk about Tortoise & Hare as being members of the Shroud of The Avatar Community. They are also the creator of the Shroud of the Avatar Comic Book. You can pick up a copy of that on their sites which I will link in a bit or also from Relics by Rild.

I’ve also spoken in the past of what a great fan of Indi Martin’s books I am.

Finally and I am going to be missing things on this list, they make games, comics, graphic novel’s, artwork, and more.

This particular article is because I just finished putting up my Supernatural’s from their Supernatural set. Or rather my wife’s!

So the story on the images you are seeing was not really planned this way. It started out a small Halloween Village – just because. Later Indi Martin’s first Supernatural piece ended up on the wall.. the others followed over time, and a Haunted village became a Supernatural shrine of some kind. There are even a couple die cast Impalas in that village although you will forgive me for not taking close-ups!

Find a cool way to bring some of the art of Indi Martin into your home! If I had the money, time, and room, I’d do something awesome with Doctor Who!!!

Visit them on Facebook (and tell them the Caverns sent you!), stop by their Website/Blog, or just skip to the chase and get onto their Etsy and start ordering your cool decor!

I should also clarify, all of these are my wife’s bought for her as gifts. The last two just added are Charlie and Crowley. I bought them for her for Christmas.

The cheapest I have found a decent 11×17 frame off of Amazon in case you’re running off to buy a bunch of art and want frames!

The supernatural wooden light box that is hanging on the far right was purchased from The Dragons Den (I think that is the name), in Austin Texas while I was there staying with an amazing host who took me to the place.

Category: Artwork, Indi Martin, Tortoise and Hare | No Comments »
March 4 2016

Sylph: Project Miyaji with Indi Martin ~+~ 3D Interactive Video of Predator

I am just going to go straight into a quote on this one folks, as its a mouthful!

The box cover art for “Sylph: Project Miyaji”, a modern re-envisioning of the 1986 Game Artsâ„¢ sci-fi shoot ’em up Silpheedâ„¢.

I actually remember this game as far as it being one I had and enjoyed but I do not remember the actual gameplay at all. If I googled it within 30 seconds I’d be like “oh yeah!”.

That’s not the point of the article, though. The point is this is some BAD ASS artwork that was done by none other then a Shroud of the Avatar Community Member, Indi Martin! Like I have come to expect from much of her art this is top notch. Sure there’s an occasional piece that while I do not dislike, it’s just not me. This one is in the majority though where I would be proud to have it on my wall (among the many I have already).

Absolutely beautiful!

Unboxing video of the final Sylph piece! 😀

Posted by Tortoise & Hare Creations on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

BEYOND Into the 3D!

Loot Crate is one of my subscription box services, but wait! Whether you care or not this is not so much about the box service but rather a cool thing they did over here. It’s a fully 3D interactive video and it’s neat, take 2 minutes and play around. You’ll smile and then be more productive. Don’t forget to tell them the Caverns sent you!

Since the subject DID come up, though, this month’s theme with Loot Crate is “Vs.” (or something similar to that), and promises to feature Alien’s among other coolness in it if you are into that. I’m rather excited about this one!

Category: Indi Martin, Movies, Subscription Boxes, Video's | No Comments »
November 13 2015

Support one of our communities own and don’t be in The Dark!

The Dark Unknown that is. This is an Ultima style game being released by one of the Ultima Dragons, Adam Burr. What is more the artwork is being done by Indi Martin of Tortoise & Hare Creations!

I have had the pleasure of meeting Adam twice now in person, as well as spending time with him in Google Hangouts. I have heard a lot about this project over what I think is a couple of years now as well as having seen demos in the past. Adam has been hard at work for a very, very long time in creating this game and what I am seeing looks pretty fantastic!

Now we all have a chance to help support the project, get cool stuff in return, as he’s doing something I think all of us are fairly familiar with by now. KICKSTARTER!

The Dark Unknown is an old school CRPG in the vein of Ultima. Help me commission the best art possible to go with and in the game.

You play as a young hero of the realm, the younger child of the King, called upon when your brother declares himself in rebellion. Fight monsters, learn spells, solve puzzles and figure out the true meaning behind these events. It has been a personal project of mine for over 8 years now, and as it nears completion it is time to put all the pieces together.

I am honestly looking at this, thinking of a good friend, seeing the 250.00 level and absolutely DROOLING! Not sure where I shall actually end up as finances do not allow much right now, so please help me help a friend out! Head over, and at least give this thing an honest look over. It will not be for everyone but for some it will be a great fit. If so, pledge and let him know The Caverns sent you! If its not your thing, no harm done, only a couple of minutes lost, aye?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/985239584/the-dark-unknown-a-quest-for-art

Some of the pledge perks include great pieces from Indi Martin as well, so that makes this entire thing doubly awesome!

If you are a fan of Indi, Ultima, Ultima style games, or cool art, be prepared to just throw your wallet at this thing!

Category: Artwork, Indi Martin, Maps, Other Games, People | No Comments »
October 2 2015

Few things you may want to know about

Advertisements for the R22 decoration contest are taking place over in the forums! Sign up, decorate, and put your name in the archives of history as being the winner!

Your entrie should be something creepy for Halloween.
Decorate your homes and basements for Halloween or create a creepy scene.

Go read it here: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/welcome-to-the-r22-deco-contest-halloween.38564/#post-436551

From 10/2/15-10/6/15 – You can get the first Gina Hardwood book, written by our communities own Indi Martin, free on Kindle from Amazon!! It’s a great read, so jump on that!

Relics by Rild launched a new website experience! You may want to check that out and grab some coins for Halloween give-a-ways!

One of the major reasons I put together a new site was to provide customers with a better shopping and service experience. The new site should be easier to navigate…

Go see it all here! http://relicsbyrild.com/

51422050

Don’t forget, for all your Halloween needs The Caverns Store has you covered! Whether you need make-up, shrunken heads, prosthetics, clothing, or even some cool weaponry that is safe to hit people with, we have it!

Use this code to get 10% off your order until the End of October, at The Caverns Store “SOTAUDIC10%” located at http://www.store.thecaverns.net – Yes! We accept Paypal so that you know your transactions are safe as is your private information!

(Please note that The Caverns Store has no affiliation, association, or is any other way connected to Shroud of the Avatar. Portalarium, or it’s affiliates).

Category: Decorating, Indi Martin, Relics by Rild, The Caverns Store, Tortoise and Hare, Writing | No Comments »
September 28 2015

Dev news, artwork, and ABC files!

Being a Patron for Tortoise and Hare, one of the things I have been enjoying that they are doing lately is they are doing stock art which their Patreons get as a freebie bonus. They are currently taking votes on what to do as the next piece of stock art. If your not a Patreon it’s not too late to still fix that and vote!

Poll up for Patrons: Decide which set of six stock art pieces you get next quarter! Vote now! (And if you're not a patron, join us at www.patreon.com/tortoiseharecreations !)

Posted by Tortoise & Hare Creations on Monday, September 28, 2015

One of the cool Things that Tracy Hickman has been involved in is Con Man Give me My Money! Looking forward to seeing this at some point (and I am hearing it’s really good!).

Music

Gregory Younk put a lot of time and effort into converting Ultima sound tracks into ABC files and then made them available for you to use! Talk about a cool thing to do, thanks Gregory!

After many hours of pulling from floppies, researching, finding, and downloading the Ultima game Midi files I did not have a good copy of – I present to you the first library of almost complete Ultima songs in ABC format for Shroud of the Avatar!

Head on over here for the full scoop!

http://www.sotamuseum.com/Shroud_of_the_Avatar/Music/

Category: Artwork, Dev news, Indi Martin, Music, Tracy Hickman | No Comments »
April 27 2015

Bunches of things you might want to know about

Net continues his combat lessons in game and the You Tube after versions continue to come your way. So grab a box of gummy bears and a Cherry ICEE and watch the latest one!

The new Shroud of the Avatar Comic Debut made the news over at MMORPG. Thumbs up Tortoise and Hare Creations!

Shroud of the Avatar Comic book and me number 1

Update # 122 came out, if you missed that somehow. Be sure to check that out over here.

Here is what the official summary has:

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

PaxLair: SotA’s First Player Owned Town
Shroud of the Avatar: New Beginnings Comic
Summon Phoenix Skill
Abe’s Solace Bridge Upgrades
Release 17 Dev+ QA Server is Live
More Fences Galore
In-game Community Weekend Events
AmbushedGamer Live twitch Interview with Lord British
Community In-Game Images and Videos
Get Your Red Fez Hat!
Send Gift Function Added to Account Page
Receiving Pledge Rewards and Add-On Items
Changes to Store Credit Conversions
Steam Access Keys Available for All Backers
How to Cancel Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
Upcoming Events

SotA_FezHat_Red

Looking for some new shirts? It looks like based on some tweets from Rild, Relics from Rild is getting ready to launch some Shroud of the Avatar shirts soon. Take a look!

https://twitter.com/beanerpdx/status/588524421842796544?refsrc=email&s=11

https://twitter.com/beanerpdx/status/588524146142744576?refsrc=email&s=11

So I am sure you caught update #118 by now, but its one of the lower priority pieces I haven’t blogged on when busy and/or sick. So if for some reason you never did catch it, you can find it right this way.

Another one that falls into the same category (hey, ive been behind and buried, ive had to prioritize!), is update #117. Regardless, here is a link to it so it shall always be found on my sites search!

So here’s a fun one for you! Im not a huge autograph chaser. Usually if I ask for one its either because, well.. I was going to have the chance so I feel like I should OR because Im going to ask for one on something as a way to just have a little fun. I guess you could say I sometimes enjoy getting them and maybe making a game out of it, but im also not someone thats crushed if I don’t get a chance to get one. No big.

So when I was packing for Austin, I saw an item from my Shroud of the Avatar collection I HAD to take to get signed. I did, and I also asked and had confirmed no one has ever asked for a signature on said item before. Woot! fun had, mission accomplished, and I have a first! I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Category: Artwork, Dev news, Game News Sites, Indi Martin, Portalarium Updates, PvP, Stile Teckel, Swag, Video's | No Comments »
April 23 2015

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT – SHROUD OF THE AVATAR COMIC BOOK

Oh yeah, it is finally here! Shroud of the Avatar comic book #1!

Congratulations to Tortoise & Hare creations for a fine piece of work!

First, they where spotlighted in the most recent Portalarium update, over yonder: Shroud of the Avatar: New Beginnings | Shroud of the Avatar.

Secondly you can get your digital copy or print on demand copy right… this… way….
Shroud Of The Avatar: New Beginnings | IndyPlanet.

Finally if you want a nice crisp autographed copy, your shit outta luck! They are sold out! MWAHHAA… ok, WAIT, WAIT!!! Just kidding… you can still get one, they are out at the moment but will have more soon, just chill! Tortoise & Hare Creations by TortoiseHareCreate on Etsy.

Now I happen to have one of these that I opened up and read today. Really enjoyed it! The artwork was fantastic. You could tell the creators are people that have had years of experience in doing comics and graphic novels.

I very much liked the way the first comic starts out the way it does. I love that there is tragedy. There are certainly aspects that have me wondering about some story things.

What I am not, is a big comic book person. I was when I was a kid, I have many friends that are, I will flip through one on occasion and that sort of thing. So I must include that disclaimer in my review, and please do not take my review as gospel on this matter. You will need to buy a copy and judge for yourself!

However I found it enjoyable and well worth the purchase.

Now forgive me in this photo.. I haven’t been out of bed other then for a shower and a trip to the doctors since Sunday. Its also the first time I ever took a selfie and apparently I have the quality levels set low or something.. don’t know. Deal with it!

It also added 50lbs, I swear.. geesh!

Shroud of the Avatar Comic book and me number 1

Oh, I better include a note on the Shirt. Its the D&D shirt you get this month from Lootcrate in the Fantasy Crate. If your interested you can check that out here.

Category: Artwork, Indi Martin, Offical, Swag, Writing | No Comments »