Magic is a powerful force in most fantasy worlds, and many are the paths open to those who seek magical power. From the arcane to the divine, Spells & Magic provides information for both players and DMs and is easily useable in any d20 campaign world. This is more than just a book of spells and magical items. New prestige classes focusing on new thoughts of magic also fill the book. And like all Bastion Press products, it's designed to be used with any d20 campaign world.
We live in a secular age, a world dominated by science and technology. Increasing numbers of us don't believe in God anymore. We don't expect miracles. We've grown up and left those fairy tales behind, culturally and personally. Yet five hundred years ago the world was very much enchanted. It was a world where God existed and the devil was real. It was a world full of angels and demons. It was a world of holy wells and magical eels. But since the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of the Enlightenment, the world--in the West, at least--has become increasingly disenchanted. While this might be taken as evidence of a crisis of belief, Richard Beck argues that it's actually a crisis of attention. God hasn't gone anywhere, but we've lost our capacity to see God. The rising tide of disenchantment has profoundly changed our religious imaginations and led to a loss of the holy expectation that we can be interrupted by the sacred and divine. But it doesn't have to be this way. Hunting Magic Eels shows us that with attention and an intentional, cultivated capacity to experience God as a living, vital presence in our lives, we can cultivate an enchanted faith in a skeptical age. This new paperback edition includes a foreword from Sean Palmer as well as four new, additional chapters, including "Why Good People Need God," "Live Your Beautiful Life," and "The Primacy of the Invisible."
This book is renowned for being the book to own to understand lighting! This is better than all the other how to books on the market which just provide set examples for photographers to follow. Light Science and Magic provides photographers with a comprehensive theory of the nature and principles of light to allow individual photographers to use lighting to express their own creativity. It will show you in-depth how to light the most difficult subjects such as surfaces, metal, glass, liquids, extremes (black-on-black and white-on-white), and people. With more information specific for degital photographers, a brand new chapter on equipment, much more information on location lighting, and more on photographing people, you'll see why this is one of the only recommended books by www.strobist.com.
Chapter 1.Breath of the Leopard: scent and magic --Chapter 2.Fragrant panacea: scent and power --Chapter 3.Scent in the Magical Papyri --Chapter 4.Perfumed Enchantments: the smell of witches' magic --Chapter 5.Rot and roses: the smell of witches -- --Chapter 6.Scented space, scenting space --Epilogue.Scent of ancient magic.
"Whispers of Enchantment" is a contemporary exploration of magic seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of everyday life. The novel introduces Everwood and its diverse cast of characters, each leading seemingly ordinary lives before the introduction of magical elements reshapes their destinies. As the story unfolds, the town becomes a canvas for magical occurrences, inviting readers to question the limits of what is possible. Characters, once bound by the mundane, grapple with surreal experiences that challenge their perceptions, emotions, and connections with one another. The ordinary becomes extraordinary, and Everwood emerges as a place where profound insights are gained through unexpected magical encounters. At the heart of the narrative is the mysterious Whisperer, a catalyst for change and self-discovery. The novel follows a group of characters on a quest to find the Whisperer, unraveling the central mystery while exploring the transformative power of magic on their lives. Along their journey, the characters form unexpected connections, and the novel delves into the profound insights gained through the interplay of the surreal and the mundane. As the story builds towards a climactic confrontation with the source of enchantment, characters evolve, and resolutions are found. The novel concludes with an epilogue that paints a picture of Everwood's new normal—an altered town where the infusion of magic has forever changed the landscape, relationships, and the understanding of what is possible. "Whispers of Enchantment" invites readers to embark on a journey where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the threads of magic intertwine with the everyday, leaving an indelible mark on the town of Everwood.
In this personal journey through a unique performing art, David Copperfield profiles some of the world's most groundbreaking magicians. From the sixteenth-century magistrate who wrote an early book on conjuring, to the roaring twenties and the man who fooled Houdini, to the woman who levitated, vanished, and caught bullets in her bare hands, David Copperfield's History of Magic takes you on a wild journey through the remarkable feats of some of the greatest magicians in history. The result is a sweeping tale that reveals how these astonishing performers were outsiders who used magic to escape class, challenge conventions, transform popular culture, explore the innermost workings of the human mind, and inspire scientific discovery. Their incredible stories are complemented by more than 100 never-before-seen photographs of artifacts from Copperfield's exclusive Museum of Magic, including a sixteenth-century manual on sleight-of-hand; Houdini's straitjackets, handcuffs, and water torture chamber; Dante's famous sawing-in-half apparatus; Alexander's high-tech turban that allowed him to read people's minds; and even some coins that may have magically passed through the hands of Abraham Lincoln. By the end of the book, you'll be sure to share Copperfield's passion for the power of magic. --
A family searches for the true meaning of Christmas, then must save it in an epic fantasy adventure told through poems. Do you like The Night Before Christmas poem? Do you wish it had a ton more magic and an adventure to find the true meaning of Christmas? Then you'll love Stars & Angels Sing. In a land where magic is illegal, Sarn must hide his magic and his son to stay alive. For an indentured man can claim nothing, not even his own child. When his master found out about his son, Sarn's worst fear was realized. Will his master help him get custody of his son? Or will this tear his family apart? With nowhere to go and no choice but to obey orders, Sarn must move his son in with his master's family. They go from living in a chilly cave with no running water, and no idea where their next meal will come from to his master's warm, multi-room home. Are they guests? Or are they here to serve? This change of living quarters didn't come with a change in station. As their foster family observes Advent, tensions mount as the symbols of a season and a strange holiday grow. What is Christmas? Why does his master celebrate it? Should he let his son participate in this mysterious tradition? Sarn has no way to find out except to ask his master about it and expose his ignorance. But this is the best place for his son, and he won't risk losing it. Thankfully, Sarn's struggle doesn't go unnoticed, nor does his wish to understand the reason behind the season go unanswered. With help from Santa, an iceman, some determined fairies, and other holiday favorites, Sarn and his son discover the heart of the season and a new tradition. His struggle might just win him the only present he wants for Christmas, custody of the little boy that lights up his life. This story is told in a series of poems that build upon each other to tell a fantastic adventure of a father and son's search for the magic of Christmas. ***The 2023 edition of Stars & Angels Sing also includes stories and poems featuring Sarn and his family in their humorous quest to survive the events of Thanksgiving Day, and the book is 30% longer than the original version, including holiday stories that were written later but are part of the overall holiday storyline.
This book discusses the active and passive radar cross section (RCS) estimation and techniques to examine the low observable aerospace platforms. It begins with the fundamentals of RCS, followed by the dielectric, magnetic and metamaterials parameters of the constituent materials and then explains various methods and the emerging trends followed in this area of study. The RCS estimation of phased array including the mutual coupling effect is also presented in detail in the book. The active RCS reduction is carefully touched upon through the performance of phased arrays, sidelobe cancellers and mitigation of multipath effect. Providing information on various adaptive algorithms like least mean square (LMS), recursive least square (RLS) and weighted least square algorithms, the authors also mention the recent developments in the area of embedded antennas, conformal load bearing antenna, metamaterials and frequency selective surface (FSS) based RCS reduction.
Randall Styers seeks to account for the vitality of scholarly discourse purporting to define and explain magic despite its failure to do just that. He argues that it can best be explained in light of the European and Euro-American drive to establish and secure their own identity as normative.
