Odysseus was a well-received Finnish-style larp (or live-action role-playing game) for 104 players organized first in 2019 and again in 2024 by Illusia ry and a team of dozens of volunteers. It was set in an original world drawing heavily from Battlestar Galactica, but also inspired by Star Trek and The Expanse.
Three runs of the game were held each year, and large space ship sets were built in a rented school building, where the game area provided a 24/7 immersive experience for the players over 48 hours, followed by a debrief / end party.
Now a number of the crew are attempting to create a commercially viable version of the game. They’re setting up a business entity, Ellarion Tales, and are prepping an improved version to be known as Odysseus – First Light.
To provide a background to the project, Laura Kröger, the lead producer and narrative designer, talks with Adrian Hon at MSSV about the thought process and challenges, including what commercial game running in Finland requires.
At this writing, their goal is 10 runs, starting from October 2026 and continuing until summer 2027, with the possibility of more if stretch goals for the crowdfunding are reached. Two of these 10 initial runs will be so-called local runs (materials will still be in English but the spoken language will be either Finnish or Swedish).
The Odysseus – First Light Indiegogo page prelaunched in late January. (Meaning, you can read about the project but cannot back it yet.) The campaign proper will start on March 6 and end on April 12th, 2026.
(Note that they are still finalizing the project; details might change before the campaign actually launches.)
I haven’t played in Odysseus myself, but I know several people who have—some more than once, in fact—and everyone has been bursting with praise. (And some thought-out criticism as well, sure, but overwhelmingly the comments have been good things.) In addition, Erik and I were able to tour the set during their July 2024 visiting hours, and can testify first hand to the quality of the propping and environments, including soundscapes. It was truly extraordinary! If the folks at Ellarion Tales are indeed able to improve on Odysseus, their larp(s) should continue to provide legitimately memorable gaming experiences.
In ancient Greece, as in many pre-industrial societies, textile work was primarily the domain of women, and since ordinary women and their lives rarely appealed to ancient Greek artists as a subject, we have few artistic depictions of women doing the work that filled much of their lives. That fact is one of the things that makes this vase so interesting. The decoration on the main body of this vase depicts many different stages of textile work, including spinning thread, weaving, folding the finished cloth, as well as weighing and perhaps dyeing it. All of these activities were part of the daily life of most women in ancient Athens, where this vase was painted.
Textile work on a black figure lekythos, via Metropolitan Museum (made in Athens, currently Metropolitan Museum, New York; 550-530 BCE; glazed pottery; attributed to the Amasis painter)
As we discussed in our series about textile production, making cloth and making clothes took up an enormous amount of time. It’s interesting to speculate on why someone might have chosen such a theme for a piece of tableware in their home. Was this a commission for a family who was in the textile business, not just producing for home use? Was it meant to celebrate the unsung daily labor of Athenian women by putting it in the same artistic frame as the deeds of gods and heroes? Was it a marketing ploy to try to appeal to a feminine audience?
Textile work on a black figure lekythos, via Metropolitan Museum (made in Athens, currently Metropolitan Museum, New York; 550-530 BCE; glazed pottery; attributed to the Amasis painter)
Whatever the artist’s intent may have been, this is a wonderful piece to have surviving from antiquity.
Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
Legos are known for their versatility. Even so, sometimes people’s ingenuity stops me short.
For example, Finnish Lego enthusiast Satu Aaltonen created a wearable bridal outfit. Her project is called Bride of the Frozen Crown and it garnered her an invitation to the Lego House Masterpiece Gallery in Denmark.
The Masterpiece Gallery is entirely devoted to fan-built artistry. Apparently, only about a hundred makers have been invited to participate during the Gallery’s existence. Aaltonen is the second Finn and the first Finnish woman to gain an invitation.
Modeling the gown in these photos is Aaltonen’s daughter Nelli Turunen. The build contains no glue—of course—and took thousands of bricks to complete. Very appropriately, the Legos make a slight rustly, rattly noise reminiscent of walking on ice, says Aaltonen.
Wow…! And I mean WOW!
The colors and the details are staggering. It must take a thorough knowledge of the variety of blocks to make something as delicate as this dress and its accessories. And, as if the intricate design is not enough, the dress is fully wearable. (Apparently one side is openable for putting the dress on.)
Well, now. This is clearly an origin story. I’m hazy on how—and why—would little Adam be sent to Earth to hide and what, exactly, there is at Castle Grayskull to protect in this version of the story. Perhaps that’ll become clearer in future trailers.
The protagonist is played by Nicholas Galitzine, a complete unknown to me, but the supporting cast has some very big names like Morena Baccarin, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, James Purefoy, and Kristen Wiig, and smaller familiar ones like Alison Brie, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
Like Molly Templeton said at Reactor magazine, so far it “looks like the generic version of Thor: Ragnarok, as ordered from a questionable website.” Agreed! Also, some clips and effects look almost like they’re copy-pasted from other Marvel Cinematic Universe content.
I haven’t bothered to dig up the MCU cinematographers or visual effects companies for comparison, to see whether there is a real overlap or whether this could be a case of a visual language being increasingly adopted within the genre movie industry in general. (It could also be a blatant case of stylistic copying to try and lure in MCU fans, of course.)
But I do have to wonder, if visuals across big productions are starting to resemble each other to this extent, what does it forebode for future genre action movies? I’ve gotten quite tired of the stagnant action movie structure, to be honest. For a while the larger story arc across the separate MCU movies was interesting, since it had never been done before on that scale. (In fact, MCU reminds me of Babylon 5, the first to introduce really extensive story arcs for SFFnal tv shows.) But is there going to be anything interesting that’ll define action franchises anymore? Thematic differences like fast custom cars (vroom vroom!) or superpowered individuals or big monsters will remain, sure, but anything worth caring about? I guess I’m hankering after a paradigm shift in action movies, really.
Annnyway. 🙂
Travis Knight is directing a script by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and Dave Callaham. Callaham at least I recognize from the 2014 Godzilla, Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The release date for the U.S. and U.K. for MotU is listed as June 05, 2026.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
When you’re designing a settlement for your player characters to visit, one thing you might want to include is local religious establishments like temples and shrines. In a world where divine beings actively grant powers to their followers, adventurers can visit these establishments looking for magical services, just like they might head to a tavern to listen for rumors or go to the local blacksmith to get their armor repaired. Here’s a homebrewed guide to temple services, suitable for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2024), that you can use or adapt for your own games.
Temples in town
The first step is to determine what kind of holy places exist in the town you’re creating. Not all gods are worshiped everywhere, and not every settlement can support a large religious sector.
Holy places come in three sizes: shrine, temple, and grand temple.
A shrine is a small, humble place where the faithful can make offerings and present prayers to the gods that matter in their daily lives. A shrine typically does not have a full-time staff performing rituals, but one or two dedicated caretakers who make sure that it stays tidy and welcoming. Local people will know who to go to if some special services are needed. A shrine and its custodians can offer only services of rank 1.
A temple is a larger structure with a dedicated full-time staff of priests and acolytes. Regular religious rituals are carried out here, and there is usually someone on hand who can see to the needs of worshipers and visitors in between their duties to the god. A temple can offer services up to rank 2.
A grand temple is a community unto itself, containing a sanctuary for the god, treasuries for storing valuable offerings, and residences for a full-time staff of priests, along with the kitchens, workshops, storage sheds, and other mundane necessities for keeping the community going. A full hierarchy attends the grand temple, from the high priest and hierophants down to the acolytes learning their first prayers and the workers supplying the priests’ daily needs. Receiving visitors and attending to their religious needs is part of the routine work of the grand temple, and some of its staff are dedicated to doling out the god’s favors to adventurers and other folk in need. A grand temple offers all services.
Each religious institution in a town also serves one particular god and belongs to that god’s divine domain. This homebrew system includes options for gods in the domains of Death, Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, and War, but you can use these examples as a basis for adding other domains as your setting requires.
When you are designing a settlement, it shouldn’t be too hard to decide what sort of holy places can be found there: a small village in the woods may not have much more than shrines for Life and Nature deities, while a huge port city probably has temples for every domain and a grand temple for a Tempest god.
If you want to randomly generate your settlement’s places of worship (either to save yourself a little thinking effort, or just because math rocks going clicky-clack is fun) here’s a couple of tables you can use.
First, roll 1d6 and adjust the roll depending on the size of the settlement, from -4 for a tiny village to +4 for a huge metropolis.
Adjusted roll
Religious institutions in town
-3
None
-2
1 shrine
-1
1 shrine
0
2 shrines
1
3 shrines
2
4 shrines
3
4 shrines, 1 temple
4
3 shrines, 2 temples
5
2 shrines, 3 temples
6
1 shrine, 4 temples
7
5 temples
8
5 temples, 1 grand temple
9
6 temples, 1 grand temple
10
6 temples, 2 grand temples
For each religious institution in your settlement, roll 1d8 to determine which domain it belongs to, rerolling any rolls that give the same result as one already rolled.
1d8
Domain
1
Death
2
Knowledge
3
Life
4
Light
5
Nature
6
Tempest
7
Trickery
8
War
Services available
The tables below list the services available in each domain, the rank of each service, and its cost. A description of all services is given after the tables.
The cost given in the tables below is for characters who wish to pay for services in cash, and includes the cost of any necessary material components, which the priest performing the service provides. As an alternative, some other means of payment are suggested in the next section.
Services are granted to the character requesting and paying for them, or to another creature or object that character designates. The recipient of a service knows what effect they are receiving, and a service fails if the recipient is unwilling to receive it. Only one service can be active on a given creature or object at a time, but one creature can carry multiple objects with different services active on them.
Services marked with an asterisk (*) are spells found in the Player’s Handbook or the System Reference Document 5.2.1. A brief description is given below for convenience, but see one of those sources for fuller information if needed. If a character receives one of these spells as a service, apply the following conditions:
The spell is cast at its lowest level.
The spellcaster’s ability is Wisdom, and their ability modifier is +4.
A spell provided as a service does not require concentration from either the priest providing it or the creature receiving it.
A spell cast as a service can only affect the creature who received the service or an object they carry, even if the spell normally allows its caster to choose another or multiple targets.
Any spell whose duration is either Instantaneous or 12 hours or longer takes effect exactly as listed in the spell description as soon as the service is provided.
Any spell that has a duration more than Instantaneous but less than 12 hours does not take effect immediately. The service instead creates an aura of magical potential around the receiving creature which lasts for 24 hours. At any time during that 24 hours, the creature may take a Magic action to activate the spell. The spell immediately becomes active and lasts for its full duration.
Death
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Death.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Detect Poison and Disease*
50 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of the Grave
5 GP
2
Gentle Repose*
50 GP
2
Grace of the Departed
125 GP
3
Raise Dead*
700 GP
3
Speak with Dead*
100 GP
Knowledge
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Knowledge.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Detect Magic*
50 GP
1
Detect Poison and Disease*
50 GP
1
Identify*
60 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of Sagacity
10 GP
2
Augury*
80 GP
2
Grace of the Wise
50 GP
3
Sending*
100 GP
3
Speak with Dead*
200 GP
3
Tongues*
200 GP
Life
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Life.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Bless*
25 GP
1
Cure Wounds*
1 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of Healing
5 GP
2
Grace of the Protector
50 GP
2
Lesser Restoration*
75 GP
2
Protection from Poison*
125 GP
3
Protection from Energy*
200 GP
3
Raise Dead*
700 GP
3
Remove Curse*
100 GP
Light
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Light.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Bless*
25 GP
1
Cure Wounds*
1 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of Flame
5 GP
1
Shield of Faith*
50 GP
2
Augury*
80 GP
2
Grace of the Illuminated
50 GP
2
Magic Weapon*
125 GP
3
Dispel Magic*
100 GP
Nature
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Nature.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Cure Wounds*
1 GP
1
Detect Poison and Disease*
50 GP
1
Goodberry*
25 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of the Serpent
5 GP
1
Longstrider*
50 GP
2
Gentle Repose*
50 GP
2
Grace of the Wild
50 GP
2
Protection from Poison*
125 GP
3
Water Breathing*
100 GP
Tempest
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Tempest.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Cure Wounds*
1 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of the Storm
5 GP
1
Longstrider*
50 GP
2
Grace of the Winds
25 GP
2
Magic Weapon*
125 GP
3
Water Breathing*
100 GP
Trickery
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of Trickery.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Detect Poison and Disease*
50 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of Cunning
10 GP
1
Protection from Evil and Good*
75 GP
2
Grace of the Dissembler
50 GP
2
Lesser Restoration*
75 GP
3
Dispel Magic*
100 GP
3
Remove Curse*
100 GP
3
Tongues*
200 GP
War
The following services are available from a shrine, temple, or grand temple of a deity of War.
Rank
Service
Cost
1
Bless*
25 GP
1
Cure Wounds*
1 GP
1
Lesser Blessing of Wrath
5 GP
1
Shield of Faith*
50 GP
2
Grace of the Marauder
100 GP
2
Magic Weapon*
125 GP
3
Protection from Energy*
200 GP
Descriptions of Services
The ranks of services and the domains which can offer them are given in parentheses after the name for reference. Services marked with an asterisk (*) are spells found in the Player’s Handbook or the System Reference Document 5.2.1. A brief description is given below for convenience, but see one of those sources for fuller information if needed.
Augury* (2 – Knowledge, Light)
School: Divination
Duration: Instantaneous
Consult a divine force about a specific course of action and receive a positive or negative omen.
Bless* (1 – Life, Light, War)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 1 minute
Add 1d4 whenever you make an attack or save roll. (Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Detect Poison and Disease* (1 – Death, Knowledge, Nature, Trickery)
School: Divination
Duration: 10 minutes
Become aware of any source of poison or disease within 30 feet.
Dispel Magic* (3 – Light, Trickery)
School: Abjuration
Duration: Instantaneous
Ends one magical effect of level 3 or lower.
Gentle Repose* (2 – Death, Nature)
School: Necromancy
Duration: 10 days
A recently deceased creature is protected from decay and becoming Undead.
Goodberry* (1 – Nature)
School: Conjuration
Duration: 24 hours
Create 10 berries, each of which heals 1 Hit Point and provides nourishment for one day.
Grace of the Departed (2 – Death)
School: Necromancy
Duration: 24 hours
Whenever a spell you cast causes a creature to make a Constitution saving throw, it does so at Disadvantage.
Grace of the Dissembler (2 – Trickery)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 24 hours
You have Advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Grace of the Illuminated (2 – Light)
School: Evocation
Duration: 24 hours
You may use a Magic action to cast the spell Light, requiring no material components. You may cast this spell any number of times while this service lasts. When you cast Light using this service, Wisdom is your spellcasting attribute, and if your Wisdom modifier is less than +4, it is considered +4 for purposes of this spell.
Grace of the Marauder (2 – War)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
You gain a +1 bonus to your attack rolls and AC.
Grace of the Protector (2 – Life)
School: Abjuration
Duration: 24 hours
Whenever you roll dice to restore Hit Points to any creature, that creature also receives Temporary Hit Points equal to the highest number on any one of the dice you rolled.
Grace of the Wild (2 – Nature)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 24 hours
You have Advantage on Intelligence (Nature) and Wisdom (Survival) checks.
Grace of the Winds (2 – Tempest)
School: Evocation
Duration: 24 hours
Once per turn, when you deal damage to another creature, you may move your target up to 10 feet away from you or move yourself up to 10 feet away from your target. (This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.)
Grace of the Wise (2 – Knowledge)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 24 hours
You have advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) and Intelligence (History) checks.
Identify* (1 – Knowledge)
School: Divination
Duration: Instantaneous
Learn the properties of one magical object.
Lesser Blessing of Flame (1 – Light)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on one weapon of your choice. That weapon deals either Fire or Radiant damage in addition to any other types of damage it deals (you choose the type of damage when receiving the service).
Lesser Blessing of Cunning (1 – Trickery)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 24 hours
Choose 1 skill based on Dexterity or Charisma. An enchantment is placed on an item you carry. Any creature carrying that item gains a bonus equal to their proficiency bonus to d20 checks made with that skill.
Lesser Blessing of Healing (1 – Life)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on an item you carry. Whenever a creature carrying that item casts a spell with a spell slot that restores Hit Points to any creature, that spell restores a number of additional Hit Points equal to the caster’s proficiency bonus.
Lesser Blessing of Sagacity (1 – Knowledge)
School: Enchantment
Duration: 24 hours
Choose 1 skill based on Intelligence or Wisdom. An enchantment is placed on an item you carry. Any creature carrying that item gains a bonus equal to their proficiency bonus to d20 checks made with that skill.
Lesser Blessing of the Grave (1 – Death)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on one weapon of your choice. That weapon deals either Necrotic or Psychic damage in addition to any other types of damage it deals (you choose the type of damage when receiving the service).
Lesser Blessing of the Serpent (1 – Nature)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on one weapon of your choice. That weapon deals either Acid or Poison damage in addition to any other types of damage it deals (you choose the type of damage when receiving the service).
Lesser Blessing of the Storm (1 – Tempest)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on one weapon of your choice. That weapon deals either Lightning or Thunder damage in addition to any other types of damage it deals (you choose the type of damage when receiving the service).
Lesser Blessing of Wrath (1 – War)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
An enchantment is placed on one weapon of your choice. That weapon deals either Force or Radiant damage in addition to any other types of damage it deals (you choose the type of damage when receiving the service).
Lesser Restoration* (2 – Life, Trickery)
School: Abjuration
Duration: Instantaneous
Remove Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Poisoned conditions.
Longstrider* (1 – Nature, Tempest)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 1 hour
Your Speed increases by 10 feet.
Magic Weapon* (2 – Light, Tempest, War)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 1 hour
A weapon you touch becomes a magic weapon with +1 to attack and damage rolls.
Protection from Energy* (3 – Life, War)
School: Abjuration
Duration: 1 hour
Gain Resistance to one damage type: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder.
Protection from Evil and Good* (1 – Trickery)
School: Abjuration
Duration: 10 minutes
You are protected against Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, and Undead. ( Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Protection from Poison* (2 – Life, Nature)
School: Abjuration
Duration: 1 hour
Gain Resistance to Poison damage and Advantage on saving throws against the Poisoned condition. ( Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Raise Dead* (3 – Death, Life)
School: Necromancy
Duration: Instantaneous
Revive a creature that has been dead less than 10 days.
Remove Curse* (3 – Life, Trickery)
School: Abjuration
Duration: Instantaneous
Remove all curses affecting an object or creature.
Sending* (3 – Knowledge)
School: Divination
Duration: Instantaneous
Send a message of 25 words or less to another creature.
Shield of Faith* (1 – Light, War)
School: Abjuration
Duration: 10 minutes
Gain +2 AC. (Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Speak with Dead* (3 – Death, Knowledge)
School: Necromancy
Duration: 10 minutes
Ask 5 questions of a corpse.
Tongues* (3 – Knowledge, Trickery)
School: Divination
Duration: 1 hour
Understand any spoken or signed language. ( Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Water Breathing* (3 – Nature, Tempest)
School: Transmutation
Duration: 24 hours
Gain the ability to breathe under water. (Note: when received as a service, this spell targets only the creature that received the service.)
Alternative payment
Instead of a donation in coin, you might offer your player characters a chance to pay for their services with services of their own. This can be a good option for a cash-strapped party, and can also provide opportunities for side quests or for downtime activities to let your players practice some of their lesser-used skills. Here are some suggestions to consider:
Rank 1 services
Entertain the children at the local orphanage for an afternoon (Life, Trickery)
Fix a leaky roof, patch gaps in the walls, replace some broken floor tiles, or perform other simple maintenance in the temple (Nature, Tempest)
Gather firewood for the temple from nearby woods (Light, Nature)
Gather wild plants to restock the temple’s store of spell reagents (Knowledge, Life, Nature, Tempest)
Participate in a solemn funeral procession for a recently deceased local hero (Death, Light)
Play a small, harmless prank on the priests of a rival temple (Trickery)
Recount tales of your party’s adventures to be recorded for posterity (Knowledge, Light, Trickery, War)
Spar with some paladin trainees (Light, War)
Tidy up the local graveyard (Death, Nature)
Rank 2 services
Clean out a local village’s irrigation channels (Life, Tempest)
Convince some mischievous wood sprites to move out of a sacred grove (Light, Nature, Trickery)
Deliver needed medicines and potions to an outlying village (Life, Nature)
Fight a demonstration duel against a band of chosen champions for paladin initiates to observe and learn from (Light, War)
Find a ghost that has been haunting a local crypt and find out what it needs to be able to move on into the afterlife (Death, Knowledge, Light)
Fish, hunt, and gather foods from the local wilderness for a communal feast (Life, Nature, Tempest)
Join in the funeral games for a fallen local hero and win at least one victory in the god’s name (Death, Life, War)
Spy on a local criminal syndicate to find out where their meeting spot is so the authorities can deal with them (Knowledge, Light, Trickery)
Rank 3 services
Compose and stage a play about the party’s adventures for the entertainment and education of local townsfolk (Knowledge, Life, War)
Hunt a wild beast that has been terrorizing villages the hinterlands (Light, Nature, Tempest)
Investigate the local noble houses to determine which of them has been skimming off the temple tithes (Knowledge, Light, Trickery)
Keep an overnight vigil in a local graveyard on a night when minor evil spirits are known to wander. Keep the spirits distracted to stop them from causing trouble. (Death, Trickery)
Recover a lost relic last known to have been in the possession of a fallen hero, who may have since become undead (Death, Light, War)
Seek out and defeat a minor local bandit or other troublemaker (Life, War)
Spend a stormy night standing watch at a dangerous headland and rescue the survivors from ships that founder in the waves (Life, Light, Tempest)
Track a noble beast that was gravely wounded but not killed in an upstart noble’s botched hunt and put the creature out of its pain (Death, Nature)
Co-Geeking 
