Jürgen Hubert

Translates German folk tales. Tries to learn #Italian .

#ttrpg #pnpde #dnd #folklore

Public Key

npub15ct692pt9k83z4t0h5wtz30uvx4f7raducdtqh0jdzuwgclhhe0st4hjnk

NIP-05 Address

juergen_hubert@mementomori-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2v9az4q4jmrc324hm6893gh7xr25lp7k7vx4sthex3w8yv0mmuhcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsjg7agt

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub15ct692pt9k83z4t0h5wtz30uvx4f7raducdtqh0jdzuwgclhhe0st4hjnk

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Last Notes

2026-10-30 07:52:39 UTC

I see more and more accounts which sound like they are #LLM -generated. I initially noticed them on Bluesky, but they have started to pop up here on the #Fediverse as well.
They reply to other posts, and pretend to be interested, but you never really get a grasp of an actual personality behind the words. It's basically the "Uncanny Valley" for social media.
EDIT: Usually they start their posts with some statement expressing that they find your post interesting, and then they follow up with a leading question encouraging you to reply to them.

2026-10-30 01:02:03 UTC

Once, a demon-possessed corpse was buried in the mudflats of northwestern Germany.
Perhaps it haunts the Wadden Sea still...
#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Benno_Butendick

2026-10-29 17:05:24 UTC

The music must go on!
#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Accursed_Fiddler

2026-10-28 12:10:02 UTC

#PennedPossibilities 1168: Does your world have any mythology creatures? Can you describe their lore to us?
German folklore has _lots_ of mythological creatures. Here are some of my favorites:
"Draks", draconic familiar spirits which bring their owners grain, milk, or money - but there is often a heavy price to owning them.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Drak
"Aufhockers", a multitude of spirits who will jump on people's backs and refuse to let go. I don't know why they show up everywhere in German folklore, but their tales are very, very widespread.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Aufhocker
The "Blessed Maidens" of the Alps, female mountain spirits who guard the chamois and other alpine animals.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Blessed_Maiden
The "Wild Hunt", which should be more properly regarded as a broad class of related phenomena. Sometimes they are lead by a "Wild Huntsman", and sometimes by a woman. Sometimes they are a procession of ghosts, or a parade of demons. Sometimes they are even a bizarre singular entity.
https://eroticmythology.com/guest-post-juergen-hubert-wild-hunt/
These are just a few examples. As usual, feel free to ask me any questions you might have about creatures from German folklore, or German folklore in general!
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/518/457/264/711/860/original/7aa6920446cf588e.jpg

2026-10-27 05:53:36 UTC

Since the #Midterms in the USA are coming up, here are my totally unasked-for opinion as a German:
For the USA, I see voting for the Democrats wherever you can as utterly necessary to slow down the country's rush into #fascism , but, by itself, insufficient to actually stop it.
By almost any measure, Republicans are the worse choice, and will produce worse outcomes for anyone who is not a billionaire.
However, much of the Democratic party establishment is too beholden to rich donors. Thus, in order to get them to actually implement _positive_ change, there needs to be potent, progressive political activism _outside_ the party structure that the Democratic party establishment is actually afraid of crossing.
So yeah, by all means go vote, and vote for the Democrats at the Midterms, because the Republicans winning this elections would be _far_ worse. But don't stop being politically active afterwards.

2026-10-26 09:28:44 UTC

One of the things that irk me is that we don't really have a way of tracking the long-term growth and changes of the #Fediverse .
Yes, there is fedidb.com , but it only seems to track user statistics for the last 30 days. Currently, the "monthly user base" seems to over at slightly over 1.3 million, which seems more than it was last year - but we don't really have a good long-term data set.
How does the user base of the Fediverse grow? What are specific events that cause the Fediverse to grow? And what differentiates accounts that stay from accounts that eventually stop being active?
There are a _lot_ of scientific examinations of commercial social media platforms. One would think that the Fediverse, with its open architecture, would also make such analysis possible, but I am not aware of any.
#SocialMedia #Science #DataAnalysis
https://fedidb.com/

2026-10-26 08:16:39 UTC

As others have pointed out, there could be an influx of newcomers to the #Fediverse from #Brazil who are tired of #Meta 's latest shenanigans while meddling with politics.
If you see them, be friendly and welcoming, and under no circumstances start with "You are using the Fediverse wrong!"
I mean it. We have a serious "Reply Guy" problem around here, and we've already lost our big chance with Black Twitter. Let's not screw _this_ opportunity up, okay?

2026-10-24 07:22:53 UTC

One of the problems I see with modern portrayals of old folk tales is that there is a tendency of turning into neat "packages" - one single, "definite" version of a story with a clear beginning and end for easy consumption of an audience that will not know the context of the original storytellers. The Brothers Grimm themselves were part of this trend, with their repeated "cleaning" of their fairy tales collection, but many of their successors hardly did better.
Real folk tales and real folklore is considerably messier, with countless variants and narratives mutating and merging into each other. A good example is the text I am currently translating, featuring a particular crumbling well in the #Aargau canton of #Switzerland . This well has an entire myth-cycle associated it, with variant tales in neighboring villages. These range from the Devil lurking down there as a treasure guardian, to the Wild Hunt, to a vast sunken Roman city. These tales are messy and confusing, but that's what makes them so fascinating to me.
In modern media and storytelling, the closest we come to this is #fanfiction . Published media - whether books, movies, or television/streaming series - have their own "canon" events and stories, and fans obsessing over canon. But fanfiction writers make all of this their own, and weave their own contradictory stories with their own lore out of this base - just like the oral folk storytellers of old.
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/494/680/379/776/037/original/8cf341f98756f754.jpg

2026-10-23 16:28:59 UTC

The modern portrayal of the "Wild Hunt" often features a male "Wild Huntsman" as a hyper-masculine figure, possibly as an incarnation of Odin.
However, in my research of German folklore, I was surprised how often the Wild Hunt actually has a female leader. The goddess-figure Hulda/Holle/Perchta features in this role particularly often.
And when I publish a book on the Wild Hunt (currently planned as Volume 5 in my series), I definitely want a "Wild Huntswoman" on the cover.

2026-10-20 06:28:35 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub Oct. 20: What's the shortest work you've ever finished?
This one has he shortest character count.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Jousting_Maid

2026-10-19 17:01:27 UTC

Dwarves can take on a multitude of guises when interacting with humans.
#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Silver_Dwarven_Bell

2026-10-19 03:01:39 UTC

Many of you have left #Facebook for very good reasons.
But for those who still have a presence there, could you _please_ tell the followers of #BernieSanders about the #Fediverse ?
The number of people there who think that founding "new platforms" or have similar takes in the wake of the #censorship of the #NoKings protests on #Instagram is... exhausting. 🤦‍♂️
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1711153667046770&id=100044564583792

2026-10-18 16:03:52 UTC

Try out this neat trick for learning the winning lottery numbers!
On a second thought, don't. In fact, forget I said anything!
#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory #magic
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Another_Summoning

2026-10-17 07:27:23 UTC

Frage an deutsche Autoren im Selbstverlag:
Man muss ja immer im Impressum eines Buches eine Adresse angeben, aber natürlich will man hier nicht seine Privatadresse reinschreiben.
In der Vergangenheit habe ich hier einen "Autorenservice" verwendet, aber die Firma die ich verwendet habe scheint es nicht mehr zu geben. Was könnt ihr mir aktuell für Unternehmen für so etwas empfehlen?
#amwriting

2026-10-16 15:05:19 UTC

#HumbleBundle has a #BrianAldiss bundle.
I am aware of the name, and that he wrote science fiction, but that's the extend of my knowledge. Can you recommend his works, and if so which works in particular?
#Bookstodon
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/best-brian-w-aldiss-open-road-media-books

2026-10-14 11:40:30 UTC

To those who need to hear it:
Be kind to yourself. Don't measure your current situation and problems against the heroic self-image and heady visions of your future you had when you were younger.
Life constantly throws curveballs at us, and we cannot possibly predict it all - indeed, even the attempt to do so can be harmful.
And just getting through the day can be "success" enough, at times.

2026-10-14 11:00:46 UTC

Using _more_ magic to hush up a magical crime rarely ends well.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Walking_Corpse_at_Erfurt

2026-10-14 10:21:49 UTC

Out of curiosity:
Do you have a circular saw for cutting #bread , and if so in which country do you live?
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/438/756/290/437/803/original/0eccbd5819946ce9.jpg

2026-10-13 08:39:12 UTC

So, I am a self-published author, and I wanted to diversify away from the #Amazon ecosystem for some time. However, I am hitting a snag with the Print on Demand options.
My paperback books are sold in a 6"x9" format, which is a standard format for paperbacks. With Amazon KDP, I sell my books for a standard price of $17.99, and I get about 5$ in royalties for each paperback sold.
Now I've used online calculators to calculate printing prices for a 384 page book on assorted Print on Demand platforms (this is the length of my current manuscript).
With Amazon KDP, I get the usual $5.19 in revenues.
With OneBookShelf (a platform that is primarily for #TTRPG, but which also sells fiction) I get US printing costs of $11.73, which should leave me revenues of about 4$. Still acceptable.
However, the biggest "alternative" Print on Demand platform is Draft2Digital, and there I would only get revenues of $1.11. Which is too low for my tastes.
So if I want to keep decent revenues for my print books, my options are:
- Increase the prices for my paperbacks. And I would have increase the price all the way to $24.49 if I want to get at least $4 in royalties.
- Skip Draft2Digital as a print publishing platform, and stick to Amazon KDP and OneBookShelf - although the latter only prints in the USA and the UK, which means customers in other countries will have to have to pay extra for shipping.
What are your thoughts what I should do? And what are some other Print on Demand platforms I should look into?
#amwriting #publishing
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/432/690/390/940/036/original/f07e1539a5e62543.png
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2026-10-13 07:20:36 UTC

I agree that attacking the digital infrastructure of #Russia is a good idea to reduce the amount of fascist trollbots influencing politics in the Western World.
However, I am unsure what the specific vulnerabilities of the trollbot infrastructure is. In the last few days I have seen a lot of claims that the attack on the #Yandex data centers has reduced them. But I have seen no trustworthy, verifiable data - just anecdotes.
And as the saying goes, "The plural of 'anecdote' is not data."

2026-10-12 14:01:40 UTC

When a Wild Maiden takes an interest in your husband, your best chance of survival lies in acting like a complete doormat.
#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Curse_and_Blessing_of_the_Wild_Maidens

2026-10-12 13:01:50 UTC

When a spirit woman takes an interest in a mortal man, she does not hesitate to remove any obstacles to her courtship.
#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Golden_Girdle

2026-10-12 10:51:39 UTC

Ich habe hier einiges an Gerüchten gesehen, daß durch die Beschädigung des #Yandex -Rechenzentrum in #Russland die Aktivität von #AfD -nahen Bots (und anderen rechtsextremistischen Accounts) stark zurückgegangen sein soll.
Aber "Gerüchte" reicht mir nicht. Hat hier irgendjemand was belastbares, von vertrauenswürdigen Quellen?

2026-10-12 00:01:26 UTC

The famous Doctor Paracelsus owed his reputation and wealth to a chance encounter with the Devil.
#Austria #folktale #folklore #Devil
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Doctor_Paracelsus_and_the_Devil

2026-10-09 15:47:03 UTC

Ich habe gerade in der Bekanntschaft einen Notfall.
Hat hier jemand eine Ahnung, wer in #Düsseldorf und Umgebung unentgeltlich zum Thema #Visum beraten kann?
Bitte boosten!

2026-10-08 13:28:21 UTC

I could use some book recommendations. I am looking for folk tale collections which are
1. from cultures outside of Europe, and
2. were written by people _from_ that culture.
Ideally, they should also be translated into English (or German) by people from that culture as well.
It would also be a plus if they contain a lot of "local legends" which incorporate local geography and history (as opposed to "fairy tales" which take place at indeterminable places and times).
#folklore #AmReading #Bookstodon

2026-10-06 11:50:32 UTC

#PhantastikPrompts 06.10.
Dein Protagonist benötigt Geld und erhält einen musikalischen Job. Imaginiere und erzähle.
Alles schon gemacht.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Accursed_Fiddler

2026-10-05 12:07:16 UTC

Is anyone who follows #MythologyMonday interested? I still have a few open slots for beta readers!
#nevent1q…l072

2026-10-05 04:01:53 UTC

This is a bad idea. Just like Judaism itself, #Zionism means a lot of different things to different people, and plenty of people both see themselves as Zionists _and_ want a two-state solution.
And Jews _do_ have a valid ancestral claim to this territory. This doesn't invalidate that Palestinians _also_ have a valid ancestral claim, but still.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/04/green-party-votes-adopt-policy-zionism-racism

2026-10-05 03:07:40 UTC

I bet he is merely doing that because radium has the chemical element number 88.
#nevent1q…te4u

2026-10-04 00:00:35 UTC

Overcoming a night hag requires both quick reflexes and brute strength.
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Grappled_Walrider

2026-10-03 18:34:46 UTC

So far I've got six volunteers, but I could use a few more.
#nevent1q…l072

2026-10-02 16:04:11 UTC

If you think this tale is implausible, then you haven't eaten proper crusty bread yet.
#CzechRepublic #folktale #folklore #bread
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_the_Fuhrmannsberg_Mountain

2026-10-02 13:03:43 UTC

I am looking for beta readers for "Old Goatfoot", my upcoming collection of Devil-tales from German folklore. Beta readers are test readers for books who provide feedback from a fan perspective and help the author identify and fix problems before the book is released.
I will consider you qualified if you (a) have read one of my previous books, or (b) have read and enjoyed multiple folk tale collections by other people.
Since I am writing for an international audience, I am _particularly_ interested in beta readers from outside Europe and the Anglophone countries outside Europe (i.e. USA, Australia, New Zealand), since they might bring unique cultural perspectives to the table. This is not necessary to be a beta reader, but I consider it a bonus.
Beta readers are expected to read and provide feedback on the book manuscript (which currently has a word count of 109,000, although about 20% of that is the bibliography and indices) within four weeks. Beta readers who provide useful feedback will get a free copy of the paperback version of the finished book.
If you are interested, please send me a Direct Message with a short explanation for why you think you are a good fit.
Please boost for greater reach! #folklore #amwriting
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/371/438/942/973/314/original/e83f0998d36e666e.png
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2026-09-30 09:26:32 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/30 — Where did this month's writing take you?
Night hags/sleep paralysis demons. In German #folklore , these tend to be the spirits of living people who feel "compelled" to squeeze sleepers, although there are quite a few weird variants.

2026-09-29 16:03:30 UTC

A man from Sistrans used magic for all sorts of impossible feats - he became a mighty brawler, bound thieves, and divined witches. But on his deathbed, the source of his powers was revealed...
#Austria #folktale #folklore #magic
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Sorcerer_of_Sistrans

2026-09-28 16:03:34 UTC

Disturbing graves is an effective form of divination, if done right.
But if done wrong, the dead will make their displeasure known in no uncertain terms.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory #magic
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Summoning_of_the_Dead

2026-09-26 04:11:34 UTC

I want the #Fediverse to grow. But out of curiosity, how well would the Fediverse scale? What would happen if the current user base increased by a factor of 10, 100, or 1000?
And if the answer is "bad things", what would need to be done to make the Fediverse cope with such an expanded user base?
(For the purpose of this thought exercise, assume that each specific Fediverse software implementation would likewise multiply their user base by this factor, albeit spread out over more instances.)
#FediHelp

2026-09-24 12:02:46 UTC

Become a Patreon supporter of "Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles", and you will get newly translated German folk tales every week!
If you subscribe at the "Scholar" level, you will also get PDF and EBUB compilations of all 800+ translations of the folk tales I have translated so far.
And if you subscribe at the "Explorer" level, you can even suggest which topics I should research and translate next!
https://www.patreon.com/sunkencastles

2026-09-23 07:29:14 UTC

I find it _interesting_ that most modern portrayals of fairy tales involve kings, knights, princesses and so forth - the privileged aristocratic classes on top of the social pyramid. Even if the protagonist of such a tale is poor, they are still secretly from privileged parents, and their story tends to be about reclaiming their "rightful" (i.e. privileged) place in society.
Meanwhile, the _vast_ majority of German folk tales I have read feature peasant protagonists. Nobles _might_ appear, but they are the villains as often as they are a force for "good".
Reframing fairy tales to focus on protagonists of privileged birth and relegating low-born characters to sidekicks and background characters was a _choice_. It's so pervasive nowadays that most modern-day storytellers don't even realize that they are making this choice, since they have accepted this as "normal". But it is a choice nonetheless.
And if we are telling stories of our own, we need to ask ourselves what choices we are making when developing our protagonists.
#privilege #storytelling #AmWriting #ClassStruggle

2026-09-21 07:38:58 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub Sept 20: Share an analogy that really stuck with you.
"She knows more than just how to eat bread."
Which is to say, she has knowledge of hidden, supernatural things. I've come across this phrase a few times when translating old German folk tales, and I love it!

2026-09-11 10:49:53 UTC

Old folk tales are full of accounts where bad employers who made their employees work through (church-sanctioned) periods of rests came to a horrible end.
Of course, these days nobody believes in such things anymore.
#ClassStruggle
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_0iYWAAAAYAAJ/page/614/mode/2up

2026-09-05 16:02:45 UTC

Some spirits are bound to specific trees, and will suffer if their tree suffers.
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Beautiful_Fir_Tree

2026-09-03 12:02:59 UTC

Check out this link for a random German folk tale!
What did you get?
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Special:Random/Folk_Tale

2026-09-02 09:00:13 UTC

#PhantastikPrompts am 1. September:
Was gefällt dir besonders an der Szene, die du zuletzt bearbeitet hast?
Die Vorstellung, daß es in der deutschen Folklore unterschiedliche Arten von "Teufeln" gibt, und daß die "Graßteufel" die schnellsten von ihnen sind.

2026-08-30 05:24:59 UTC

Eine Frage an #Ebike Fahrer:
Wir sind gestern mit einem Linienbus von ca. 200 Meter Höhe auf ca. 1500 Meter Höhe gefahren. (Der Berg im Westen/Südwesten von Trient) Und unterwegs sind wir an einigen Radfahrern vorbeikommen.
Mein Vater hat sich skeptisch geäußert, daß man mit einem vollen Ebike-Akku auf so einen hohen Berg rauf kommt bevor er alle ist.
Da ich selber keine praktische Ebike-Erfahrung habe, wollte ich Euch mal fragen, wie Eure Einschätzung ist.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/46.0404/11.0718&layers=C

2026-08-29 18:41:59 UTC

Thought of the day:
We need more product testing teams consisting entirely of elderly people.

2026-08-29 07:34:25 UTC

One of my pet peeves about #ttrpg fandom is when people say:
"This RPG product is too expensive!"
No. The RPG industry has tiny, tiny margins, and only a minuscule portion of RPG authors are able to make a living from this - and only barely so, at that. In that context, I find the notion that they are somehow "price-gouging" to be borderline offensive.
Saying:
"I cannot afford this!"
or
"I cannot justify the expense!"
is entirely fine, however - what an RPG product is really worth to a reader is very subjective, after all.

2026-08-28 11:03:18 UTC

The first to die of the plague in any given area will become a vampire, and feast on the other plague victims from his grave.
#PhantomsFriday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_One_Who_Dies_First_of_the_Plague_Devours_the_Others

2026-08-27 08:01:22 UTC

Don't mess with your wife's hair, especially if she explicitly asked you not to!
#Italy #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Salinges_in_the_W%C3%A4schfratten

2026-08-25 08:00:52 UTC

Children should know better than to trust the promises of adults.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #witch #witchcraft #hare
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Witch_on_Kohlstra%C3%9Fe_Road

2026-08-25 03:50:57 UTC

Update: One of the admins of this Facebook group apparently deleted all comments by myself and other authors who expressed criticism of this approach.
One admin of this group also posted assorted comments which were strongly in favor of AI translation, since "all the big publishing houses are doing this".
🤨
#amwriting #translation
#nevent1q…de79

2026-08-24 18:07:14 UTC

1/ I had my #CallOfCthulhu moment today in the Museo Castello del Buonconsiglio of #Trento .
The inscription describes this as a "winged eye", but I see this as an "Elder Thing".
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/151/803/853/135/992/original/c2574b68fbbb7e56.jpg

2026-08-24 17:43:42 UTC

I feel triggered.
#amwriting #translation
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/117/151/718/376/413/836/original/acadaff23b603df3.jpg

2026-08-22 12:12:44 UTC

Is it just me, or does #DnD and its variants have a real shortage of sleep paralysis demons despite their prevalence in #folklore ?
Both the "nightmare" and the "night hag" of D&D are _very_ different from their folkloric roots.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_hag

2026-08-22 09:11:50 UTC

#TTRPG #worldbuilding thought: How do religious institutions in your setting finance themselves?
The most common answers seem to be "donations" and "tithes or taxes", because that's what most people today know. But looking at German history, quite a few monasteries actually specialized in some kind of trade. Brewing beer was popular, as was cultivating wine. And some even developed expertise in mining and construction, and hired themselves out as consultants!
So, what else might your temples, churches, monasteries or whatever do in order to generate some extra income?
#religion

2026-08-22 07:00:02 UTC

Wie üblich: Jedesmal, wenn die #Grünen nicht in einer Regierung sind, gibt es massive Rückschritte beim #Klimaschutz .
#Hessen
https://www.fr.de/rhein-main/landespolitik/reform-des-klimagesetzes-hessen-weicht-den-klimaschutz-auf-94454388.html

2026-08-21 17:43:30 UTC

A question for #Histodon :
I am currently translating a folk tale which involves a woman who has traveled in a coach for "six hundred hours" (I am assuming that this is pure travel time, leaving out breaks) in order to reach her husband in southern Hesse.
So now I am curious: What kind of distance might this represent, given #travel speeds in the mid-17th century when this incident allegedly took place?
#history #folktale #folklore
https://archive.org/details/hessischesagen01wolfgoog/page/n79/mode/2up

2026-08-20 12:02:26 UTC

2026-08-20 00:01:07 UTC

Whenever the Devil tries to rearrange the landscape, he is inevitably thwarted by some cockerel crowing before he can finish.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Devil_and_the_Wildenloh_Hill

2026-08-19 13:15:02 UTC

The more I think about it, my ideal implementation of German #folklore as a #ttrpg setting would be the aftermath of an "Alternate History" version of the Thirty Years' War.
During the war the setting would be too "GrimmDark", and there are too many other setting like that already. While I do not object to Grimness as such, I want to leave opportunities for the lighter and more humoristic parts of German folklore.
On the other hand, the aftermath of the war _does_ have plenty of devastation, chaos, and ruin - which is a perfect environment for roving adventurers (and they would hardly be the only ones).
And while any historical setting with magic and supernatural creatures is "alternate history" by default, I would lean into this to explain why magic is more common and accepted - perhaps all sides were willing to use magic in warfare, which made rulers more willing to accept magic-users as long as they did not get uppity. This could also be an opportunity to give marginalized groups more social acceptance in order to make them more viable as player characters.
Still, there would be a lot of worldbuilding required. Not just to bring the historical aspects alive - almost all German folk tales are one-off stories with little regard for "long-term continuity". There must be something to do for player characters that keeps them occupied session after session, adventure after adventure - a framework that supports entire campaigns.
What are your thoughts?

2026-08-18 08:00:59 UTC

The forest women of Schluderns like to abduct people and turn them into their slaves.
#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Forest_Women

2026-08-17 13:00:42 UTC

"The fiddlers were only woken by the chill air of morning. They were still lying on the same spot, but instead of thick cushions they were sitting on bleached horses’ skulls, and instead of the silver cups over which they had nodded off, they held long, hollow horses’ bones in their hands."
#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Witches%27_Ball_of_Osenau

2026-08-17 08:00:55 UTC

The one-legged dwarves are generally regarded to be the fastest sprinters among their people.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #dwarf
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Subterraneans_near_Zahren

2026-08-16 03:06:12 UTC

TL:DR: Rich people have money for long-term investments, non-rich people must focus on immediate needs - no matter how this article wants to phrase this as "habits".
And even if non-rich people end up with some money eventually, past financial trauma might keep them from investing it in favor of having a large emergency fund. Not that I am speaking from experience or anything...
#investing
https://www.newtraderu.com/2026/08/15/10-habits-of-upper-class-people-vs-working-class-people-based-on-financial-literacy/

2026-08-12 10:51:00 UTC

@nprofile…ugpy 's essay on how algorithmically enforced homogenity harms is all is yet another reason why I prefer it on the #Fediverse : There is no algorithm that pushes the "safe" choices upon me in order to sell me things.
https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/12/insurance-value-of-biodiversity/

2026-08-12 04:12:19 UTC

It never ceases to fascinate me that, in some folk tales, "Venetians" are treated as entities similar to dwarves and other sprits.
#folklore
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_0iYWAAAAYAAJ/page/418/mode/2up

2026-08-10 07:38:59 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…a4nd
Müsste ich mich schlau machen. Ich war bei dieser Aktion hauptsächlich auf der Schiene "was sind die wissenschaftlichen Fakten"? unterwegs.

2026-08-10 07:15:25 UTC

In #Oldenburg sind bald #Kommunalwahlen .
Und da wir #Grünen natürlich über den #Klimawandel reden wollen, haben wir uns diesmal was ausgedacht: Wir haben historische Wetterdaten aus dem #ERA5 - Datensatz _für Oldenburg ausgewertet, und die grafisch dargestellt.
Wir dachten uns, daß "globaler Klimawandel" etwas abstrakt ist, aber wenn man sieht, wie sich das Klima hier am eigenen Ort verändert haben, dann nimmt man das vieleicht eher als relevant war.
Und Temperaturdaten sind nur eine Möglichkeit von vielen - da gibt es Daten zu Niederschlägen, Windgeschwindigkeit, Bodenfeuchtigkeit, und viel mehr. Ich denke, andere Ortsgruppen der Grünen könnten vielleicht auch etwas mit diesen Daten machen.
Was meint ihr?
#Wahlkampf
https://www.gruene-oldenburg.de/wahlen/klimazukunft/

2026-08-10 04:56:53 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub – 9th Aug. What’s a subject you’d like to write about, but haven’t yet?
...let me check my list.
I am fairly confident that I could find enough material for books(*) on the following topics, which I have barely started to cover in my translations:
- City-themed folk tales
- Divine Judgment in all its forms
- Churches in folk tales
- A separate book on monasteries
- Castle-based folk tales
- Evil nobles (with parallels to our modern, moneyed would-be aristocrats)
- Omens and Prophesies (possibly to be split up into separate books)
- Saints and miracles
- Springs, rivers, lakes (separate from a book on water spirits)
- Fortean weirdness (like omens, but even stranger)
- Crime and punishment
- Bandits and outlaws
- War-themed folk tales
- A separate book on the Thirty Years' War (with a special focus on those Evil Swedes!)
- Paganism in German folk tales
- Folk tales about children (which doesn't necessarily mean _for_ children...)
- Graveyards and burial
- Plant folklore
- Curses
- Otherworlds
- Tricksters and Fools
And to emphasize, these are the topics I am confident I could find enough material to write a book about _right_ now - and I have only surveyed a fraction of all German folk tales in the public domain. I am sure that there will be more topics in the future.
Though I am curious - which of these topics is of particular interest to you?
(*) I.e. at least 100 tales to fill an entire collection.
#amwriting

2026-08-09 16:02:17 UTC

Sunday Children can see invisible spirits - even when they desperately wish that they didn't.
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/How_People_Can_See_Spirits

2026-08-07 13:02:53 UTC

Modern vampire lore will tell you that you should use a stake to dispatch of a vampire.
But German folklore tells us that a peat spade will do in a pinch.
#PhantomsFriday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Unh%C3%AEr_in_Trzebiatkow

2026-08-07 11:01:24 UTC

The phantoms of the night are willing to teach others their music - under the right conditions.
#PhantomsFriday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Mouth_Harp_Player

2026-08-07 04:00:14 UTC

1/ #PSA for #writers : There is a new kind of #spam making the rounds on the #Fediverse.
Mention anywhere that you are working on a book, and these people will slide into your replies, feigning interest into your work while offering beta reading and editing services.
Report them.
#amwriting

2026-08-06 09:13:40 UTC

Question: In your opinion, which industries are _least_ affected by the #AIBubble ?

2026-08-06 04:13:11 UTC

#Bluesky is overrun by hustlers.
As soon as you mention that you are working on a book, you will be swarmed by very generic (possibly #LLM -generated) posts by people selling beta reading, editing, and illustration services who haven't done any research about your genre.
#amwriting

2026-08-05 17:02:50 UTC

The "Shower Maidens" are vengeful spirits who destroyed the harvests of farmers whose ancestors let them starve.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Shower_Maidens

2026-08-03 12:02:13 UTC

You've read the tales, now get the books!
#Germany #folktale #folklore #book
https://sunkencastles.com/the-books/

2026-08-01 04:14:40 UTC

In other news, #AIScrapers are hammering my poor wiki again - last night, there were more than 36000 (!) "RecentChanges" request within the span of an hour, leading to an extended outage. 😡
The #AIBubble cannot collapse soon enough.

2026-07-29 17:01:02 UTC

Goats, too, were once megafauna roaming the Earth.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Giant_Goat_on_the_Hoher_Bogen

2026-07-29 12:01:06 UTC

A strange black cow haunts a stream near Obermodern.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Black_Cow

2026-07-28 16:02:50 UTC

In life, a tone-deaf nun.
In death, an avian companion to the Wild Huntsman!
#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory #bird #owl #WildHunt
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Hooting_Ursel

2026-07-28 13:45:13 UTC

Despite my better judgment, I have started another playthrough of #ElderScrolls III: #Morrowind .
It's been surprisingly fun, so far, despite the dated graphics and game engine. The only non-fun part was the slow walking speed, but now I have commissioned two magical items that drastically increase Fatigue recovery, and that helps a lot.
One big question I have yet to tackle is which of the Great Houses I should join. Traditionally I have been inclined towards House Telvanni. However, I've picked The Atronach as a birthsign, and while my Magicka pool is huge, I can't do much spellcasting until I get to a point when I can get Restore Magicka potions for cheap.
Which is going to be a problem when it comes to advancing in the most magically-inclined house. I mean, at least the Mages' Guild has Alchemy as a favored skill...
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/116/997/868/960/266/265/original/e678fbb00180b953.jpg

2026-07-28 13:31:19 UTC

I wonder if a "folk tale collection" for #dnd / #pathfinder would sell.
I.e. a collection of "folk tales" set in a fantasy world which would revolve around assorted supernatural creatures or phenomena that appear in such a setting.

2026-07-28 08:01:16 UTC

It comes, at night, on fluttering wings.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #chicken
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Alp_as_a_Hen

2026-07-27 04:19:23 UTC

Remember, kids:
In proper scientific terms, an attempt to explain observable phenomena is called a "hypothesis".
It is called a "theory" when it fits all the observable facts, and there is no observable evidence to the contrary. We don't call it a "truth" because there's always a chance that it might be overturned by later evidence - but as far as science is concerned, a "theory" is as hard as it gets.
This is often confusing to people who dismiss science they don't like as "it's just a theory". But this distinction should be kept in mind when discussing things like the "Theory of Evolution", "Theory of Relativity", "Global Warming Theory", and "Dead Internet Theory".
#PSA #Evolution #GlobalWarming #DeadInternetTheory #Science #Theory

2026-07-26 08:00:37 UTC

The Infernal Tome of Doctor Faust teaches how to summon spirits, and even the Devil himself.
However, once acquired, it is hard to get rid of.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #Devil #magic
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Infernal_Tome_of_Doctor_Faust

2026-07-24 04:06:44 UTC

I hate #AIScrapers _so_ much.
https://stephenfollows.com/p/what-just-happened-to-thenumberscom-should-worry-us-all

2026-07-22 12:08:06 UTC

#Phantastikprompts 22.7.
Was hältst du von KI beim Schreiben? Nützlicher Helfer oder Teufelszeug?
Wenig. Ich have meine Gedanken zu diesem Thema in diesem Blog-Beitrag ausgeführt.
https://sunkencastles.com/2026/04/20/1101/

2026-07-22 12:00:33 UTC

Arminius, the Cheruscan chieftain who won the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest against the Romans, sleeps beneath a hill near Bad Pyrmont.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Greatest_Treasure

2026-07-22 11:00:35 UTC

Widukind - the Saxon foe of Charlemagne - sleeps beneath a hill near the town of Lübbecke.
#WyrdWednesday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Weking_in_the_Babilonie_Hill

2026-07-22 08:01:16 UTC

Blessings for good deeds can be freely transferred to departed souls to ease up their turmoil in purgatory.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/God%27s_Reward

2026-07-20 17:02:12 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…wdzu
It's not _just_ the "economics of publishing.
I have ideas for at least 40 more books, and I'd like to finish as many of them as possible before I am no longer able to write them.

2026-07-20 16:02:38 UTC

The Night Hunter lurks in the forests near Schreiberhau.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #WildHunt
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Night_Hunter_in_the_Night_Hunter%27s_Hole

2026-07-20 07:36:59 UTC

I am currently proofreading the manuscript for my third book.
Due to various reasons, I haven't looked at it for more than two years. On the one hand, this is deeply unsatisfying for my publishing speed.
On the other hand, leaving the manuscript alone for so long has permitted my to view it with fresh eyes, and as a result I am finding something to improve with each and every one of the 100 tales in this book.
So maybe it _is_ a good idea to take long breaks in the major milestones of the "assemble manuscript -> alpha reader stage -> beta reader stage" process.
But in order to increase my publishing speed, maybe I should work on several books in parallel. That is to say, when I have put any given manuscript through the alpha reader stage, I should start assembling the _next_ volume before moving on to the beta reader stage with the first manuscript.
Does any other author out here work on multiple books in parallel?
#amwriting

2026-07-16 16:02:31 UTC

Is suddenly falling asleep a simple case of narcolepsy - or something more sinister?
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Unfortunate_Walrider

2026-07-16 08:53:29 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 16 July: What's a trope you'd like to see subverted?
People who get to be protagonists due to a "special bloodline", _especially_ if it comes with magical powers.
This trope annoys the hell out of me in many modern fantasy narratives - you don't get to be special because of what you do, but because of who your parents are.

2026-07-15 16:02:43 UTC

Many ghosts are bound to treasures, and can only be freed once the entire treasure is lifted.
However, this task usually comes with its own hazards.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Glowing_Man_at_the_Zehntscheune

2026-07-13 06:37:33 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub July 13: In what ways do you play with the limits of the genre in which you work?
A lot of folklore writers tend to focus on the "hidden meanings" and "secret truths" of folk tales and so forth.
But while these things _are_ worth analyzing, I also want to emphasize something else: These were people who made up stories in order to entertain themselves on long winter evenings. As a #ttrpg player, this is something I can deeply relate to.
And while the tales reveal a lot about their specific cultural context, their mindset was not all that different from modern day amateur storytellers.

2026-07-12 17:04:30 UTC

Can someone identify this #bird for me?
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/116/908/059/284/117/349/original/ec33106bbd0d84eb.png