The Wonderful Wizard of Wellington
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The Wonderful Wizard of Wellington
@wellingtonskeleton.space
1.1K followers 590 following 3.1K posts
The Wellington Skellington (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Pākehā). He/him/ia. Biscuit Tin Enthusiast. Aotearoa New Zealand. ✅✅
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Mood
A manual telephone switchboard with a red label saying "Thank you for being gentle, I am nearly 100 years old!"
January 11, 2026 at 2:08 AM
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It is a lovely day in the village, and you are a resurrected goose (via Heirs of Merlin, Ars Magica 4th Edition)
Text reads: St Werburg and the Geese. A large flock of wild geese were feeding on St. Werburg’s wheat, destroying the harvest. She called her servants, and had the birds confined in a shed, as if they were domestic animals. The next morning she went to let them out, and noticed that one of them was missing. She asked the servants what had happened, and they told her that they had eaten it. “Bring me,” she said, “the feathers and bones of the bird that was eaten.” The remains were brought to her, and the saint took them, and commanded that they should be whole and live again. And it was done. St. Werburg turned to the geese, who were cheering at the return of their lost companion, that their kind were forbidden to enter that field, for all eternity. The geese departed safely, but the saint’s command is still observed, so that no geese enter that field to this day. — From Henry of Huntingdon’s Historia Anglorum
January 9, 2026 at 9:51 PM
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The nice thing about doing this is that it helped me understand what the game will actually look like in play, which is one of those things that's often trickier to work out than you expect.
A heading that reads "Intended Game Wiz-Perience"
January 8, 2026 at 4:20 AM
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I bet my tabletop group are real excited that I'm unemployed so I have all the time I need to put together a 16-slide pitch deck for why they should let me run Magical Mediaeval Land-Owner Sim 2k26
A screenshot of a slideshow entitled "Why you should let Dave run Ars Magica"
January 8, 2026 at 2:02 AM
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One of my New Year's GRIFTs is to read all of Robert E Howard's Conan stories (it's part of the White Whales reading challenge I set for myself). And damn man, that's writing right there.
Text reads "‘Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars – Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.’"
January 6, 2026 at 9:18 AM
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The imminent release of Ars Magica definitive edition has me plotting and scheming and casting about for when/where I could set a game if I ever get it to the table. Then it struck me — I once wrote (1/4 of) a game set in 1221! Thank you Past Dave, enabling present Dave to be lazy once again.
Text reads "Introduction The Rose and the Dragon will consist of four interwoven games, all set on May Day in the Barony of Thamesly in England, 1221 AD. Our aim is to create a microcosm of medieval English society that players can stray into for one evening, to celebrate a festival to welcome the coming of summer in a bygone era. Each character will be written as part of one of the four games, but will also cross over with characters in the other three, and players will be able to move between the four venues freely. The result will be a huge immersive experience."
January 5, 2026 at 8:13 AM
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Welcome to scenic Tāmaki
An extremely rainy motorway
January 3, 2026 at 3:38 AM
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Levin's finest
A pie, with an excellently flakey crust, sits on a table in front of a bakery. A real estate sign with the text "House it going? Levin the dream." A quite fluffy sparrow.
January 2, 2026 at 10:39 PM
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Asked a friend for an NYE Tarot card pull to provide an omen for 2026. I am pleased with the outcome.
Dave, a smiling bearded man with glasses, holds up the Death card The Death card
December 31, 2025 at 1:05 PM
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Don't forget to leave your pork pie out for the Hogfather, lads.
A pork pie sits on a bookshelf of Terry Pratchett novels
December 31, 2025 at 8:25 AM
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I finished my replay this afternoon. A bluesky post can't do it justice, really. The "are games art?" debate was over a long time ago, but 1000xResist shows a game can be Capital-L Literature.
A screenshot from 1000xResist. An empty staircase is bathed in red and blue light.
December 29, 2025 at 8:52 AM
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We discovered a strange idol when digging through the undergrowth behind the shed in preparation for fence painting. It now lives as the guardian of our mint and basil. Surely this will be fine. I have never read an MR James story.
A small strange bird statue is nestled in a pot filled with mint and basil. There is a brick wall in the background.
December 28, 2025 at 12:43 AM
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So obviously this (which I'm now relistening to) is unparalleled, I'd be willing to shell out a good chunk of money in return for an Alex Horne version
The cover of Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as read by Terry Jones
December 27, 2025 at 1:30 AM
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Literally me
Paul Kidby's parody of American Gothic, featuring Bill Door and Miss Flitworth
December 26, 2025 at 11:58 PM
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Joyous day they're letting me use the power tools (photo taken just before swapping out the worn sanding pad for a new one)
A selfie of Dave, wearing a hat and a facemask, holding up a power sander.
December 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
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Christmas Day, in four pictures
A selfie of Dave, wearing a floral red shirt and a silverish brocade waistcoat A table spread for Christmas Dinner. On the table is ham, kūmara salad, couscous salad, roast squash, arancini, beef Wellington, and various spreads and mustards. A slightly rustic looking Christmas pudding that didn't turn out of the pudding basin very neatly. In the background is a bottle of whisky. Three bottles of red wine sit next to full decanters.
December 25, 2025 at 9:58 PM
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A very Hester Christmas
Hester Cat, a fluffy tabby, lies on the floor and stares up at a stocking filled with gifts for her. Hester Cat, a fluffy tabby, lies on the floor next to a Christmas stocking decorated with illustrations of cats. She is playing with a new toy. Hester Cat, a fluffy tabby, investigates a small Christmas stocking that contains salmon treats. Hester Cat, a fluffy tabby, stretched out asleep on my bed after a busy day of being a Christmas Cat.
December 25, 2025 at 9:44 PM
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Scenes that make me go "man I should write a LARP"
A screenshot from The Lion in Winter (1968). Henry II reclines and says "Oh God, but I do love being king"
December 25, 2025 at 6:41 AM
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T I S S T I L L T H E S E A S O N
The title card of The Lion in Winter (1968)
December 25, 2025 at 5:41 AM
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My Nana died this year, so this is my first Christmas with fewer than four grandparents. Estate matters are still being worked through, but we always knew she was leaving me the complete works of Charles Dickens, so I have those now. So, in memory of Nana Dee, I'm reading A Christmas Carol today.
Dave's hand holds a handsome copy of Christmas Books. By Charles Dickens. The title page of A Christmas Carol. Text reads "A Christmas Carol. In prose. Being a ghost story of Christmas."
December 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
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D A R K G R E E T I N G S
A page from The Glove of Darth Vader, showing the origin of the immortal phrase "I bid you all Dark Greetings" An illustrated dramatis personae of imperial characters from The Glove of Darth Vader. Including one fellow who's just Space Captain Ahab.
December 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM
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Well, @realwizardmartin.bsky.social has outdone himself once again. His [terrible/amazing] Christmas gift to me was a selection of the most dire novels the Star Wars Legends EU has to offer. And Dark Empire, which rules.
Dave, wearing a red floral shirt and bright orange pants, proudly holds up a copy of Shadows of the Empire: the Novel and Shadows of the Empire: the Soundtrack: the Record A page of Dark Empire, showing off a panel featuring a smiling Emperor Palpatine. The green lighting and dankness around the eyes make Sheev look high as a kite. For well over a decade now, we have referred to him as P Spliffy. A stack of Star Wars novels. Shadows of the Empire: the Novel stands next to the pile. Shadows of the Empire: the Game: the Nintendo 64 Cartridge sits atop the pile. In order from top to bottom, the books piled up are The Courtship of Princess Leia, The Crystal Star, Darksaber, Young Jedi Knights: The Lost Ones, The Glove of Darth Vader, and Dark Empire.
December 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
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Christmas Eve, in four pictures.
A can of beer (Lost Claus, featuring Santa stuck halfway down a chimney) sits in front of a Christmas Coat Rack A TV shows the title card for A Charlie Brown Christmas. The aforementioned Christmas Coat Rack is to the right side of the photo. A TV screen shows the title card for The Stalls of Barchester (1971) Hester Cat, fluffy tabby, sits under a piano stool looking pleased with her self.
December 24, 2025 at 9:18 AM
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Picked up a battered second hand copy of Hogfather from Arty Bee's the other day, so this year's annual seasonal re-read is happening in hard copy, which is nice. Though last year I went with the recent audiobook version, and that has its own charms.
Dave's hand holds up a copy of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.
December 24, 2025 at 3:16 AM
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A very Parliamentary (and apocryphal) Christ-tide to you all.
Text reads "A member of parliament, Thomas Massey-Massy, was introducing a motion to change the name of Christmas to Christ-tide, on the grounds that mass is a Catholic festival, inappropriate to a Protestant country. He was interrupted by a member opposite who asked him how he would like to be called 'Thotide Tidey-Tidey'. The bill was forgotten in the uproar."
December 24, 2025 at 2:07 AM