Neal Litherland
Bio
Neal Litherland is an author, freelance blogger, and RPG designer. A regular on the Chicago convention circuit, he works in a variety of genres.
Blog: Improved Initiative and The Literary Mercenary
Stories (338)
Filter by community
5 True Facts About Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis is one of the most easily recognized actors in American films today. From roles in huge successes like Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and M. Night Shymalan's The Sixth Sense, to movies that his fans would rather forget like Hudson Hawk, Willis has carved out a niche for himself in Hollywood history. However, there are a lot of little moments that movie buffs and celebrity trivia fans alike might find interesting about how Willis got to where he is today. These are some of those.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Geeks
How To Build Luke Cage in The Pathfinder RPG
Carl Lucas, the man who would one day be known as Luke Cage, was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. While in Seagate prison he was nearly consumed by rage, fighting constantly with his fellow inmates. When he became the subject of an unusual experiment, though, he gained superhuman strength, and skin as tough as steel. With these abilities at his command, he tried to better himself, and to clear his name. If you want to bring this kind of character to your Pathfinder game, then this guide should help you get started.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
5 (Specific) Tips For Increasing Your Vocal Reads Using Social Media
One of the more commonly asked questions by Vocal creators is how to use social media to increase your readership, and to drive up your overall reads per day. And while there's a lot of very general advice out there that talks about making your titles pop, or how you need to get images that make people stop scrolling, that isn't very actionable.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Resources
How To Build Guts (From "Berserk") in The Pathfinder RPG
Berserk, as both a manga and an anime series, is a dark, brooding, brutal journey. While it has light hearted moments, they only succeed in rendering the darker parts of the story into pitch black pools. The protagonist of this series is Guts, a hulking warrior with a mysterious, violent past, and an indomitable spirit that pushes him through any and all obstacles. From abuse that should have crippled him, to betrayal at the hands of his closest friend, nothing will stop him from achieving his goals. If you want to try and re-create Guts, this guide will help you bring the Black Swordsman era of the character to your Pathfinder table.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
How To Take a Punch (3 Tips)
Whenever you watch an action hero on the silver screen, the camera tends to focus on them winning fights. In fact, between expert technique, a rock hard physique, and an iron jaw there's no possibility the hero could ever lose; foes fall with broken faces and shattered spirits under the hammer blows of their fists, but when the bad guys get a solid blow in the hero just keeps on coming. On the one hand this could be blatant abuse of main character powers... on the other hand it's entirely possible that our lead has simply learned the most important skill any fighter needs to have in his or her arsenal.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Unbalanced
How To Build Will Simpson (From "Jessica Jones") in The Pathfinder RPG
Will Simpson is a simple man; deep down, all he wants to be is a hero. Unfortunately, his willingness to do anything to achieve his goals twists what would otherwise be a noble, even heroic, soul into a caricature of heroism. A secondary character in Marvel's Jessica Jones series, Will is something of a a combination of two older characters named Nuke and U.S. Agent. Both of these characters attempted to be the Captain America a modern U.S. needed, but their flaws were magnified rather than erased by their power. Capable of great deeds, they did terrible things just as often as they accomplished heroic feats. If you're looking for a starter guide to bring this sort of character to your table, here's a place to get you started.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
5 True Facts About Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is famous for playing a wide variety of roles since his acting career began in the mid-1980s. While sometimes ridiculed for the sheer number of direct-to-DVD movies he's starred in, his career saw a major resurgence with the films The Expendables and its sequel The Expendables 2. The character Lundgren plays in these films, Gunnar Jensen, really takes center stage in the sequel where he displays his vast knowledge of physics, his hand-to-hand combat prowess, advanced understanding of chemistry, and even talks about his time as a bodyguard for a beautiful, famous actress. Fortunately for Lundgren, he was just playing himself at that point.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Geeks
How To Build The Winter Soldier in The Pathfinder RPG
The Winter Soldier is an old spook story in the world of international espionage. A vicious killer who comes out of the shadows, destroys his target, and then vanishes without a trace. The man behind the mystique is, of course, Sergeant James Barnes. Captured by the enemy, and experimented on during the reign of the Nazis, Bucky fell back into the hands of Hydra's Soviet branch after the war was over. His mind and body were altered, turning him into a brainwashed, cybernetic killing machine who, when he wasn't in the field, was kept in suspended animation as little more than a weapon in cold storage. If that's the sort of character you'd like to bring to your Pathfinder table, then this handy guide should get you started.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
How To Build Sandor "The Hound" Clegane in The Pathfinder RPG
Sandor Clegane, known as The Hound, is perhaps one of the most vicious and canny fighters in the Seven Kingdoms. A brutal man whose love of killing is the only thing more well-known than his horrendous burn scar, Sandor is much more complicated than he appears to casual observers. If you'd like to bring the combination of brawn and brutality that the younger Clegane has to offer to your Pathfinder table, then this guide is a good place to get started.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
5 True Facts About Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man who has reached iconic status throughout the world. His films whether good, bad, or ugly have made him an actor with multiple generations of fans. Many people know his film personas, but a number of Arnold's fans may not know some of the little things that went into making him the man he is today. Here are 5 of the more interesting facts.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Geeks
How To Build Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in The Pathfinder RPG
Gregor Clegane is a man of many names. Called The Mountain That Rides, as well as Tywin Lannister's Mad Dog, he is one of the most dangerous warriors in Westeros. Freakishly big and inhumanly strong, Ser Gregor has murdered countless men in combat, as well as untold numbers of women, children, and civilians simply because he felt like it. The mailed fist of the Lannisters, the elder Clegane is a force to be reckoned with. For those who want to recreate the brutal might of this monstrous villain, this guide should help you build this hard-hitting black knight in all his infamy.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Gamers
How To Put Someone in The Guillotine Chokehold
Every guy out there wants to learn how to fight. It's why we shell out huge amounts of cash for martial arts lessons, read up on combat strategies from around the world, and watch professionals in the ring. What we're hoping is that we'll learn the secret that'll turn us into a Hollywood-style action star. The unfortunate reality of fights that take place off the silver screen, though, is that 9 times out of 10 they go to the ground. So it doesn't really matter if you've mastered the spinning butteryfly scissor kick if you have no ground game. Fortunately, grappling is just another martial art, and one of the simplest holds you can put an opponent in is called the Guillotine. Sounds fearsome huh? Well, it's also relatively simple to do.
By Neal Litherland6 years ago in Unbalanced
