Neal Litherland

Up until the 1960s when you thought of Christian activists and protesters, certain images came to mind. Volunteers in soup kitchens trying to help the homeless, marchers asking for civil rights and women's suffrage, and if you went back even further, those who demanded humane treatment for society's outcasts, according to NPR. Before that, Christian activists were the men and women who deeply desired an end to slavery. After the 1970s, though, that tune changed. In the post-Vietnam era, Christian activists started staging more aggressive protests. They traded in, turning the other cheek for fire and brimstone, and with every generation the rhetoric grew more intractable, fearful, and hate-filled. This was the rise of the Christian Right, which has driven policies like opposition to civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, the restriction of abortion, and other attempts to combine their faith with the law of the land.

Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, is one of the most memorable politicians we've had in our history. Part of that has to do with his history of achievements in the White House, and how he shaped the very nature of the executive branch, and part of it is because his mug is on the $20 bill, which is the default for ATMs. However, if you've ever looked down at that scarred, sour face and wondered about that man, rest assured he was one of the most violent, vengeful, and balls-out homicidal men we've yet to elect to the office of the president. And, if you've been wondering how to bring that sort of crazed warrior-ruler combination to your game, here's a Pathfinder conversion guide to get you started.

Captain Jack Sparrow is probably the most famous fictional pirate seen in generations, pushing infamous figures like Captain Blood and Treasure Island's Captain Flint right out of the limelight. While the drunken antics and wild shenanigans of the crazed captain have become iconic to Johnny Depp's portfolio, fans have been asking for years whether a character that creative (and downright strange) could really be spun out of whole cloth.

Abraham Lincoln was many things; a statesman, a lawyer, a commander-in-chief, a father, and thus far the only President of the United States to fight a civil war. We all know Lincoln the great emancipator, and the president who was taken from a nation before his work was fully done. The man most of us don't know, because for some reason it isn't in our history books, is the bare-knuckle brawler with superhuman strength who cracked skulls and served booze long before he was ever a sitting member of the nation's government. For those of you who'd like to bring the younger, wild-eyed Abe to your table and carve a path to leadership and governance with careful words and a big damn ax, then this Pathfinder character build ought to get you started.

We've all been there. You're walking down the street when you hear a scream, and you see a gang of black clad men jump in a van before driving away from a burning building with the tires squealing. You run up to help, and the trapped Olympic women's volleyball team inside screams that all the doors are locked and they can't get out. Do you dig into your pocket, break out your phone and heroically call 911? Or do you kick in the door and save the day?

The blood of fiends and angels runs through many mortal veins on the material plane. These children of the outer realms are often regarded with fear and awe, their strange powers and unusual abilities marking out their heritage for all to see.