I don't belong to Wordpress, which I'm sure some would find near blasphemous, and what the less dramatic would simply dub "limiting myself." Both are probably correct. It is such limitation that keeps me from commenting on others' blogs. And I do like to comment because we bloggers thrive on feedback.
But I ramble. My point is that I came across this little beauty through RPGBA (at right) and figured that sharing on my rarely used Facebook wasn't enough. I wanted to link to it here as well.
Game Music Library. It's quite the suggested playlist of tracks to punch up a gaming experience.
I usually write and worldbuild to music. Mostly I use Grooveshark if I want a particular artist or song, but if just want something backgroundy along the lines of such-and-such genre, I'll turn on Pandora.
But the author of this playlist is right about the music needing to fit the moment/scene. There have been lots of times that I'll be writing sometime sad and tragic to a woeful Irish ballad...and then it jumps to lively fiddle and flute and suddenly I want to forget my trouble and kick up my heels in a field of heather.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Generation One: Children of Mars - Kickstarter 1
I've backed a few Kickstarters in my day. I'd love to back more money for more projects, I simply can't afford to. Maybe someday...
It's not for completely selfless reasons, although I have given $5 here or there and not asked for any rewards. Mostly I do it because I like to promote and support art, and hopefully generate some good KS karma for when some friends and I upload our own project in search of backers.
It is with this want to contribute toward future contribution that I present this
Generation One: Children of Mars Kickstarter
From here on I will make it a point to post any backings.
It's not for completely selfless reasons, although I have given $5 here or there and not asked for any rewards. Mostly I do it because I like to promote and support art, and hopefully generate some good KS karma for when some friends and I upload our own project in search of backers.
It is with this want to contribute toward future contribution that I present this
Generation One: Children of Mars Kickstarter
From here on I will make it a point to post any backings.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Are You A "Real" Writer?
By lurking around Myke Cole's blog I found Chuck Wendig's blog. And here's what he has to say.
Are You A "Real" Writer?
I guess that settles it.
Are You A "Real" Writer?
I guess that settles it.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
By the Gods
Let us consider how in the real world there are various names and
faiths in "modern" monotheism alone. Biblical culture can't agree on
what to call God or which version of [basically] the same tale is "the truth."
If we wind the clock back to pre-Roman polytheistic cultures from the cold north, to the rainy isles, to the balmy ocean, all had a smattering of gods over varied realms/domains.
Then the Romans adopted Greek gods and changed their names. Then they took them to the 'barbaric' world where they intertwined with Norse and Celtic deities. And then when Christianity was introduced to the heathen pagans, myths were adopted and adapted that further jumbled everything up to and including modern holidays and names of the days of the week.
Now keep in mind, that's just among real world humans whose only concrete, scientific separation is geography. Religious wars are some of the bloodiest, darkest moments in human history. It's not like they're elves and dwarves and goblins arguing theology over a cup o' tea.
So when crafting your own gods and religions for stories and games, where should you begin?
Some might say "at the beginning". Seems logical enough. But that's a big bite to try to take on a whim. How did this all start? When? How long before the present? How is it that the creation myth is known and passed on?
Another issue is that you're trying to compartmentalize...well EVERYTHING! That's, like, a lot. Maybe you don't work in such a linear pattern. If your noggin is anything like mine, it spits out what it wants, when it wants. I can't say "ok brain, gimme a Genesis." I've had more mythos and parts of godly personalities spring to mind at random than I could effectively summarize for blogging purposes. Go with your gut. Relax. Don't try to push it just to make something. That's a sure fire way to get a doosie of an imagination hemorrhoid. Ew.
Maybe these will ease your discomfort and help get the juices flowing in an organized and easily digestible manner:
Sarah Snyder's tips on creating pantheons and religions
Michael James Liljenberg's Genesis How To
If we wind the clock back to pre-Roman polytheistic cultures from the cold north, to the rainy isles, to the balmy ocean, all had a smattering of gods over varied realms/domains.
Then the Romans adopted Greek gods and changed their names. Then they took them to the 'barbaric' world where they intertwined with Norse and Celtic deities. And then when Christianity was introduced to the heathen pagans, myths were adopted and adapted that further jumbled everything up to and including modern holidays and names of the days of the week.
Now keep in mind, that's just among real world humans whose only concrete, scientific separation is geography. Religious wars are some of the bloodiest, darkest moments in human history. It's not like they're elves and dwarves and goblins arguing theology over a cup o' tea.
So when crafting your own gods and religions for stories and games, where should you begin?
Some might say "at the beginning". Seems logical enough. But that's a big bite to try to take on a whim. How did this all start? When? How long before the present? How is it that the creation myth is known and passed on?
Another issue is that you're trying to compartmentalize...well EVERYTHING! That's, like, a lot. Maybe you don't work in such a linear pattern. If your noggin is anything like mine, it spits out what it wants, when it wants. I can't say "ok brain, gimme a Genesis." I've had more mythos and parts of godly personalities spring to mind at random than I could effectively summarize for blogging purposes. Go with your gut. Relax. Don't try to push it just to make something. That's a sure fire way to get a doosie of an imagination hemorrhoid. Ew.
Maybe these will ease your discomfort and help get the juices flowing in an organized and easily digestible manner:
Sarah Snyder's tips on creating pantheons and religions
Michael James Liljenberg's Genesis How To
Monday, July 29, 2013
The Face is the Place
This post was inspired by this post on The Bookshelf Muse
I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do this when I did my character building post back in January.
One of the things that drives me nuts when reading is to not be able to picture the characters.What I do to resolve this is Google the character's name and see which actors/actresses other people have suggested. Once I have that person's face in mind it makes reading much easier and more enjoyable.
When reading fantasy series (which are known for being long and crowded) like Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, or Lord of the Rings, you really need to be able to distinguish the characters from each other. I think this is why the LOTR movies are such favorites of mine - top quality actors who totally look the part. Can you imagine how much different it would have been if Stuart Townsend was Aragorn instead of Viggo Mortensen? I could see him (Stuart) more as an elf.
To give a visual example of what I mean; one day I was dorking around with heromachine and created an old ranger.
He looked so familiar and I couldn't place why.....
Apparently I had Jeff Bridges in the back of my mind.
I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do this when I did my character building post back in January.
One of the things that drives me nuts when reading is to not be able to picture the characters.What I do to resolve this is Google the character's name and see which actors/actresses other people have suggested. Once I have that person's face in mind it makes reading much easier and more enjoyable.
When reading fantasy series (which are known for being long and crowded) like Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, or Lord of the Rings, you really need to be able to distinguish the characters from each other. I think this is why the LOTR movies are such favorites of mine - top quality actors who totally look the part. Can you imagine how much different it would have been if Stuart Townsend was Aragorn instead of Viggo Mortensen? I could see him (Stuart) more as an elf.
To give a visual example of what I mean; one day I was dorking around with heromachine and created an old ranger.
He looked so familiar and I couldn't place why.....
Apparently I had Jeff Bridges in the back of my mind.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
NPC Personality and Physical Traits
Here's some awesomes I came across over on Hack & Slash.
NPC physical and personality traits.
I already ordered my copy and received notice that it shipped Monday. I expect it any day now.
Just to give an idea of some combinations you can come up with (and I swear I plan for the alliteration of these)
Stuttering Sell Out - the party meets a stammering stranger who has just betrayed a neighboring country. Perhaps he's an awkward homeless child who witnessed something he shouldn't have and now the party must protect him until he can spit out the secret to the right people.
Frustrated Fence - a vendor of stolen goods has recently been stolen from. He hires the party to track down the thieves, but refuses to give them many details about the missing item. Maybe another circle of thieves is behind, or it could be that the rightful owner simply reclaimed what is theirs.
Handsome Hypochondriac - the group meets a wo/man who is very easy on the eyes, but they are sure they are just as diseasey. The twist could be that they are actually afflicted because a jealous, ugly witch has cursed them with failing health. You must find the spellcaster and reverse it.
Vexed Veteran - a one-eyed ex-military man who lusts for a life of adventure. But because he's lost an eye and he's old, no one wants to hire him out of the hum-drum of his daily life. He figures he can't reverse his aging - or can he?- but he can at least get his eyeball back. He offers to pay the adventurers to take him with them to either find a fountain of youth he heard about while soldiering, or to track down the villain that took out his eye and now keeps it preserved in a glass jar. The object could be hidden away, or in plain sight, but always on the bad guy's person.
Repetitive Rain Man Rembrandt Riddles - an artistic autistic knows a valuable secret and the party has to some how coax it out of him. He will repeat a certain phrase or seemingly nonsensical clues over and over. He also paints the hints into amazingly beautiful artwork. A fun way to play this would be that the artist is very lucid while painting, but is so focused on the piece that it's hard to get him to talk at all. He paints the answers to questions as symbols in the artwork. Pick a Rembrandt painting, or paintings, and write the story around clues/focal points of the piece or series. Or the first letters of the phrase he keeps repeating are an acronym that is the answer, or the keyword that unlocks him to tell the complete secret.
Bad Blooded Brit - a man has had his human blood drained and replaced with some kind of alien fluid. There are multiple side effects including impaired thoughts, hallucinations of being chased by monsters, and violent outbursts. The most noticeable features are sallow skin, haunted eyes, and rotting teeth. By the end of the adventure he is near death and vomiting a black, tarry substance. The party can drive the man away fearing he's possessed. They can help him find a magical cure. Or they can simply do the humane thing and kill him, but can they live with that? Should they keep him alive under quarantine for study in case whatever it is might be catching?
Ferret and Fidget - a junkie with a monkey on his back and a pet ferret. This potion/weed addict is going through serious withdrawals and becoming more and more desperate to slake his habit. He swears to the party that he knows of treasure and will greatly reward them if they will help him find a fix. But perhaps your group has already been tasked with eliminating the foul smugglers that have strung out and poisoned whole villages. They must use this illin' villain to get close to his dealer and eliminate him. When the junkie realizes they are not interested in helping him, in fact they want to stop his supply permanently, he flees and attempts to sabotage their efforts. The true victim in all this is the poor ferret. He's having a hard time too.
Bulbous Boar or Nosy Newt - rumors have spread of a man with an unusually large nose who mysterious emerged from the wilds/woods/swamp and has been warning townsfolk to avoid the maniacal sorcerer that has taken up residence in a tower nearby. As if his rantings weren't unnerving enough, livestock has been disappearing, strangers have been seen wandering about, and the tortured cries of animals and screams of men have been drifting on the night winds. This evil wizard, known as Dauktor Morose, has somehow been morphing animals into humans. Some victims think they are suffering from amnesia since they can recall nothing previous to their awaking as humans. Others only look human, but have no powers of speech and dreadful, primitive behavior. The particular man named either Borus or Noot, knows full well what has happened to him, but wants to remain a human for as long as possible. Once the party deduces his true form they can either adopt this would-be follower, or return him to the tower for retransmogrification. Obviously he objects to this later option. He can both hinder and help the group with his bumbling and natural talents.
NPC physical and personality traits.
I already ordered my copy and received notice that it shipped Monday. I expect it any day now.
Just to give an idea of some combinations you can come up with (and I swear I plan for the alliteration of these)
Stuttering Sell Out - the party meets a stammering stranger who has just betrayed a neighboring country. Perhaps he's an awkward homeless child who witnessed something he shouldn't have and now the party must protect him until he can spit out the secret to the right people.
Frustrated Fence - a vendor of stolen goods has recently been stolen from. He hires the party to track down the thieves, but refuses to give them many details about the missing item. Maybe another circle of thieves is behind, or it could be that the rightful owner simply reclaimed what is theirs.
Handsome Hypochondriac - the group meets a wo/man who is very easy on the eyes, but they are sure they are just as diseasey. The twist could be that they are actually afflicted because a jealous, ugly witch has cursed them with failing health. You must find the spellcaster and reverse it.
Vexed Veteran - a one-eyed ex-military man who lusts for a life of adventure. But because he's lost an eye and he's old, no one wants to hire him out of the hum-drum of his daily life. He figures he can't reverse his aging - or can he?- but he can at least get his eyeball back. He offers to pay the adventurers to take him with them to either find a fountain of youth he heard about while soldiering, or to track down the villain that took out his eye and now keeps it preserved in a glass jar. The object could be hidden away, or in plain sight, but always on the bad guy's person.
Repetitive Rain Man Rembrandt Riddles - an artistic autistic knows a valuable secret and the party has to some how coax it out of him. He will repeat a certain phrase or seemingly nonsensical clues over and over. He also paints the hints into amazingly beautiful artwork. A fun way to play this would be that the artist is very lucid while painting, but is so focused on the piece that it's hard to get him to talk at all. He paints the answers to questions as symbols in the artwork. Pick a Rembrandt painting, or paintings, and write the story around clues/focal points of the piece or series. Or the first letters of the phrase he keeps repeating are an acronym that is the answer, or the keyword that unlocks him to tell the complete secret.
Bad Blooded Brit - a man has had his human blood drained and replaced with some kind of alien fluid. There are multiple side effects including impaired thoughts, hallucinations of being chased by monsters, and violent outbursts. The most noticeable features are sallow skin, haunted eyes, and rotting teeth. By the end of the adventure he is near death and vomiting a black, tarry substance. The party can drive the man away fearing he's possessed. They can help him find a magical cure. Or they can simply do the humane thing and kill him, but can they live with that? Should they keep him alive under quarantine for study in case whatever it is might be catching?
Ferret and Fidget - a junkie with a monkey on his back and a pet ferret. This potion/weed addict is going through serious withdrawals and becoming more and more desperate to slake his habit. He swears to the party that he knows of treasure and will greatly reward them if they will help him find a fix. But perhaps your group has already been tasked with eliminating the foul smugglers that have strung out and poisoned whole villages. They must use this illin' villain to get close to his dealer and eliminate him. When the junkie realizes they are not interested in helping him, in fact they want to stop his supply permanently, he flees and attempts to sabotage their efforts. The true victim in all this is the poor ferret. He's having a hard time too.
Bulbous Boar or Nosy Newt - rumors have spread of a man with an unusually large nose who mysterious emerged from the wilds/woods/swamp and has been warning townsfolk to avoid the maniacal sorcerer that has taken up residence in a tower nearby. As if his rantings weren't unnerving enough, livestock has been disappearing, strangers have been seen wandering about, and the tortured cries of animals and screams of men have been drifting on the night winds. This evil wizard, known as Dauktor Morose, has somehow been morphing animals into humans. Some victims think they are suffering from amnesia since they can recall nothing previous to their awaking as humans. Others only look human, but have no powers of speech and dreadful, primitive behavior. The particular man named either Borus or Noot, knows full well what has happened to him, but wants to remain a human for as long as possible. Once the party deduces his true form they can either adopt this would-be follower, or return him to the tower for retransmogrification. Obviously he objects to this later option. He can both hinder and help the group with his bumbling and natural talents.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The Illusion of Reality
I recently found a broken link in my favorites and wanted to make sure I update the past post....but then I couldn't find it. Maybe I haven't shared this yet.
Terragen Gallery
There used to be a gallery 1 and 2, but they've since deleted the first and expanded the second.
They make for spectacular wallpapers! It would be even better if I could figure out how to run it as a slide show.
This is another bit of software I would love to learn, but seeing as how Campaign Cartographer gave me no end of fits, and I'm still struggling with Adobe CS4, I don't think I'll be churning out anything breathtaking anytime soon.
Terragen Gallery
There used to be a gallery 1 and 2, but they've since deleted the first and expanded the second.
They make for spectacular wallpapers! It would be even better if I could figure out how to run it as a slide show.
This is another bit of software I would love to learn, but seeing as how Campaign Cartographer gave me no end of fits, and I'm still struggling with Adobe CS4, I don't think I'll be churning out anything breathtaking anytime soon.
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