It's been a couple of weeks, but I needed a small break. I'm back with R. Talsorian's The Witcher RPG based on the video game based on the series of dark fantasy novels by Andrezej Sapkowski. This time around, it's time to create a Witcher, since that's what the game is named after. Again, I'm not familiar with the setting, only what I've read in the game. But, the game looks thorough.
So, tally ho!
29 Mar 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Previously:
The sight of the gate outside the Realm Below the Mountain through the steady rain lifted the spirits of the small group. After three days of rain, all five were eager to have a roof over thir heads. Jyslyn pulled her cloak tighter around her as she shivered. "I do not like this rain."
"It'll stop," Nyssa said.
"You promised me that yesterday morning."
"Once we're past the gate, the first thing we do is find an inn," Kazimier said. "No one likes being caught out in the rain, Jyslyn."
Wren shrugged. "I like it."
Lightning lit the sky. A sharp crack followed right after. Jyslyn had her grey rod out before the thunder finished rolling. "What was that?"
Previously:
A knife found, a villain revealed.Silver Trailings, outside the Realm Below the Mountain
The sight of the gate outside the Realm Below the Mountain through the steady rain lifted the spirits of the small group. After three days of rain, all five were eager to have a roof over thir heads. Jyslyn pulled her cloak tighter around her as she shivered. "I do not like this rain."
"It'll stop," Nyssa said.
"You promised me that yesterday morning."
"Once we're past the gate, the first thing we do is find an inn," Kazimier said. "No one likes being caught out in the rain, Jyslyn."
Wren shrugged. "I like it."
Lightning lit the sky. A sharp crack followed right after. Jyslyn had her grey rod out before the thunder finished rolling. "What was that?"
28 Mar 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Commentary 22
The plot grows deeper, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 22.
Wren got some time in the spotlight, finally. She was the last of the main characters to have screen time to show off her abilities. Wren is an Outrider, a scout for Wildwood's patrols to search ahead for any trouble brewing. Outnumbered six to one, Wren did what she was trained to do, gather information and return. Oh, and snipe. Wren is a sharpshooter with her bow. She's practiced, a lot, on the ground, on the move, and on a horse.
Jyslyn overreacted. She also overdid her spell. The rough rules of magic I was using at the time of writing meant that a wizard could channel as much mana as she wants, but to handle that much power going through her, she'd need to use such things as a focus, like a rod or want, and chanting to stand a chance of not burning out. Even then, Jyslyn found herself exhausted from casting her spell. If she had used a more direct spell, a bolt of magic directly on a goblin instead of moving the land itself to crush all five, she would be in better shape. However, since dark elves have some magic resistance, it's easier to cast a spell on the surroundings instead of directly at one.
Nyssa was ready to charge in if any goblin survived the spell. She wasn't sure what Jyslyn had in mind, but she has worked with other wizards in the past. The plan is simple - wait for the wizard to cast the spell, then charge at any survivors. If the fireball doesn't kill the enemy, the lance and horse hooves will. This time, there wasn't anyone to charge. The goblins that Jyslyn didn't get, Wren did.
The reason Jyslyn overdid her spell is because she suspected the goblins of working for her family. She mentioned it last chapter, and since they were mentioned, they needed to make an appearance. Checkov's horde and all that. I've already established that Jyslyn's sister uses goblins as spies back in Chapter 14. The catch here is that these goblins aren't looking for Jyslyn. That's far too much a coincidence at this point. Wren, though, has been paying attention to the plot.
The second interregnum came about because I had an idea of who my main villain was, but needed to work with her to get the details sorted in my head. Sessarine verifies for the reader that Wren is correct. She also demonstrates who and what she is for readers. Sessarine doesn't like failure. She'd probably get along with Jyslyn's eldest sister.
Friday, the Realm Under the Mountain, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 23.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, the evolution of TV viewing.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, hiatus week.
Wren got some time in the spotlight, finally. She was the last of the main characters to have screen time to show off her abilities. Wren is an Outrider, a scout for Wildwood's patrols to search ahead for any trouble brewing. Outnumbered six to one, Wren did what she was trained to do, gather information and return. Oh, and snipe. Wren is a sharpshooter with her bow. She's practiced, a lot, on the ground, on the move, and on a horse.
Jyslyn overreacted. She also overdid her spell. The rough rules of magic I was using at the time of writing meant that a wizard could channel as much mana as she wants, but to handle that much power going through her, she'd need to use such things as a focus, like a rod or want, and chanting to stand a chance of not burning out. Even then, Jyslyn found herself exhausted from casting her spell. If she had used a more direct spell, a bolt of magic directly on a goblin instead of moving the land itself to crush all five, she would be in better shape. However, since dark elves have some magic resistance, it's easier to cast a spell on the surroundings instead of directly at one.
Nyssa was ready to charge in if any goblin survived the spell. She wasn't sure what Jyslyn had in mind, but she has worked with other wizards in the past. The plan is simple - wait for the wizard to cast the spell, then charge at any survivors. If the fireball doesn't kill the enemy, the lance and horse hooves will. This time, there wasn't anyone to charge. The goblins that Jyslyn didn't get, Wren did.
The reason Jyslyn overdid her spell is because she suspected the goblins of working for her family. She mentioned it last chapter, and since they were mentioned, they needed to make an appearance. Checkov's horde and all that. I've already established that Jyslyn's sister uses goblins as spies back in Chapter 14. The catch here is that these goblins aren't looking for Jyslyn. That's far too much a coincidence at this point. Wren, though, has been paying attention to the plot.
The second interregnum came about because I had an idea of who my main villain was, but needed to work with her to get the details sorted in my head. Sessarine verifies for the reader that Wren is correct. She also demonstrates who and what she is for readers. Sessarine doesn't like failure. She'd probably get along with Jyslyn's eldest sister.
Friday, the Realm Under the Mountain, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 23.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, the evolution of TV viewing.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, hiatus week.
22 Mar 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Previously:
Wren let her horse break into a gallop. The tall grass brushed against her legs, whipping against her leather trousers. The young elf crouched low on her horse, bringing her head beside the animal's neck. The ground flew by under the horse's hooves.
With the horse's pace steady, Wren let part of her mind wander. The past few days had been a whirlwind. Her dark guardian angel returned! She knew Jyslyn came from one of the Accursed Lands Below, but Wren had prayed every morning since arriving at Wildwood that her angel would survive and return. And then the priest brought her with him! It felt childish to think that Kazimier found Jyslyn as an answer to her prayers. Yet, Wren thanked the Lightbringer during evening services the day she saw Jyslyn. And to get to help her? Wren couldn't wait to show her dark angel around, once they got back to Wildwood.
The ground changed, from a farmer's field overgrown with wildgrass to thin brush with rocks poking up from the dark soil. A few hundred yards beyond that, a thin forest stood, the trees returning after being cut back. Wren slowed her horse to a trot. She watched around her, taking in how the land presented itself in a more natural manner, untouched by human or even elven hand. The horse snorted. Wren tensed. She slipped off the animal, grabbing her bow from behind her saddle. The young elf sniffed the air, just as she was taught. She recognized the peat coming from the soil, the tangy cedar from the brush. There was also a scent she didn't recognize, one that wasn't from a plant of the ground.
Wren crouched down. She strung her bow, keeping it low. The elf reached for an arrow, keeping it in her hand. Hiding behind the thin brush, Wren crept forward, making use of all her senses. Each step was carefully placed, avoiding dry branches and making sure that the ground was solid beneath her. Wren heard low, harsh whispers, but couldn't make out the words. She stopped, held still. The whispering continued, coming from ahead of the young elf and to her left. Wren nocked her arrow.
Previously:
A murder most curious.Abandoned farm field
Wren let her horse break into a gallop. The tall grass brushed against her legs, whipping against her leather trousers. The young elf crouched low on her horse, bringing her head beside the animal's neck. The ground flew by under the horse's hooves.
With the horse's pace steady, Wren let part of her mind wander. The past few days had been a whirlwind. Her dark guardian angel returned! She knew Jyslyn came from one of the Accursed Lands Below, but Wren had prayed every morning since arriving at Wildwood that her angel would survive and return. And then the priest brought her with him! It felt childish to think that Kazimier found Jyslyn as an answer to her prayers. Yet, Wren thanked the Lightbringer during evening services the day she saw Jyslyn. And to get to help her? Wren couldn't wait to show her dark angel around, once they got back to Wildwood.
The ground changed, from a farmer's field overgrown with wildgrass to thin brush with rocks poking up from the dark soil. A few hundred yards beyond that, a thin forest stood, the trees returning after being cut back. Wren slowed her horse to a trot. She watched around her, taking in how the land presented itself in a more natural manner, untouched by human or even elven hand. The horse snorted. Wren tensed. She slipped off the animal, grabbing her bow from behind her saddle. The young elf sniffed the air, just as she was taught. She recognized the peat coming from the soil, the tangy cedar from the brush. There was also a scent she didn't recognize, one that wasn't from a plant of the ground.
Wren crouched down. She strung her bow, keeping it low. The elf reached for an arrow, keeping it in her hand. Hiding behind the thin brush, Wren crept forward, making use of all her senses. Each step was carefully placed, avoiding dry branches and making sure that the ground was solid beneath her. Wren heard low, harsh whispers, but couldn't make out the words. She stopped, held still. The whispering continued, coming from ahead of the young elf and to her left. Wren nocked her arrow.
21 Mar 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Commentary 21
Back on the road, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 21.
Again, a reminder that The Elf's Prisoner is a work in progress and nowhere near as complete as other stories that needed finishing, like The Soul Blade and The Devil You Know. NaNoWriMo's goal is to get 50 000 words written in month of November; there's nothing about having a completed story by the end. Those 50 000 words go a long way to having a finished draft, though, unless you're writing science fiction or fantasy, where the typical novel is 100 000 words. Still, half a novel written in a month goes a long way to finishing it.
My unfinished world got expanded again with the addition of the Nicean Islands. Since I was using the lower mainland of British Columbia, I had an idea of what could work for an island nation or, in this case, a nation of islands. I even started getting a few ideas of what the Niceans were like, from having a strong mercantile navy to a potentially different type of magic. All for a corpse.
The corpse is what changed the events of the past few chapters from a random encounter to a plot-related encounter. Why was there a fire? Why was it set? Who set it? *Bam!* Back on the plot. With the general plot the villains have - start wars between nations then move in to take them all over when they're weakened - adding another nation into the mix wasn't a problem.
Outside adding the Niceans, I added a bit more worldbuilding in the chapter. The Blooding, a dark elf rite of passage, at least according to the people on the surface. If the Accursed elves even found out about the name, they'd laugh, then gut the person who informed them. It's not a formal rite, like baptism and confirmation, a bar or bat mitzvah, or a quinceñera. It's more like engineering students suspending a car from a bridge, something that got started once, then continued because the participants found the event fun. The difference is what I found key, what one culture sees as kids being kids*, another saw as a formal, dangerous rite.
I have a pattern to my writing which comes out during NaNo because of how useful it is. I have an event happen, the characters react, then the characters reflect and discuss. During NaNo, while the characters are relfecting, I can look ahead to the next plot event. I am trying to at least get the cycle to be more smooth and less noticeable. It helps if I have an end point to aim at while writing. The Elf's Prisoner had no such end point, at least not when I wrote this chapter. The goal was starting to form to be something beyond just 50 000 words. An intermediate goal came up, though - get the characters to the Realm Under the Mountain, the home of the dwarves. Having a short-term goal does help. It gave me a direction, which this chapter did go in.
Friday, the Gashed Axe, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 22.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Carmen Sandiego.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, the evoution of TV viewing.
* "Let kids be kids," is one of those phrases that needs to be tossed into the trashbin of history, along with, "boys will be boys."
Again, a reminder that The Elf's Prisoner is a work in progress and nowhere near as complete as other stories that needed finishing, like The Soul Blade and The Devil You Know. NaNoWriMo's goal is to get 50 000 words written in month of November; there's nothing about having a completed story by the end. Those 50 000 words go a long way to having a finished draft, though, unless you're writing science fiction or fantasy, where the typical novel is 100 000 words. Still, half a novel written in a month goes a long way to finishing it.
My unfinished world got expanded again with the addition of the Nicean Islands. Since I was using the lower mainland of British Columbia, I had an idea of what could work for an island nation or, in this case, a nation of islands. I even started getting a few ideas of what the Niceans were like, from having a strong mercantile navy to a potentially different type of magic. All for a corpse.
The corpse is what changed the events of the past few chapters from a random encounter to a plot-related encounter. Why was there a fire? Why was it set? Who set it? *Bam!* Back on the plot. With the general plot the villains have - start wars between nations then move in to take them all over when they're weakened - adding another nation into the mix wasn't a problem.
Outside adding the Niceans, I added a bit more worldbuilding in the chapter. The Blooding, a dark elf rite of passage, at least according to the people on the surface. If the Accursed elves even found out about the name, they'd laugh, then gut the person who informed them. It's not a formal rite, like baptism and confirmation, a bar or bat mitzvah, or a quinceñera. It's more like engineering students suspending a car from a bridge, something that got started once, then continued because the participants found the event fun. The difference is what I found key, what one culture sees as kids being kids*, another saw as a formal, dangerous rite.
I have a pattern to my writing which comes out during NaNo because of how useful it is. I have an event happen, the characters react, then the characters reflect and discuss. During NaNo, while the characters are relfecting, I can look ahead to the next plot event. I am trying to at least get the cycle to be more smooth and less noticeable. It helps if I have an end point to aim at while writing. The Elf's Prisoner had no such end point, at least not when I wrote this chapter. The goal was starting to form to be something beyond just 50 000 words. An intermediate goal came up, though - get the characters to the Realm Under the Mountain, the home of the dwarves. Having a short-term goal does help. It gave me a direction, which this chapter did go in.
Friday, the Gashed Axe, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 22.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Carmen Sandiego.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, the evoution of TV viewing.
* "Let kids be kids," is one of those phrases that needs to be tossed into the trashbin of history, along with, "boys will be boys."
19 Mar 2019
Test Run - The Witcher - Applying the Lifepath
While creating a mage for R. Talsorian's The Witcher RPG, it occurred to me that I could use the game's lifepath creation for the cast of The Efl's Prisoner. Several of Mecha Academy's characters were inspired by the lifepath in Mekton Zeta. The Witcher's lifepath would need a bit of tweaking to be usable for another fantasy setting, but the core would still work.
To demonstrate, I'll use Jyslyn, Wren, and Leomund from The Elf's Prisoner. They predate the RPG, so what notes I have on them, minimal as they may be, won't be influenced by the lifepath as it is. This is also a good way to show how choosing instead of rolling works. It's going to be a long one, though, like the previous weeks' work. This time, I'll break it down by chart.
To demonstrate, I'll use Jyslyn, Wren, and Leomund from The Elf's Prisoner. They predate the RPG, so what notes I have on them, minimal as they may be, won't be influenced by the lifepath as it is. This is also a good way to show how choosing instead of rolling works. It's going to be a long one, though, like the previous weeks' work. This time, I'll break it down by chart.
15 Mar 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Previously:
Kazimier and Nyssa sat close to the cooking fire, trying to keep warm. Both were in stockinged feet; their boots were held on sticks over the open flame to dry them out. Wren and Leomund began cleaning up the dregs of lunch. Jyslyn sat with Kazimier, peering at a piece of metal he turned over in his hands.
"It must be magical," the dark elf said. "It doesn't look like it was in a fire."
Kazimier nodded. "And it was cool to the touch. Our burnt friend had it under his clothes." He flipped the metal rectangle over again. "No writing on it."
"I could cast a spell on it to see if it changes."
"I've seen ambassadors from Nicean Islands carrying similar," Nyssa said. "If that's the case, he's a long way from home."
"Do the Niceans have an ambassador in the dwarven realm?" Kazimier asked.
Nyssa shrugged. "It's a thought, though."
Jyslyn got up and stretched. "Why here? How long would it have been before someone else came along?"
Previously:
A mage with a well is as good as an entire fire station.Abandoned farm, unclaimed territory
Kazimier and Nyssa sat close to the cooking fire, trying to keep warm. Both were in stockinged feet; their boots were held on sticks over the open flame to dry them out. Wren and Leomund began cleaning up the dregs of lunch. Jyslyn sat with Kazimier, peering at a piece of metal he turned over in his hands.
"It must be magical," the dark elf said. "It doesn't look like it was in a fire."
Kazimier nodded. "And it was cool to the touch. Our burnt friend had it under his clothes." He flipped the metal rectangle over again. "No writing on it."
"I could cast a spell on it to see if it changes."
"I've seen ambassadors from Nicean Islands carrying similar," Nyssa said. "If that's the case, he's a long way from home."
"Do the Niceans have an ambassador in the dwarven realm?" Kazimier asked.
Nyssa shrugged. "It's a thought, though."
Jyslyn got up and stretched. "Why here? How long would it have been before someone else came along?"
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