Robin D. Laws's Blog, page 112

Nomir Defined, Doniri Pitched

The midway point of last week's poll was 13. Ideas reaching or exceeding that threshold now tell us about the populous, human-dominated region of Nomir. Several entries I thought would be shoo-ins did not make the cut, including factionalism between an anti-magic group in Stonebane and pro-magic forces of Chalkhaven.

Here's what makes it into the Korad setting bible:

Nomirians revel in being blunt and forthright -- with friends and enemies alike. Their straightforwardness extends to the bedchamber, where women call all of the shots when it comes to sex. Their government and trade are famously corrupt. Bribery is the norm.

The Nomirian diet is based on seafood, especially shrimp and crab.

Holidays all involve leaving out food to appease the forgetful dead. Paradise is envisioned as aquatic realm beneath the big swamp, where souls dwell in splendid pageantry. Any Nomirian who lives to see his 50th birthday must choose a new name.

Brigands use rumors of ghosts to keep people out of the swamp.


Now it's time to propose ideas for Doniri, the rocky, ocean-swept province occupying the northern half of the great southern pincer. Its cities are:



Cataracts
Residents of Cataracts, the city of bridges, use sign language, as the roar of the falls is so loud. It is built around a large mystical well, from which gushes the water that feeds both rivers. The well predates the city. Behind the great waterfall lies the Secret City.

Rustaxle
This city takes its name from the ancient engine that marks the headland; a huge chain runs from it into the bay. It is Famous for creating musical instruments of exquisite tone & timbre; the secrets of crafting such are jealously guarded. Daring pearl-divers satisfy the city's craving for pearls and fermented kraken jerky.

Off its coast lies the autonomous island tyranny of the Far Isles. On the other side of its undefined mountain border the traveler finds Threniri, region of the symbiotic runes known as the Aesigil.

As always: keep your idea brief, so I can fit it into next week's poll—12 words or less. And that's an actual 12, folks, not a notional 12. One idea per commenter. Pitch standalone ideas rather than building on someone else's proposal. Get them in before early Monday evening (eastern time.)

Nomir Defined, Doniri Polled

The midway point of last week's poll was 13. Ideas reaching or exceeding that threshold now tell us about the populous, human-dominated region of Nomir. Several entries I thought would be shoo-ins did not make the cut, including factionalism between an anti-magic group in Stonebane and pro-magic forces of Chalkhaven.

Here's what makes it into the Korad setting bible:

Nomirians revel in being blunt and forthright -- with friends and enemies alike. Their straightforwardness extends to the bedchamber, where women call all of the shots when it comes to sex. Their government and trade are famously corrupt. Bribery is the norm.

The Nomirian diet is based on seafood, especially shrimp and crab.

Holidays all involve leaving out food to appease the forgetful dead. Paradise is envisioned as aquatic realm beneath the big swamp, where souls dwell in splendid pageantry. Any Nomirian who lives to see his 50th birthday must choose a new name.

Brigands use rumors of ghosts to keep people out of the swamp.


Now it's time to propose ideas for Doniri, the rocky, ocean-swept province occupying the northern half of the great southern pincer. Its cities are:



Cataracts
Residents of Cataracts, the city of bridges, use sign language, as the roar of the falls is so loud. It is built around a large mystical well, from which gushes the water that feeds both rivers. The well predates the city. Behind the great waterfall lies the Secret City.

Rustaxle
This city takes its name from the ancient engine that marks the headland; a huge chain runs from it into the bay. It is Famous for creating musical instruments of exquisite tone & timbre; the secrets of crafting such are jealously guarded. Daring pearl-divers satisfy the city's craving for pearls and fermented kraken jerky.

Off its coast lies the autonomous island tyranny of the Far Isles. On the other side of its undefined mountain border the traveler finds Threniri, region of the symbiotic runes known as the Aesigil.

As always: keep your idea brief, so I can fit it into next week's poll—12 words or less. And that's an actual 12, folks, not a notional 12. One idea per commenter. Pitch standalone ideas rather than building on someone else's proposal. Get them in before early Monday evening (eastern time.)

Pre-Prandial Link Review: First draft droogies, WoD goes HQ

As an experiment in social network harmonization, I'm going to start posting a quitting-time round-up of links I've posted to Twitter and Facebook over the course of the day. Those who already catch everything I send to those platforms can safely pass this feature by.

Trove of unpublished Anthony Burgess work, including original Clockwork Orange script, discovered.

World of Darkness via HeroQuest, as contemplated by bruceb.

The Birds

The updated archive is here!

Pre-Prandial Link Review: Cugel Covered, Thrones Infographed, Chupacabra Alleged

As an experiment in social network harmonization, I'm going to start posting a quitting-time round-up of links I've posted to Twitter and Facebook over the course of the day. Those who already catch everything I send to those platforms can safely pass this feature by.

Cugel, unwillingly, returns! Jerome Huguenin concept art for Dying Earth Revivification Folio cover.

By the way, Dying Earth PDFs have returned en masse to the Pelgrane Store. Don't forget to snap up a limited Ashen Stars pre-order while you're there.

Speaking of Game of Thrones: character relationships in infographic format.

I've written about naked mole rats. I know naked mole rats. And Dimples, you're no naked mole rat.

Expository Text, Dramatic Subtext

Among its other attractions, the "Game of Thrones" TV series gives you the chance to watch skilled writers using their full bag of tricks to accommodate several floodgates' worth of exposition. Novels give authors great leeway in presenting crucial background detail. Although you want to break informational beats with others to keep a rhythm going, it's nonetheless fairly easy to present necessary facts, whether through the direct address of first person or the internal monologue of third. Provided you don't stray too far from the parameters of believable conversation, you can also fit in a certain amount through dialogue.

In the fantasy genre, readers may reward you for this. Their desire to immerse themselves in your imaginary world may be so strong that stretches of exposition go beyond the informational to become enjoyable in and of themselves. In Hamlet's Hit Points terms, they become gratification beats. I personally chafe at exposition for its own sake as a reader and work to minimize it as a writer, but there's a segment of the audience that feels differently. (I'm looking at you, fans of singing Tolkien elves.)

The dramatic formats (TV, movies, plays) choke on excessive exposition. Straight informative voice-over is almost always deadly, unless counterpointed with the action. (See Goodfellas.) That leaves only dialogue, which can only bear so much. Dialogue scenes in this mode sustain interest only when they advance the emotional dynamic between characters.

"Game of Thrones" handles this by making the exchange of information the text of the scene, with the emotional petitioning and granting of the characters the subtext. The stories the characters choose to tell one another about their world and its history are the overt manifestation of their attempts to gain dominance (mostly) or shows of affection (occasionally.)

Pre-Prandial Link Round-Up: GUMSHOE = Internet, Twideo Game, Errant Legalese

As an experiment in social network harmonization, I'm going to start posting a quitting-time round-up of links I've posted to Twitter and Facebook over the course of the day. Those who already catch everything I send to those platforms can safely pass this feature by.

How GUMSHOE is like the Internet, from princejvstin

Kevin Allen Jr. examines a tweet-ready video game.

As is so often the case, a seeming rights grab (Twitpic this time) is really an ongoing legalese blunder.

Ashen Stars Stellar Nursery Edition

The new economics of small press RPG publishing give gamers of taste more leverage than ever in bringing to fruition the products they want to see. For example, a relatively scant number of pre-orders can make the difference between an awesome project and a lavishly awesome project.

To whit, Simon Rogers of Pelgrane Press has, ensorceled by the gorgeous art work we're seeing from Jerome Huguenin and Chris (madmanofprague) Huth, decided to take the full-color plunge with Ashen Stars, the game that takes GUMSHOE to the gritty space opera genre. A mere 200 galactic patrons will, on a first come, first serve basis, blast our dauntless RPG craft into the cold and dangerous sector known as The Bleed. That is to say, they'll make this print run viable. In recognition for their service to interstellar law and order, they will claim for themselves their very own copies of the Ashen Stars Stellar Nursery Edition. It consists of: Now – the finished version, with basic layout, as a PDF.
The final PDF as soon as it's ready
Your name in the credits
Your copy of final colour smythe-sewn hardback signed by yours truly
Exclusive fiction, also by yours truly
The first scenario from Dead Rock Seven, the follow-on scenario anthology
First dibs on any limited editions
This is limited to 200 copies. We'd really appreciate your support in making this print run viable.

There is only one pre-order, so if you purchased before we came up with the fancy name and expanded benefits list, never fear: you're set for the Stellar Nursery edition and need take no further action.

Head to the Pelgrane Store to plunk down your credits, or over to the announcement page for a selection of playtest encomiums.

Pre-Prandial Link Review: Island Cthulhu, Early Fandom vs. the Mythos

As an experiment in social network harmonization, I'm going to start posting a quitting-time round-up of links I've posted to Twitter and Facebook over the course of the day. Those who already catch everything I send to those platforms can safely pass this feature by.

Rob Heinsoo shares the genesis of "Old Wave", his evocative Shotguns v. Cthulhu story.

Bill White reveals how he sent Heinlein, Dick and Ackerman on the trail of Cthulhu in his Big Hoodoo design notes.

Vampires Are the New Melodrama

In secondary school you were probably presented with the old threefold breakdown of narrative possibilities: Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Man, and Man vs. Himself.

For most of the history of Western narrative, works featuring female protagonists could be described according to a fourth essential conflict: Woman vs. Social Constraints. From classic literature (Far From the Madding Crowd, Portrait of a Lady, House of Mirth, Anna Karenina) to the Hollywood "woman's picture" (Stella Dallas, Mildred Pierce, All That Heaven Allows), generations of fictional women suffered as they were acted upon by social forces beyond their control.

Since the 1960s, as western social conventions lost their force to destroy lives and women gained agency, the genre's hold on the popular imagination faded. Suffering woman melodramas remain a staple in Asia, where social barriers still hold sway. But here they've become period pieces—like the exquisite and exacting recreation of Todd Haynes' recent Mildred Pierce mini-series. The emotions and conventions of the genre remain compelling, even as the ability to set them in the present day has vanished.

That's where the paranormal romance genre comes in. Introduce vampires, werewolves and other creatures of the night, and you've got a new social order to hem in our heroines and impede their pursuit of love and fulfillment. The stringent rules of imagined supernatural societies—and finally the line between death and undeath—fill in for the old barriers of class and gender. Bella Swan's impossible love for a sparkly vampire brings straight-up melodramatic tropes to a new generation. The procedural adventures of feisty iconic hero Sookie Stackhouse are likewise heavily spiked with melodramatic plot developments that place barriers between her and her vampire beau.