The Woes of The World: Let Your People Go

February 5, 2013, 9:00 am

There are lots of things negative about the world, humanity, and society in general. People aren't always nice, decent, enlightened, and/or considerate. Awareness is relative - you don't know what you don't know. Sometimes you learn things you wish you didn't. It is to this which I am speaking. Sorry if it isn't the "light" kind of uncomfortable you can laugh about later. I'm not talking about walking in on your parents.

What I will bring up is slavery, cannibalism, and abuses based on race, gender, age, religion, education, and class - to name a few. Apparently throughout human history the notion of "playing nice with others" struggles to stick. Social divisions come with society, it's that simple.And it's typically not viewed in favorable light...except perhaps by those gaining from the division and oppression.

A brief reminder before I drag us down even further; in my studies of anthropology, sociology, and history I have been admonished by professors to not judge the past based on the present.

Consider this, nearly every human society this world has known has some instance of slavery, cannibalism, and oppression. Before you get all defensive about it and start throwing out "nu-uh, not mine!", really stop and think. Did everyone always get along? Did everyone always get their fair share? Did everyone always have enough to eat? No one ever made someone work for them? Yeah, no. I didn't think so.

So if you're building a world or writing a story, think about these atrocities. There is certainly a lot to be learned from them. Are there situations of folks nom-noming on each other? Keep in mind that such grizzly business usually only comes up in extreme scenarios. For reasons of simple growth and attrition, it can't be kept up indefinitely or you'll run out of neighbors to crunch and munch. Is there/was there a slave class? Who were the masters, and who/what were the slaves? Were they people or machines or animals? What was the work? If there was emancipation/revolution, how long ago? If it's in process, how/who/what started it? If slavery has been completely squashed, how is it enforced? How do former slaves and slaveholders feel about it? What was the slavery based on? Are the former slaves shunned, driven out of previous areas of servitude, or is there outright violence against them? To what degree, beatings, rape, disfigurement, murder?

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Nullus Deus Ex Machina

February 8, 2013, 11:21 am

≫ Next: April A to Z Blogging Challenge

≪ Previous: The Woes of The World: Let Your People Go

I know I said I was going to once-a-week posts, and I am (really), but I thought I'd spoil y'all with an unexpected Friday post. It's easy because it requires very little work from me ;)

Check out The Worldbuilding School's post today

Sanderson's Second Law of Magic

You can follow the links in his post to Sanderson's First Law of Magic and I'll also provide them here

Sanderson's First Law of Magic

and here, as the original source of genius

http://brandonsanderson.com

This all reminds me that I really need to listen to the many many recommendations and read The Mistborn Trilogy

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April A to Z Blogging Challenge

February 12, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Crime and Punishment

≪ Previous: Nullus Deus Ex Machina

If only I had the time...

A to Z Blogging Challenge

This is a fantastic idea and a great way to find inspiration to hammer the keys.

Thanks to Sporkchop for tuning me into this. I really wish I could devote the time to it, but with work and school (and sleep, man I love sleep!) I just can't. [Enter quote about only failing to try here]

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Crime and Punishment

February 19, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Excelsior!

≪ Previous: April A to Z Blogging Challenge

Let's say your story isn't about an intrepid party of adventures or noble knights on a quest. Let's say your hero is actually an anti-hero. A lying, cheating, stealing, killing scallywag. This murderous rogue is constantly ducking the law. Sometimes he gets away with it, other times his luck runs out and he's thrown in the dungeon. In fact that could make for a great "what are you in for?" story - a bunch of criminals passing time swapping stories about their exploits that eventually led to getting nabbed. Or it could be one lone prisoner, awaiting trial/execution, and reminiscing over his life of crime that led up to this dark end. Run with it.

But before you dive on in, there is some ground work and logistics that you have to figure first. What are the laws that govern society? Is there an established, central judicial system like the US Supreme Court? Is there a process like Parliament/Congress that votes on laws? Do judges and lawyers banter for and against the accused? Do jurors deliver a verdict? Does a supreme taskmaster play judge, jury, and executioner? Is there capital punishment? Servitude? Imprisonment? Torture?

If there are prisons, are they regulated institutions, or complete hellholes? Is prison supposed to rehab convicts or just keep them locked away from mainstream society? Are there chain gangs of forced labor? Are prisoners tossed into dank dungeons, ne'er to be heard from again, where they are forgotten and go slowly mad from isolation? Is there an arena where felons can earn freedom and privileges through public bloodsport? Do the innocent/wrongly accused wander pens with murderers and rapists? Does a certain group make up most of the prison population? Is there any chance for parole or escape? Maybe convicts are given a choice of jail, mutilation, or military service. Is there a 3 strikes law? Is jail a deterrent, or is it a better life than many would have had on the outside? Where are prisons located? How are offenses classified? What is the worst? Most common? Current problem?

All things to think about. Don't try to apply all of them, but definitely consider them before you cast them aside.

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Excelsior!

February 26, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Flora, Fauna, and (Merry)Weather

≪ Previous: Crime and Punishment

Wow. I can't believe it's been over 10 years ago that I found the oh-so-awesome art of Bill Mudron.

Absolutely check out his site http://excelsiorstudios.net/. The gallery of thumbnails used to be much bigger...the current arrangement makes me scream for MORE!

His Pan comic is killer. The Firelfy and Zelda works have always been some of my favorites. There's really nothing he does that I don't totally dig.

His comic style and classic geek references still get me over a decade after first discovery.

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Flora, Fauna, and (Merry)Weather

March 5, 2013, 7:19 am

≫ Next: Saturday Surprise!

≪ Previous: Excelsior!

I don't know about the rest of worldbuilders out there, but I spend a lot of time thinking of my various realms - usually in great detail. I figure if it doesn't feel real to me, it won't feel real to anyone else. This is of course a bit futile because aside from my wife and a few close friends, not many real people get a glimpse of my imaginings. I would post such minutiae here, but it would likely be very much dry exposition. Perhaps someday there will be published volumes, appendices, and sourcebooks. Maybe.

That's what I'm getting at,. Palladium is, I hear, among the most complete worlds ever put on paper. They include not just people, but critters from mundane wildlife to horrific beasties. I'm sure others have done so as well, but Palladium is the only one that yours truly has come across that shows this level of detail. Tolkien did so too, but in a different way - his was more about language, history, and mythology. To a degree, as a fictional world traveler, I'm less concerned with the locals' language, but I do like to know their naming patterns (this is where I typically start) and who/what are their gods. I'm not discounting it altogether, but those are subjects for another post.

What I as a paranoid tourist want to know is: what is going to try to kill me? Is it safe to go out at night? Can I drink the water? What's on the menu? Am I potentially on something else's menu? Overall, what slinks, crawls, slurps, writhes, growls, barks, itches, bites, stings, etc?

When deciding what kind of plants and animals fill up your world, consider the climate and food chain. Are we talking tropical with huge insects and dinosaurs? Is it frozen tundra with woolly mega fauna? Maybe a swampy jungle with all manner of poisonous fangs and thorns and lurking, unseen predatory cats. Does the danger hang from the trees, reach up from the ground, or emerge from murky pools?

To help with your wonderings and wanderings, angelitoon over at deviantart was kind enough to allow me to share some pics. These are (simple) thumbnails of creature concepts. I find that it helps to only have a rough "shadow" of the critters because it really makes the imagination stretch to think of what they'd look like up close in the wild. Enjoy!

Things like this require some imagination and research into botany and zoology. Meteorology and climatology are fields to consider as well. Even if you only look at what flies, strides, or swims on planet Earth, it's all there for a reason. It's generally linked as well through environmental systems from simple to very complex.

If you say your world is "normal" and very similar to that which we already know, look at weather/climate as it's own monster. What threats does it pose? What happens if you're caught out in the elements? Depending on where you're stranded you could freeze, fry or both in a desert scenario. What about natural disasters? Floods, draught, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, etc. Where do they happen? How often?

When worldbuilding remember, all things considered. Even if you don't intend to work such encyclopedic knowledge into the story, you need to have an answer ready in case someone asks. it's much better to have already thought of it than to get caught unawares with a "gee...I dunno."

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Saturday Surprise!

March 9, 2013, 12:58 pm

≫ Next: Get Real

≪ Previous: Flora, Fauna, and (Merry)Weather

I meant to post this last weekend. I began writing it, got interrupted, and couldn't see that it had saved to my drafts folder when I returned to it. So you get it a week later, but it's still a Saturday surprise!

I've come up with the calendar, holidays, [some] gods, and rituals and symbols for the Westerlands.

Evina is the dark-haired fertility goddess who carries a drinking horn - think Demetre-esque with a cornucopia. Her children are Leven (means life) and Maben.

Leven is the god of harvest, grains, and brewing. He was a happy boy until his father's accident and his mother's remarriage to the lord of the underworld. It's not that he doesn't like his step father, he just misses both his parents and feels orphaned when Evina is away for the winter. Ever since his journey into the underworld to retrieve Evina's horn he has been a somber shadow of his former self, but his work does not suffer for it.

Maben is the youthful, beautiful "princess" goddess of purity and female fertility. She is the embodiment of innocence

Skald is the normally ambivalent god of death and secret knowledge. In another sense he is the god of order and eternal life, since the dead cannot die again. His realm is the vault of the underworld where he his built a grand palace, which resembles a masoleum, to bring order to the dark chaos.

Kaos is the brother of Skald and his exact opposite. He is the lord of chaos, pain, suffering, discord, and basically all things evil. His son is Stryfe, god of war.

Long story short, her husband Grist dies just before Maben comes of age. I think I'll say he died of a cave in or some kind of burial accident.

In her grief Evina is digging in the earth - symbolic of planting and burial - hoping to reach the underworld to search for her husband. Ordinarily Skald would not look favorably on the living physically trying to enter his world (spelunkers beware) because natural law states it is only for those who have died. Instead of punishing Evina, Skald is moved to pity her. He approaches and escorts her to his grand hall where she is given a goblet of wine - wine in the underworld is blood. It's not vampiric in the evil sense, but makes religious sense when you think of the transubstantiation. And what harm would it do the god of death to drink the blood of life? Think Hades and Faerie where you're not to eat/drink anything or you must remain. Although still very much in love with her late husband, Evina is terrified of being alone, so she takes Skald as her new husband.

Leven knows that if his mother stays in the underworld forever, the world will die. So he makes the 11 day journey through a network of caves to retrieve his mother's horn/cornucopia and talk sense to her. Skald understands Leven's reasoning and agrees that Evina should only stay in his palace 6 months of each year. This is very reminiscent of Hades and Persephone and explains the winter/summer balance of time. Evina gives her son her horn (power) to keep safe in his house while she is away. Being a good lord and host Skald also offer Leven a drink. Instead of only drinking Skald's wine, Leven drinks a mix of Skald and Evina's blood from Evina's horn - literally keeping it safe within his holding. This imbues him with the power to leave the underworld as well as take on power of planting/growth. It is believed this act also gave him additional strength for his return journey and for the harvest. It is now ritual to drink wine from a horn before traveling and harvesting (Leven's Blessing). It is also ritual to pour some wine into the earth before planting (Evina's Blessing).

Maben is greatly saddened by the loss of both parents, one forever and one for half the year. She joyously celebrates the return on her mother in the spring with a dance that last's all day. This is now the ritual of Maben's Dance/Day, which becomes shortened to May Day - the day between the end of April and the first of May.

Bringing us to the calendar, I've broken it down into 12 months (for now with the same names) of 30 days each. This of course only gives a year 360 days. So I approached it as the Mayans did with Uayeb - 5 "holidays" that don't fall within any particular month of the year. Midsummer falls between June and July. Midwinter is a day between December and January. Leven's journey takes the last 5 days of October, 1 day between called Levent in which he was in Skald's house, and the first 5 days of November to return. It is held that winter begins on Levent, lasting a full 6 months until Evina returns on May Day. May Day was known as Newflower before Evina's marriage to Skald because it was Maben's birthday - symbolizing the youthful birth/renewal of spring. Because Maben's is the forever young goddess of fertility, she is the "saint" of young women reaching adolescence, known as their "flowering". It's not coincidence that now at the annual dance on May Day young men and women being to strive for the others' attention. It's also common that engagements and betrothals occur at this festival.

At first I was going to have Skald's Day, Skalding, as a Halloween type holiday at the end of October. It was to remain a day of the dead with gourds are carved liked skulls and lit (jack-o-lanterns) to lead the ghosts from their former life to the underworld. It's a day of mourning and passage. The dead move on into the next world and the families left behind are encouraged to take time to grieve, but to then move on with their life or else risk suffering from despair/depression during the long winter. Burial and cremation are both acceptable means of sending the dead to Skald. The dead are not decorated or sent with possessions because they'd have no use for them in the afterlife - symbolizes that in death, everyone is equal. It also makes sense that in a utilitarian society you wouldn't bury weapons or tools that could be of use to someone else. But on the other hand, if a body cannot be recovered (lost at sea, fallen in a far off battle, etc) the dead's possessions are burned, usually on a pyre. Since I now have Levent occupying the day between Oct/Nov - I had to do that so the return of Evina in 6 months would fall on May Day - I may move Skalding to the beginning of Oct and say this is when Grist died, setting in motion everything else.

I found some other old notes that I'd set aside with ideas for other gods. Eion is the god of time, also known as the Infinite Eternal or Eternal Infinite. He is neither benevolent or malevolent - he just is. He isn't even necessarily a "he". Luras is the god of curiosity and learning. Worshiped mainly by halflings/gnomes, he is the "tinkerer god"of invention and alchemy. His forays and experiments don't always go exactly as planned, or have beneficial results, but making mistakes is the best way to learn. Ashra is the goddess of the hearth, home, and hospitality.

I was really stuck with what to call the sea god. I knew he was going to be very temperamental and jealous. Then it dawned on me that the sea is usually referred to as a lady. A friend at work helped me name her Neptania (obviously derived from Neptune) because it makes for such an easy reference.

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Get Real

March 12, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Writing Tutorials

≪ Previous: Saturday Surprise!

I've said a few times before how the real world is such an amazing place. If it weren't for all this reality, I don't know where I'd get 90% of my ideas.

A great website I found long ago is http://phototravels.net/

It's a huge photo dump of places from all over the globe. It's both easy and difficult to wade through because I might be looking for cool jungle shots and end up lost amidst waterfalls and desert rock formations.

Definitely worth several hours of gandering.

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Writing Tutorials

March 19, 2013, 6:16 am

≫ Next: Basic Earth Science: Reasons for Seasons

≪ Previous: Get Real

It's not often I write anything. I'm am way too easily distracted by building and fleshing out worlds. The more I learn, the more I'm inspired to learn more. Then I have this compulsion to try to work in everything. It's a vicious, twisting cycle of creativity.

If, like me, you struggle to rein it in - or perhaps you're looking to start, but don't know how/where - I highly suggest these tutorials.
Elfwood Writing Tutorials

Go figure that as a worldbuilder, I liked the Setting articles best.

These tutes are just a smattering of what is likely hundreds that you can/will find, I'm just biased because Elfwood is where I got my start oh so many years ago.

Word of warning: It's always great to have that home base, fallback that you know you can rely on, but don't rely too heavily on just one. But don't neglect it either. Case in point, I had a profile on Elfwood as Zombiegunslinger with which I'd save favorites, comment, and meet lots of awesome folks....then something happened and I lost it all! Thus I began again as Realmwright.

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Basic Earth Science: Reasons for Seasons

March 20, 2013, 6:41 am

≫ Next: Weather or Not

≪ Previous: Writing Tutorials

Because today is the vernal equinox, I thought this would be quite fitting.

Season Animation and Explanation

I also just saw this on Space.com about why the equinox is today instead of the usual 21st.

Happy vernal equinox people!

Later I'll have a post about why we have certain weather in certain places.

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Weather or Not

March 25, 2013, 8:20 pm

≫ Next: Hang Out with Almighty Creator(s)

≪ Previous: Basic Earth Science: Reasons for Seasons

Since we're always concerned whether (not weather) March comes and goes like a lion or a lamb, I figured I'd take the opportunity to educate/remind folks why we have the weather we do.

Last week's post was some pretty basic stuff that we probably all learned in the 8th grade, then just never thought twice about since. This week I'll get into much more detail (which I'm almost sure I learned years ago, but just forgot). Weather/climate is a lot like real estate, it's all about location location location. The reason the earth has weather patterns the way is does is because of ocean and wind currents. The rotation of the planet itself has its own bearing - the Coriolis Effect. The terrain features also factor in greatly - vast arid desert versus lush balmy jungle. Latitude from the equator has obvious effect as well in determining tropics versus tundra. And we mustn't forget one of the most crucial bits in climatology - axial tilt.

Currently we sit at 23.5 degrees, hence why the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are marked at those degrees latitude. The planet has "wobbled" between 21 and 25 degrees in its history. These changes of just a few degrees make a huge difference because it exposes more or less of an angle to receive insolation (incoming solar radiation) from the sun. The tropics would be narrower or wider, vastly affecting the strength of building storms.

We also have to consider that the earth doesn't travel in a perfect circle around the sun, it's an ellipse/oval. We are nearest to the sun during the winter and furthest in the summer. It's a good thing to; otherwise, summers would be unbearably hot and winters would be deadly cold. Millions of years ago, this was backwards. I recently heard somewhere...probably some NPR chat about climate change (it's absolutely REAL btw)...that hundreds of millions of years ago, in the time of the dinosaurs, the atmosphere had something close to 4 times more carbon dioxide. This means the planet was way warmer and because the continents weren't so scattered yet, it was the perfect environment for growing humongous cold-blooded reptiles. At first I wondered how that much CO2 kept from suffocating life, but when you look at humans who live in extreme altitudes - Bolivia for example - people simply evolve larger lungs. Now I'm no paleontologist or zoologist, but I'd bet good money that the lungs of a T-rex, stegosaurus, and triceratops were enormous.

All this is just a bunch of weather jabber and may not even factor into your worldbuilding. Maybe you just hand wave and say "the weather is a lot like earth." Fine. Fair enough. For me I have to have as many details accurate and complete. Fortunately I have a pretty awesome earth science professor and she agreed to look over my maps and help me make sure the weather patterns are as correct as they could be.

PS If I remember correctly, and if the 10 day forecast is correct, March came and went lamby this year.

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Hang Out with Almighty Creator(s)

April 2, 2013, 6:56 pm

≫ Next: Wheres and Wares

≪ Previous: Weather or Not

I thought for sure I had shared this link before, but in digging through the archive it looks like I missed it.

So here you go

TTYU Worldbuilding Hangouts

I highly recommend perusing. Whether you're stuck in a bind and stumbling through your story, or if you just want a good read that is bound to spark ideas, these are they. You will have a hard time coming up with anything these don't cover. If you prefer to watch than to read (because the material is very dense at points) Juliette Wade also posts them as videos.

And I have plugged these before, but I'm going to do it again for a one-stop-shop:

A Way With Worlds

Shakespeare & Dragons

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Wheres and Wares

April 9, 2013, 6:45 am

≫ Next: Legionnaires aka Nodding Off

≪ Previous: Hang Out with Almighty Creator(s)

Once you have your world(s) built and characters to roam the realms, wouldn't it be nice if those weary wanderers had a place to get in out of the weather? I'm talking temples and taverns, inns and dungeons, castles and markets, TOWNS!

Here's several useful sites I've saved over the years:

Medieval Demographics Calculator

Medieval Demographics Made Easy

Green Pilgrim's Town List

http://www.inkwellideas.com - Random Village Generator

http://www.inkwellideas.com - Random City Generator

http://www.rdinn.com - Town Generator

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Legionnaires aka Nodding Off

April 16, 2013, 3:44 pm

≫ Next: What's Inn Store

≪ Previous: Wheres and Wares

Because I follow, I was made aware of this great post last week.

Land of Nod: Centurion class

I'd already done my usual Tuesday post, so the inspiration had to wait a week. I just don't have time to do Tues/Fri posts like I used to, but that should be over soon since finals will be done in 2 weeks.

Anyway, the Land of Nod post spun off all sorts of ideas. They are:

Begin with adventures joining as auxiliaries that have to supply their own armor and weapons beyond standard light stuff provided by the legion.

Players don't even have to have stuff to begin with. An excellent adventure beginning would be to have the players as everyday wanderers with a backpack of food and maybe a sling/short spear for hunting.

They could even be refugees fleeing a village overrun by the legion's enemies. They head to the fort seeking protection or revenge and are either recruited or pressed into service.

"True" heavily armored troops are natives of the empire. An outsider can be elevated in rank, but never to as high a status as a "true" legionnaire.

Years ago when I was finishing my first degree I wrote a term paper on Hadrian's Wall. Some things I remember from my research were bits and snippets from the Vindolanda Tablets. Thanks to that amazing discovery we got a first hand glimpse at life on the wall from soldiers' own writings. Because they were stationed in a fixed location/along an established front, they could still receive letters and goods from home.
For instance, we know one auxiliary wrote home to thank his mother for a care package he'd received. This letter proved that they wore underwear and socks in cold climates.

But the Romans on/at the wall weren't just sitting around collecting taxes from passing merchants. They marched from fort to fort often, making their presence felt to hopefully dissuade attacks from the Picts. Think of today's military - there's a lot of logistics to running an army. Not everyone is an active combatant. It was the same along the northern front in the 2nd Century - some were supply runners, messengers, healers, priests, etc.

There are lots and lots of ways to take real history: people, places, events, etc and use them for springboards in your own fictional world. As usual, I'd love to hear any ideas folks have.

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What's Inn Store

April 22, 2013, 4:14 pm

≫ Next: May to Z Challenge Begins Tomorrow

≪ Previous: Legionnaires aka Nodding Off

To follow up on my earlier post about towns and what they offer (besides adventure and trouble).

Your characters just hit town. It's been a long journey of mixed weather, trails and trials, and they're fresh out of supplies. Thankfully their last adventure/delve put some coin in their pockets and they're looking to spend. You could even say they have some magical items, but they don't know what they do or what they're worth. They could have some gems too, but these must be traded and appraised first since most merchants only deal in coin. If you have raw goods, you can try to barter and haggle.

http://www.rdinn.com - Gem Generator

http://www.rdinn.com/gem_descriptions

Maybe you have things in need of repair: clothing to be mended, dented armor to be beaten out, broken wagon wheel/axle, wounds to be seen to, weapons to be sharpened.

You're probably craving a hot meal and you definitely need a wash. Maybe some feminine company if you're so inclined.

Let's not neglect the fact that you're adventurers. Your pay is made by taking on tasks - typically of the daring and dangerous variety. You'll need to make contacts to scout for future work...unless you plan on retiring tomorrow and putting down roots.

So where to?

Let's start with the inn and tavern. It will take care of the meal, bath, "leisure activities", and it's likely the bartender/innkeeper will know of work - and of course share some gossip.

http://www.inkwellideas.com - Random Inn Generator

http://donjon.bin - Inn Generator

Wondering what to call the local watering hole?

http://www.seventhsanctum.com - Tavern Name Generator

http://www.rdinn.com - Tavern Name Generator

Once fed, cleaned, and satiated (you might want to wash again), let's head over to the general mercantile. You can say it's a single store, or the market square has opened and is in full swing.

http://www.rdinn.com - Sal's Outfitters

http://www.inkwellideas.com - Magic Item Shop

Now you're healed, rested, resupplied, and off on your next adventure. But who's to say that the "barmaid" doesn't have a little surprise for one of your characters when (and if) they circle back to this town again in 9 months ;)

Maybe more than one of your group was her midnight visitor. Which of you now has to claim this bundle of joy? Do they step up, or run for the hills? What does this reveal about that character's character?

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May to Z Challenge Begins Tomorrow

April 30, 2013, 6:06 am

≫ Next: Even More Fantasy Maps - Lots of Links to More

≪ Previous: What's Inn Store

Because starting a new job and finishing the semester ate my April, I couldn't participate in the April A to Z Challenge.

Sporkchop from ROFL Initiative is the one who clued me into it...and did a helluva job with his own, I might add! It was his perseverance that inspired me to start my own, albeit a month late. Thus I am proposing for myself and any adventurous others to join me in aMay to Z challenge . My wife told me it seems like quite an undertaking, but that's the whole idea. I feel like I've neglected my blog with only once-a-week posts and this is a good way to get back into the swing of things. I don't know if I'll be able to post each day, so I might do a series of letters together.

My idea is this: create a character a day for each letter of the alphabet (but you are granted 5 days off. Use them wisely) It can be just their name and a brief description of who they are, what they do, or why you chose that name in particular. I'm thinking mine will focus mainly on a D&D type structure: gender, race, class, home, profession, weapons and armor, etc. For something like that you can easily "cheat" and use the D&D character name generator because it lets you put in a variety of criteria. Yours doesn't have to be any specific level of detail, that's just how my mind works.

Maybe you've had a character in mind for a while, but couldn't decide what to call them. Does your story have a hero without a villain to contend with, or vice versa? Perhaps, like me, you create whole family trees for your characters and you have a blank spot begging for a portrait and a name.

As I have posted before, I like Behind the Name a lot! If you're not sure what you're after, use the random generator and just keep hitting refresh/F5 until you find one you like. Or you can select a nationality, such as English, German, Japanese, etc. It will give you lots of options and it can be pretty overwhelming, but if you just take it a letter at a time you'll soon find something that sounds good to your ears.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email with what you're coming up with, or just comment - it's easier.

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Even More Fantasy Maps - Lots of Links to More

April 30, 2013, 6:22 pm

≫ Next: May to Z: A

≪ Previous: May to Z Challenge Begins Tomorrow

Gotta squeeze in one last bonus post before the (inevitable) mayhem of my personal May to Z challenge.

It's not often I check my Facebook, generally only if someone from the Worldbuilders and Sci Fi Writers group posts something of interest. Or this Worldbuilding School Facebook page aka Worldbuilding School blog. But man am I glad I caught these pings on my radar!

http://www.fantasticmaps.com/

http://nuthinbutworlds.blogspot.com/

And especially if you're a gamer geek, you will drool for hours over this stuff

The Cartography of Alyssa Faden

And this is a teaser for a momentous occasion scheduled for next week Physical Geography Facebook page.

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May to Z: A

May 1, 2013, 5:09 pm

≫ Next: May to Z: B

≪ Previous: Even More Fantasy Maps - Lots of Links to More

OK, here goes. The first of what will be many character alphabet posts.

Brought to you today by the letter A and the number 1

I knew when I originally came up with the May to Z idea that my first post would cover my wife's character. My wife has been incredibly supportive with my nerdly jabber over the years about fantasy worlds and characters that my skull is crowded with. She even went so far as to humor me by creating a pen and paper homebrew character. Her name is:

Auriel Dulinora. She is a half-elf druidess. She is so named because when my wife was little she and her sisters loved the Little Mermaid and they would reenact it in their living room, prancing around with braided pantyhose on their heads and singing just like Ariel. My wife settled on Auriel because she didn't want to name her half-elf exactly the same as said red-headed mermaid and she didn't like the way Arielle looked written out. Auriel's last name, translated using angelfire Elvish-English translator, basically means "a song bird in a tree."

She is well versed in healing with herbal salves and tinctures. She lives all alone in the forest, but occasionally she will visit human settlements in need of her wisdom and touch. Generally she prefers to be left alone because growing up a "half breed" she never felt entirely comfortable or accepted by either race.

Her human father was a carpenter who was attacked in the woods by a pack of wolves. Her mother came to his rescue and healed him, even though the elves and humans don't have the best of relations. Her parents saw the good in one another and let their own hearts choose instead of letting blind racism decide for them. Because her father kept a very modest cabin on the edge of the forest, rather than a home in the village, they were mostly left to their own company. When Auriel was born they knew that she would likely face much adversity and ostracism because she was neither one nor the other. She learned a love of herbs and healing from her mother, and would sing in harmony with her father's rich baritone as he worked rhythmically building furniture and carving wood.

Sadly her mother died of an incurable illness that no amount of herbs and magic casting could heal. She carries a heavy burden of guilt because she thinks had she been a better/stronger healer, maybe she could have saved her mother. This has pushed her to learn more about healing than some of the best known healers among elves and humans. Her father stopped singing after his beloved wife died because he felt so much joy had left his life that he couldn't muster the music within himself anymore. Auriel would only sing when she was walking alone in the woods. She worried that if she sang at home it would remind her father of her mother.

Her father was just over 40 when Auriel was born. Her mother looked about half that age, although she was much older. Elves are not truly immortal, but they are considered so by humans because they visibly age so little beyond about 30. Elves mature and grow at the same rate as humans until their late teens. From then on an elf only ages physically about 1 year for every 3-5 human years. Thus when a human reaches very old age of 85-100 an elf of the same age will only look in their late 20s or early 30s. She is now all alone in the world because her half-elven blood gave her longevity over humans. She watched her father be taken by grief and age as the years passed after her mother's death. She is now especially kind to the elderly. Her love of the woods and singing and a natural affinity for animals keeps her mostly distracted from what must be a very sad and lonely existence.

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May to Z: B

May 6, 2013, 12:07 pm

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B is for Beorngardt the Black. He's a big, beefy, burly, barbarian who wears a blackbear pelt as cape and cowl.

He is from the northern tribes where only a rare few are born with hair darker than a sandy blond. Anyone with brown or black hair is thought to be cursed and must be driven out lest they bring bad luck to the rest of the people. Darkuns are the barbarian opposite of "gingers".

There is a much more involved story explaining how Beorngardt was exiled from his family/tribe. He wandered the northern wilds and valleys for many years. When he came across the would be King Perceval while hunting a large bear, this strange westerner from the sea was the first person he had seen in well over a decade. Remarkably savage and strong, Beorngardt became one of the kings fiercest protectors and boldest of his knights.

Beorngardt lived happily among Perceval's people and eventually married Morrigan the Raven - a wild, warrior woman with glossy black hair. Imagine his pride and surprise when he had a daughter with flaming red hair! Her name will be revealed later with the letter F. She was wrapped in her father's fur cloak the night she was born and he has held her especially near to his heart ever since. She is as daring and brazen as both her parents put together.

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May 7, 2013, 7:53 pm

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Not that I need a good reason to deter from my May to Z run, but I got this email today and figured I'd share.

Banners on the Cheap.com is having a FREE shipping sale until May 20th!

If anyone has battlemat or map needs I highly recommend them. I have 3 high quality prints from them that I am very satisfied with and I just ordered 2 more.

Sporting event, yard sale, birthday party, welcome home, graduation...you name it, they can print it. They have stock designs or you can upload your own images. Their prices are great, shipping is FREE (for a limited time), and their customer service is quite excellent as well. Hurry before it's too late!

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