LOTR Fan Videos and the New HeroPress

September 24, 2013, 1:59 pm

≪ Previous: Cityograher Mapping Software

I happened upon another gem via the Land of Nod blog. I find such good stuff with his links!

Presenting the new HeroPress.

It was through the older version that I was granted the viewing pleasure of these LOTR fan videos.

They're award winning videos for a reason. The scenery and costumes more than make up for the make up.

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Stone Lake

October 4, 2013, 1:30 pm

≫ Next: Dragon Scales

≪ Previous: LOTR Fan Videos and the New HeroPress

Via Facebook I found this article

What a fantastically creepy idea for a fantasy hexcrawl! There is a simply a gray hex (or several hexes) known as Stone Lake and marked with a skull. Players don't know much about the location, only ghost stories and wild tales from locals who warn that this place should be avoided at all costs. You could easily toss in the surrounding habitat as home to Medusas, basilisks, cockatrices. What is the plural of cockatrice?

Is this place cursed by dark magic? Or is it completely natural?

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Dragon Scales

October 8, 2013, 9:06 pm

≫ Next: Think of the Little Things...and 15,000 hits!

≪ Previous: Stone Lake

The wife and I were watching a History Channel program about gods and monsters and various myths. It's more or less understood that (sadly) there is no evidence that dragons ever existed, but the notion of them likely comes from ancient peoples seeing partial dinosaur skeletons and making up the rest.

It got me to thinking 'wings and tails have some of the smallest; therefore, hardest to find preserved bones'. So how do we know for certain that dragons weren't some breed of flying dinosaur? We know that there were all shapes and sizes of dinosaurs, we know some pteradons had wingspans of up to 65 feet, and we know that many of the great lizards had bird-like anatomy.We like to think we know lots of stuff...until new evidence is found to change or utterly refute what we held so dear.

All this made me wonder just how big a dragon could get and still get off the ground. So I did me some Googling and Wiki-ing about dinosaurs and wingspans and what have you. This is what I came up with:

In one of many worlds that I have built I had an idea that jungle tribes of gnomes/halflings used to worship and ride dragons. However, as mounts the dragons could only get so large before the tiny riders could no longer control them. Below are the notes I dug out on the matter.

Category	Age in years	Size
Wyrmling	0-5	Tiny
Very Young	6-15	Small
Youngling	16-25	Medium
Juvenile	26-50	Medium
Young Adult	51-100	Large
Adult	100-200	Large
Mature Adult	200-400	Huge
Old	400-600	Huge
Very Old	600-800	Huge
Ancient	800-1000	Huge
Wyrm	1000-1200	Gargantuan
Great Wyrm	1200-1500	Gargantuan
Colossal Wyrm	1500+	Colossal

Since Halflings never break 4 feet tall they are perpetually considered Small. This means that they cannot ride anything bigger than a Large dragon, also meaning that dragons only bear riders until age 200. After this it is both difficult to accept “agedness” since a normal dragon life is only about one quarter over and to go into retirement from the Halfling family that a dragon has served with for 3-4 generations. Flying with a rider is considered only a station for youthful dragons.

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Think of the Little Things...and 15,000 hits!

October 16, 2013, 9:19 am

≫ Next: World Building School: 22 Great Map Resources and Tutorials

≪ Previous: Dragon Scales

Sporkchop wrote this great blog entry and it got me thinking of all the little things that really give a world flavor.

What is considered "worth it" when it comes to trading, purchasing, adventuring? Think of the Silk Road and spice trade that united East and West. Or even the tin mined from British shores that allowed the Ancient Greeks to craft their bronze weaponry. With such real world references in mind, what can you include in your conworld that give it more real flavor?

A while ago I referenced slavery as being a not-so-palatable inclusion in worldbuilding. I'm not advocating the notion of slavery in the least. I find it absolutely abhorrent. But that does not blind me to the fact that it has been common practice in nearly every human society throughout the ages.

So just what makes your world economy run? Is it the trade of precious metals, jewels, spices, etc? Are people trafficked for whatever foul purpose? You must remember that very arbitrary things are assigned value. Think of paper currency - it's all over the world in "civilized" society. But the notes themselves mean nothing. And how quickly do we realize that in the aftermath of natural disasters and government shutdowns?

P.S. Mini woot to myself for passing 15,000 views sometime very recently!

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World Building School: 22 Great Map Resources and Tutorials

October 17, 2013, 11:53 am

≫ Next: Feeling Conflicted

≪ Previous: Think of the Little Things...and 15,000 hits!

What a great share from the World Building School!

22 Great Map Resources and Tutorials

I've tinkered with Photoshop a bit to generate maps, but I may just give up and spend the $11 (or so) on the generator.

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Feeling Conflicted

October 30, 2013, 9:07 pm

≫ Next: Blackrock Castle Observatory

≪ Previous: World Building School: 22 Great Map Resources and Tutorials

For the past several weeks I've been struggling to get a real story down on paper. A problem I'm having is that I've spent so much time world building that it's hard to focus on characters and their POV. One world is a huge sandbox and another is rife with characters and clashes. But which character(s) and conflicts should I focus on?

So cruising the interwebs for ideas, suggestions, advice, etc. I came across these.

Excellent series of articles for injecting conflict into the pulsing veins of your flat-lining story

Fantasy-Faction.com: Part 1 - Show Don't Tell. Because after reading The Silmarillion I lean way too heavily towards dry, historical exposition
Fantasy-Faction.com: Part 2 - Adverbs. They can be your friends as much as adjectives.
Fantasy Faction.com: Part 3 - Kill Your Darlings. Oh c'mon, that alone makes you want to read on!
Fantasy-Faction.com: Part 4 - Stories Need Conflict. This is the one I sought out because I was struggling to struggle.

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Blackrock Castle Observatory

November 1, 2013, 9:50 am

≫ Next: The Facts of Life

≪ Previous: Feeling Conflicted

This is Blackrock Castle. Built in Cork, Ireland in the 16th Century to repel pirate attacks. Its stalwart fortifications boast several towers with walls over 2 meters thick to withstand cannon fire.

It now serves as an interactive astronomy center whose purpose is "The Search for Extreme Life in the Universe".

But let's say you want to convert this to a fantasy/game setting....

Perhaps a "mad" wizard is holed up behind the thick walls attempting to contact other worlds. He could be doing so through use of a massive telescope that sits protected within the tallest tower. Or he is gathering cosmic energy from multi-colored crystals set in the top of each tower that harness various powers. Through manipulation and calculation the wizard is channeling these latent energies into the castle courtyard, whereby the stones themselves acts as one large resonator to open portals to other dimensions.

Is this wizard truly a wizard at all, or is he a misunderstood genius hoping to reach other planes of existence? What is he hoping to accomplish in this venture - a heightened awareness for all mankind, or the destruction of the material plane by otherworldly demons?
How do the players hear of this: flashes of colorful lights in the night sky, a low hum that can only be heard by pressing one's ear to the ground, the crackle of electric charges and freak lightning strikes from a cloudless sky?

Once they know of the experiments, do they wish to stop it, or explore the mysteries with the wizard?
Depending on which they choose, do they attempt to help the nearby villagers breech the thick walls, or must they reach the parapets first to repel the attack?
How does one gain entry? Through a hidden underwater passage, a large magical gate with a series of locking runes, or perhaps an invisible force field protects the castle and someone can only pass through unarmed and unarmored, with pure intentions.

Once inside, it could be discovered that an unstable wormhole has already opened. Maybe the wizard meant well, but the trans-dimensional energies that lulled him into completing the ceremony/opening were in fact malevolent and now a demonic god hopes to reach through and obliterate life as we know it. Or instead of something coming through the gateway, our world is in peril of being sucked into the void a bit at a time. If the portal isn't closed, the very fabric of existence could unravel!
Either way, what are the consequences?

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The Facts of Life

November 8, 2013, 5:54 pm

≫ Next: Kickstarter 4 - Blade Raiders Novel

≪ Previous: Blackrock Castle Observatory

Because it's quite common for fantasy games/stories to be set in a roughly medieval time period, it's best to do some research so your world fits the facts.

The Middle Ages and the Dark Ages are synonymous. The dates for this period are roughly 400-1500, basically from the the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. And that is broken down further into three periods: Early (500-1000), High (1000-1300), and Late (1300-1500).

The "Dark Ages" is a misnomer in that during this time there was actually quite a bit of information exchanged, particularly via trade with foreign countries.

Education wasn't limited only to cloistered monks. The later Middle Ages (1000-1500) were a time of philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, anatomy, engineering, etc.

Not all knowledge of the Ancient World was lost "in a single day and night of misfortune" like Atlantis. Much learning remained from Rome, Greece, and Arabia. And even more knowledge was introduced through contact with eastern Asia. Silk, spices, gunpowder, and decimals (just to name a few) came to Europe during this time.

Healthcare and sanitation were not as good as they are today (speaking in regards to the sterile and shiny Western world), but it wasn't all filth and squalor either. People took baths, brushed their teeth, and washed their hands after doing their business. The cleanliness of the water being used for these activities is what's really up for debate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages

http://www.medieval-life.net

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Kickstarter 4 - Blade Raiders Novel

November 16, 2013, 8:20 pm

≫ Next: Magic Circles

≪ Previous: The Facts of Life

Grant Gould's Blade Raiders was among the first Kickstarter projects I ever backed. And given how impressive the RPG rulebook and Enemy Omnibus were, I see no reason that I'd ever not back more of his projects.

That being said, I've thrown money at his latest project for a Blade Raiders: Exodus Novel. I really like his artwork - Wolves of Odinwas fantastic! - so yes it super sucks that this project wasn't funded as another stunning graphic novel, but I agree that it's very likely to come across as a better story in novel form. The stretch bonus is that the book will include a few illustrations per more money raised.

Please please please support this project. Grant is a fabulous artist, genuine geek at heart, and from what I can tell one hell of a nice guy.

Join in. Cash in.

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Magic Circles

November 21, 2013, 9:22 pm

≫ Next: Maps by Max

≪ Previous: Kickstarter 4 - Blade Raiders Novel

This post from the Land of Nod blog gave me an idea regarding magic circles. In it he states that the elves made the dwarves construct magic circles for them to harness the energies of the world for better/easier manipulation.

This got me to thinking about my own world. I figure that as deep-dwelling masons and metalsmiths, the dwarves would be naturally gifted in earth and fire magics. Where the dwarves are stalwart and compact, elves are lithe and fluid. Thus the feyfolk's natural talents are in water and air.

Therefore I believe that dwarves would construct magic circles, carved in their angular runes - because it's easier to chisel straight lines in stone, than curves. Dwarf runes are harsh, straightforward, and to the point.

The elves would take a "more natural" approach and bend green trees into enchanted groves, letting them intertwine over time. Elven script is looping and flowing like a stream or a breeze - wafting and winding, drawn out and contemplative.

The dwarves are viewed as more manipulative and prone to take immediate (sometimes rash) action; whereas the elves are more delicate and natural and like to consider (sometimes too long) before moving forward. Elves are thinkers, dwarves are thunkers.

That's not to say that dwarves couldn't build you a stone circle with runes to imbue stronger water magic, nor would it be impossible for the elves to plant and grow a stand of trees the enhance fire magics. Both would certainly increase a mere human's abilites to draw magic from the natural world, but each is directly counter intuitive to the elements working in harmony. So if you want hefty and hearty, go with dwarf construction. If you want ethereal and airy, elves are the way to go.

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Maps by Max

November 25, 2013, 5:59 pm

≫ Next: Into A New Domain

≪ Previous: Magic Circles

I was blown away by the work of fellow guild member Maxime Plasse. He is obviously a very talented individual with a natural eye for map making. He has graciously permitted this handful of images.
**please note that these are copyrighted images and are NOT for use without explicit permission from the artist**

Because Max did me the favor of allowing me to post his work, it seemed only fitting that he get to pick which pics were shared. Enjoy!


Erin the Green Isle

Theria


Oraven the Cold Hell

Oraven the Savage Lands

Oraven the Red Moors

Oraven Mirghor

For even more astounding maps, check out Max's album of original artwork and commissions.

What can I say? I was hooked the moment I saw the Erin map of Ireland. If you remember from my earliest posts, Ireland was the outline map I chose for my first conworld, Schiehallion.

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Into A New Domain

November 29, 2013, 6:53 pm

≫ Next: Clusterfuck.com

≪ Previous: Maps by Max

Well I finally did it. I bought a domain. As of this morning http://realmwright.com/ is up and running. It's shiny and new and ragged and terrifying!

Blogger has been good to me these past few years, but with the encouragement of friends I have ventured into the land of an actual www.com. My hope is that it will corral my many ideas and imaginings into a few webpages instead of trying to keep three separate blogs going with material.

Please check it out and tell me what you think. I'm very open to advice, criticism, etc. Whether new or a regular follower, I very much appreciate the support and readership this blog has enjoyed.

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Clusterfuck.com

December 8, 2013, 9:04 pm

≫ Next: If Ever I Make It This Far

≪ Previous: Into A New Domain

This is not a post about worldbuilding so much as a rant about attempting website building.

Sheesh, I say. It's now been 10 days since I began my .com. I have goofed, learned, and shook my fist fervently at the monitor.

I didn't expect to catch on at lightning speed, but nor did I think I would be this frustrated. I have contacted tech support (via chat) three times now. The first time was fantastic! It's been downhill since then.

Let me state for the record that I fully understand America cannot bury its head in the sand and remain closed to today's global...everything. However, I have lost a job to outsourcing and it sucks a big old fat one. Not only are jobs being taken from Americans, but avaricious companies are doing so because they can pay someone in India or the Philippines a third of what it would cost to employ people here. I'm not naive. I get that it just makes sense to minimize cost to raise profit. Yeah, duh, business econ 101.

But when I'm having an issue with my site I'd much rather converse with someone whom I can understand and who can understand me.
I know I'm feeding the stereotype to gripe about tech support always being Indian. But for fuck sake, could we not pay a college kid, who is also versed in computers, minimum wage to answer my questions?!

Thus far the site has crashed inexplicably. Shared via Facebook to ipage.com instead of the .com. And some posts just don't show up amidst slow-to-load pages. I'm so fed up right now I'm ready to pay the $15 cancellation fee and go back to this easy-peasy blog.

I like having a site I can call my own, with nifty looking pages to corral all my ideas into one place. But damn this is aggravating.

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If Ever I Make It This Far

July 10, 2013, 6:45 pm

≫ Next: The Road Not Taken

≪ Previous: Clusterfuck.com

I haven't really been watching my numbers since I hit 10,000 hits - the glow of that alone still hasn't worn off - but I owe another big 'THANK YOU' to any and all readers because I just noticed that between May 29th and July 2nd I racked up another 2,000 views! Among those was likely my author buddy Jason King, who has been very supportive of me [seriously] picking up the pen again. That means a lot, very much a lot :) And it got me to thinking...

I love the thought of one day publishing - although that would take a lot more focus, craft, and patience than I'm currently putting forth. I love Viggo Mortensen as an actor especially because his works are so varied and he seems like a genuine, amazing man.

So if ever I get to the point of having something ready/worthy to submit to a publisher, this would be my end all, beat all

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceval_Press

Perceval Press.com

I have ideas for stories all the time. Most are fantasy, some are historical fiction/alternate history, and a rare few are science fiction. Since I never know which in particular to chase, I typically end up scribbling pages and pages of notes - maybe a smattering of worldbuilding - and then it's onto the next.

There are a few I could see actually turning into something full length (most of the others might get relegated to short stories). In order they would be:
1) one of three, or perhaps, all three fantasy worlds I've spent years filling in
2) my pseudo-mythology/science fiction hodge-podge
3) my Civil War period fictional western epic (this would be several individual, shorter books)

Oddly fitting is that one of the fantasy settings is "founded" by a boy named Perceval (named for his perseverance). The tale/world takes a lot of queues from known archetypes, myths/tales, and tropes. It's some parts Middle Earth, some parts Atlantis, and lots of parts Arthurian England. I still need to do a lot of research on many topics - and I'm sure actually visiting the United Kingdom and surrounding areas wouldn't hurt.

I know all of the fault is my own. I know I need to focus, bite down, and pound the keys. I know it will never go anywhere, or "make it", if I don't make it. I knows I always speak in maybes, somedays, and perhapses. I know, I know, I know. I'm just saying.

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The Road Not Taken

December 29, 2013, 11:52 am

≫ Next: Lost and Found

≪ Previous: If Ever I Make It This Far

I've been wrestling with it for weeks now and it's with some resignation, and a good deal of relief, that I have decided to cancel my Realmwright.com website.

As cool as it sounded in the conceptual phases and as much as I liked tinkering with the design of it, ultimately I didn't understand well enough, nor have the patience to keep it going.

I'm quite comfortable enough with Blogger that I will simply remain here to keep things chugging along.

I'm an imaginative man, a learned man, an entertaining man. I am not a patient man. I am not a friend of things technological. I am not one who wants to sacrifice his hobby and muddy the waters of what I enjoy doing by making the fun feel like work.

I have wandered - albeit, not very far - and have returned home. See you around.

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Lost and Found

January 8, 2014, 7:46 pm

≫ Next: Beginning Again

≪ Previous: The Road Not Taken

Ancient Greeks, the founding and fall of Rome, the Egyptian empire, lost Atlantis. Cave paintings, Easter Island, Stone Henge, Chaco Canyon, Scara Brae. Ley lines, the Devil's Sea, the Bermuda Triangle. King Arthur, Odin Allfather, Mother Earth (Gaia). Aliens, unicorns, Big Foot. Gilgamesh, Marco Polo, Aragorn.
All of these things conjure stories and swirling mystery at the mention of but a few words. There are all kinds of legends and myths, tales of lost cultures. Relics, ruins, and artifacts litter the Earth with the drifting changes of human history. How many of them are truly the makings of mere humans? Will we ever really know?

What kind of ruins dot the landscape in your world(s)? What unsolved and unexplainable phenomena complicate your tales? What legends, myths, and folktales are on the lips around campfires?

These things don't have to be grounded in fact to be believed. Maybe various myths were collected by an old language professor and inspired him to weave his own story of ancient magic and fallen kingdoms. Perhaps his telling led to countless other worlds being crafted from countless others' imaginations.

An old farmer breaks his plow on an enormous bone hidden under his unremarkable field. Upon digging he finds...what? A dragon skull, a long-dead giant, a whole graveyard of fallen titans?

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Beginning Again

January 12, 2014, 1:07 pm

≫ Next: Pull Your Head Out or The Point of Longevity

≪ Previous: Lost and Found

Months ago my buddy Jason King posted on Facebook that he's now scouting manuscripts for his publisher. Ever since then it has been weighing on my mind to start writing an actual story after years and years of primarily world building.

Many other things happened in the months that followed. My family grew by my first child. My wife suffered near fatal complications and spent most of a month in the hospital. Work continued its hectic pace. I took an ill-attempted shot at launching a website. Then the holidays and year's end were upon us. There was a lot to distract me from writing.

When I could finally focus on telling a tale I didn't have a clear idea of who, what, where, when, how, and why. The building blocks of any writing!

I began outlining a chronological story set in one world...and fizzled. I fell into reviewing old notes, ideas, posts, etc. to get my mind in gear. This only served to overwhelm me and drive me into a lackluster funk of creating nothing at all. My subconscious churned and milled with self-loathing, criticism, and wondering if I ought to just scrap it all and grow up. Stop trying to make myself be a writer and focus on just being a father.

Then I found my imagination waking me up at 4:30 this morning with the introduction and first chapter practically writing themselves!

I've posted before about where to start (literally, which world to use as the setting) and which character(s) to focus on. After settling on where and who, it became of question of "when?" Do I tale the tell in the present, or a thousand years earlier?

After discussing it with other writer friends and thinking aloud what would make the best intro, I decided to begin at the beginning. With the creation of the world itself. The birth of, and battle between gods, that made the world what it is. Then the story jumps ages forward to the adventure of the main character, his life as it unfolds, which sets up the founding and fall of a kingdom. The blood of kings is spilled, yet lives on. An empire is founded from the devastation and ashes. Jump again. The empire is crumbling. There is barely a shadow of the grandeur that once gave purpose and pride to the people. The king of legend lies entombed under a mountain. Old threats rise again. New invaders darken the horizon. What happens next? Well, that's the bit where I keep writing and perhaps end this year with manuscript ready to submit.

I believe that my blog presence and posting will decrease significantly as I move onward and upward with other projects.

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Pull Your Head Out or The Point of Longevity

January 19, 2014, 7:10 pm

≫ Next: Seaside ruins

≪ Previous: Beginning Again

Let's say you're fairly new to gaming and/or you have not given much prior thought to what kind of weapon your medieval character might wield. Most folks would probably instinctively grab for a sword...or axe, or possibly even a warhammer. But what about a trusty ol' spear, or some other variation of a stick with a pointy end?

Before we take a stab at why polearms are (frankly) a better weapon, let's cover some basics.
1) The spear is just about the oldest known weapon in human history. It wasn't long after people figured out how to bludgeon each other with stones that someone smarter thought 'let's make it sharp'. And then an even deadlier genius had the idea to lash it to a long stick, adding to even more jabby-ness.
2) Have you seen 300? The phalanx is an incredibly effective formation dating back to antiquity. The basic idea is to form a near impenetrable wall of shields bristling with, you guessed it, spears!
3) The overall idea in combat is kill or be killed. The best way to not get killed is to be out of reach of your opponents weapon. So the simple math of 3 foot sword versus 8 foot spear = 1 dead swordsman.
4) The final point I will make is that swords were quite expensive and took a lot of training to wield effectively; whereas, Yorik the farmer could easily heft a pitchfork (or other long, stabby apparatus) because he was probably holding it anyway.

Now let's look at some options for what is on the business end of your long stick

For more about spears and fighting techniques for various polearms, including the often over-looked, military fork, check out http://phillosoph.blogspot.com/. It's a great resource for many things medieval.

For a long list of links to various weapons, might I recommend Wikipedia: Medieval Weapons.

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Seaside ruins

January 24, 2014, 8:54 pm

≫ Next: Join Us in a Cold Embrace

≪ Previous: Pull Your Head Out or The Point of Longevity

[Y]our intrepid adventurers are wandering the coast, or paralleling it aboard a ship, looking for a place to spend the night. What better than an obviously delapidated, haunted, booby trapped, etc lighthouse and ruins. What lies beneath the weathered structure? Do ghost lights atop the tower lure unwittingly crews to a horrible death on the rocks?

There are so many possibilities for a location like this. Anyone have any ideas, maps, stories...?

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Join Us in a Cold Embrace

February 2, 2014, 9:59 am

≫ Next: Chronology: It's About Time

≪ Previous: Seaside ruins

My blogger buddy Nils invited me to join February's blog carnival: The Icy Embrace of Winter

I have thus done so. And I sequentially invite any and all others to gang in on the frosty fracas.

I'm not participating via this blog (Realmwright) but rather through One Walker's Journal because the current theme of that blog just suits the subject better.

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