A few months ago we were looking at some of Russ Nicholson's magnificent oeuvre and Jamie mentioned how one of the iconic features of the Fabled Lands came about:
"Russ was doing a map and blotted it by accident. Me and Dave immediately came up with 'The Hole in the World' so it looked like it was deliberate."
That came about because Russ drew the first ever tidied-up version of our world map. For some reason the publishers didn't want to hire him to draw the world map for the books, but they finally gave way and admitted his map was much better than the one they commissioned. Naturally.
Russ needed to draw the whole world first because he was doing all the regional maps and wanted to be consistent about how they looked. Jamie and I used Russ's sketch map for planning all the books. That's why the copy below is covered with our annotations.
Russ's maps were truly great - thanks for sharing these annotated copies! Our group has been playing in the Fabled Lands as an open-world RPG campaign since 2019 and have been enjoying it immensely.
ReplyDeleteI've lately been thinking that, after I finish Vulcanverse book 5 and Jewelspider, I might try writing another FL book. (Book 9, since Paul Gresty is already writing book 8.) But how could I do that without Russ? It would be like the Beatles without George.
DeleteWhat system do you use for your roleplaying campaign?
I agree, Russ's maps, especially in colour, are an integral part of the look and feel of the Fabled Lands (we almost always have them as the shared screen when delving). Having said that, to see book 9 would be great too - we're already looking forward to including book 8 in our game when Paul finishes it. The system we're using is Tunnels & Trolls - which is simple and flexible enough to use over zoom while still being interesting. Readers can see our game logs, which I've been posting on the Trollbridge forum: https://trollbridge.proboards.com/thread/4223/fabled-lands-campaign?page=1 (although I think this might require a login to view).
DeleteGood choice of system. Online gaming demands a very simple set of rules, as you say. I tried looking at the game logs but it does look like a login is required.
DeleteI'll ask the admins if it's possible to make that thread open to read (probably not, I'd imagine).
DeleteHello again - Vin from the Trollbridge has now made this open to read by non-forum-members - hope this is accessible now!
DeleteGreat news! I shall enjoy diving into them.
DeleteMarvellous! I hope you don't mind what we did to the Fabled Realms!!
DeleteIt's there for people to have fun and it sounds like you all did. Job done!
DeleteHello again Dave. You might know that, in the Fabled Lands books, the Sokaran cities (Yellowport, Marlock City etc.) get several paragraphs of description, but the Golnirean cities get a much more economic write-up of 1–2 sentences. Three of our delvers have each composed a new entry for Metriciens (~100 words) to include in our home campaign. As one of the Fabled Lands authors would you be willing to judge which of these entries is best? It's not a worry if you're busy with other things of course! (The winner's prize would be 1,000 adventure points and inclusion in our gaming documents.)
DeleteI'd be delighted to take a look. The difference in description length is down to my and Jamie's differing styles (his Vulcanverse books also have longer sections than mine, at least up till book 5) but I will judge the entries by quality, not brevity.
DeleteOne can definitely tell the difference between your two styles! Thanks so much for agreeing to judge for us - this is really appreciated. Are you happy for me to post the entries on here?
DeletePlease do. I bet readers of the blog will be interested to see them -- those who are following this post, at least.
DeleteExcellent! I'll get the delvers to finalise their texts then post them up here in due course. My favourite writing from the Fabled books are the different moods of the sea in book 3 – reminiscent of Patrick O'Brien.
DeleteGreat – thanls again. I'll do so once they've confirmed their final texts.
DeleteHigh praise indeed! I'll take that.
DeleteApologies for the double-post there – I though the blogspot software had eaten my first message! Here's the first entry:
DeleteENTRY #1
At the heart of the Golnirean riviera lies the mercantile metropolis of Metriciens, the second largest city in the region. A temperate littoral climate makes Metriciens a desirable residence for many, especially those with a bank balance which can meet its demands. Trade in the city is vigorous. Spices and metals are sent from far-off Smogmaw, minerals from Yellowport. Refined grain cultivated on Golnir’s fertile plains is sought after by foreign traders, along with textiles sent from provincial Delpton and Marmorek. Like the other Golinrean cities, Metriciens functions as an autonomous state, setting its own taxes and laws. Mercantile consuls represent ruling factions with power carved out in lavishly appointed guild halls.
The centrepiece of the city is its Grand Rialto, some say the most vibrant marketplace east of Aku. What can be bartered for here is limited only by the imagination. Artisan bakeries serve shoppers oil-infused breads and delicious yeast-cakes with a steady supply of superior local wheat. Close to the rialto is Temple Square, from here visitors can explore the city's other facets, such as its gambling houses, exclusive social clubs, the ancient clocktower or the many temples after which the square is named. Here and elsewhere the roofs are tiled in distinctive multicoloured painted terracotta giving the city a unique appearance. Beside the clocktower is a great statue to controversial missionary and adventurer Franco Loco, who set sail from Metriciens in the 1st century to discover the civilisations of the Ankonese interior. Lionised by some, but viewed as a tyrannical figure by others, his exploits came to an end when he was immured at Borotek and later impaled at Dunpala.
I certainly want to know more about Franco Loco. But I'll hold off any other comment till I've seen all three.
DeleteENTRY #2
DeleteThe large city of Metriciens sprouts from the southern shores of Golnir. Everything from the large warehouses dotting the waterfront to the grand plazas bustling with merchants selling their wares tell of the exchange of coin and goods that is the lifeblood of the city. To the west a large slum forms the bulk of the houses where the poor and destitute gather, hoping to gain some of the wealth of the rest of the city. This does little to detract however from the tall spires of palaces that can be seen juxtaposed with the domes and towers of temples to the gods in the centre. Winding streets radiate from the centre where shops of every type nestle next to one another. It is said that anything a man desires can be found in Metriciens, from exotic furs and minerals from the far north to strange and magical jewelry from distant Ankon Konu. Everything has a price, even a man's life.
ENTRY #3
Delete'Ah, for a well-stocked merchant, there is no finer sight in all the Fabled Lands than the towers of Metriciens on the horizon! Either arriving by boat, by coach or on horseback (with ones sumpter’s cart piled high with wares), there is always coin to be made in the Marketplace of Golnir. I first stepped into the Grand Marketplace of Metriciens as a young merchant’s assistant, not one year out of my schooling. My Master had filled his saddlebags with sulphur in Yellowport, and we had taken a rough barc along the coast; we must have made quite the sight, arriving in the grand piazza to set up stall, stinking of the devil himself!
'We made quite the killing that day, as my Master taught me in the ways of the deal; to keep an eye out for those merry on winnings from the Gambling House, or perhaps just merry from as visit to one of the six well-stocked inns; to stay in the good books of the monks of the temples of Nagil, Alvir and Valmir, and the Three Fortunes (for they sometime offered blessings in return for a good deal); to always keep ones ear open to a juicy piece of gossip. I myself vowed that day never to stray far from Metriciens; once my apprenticeship was complete, I struck out on my own, with my own sumpter and cart to ply my trade across Golnir. I managed to save up to buy my very own townhouse; a modest place (cheap because it was next to the Bellmakers Guild – but I got used to the racket quickly!) which I plan to leave to my own son when I finally go off to meet the Gods. But I’ve still got life left in me yet – and more deals to be made – to the Customs House!'
That's all three – thanks again for agreeing to look at these!
DeleteIt's going to be hard to pick one; they're all so good. Jamie is also looking at them and just told me that he laughed out loud at "impaled at Dunpala", but he hasn't yet said if that's his favourite.
DeleteGlad you're both enjoying them!
DeleteI'm genuinely torn. I like the economy of description in #2 -- that's what FL is all about, painting a vivid picture with a few words. And I like #3 because any description in a character's voice is always more vivid and immediate than authorial prose, but that also has a drawback because you can't encounter this same merchant with the same spiel every time you enter the city (unless he really has practised that patter). So I'm leaning in favour of #1 (which also had the virtue of making Jamie laugh, and he's won the Roald Dahl comedy prize) for its tantalizing hints of places like the clocktower. All good gamebook/RPG descriptions contain the promise of future adventures, and #1 ticks those boxes.
DeleteTruth is, if you ask me next week I might go for #2 or #3. It's a very close one to call.
DeleteThanks so much Dave (and Jamie) for reading these and sending your thoughts! We'll give the Metriciens prize to #1, but I think we should share the adventure points – 333 each.
DeleteGood idea, Schmee. With a photo-finish like that it's only fair. Thanks to you and your players for sharing them with us.
DeleteHello again – here are some replies from the mystery contestants.
DeleteThe writer of entry #1 was Pip (who plays Delmor, a 5th-level wizard from Wishport). He says thanks for judging the entries and that we'll weave Franco Loco into the story somehow.
Entry #2 was written by Jeeves (who plays Gus, a 5th-level warrior from Dweomer). He says thanks for your kind words (and apologises if he spelt Ankon-konu wrong!); he concludes "I need to do Ringhorn now."
Entry #3 was done by Savage (who plays Sir Barton, a 7th-level warrior from Marlock City). He says you've been very kind and agrees with your comments on the first-person description. (Although there's a guard at the gates of Marlock who addresses visitors with the same unfriendly words every time, to comic effect!)
I can tell Jeeves that Ankon-Konu began as a spelling mistake. Jamie was labelling the map, asked "What shall I call these southern lands?" I said, "Inconnu," Jamie wrote down what he thought I'd said, and there you have it.
DeleteI'd forgotten about that gate guard. I think they must all be trained to say that the way Disneyland employees learn to say, "Have a nice day."
Amazing! Can you remember the origins of any of the other Fabled places? Another of our delvers (Jo) spotted the river Nozama (Amazon) and we noted the town of Kaiju in Akatsurai. Pip once speculated that Golnir could have been the name of Thor's toothpick.
DeleteLol, good point. As for other names... Jamie and I liked Akatsuki sake, so that might have influenced us. Chambara and Kwaidan are both movie references, and Kito Province is named after a friend. I think that barely scratches the surface!
DeleteAs much as it sucks that Russ is gone, maybe FL Book 9 (which, granted, already has been done in an okayish first draft fan version) could be the start of FL's "Wings" period?
ReplyDeleteOh dear, John, now you've put it that way I'm really worried. But maybe if I think of it as All Things Must Pass...
DeleteI haven't read the fan version of Book 9 because I didn't want to be influenced by it. And what if my version wasn't as good? The pressure is on.
I actually quite like some of Wings' albums! The fan-made book #9 wasn't quite to my taste (although obviously a great effort by the author) so didn't adapt it to our game.
DeleteImmediately after the news of John Lennon's death, I may have said that if it had been Paul McCartney they could have replaced him in a Beatles reunion with Mike Batt. That's very unfair to Paul (however, in my defence: The Frog Chorus) and I unreservedly retract it now.
DeleteTo my eternal discredit, I actually have The Frog Chorus on vinyl, Dave. And to think that I may have purchased it on the same shopping trip as The Eye of the Dragon and Usurper! In fairness to Paul, I find myself skipping once favourite George Harrison's tracks for Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da. As an aside, Across The Universe (wildlife version) and In My Life are possibly the two songs I'd select for my funeral.
DeleteI'm not sure I now dare comment on Mr Britling after my amphibian revelation!
I think I still prefer George's tracks, Andy, but to be fair he only used to get one or two per album, so it was a lot easier to stand out than the dozen tracks John & Paul had to come up with. And I haven't really given Wings a chance -- maybe there are some classics there waiting for me to discover them. I do quite like Linda's vegan sausages now and again, though not as much as a proper butcher's sausage.
DeleteIf it weren't for sausages, I think I'd have about a quarter less body weight, Dave!
DeleteMy dad used to play Give My Regards To Broad Street on loop in the car around the time of Frog Chorus, so I have a few of the Wings songs hardwired into my brain. Funnily enough, Dad's Beatles collection is being auctioned today (Hansens lot 19). I did think about taking them off his hands but decided to let them go. I've perhaps missed a trick not having snuck my Frog Chorus in there with them!
I wish you hadn't said that, Andy. I'm having sausages tonight.
DeleteAll my old Beatles albums are pretty scratched up. I've replaced a few with CDs but it's not the same as vinyl. Maybe I should jump in on that auction.
I've sure Dad would appreciate a few ringers to pump the price up a bit, Dave! Enjoy your dinner and worry about it tomorrow.
DeleteAs much as I like Paul Gresty, I think you write the best Fabled Lands books Dave. I will be patiently waiting for your next Fabled Lands work.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gustave. I expect any FL books that I or Jamie wrote now would be quite similar to our recent Vulcanverse gamebooks. Those do make book 10 a bit of a problem -- we've used up all our Graeco-Roman ideas!
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