tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.comments2024-03-18T09:38:11.597+00:00Fabled LandsDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger11918125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-30668994558442056042024-03-17T09:34:18.156+00:002024-03-17T09:34:18.156+00:00Glad you came out of the shadows to tell us about ...Glad you came out of the shadows to tell us about your adventures in the lands of Legend, Felgor. I only have one question: why stop with book 2?<br /><br />The (hopefully) forthcoming Blood Sword 5e book from Tambù will tie up the saga with a finale in the walls of Spyte <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/making-spyte-44406342" rel="nofollow">previously only seen</a> by my Patreon backers.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-32433881801479859442024-03-17T01:43:10.443+00:002024-03-17T01:43:10.443+00:00hi Dave,
I have been silently lurking in the corn...hi Dave, <br />I have been silently lurking in the corners of this blog for a while but couldn't resist posting a comment on this post.<br /><br />Talking about "turning the Blood Sword gamebook saga into a roleplaying campaign", that's what we did years ago. :) We were already playing Dragon Warriors, and after reading the first few Blood Sword books, I decided to adapt scenarios and rules for my party of players. <br /><br />Hence I made 'Battlepits of Krarth' and 'Kingdom of Wyrd' into a campaign in DW and gamemastered that with my party, and converted the Trickster and Enchanter profession into DW rules. It was lots of fun. :)<br /><br />Felgor Rhevarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03941876356802305436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-32562893365796229392024-03-16T14:02:49.978+00:002024-03-16T14:02:49.978+00:00It turns out Existential Comics have an episode th...It turns out Existential Comics have <a href="https://existentialcomics.com/comic/250" rel="nofollow">an episode</a> that clinches the argument for agnosticism and they didn't need the nearly 3000 words I spent saying it.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-70606919120886811412024-03-10T12:20:45.568+00:002024-03-10T12:20:45.568+00:00Typically the problem gamebooks have had when hand...Typically the problem gamebooks have had when handled by the big publishers (Penguin, etc) is that in traditional publishing a book is expected to blaze for a few months and then fade away as the publisher moves onto their next set of releases. The advantage of working with smaller dedicated publishers like Alkonost, Edizioni Librarsi, Mantikore-Verlag and the rest is that they appreciate that gamebooks & RPGs are a hobby interest, so they are in it for the long haul. Of course, some small publishers (naming no names!) can be quite an "adventure" to work with -- but we've learned from experience and I think we're now in safe hands!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-87184868369551844952024-03-10T10:57:17.449+00:002024-03-10T10:57:17.449+00:00I hope this collaboration will be better as with t...I hope this collaboration will be better as with the previous publisher ! cafaristeirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915889856526586336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-14384709349783787442024-03-10T09:53:33.773+00:002024-03-10T09:53:33.773+00:00Well, I'm not going to raise a defence for phi...Well, I'm not going to raise a defence for philosophy. I was listening to a podcast last week with three philosophers talking about pantheism, and you'd have got a more sensible discussion by having three LLMs hallucinate at each other for an hour.<br /><br />The distinction between that and talking about god(s) is that we don't know whether gods are in the same category as freewill/determinism or whether they're in the same category as spacetime. There was a time when talking about gravitation could have been classed as swimming with bladders of philosophy, but it turns out that line of enquiry was fruitful. (Unlike the freewill one.) We don't know until we try, in other words.<br /><br />In the case of existing religions, I suspect that most of the adherents already know that the belief is unsustainable. They pretend to believe, as Camus put it, and they assert that their god cannot be apprehended except through faith because that's not an argument that will ever risk contact with reality. But what interests me isn't any historical or current religion -- as I say, I'm atheist wrt all of them. What interests me is why there has never been a disinterested analysis of this theism question.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-86371383159454911702024-03-10T09:45:40.526+00:002024-03-10T09:45:40.526+00:00That's one of the things I wonder, why do huma...That's one of the things I wonder, why do humans get ethics mixed up with a belief in god(s)? If a god exists, it would be ridiculous to imagine it has a moral code as that applies to social animals. And if it did have a moral code (eg if that god were part of a society of gods) that wouldn't be relevant to the moral codes of primates. And we still couldn't know what that god's moral code is. And even if we did know, that's no good reason for us adopting the same moral code. I'm not going to throw somebody off a high place even if I did believe that an entity that created the universe would approve. So the inevitable conclusion is that we humans create our own ethical codes, which vary quite a bit through time and place but with a clutch of shared principles that are necessary for animal societies to function (eg outrage when we perceive ourselves being <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/dogs-wolves-unfairness-acceptance-human-owners-pets-behaviour-research-vienna-a7779076.html" rel="nofollow">treated unfairly</a>). And then somebody says, "I happen to know this is how we should behave because the elf on the shelf whispered it in my ear, and he'll punish you if you break the rules." What surprises me is that grown-ups go on believing it.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-76431558763604106632024-03-09T23:04:08.286+00:002024-03-09T23:04:08.286+00:00To assist even further - albeit not responsibly- I...To assist even further - albeit not responsibly- I’d refer you to the wise words of my second favourite poet, John Wimot, Earl of Rochester (1647-80) in his joyfully nihilistic ‘A Satire Against Reason and Mankind’:<br /><br />https://jacklynch.net/Texts/mankind.htm<br />[Warning - Parental guidance required.]<br /><br />EXTRACT <br />‘Mountains of whimseys, heaped in his own brain;<br />Stumbling from thought to thought, falls headlong down<br />Into doubt’s boundless sea where, like to drown,<br />Books bear him up awhile, and make him try<br />To swim with bladders of philosophy;'JAWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10562676856194168784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-84751007774619160692024-03-09T23:03:09.747+00:002024-03-09T23:03:09.747+00:00The substance of your blog entry is hard to refute...The substance of your blog entry is hard to refute. Though if Theism or Atheism or even Agnosticism were provable by rhetoric or reasoning or diagrams it would have been done and become humanity’s default stance long ago.<br /><br />In which case the thinking individual can only go on the evidence that they perceive or have learned or lived through, boosted by the proverbial ‘leap of faith’, so as to land somewhere - or nowhere. The same being no less true of Theism as Atheism.<br /><br />Which being so, or leastways so according to this poor old bruin’s brain, I cannot forbear - albeit I should forbear - to ask what would be your position’s refutation (if any) to the abyss-teetering nihilistic summation that ‘Nothing is true and everything is permissible’.?<br />Where the further end of the Bell Curve of that ‘permissibility’ is a continuum that runs through, for example, Lawyers, the career of Stephen Fry, to Saddam Hussein and the Holocaust?<br />To assist, no less a mind than Trotsky conceded that no universal concept of good or evil could survive the absence of God, and he himself concluded that ‘good’ was what - at that particular juncture - served what he called ‘the class struggle’. Including firing squads.<br />Equally, the atheist philosopher Sir Freddy Ayer was known to get quite tetchy when asked to explain precisely why vivisecting humans was ‘wrong’.<br />Fortunately, as you yourself well know, I have always been a lifelong monument of invariable moral rectitude, so I’m just asking for a friend…JAWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10562676856194168784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-141324785133237282024-03-09T16:03:31.445+00:002024-03-09T16:03:31.445+00:00I've heard something very similar described as...I've heard something very similar described as Zen Christianity and it's a form I could get behind as it makes no assertions about the existence of invisible beings, simply a statement about how best to live our lives, taking Jesus's teachings as a good guideline. But on that basis I could equally call myself a humanist or a Christian (or at least a Jesusist). The bit that interests me is why all religions try to lock off any actual investigation into the existence or nature of god(s).<br /><br />For example. We're interested in why galaxies form as they do, and one possible explanation is dark matter. So we're gathering evidence about the current and early universe to try to refine or refute the dark matter model. Imagine instead that there were just two assertions about dark matter: "Pobus of Ancient Greece said dark matter is made of invisible budgerigar beaks, while Dastgir of Khowarvaran said it's the echoes of all thoughts that have ever been had." And somebody comes along and says, "I've just been looking at some images of primordial galaxies from the JWST and I think they bear out the self-interacting model of dark matter." But he is immediately told, "You can't think about that. Just declare if you're a budgerigararian or a metamentalist, those revelations of 2000 years ago are the only two options."<br /><br />In other words, I'd like to decouple religion from the question of theism. Let's agree that earthly religions are inventions, just like humanism and socialism are (and no less useful), and let's stop pretending they tell us anything about whether gods exist or what they are like. I'm interested in the latter question, but I agree it's impossible to know so it is a futile waste of energy -- but a lot of stuff we humans think about falls in that category.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-79571488107185992262024-03-09T15:05:53.504+00:002024-03-09T15:05:53.504+00:00I consider myself to be a Christian. Not a fundam...I consider myself to be a Christian. Not a fundamentalist or "conservative" Christian. I think "conservative" Christianity is the testicular cancer of the Body of Christ. I suppose I'm essentially a panentheist. God is within everything in the universe and also beyond it. Attempts to "prove" the existence (or non-existence) of God are futile wastes of energy. I do not believe that God will supernaturally intervene in human lives. God won't cure your cancer or help your sports team win. Tapping into or accepting God's love will help your endure those things.johntfshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16005496604068259398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-90508020930272095332024-03-09T14:58:54.562+00:002024-03-09T14:58:54.562+00:00I'm all for players enjoying the game in any w...I'm all for players enjoying the game in any way that suits them. In the original DW book 6 I even wrote a short section about using the rules for other settings. I know that some players, perhaps having come to Legend via Blood Sword, prefer the D&D-style feel of those books and don't like the low-fantasy setting that I think of as <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/dragon-warriors/the-lands-of-legend/" rel="nofollow">"authentic" Legend</a>, and that's fine, but I hope they give the low fantasy option a try because I think it's more unusual and interesting.<br /><br />High-fantasy fans won't get forgotten, though. Later this year (I hope) we'll finally see the English edition of Blood Sword 5e. If you are looking for epic adventure, that's where to go. And anyone who wants my flavour of Legend has only to look out for Jewelspider, also due later this year.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-78388263705201626032024-03-09T13:54:58.358+00:002024-03-09T13:54:58.358+00:00My view on that is that it is a good thing to make...My view on that is that it is a good thing to make the link with bloodsword, since it is the books 7 and 8, and thus, it is not part of the main rules, and hence it is optional.<br /><br />I think it is an error for a roleplaying game to restrict oneself to much in theme and setting. It is better if a setting and theme is a bit adaptable. Thus, different player group can use the same setting and same rules to play different genres according to their needs.<br /><br />In a campaign, gamers will have a choice, whether to go to high level and go toward more high fantasy, or whether to stay at low subtle fantasy.<br /><br />Both, low fantasy legend and high fantasy legend can easily be done with the core rules and the setting description.Paul Muad'Dibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06240757790623950756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-15828473648078174432024-03-08T21:34:40.875+00:002024-03-08T21:34:40.875+00:00I probably wouldn't have included any dungeons...I probably wouldn't have included any dungeons if not for the expectations of players familiar with Fighting Fantasy (etc) in the 1980s. Certainly they're not a feature in my own Legend games.<br /><br />As discussed in previous posts, I don't really think of Blood Sword (quite high fantasy) as happening in the same universe as Dragon Warriors (which is far less epic). Blood Sword is the Saturday morning cartoon serial version of Legend, DW is the Netflix live-action show, and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewelspider" rel="nofollow">Jewelspider</a> is the HBO down-n-dirty drama.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-10367575782691477562024-03-08T21:07:47.253+00:002024-03-08T21:07:47.253+00:00A few key point from the youtube talk:
Quest will...A few key point from the youtube talk:<br /><br />Quest will be modernized more based around rpg and less around combats. So less time in dungeon and more time interacting in towns and travelling. <br /><br />Books number 7 and 8 will try to make the link between Dragon Warriors and Bloodsword.<br /><br />Previous French editions were censored around religion and violence, the censorship will be removed.<br /><br />All good things, so far.Paul Muad'Dibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06240757790623950756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-9492599089322541052024-03-08T15:01:02.232+00:002024-03-08T15:01:02.232+00:00I remember a friend of mine at school asking me ab...I remember a friend of mine at school asking me about it, Andy. I had the reputation of being an atheist because I often argued with the Divinity master, but in fact I had to say that I wasn't comfortable with any labels: "It's not only a question I can't answer, it's not even a question that I think we can meaningfully ask." So the "Too complex to give an informed answer" box would definitely get my tick.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-89312814428478328022024-03-08T12:53:09.358+00:002024-03-08T12:53:09.358+00:00Whenever there was a work questionnaire, I always ...Whenever there was a work questionnaire, I always used to tick the 'Would prefer not to answer' box for religion, Dave. If for no other reason than to avoid the headache of trying to classify myself. Perhaps they should include a 'Too complex an issue to give an informed answer' box, and include a link to this post? Perhaps a higher power was messing about with the quantum stuff on the Sinclair Spectrum you mentioned, and the Big Bang was caused when the rubber keys got stuck? It's certainly not a monochrome subject.Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-50710380595190062442024-03-07T11:28:50.951+00:002024-03-07T11:28:50.951+00:00😅😅Gil Jugnot https://www.blogger.com/profile/07314090478318564246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-77522698296068775302024-03-07T07:58:04.656+00:002024-03-07T07:58:04.656+00:00Oh, the things we missed in our teens because of g...Oh, the things we missed in our teens because of girls! (And no doubt there are girls out there blaming boys for the same problem...)Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-48590289673820067682024-03-06T20:22:47.292+00:002024-03-06T20:22:47.292+00:00I already knew Les terres de legende because I rol...I already knew Les terres de legende because I roleplayed it many times during the nineties, but I only discovered L'épée de légende during some familial hollydays in Québec 2 years ago (the gamebooks in the Gallimard version are very hard to find, and so very expansive unfortunately) and it was a shock ! I found them so good that I wandered how did I missed them in the glorious time of my 16 years old...! Well... precisely because I was 16 and so less interrested by gamebooks and more by rpg (and girls, but that's another story! 😅).<br />Now that they will be avalaible with a brand new translation and improved by Alkonost, ah waw!! That will be a rediscovering, pleasure renewed and an extension to the dream! And knowing the excellent work usually done by the Alkonost team, no doubt that it will be an extra Ball!! 😊🥳Gil Jugnot https://www.blogger.com/profile/07314090478318564246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-24358634782342162272024-03-04T09:54:15.082+00:002024-03-04T09:54:15.082+00:00Merci beaucoup, Dave! But inspiration is definitel...Merci beaucoup, Dave! But inspiration is definitely a collaborative and virtuous circle, and all those lines came from your delightful play on words in the first place! John Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16249152658906641154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-3135532537144814672024-03-03T09:59:42.975+00:002024-03-03T09:59:42.975+00:00I think Roz will be putting photos on Facebook. It...I think Roz will be putting photos on Facebook. It was delicious, although the combination with Yorkshire pudding was a bit strange. Next time it'll be chips for sure!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-56145388313388719902024-03-02T16:25:12.379+00:002024-03-02T16:25:12.379+00:00Jarlsberg... yummy !! 😊😊Jarlsberg... yummy !! 😊😊Gil Jugnot https://www.blogger.com/profile/07314090478318564246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82093975650634844422024-03-02T16:24:48.627+00:002024-03-02T16:24:48.627+00:00Bon appétit quand même ! 😅Bon appétit quand même ! 😅Gil Jugnot https://www.blogger.com/profile/07314090478318564246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-29321075015434402592024-03-02T13:12:01.173+00:002024-03-02T13:12:01.173+00:00I think we're planning to have it with Yorkshi...I think we're planning to have it with Yorkshire puddings. Call it "fusion cuisine"...Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com