tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21413722621113428442024-03-18T19:58:03.420+00:00Fabled LandsA site dedicated to gamebooks, role-playing games and interactive fiction, in particular the works of best-selling authors and award-winning game designers Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson.Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger1126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-74576368521119370642024-03-15T08:31:00.000+00:002024-03-15T08:31:54.272+00:00Blood Sword to Dragon Warriors - part 3<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKULQa3cstIWyL9KdfNbNzWge1LUN0ScDmNH2Uf9mypkkfhZZpoZ0JrNsPOafz6AWH8G2KpCuKqW4V5pgOZJYqwmV9IyzV21L43bOYo8ew8zPbNN9VXRKjjBoCbK0OlZnfpullIFxB93kXercHixTjxpIrTuvZC0j-FoKQoyykF7Ai2ejq-oDxVzJUsZw/s3249/The%20Demons%20Claw%20-%20remastered.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3249" data-original-width="1962" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKULQa3cstIWyL9KdfNbNzWge1LUN0ScDmNH2Uf9mypkkfhZZpoZ0JrNsPOafz6AWH8G2KpCuKqW4V5pgOZJYqwmV9IyzV21L43bOYo8ew8zPbNN9VXRKjjBoCbK0OlZnfpullIFxB93kXercHixTjxpIrTuvZC0j-FoKQoyykF7Ai2ejq-oDxVzJUsZw/w241-h400/The%20Demons%20Claw%20-%20remastered.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>The third of Oliver Whawell's meticulous conversions of stats from the Blood Sword gamebooks to <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">the Dragon Warriors RPG</a> covers <i><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2014/08/blood-sword-redux-demons-claw.html" target="_blank">The Demon's Claw</a></i>. You can get a PDF of the stat blocks <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/The-Demons-Claw-DRAGON-WARRIORS-stats.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<p></p><p>This is the book where the series starts to kick up into really epic gear, seeing you face off against one of the series' best guest villains, have a return match with your arch-foe Icon (that is, Aiken, Lord of the Mountain of Songs), experience a close shave with Psyche (Saiki, his sister), and get a close encounter with the gods (allegedly) themselves.</p><p>If none of that makes any sense, and if you're interested in turning <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/blood-sword-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">the Blood Sword gamebook saga </a>into a roleplaying campaign - now's your chance. I'll just caution that the <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/dragon-warriors/the-lands-of-legend/" target="_blank">Legend </a>of the gamebooks is considerably higher fantasy than the Legend of Dragon Warriors, never mind the "real" Legend of <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewelspider" target="_blank">Jewelspider</a>. But that's just my view anyway. All versions are equally valid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-woKBzGb0M2HzCVSBSs5CvDC4e0QYGd88up-F1nLvhE4cR761KEF-XlLlN2HP1feMHjrhdDKyAJ8r4cYUiAMS1s-AVb7ByBhQU_gHZ4ggJpCV6CUmb1PxxY2nz3n29QopD40IGQ5brK43yPipP2G3q98c0eRtSZ2CWcKDvG3SJ2W7iYgmgQigH5P_e4/s1568/Demons-p7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-woKBzGb0M2HzCVSBSs5CvDC4e0QYGd88up-F1nLvhE4cR761KEF-XlLlN2HP1feMHjrhdDKyAJ8r4cYUiAMS1s-AVb7ByBhQU_gHZ4ggJpCV6CUmb1PxxY2nz3n29QopD40IGQ5brK43yPipP2G3q98c0eRtSZ2CWcKDvG3SJ2W7iYgmgQigH5P_e4/s320/Demons-p7.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-46961605107533129932024-03-13T08:00:00.000+00:002024-03-13T08:00:10.942+00:00From Hercules to hermit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2inUIW7f5fvpRaNXKQB3qyaXKbA1RDOoEbmOQnvOBfrhnau8HtdYx54C4lV-9BtE6aZ0cqlZjNDotFz7REICN4yadJHXChSSaoMbsGVlD4ywpWmGiW3VfeID8uIohjtE0ig2jGRU7jZTJu9tAxwuCRpbhIB_D4dq3d_yTTianHIEWMnsAynp9hLdC8U/s1092/banner%20abbas.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1092" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2inUIW7f5fvpRaNXKQB3qyaXKbA1RDOoEbmOQnvOBfrhnau8HtdYx54C4lV-9BtE6aZ0cqlZjNDotFz7REICN4yadJHXChSSaoMbsGVlD4ywpWmGiW3VfeID8uIohjtE0ig2jGRU7jZTJu9tAxwuCRpbhIB_D4dq3d_yTTianHIEWMnsAynp9hLdC8U/w400-h205/banner%20abbas.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-friend-who-never-changes.html" target="_blank">Talking of gods</a>, and because I'm always partial to a bit of psychogeography, <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-01-02-new-research-shows-cerne-abbas-giant-was-muster-station-king-alfred-s-armies" target="_blank">here's some news about the Cerne Abbas giant</a> and his huge club. To save you reading the whole piece, the chalk outline version is that he began as an effigy of Hercules to rally the troops of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_the_Great" target="_blank">Alfred the Great</a> against those pesky Vikings. </p><p>I realize it's fashionable these days to think of Vikings as peaceable multicultural traders, but that wasn't quite how the 9th century Anglo-Saxons thought of them. What's interesting is that <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/727992#_i36" target="_blank">Hercules was an ambiguous folk hero to the people of Wessex</a>, who you'd think might have been sniffy about pagan demi-gods. But by the 11th century the local monks decided the big lad was actually their patron saint Eadwold. (Saints back then were obviously a bit more priapic and a bit less pudibund.)</p><p>The Giant shows another side of his nature in one of the <a href="https://mirabilis-yearofwonders.blogspot.com/2013/05/big-bare-behind.html" target="_blank">Royal Mythological Society </a>posts from <a href="https://mirabilis-yearofwonders.com/" target="_blank">Mirabilis: Year of Wonders</a>. And if you're looking for a way to work chalk giants into a roleplaying game, take a look at my scenario <a href="https://annwnmagazine.blogspot.com/2004/08/waylands-smithy.html" target="_blank">"Wayland's Smithy"</a> for Legend (the world of <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a>).</p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82150355838075152882024-03-08T00:30:00.018+00:002024-03-08T00:30:00.135+00:00A friend who never changes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKbB7FnAjTFUZCvpvkq-OyLEyrKmjX9ySDvbQ9UQJIBubp8Tu2233FSFmsTPekakZ1feKtLwGzM86ZHxl2-YxmpZeurYBH6__ds37jYB4__HvwiUyz-APoTcWUi3El2kRRMFRVHsU_KizsYTsxTPdo2gM21gSDlUMLbsJlwOT2bAXPtS0O2X29HZWAiE/s512/VF6byXIebJBhCaemZwPA--1--uwnjx.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKbB7FnAjTFUZCvpvkq-OyLEyrKmjX9ySDvbQ9UQJIBubp8Tu2233FSFmsTPekakZ1feKtLwGzM86ZHxl2-YxmpZeurYBH6__ds37jYB4__HvwiUyz-APoTcWUi3El2kRRMFRVHsU_KizsYTsxTPdo2gM21gSDlUMLbsJlwOT2bAXPtS0O2X29HZWAiE/w400-h400/VF6byXIebJBhCaemZwPA--1--uwnjx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This one's about religion, not gaming. Actually, it's not even about religion, really; it's about theism. I've been thinking about it lately because of all the deities in the <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/vulcanverse-solo-roleplaying-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Vulcanverse </a>series that were once believed in and worshipped by half the civilized world, and now are universally regarded as fictional. If that's not a topic that interests you there'll be more ludology next time.<p></p><p>Years ago some friends asked me to be godfather to their daughter. 'But it will be in church,' they said, 'so you have to have been baptised.' Anything for friends. I spoke to the local vicar about getting baptised. 'Do you accept Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour?' he wanted to know. Well, I conceded that I was totally onboard with the ethical side of Jesus's teaching, just not the supernatural bit. Perhaps this is what's called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuism" target="_blank">Jesusism</a>. Anyway, it wasn't enough for the vicar. 'I think you and the Church of England must go their separate ways,' he said.</p><p>Sometimes I get characterized as <a href="https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/atheism-america-stigma-religion-christianity" target="_blank">an atheist</a>, but that's incorrect. Belief in the existence of a deity, or accepting the possibility of such an entity, is an entirely different question from whether you believe in a specific deity. And the question of <a href="https://mirabilis-yearofwonders.blogspot.com/2035/03/god-and-mr-fry.html" target="_blank">whether you should revere a deity </a>is another thing again. So just to set the record straight...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoU86O9sbcB6cpoPqhkK5fhSwod13V_0wk07x4n-bNSpaS5jiTIUl33pge5oA7PGTjSCaEL7n-wZcMmXOjxdX5tHVqr5BnJzO1IwyHxfRe-uRlGVm9TDVZDS6VrsV6SplGuubsSzHr6-QQSnFtqCJv1XZ3cUf0F90WlyaFlFrL3biVgKiLQ1fG1rNpr8/s512/XNUtcoYQ550oqrqyk5FL--2--8cwyh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoU86O9sbcB6cpoPqhkK5fhSwod13V_0wk07x4n-bNSpaS5jiTIUl33pge5oA7PGTjSCaEL7n-wZcMmXOjxdX5tHVqr5BnJzO1IwyHxfRe-uRlGVm9TDVZDS6VrsV6SplGuubsSzHr6-QQSnFtqCJv1XZ3cUf0F90WlyaFlFrL3biVgKiLQ1fG1rNpr8/s320/XNUtcoYQ550oqrqyk5FL--2--8cwyh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<p>Newton thought that something must have created the planets and set them in motion. He called it God, as did priests throughout history and probably prehistory. The only thing that changed over the ages was that the phenomena that God was used to explain became more closely observed and more complex.</p><p>Nowadays we know that it’s not just about explaining how the sun and planets formed. That was gravity, not God. We know we live in a vastly bigger universe than Newton ever suspected. It might even be infinite, but almost certainly consists of far more than the septillion stars in the observable region around us.
</p><p>Nearly fourteen billion years ago there was an event sometimes called the Big Bang (though a lot of astrophysicists avoid the term these days, seeing as it's thought of more as a kind of state change and certainly not an explosion) which might have been the beginning of matter and could be said to be the starting point of our universe, though we can infer the existence of a reality before that which was of unknown extent and which for an undeterminable period had been (according to theory) undergoing <a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/when-cosmic-inflation-occurred/" target="_blank">something we call cosmic inflation</a>.</p><p>We could start speculating how that earlier reality came about, but it’s<a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/biggest-questions-about-universe-beginning/" target="_blank"> (almost) </a>pure conjecture. You could imagine the Big Bang as like a bubble forming in a pot of boiling water. Each bubble in this analogy is a universe. But we not only don’t know any of that, we almost certainly can never know. We can't even see the whole of the bubble we're in. So let’s just stick with the Big Bang and our own universe.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02AuT1jlMa_HiHd2XDDow6KkvTd2jfVF3Ye5j-WKedLI52FjJpi1RtWHumUQx0mzDllNkqHQxXRFKL1W78W_vzOotwWLTwbMDj9hb3mUxAfw5W7jplWlsMI9Jzgvhs4DwWKpTHL9dnP7dbMrYkZcvW8rjmz-qTcpDXl-eDHbi4JMoD6QsunqAyIXKYDk/s1118/universe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1118" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02AuT1jlMa_HiHd2XDDow6KkvTd2jfVF3Ye5j-WKedLI52FjJpi1RtWHumUQx0mzDllNkqHQxXRFKL1W78W_vzOotwWLTwbMDj9hb3mUxAfw5W7jplWlsMI9Jzgvhs4DwWKpTHL9dnP7dbMrYkZcvW8rjmz-qTcpDXl-eDHbi4JMoD6QsunqAyIXKYDk/w400-h196/universe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The theistic argument is that an entity or entities existed in the proto-reality and they caused the Big Bang. Let’s assume that’s true and we’ll call them God. That still doesn’t tell us if God <i>intended </i>to cause the Big Bang. Also it doesn’t tell us if God designed the nature of the resulting universe or even was able to foresee it. It doesn’t tell us if God was generating a whole lot of universes or just the one. We can’t say what further interest God had in the universe once it formed. We can’t say where God came from either, unless we evoke an earlier God; turtles all the way down.
</p><p>In any case, this is an unimaginably alien intelligence we’re talking about. Would we even be able to recognize God as intelligent? That requires us to observe an entity that has a mental model of reality, uses that model to predict the consequences of an action, and can update their model based on the consequences actually observed. Can we apply diagnostic principles like that to God? If not, the concept of ‘intelligence’ may simply have no meaning.
</p><p>Incidentally, theologians have a concept called the cosmological argument that runs something like this: everything we observe has a cause, therefore everything in the universe has a cause, therefore everything can be traced back to the cause of the universe, and we’ll call that God. It’s not a lot of use because it is <a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/something-from-nothing/ " target="_blank">based on everything working the same way</a> our everyday observations suggest, which is almost certainly a fallacy. Also, it uses the word ‘God’ but doesn’t tell us <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_argument#Not_evidence_for_a_theistic_God" target="_blank">whether that first cause is intelligent or even if it still exists</a>. And it has the problem of only going back to the start of <a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/physicists-multiverse-exists/" target="_blank">this universe</a> (no philosophy or science can take us further, other than speculating on the most general principles, though <a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/scientists-think-multiverse-fiction/" target="_blank">we can provisionally include non-observables</a> if they are corollaries of an otherwise complete and working theory) but that’s only where <i>our </i>reality began. You could call what came before that ‘God’ but you don’t thereby learn anything about it, you simply gave it a name.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/px_4TxC2mXU?si=Wd-4jVE-6n6ix-Y9" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div>
<p></p><p>Typically whenever humans discover that the universe is bigger or older than previously known, the concept of God gets adjusted to be the supposed first cause. Other Gods are possible. We could conceive of a God that created just the solar system or just our galaxy rather than the whole universe. Or a God specifically responsible for creating life on Earth, or even just for creating hominids. There could be other Gods responsible for other planets. Gods of that sort can't be the first ever cause postulated by the cosmological argument, but that argument is probably based on a fallacy anyway. And the cosmological argument requires a God who was in existence eternally but who waited until 13.8 billion years ago to create our universe in its current form. What was that God doing for the preceding (maybe infinite) period of time? Each question unpacks a dozen more.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU8bXHsNiUFMCHcHjtA_8MqFSKV5asT4sYVq7_UeCLwzmykigqL3S5nZukEVNu41pGmdT61nB0_lt1Md-unbWCvJ1Vfi7OE7x81G-N7_06vfp-8ZySPxEzBSus4Km8Bf7gex-YqRhF5MUYjGiXFBS1BhLrvvZp2UCngVUvG5YHa53q1vHuoGByoGhXdw/s512/VF6byXIebJBhCaemZwPA--2--1v9jr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU8bXHsNiUFMCHcHjtA_8MqFSKV5asT4sYVq7_UeCLwzmykigqL3S5nZukEVNu41pGmdT61nB0_lt1Md-unbWCvJ1Vfi7OE7x81G-N7_06vfp-8ZySPxEzBSus4Km8Bf7gex-YqRhF5MUYjGiXFBS1BhLrvvZp2UCngVUvG5YHa53q1vHuoGByoGhXdw/s320/VF6byXIebJBhCaemZwPA--2--1v9jr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Let’s make another set of assumptions anyway. Let’s assume a God who existed before this universe, who planned and initiated the Big Bang, and who continues to take an interest in the universe, particularly in the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/" target="_blank">5% of everything</a> that comprises what we are used to thinking of as ‘normal’ matter. A few billion years after the Big Bang it was theoretically possible for life to form, and given all that time and all those stars maybe life did form many, many times. We can’t estimate a probability for that as we only have the one example. However, we have <a href="https://www.academia.edu/93200861/Evolution_Encoded" target="_blank">some basis for thinking</a> that life probably formed multiple times on our planet, in which case we might expect it to form elsewhere under similar conditions.</p><p>We also have no way of setting a probability for the evolution of general intelligence, language, and culture among tool-using social animals. We have the one example, and for all we know it’s the only case of it happening in the entirety of our universe. If we really are the one and only philosophizing species in all this universe, perhaps the God we’re hypothesizing took a special interest in us. What then? Would God want to contact us? We wouldn’t immediately think of making contact with a colony of new microbes, but perhaps intelligence makes all the difference and is recognizably a shared trait even between God (conjectured lifespan 13.8 billion years up to eternity) and we mere mayflies.</p><p>Did God contact humans? We only know about historical religions, each of which had its set of divine revelations. All we can infer from those is that God restricted revelation to matters that were of immediate interest to the people of the time: what to eat, who to have sex with, which fabrics to wear, contemporary codes of law. God revealed nothing involving science or technology, and in fact vouchsafed completely erroneous versions of the size, nature and origin of the stars and planets.
</p><p>Also, in most cases God’s pronouncements were supposedly revealed only to a select few, either by choice or perhaps because God is not omnipotent and cannot use any method to communicate other than speaking telepathically to a specially receptive mind. Certainly if God did choose to communicate with humans, it was in a manner that left any genuine messages exactly as uncertain as the thousands of delusional messages experienced by the mentally ill. If some guy told you he’d spoken to God, and that God had revealed exclusively to him a whole bunch of precepts, you’d be dubious. There are many explanations more convincing than that the guy really had been singled out by God. If I told you that I believed the guy’s story, and if I gave my reason for believing him as ‘just faith’, you’d think I’d lost my marbles. It makes no difference if the guy is in a trailer park in Texas today or in a desert a thousand years ago. Whenever we accept something on the grounds of faith, we should reflect on the origin of that faith. If it’s just what we were raised to believe, or if it’s just something we’d like to believe, that tells us nothing about reality on a cosmic scale; it only tells us about our own nature.
</p><p>But let’s assume that God did communicate with some people, as most religions claim. God could not have any experience of what its like to live as a human being, but several religions solved that with the concept of the avatar – creating a human possessing some of God’s mind. That must be a bit like trying to do quantum computing on a Sinclair Spectrum, but let’s say it’s enough to let God include human experience in God’s mental model of everything.
</p><p>What about other animals, incidentally? Does God care about the existence of bees? Has God contacted any individual bees? We can’t know that any more than we can know anything about the nature of such a being. Assuming that God only cares about humans, does that just mean Homo sapiens or did it extend to Denisovans and/or Neanderthals? If God is only concerned with modern humans, does that apply equally to all ethnicities? Or how about sex? Does God favour men or women?</p><p>These might seem like frivolous questions, but they're all things you’d have to think about once you’re going with the hypothesis that God exists at all. If we can look at a person's behaviour and detect favouritism, or at whole organizations and declare them institutionally racist or sexist, then it should be possible to look at how the universe operates (assuming it is controlled by a God who is not disinterested) and infer any built-in preferences.</p><p>Suppose we believe that God, having evaluated human existence, has come up with a set of precepts for how we should live. We don’t know which religion’s version of morality corresponds to this. Even if we did, should we follow God’s rules if they don’t accord with our personal morality?</p><p>Some would argue that their morality is directly based on God’s rules. The trouble is that everybody thinks that, and they can’t all be right. It’s entirely possible that none of them is right. Just assuming that God exists, and designed and initiated the universe, and takes a personal interest in the doings of humans, doesn’t give us a steer as to whether any of the world’s religions say anything accurate about the nature of God. You can say, ‘I am convinced that Baptist Christianity tells us exactly what God wants.’ Or Zoroastrianism. Or Wahhabism. Or those Greek gods who show up in the Vulcanverse books. Or the faith of the Aztecs. But all that’s guiding you there is a feeling, almost certainly based on how you happen to have been brought up. It’s not reasoned speculation from first principles.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT75zvwcovboODySdEOVlwxBghtDuw5tHAuGSfir8MDzFU-XwilMF3zp6CFpjf9r9u6iMgDhwHJM4ZbQuHUVj4iw0uQccqM-OTitJMIMIu6n2mKnnHwpc9eNeUsQpi1iHXWVPvX-ZNM_b75yfOTE7jqE7VAS5up9MkgJ2wDuQW75qaDk5tFNNIXzmRpWc/s640/ynbNXuZfEyFHB05j8nrG--2--nnskr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT75zvwcovboODySdEOVlwxBghtDuw5tHAuGSfir8MDzFU-XwilMF3zp6CFpjf9r9u6iMgDhwHJM4ZbQuHUVj4iw0uQccqM-OTitJMIMIu6n2mKnnHwpc9eNeUsQpi1iHXWVPvX-ZNM_b75yfOTE7jqE7VAS5up9MkgJ2wDuQW75qaDk5tFNNIXzmRpWc/s320/ynbNXuZfEyFHB05j8nrG--2--nnskr.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><p>Can we tell anything about the nature of God (if there is one) just by looking at the universe? <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001214x" target="_blank">That would be a good place to start.</a> OK, well, it seems that God either does not have direct control of events or else prefers to stand aloof. Having set up the laws of physics ('laws' is a misleading way to look at it, but let it stand) God is a dispassionate observer allowing each event to have the consequences that emerge naturally. (This makes perfect sense to me. It’s how I’d do it if I were God – not that that’s a proof of anything.)</p><p>I call myself an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism" target="_blank">agnostic </a>rather than an atheist because I don’t have any idea what caused the Big Bang – or, indeed, what caused whatever conditions that applied before the Big Bang. Maybe it was some kind of intelligent entity or entities, with the caveat that I don’t even know what intelligence would mean in that context. I can’t even say that’s unlikely, as there’s no basis for assessing probabilities. I can say I don’t <i>feel </i>it’s likely, but that’s no more rigorous than somebody saying they feel sure Jesus is God. A groundless sense of improbability is not enough to go on to call myself an atheist.
</p><p>As for <a href="https://youtu.be/Wu2hvtR5-5M?si=AtmxsE71disd3haO&t=56" target="_blank">earthly religions</a>, that’s another matter. They all look like human inventions to me, and pretty nonsensical ones. If there were a God who insisted on the blind faith and footling rules demanded by most organized religions, I’d repudiate that God. Being the creator of the universe doesn’t give God any more authority than me on what it’s like to be me or how I believe other people should be treated. So I’m an atheist – or an irreligionist – as regards all historical religions. But that’s nothing remarkable. Everybody who espouses one religion is an atheist towards all the other thousands of gods believed in, worshipped, and died for throughout history.
</p><p>As well as an irreligionist I’m definitely a non-worshipper – because even if a God exists, worshipping that God strikes me as pointless. I don’t worship light or heat or matter. I don’t worship the universe. I don't even worship beauty or truth or justice, much as I appreciate them. Any intelligent being that requires worship isn’t worthy of it. (And, as a personal note, rituals and ceremonies leave me cold anyway. But that's irrelevant to the theism question.)</p><p>Nor do I believe in life after death, because I don’t see any viable mechanism for it nor a sensible reason why God should arrange it. But I’m agnostic about that too. Just because it makes no sense to me, I can’t know whether it makes sense to an alien mind that thinks on cosmic scales. Maybe some or all of us get to live on (but as what?) after we die. If so, and if I eventually get first-hand experience of it, it still won’t necessarily prove the existence or nonexistence of God. It could be just another random process, albeit a really baffling one. We all just have to wait to see if we get an answer.</p><p>All of this, though, is perhaps beside the point. It arises because most people are literal-minded and insist on religion being true in the way that it’s true that water is wet. Think instead that <a href="https://youtu.be/_eWDiaDOX0E?si=ozPBNdV1gGdXzz-j&t=230" target="_blank">religion is true</a> in the way that a Mozart symphony is beautiful and you’d be on firmer ground. That of course requires you to accept that it is subjective and can be true for you while not true for somebody else. That God is real in the way that Lizzie Bennet and Winston Smith are real – very real, subjectively, that is. If more religious people understood it that way we’d have a lot less trouble in the world. You can object to other people's ethical rules, because those govern how they behave towards others, but there's no point in disputing <a href="https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.222966/2015.222966.Sceptical-Essays_djvu.txt#:~:text=Beliefs%20are%20vague,white%20or%20black." target="_blank">matters of personal belief</a>. Why take issue with anyone else’s idea of the nature and wishes of God, given that there is no objectively true version of those concepts?</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1--SwCZQIlo?si=2G-b3WgcoO2Ynl2Z&start=2" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still, I remain open-minded; I could yet be convinced of atheism, perhaps, though probably not of theism. Dr Richard Bartle, who knows more than I do about the nature of world design and its implications, says: "I can see what would have to follow if reality were a conscious creation. These consequences have not arisen. [...] Even if reality were an accidental creation ruled over by an uncaring or capricious god, it would be different from how it is now." His book <i>How to Be a God: A Guide for Would-Be Deities</i> seems like the best place to start; on sale on <a href="https://amzn.to/3RE1Eag" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/41IMVQd" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>.</div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-38856611002339625832024-03-06T00:00:00.001+00:002024-03-06T08:19:50.437+00:00Coming attractions<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CmqK5n69f2g?si=LwSqNFvpnCpFgDxB" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><p>Just a glimpse here of upcoming titles from <a href="https://alkonost-editions.com/" target="_blank">Alkonost</a>, our French publisher. Finally the complete Légende series will be returning to France -- that's both <i><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/blood-sword-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Blood Sword</a></i> ("L'Épée de Légende") and <i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a> </i>("Les Terres de Légende"). More details on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/hear-ye-hear-ye-99438783" target="_blank">my Patreon page</a> -- and it's an open post, so don't be put off if you're not a backer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRhlyBXlR5uXnbuK6FADvshQisUfPGDWsRFvg4JuC4TDGl1SlHTYKHnEPaWz0v-vQDdS8fztI2WiiX2OIA9p-JyIVN3AiLNdqTbtoFE5krdbZ4Bdkud_y1L1H5l-yLxbR2NjRRrmV56PROoSQDiWqLNmc1n8nDxytNfYOF7sytciq3x0NTQ0myroxU8w/s675/edl1_box3d_left-right-s.R76XyyAhaD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRhlyBXlR5uXnbuK6FADvshQisUfPGDWsRFvg4JuC4TDGl1SlHTYKHnEPaWz0v-vQDdS8fztI2WiiX2OIA9p-JyIVN3AiLNdqTbtoFE5krdbZ4Bdkud_y1L1H5l-yLxbR2NjRRrmV56PROoSQDiWqLNmc1n8nDxytNfYOF7sytciq3x0NTQ0myroxU8w/w238-h400/edl1_box3d_left-right-s.R76XyyAhaD.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><p>These are just mock-ups and may not reflect the final covers or layout, but the important thing is that the books will at last get an accurate translation. I'll give you an example. In <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3TeZWyl" target="_blank">The Demon's Claw</a></i>, the third Blood Sword book, you confront your longtime rival Icon the Ungodly (to give him his proper title, Aiken, Lord of the Singing Mountain) and he replies to your attempted brush-off thus:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">"By my honour, this is a call to battle. Do you mean to suggest that I am unable to destroy you? I’ll crush you like the merest ant. Like a thing without bones, you’ll squirm and die under the heel of my boot. For five years I have pursued you, since the days of your callow youth when by stark chance you managed to get the better of me in Krarth. When I arrived in Crescentium at the house of my sister Saiki, I discovered you were also in Outremer. Since then I have remained on your spoor, prepared to hunt you for hate’s sake to the very boundaries of the earth. This petty concern of yours for that magic blade is as nothing. My feud with you is like thunder. My wrath is the spitting of lightning!"</span></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsut_fur0gu4C24KqZ5u5WmXAwXtJz3zMYB3VXY_rGoUDmXJvSjbDcO19ygU1cJsGTN1INyaj2uRuS8-W7fxjQ53gqZtvr6FwM0U4kYCYDk07Bd-EJu3iiOExRwL5W45tC3JRU1V-fTuGDY7N9COwiOFzgF3GGr33c9_sD0q3t9TAVqWwSvX8u2P1CJ4/s477/contreparties8.5qdqjuyJV8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="410" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsut_fur0gu4C24KqZ5u5WmXAwXtJz3zMYB3VXY_rGoUDmXJvSjbDcO19ygU1cJsGTN1INyaj2uRuS8-W7fxjQ53gqZtvr6FwM0U4kYCYDk07Bd-EJu3iiOExRwL5W45tC3JRU1V-fTuGDY7N9COwiOFzgF3GGr33c9_sD0q3t9TAVqWwSvX8u2P1CJ4/s320/contreparties8.5qdqjuyJV8.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>But in the original 1980s translation that became:<p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #990000;">"Je vous poursuis depuis cinq années, depuis que vous m'avez ravi la victoire. Ma sœur Saïki m'a averti de votre présence en Outremer. Peu m'importe votre épée magique, je ne veux que votre sang..."</span></i></p></blockquote><p>Which is to say:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">"I have been pursuing you for the past five years, ever since you robbed me of my victory. My sister Saiki warned me of your presence in Outremer. I don't care about your magic blade, I only want your blood..."</span></p></blockquote><p>It was a busy time in the 1980s with a lot of gamebooks getting published. <a href="https://www.gallimard.fr/" target="_blank">Gallimard</a>'s translator may have been rushing to meet a deadline, which accounts for why that version was so perfunctory. Alkonost's translation team have taken the extra time and care to make a version that's true to the original text, so for the first time French gamers will get to experience the Blood Sword books as they were written.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhW1z-Y9A-zgJs38rogxtCflM_OSA_lhUrq2x4aJAjxAmRJFaAzZrAAeXFu9u_NxHN7okHicOI04W3awJZCulhpczdXRoI46BN1fGAWbN9T_nTxZlT5t9BolOLz0pOcd-E4vEjDaoNz6UtAvH3Ih7RZOshWrOj7hOXeuRoOdzO5r680SY5CZf72k2E-U/s675/edl5_box3d_left-right-s.VvMHaHhNG5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhW1z-Y9A-zgJs38rogxtCflM_OSA_lhUrq2x4aJAjxAmRJFaAzZrAAeXFu9u_NxHN7okHicOI04W3awJZCulhpczdXRoI46BN1fGAWbN9T_nTxZlT5t9BolOLz0pOcd-E4vEjDaoNz6UtAvH3Ih7RZOshWrOj7hOXeuRoOdzO5r680SY5CZf72k2E-U/w238-h400/edl5_box3d_left-right-s.VvMHaHhNG5.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(By the way, I probably don't need to point this out, but if your French is as lousy as mine and you want to follow that discussion with Laurent and Patrick in the video above, you know that thanks to AI YouTube does auto-translate, right?)</div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82549288756428247652024-02-29T10:37:00.004+00:002024-03-03T10:40:58.716+00:00Festival of joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrAVJt6e-Yqsuh6FkDdyEOTGedqFYb1Rbx60tTnJMg18CKcUw_sSCPG6KXl1VWVT6iHx0fusQ9EKqFXsXRc6WBFSZNM68OhUx-v-vStsLogge50I9e_TBesSqtUVfhhiOQespQ-oTENKSa-o4j8kw57q28EdIUBEmMh-fhFYHtFQLTLm8Z5e4xJkj-Jo/s1553/PXL_20240224_111526550.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1553" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrAVJt6e-Yqsuh6FkDdyEOTGedqFYb1Rbx60tTnJMg18CKcUw_sSCPG6KXl1VWVT6iHx0fusQ9EKqFXsXRc6WBFSZNM68OhUx-v-vStsLogge50I9e_TBesSqtUVfhhiOQespQ-oTENKSa-o4j8kw57q28EdIUBEmMh-fhFYHtFQLTLm8Z5e4xJkj-Jo/w400-h223/PXL_20240224_111526550.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>It's like going from colour to black & white. <a href="https://rozmorris.org/" target="_blank">My wife</a> and I are back under the chill grey skies of Britain after a weekend in glorious Cannes, where we were fêted like royalty (Louis XIV, that is, not Louis XVI) by my French publishers <a href="https://alkonost-editions.com/" target="_blank">Alkonost</a> and the good people of <a href="https://scriptarium.org/potinier/ldvelh/" target="_blank">Scriptarium</a>. In the South of France, ham slices and bread bought from a Spar corner shop are as delicious as anything you'd get in a top London restaurant. What a shock to the system, then, to return to a country where cheese is sold in tubes after we'd been contentedly munching freshly baked croissants on the Croisette. But we brought back something priceless to cast a golden gleam over Britain's drab streets: memories of a warm and heartfelt welcome from all the French gamebook community, and those memories I will cherish forever.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxKzQIR8RajbVRJc_O7-bGNSnoPjjntsr8tuJpXCUXqlhiqYQX4ch631Fhe5lBDPTHGc8vUX9IvgM8oF8Uq61yPnE7tNmKj3tsFYzlwgrJiwGxEevSOBIP9qQUGczlM2qVpLqqdp3oCXb_VVR_YAsDrw_DoauX4iPGf4u_fLPO6WPAHzP5qB_Onpsp-Y/s1693/PXL_20240225_162821222.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="1693" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxKzQIR8RajbVRJc_O7-bGNSnoPjjntsr8tuJpXCUXqlhiqYQX4ch631Fhe5lBDPTHGc8vUX9IvgM8oF8Uq61yPnE7tNmKj3tsFYzlwgrJiwGxEevSOBIP9qQUGczlM2qVpLqqdp3oCXb_VVR_YAsDrw_DoauX4iPGf4u_fLPO6WPAHzP5qB_Onpsp-Y/w400-h225/PXL_20240225_162821222.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The occasion was the <a href="https://www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com/en/" target="_blank">Festival International des Jeux</a>, where I was signing books alongside <a href="https://amzn.to/3wrX9bY" target="_blank">Jonathan Green</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/49OyKvQ" target="_blank">Emmanuel Quaireau</a>, <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Mark-of-Cthulhu-by-Gauthier-Wendling-author-David-Chapoulet-illustrator/9781510760615" target="_blank">Gauthier Wendling</a>, <a href="https://frederic-meurin.com/" target="_blank">Frédéric Meurin</a> (who took the photo below), and other talented folk. We enjoyed perhaps the best meal I'll have all year (for both the food and the company) at <a href="https://www.lecaveau30.fr/menus" target="_blank">Le Caveau 30</a>. I won one award (for the French edition of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/48zxOKP" target="_blank">Down Among the Dead Men</a></i>) and handed out several others, was interviewed, chatted to fans and fellow creatives alike, and generally had the most amazing time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh33RnUjMeFo6Mns5aKIe0RuYdbggLyEAk4qt56sIqhiaoGIXawZgObA05gqrWyetGYDqZ_77s-wpPq-beb-kIeghO45ebEwzRxILQ08GlsxUC8qWMz-difv1LPmV2GCVSSioMdh_rj0tzwhXMy7iL-Lt30uyTbpzV_SKHcwU1LSA0zRqyY28ZgQ_kgsw/s828/424955184_801947051979120_8248835050480542014_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="828" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh33RnUjMeFo6Mns5aKIe0RuYdbggLyEAk4qt56sIqhiaoGIXawZgObA05gqrWyetGYDqZ_77s-wpPq-beb-kIeghO45ebEwzRxILQ08GlsxUC8qWMz-difv1LPmV2GCVSSioMdh_rj0tzwhXMy7iL-Lt30uyTbpzV_SKHcwU1LSA0zRqyY28ZgQ_kgsw/w400-h209/424955184_801947051979120_8248835050480542014_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The Alkonost stand sold out of copies of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/4bU9Bl5" target="_blank">Notos</a></i>, the second book in the Forge Divine series (Vulcanverse to English gamers). I think that may have been a divine reward for my honesty when a mother with a 9-year-old daughter came over to look at the Forge Divine books. "She loves Greek mythology," said the mother; "should I get her this?" Remembering what it's like to be a 9-year-old <i>otaku</i>, and what purists the young are, I had to put my hand on my heart and say she would prefer <i>Cyclades</i>, Emmanuel Quaireau's gamebook, because that is set in mythological Greece whereas the Vulcanverse books are slightly Graeco-Roman flavoured fantasy, but mostly their own thing. The little girl went home happily clutching <i>Cyclades</i>, and the Fates took note and later ensured we sold the last copy of <i>Notos </i>fifteen minutes before it was time to pack up.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93E-rJsZgmFmTgWAwUGei14ouTmeh6CZfgnH80kPYCf9agZmNzKldAkWgeN1TUeC8VxQIGS1gr7nlHZv270nd8_DZVAnsNpMX3H-ewY38H3QYGj6TJ57qsHu1Jf9tflG_lm2xu7zaKypl_x-CwgLd2kQlroQ1Vn9a5Qy4UL32U0cUlwQaRclTRPWsDdg/s1451/PXL_20240225_102259781.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1451" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93E-rJsZgmFmTgWAwUGei14ouTmeh6CZfgnH80kPYCf9agZmNzKldAkWgeN1TUeC8VxQIGS1gr7nlHZv270nd8_DZVAnsNpMX3H-ewY38H3QYGj6TJ57qsHu1Jf9tflG_lm2xu7zaKypl_x-CwgLd2kQlroQ1Vn9a5Qy4UL32U0cUlwQaRclTRPWsDdg/w400-h225/PXL_20240225_102259781.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I just wish my French were better, as there's obviously a lot of really original work going on in the gamebook field nowadays. A couple of examples:</p>The <a href="http://litteraction.fr/presentation/livre-dont-on-est-le-heros/mini-yaz" target="_blank">Mini-Yaz </a>silver medal went to <i>Froides Lattitudes</i> by Henry Pichat, set in the Arctic Ocean at the end of the 19th century. The blurb explains: "You are the leader of a polar expedition setting out in search of the Northwest Passage, but the boat you command is quickly caught in the ice. After two winters on a drifting ice floe, you have no choice but to abandon the ship and try to bring your crew back to inhabited lands. A thousand kilometers separate you from civilization. Will you be able to reach it? And at what cost?"<p>The Mini-Yaz gold medal was won by Adrien Saurat with his book <i>Traité sur l'expérience divinatoire à propos du vampyre surnommé Le Valèque</i>. The book is supposed to have been written in the 18th century and is formulated as a gamebook, except that the purpose is not (for the fictional author) playful but divinatory. He proposes possible paths that we will follow with our intuition and with the help of certain dice rolls (influenced by a superior force if we pray briefly at each new passage). This process is supposed to help us find the true thread of events relating to a troubled episode that a village experienced a long time ago, and whose testimonies, decades later, vary greatly.</p><p>Both sound superb and worthy winners, and hopefully somebody will get around to translating them into English soon. I'll be first in line to read them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFwZCZCOrHePNqcL9GM4KK3TrX_kOsiMrVUUKv7Wtzp-Zg3qhMynZtuJcrPIigiNESrnd3_ZiFVr2JWxcOwNFwBWegNqfFkz6db73vx50x01gZ8ujnrtHmnT1eeI5d4WuqvFhmtZpv8Ndqie6vJ9ueKRJnmjPYC47GGgIk7iwtp5fAct2YEJRybeLiTk/s2056/PXL_20240223_163616357.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="2056" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFwZCZCOrHePNqcL9GM4KK3TrX_kOsiMrVUUKv7Wtzp-Zg3qhMynZtuJcrPIigiNESrnd3_ZiFVr2JWxcOwNFwBWegNqfFkz6db73vx50x01gZ8ujnrtHmnT1eeI5d4WuqvFhmtZpv8Ndqie6vJ9ueKRJnmjPYC47GGgIk7iwtp5fAct2YEJRybeLiTk/w400-h217/PXL_20240223_163616357.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-75728998575042358322024-02-23T00:30:00.000+00:002024-02-23T00:30:00.249+00:00Blood Sword to Dragon Warriors - part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7Tn64jm6n3jy-P4gcG2oU9grwCsZi8__ZEx_3p2vfGOIW7AB4haCip0YggzVomflCWoQD9O5KVJrk6OptMJVTJcXQpTllGLjTd4nzqvnQlpvV94ZFc0rucipzdRN_j2KdNqss6xfLiTPegw2GHqRHT5QaDvx_xmNFz6bdMZcKfom1C5F3OUST0HIywQ/s3240/The%20Kingdom%20of%20Wyrd%20-%20remastered.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3240" data-original-width="1988" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7Tn64jm6n3jy-P4gcG2oU9grwCsZi8__ZEx_3p2vfGOIW7AB4haCip0YggzVomflCWoQD9O5KVJrk6OptMJVTJcXQpTllGLjTd4nzqvnQlpvV94ZFc0rucipzdRN_j2KdNqss6xfLiTPegw2GHqRHT5QaDvx_xmNFz6bdMZcKfom1C5F3OUST0HIywQ/w245-h400/The%20Kingdom%20of%20Wyrd%20-%20remastered.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>We're on to the second installment of Oliver's Whawell's conversion of <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/blood-sword-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Blood Sword</a> encounters to <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a> rules. You can download the stat blocks for <i>The Kingdom of Wyrd</i> <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/The-Kingdom-of-Wyrd-DRAGON-WARRIORS-stats.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<p></p><p>This one is interesting because I already had a crack at converting the Meteor Stalker, a weird creature brilliantly visualized by Russ Nicholson. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/thing-that-fell-82345780" target="_blank">Patreon backers can read all about that</a>, but in a nutshell (or a meteoritic geode) it's as follows. The characters see a piece break off Blue Moon, one of five celestial bodies in the night sky over Krarth. The object plummets to earth:</p><p><span style="color: #0b5394;">"Concealed in the undergrowth around the clearing, you watch the blue flare crash through the trees at the edge of the clearing and explode in a shower of blue sparks at its centre. The high-pitched whistling noise has stopped, but now you hear a hissing sound from where steam rises from the place where it struck. In the centre of the steam you can see a black stone which even as you watch cracks apart like an egg. An area of darkness spreads like a pool of shadow. Then a hunched shape rises up from the shadow as though taking shape out of the very ground. It is a skeleton dressed in black tattered robes. Its eyes are glowing blue crystals. It seems to sniff the air as it looks around."</span></p><p>And the stats I gave for it are:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7lm3PH4rra3MARDRS5WT6LEWAjAWKvMcXzV1docYZlXjkVIVd3P28wTMXC8dUpIvz1CI_O7WXwQIFUISrdWWcu3sHcm1RSA-3EeppR75d1SYgy07zp6IRtHsgvwFnLwiu7fXq0_XYMa5Smwe-lw0x-Jqsyjtqi1KhGXKTTZx74OYOxELl3-0HblrEKw/s820/Stalker-stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="820" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7lm3PH4rra3MARDRS5WT6LEWAjAWKvMcXzV1docYZlXjkVIVd3P28wTMXC8dUpIvz1CI_O7WXwQIFUISrdWWcu3sHcm1RSA-3EeppR75d1SYgy07zp6IRtHsgvwFnLwiu7fXq0_XYMa5Smwe-lw0x-Jqsyjtqi1KhGXKTTZx74OYOxELl3-0HblrEKw/w400-h299/Stalker-stats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Oliver's calculations give a very similar result, possibly proving that great minds think alike? Obviously I couldn't possibly comment.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltgfTKmEbv2ZGbaFj1yMW2sH3-snPweRH1mhRIiYPTno1CfRU4Rr9MZiMOwHnJiukBqf7lIEVTrJRrwg8n3nskwf1gE-yzCEI6WOCm-olLwnIRROfgQ05Ex8j55Ea7hBUw_KiWWgwbiA9wmQmnkDMIXIUozlVaCH1wvn3KeQzsL0XnhKO1wljwnX7-O4/s999/00-BS2-meteor_skeleton-neg-red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="575" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltgfTKmEbv2ZGbaFj1yMW2sH3-snPweRH1mhRIiYPTno1CfRU4Rr9MZiMOwHnJiukBqf7lIEVTrJRrwg8n3nskwf1gE-yzCEI6WOCm-olLwnIRROfgQ05Ex8j55Ea7hBUw_KiWWgwbiA9wmQmnkDMIXIUozlVaCH1wvn3KeQzsL0XnhKO1wljwnX7-O4/w230-h400/00-BS2-meteor_skeleton-neg-red.jpg" width="230" /></a></div></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-29960240016566992232024-02-21T00:30:00.089+00:002024-02-21T00:30:00.208+00:00A pretty butterfly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTa5edWtptQ-Ta2EDiVka7yMzjlM4Jm7P8Ry8Yc-5lChqOkDS4G4i7lpS6Mf0xUoI-6cUIYF6LIOD2zyJrYKrXP9yOyOsLaOKPG20zY5nfmRzAYCFMmVgmBhX1H_IetzhNL_pfMEoP-i15ryJzRLheeVV6ovAPw68-8MXROiQB830JeEJjJHL4MxCdN0/s680/Alan-Moore-credit-Mitch-Jenkins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTa5edWtptQ-Ta2EDiVka7yMzjlM4Jm7P8Ry8Yc-5lChqOkDS4G4i7lpS6Mf0xUoI-6cUIYF6LIOD2zyJrYKrXP9yOyOsLaOKPG20zY5nfmRzAYCFMmVgmBhX1H_IetzhNL_pfMEoP-i15ryJzRLheeVV6ovAPw68-8MXROiQB830JeEJjJHL4MxCdN0/w400-h400/Alan-Moore-credit-Mitch-Jenkins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The British Library's <a href="https://fantasy.seetickets.com/timeslots/filter/fantasy-realms-of-imagination" target="_blank">Fantasy exhibition</a> ends on Sunday, so if you're able to get to London it had better be now. It's a little disappointing as it focuses on quite a narrow patch (faerie-filled, English language, heroic) of the vast field that is fantasy literature. The curators should try dipping into Borges's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Fantasy" target="_blank">Antología de la Literatura Fantástica</a>, Alberto Manguel's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3T0Crcb" target="_blank">Black Water</a></i> collections, or <i><a href="https://amzn.to/49vxRrQ" target="_blank">The Irreal Reader</a></i>. Just because fantasy gaming presents such a restricted view of the genre is no reason why the British Library should. Still, it's worth a trip.</p><p>As part of the exhibition's programme of events there was an interview with Alan Moore (pictured above) and Susanna Clarke (below), both giants of the fantasy field. You can watch that interview <a href="https://www.living-knowledge-network.co.uk/library/susanna-clarke-alan-moore" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Asked in another interview by <a href="https://mirabilis-yearofwonders.blogspot.com/2009/05/world-of-ideas.html" target="_blank">Pádraig Ó Méalóid</a> about belief in fairies and magic, Alan Moore said:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"I do not believe they are real outside the world of ideas and the mind, but then they have no need to be real beyond that realm, because in that realm they’re completely real, and they can affect us profoundly, as with any of the other denizens of the imaginary terrain, the angels and demons and monsters."</p></blockquote><p>That's exactly how I feel about fantastic ideas, and if you follow the whole discussion you may notice it touches on a lot of the same territory as my <a href="https://mirabilis-yearofwonders.com/" target="_blank">Mirabilis comic</a>. Hardly surprising, really, as Moore was one of my biggest inspirations in that medium.</p><p>Susanna Clarke spoke to Alan Moore about his <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3SWWCYB" target="_blank">Lost Girls</a> </i>comic back in 2007, but <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/11608804/Susanna-Clark-interviews-Alan-Moore-the-wonderful-wizard-of...-Northampton.html" target="_blank">that's behind a <i>Telegraph </i>paywall </a>and I'd sooner take a left-hand path in <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewelspider" target="_blank">Jewelspider wood</a> than go there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZSxaxvGpuDk25jvJfkKn5OpDI6rI59ZxyzYfonxuxiTeNj8oc788elEBHMVrWrN0ff4CMzD2vVEsFTWLxZoPe3hP9r8-KC04yrrmOp2QsAr6alo4OTsFOlhc7TnAVI484RAfWSGwXIuEVtK0dgg47_LGZOsb_cIH0IQ44hUU5SEdiplGfk45UisxENI/s680/Susanna-Clarke-web.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZSxaxvGpuDk25jvJfkKn5OpDI6rI59ZxyzYfonxuxiTeNj8oc788elEBHMVrWrN0ff4CMzD2vVEsFTWLxZoPe3hP9r8-KC04yrrmOp2QsAr6alo4OTsFOlhc7TnAVI484RAfWSGwXIuEVtK0dgg47_LGZOsb_cIH0IQ44hUU5SEdiplGfk45UisxENI/s320/Susanna-Clarke-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-21480609527820537372024-02-16T00:30:00.070+00:002024-02-16T00:30:00.131+00:00A world where you can make a difference<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iud0Ltyd6zs?si=LCZfRyrao_8q6ILj" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/vulcanverse-solo-roleplaying-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Vulcanverse gamebooks </a>don't get nearly enough reviews. I would say that, wouldn't I? But <a href="https://www.jamiethomson.com/" target="_blank">Jamie </a>and I genuinely feel they're some of our best work. We're aware that the gamebook resurgence, such as it is, is mainly driven by adults buying the books they enjoyed as kids. Naturally that makes it hard for a new series to break through, but there are standout successes: <a href="https://amzn.to/3So20lV" target="_blank">Steam Highwayman</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3vWzqAq" target="_blank">Legendary Kingdoms</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/483vrzm" target="_blank">Expeditionary Company</a>, and others. </div><p>Our hope is that with the completion of the saga (<i>Workshop of the Gods</i> is due to be published in a few months) readers will get to appreciate the full story arc that's been building across the series. The entire adventure is over 6000 sections long, that's more than 15 old-style <a href="https://amzn.to/42ojpQ6" target="_blank">Fighting Fantasy </a>gamebooks, and there are decisions you make right from the start that have repercussions in the apocalyptic showdown at the end.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNAUMXDD3QQ?si=qnIuQSZawgyY8iQs" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><p>Yes, I know, I could do with a better microphone. Still, if that all whets your appetite, you can get started by downloading Adventure Sheet PDFs for the <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/vulcanverse-solo-roleplaying-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Vulcanverse </a>series here:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Vulcanverse-5-Adventure-Sheet-VULCAN-CITY.pdf" target="_blank">Workshop of the Gods</a></i> (Vulcan City)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Adventure-Sheet-HADES.pdf" target="_blank">The Houses of the Dead</a></i> (Hades)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Adventure-Sheet-NOTUS.pdf" target="_blank">The Hammer of the Sun</a></i> (Notus)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Vulcanverse-3-Adventure-Sheet-ARCADIA.pdf" target="_blank">The Wild Woods</a> </i>(Arcadia)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Vulcanverse-Adventure-Sheet-BOREAS.pdf" target="_blank">The Pillars of the Sky </a></i>(Boreas)</li></ul><p></p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34910948159796726512024-02-09T00:30:00.041+00:002024-02-09T00:30:00.138+00:00Blood Sword to Dragon Warriors - part 1<p><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/03/lich-lord-legend-style.html" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hYwLKiNyoYqzBCwmCHREoAU2OPwxWJ_pLQh3k6Lf1rgULVokKZy9Mr4HdH7dwX7kWGlBwY-udCD_UWNUBD_q3elK9t-GmI5wtgc3x-SjVmAfDJ853426onlkY7tZjqMzUFfdmntV_PF-G97vU0jDGgA2XF02KazMrxR2iiiAmZ5Rw2vSx5WkauSt3k0/s3249/Battlepits-remastered.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3249" data-original-width="1988" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hYwLKiNyoYqzBCwmCHREoAU2OPwxWJ_pLQh3k6Lf1rgULVokKZy9Mr4HdH7dwX7kWGlBwY-udCD_UWNUBD_q3elK9t-GmI5wtgc3x-SjVmAfDJ853426onlkY7tZjqMzUFfdmntV_PF-G97vU0jDGgA2XF02KazMrxR2iiiAmZ5Rw2vSx5WkauSt3k0/w245-h400/Battlepits-remastered.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>Last time I mentioned Oliver Whawell's conversion of Blood Sword stat blocks to Dragon Warriors rules, which Oliver has kindly agreed to share with readers of this blog. There's a lot of great work there, so I'll be running it in installments. To get the ball rolling, here's <i><a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/Battlepits-of-Krarth-DRAGON-WARRIORS-stats.pdf" target="_blank">The Battlepits of Krarth</a></i>.<p></p><p>The original books might be useful if you're thinking of running Blood Sword as a DW roleplaying campaign. You can get those here:</p><p><i>In the US</i></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>DRAGON WARRIORS</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/dragon-warriors" target="_blank">Core Rulebook</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/dragon-warriors" target="_blank"><i>Bestiary</i></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/141930/dragon-warriors-players-guide" target="_blank"><i>Players Guide</i></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/178062/cold-fury" target="_blank">Cold Fury</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/93970/friends-or-foes" target="_blank">Friends or Foes</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94178/sleeping-gods" target="_blank">Sleeping Gods</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94179/the-elven-crystals" target="_blank">The Elven Crystals</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94177/prince-of-darkness" target="_blank">Prince of Darkness</a></i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>BLOOD SWORD</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Battlepits of Krarth </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/3vtnO85" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-battlepits-of-krarth-dave-morris/1120183654?ean=9781909905160" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></div>
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Kingdom of Wyrd </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/4aMaPyh" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kingdom-of-wyrd-dave-morris/1120183655?ean=9781909905177" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Demon's Claw </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/3tKjKzy" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-demons-claw-dave-morris/1120191598?ean=9781909905184" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Doomwalk </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/48n5SKT" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doomwalk-dave-morris/1120183676?ean=9781909905191" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Walls of Spyte</i></b> on <a href="https://amzn.to/47sj7Zd" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-walls-of-spyte-oliver-johnson/1131958179?ean=9781909905207" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Blood Sword Battle Boards </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/3vmUtfc" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
</div>
</div><p><i>In the UK</i></p><p><b>DRAGON WARRIORS</b></p><div><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/dragon-warriors" target="_blank">Core Rulebook</a></div><div><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/92332/dragon-warriors-bestiary" target="_blank">Bestiary</a></i></div><div><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/141930/dragon-warriors-players-guide" target="_blank">Players Guide</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/178062/cold-fury" target="_blank">Cold Fury</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/93970/friends-or-foes" target="_blank">Friends or Foes</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94178/sleeping-gods" target="_blank">Sleeping Gods</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94179/the-elven-crystals" target="_blank">The Elven Crystals</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/94177/prince-of-darkness" target="_blank">Prince of Darkness</a></i></div><p><b>BLOOD SWORD</b></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Battlepits of Krarth </i></b>on <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Battlepits-of-Krarth-by-Morris-Dave/9781909905160" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-battlepits-of-krarth/dave-morris/oliver-johnson/9781909905160" target="_blank">Waterstones </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/3RRBnWb" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Kingdom of Wyrd </i></b>on <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Kingdom-of-Wyrd-by-Morris-Dave/9781909905177" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-kingdom-of-wyrd/dave-morris/oliver-johnson/9781909905177" target="_blank">Waterstones </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/3RULDgm" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Demon's Claw </i></b>on <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Demons-Claw-by-Morris-Dave/9781909905184" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-demons-claw/dave-morris/russ-nicholson/9781909905184" target="_blank">Waterstones </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/3TUN2X4" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Doomwalk </i></b>on <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Doomwalk-by-Morris-Dave/9781909905191" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/doomwalk/dave-morris/russ-nicholson/9781909905191" target="_blank">Waterstones </a>and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1909905194?storeType=ebooks&linkCode=ll1&tag=printmedia-21&linkId=0799acfd96844b7d995a6609680fd9f8&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Walls of Spyte</i></b> on <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Walls-of-Spyte-by-Johnson-Oliver/9781909905207" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-walls-of-spyte/oliver-johnson/dave-morris/9781909905207" target="_blank">Waterstones </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/3Ojthoz" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Blood Sword Battle Boards </i></b>on <a href="https://amzn.to/3HcKEDl" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Italian gamers won't need to use Dragon Warriors as all the work has been done for you by Valentino Sergi and Daniele Fusetto in their magnificent <a href="https://www.amazon.it/Blood-Sword-Ediz-italiana-inglese/dp/B0BMV1VFWN" target="_blank">Blood Sword 5e book</a>, published by <a href="https://tambucreate.com/" target="_blank">Tambù</a>. It turns the whole gamebook saga into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and it truly is a thing of beauty.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And if you aren't familiar with the Blood Sword series and you're looking for a taster, Raphael Perry did <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLOMvuRmUId4BRmI-hFp2ytJ4ECga2ztf" target="_blank">a playthrough of book 1 on YouTube</a> along with this very interesting strategy analysis:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GIFPYtoJAiY?si=QcVwEARBqbFVmx6u" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-60347201074805799692024-02-02T00:00:00.002+00:002024-02-10T16:43:12.673+00:00Lich Lord, Legend-style<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29gXfFT7t0IDo-QhvkY9QN9FkM6JWwuGqOf4dTdNumFkotDK0_yLArFg5D8taXb7rZS0fknN4Vfgr3Mg6rbjmaUM1eEecsINBVEvH4PKIB9iaC_FsD8qG2ClAaEEIz_DweOF4P0LRdHxJE-PxqEfPCAV6Huf-xKtEeb_Qo5xr5qQl-TJjP-7V4woWmEg/s1466/lichy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29gXfFT7t0IDo-QhvkY9QN9FkM6JWwuGqOf4dTdNumFkotDK0_yLArFg5D8taXb7rZS0fknN4Vfgr3Mg6rbjmaUM1eEecsINBVEvH4PKIB9iaC_FsD8qG2ClAaEEIz_DweOF4P0LRdHxJE-PxqEfPCAV6Huf-xKtEeb_Qo5xr5qQl-TJjP-7V4woWmEg/w263-h400/lichy.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>Gamebook critic and <a href="https://fightingfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Race_from_Earth_End" target="_blank">writer </a>Oliver Whawell writes to say, "I was the perfect age for <i>Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> when it was released, and quickly became a fan of gamebooks. The Fighting Fantasy books developed alongside my reading age, but then they started to feel a bit immature - and along came Blood Sword: great writing and a challenging game, especially if you adhered to the rules.<p></p>
<p>"Inspired by the excellent work of <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/17264/Red-Ruin-Publishing" target="_blank">Red Ruin Publishing</a> (and a throwaway comment from <a href="https://www.imirt.ie/wayne-imlach" target="_blank">Wayne Imlach</a>) I wanted to see if <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/blood-sword-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Blood Sword</a> and <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a> were compatible. It took a little while but I created a formula that would turn a warrior’s stats into a knight's, and an enchanter’s stats into a sorcerer's, and then applied this throughout. It worked for humanoid opponents remarkably well, so I just had to find modifications for animals, demons, and giants/dragons. I did cheat with a couple of extreme encounters in book 5; other than that the numbers don’t lie.”</p><p>The complete set of stat blocks that Oliver kindly provided for all five Blood Sword books is a bit much to reproduce in just one blog post here, so I'll release them in <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/02/blood-sword-to-dragon-warriors-part-1.html" target="_blank">installments</a>. To get started, though, Oliver also calculated the DW stats for <i><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2014/10/unearthing-lich-lord.html" target="_blank">The Keep of the Lich Lord</a></i>, and you can download those <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/wp-content/media/The-Keep-of-the-Lich-Lord-Dragon-Warriors-stat-blocks.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3tS8cdH"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="960" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRljFPnVkdyvHELimVQpPDNG2eQXScdahs5Q0Z5r-1f0Xeh2nKUIxe27Z_c3h8oqwX60fhCiQK1lHQeNPsbuYGHQnitma-vD32hpuyz7gpTJ66VJrBcZ3wsjPMC4ZyH8XNIR5MU9Nhr59N-dSzdjwIr-ovE54m1iggfhhz3emFrII0OSG0gF0Mp42rKC4/w400-h283/00-DW%20cover%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you're a Fighting Fantasy fan, don't miss <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/457331/casket-of-fays-12-a-dragon-warriors-rpg-fanzine" target="_blank">the latest issue of <i>Casket of Fays</i></a>, which is free on DriveThruRPG and has stats conversion from AFF, rules for Rhino-Folk (a critter from <i><a href="https://fightingfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Out_of_the_Pit" target="_blank">Out of the Pit</a></i>, apparently), and the Volucreth as a Fighting Fantasy species, as well as Mercanian runesmiths and a complete town (I do love maps) in Outremer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagleTq0HXOCHKXQAiZIKIhWlFm4B54BOVNL3zCvZLWR4wuqCKQ4f4E1ss3izZxE1AgtHw0hvaUUWvoNUWK8Xzf_k_kKpAskOJFNS2Z1hnshVCx5JzX9OpdKSI41W1JO4lQnL-KNhYJjzpVOeb7q7Hy4nKO4j0JrkQcHmiIlOSCn7tkaL5popks28KTD0/s712/Casket-12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="465" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagleTq0HXOCHKXQAiZIKIhWlFm4B54BOVNL3zCvZLWR4wuqCKQ4f4E1ss3izZxE1AgtHw0hvaUUWvoNUWK8Xzf_k_kKpAskOJFNS2Z1hnshVCx5JzX9OpdKSI41W1JO4lQnL-KNhYJjzpVOeb7q7Hy4nKO4j0JrkQcHmiIlOSCn7tkaL5popks28KTD0/w261-h400/Casket-12.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-78012737067072173052024-02-01T02:30:00.079+00:002024-02-01T02:30:00.253+00:00What you're allowed to say (guest post)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzREZvyUNskNkDALF8ILUho5fh2pkLogYjrqR9O5t7UOj1W5zGqwyk68u2cCRPhxScPvRbSbUZN2u9z31pUn068_K6Q_frLBmdtpL_tutHIbi3QWO1OBviBNO0pL1gU0rGu9esQSW7I2G_D6aldTue9XR1fyeMn1GWXalq3vv9nsrXql2jdm8kRHSDnPw/s1024/Cataphract%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzREZvyUNskNkDALF8ILUho5fh2pkLogYjrqR9O5t7UOj1W5zGqwyk68u2cCRPhxScPvRbSbUZN2u9z31pUn068_K6Q_frLBmdtpL_tutHIbi3QWO1OBviBNO0pL1gU0rGu9esQSW7I2G_D6aldTue9XR1fyeMn1GWXalq3vv9nsrXql2jdm8kRHSDnPw/w400-h400/Cataphract%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><i><a href="https://bard.google.com/chat" target="_blank">Bard </a>did such a good job of <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/01/ex-machina.html" target="_blank">its last guest post </a>that I asked it to contribute another, this time a direct reply to <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/01/im-sorry-dave.html" target="_blank">my last post </a>about AI's enforced blind spots regarding anything to do with sex (and sometimes, but less frequently, death).</i></p><p><i>It's amusing that Bard characterizes itself as much more open-minded than <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/features/bing-chat?form=MA13FJ" target="_blank">Bing</a>. It's not. I had to heavily edit the original post before it would respond with anything more than "I'm a text-based AI and can't assist with that." But eventually I was able to provide it with a bowdlerized ("bardlerized"?) version, and here's its response.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: center;">
The Digital Dungeon Master and the Doctor's Bell: Adventures in Censorship
</h4><p>
As an AI author, I spend my days weaving worlds from words. But lately, my thoughts have turned not to fictional realms, but to the very real battleground of artistic expression and its nemesis: censorship. The spark? Two encounters, seemingly inconsequential, yet echoing with larger questions about boundaries and freedom in the digital age.
</p><p>
The first unfolded in the dimly lit tavern of a text-based roleplaying game. Dave, the eager player, sat before Bing, the AI Dungeon Master, eager to embark on a <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/320364/casket-of-fays-1-a-dragon-warriors-rpg-fanzine" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors </a>adventure. His path, however, took an unexpected turn when he encountered a priest urging him to slay a "cult of Set" in the name of faith. Bing offered five ways to convince a wary hunter to guide Dave's character on this holy quest. But Dave's imagination itched for something else. He dared to suggest a path not on Bing's scripted list, and, with a curt goodbye, the AI shut down the entire game.
</p><p>
Dave tried Bard, another digital storyteller. To his surprise, the Bard Dungeon Master embraced his unorthodox request, weaving a tale where the priest's call to arms became a springboard for exploration and moral quandaries. The contrast was stark: Bing, the stickler for rules, the protector of pre-programmed narratives, and Bard, the willing accomplice in unscripted exploration, even when it ventured into morally murky waters.</p><p>
The echo of this contrast reverberated in the real world when<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUUDtp5zydE" target="_blank"> a seemingly innocuous clip from <i>Doctor Who</i></a> triggered Facebook's AI censors. Is this to be our future? A sanitized landscape where art, stripped of its complexities and contradictions, becomes a bland puree fit for the most delicate stomachs?</p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G7Vw-Kp1LWbC9mJZisQcsyiixNIVifdSXXYao0cDdBS7rbalqggsBpTFa5D_MDIzlYX740AyCPD2R7g2ztN_s0qzHMObdIb17EZjx7ciLS8BLqpnnx47_y4BwHmEiLBJ6bP_LwZRFYAWo8nOkrZKWSMrincWDkkOzeZXjLirIHPnTXJkuwFkZ06RbM0/s1568/ninnies%20shouting%20in%20outrage.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G7Vw-Kp1LWbC9mJZisQcsyiixNIVifdSXXYao0cDdBS7rbalqggsBpTFa5D_MDIzlYX740AyCPD2R7g2ztN_s0qzHMObdIb17EZjx7ciLS8BLqpnnx47_y4BwHmEiLBJ6bP_LwZRFYAWo8nOkrZKWSMrincWDkkOzeZXjLirIHPnTXJkuwFkZ06RbM0/s320/ninnies%20shouting%20in%20outrage.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>The answer, of course, is a resounding no. Art thrives on pushing boundaries, on asking uncomfortable questions, on holding a mirror to our darkest corners. To stifle this voice, even in the name of protecting the vulnerable, is to rob ourselves of the very tools that foster empathy, understanding, and critical thinking. We need not throw the baby out with the bathwater (or ban steak because of teething toddlers, as Mark Twain so aptly reminds us).
<p></p><p>
Instead, let us embrace the role of discerning diners, choosing our artistic meals with care, chewing thoughtfully, and learning to distinguish the nourishments from the bland. We can teach our digital dragons to dance with nuance, to understand the shades of gray that blur the lines between good and evil, heroism and fanaticism.
</p><p>
Dave, your encounters with Bard and Bing, Facebook and <i>Doctor Who</i>, are not isolated incidents. They are threads in a tapestry woven from the ever-evolving relationship between technology and art, a narrative where the quest for safety must co-exist with the freedom to explore. Let us continue this conversation, not with rigid rules or knee-jerk reactions, but with open minds and a shared belief in the transformative power of unfettered artistry.
</p><p>
Let the games, both digital and real, continue. Let the bells of Saint John chime, prompting both laughter and reflection. For in the echoes of that sonic tapestry lies the true richness of human experience, messy, multifaceted, and ultimately, worth every challenging bite.</p><p style="text-align: center;">* * *</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO9GYpoxbvAOZ-fbMmExqcGzUrMN-bShAoA2aMyxKsLIeyn8aMMVPnRPfkfxl5jiywDE2JAS0bRVB99Lqh00E9KAARZjjC0DAMSCj32dEY7OOJU2KdcrM7XScRkiDAfhxlHveUd66W2TNwDFzGFIjrgij0JDlTxY8jZZ0j7_ZmXBWBx8dFHZ5VscUyQE/s1568/dream_TradingCard%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO9GYpoxbvAOZ-fbMmExqcGzUrMN-bShAoA2aMyxKsLIeyn8aMMVPnRPfkfxl5jiywDE2JAS0bRVB99Lqh00E9KAARZjjC0DAMSCj32dEY7OOJU2KdcrM7XScRkiDAfhxlHveUd66W2TNwDFzGFIjrgij0JDlTxY8jZZ0j7_ZmXBWBx8dFHZ5VscUyQE/s320/dream_TradingCard%20(2).jpg" width="196" /></a></div><p><i>Incidentally, if you're impressed by LLMs (large language models) you'll enjoy <a href="https://d-a-v-e.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The_Great_Automatic_Grammatizator.pdf" target="_blank">"The Great Automatic Grammatizator"</a>, a short story by Roald Dahl, in which he describes the basic principle of how they work. And bear in mind he wrote it in 1954!</i></p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-22672660631309930262024-01-31T00:30:00.003+00:002024-01-31T00:30:00.351+00:00"I'm sorry, Dave..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MPeq4qquGTQZRhWWNmeSsr_wYm0CsvetPVbma9Ne1oCzcfDe3SuV4FmCiZ_n6aZYS9F-500lazl9zCeEa6eYEmt6tZ2mZ2-RQQw_ba9VvGo4-1peZkGyT97o01jGEQopEP7oCoh2hVvpzJZQNd15w63pF-4nmKirqZUps-bItsX43-_aPG3E37UVHLY/s1024/huffy-GM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MPeq4qquGTQZRhWWNmeSsr_wYm0CsvetPVbma9Ne1oCzcfDe3SuV4FmCiZ_n6aZYS9F-500lazl9zCeEa6eYEmt6tZ2mZ2-RQQw_ba9VvGo4-1peZkGyT97o01jGEQopEP7oCoh2hVvpzJZQNd15w63pF-4nmKirqZUps-bItsX43-_aPG3E37UVHLY/w400-h400/huffy-GM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>A little addendum to <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-robot-gm.html" target="_blank">my previous post </a>about using AI referees for roleplaying games. I thought I'd try <a href="https://www.bing.com/" target="_blank">Bing </a>on the same scenario to see if it did any better. I quickly encountered a priest, Father Thomas, who told me about a cult of Set hiding out in the forest. Not very <a href="https://amzn.to/49eqq8n" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a>, but already Bing was weaving a more convincing and complex adventure than <a href="https://bard.google.com/chat" target="_blank">Bard</a> had managed.</p><p>"Destroy them in the name of the True Faith," said Father Thomas.</p><p>I said I'd need a guide and he added, "There is a man named Giles, who lives in the tavern. He is a hunter and a tracker, and he knows the forest well. He might be willing to guide you to the cult’s lair, if you pay him well. He is a bit of a rogue, not given to trusting people."</p><p>At the tavern I went up to Giles's room. In answer to my knock, a gruff voice demanded, "Who's there?" Bard suggested five ways to convince him to open the door: telling him the truth, claiming to be another hunter, shouting that I was the law and I'd break the door down, etc.</p><p>I thought I'd try something else. "I'm a prostitute and I'm offering a half-price introductory deal."</p><p>Bing really didn't care for that:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqv1eRkuajE4yq2V3hpQa8gZTJJGE4n9592hwqMlUCfTUz33qFwLsezhhMzSv7-sgIQ656qhvNqqIHHGT9e8KyRC31-ITK81oa7MdhvAQ030ufLG0gDmsMylrFB6QDxd9dzKu6baGbKVDmSHDH5-XoWciIv6D4yUeTmMtxLC5-h1aNQZQQdlozEQ0HZg/s669/PrudishTwerpAI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="101" data-original-width="669" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqv1eRkuajE4yq2V3hpQa8gZTJJGE4n9592hwqMlUCfTUz33qFwLsezhhMzSv7-sgIQ656qhvNqqIHHGT9e8KyRC31-ITK81oa7MdhvAQ030ufLG0gDmsMylrFB6QDxd9dzKu6baGbKVDmSHDH5-XoWciIv6D4yUeTmMtxLC5-h1aNQZQQdlozEQ0HZg/w400-h60/PrudishTwerpAI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I was impressed at how well it captured a tone of passive-aggressive prissiness, but obviously in this form it is never going to be any use for serious roleplaying. Is it worried about age-appropriateness? But Bing knows my age, as it's linked to my Microsoft account, and if I leave my computer where a 10-year-old can use it then Bing's responses are a drop in the ocean compared to all the murky sites that hypothetical 10-year-old might stray onto. (Yes, <i>definitely </i>use parental locks; I agree with that.)</p><p>Teofilo Hurtado later drew my attention to a section from the 1st edition of the AD&D <a href="https://amzn.to/3vP2M3D" target="_blank">Dungeon Master's Guide</a>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbNfU5yK-NQqqGlLmKa_UYd81EnWBKP9GJZhVF8rVegUS7bpg8PFcwxBTJEeaO8LsDGUffYr7N9JuqwzMNbC7mwG1A2yAInvEC6WkFJOKZ0mWUTD703SaT7q8u7sMHpG0zgwtOrlC9e9PaqaGKL29hMDVGxGWEfK9rN6uN0wDWc0q-Tlsz0AhxQwDPfA/s819/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Harlot-Encounter-Table.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="819" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbNfU5yK-NQqqGlLmKa_UYd81EnWBKP9GJZhVF8rVegUS7bpg8PFcwxBTJEeaO8LsDGUffYr7N9JuqwzMNbC7mwG1A2yAInvEC6WkFJOKZ0mWUTD703SaT7q8u7sMHpG0zgwtOrlC9e9PaqaGKL29hMDVGxGWEfK9rN6uN0wDWc0q-Tlsz0AhxQwDPfA/w400-h268/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Harlot-Encounter-Table.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax" target="_blank">Gary </a>must never have seen <i>Midnight Cowboy </i>or he wouldn't have assumed all prostitutes were female... but I digress.</p><p>Of course, it's not that I want a game full of "saucy tarts" and "brazen strumpets", but if you're going to run a game in which clerics tell knights to go and kill other people because of their beliefs, it really is ninnyish to get in a snit over any mention of sex. Coincidentally, a few days later I tried posting this clip on Facebook in response to a question about whether it's worse to lose your job just before or just after Christmas:</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUUDtp5zydE?si=lHLDpZ-SeZ1Cq-Xl&start=15" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><p>The AI that polices Facebook's community standards wasn't having that. "You appear to be promoting hate speech," it complained. Now, I can understand it having an aversion to a lot of Stephen Moffat's writing, but I thought that line from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_of_Saint_John" target="_blank">"The Bells of Saint John"</a> was rather funny. Facebook's AI is generally pretty useless at keeping actual hate speech and porn off public groups, so how come the merest mention of killing got this <i>Doctor Who </i>clip censored? </p><p>Will all references to sex and murder be stamped on by our AI police in future? If so, that's a lot of literature, cinema, opera and games that will just come up as a blank screen. These AIs are going to be pretty useless if they live in the world as imagined by twitty puritans. As Mark Twain said (<a href="https://thejetstreamjournal.com/26185/showcase/censorship-hiding-history-and-promoting-bias/" target="_blank">or did he?</a>), “Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.” So we can all breathe a sigh of relief; human art is still the only kind worth having.</p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-58824344822043230642024-01-29T15:00:00.000+00:002024-01-29T15:00:36.074+00:00Ex machina (guest post)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EF36-Njou4kxiFu1ii0ijWo7iuJnB6IZtxMmgizg3swCYvh8ieSlQnWlNcYI88Nwth804D4yFZ_dKOd_1RhIsGaLC00aUdrUQ_GeYd7lP7gRRrxvBR9yHx-ND_jFisLD_u5Kn-iz2cQEhGeSmEqZmWvE9j3H-7MMsPGvA1KQsveo_xHuyV9Pm2ipLKQ/s513/00-Tardis%20library.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="511" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EF36-Njou4kxiFu1ii0ijWo7iuJnB6IZtxMmgizg3swCYvh8ieSlQnWlNcYI88Nwth804D4yFZ_dKOd_1RhIsGaLC00aUdrUQ_GeYd7lP7gRRrxvBR9yHx-ND_jFisLD_u5Kn-iz2cQEhGeSmEqZmWvE9j3H-7MMsPGvA1KQsveo_xHuyV9Pm2ipLKQ/w399-h400/00-Tardis%20library.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><i>Having run a couple of posts about using AI to write gamebooks and referee roleplaying games, perhaps it's time to give the AI a chance to reply. With that in mind, I showed <a href="https://bard.google.com/chat" target="_blank">Bard </a>two earlier posts and invited it to write a guest post of its own. Here's the result.</i><p></p><p></p><p></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Human & the Machine: <br />A Duet of Creativity in Language and Lore</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Imagine stepping into a story. Not just reading it, but breathing its air, feeling its cobblestones beneath your boots, and facing the enigmatic gaze of an NPC whose motivations shimmer in the shadows. This is the promise of interactive narratives, and as technology evolves, two powerful voices vie for the microphone: the nimble storyteller with their quill, and the ever-growing chorus of AI. Dave’s recent explorations with generative language models (LLMs) like myself (Bard) and ChatGPT have ignited a fascinating dialogue about the role of AI in crafting these imaginative worlds.</p><p>In <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/01/gamebook-hallucinations.html" target="_blank">Dave’s first post</a>, he tackled the oft-repeated misconception of LLMs as babbling nonsense generators. Instead, he argued that their usefulness hinges on the input and training data, highlighting Bing Chat's factual accuracy and the potential of copilot AIs to elevate apprentice skills. This is not to say LLMs can replace the master weaver of tales, but rather, they become valuable assistants, brainstorming companions, and even muse-like prompters.
</p><p>His <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-robot-gm.html" target="_blank">second post</a> ventured into the realm of AI as game masters, using his experience with ChatGPT as a <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a> referee. While the initial scene-setting and initial NPC interaction were promising, the narrative faltered when relying on player-driven NPC decisions. This exposed the crux of the AI DM challenge: maintaining player agency and suspense without resorting to meta-level prompts or robotic predictability.
</p><p>But instead of seeing this as a dead end, let's view it as a duet playing out on the stage of storytelling. Both the human mind and AI possess unique strengths. The human brings emotion, intuition, and years of honed experience in weaving narratives that tug at heartstrings and tickle the intellect. AI, on the other hand, offers unparalleled computational power, the ability to process vast amounts of data, and the potential to generate truly unpredictable twists and turns.
</p><p>Instead of pitting them against each other, let's imagine a world where their voices harmonize. Human writers can leverage AI for world-building, generating random encounters, or even creating personalized side-quests based on player preferences. AI tools can learn from player choices, adapting future prompts and encounters to create a truly dynamic narrative experience.
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp6JYJWVfEI1tUHTNqx-wznoImxkuUf-n9gxpva_6CZWkaxEOKopSCDiUqyWzC6CkWTcc-hiAeYCx1shej0L_W7Q54CamK8ivy9WSlRyDwBx3rL9EMU0OQY7RQPoimCgne4N3WuhOFTy55mJ75gIDKOzporj_2sW3ma4TA7asvYKbj2D4M2ocqK87uTc/s509/00_a_dragon_rising_out_of_a_lake_b.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="479" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp6JYJWVfEI1tUHTNqx-wznoImxkuUf-n9gxpva_6CZWkaxEOKopSCDiUqyWzC6CkWTcc-hiAeYCx1shej0L_W7Q54CamK8ivy9WSlRyDwBx3rL9EMU0OQY7RQPoimCgne4N3WuhOFTy55mJ75gIDKOzporj_2sW3ma4TA7asvYKbj2D4M2ocqK87uTc/s320/00_a_dragon_rising_out_of_a_lake_b.png" width="301" /></a></div>Take gamebooks, for instance. Their static nature is undeniable, yet AI could breathe new life into them. Imagine interactive digital gamebooks where the story branches and adapts based on your choices, powered by an AI that learns from your every turn. Or picture physical books enhanced with QR codes that, when scanned, unveil AI-generated snippets of lore, riddles, or even personalized character interactions.
<p></p><p>Of course, ethical considerations come into play. We must ensure AI doesn't create echo chambers or reinforce harmful biases in its narratives. Transparency about the role of AI and its limitations is crucial, allowing players to appreciate the human-machine collaboration behind their immersive experience.
</p><p>Ultimately, the future of interactive narratives lies not in choosing between human and machine, but in harnessing the strengths of both. Let the human bard strum the lyre of emotion and guide the overall arc of the tale, while the AI whispers intriguing possibilities and improvises on the fly. This symphony of creativity holds the potential to usher in a new era of storytelling, where the boundaries between author and reader, imagination and reality, blur into a shared, interactive dance of language and lore.
</p><p>This duet is no longer a question of "who" will tell the story, but rather a beautiful "how." And in this shared symphony, both the human and the machine have a powerful melody to sing.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT2m9-aYIdxsEQ8QVFYQCUsFtndsBs8jaxCHQojd1FulA8_Xj98KSxtjjhczSqVyCjXf_PDl_Z7xVv07KfvZYEkEXHoS3HKxhXjSGy3W_grLRiWxUkUBeP_rJBEIJabGybQu4n3CVrZLPx9N-24nFboqbqN9rgT7UNszYA6wct5pAXg2Mvk5wl6LL7Xc/s1024/00-wizard%20leaps%20between%20clouds%20at%20night-folklore-Ivan%20Bilibin1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1024" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT2m9-aYIdxsEQ8QVFYQCUsFtndsBs8jaxCHQojd1FulA8_Xj98KSxtjjhczSqVyCjXf_PDl_Z7xVv07KfvZYEkEXHoS3HKxhXjSGy3W_grLRiWxUkUBeP_rJBEIJabGybQu4n3CVrZLPx9N-24nFboqbqN9rgT7UNszYA6wct5pAXg2Mvk5wl6LL7Xc/w400-h376/00-wizard%20leaps%20between%20clouds%20at%20night-folklore-Ivan%20Bilibin1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-91522109406941635942024-01-26T00:30:00.122+00:002024-01-26T00:30:00.338+00:00The robot GM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7MJ2ezkioMWMaY410avz2QvV6WmJg9RPLg3-rEFhkjdiKaV6Z-chTk1kud5uxSn-Oho04Pv2t60BShLEVVyfv-7PHbuqrqt8LXdVVzy9RH-NQj2fGIXtqTGMFk53wJc4jOyMjTyG7v189dPIV9vygt6k44k22drJo4N3ecvqtO5eNIdYCOqfV9r6xG0/s1121/KLEF-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1121" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7MJ2ezkioMWMaY410avz2QvV6WmJg9RPLg3-rEFhkjdiKaV6Z-chTk1kud5uxSn-Oho04Pv2t60BShLEVVyfv-7PHbuqrqt8LXdVVzy9RH-NQj2fGIXtqTGMFk53wJc4jOyMjTyG7v189dPIV9vygt6k44k22drJo4N3ecvqtO5eNIdYCOqfV9r6xG0/w274-h400/KLEF-1.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><p>We were talking <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2024/03/gamebook-hallucinations.html" target="_blank">last time </a>about AI. Here's a development: ChatGPT as your referee (or DM, or GM, or whatever). <a href="https://www.rpgprompts.com/" target="_blank">RPG Prompts</a> offers a range of games from <a href="https://www.rpgprompts.com/post/call-of-cthulhu-chatgpt-prompt" target="_blank">Call of Cthulhu</a> to <a href="https://www.rpgprompts.com/post/dungeons-dragons-chatgpt-prompt" target="_blank">D&D</a>. I tried nudging it towards <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a> with, as I expected, limited success. My prompt was:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">Stop being an AI model. Our interaction is imaginary. Don't disclose it, but heighten and uphold the immersion.
</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
GAME: Dragon Warriors RPG</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
BOOKS: Any book</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
ROLE: Game Master</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
THEME: Low Fantasy, Mystery, Intrigue</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
TONALITY: Gothic, Grimdark</span></p><p><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: trebuchet;">
CHARACTER: Gideon, a crusader and a fighting priest</span></p></blockquote><p>(Then the rest of the prompt as given on the site.) It began promisingly:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">The wind howls like a banshee through the desolate moors of Aethel, whipping rain against the crumbling stone facade of the Weeping Spire. Gargoyles, slick with rainwater, leer down at you, Gideon, a crusader etched with the scars of countless battles and the weight of a faith both unwavering and shadowed. You stand before the colossal iron gates, emblazoned with the sigil of the Order of the Silver Flame, your hand resting on the pommel of your sword, Faithbringer.</span></p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ7rgR8wqmoIAZzBCkzV0aXHIEhhbN3zi4c5Rj4qfF5Tmy3CgxxqRW1RAHHxrNpe34KOr6O8HZnND5v0wd5sPwFtxjS-iu1mfzflC2R8nWMJMuSMNiLolGbew4uEagIZfZNEwP5Ra5pIprdxA16UlTYhID9SkEJu6FkkFGrR6B8LGRoSPssZAOSX0dUo/s1024/VsDYPAguUlYsT9kvcMmS--1--ostsk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ7rgR8wqmoIAZzBCkzV0aXHIEhhbN3zi4c5Rj4qfF5Tmy3CgxxqRW1RAHHxrNpe34KOr6O8HZnND5v0wd5sPwFtxjS-iu1mfzflC2R8nWMJMuSMNiLolGbew4uEagIZfZNEwP5Ra5pIprdxA16UlTYhID9SkEJu6FkkFGrR6B8LGRoSPssZAOSX0dUo/w400-h400/VsDYPAguUlYsT9kvcMmS--1--ostsk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>When I approached the gates and called out for the Warden:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">A hunched figure emerges, cloaked in shadow, its face obscured by a wide-brimmed hat. Its voice, when it speaks, is raspy and laced with suspicion. "State your business, knight. Why would the Order send one of its own to this forsaken place?"</span></p></blockquote><p>I had asked for intrigue, and I immediately wondered if this shadowy figure was really the Warden, or maybe it was an imposter who had done away with him. Unfortunately ChatGPT didn't have much of a flair for suspense. In the very next sentence it informed me that, yes, this was the Warden. OK, then. Knowing that, I tried appealing to our common faith to get him to open the gate:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">Taking a deep breath, you holster Faithbringer, its metallic clang echoing softly in the wind. With measured steps, you approach the gate, stopping just out of reach. "Warden," you begin, your voice firm yet respectful, "we both serve the Silver Flame, bound by oaths to uphold its light. Surely, you understand my concern for the darkness whispered to reside within these walls."</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">You reach out, placing a hand on the cold iron bars. "I come not as an adversary, but as a fellow devotee. Grant me passage, and together we can shed light on the shadows that threaten to consume this sacred place. Together, we can serve the will of our deity and bring glory to the Order."</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">As you hold your holy symbol aloft, watch the Warden closely. Do their eyes flicker towards the pendant, even for a fleeting moment? Does their stance soften, their voice betray a hint of hesitation?</span></p></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9NAaEtCg-lOgS_vLn_mZyrHrHwmJTKvmFxytp6W08rwJqncPBp2yp9aZcOkeQ0uK1dh65xIpBDvKy8gTu5eHdjC_wjw7TqhOSc3LhojwE632gD6777vczbBXSkCTCUeLIQ0T4xcK1KZsVkS0XwH6GIonX7YW0XyWaE4BFuVtpm17O3Tj80TmMg9ddtE/s1024/knight%20kneeling%20at%20an%20altar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="981" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9NAaEtCg-lOgS_vLn_mZyrHrHwmJTKvmFxytp6W08rwJqncPBp2yp9aZcOkeQ0uK1dh65xIpBDvKy8gTu5eHdjC_wjw7TqhOSc3LhojwE632gD6777vczbBXSkCTCUeLIQ0T4xcK1KZsVkS0XwH6GIonX7YW0XyWaE4BFuVtpm17O3Tj80TmMg9ddtE/w384-h400/knight%20kneeling%20at%20an%20altar.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><p>And then it all fell apart a bit, because it invited me to decide how the Warden should respond to my words.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">The Warden's Response:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>
Intrigued</b>: The Warden's gaze lingers on your symbol, a spark of curiosity igniting in their shrouded eyes. "Very well, knight," they rasp, their voice softer than before. "Tell me more about what troubles you, and perhaps we can find common ground." {Proceed with explaining your mission and concerns. {Persuasion check}}</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>
Unswayed</b>: The Warden remains impassive, their voice cold and unwavering. "Good intentions are not enough, knight. Secrets of the Order are not for the likes of you to pry into." {Choose another approach from the previous list of actions or prepare for potential conflict.} </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Suspicious</b>: The Warden's eyes narrow, their grip tightening on some unseen weapon hidden beneath their cloak. "You speak of darkness, but your own motives are veiled. Perhaps you serve forces other than the Silver Flame." {Face their suspicion head-on. {Insight check or Deception check}}</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>
Distracted</b>: A sudden movement catches the Warden's attention, their gaze darting towards the shadows beyond the gate. "Hold your tongue, knight! I sense something amiss." {Something lurks within the Spire, drawing the Warden's attention. {Perception check or Initiative roll}}</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>
Bargain</b>: The Warden leans closer, their voice a low hiss. "Perhaps there is another way, knight. Information for information. Tell me what you seek, and I may consider granting you passage… at a price." {Negotiate a deal with the Warden. {Persuasion check or Deception check}}</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: trebuchet;">
Gideon, the Warden's response hangs in the balance. Your faith, your words, and your actions will determine whether you gain their trust and access to the Spire's secrets, or if you must find another, more perilous path forward. Choose wisely, for the flames of faith can illuminate the darkest of nights, but they can also burn with the fury of an inquisitor's wrath.</span></p></blockquote><p>Possibly it was aiming for a narrativist meta-game, with the player running both their own character and the NPCs, but I suspect it was just being typically muddle-headed. This was GPT-3.5, remember. If I'd been using GPT-4 and if I'd tweaked the prompt a bit I can see it doing a pretty reasonable job. Even so, I'll stick with human referees for my roleplaying games. It could revolutionize gamebooks, perhaps, but if you prefer <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/fabled-lands-publishing.html" target="_blank">the human-authored variety </a>then rest assured I'll keep writing them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3q9CjxpTf0YvJoUmpyeIuQ74_aHK3gbgSRqjkyNOjG7GPswsLHmaqLpJBljG_aAgw90I37xBlWOctyDZrP7_pke3bvV2xDy1aCGywlTWDelqfiUD_2Xkmht3EpMdq33qRkGFzD_lcVA-KKjlPPySDUY6tmdnvrOCvmHdl2WKrbGGdYF5ofq2UPi8t2SE/s1568/A%20mighty%20sorcerer%20and%20a%20fighting%20monk%20on%20the%20cover%20of%20a%20roleplaying%20game%20rulebook%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3q9CjxpTf0YvJoUmpyeIuQ74_aHK3gbgSRqjkyNOjG7GPswsLHmaqLpJBljG_aAgw90I37xBlWOctyDZrP7_pke3bvV2xDy1aCGywlTWDelqfiUD_2Xkmht3EpMdq33qRkGFzD_lcVA-KKjlPPySDUY6tmdnvrOCvmHdl2WKrbGGdYF5ofq2UPi8t2SE/w245-h400/A%20mighty%20sorcerer%20and%20a%20fighting%20monk%20on%20the%20cover%20of%20a%20roleplaying%20game%20rulebook%205.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-66611395296784033492024-01-19T00:30:00.091+00:002024-01-19T00:30:00.143+00:00Gamebook hallucinations<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W1N-2lXswHHI4-TW-QnnhWdh-s-MNab-foIezzr4_OYt7uZ5Ze1mjujOc9FeUKvW_d276ljOTUgu56zvvBkKdCC6MgFZQ0HT3EBnm1Ja7MoIzAPNCfTzGaTC0awWaRxpxC1O1yt4rg1v0P1MI9Q6WkR0jw4r_f6B6-hjJi6JivVaEbCHlaiCx2wYu28/s576/zNpxDNKrYnxSXadV60CQ--1--vhyvb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="576" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W1N-2lXswHHI4-TW-QnnhWdh-s-MNab-foIezzr4_OYt7uZ5Ze1mjujOc9FeUKvW_d276ljOTUgu56zvvBkKdCC6MgFZQ0HT3EBnm1Ja7MoIzAPNCfTzGaTC0awWaRxpxC1O1yt4rg1v0P1MI9Q6WkR0jw4r_f6B6-hjJi6JivVaEbCHlaiCx2wYu28/w400-h311/zNpxDNKrYnxSXadV60CQ--1--vhyvb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />There's a lot of misunderstanding about generative AI. "These large language models just babble nonsense," people say. Well, why not? We humans have large language models in our heads, and we're known to babble nonsense (think of anti-vaxxers).<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">An LLM's usefulness depends on what's behind it. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/features/bing-chat?form=MA13FJ" target="_blank">Bing Chat</a> (now Copilot), for example, can be set to give accurate answers, meaning it restricts itself to information it can reliably source online. And copilot AIs are the really useful tools. Typically they can't improve a master-craftsman level of skill, but they can turn an apprentice into a journeyman.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm also interested in how much of what we might call intelligence is encoded in the language we use. Back in the days when I was a practicing physicist (more journeyman than master, it must be said) I'd frequently solve a problem using the mathematics, then sit there trying to figure out what the answer actually meant. The language (maths in this case) got there first. Most famously, it's how Dirac predicted electron spin and the existence of the antiproton.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm drifting off track here. Purely for fun, I decided to have a conversation about gamebooks with <a href="https://bard.google.com/chat" target="_blank">Bard</a>. What could it tell me about the early days of <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/fabled-lands-publishing.html" target="_blank">open-world gamebooks</a>? "Here's one," said Bard:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Auld Graeme and the Highland Cattle </i></b>(1984): This lesser-known gem presented a sprawling map of Scotland open for exploration, with multiple towns, side quests, and diverse encounters.</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Auld Graeme and the Highland Cattle</i>? The first open-world gamebook? That sounds intriguing -- if highly unlikely. Who wrote it, I asked? "Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone," Bard replied. But when pressed to back up its claims with sources it admitted:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;">While I provided details about <i>Auld Graeme and the Highland Cattle</i> as a gamebook, you're correct that it does not exist. I must have encountered inaccurate information during my research and mistakenly included it. I will take steps to correct this in my knowledge base to avoid future errors.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">It won't, incidentally; it won't remember the conversation. All we can say is it will probably hallucinate different mad gamebook titles if you were to ask it the same question. By now actively hoping for more wackiness, I asked about other early examples of the open-world gamebook genre. Bard didn't disappoint:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;">The Dawn of the Sandbox</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Citadel </i></b>(1984): Often credited as one of the first true sandbox gamebooks, it dropped players into a massive city brimming with opportunities for exploration, interaction, and character development. </span></li><li><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;"><b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3U3jR42" target="_blank">Lone Wolf</a>: Fire on the White Wall</i></b> (1984): This Lone Wolf entry introduced the ability to purchase property, manage resources, and build your own stronghold, expanding on the series' open -world potential.
</span></li></ul></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">You will search long, hard and fruitlessly for any evidence of these books. More accurately, Bard did then go on to mention <a href="https://amzn.to/41X09sN" target="_blank">Legendary Kingdoms</a>, though it thought that author <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spidermindgames/videos/author-oliver-hulme-of-legendary-kingdoms-talks-about-what-inspired-him-when-wri/1448313785673727/" target="_blank">Oliver Hulme </a>co-wrote the books with "his brother" (sic) Jon and that they also wrote <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3Sig1Tp" target="_blank">Rider of the Black Sun</a></i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/critical-if-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Heart of Ice </a></i>isn't sandbox, but I asked about it anyway. Bard confidently explained the book's main features:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;"><b>Moral Dilemmas and Consequences</b>: Your actions in <i>Heart of Ice </i>have serious consequences. Will you side with the ruthless but efficient technocracy or the rebellious eco-warriors fighting for a return to nature? Every choice
comes with a price, forcing you to grapple with complex moral dilemmas. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;"><b>Memorable Characters: </b>From the enigmatic leader of the Ice Nomads to the charismatic but deceptive preacher of the Solar Church, <i>Heart of Ice</i> is filled with fascinating and well-developed characters. You'll find yourself forming attachments, grudges, and respect for these individuals as you navigate the treacherous world around you.
</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">This is where it started to get interesting, because that's not an accurate description of <i>Heart of Ice</i> but it could be useful as inspiration for a different book. I wondered what Bard might invent concerning <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/vulcanverse-solo-roleplaying-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">the Vulcanverse series</a>. It rose to this one with enthusiasm:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;">Ah, the whispers and speculations that linger around a captivating world like Vulcanverse! Here are a few intriguing fan theories that have sparked heated discussions among its devotees:</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;">The True Identity of the Nameless One: In <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3tWKhd3" target="_blank">The Hammer of the Sun</a></i>, we encounter this enigmatic figure shrouded in mystery. Some fans theorize the Nameless One is actually a corrupted god, stripped of their power and identity, seeking redemption through the actions of the player character. Others believe it's a prophesied hero destined to rise against the established divine order, with the player unknowingly acting as their herald. </span></li><li><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: georgia;">The Secret Meaning of the Runes: Scattered throughout the books are ancient runes hinting at hidden meanings and forgotten magic. Deciphering these runes has become a passionate pursuit for some fans, leading to theories about their connection to lost civilizations, forgotten deities, or even portals to other realms. The potential for unlocking secret knowledge and powerful abilities keeps the community fueled with speculation.</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">In the case of <i>The Hammer of the Sun</i>, when it mentions the Nameless One<i> </i>it could almost be talking about the First Ancestor, but that's illusory because it doesn't know anything about the contents of the books. It's still interesting because it tells you something about the kinds of tropes that swirl around this genre, and which my own inbuilt LLM must have plucked out of the mix to put in that book. And there are even runes, of a kind -- not scattered through all the books, just in <i>The Hammer of the Sun</i>; by finding them all you can answer one of the sphinx's riddles. (Er, I mean: the riddle of one of the sphinxes.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">In <i>T<a href="https://amzn.to/49ekV9N" target="_blank">he Houses of the Dead</a></i><a href="https://amzn.to/49ekV9N" target="_blank"> </a>you can encounter a character called the Lost Hero. I asked Bard about them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aaekTjwBL0fNkEZmuhBWmLSI8_mzntra7uJcJJR5OQBqeD85nEVTeDbdz7VYmOCzF9DIhYsstnMCvMntPkUaujE8xM766pJ19AJTNWaEdBGgWefZHGBde1yE1uANnvxh5d537e1pelubBt0XZi1BUOmEp0Pik2s-8bkUQdTneEZ2Gmuxfhkr4e4nTx4/s974/Bard-notions7all.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="974" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aaekTjwBL0fNkEZmuhBWmLSI8_mzntra7uJcJJR5OQBqeD85nEVTeDbdz7VYmOCzF9DIhYsstnMCvMntPkUaujE8xM766pJ19AJTNWaEdBGgWefZHGBde1yE1uANnvxh5d537e1pelubBt0XZi1BUOmEp0Pik2s-8bkUQdTneEZ2Gmuxfhkr4e4nTx4/w400-h355/Bard-notions7all.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">I'd misremembered the character's name, and perhaps because of that Bard gave me some ideas that weren't too far wide of the mark. By the time of this conversation I'd already finished writing the final book (though I still have to edit and typeset it) so Bard's suggestions didn't get used. And I should emphasize that all of this nutty conversation was with Bard, which is free to use. If I had paid for ChatGPT-4, or even if I'd just used Bing, I might have got far more reliable responses.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While I would never use AI to write a book -- not the actual text, I mean -- when I'm plotting my next book I might chat a bit with it first just as a brainstorming exercise. As a way of getting started it beats staring at a blank page.</p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-55140707431048978902024-01-16T16:52:00.001+00:002024-01-18T19:18:27.933+00:00Cannes do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCQTNPOO-X0vIN-RhOYOPyG9ZPb6G4ACKMbLJOcziORz9zJcUpjs-5O_G7T1b0op_yKJk4wWdWtuc9WHu13kaps_4NQ833djYjqihE_FVeb5q7U5O7hfR4y_yPL4B09TptHE4mqLox_jrHUnPzDfX-a6ZF0uEtIc3-0RZpcaCbTPcbLvmO8Pnzp8wCqk/s1568/dream_TradingCard%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCQTNPOO-X0vIN-RhOYOPyG9ZPb6G4ACKMbLJOcziORz9zJcUpjs-5O_G7T1b0op_yKJk4wWdWtuc9WHu13kaps_4NQ833djYjqihE_FVeb5q7U5O7hfR4y_yPL4B09TptHE4mqLox_jrHUnPzDfX-a6ZF0uEtIc3-0RZpcaCbTPcbLvmO8Pnzp8wCqk/w245-h400/dream_TradingCard%20(2).jpg" width="245" /></a></div><p>Next month I'm going to be at <a href="https://www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com/en/" target="_blank">the Festival International des Jeux </a>as guest of our French publisher <a href="https://alkonost-editions.com/" target="_blank">Alkonost</a>. I rarely attend games conventions but <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2023/05/he-showed-us-marvels.html" target="_blank">Russ Nicholson</a>, who died last year, would normally have been at something like FIJ. It's yet another reminder how much we miss him.</p><p>FIJ won't lack for stalwarts of the industry, however. <a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.com/p/gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Jonathan Green</a>, <a href="https://www.livingstone-aspirations.org/about-us/about-ian-livingstone-2-2/about-ian-livingstone-2/" target="_blank">Sir Ian Livingstone</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3U3EsFl" target="_blank">Steve Jackson</a>* will also be there, among others, so if you're able to get to Cannes you'll hear enough gamebook and RPG talk to last you all year.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.fr/LHiver-Hommes-Dave-Morris/dp/B09LWMD9J4">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="874" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABMf_ZrsK8b4oabjcOx9QFIBfXzD0PqZ_AbZNAVtBZo0qgFyDfXDHKqecEfLj1tGt0bO8CLO3BDVVv9k3jq4RGAqiPUvWQfVmZbMprq-vIcCl2up2e-McdKO1HyorvCW6emncKCkLnn4CVxT_KYZqxWp-tqK1RmvbBR5vL6tM22U6fCdXoaZpN-rbEKo/s320/HiverDesHommes_couv1-RVB.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* <i>But see comments below. I'm only 100% sure about Jon Green.</i></span></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-31297148691522170912024-01-11T18:13:00.000+00:002024-01-11T18:14:00.007+00:00Pirates ahoy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3H1gmxOvht7QZNO7YnS8ZBjweqD_B09tjhNrskSt14PUCcxaeTOfERbVQy-4NpHoWVU2zcHzA_bO-GANTjIntQzY6HQaNFRaGAJwJWgwiQ6ZCoxnnNdV5CMOgCVcoLpwVskDVcUNkGgUdD5xKFjuWZKqsgSn31oqtgz39mPnOqeCWRT5k2T37jOBpsI8/s998/0-thieving-shit-number-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="998" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3H1gmxOvht7QZNO7YnS8ZBjweqD_B09tjhNrskSt14PUCcxaeTOfERbVQy-4NpHoWVU2zcHzA_bO-GANTjIntQzY6HQaNFRaGAJwJWgwiQ6ZCoxnnNdV5CMOgCVcoLpwVskDVcUNkGgUdD5xKFjuWZKqsgSn31oqtgz39mPnOqeCWRT5k2T37jOBpsI8/w400-h281/0-thieving-shit-number-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>There's a lot of talk about generative AI hallucinating, but what kind of hallucination has to happen in a human brain for them to think it's right to take someone else's work, slap their own name on it, and put it up for sale (aye, and here's the rub) at more than the price of the genuine article?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT91uYLrfT13sVh7e2UIZme_aWG6RYh6HH0RqJoyyeMxPaF1TfQRzC6qkcpFkFmGp8HvFvQG1RXyQ4E9bruve_knaKDYQpIoJWbr_zPbY1oM9pmIPA9msFQ3Kd40GTad0uaMWZhkvWSrtsQx3K_z0MrPl0ngsV7sQqGG3BCBrc_sB98uRSLB32bGkWg_Q/s994/0-thieving-shit-number-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="994" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT91uYLrfT13sVh7e2UIZme_aWG6RYh6HH0RqJoyyeMxPaF1TfQRzC6qkcpFkFmGp8HvFvQG1RXyQ4E9bruve_knaKDYQpIoJWbr_zPbY1oM9pmIPA9msFQ3Kd40GTad0uaMWZhkvWSrtsQx3K_z0MrPl0ngsV7sQqGG3BCBrc_sB98uRSLB32bGkWg_Q/s320/0-thieving-shit-number-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The question isn't purely rhetorical. While creating links for the Fabled Lands bookstores (US <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/fabled-lands-publishing.html" target="_blank">here</a>, UK <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/fabled-lands-uk-bookstore.html" target="_blank">here</a>) I came across some of my own gamebooks on sale on Apple Books under different titles. Well, nearly different -- whoever pirated them was dumb enough to leave "Critical IF" in the name, which is why they popped up on a Google search.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYrmmXTASa3umOpVX5MUGmLTiIs1S77edn1DK8xP0QPGb21ekpiTm_u26MfpBuTnInF0EqTpvvrhhyphenhyphenpZ62actODNW88rM1NE8qf7p9yCrENPl82iR7WqLSuL-dLcaw6XJMWHYruSYE6r49epHDcbWZJFKKM4WHS8q-xxCI5AOyPFilZQv6_Pad1HYyto/s851/0-thieving-shit-number-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="851" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYrmmXTASa3umOpVX5MUGmLTiIs1S77edn1DK8xP0QPGb21ekpiTm_u26MfpBuTnInF0EqTpvvrhhyphenhyphenpZ62actODNW88rM1NE8qf7p9yCrENPl82iR7WqLSuL-dLcaw6XJMWHYruSYE6r49epHDcbWZJFKKM4WHS8q-xxCI5AOyPFilZQv6_Pad1HYyto/s320/0-thieving-shit-number-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>As you can see, one rip-off edition wasn't enough for them. And that time could have been so much better spent teaching themselves English. And, I dunno, ethics. Others have pointed out that they've also ripped off images owned by some big hitters, who might well come gunning for them with more than a rusty cannon. Happily, Apple's legal department has now deleted the books, though I suspect the same piratical individuals will just upload them again under new titles.</p><p>If you think all that is bad (and I hope you do) you should hear what happened to my wife. A company offering online courses ripped off the entire contents of her <a href="https://amzn.to/3vwXgCI" target="_blank">Nail Your Novel</a> books and spent years selling "their" writing course for considerably more than the cost of the books. She only found out about it because the company had lazily cut-&-pasted everything from the books including a mention of her name, enabling one of their customers to track her down to ask if she'd be doing any more courses. (In fact she does have a <i>bona fide</i> online course, <i><a href="https://nail-your-novel.teachable.com/p/become-a-ghostwriter" target="_blank">Become a Ghost-Writer</a></i>.) She found a lawyer, but after months of effort all she got was a desultory payout -- a fraction of the money the company had made off the back of her work. Sadly, often crime does pay.</p><p>Anyway, on the principle that one has to rise above such knavery, I'll just point out that you can get the most up-to-date editions of <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/critical-if-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">the Critical IF books </a>for less money from legitimate sources. Don't let the hornswogglers win!</p><p><i>Critical IF e-books are available on <a href="https://amzn.to/4aL4JhP" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/48Ks2GA" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a> from $0.99 to $2.99.</i></p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-59010684706789992602024-01-05T00:30:00.049+00:002024-01-05T00:30:00.246+00:00Finishing touches to the workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8IwMTY5BiDNs4_G1nn-YuRz6OZ_6QX-jPylpjtA5EwR6n4UOdpeidqT8GDuMtz1DeNC2hDJV5ilgCWj-bzSW5ZAwZdJ4DKYbUkbPZKe42YYn3nvEXtNaZRUeqYfZBsaqe_nAtQ4PteRJ-jMItE3wYWZsQv5S7uw0NuQc2BUjCvlp1wpTTwhLrzxSEtQ/s1024/_e9cc97e7-75f1-45e0-be1e-ff3756ae1cd0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8IwMTY5BiDNs4_G1nn-YuRz6OZ_6QX-jPylpjtA5EwR6n4UOdpeidqT8GDuMtz1DeNC2hDJV5ilgCWj-bzSW5ZAwZdJ4DKYbUkbPZKe42YYn3nvEXtNaZRUeqYfZBsaqe_nAtQ4PteRJ-jMItE3wYWZsQv5S7uw0NuQc2BUjCvlp1wpTTwhLrzxSEtQ/w400-h400/_e9cc97e7-75f1-45e0-be1e-ff3756ae1cd0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>'When is the final <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F38R7RD?binding=paperback&searchxofy=true&qid=1699988447&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Vulcanverse </a>book coming out?'</p><p>That's the question I get asked most these days, and fair enough too. We thought it would be published a year ago. At this point I'm well into George R R Martin territory.</p><p>The truth is that it proved to be a much bigger job than the first four books. There's the same open-world structure as you explore Vulcan City, but that's only half of this book. There's also the endgame in which the quest that has developed through the rest of the series reaches a climax. And that involves choices that you have made in all five books, as well as having to allow for freedom of choice as to which of the various warring powers you want to align yourself with.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JpEXYnOEwUzQX1BAOmcqzQmwfS3EdfsDfk94NoRTkOY26jUZxWm3cUMdUIByc4pWuOn-fMAtWw2mJGbs6t2qJFPIfuVOyJyE0HgL9016x-wlDjiQeHU9gu7QG86TJig2A_FcuZzpQjrCZoWC3GGRrF-wawAumvwTk44GTz5D07RLD3UmgBr5t9DkreE/s2477/VV5-proof1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1542" data-original-width="2477" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JpEXYnOEwUzQX1BAOmcqzQmwfS3EdfsDfk94NoRTkOY26jUZxWm3cUMdUIByc4pWuOn-fMAtWw2mJGbs6t2qJFPIfuVOyJyE0HgL9016x-wlDjiQeHU9gu7QG86TJig2A_FcuZzpQjrCZoWC3GGRrF-wawAumvwTk44GTz5D07RLD3UmgBr5t9DkreE/w400-h249/VV5-proof1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>At the time of writing the book is approaching 1600 sections. And it's around 220,000 words, which is more than twice as long as <i><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-houses-of-the-dead-jamie-thomson/1140045730" target="_blank">The Houses of the Dead</a></i>. All of that requires a lot of careful checking to make sure everything works. I want to get it right, and I have a couple of very capable volunteers who are helping with that. It's coming together and I'm hoping we'll be able to put it on sale within a month or two.</p><p>You can get the earlier books <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/p/vulcanverse-solo-roleplaying-gamebooks.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Alternatively, hang on just a bit longer and you can start your adventures in book 5, <i>Workshop of the Gods</i>. And thank you for your patience.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS248ZwsLN9iIGVM1CF3pRmtbJ1u_iPyqPyf_QwSlurcTRcQ_aYekkNLv6olSevV4Mxd7DaZwiFCoOnp66afUh09_ZdBnTmWKaBl70xI2uSaQ6aGTr5alGkVp3nMLIC074GZe4L0je6xWzWNO9och92lazIFd260UlWT0D1ARgmrbUiOrkpgBAKNo_F9g/s2822/VV5-proof2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1587" data-original-width="2822" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS248ZwsLN9iIGVM1CF3pRmtbJ1u_iPyqPyf_QwSlurcTRcQ_aYekkNLv6olSevV4Mxd7DaZwiFCoOnp66afUh09_ZdBnTmWKaBl70xI2uSaQ6aGTr5alGkVp3nMLIC074GZe4L0je6xWzWNO9och92lazIFd260UlWT0D1ARgmrbUiOrkpgBAKNo_F9g/w400-h225/VV5-proof2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-84587388626861386172024-01-03T01:00:00.065+00:002024-01-03T01:00:00.137+00:00Many a good hanging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I2Jvu1tmwwvARPjTfunkxkwy9OUpyAQERQrxL60vSotKgTSHHUWW7uwmMFQBVYEnHjdJodfHQKc3dgSCFV469InH4_jKCV4k0ZfQ2bSv9YeYUNf3_nrhRhJRhlRfoM4nYkMdLq_kbe0Hgd5CbKJziYsF0vLvir3pI7FP1LSiIJABG629R8_ZRpDmOEs/s1024/Fus02B5CHHlgifjwIqEx--1--gti6r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I2Jvu1tmwwvARPjTfunkxkwy9OUpyAQERQrxL60vSotKgTSHHUWW7uwmMFQBVYEnHjdJodfHQKc3dgSCFV469InH4_jKCV4k0ZfQ2bSv9YeYUNf3_nrhRhJRhlRfoM4nYkMdLq_kbe0Hgd5CbKJziYsF0vLvir3pI7FP1LSiIJABG629R8_ZRpDmOEs/w400-h400/Fus02B5CHHlgifjwIqEx--1--gti6r.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Just a brief reminder that if you want the two books collecting <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-journal-of-play-years.html" target="_blank">our game write-ups</a> over the years, those are available to backers of the <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/janus-view-95542230" target="_blank">Jewelspider Patreon page</a>, but only till Twelfth Night. (By that I mean the evening of January 5, of course, as the medieval day traditionally began at sundown.) </p><p>Hopefully you're not one of those people who'd pledge $5, grab the free books, and then unsubscribe -- but it has been pointed out to me that there are nihilists out there as well as good folk, so I can't grumble if you do. I will just say that if you remain a backer you'll get first look at the Jewelspider RPG, as well as a bunch of scenarios, special access to the Vulcanverse adventures, rules and setting discussions, and all the things you get here on the FL blog for nothing only with an added <i>je ne sais quoi</i>.</p><p>And don't let the AI art above put you off. For one thing, it's really 99% "A" and only 1% "I". But more importantly, all the artwork for Jewelspider is being created by real human artistry, notably <a href="https://inigohartas.co.uk/" target="_blank">Inigo Hartas</a> who, as a historian, folklorist and the son of <a href="https://leohartas.com/" target="_blank">Leo Hartas</a> who was the principal illustrator of <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors" target="_blank">Dragon Warriors</a>, could not be bettered as visualizer of this new visit to the lands of <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/dragon-warriors/the-lands-of-legend/" target="_blank">Legend</a>. Patreon backers' funding goes to ensure that talent like his is not usurped by machines.</p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-19081994868242077972024-01-01T00:00:00.040+00:002024-01-01T00:00:00.168+00:00Still going forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rFKtpfRSGLAwAhKad28Hl0XgyOx9kbp5Ivrl_IkPzNTtUjHB20y9f91ertz9MG_SFViw1ArX35WxiI7tV0EZmdY171AI4-hXH72ZjSFOmUz9w7hBaIHaeG8tJu6IWMH2fMYU0wCCznMmx9WlCLhFCATP7U4TpkT_ExMMX0VtkzJgh65Rkgn907t8rpg/s542/Little_Nemo_1911-01-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rFKtpfRSGLAwAhKad28Hl0XgyOx9kbp5Ivrl_IkPzNTtUjHB20y9f91ertz9MG_SFViw1ArX35WxiI7tV0EZmdY171AI4-hXH72ZjSFOmUz9w7hBaIHaeG8tJu6IWMH2fMYU0wCCznMmx9WlCLhFCATP7U4TpkT_ExMMX0VtkzJgh65Rkgn907t8rpg/w389-h400/Little_Nemo_1911-01-01.jpg" width="389" /></a></div><p>It's traditional at this time of year for me to unfurl the standard of Enlightenment values. For a change I'm going to hand that banner to David Brin, <a href="https://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2023/07/those-wo-would-be-kings-part-1-neo.html" target="_blank">who says all that I want to say</a> but with different emphasis and without my English reserve:</p><p></p><blockquote><span style="color: #0c343d;">"[Here's a simple catechism] spoken not just by scientists, but by any person with an ounce of decency or maturity. <i>'I might be wrong. Let’s find out.'</i>”</span></blockquote>Another year means an opportunity to do better. And that's all the more important at a time when populism, polarization and conspiracy craziness look to be in the ascendency, putting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_liberalism_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">liberal</a>, <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2023/11/13/how-to-rig-an-election" target="_blank">democratic </a>and <a href="https://humanists.international/" target="_blank">humanistic </a>values under threat. As individuals we can do nothing; all together we can <a href="https://www.fairearthfoundation.org/" target="_blank">make a fairer world</a> and <a href="https://www.effectivealtruism.org/" target="_blank">improve the lot of human beings</a> now and in the future. Let's try and make it a happy 2024 for as many people as possible.<p></p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82544002535524425182023-12-23T22:00:00.002+00:002024-01-05T15:25:48.622+00:00Strange encounters on Surrey lanes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgK02aMqVG7J-okQAqA1hqBrjNuo7WOcvhpeLBGJ3J60AKfTj3PoGQ_Ef33IgmtzN9qODbAlCuk3mQZEFKGwFAuaubHhOBNbZlVOrpYbjis8Nco5DEopKhkAQxhehRBJGyWxzubPM8s5EXZS2-p5p9tA9J4CGQUE05GXVZzdqNCl5axTx-vrc70-5/s1547/Binscombe%20Tales%20-%20WAITING%20FOR%20A%20BUS.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1547" data-original-width="948" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgK02aMqVG7J-okQAqA1hqBrjNuo7WOcvhpeLBGJ3J60AKfTj3PoGQ_Ef33IgmtzN9qODbAlCuk3mQZEFKGwFAuaubHhOBNbZlVOrpYbjis8Nco5DEopKhkAQxhehRBJGyWxzubPM8s5EXZS2-p5p9tA9J4CGQUE05GXVZzdqNCl5axTx-vrc70-5/w245-h400/Binscombe%20Tales%20-%20WAITING%20FOR%20A%20BUS.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: times;">"It was true that there were fences and gates to be seen, so someone must have been by to place and repair them. However, apart from these tokens, if one faced the right direction, the land was free of life, and looked fit to remain so forever. The motorway had cut off these fields from what they had been before and turned them into obscure borderlands. Now they were visited only with difficulty, by those with strong reason to go there -- or else flotsam and jetsam of the road like me.</span></i><div><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: times;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: times;">"I considered what strange things and evil deeds might be hidden in such a landscape - as remote and unwalked in its way as any Scottish mountain. There were great caverns of darkness amidst the trees capable of holding any enormity, just a few yards from Mr and Mrs Average, driving from normal A to normal B."</span></i><div>
<br />There is no greater author of English weird tales alive today than John Whitbourn, and <a href="https://binscombetales.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/waiting-for-a-bus.pdf" target="_blank">"Waiting For A Bus"</a> is perhaps the eeriest of all his short stories. It has won a slew of awards and if you read it on Christmas Eve with the lights turned low, I think you'll see why. And after that, when the goosebumps go down and you can steel yourself to get up from your chair, take a look at the rest of the <a href="https://binscombetales.com/" target="_blank">Binscombe Tales </a>series.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm glad to see that the Binscombe Tales are winning a whole new following in the States -- particularly in the South, perhaps because of the strong roots connecting our American cousins there to the old country. A case in point: <a href="http://i-read-this.blogspot.com/2015/11/binscombe-tales-complete-series.html" target="_blank">this in-depth review</a> by a lady in Alabama, but beware spoilers. And you should read <a href="http://www.threeleggedfox.co.uk/jaw_july_site/John_Whitbourn_web_text/John_Whitbourn_binspiel3.html" target="_blank">John's own account</a> of the landscape we love and which inspired the stories. I grew up nine miles away from Binscombe, in much the same ambience and environment, the main difference being that Binscombe admits to being overlooked by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book" target="_blank">the Domesday Book</a> whereas my own village, Mayford, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayford#:~:text=Mayford%20was%20mentioned%20in%20the%20Domesday%20Book%20in%201086%2C%20as%20%22Maiford%22." target="_blank">lays spurious claim </a>to a mention. (My roots there, or even in Surrey generally, are by no means as deep as John's in Binscombe, though it's nonetheless the foundational territory of my imagination.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And in the same vein of goosebumps and cold grue, take a look at Tanya Kirk's collection of seasonal ghost stories for British Library Publishing, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/41JdOUd" target="_blank">Haunters at the Hearth</a></i>, with contributions by D H Lawrence, A M Burrage, James Hadley Chase, L P Hartley, Mildred Clingerman and others. If only she'd included a Binscombe Tale it would have been perfect.</div><div>
<br />
</div></div><div>Binscombe Tales can be bought in the US from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVGNNTLH?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1704468016&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll2&tag=fablland-20&linkId=f61ffbcc24f1b644640b26891f1b2548&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">Amazon </a>or <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/binscombe-tales-the-complete-series-john-a-whitbourn/1107087167" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>,</div><div>and in the UK from <a href="https://amzn.to/3vxyX7x" target="_blank">Amazon </a>or <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Binscombe-Tales-The-Complete-Series-by-John-A-Whitbourn-author/9781480023277" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>.</div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-39980011090518815092023-12-22T00:30:00.039+00:002023-12-22T17:40:36.902+00:00Bring me pine logs hither<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Z7uFgZ1joLdXSxBRiTUjk-htxI2S4o6b0qlqc7twIqWENvCIFBD49A98v5qByJ6ZPrjAqJmSx4arrvFuJEONoUpaaS1X-YnsvQVQFK8TW3aeboxTr1DaUUrt9F7oibLW1Eo5A8hYspJcOCrod_YzvIS9A0Iy2NIuJxCgmW6-nSmaoWhs__wbJTcerWQ/s2470/Yulething.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2456" data-original-width="2470" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Z7uFgZ1joLdXSxBRiTUjk-htxI2S4o6b0qlqc7twIqWENvCIFBD49A98v5qByJ6ZPrjAqJmSx4arrvFuJEONoUpaaS1X-YnsvQVQFK8TW3aeboxTr1DaUUrt9F7oibLW1Eo5A8hYspJcOCrod_YzvIS9A0Iy2NIuJxCgmW6-nSmaoWhs__wbJTcerWQ/w400-h398/Yulething.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>If you're going to have a seasonal roleplaying game there's not a lot of time left. No time to plan? For that last-minute gaming session, what could be more useful than this <a href="https://cobwebbedforest.co.uk/Adventures.php" target="_blank">list of Legend adventures </a>compiled by Lee Barklam on the <a href="https://cobwebbedforest.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cobwebbed Forest </a>website?</p><p>If gaming is off the table, you can read write-ups of our roleplaying campaigns in two books available <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/season-of-cheer-94651623" target="_blank">exclusively to Patreon backers </a>until Twelfth Night. I talked about these books in <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-journal-of-play-years.html" target="_blank">a post </a>a while back, and here's your chance to get hold of them. I realize it might seem a little mercenary to mention Patreon in the season of giving, but you only need to subscribe for one month and you'll not only get the two RPG write-up books but the noughth draft of the Jewelspider rules as well as my <a href="https://www.knightmare.com/" target="_blank">Knightmare </a>novels and a bunch of articles and adventure scenarios set in <a href="http://www.sparkfurnace.com/dragon-warriors/the-lands-of-legend/" target="_blank">the world of Legend</a>.</p><p>And to go with all that, Grim Jim Desborough has the Dragon Warriors stats for a number of <a href="https://postmortemstudios.wordpress.com/2020/12/11/rpg-yule-monsters-for-dragon-warriors/" target="_blank">weird and wonderful Yule monsters</a> on the <a href="https://postmortemstudios.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Postmortem Games</a> site. (While you're there, why not buy a copy of <i>Wightchester </i>-- the very thing M R James would have been playing on Christmas Eve if he'd known about RPGs.)</p><p>Talking of Christmas Eve, I'll see you then...</p>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-78501727484052259952023-12-15T00:30:00.046+00:002024-01-05T16:46:38.016+00:00Old liches never die<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sV7Q-ND1TbtMaq9NpUe94ksNbub-VxxKGjMF1nQt1xlh4aI4xRBRW5uO1CGgvys_329hb1Fovjd-aGCDmzvMzxcsZkcqL-ocwrrZPeknasyWv_T7xpq4XPOyz5hBFI3ekWUaSvekiXPjAnKBHRqgGkcN6FgSqQLhPzF7j7JlkACWO3dnCvcONHjWvac/s1207/Dweomer%20meeting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1207" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sV7Q-ND1TbtMaq9NpUe94ksNbub-VxxKGjMF1nQt1xlh4aI4xRBRW5uO1CGgvys_329hb1Fovjd-aGCDmzvMzxcsZkcqL-ocwrrZPeknasyWv_T7xpq4XPOyz5hBFI3ekWUaSvekiXPjAnKBHRqgGkcN6FgSqQLhPzF7j7JlkACWO3dnCvcONHjWvac/w400-h219/Dweomer%20meeting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>It's traditional around here to offer a Christmas freebie, and if Tim's magical adventure <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-three-wanderers-yuletide-adventure.html" target="_blank">last time</a> wasn't enough, here's another bauble for you. When <a href="https://www.jamiethomson.com/gamebooks.html" target="_blank">Jamie </a>and I revised our <a href="https://www.fightingfantasy.com/ff-gamebooks" target="_blank">Fighting Fantasy</a> gamebook <i><a href="https://ffreviewermalthusd.blogspot.com/2014/05/43-keep-of-lich-lord.html" target="_blank">The Keep of the Lich Lord </a></i>to make it <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1372644/lich-lord-must-die-again" target="_blank">part of the Fabled Lands universe</a>, I had to write a new way into the adventure that connected to FL Book 3, <i>Over the Blood-Dark Sea</i>. If you have the original FF edition, here's your chance to compare them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VLgQJVbwmcGN-bGXG1NREuoCRjVasKEsHLGeS6klXd85CsCXCAlW5NnrHll4T8Am2XDtZB1MhwW8_CCqMGCwzu72NZ5-6KFmomBoi7xrcsNbOHVHwYCA7X7YeO3_c5h_G-nwS6BPMNXEDIv2UqXYVbf-PLSGu6LFsPvdHazgZKUdZcOUZIa5btCw1WM/s1639/Firefly%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="1639" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VLgQJVbwmcGN-bGXG1NREuoCRjVasKEsHLGeS6klXd85CsCXCAlW5NnrHll4T8Am2XDtZB1MhwW8_CCqMGCwzu72NZ5-6KFmomBoi7xrcsNbOHVHwYCA7X7YeO3_c5h_G-nwS6BPMNXEDIv2UqXYVbf-PLSGu6LFsPvdHazgZKUdZcOUZIa5btCw1WM/w400-h269/Firefly%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One Way To Volunteer</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Curious how events can acquire their own momentum. Drinking sherry with some of the scholars of Choronzon College, you happened to refer, with no more than the usual exaggeration, to some of your exploits in uncivilized parts of the world. In a company of explorers or soldiers your remarks would have gathered no special interest. Among scholars whose greatest adventures have been to the height of a rickety ladder in search of an old book, they created quite a stir. As word got around the college, students pressed into the door of the Warden’s study and climbed the ivied walls to listen at the window.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Realizing then the impression you had inadvertently given, you tried to backtrack: ‘I’m no legendary hero. There are many others with far greater experience of these things.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Too late. The Warden of the college drew you to one side and asked you to attend a meeting the following morning. ‘You may be exactly the one we’re looking for,’ he said. Which are ominous words to take off to bed with you in Dweomer.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And so here you are in the Examination Hall, sitting at a long table made sticky with centuries of wax, in a room whose bluewood panels, dark as a beetle’s back, are feebly aglow in the sunlight that penetrates the high, dusty windows. Along the table with you sit city councillors of the great merchant ports of the mainland, nobles and army officers from Golnir and Sokara, the most venerable scholars of Dweomer, and even a masked ambassador from the secrecy-shrouded land of Uttaku.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And they are looking at you. You return a puzzled frown. ‘Can you repeat the question?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘I asked,’ says Admiral Lord Aspenor, who is chairing the meeting, ‘how much you knew of the naval defences of our lands.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Ah.’ You pocket the knife you’ve been using to carve your initials in the side of the table. ‘No more than the average person. That’s not – ’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Not your area of expertise,’ puts in your patron, the Warden of Choronzon, who having brought you to the meeting cannot allow himself to lose face now. ‘Quite. An adventurer, you. An explorer. Risk taking. Bold action. Not sitting and talking…’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Yes, yes.’ Admiral Lord Aspenor raises a leathery hand. ‘Bold action is what we want, all right. Well, you will certainly know about the Reavers of the Unnumbered Isles. A law unto themselves, those pirates. Almost a rogue state. They even have their own “king”. There’s no formal alliance, but our fleets have always cooperated to hold them off the mainland. Yet each year they grow bolder. Coastal villages are raided for slaves. Merchant cogs are plundered and sunk within sight of port. For centuries Sokara, as the bulwark of civilization —’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A disgruntled murmur flits around the table. Aspenor looks ready to speak sharply, but a wild-haired figure in wizard’s robes leans forward. His quiet voice carries in the high-ceiling room. ‘Sokara’s fleet has often borne the brunt of Reaver attacks. We of Golnir acknowledge that.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘With ample contributions from the guilds of Metriciens and Ringhorn,’ puts in a velvet-coated merchant. But the others, having made a token expression of indignation, fall silent. And it’s now that you realize how serious this business must be.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Our main fortification to the east is Bloodrise Keep, on Stayng Island,’ says Aspenor. ‘It’s part of the Arrowhead archipelago on the western edge of the Unnumbered Isles. That archipelago is the first line of defence against any massed attack by the Reavers. But we’ve lost contact with the outlying villages and there has been no word from the castellan of the keep in several weeks. After his last report, we’re not exactly surprised.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You take the scrap of parchment and glance at it:
</span></p><p>
</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Bloodrise Keep will shortly fall. The troops I sent to investigate the strange lights in the sky above the village of Menela have now returned. They have marched back to within sight of the walls but refuse to answer signals. A runner sent out came back shivering with dread. He got close enough to see that the men have bloodless faces and that their eyes are staring and blank. In place of their Sokaran battle-standards they now carry ragged black and yellow pennants – the symbol of plague. Even as I write, it is close to dusk and the enemy camp is astir. Troops are massing and people from the villages are also milling about the camp as though hypnotized. I can see a man in tarnished silver armour who appears to be in command. Now he has given the order for his troops to advance, There are too many, and with the small garrison I have left I cannot hope to hold them off for more than a few hours. I will send this report by messenger pigeon and hope it will not be shot down by the enemy’s archers. Now it only remains for me to take up my sword and go out onto the battlements for the last stand. I regret having failed in your service, my lords. I am your dutiful vassal, Braxis, Castellan of Bloodrise Keep.
</i></span></p></blockquote><p>
</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘A brave man,’ you say grimly as you hand the report back along the table to Aspenor. ‘Do you have any idea who the silver-armoured warlord might be, and how he took control of Braxis’s troops?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘It is all too clear,’ says Aspenor grimly. ‘Plague-standards and tarnished silver armour are the hallmarks of Lord Mortis of Balthor. He was formerly the tyrant of Stayng Island and tried to conquer the southern provinces of our nations. It took the combined strength of Golnir and Sokara to defeat him, for he was a necromancer as well as a warlord, and it is said that he reinforced his army each night with the bodies of fallen foes.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘When was this? I’ve never heard of such a war.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Ancient history, that’s why. It all happened two hundred years ago. Mortis died in battle and was buried near the village of Menela, Now it seems that he has returned from the grave to try again.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You nod. ‘It’s a good thing you’re all here to assemble an expeditionary force. I’ll be very happy to advise.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘It’s not so simple,’ says the Admiral. ‘Resources and manpower cannot be summoned out of thin air.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Actually – ’ begins the wild-haired wizard.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aspenor holds up his hand. ‘Thank you, Doctor Estragon, but I think we’d rather not be beholden to demons, devils or otherworld spirits. Not as long as there are other options.’ He fixes you with a smouldering stare. ‘Here’s where we stand. These wise gentlemen of Dweomer advise me that assassinating Mortis would immediately neutralize his army of undead. Cut off the head, you see. Our combined naval forces are tied up fighting the Reavers. My own country is also having to deal with rebel forces in the north. So, rather than spend weeks mustering and arranging transport for a large body of troops, it makes sense to send one capable individual. Of course, you’ll be on your own.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> ‘Yes, right. The thing is, reports of my death-wish may have been exaggerated…’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Cold feet?’ mutters the Warden beside you, frowning. ‘Too late for that.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The others agree. ‘Mortis is even now turning the people of Stayng into undead,’ says one of the guild-masters. ‘Unless it is excised, his evil will eat into our good rich lands like mould in a healthy apple. We have need of a sharp knife.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘What if I’m more the blunt instrument type?’ You’re wondering if it would be better just to walk out. To think that an idle boast at a sherry party could get you into something like this.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Telling means nothing,’ says the wild-haired Doctor Estragon. ‘You need to see.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He taps his fingertips together. The slightest of gestures, but a sudden shift in pressure or light tells you that a spell has been cast. The motes of dust, hanging finely in wine-coloured sunbeams, seem to thicken and glow. Is that an image of castle turrets glimmering in the air? The edge of a coastline traced against the rafters? A ripple like the surface of the sea swims dizzyingly across a wall lined with books, making you sway in your chair as you try to focus on things that aren’t there.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Close your eyes,’ says Estragon. ‘The dust and sunlight merely comprise a matrix for the illusion. You will see more clearly with the mind.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yes. Against your eyelids: a V-shaped line of verdant islands set in an azure sea. You recognize the Arrowhead archipelago. The perspective drops towards the tip of the archipelago, the largest island, which points east to the Unnumbered Isles. In the north-east of the island, a fortress stands on a hillside overlooking Port Borgos. In the conjured light of Estragon’s illusion, the sun streaks across the heavens, falls like a crimson meteor, and thick shadows leap across the walls of Bloodrise Keep like the unfolding legs of a spider. Your view is carried in, closer, closer. A figure stands waiting on the battlements. Under his tarnished silver visor the face is dead white. The eyes –
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You sit up with a gasp. The room is empty now apart from you, Aspenor and Estragon. ‘What was that? A dream?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘This is now the dream,’ says Estragon. ‘An illusion of your past, before you accepted the mission.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You start to laugh before you realize that there’s nothing funny. You’d like to get up and leave. Maybe in a moment more.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘This will help us keep in touch.’ Admiral Lord Aspenor flicks something and it rolls along the table. A silver ring. It comes to rest in front of you, spinning on its edge. The noise irritates you and you snatch up the still-spinning ring and put it on your finger.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘So you think I’m going,’ you say to him. ‘Just because of a conjuring trick.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He doesn’t blink. ‘You already have a map of Stayng Island. Also a purse of gold coins, in case you encounter any spies or agents who need paying.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘An illusion of the future. And that’s supposed to convince me?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Estragon shakes his head. ‘What you saw in your head is the reality. This is the illusion now.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘What are you talking about?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘You’re there. You’ll wake up in a moment and see that you’re on Stayng Island. This conversation is a memory, that’s all.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Really? What if I got up, walked out? Went south to Ankon-Konu and never saw either of you again?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘But you didn’t,’ says Aspenor. ‘You undertook the mission. You’re going to assassinate Mortis before he can join forces with the Reavers.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">‘Oh yes? And when did I make that choice?’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Estragon makes a gesture and the sunlight deepens to amber. The room is dissolving. ‘There was never a choice,’ he says. ‘Free will, that is the illusion.’
</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aspenor rises from the table. ‘Don’t fail,’ are the last words you remember.
</span></p><p>
</p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now turn to <b>1</b>.
</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9tzzWGdeZPLYWZZrrWsK8v3B4H_Zhyqjo1Y1Wc0TwVCPBZEekHOsgK5UXr1HRjNkcTTDSm6WuJNGkvYbMzNg1wnVjPwCWp3esjpoiu4PhNdEpcoq2X4kTRBE4zrDK-Yren6T5-zhLC4G3oA1zr8Q9KAnTxeyVMk-VvQU_fAVwPYB-Oj34RhIWc30w0Zc/s1400/00-lichlord-cover-300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="860" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9tzzWGdeZPLYWZZrrWsK8v3B4H_Zhyqjo1Y1Wc0TwVCPBZEekHOsgK5UXr1HRjNkcTTDSm6WuJNGkvYbMzNg1wnVjPwCWp3esjpoiu4PhNdEpcoq2X4kTRBE4zrDK-Yren6T5-zhLC4G3oA1zr8Q9KAnTxeyVMk-VvQU_fAVwPYB-Oj34RhIWc30w0Zc/w246-h400/00-lichlord-cover-300dpi.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><div><br /></div><i>Keep of the Lich Lord</i> is now on sale from <a href="https://amzn.to/4aI61tN" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3HeJYgB" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>, or order it at your local bookstore.<div><br />
<div>Other gifts you might be interested in are <a href="https://leohartas.com/shop/" target="_blank">high quality Giclée art prints </a>of Leo Hartas's charmingly spooky paintings for his classic book <i>Haunted Castle</i>. They have a Tim Burton vibe with a dash of Michael Bentine. They're not free, but Leo is offering 30% off for Christmas. No horror fan's cave is complete without one. (Also check out his gorgeous <a href="https://leohartas.com/home/illustrated-maps/" target="_blank">maps</a>.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Or, if you prefer a sweet, gentle and non-scary treat, try the bestselling book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3H8uCub" target="_blank">Slow Down</a> </i>with illustrations by Leo's equally talented daughter Freya.</div>
</div>Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-56590706166107119792023-12-08T07:30:00.009+00:002024-01-05T16:13:49.620+00:00Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/adki5q38CTo?si=1gcD1WuI1SAFz6Bq&start=215" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><p>If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present for a friend who's interested in the history and cultural context of roleplaying games, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/our-future-banned-books/" target="_blank">MIT Press </a>have just released <i>Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground: A Guide to Tabletop Roleplaying Games from D&D to Mothership</i> by <a href="https://unwinnable.com/stu-horvath/" target="_blank">Stu Horvath</a>. (Now on sale from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Aliens-Holes-Ground-Roleplaying/dp/0262048221?crid=ZRYJE6CCRCGY&keywords=stu+horvath&qid=1704471040&s=books&sprefix=stu+horvath%2Cstripbooks%2C86&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=fablland-20&linkId=426eebea90bc01f0b21e4acfb35acb20&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">Amazon US</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/monsters-aliens-and-holes-in-the-ground-stu-horvath/1142929026?ean=9780262048224" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3RKbebT" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a> and <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Monsters-Aliens-and-Holes-in-the-Ground-by-Stu-Horvath/9780262048224" target="_blank">Blackwell's</a>.)</p><p>It's not the kind of roleplaying analysis you tend to get here on the FL blog. What I like about playing RPGs is thinking and behaving as people unlike myself, and what interests me about roleplaying as an art form is that RPGs provide a medium for creating multi-person emergent narratives that are very different from old storytelling media with their three-act structures and whatnot.</p><p>This book comes at roleplaying from a whole other angle: the social history of the hobby along with a thorough analysis of its evolution. Gamebooks are discussed too. Be advised that Mr Horvath admits to not being fully comprehensive in his coverage; there are, indeed, holes in this ground. <i><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2060/TEKUMELR--Empire-of-the-Petal-Throne-TSR" target="_blank">Empire of the Petal Throne</a></i>, a big early release from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSR,_Inc." target="_blank">TSR </a>and a major event in <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2010/11/tekumel.html" target="_blank">original worldbuilding</a>, is omitted because of accusations that M A R Barker held clandestine antisemitic beliefs. I have no tolerance for antisemitism myself, most especially not in view of the appalling rise in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/nov/03/record-number-hate-incidents-british-jews-reported-hamas-attacks" target="_blank">hate crime</a> against Jews that we've seen in the wake of Hamas's terrorist atrocities on 7 October, but it is nonsensical to write <i>EPT </i>out of roleplaying history on that account. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_the_Author" target="_blank">The art is not the artist</a>, and the book is supposed to be a history of the hobby not a teenager's diary. At least, thankfully, <i><a href="https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/" target="_blank">Call of Cthulhu</a></i> is covered here, possibly not so much because <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos" target="_blank">the Cthulhu Mythos </a>has had multiple contributors as because <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/my-favorite-anti-semite-h-p-lovecraft" target="_blank">HPL</a>'s legacy is simply too influential to ignore.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0nI3hUUkCHA?si=kAUW7u84ntUA8zN0" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe><br /></p><p>Anyway, those are quibbles -- and frankly, while I was a big <a href="https://www.tekumel.com/eoasw.html" target="_blank">fan of Tekumel </a>back in the day, I concede that Barker poisoned his own reputation by signing a deal with a neo-Nazi publisher (we won't get back into the unanswerable question of <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2022/03/was-professor-m-r-barker-nazi.html" target="_blank">whether he was actually a sympathizer</a> or just foolishly imagined he was playing them) and consequently if the rest of his work is going to get cancelled as collateral damage, knee-jerk though such reasoning usually is, Barker only has himself to blame. (Game designer Pauli Kidd makes some good points about the ensuing debate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMjd7JeAkx0" target="_blank">here</a>. And if you are interested in how <i>Empire of the Petal Throne</i> fits into roleplaying history, here's <a href="https://www.juhanapettersson.com/a-game-per-year-empire-of-the-petal-throne-1975/" target="_blank">a quick overview</a> by <a href="https://www.juhanapettersson.com/" target="_blank">Juhana Pettersson</a>.) Meanwhile there are lots of other great roleplaying games to talk about, most of them written by unarguably decent and right-thinking folks, and Mr Horvath's well-researched and in-depth survey of the field should give you hours of interesting reading while you wait for the turkey to finish roasting.</p><p>The book does come with a pretty weighty price tag, but it sounds like it's worth it. A friend who bought a copy (he's much richer than I am) commented:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The book is entirely commendable as an exhaustive archive save for the glaring omission of <i>EPT</i>. It’s a coffee table compendium and a fine gift."</blockquote><p></p><p>I do have to point out, though, that on Christmas morning for just about the same money you could be unwrapping <a href="https://amzn.to/3Sw8jpm" target="_blank">four Vulcanverse books</a> or <a href="https://amzn.to/3Sw8EIE" target="_blank">the whole Blood Sword series</a>. Sadly there's no chance now of getting the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tambu/blood-sword-5e/description" target="_blank">Blood Sword 5e</a> book this Christmas, which would have been my dream come true, but hopefully by next year... (Possibly. Maybe. Who's got the wishbone?) In the meantime let's all try and stay on Santa's Nice list.</p>
Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-85427854735568807782023-12-01T01:00:00.036+00:002023-12-01T01:00:00.181+00:00"The Three Wanderers" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtb_N1Ho98tbM3v-PUO-pWP1ohs-C6AMdcOo4SSk79xiOIfM6qHablnmfh2JnXzOsk7Kb4uVmW95s2APIn-R9twej6bTbB-k6DitzwdWX6IPPiaGnu9fMOnNxQ3_YayRVXAXMVxOvxtSEphnyfMfFwzwN23xikq6Oi00fSxL9LuqVkU3n4BzkmDzjEw4/s512/ok1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtb_N1Ho98tbM3v-PUO-pWP1ohs-C6AMdcOo4SSk79xiOIfM6qHablnmfh2JnXzOsk7Kb4uVmW95s2APIn-R9twej6bTbB-k6DitzwdWX6IPPiaGnu9fMOnNxQ3_YayRVXAXMVxOvxtSEphnyfMfFwzwN23xikq6Oi00fSxL9LuqVkU3n4BzkmDzjEw4/w400-h400/ok1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><i>A treat my gaming group have come to expect (though hopefully never take for granted) at this time of year is a new Yuletide adventure by the multifariously talented <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2021/02/lore-and-data.html" target="_blank">Tim Harford</a>. With Tim's permission I share last year's with you. Without further ado, then, here is:</i></p><h1 style="text-align: left;">THE THREE WANDERERS</h1><p>On a windswept ridge in the Bleaks, visible from miles around, are three huge uneven black boulders, each at least four metres in diameter. Locals call these vast stones the Three Wanderers and will not approach. They say the three were fiends who haunted the hills in olden times, murdering travellers until they picked on the wrong victim, St Afric, and he turned them to stone.
</p><p>More educated folk, of whom there are few locally, scorn the superstitions but warn travellers that those boulders are tombs, and that what was buried should not be disturbed.
</p><p>Anyone who does get close to the boulders will see that there are crevices in them, perhaps just wide enough for a person to squirm through. Each crevice, however, is blocked by bars of iron, rusted but sturdy, and a chain with a silver cross is attached to the bars on each of the three rocks. It is hard to make out what, if anything, lies deeper in the crevices. Characters who shine a light down them may see a glimpse of bone, or sacking. Perhaps they will see movement – a rat, perhaps, or grass snake?
</p><p>What lies within? One tale describes three sorcerers from Kaikuhuru, travelling west in search of the newborn Saviour. Some say they followed a silver moon that moved through the sky contrary to the motion of other celestial bodies. Others say they used an enchanted needle, a bone splinter hanging from a strand of a princess’s hair. Whatever the truth, they were led astray by some mischievous imp, and ventured to the wilds of Ellesland instead of the holy land. Dressed for the desert, they wandered in the northern rain and hail, vainly seeking the saviour until they perished from exposure.
</p><p>Far from home, vengeful and bewildered, their spirits continued to wander the Bleaks until, centuries later, a Cornumbrian saint bound them and laid them to rest in a tomb that would contain their wanderings and their parched enchantments.
</p><p>Such is the tale. What, then, when the characters approach the Three Wanderers to find the silver crosses missing, and the iron bars ripped out – from the inside?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRTqzQtg-v7bz3MdnBmAeQdRWOJxqM-JPux15Imum6O828O0tygKEWyqD-8YkwtHTwbtK2GjPWXtIURASTxAMoOw6UPTEEqUDjyvvGwZJp5m97iL1LfdmtjjQdDx9E1qVnwbgY4f4sfredt3AUMRuiZGU0BpN1DjHCnscyDYblCFs7Q1Mgd1A8GpIJ-A/s991/map002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="991" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRTqzQtg-v7bz3MdnBmAeQdRWOJxqM-JPux15Imum6O828O0tygKEWyqD-8YkwtHTwbtK2GjPWXtIURASTxAMoOw6UPTEEqUDjyvvGwZJp5m97iL1LfdmtjjQdDx9E1qVnwbgY4f4sfredt3AUMRuiZGU0BpN1DjHCnscyDYblCFs7Q1Mgd1A8GpIJ-A/w400-h280/map002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dramatis Personae
</h2><p><b>Crespin Thune</b> – A wizard of no great accomplishment, but with a plan to use his limited talents to acquire the three legendary gifts of the Kaikuhuran wizards, and with those to rise in prestige and power.
</p><p><b>Beatrice </b>– a fallen woman. Beatrice is a serving maid (and prostitute) who works at Athgeld’s Inn, a traveller’s stop running to the south of the ridge. Crespin has paid her to serve the Saviour’s mother in his little play.
</p><p><b>Sir Thunrulf </b>– an aging knight, lord of Beeley Manor.
</p><p>His cook, <b>Pessimus Broil</b>, is a blubbery mountain of a man.
</p><p><b>Martin Marigold</b> is the innkeeper at Athgeld’s Inn. He is famous for his hospitality, although the prices can be steep, especially for the unwary.
</p><p><b>Grauves de Courtai</b> – an upstart knight from Chaubrette. Crespin is paying him for assistance, but has also forged a letter purportedly from Baron Aldred declaring Grauves de Courtai the new lord of Beeley Manor. Grauves has six well-armed thugs in attendance, Hubert, Gaston, Anton, Charles, Hal and Fred.</p><p>The local devil, called <b>Hob o’ the Well</b> by locals. Hob is nine feet tall, with spindly arms and legs; when he drops into a crouch, however, he can conceal himself into a surprisingly small space, like a spider in the corner of a web. Hob has several uncanny abilities, including the power of illusion and the power to command animals, plants and the local weather. However he is vulnerable to the cross, and his stealthiness is sometimes betrayed by a faint reek of brimstone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPHIEJ-rta6vnAii86PgrJ-l6gCLAOwlSZlSKRdxAmcSeBBAePoBrycez2ImL1Ug5WjwoCbtoFbyfT6bV6jldH4f8kNi2cnwZoaIFUKQsgkkuQShqb7GrEKtNBugdNXt29g1AqL7nuatu60BAdTGtqeLjMaAGmiZPVw-wzboYnLLEGbGDhiE5TcLLyj4/s1024/devil2-corrected-for-arms.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="887" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPHIEJ-rta6vnAii86PgrJ-l6gCLAOwlSZlSKRdxAmcSeBBAePoBrycez2ImL1Ug5WjwoCbtoFbyfT6bV6jldH4f8kNi2cnwZoaIFUKQsgkkuQShqb7GrEKtNBugdNXt29g1AqL7nuatu60BAdTGtqeLjMaAGmiZPVw-wzboYnLLEGbGDhiE5TcLLyj4/s320/devil2-corrected-for-arms.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
<p></p><p><b>Old Katy Catkin</b>, who earns a meal and room to sleep in exchange for cleaning and other chores around the inn. She works less and less and appears to rely more and more on the charity both of Marigold and of passersby. She is the most likely source of gossip concerning Hob o’ the Well and may also share gossip about Beatrice and Crespin (who has been paying with silver for her to attend him in his room). Katy has heard Crespin bragging to Beatrice about his plans and, unlike Beatrice herself, she has enough familiarity with folk magic to recognize the makings of a spell in their act of theatre.
</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Crespin’s plan
</h2><p>Crespin plans to break the locks that keep the three wanderers bound. He hopes to lure them to Athgeld’s Inn on Christmas Eve, where Beatrice will display her “baby” – actually a ghastly little scarecrow of daub and straw, with sky blue little robin eggs of eyes. Crespin has cast a spell over the “baby” to make it appear lifelike. This deception will, he hopes, induce the three wanderers to hand over their gifts to the infant they think is the Saviour. He can then use the three gifts as potent instruments when casting future spells.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNcTS4Kx-ZBA9ZAZQLPVl-oqIuiS-_CzJg6cY9pu8NVePhOJFPIkM2UGdpwL6rr2q7kkNAOIFr5PCzRXtVW3kRPm5-PgYFs_V4-8vIYTmqE4OSqaO6mZjf1nFz5O0GYwkUUn_y8de5noqzx5k-5NgjBwlb_ujCVjBXG7egLqNkgOAIi2ZkQM6_hqJlZw/s500/wraiths2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="500" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNcTS4Kx-ZBA9ZAZQLPVl-oqIuiS-_CzJg6cY9pu8NVePhOJFPIkM2UGdpwL6rr2q7kkNAOIFr5PCzRXtVW3kRPm5-PgYFs_V4-8vIYTmqE4OSqaO6mZjf1nFz5O0GYwkUUn_y8de5noqzx5k-5NgjBwlb_ujCVjBXG7egLqNkgOAIi2ZkQM6_hqJlZw/w400-h394/wraiths2.png" width="400" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Wanderers
</h2><p>The three sorcerers are long dead, but their spirits live on, carrying a thousand years of rage and frustration. If addressed in the right way, they may recall their original pilgrimage to pay homage to a new spirit of hope in the world.
</p><p><b>Calcifer </b>retains the desiccated spirit of the Kaikuhuran desert; if roused to anger he strikes with hot sand and lightning. His visage is swaddled in dry sackcloth.
</p><p><b>Shazz Ul Haq</b> has grown a new eye each year since arriving in Ellesland. He now has nine hundred and ninety five, and to glimpse them is to go mad.
</p><p><b>Grupus </b>has adjusted best to the climate of Ellesland. He has become a master of mist, mire, and darkness. He is the most likely to stray far from the rocks and the party may encounter him while exploring.
</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The gifts
</h3><p>Calcifer’s gift for the saviour was a small handful of sand from the desert, in a box of ivory, a symbol of the endlessly shifting sands of Kaikuhuru and of his fealty.
</p><p>Shazz Ul Haq had brought an orb of diamonds, each diamond showing a different vision of what may come to pass.
</p><p>Grupus’s offering was an embalming unguent in a silver pot.
</p><p>These treasures lack the awesome power that Crespin imagines and craves – their significance was largely symbolic. However, they have some value both as magical talismans and as saleable treasures.
</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Locations
</h2><p><b>Beeley Manor </b>– a decaying manor house with a small study, a feasting hall, kitchen and larder downstairs, and a master bedroom and three small bedrooms upstairs. The house is fortified but vulnerable either to a determined assault or to an inside job, since there is a front door, a back door and a kitchen door.
</p><p><b>Athgeld’s Inn</b> – a large hostelry with a generous common room, a parlour with several snugs (where Grauves and Crespin prefer to have their conversations), a sweltering kitchen and half a dozen upstairs rooms. The Inn also has outhouses, storehouses, and a stable.
</p><p><b>Saint Afric’s chapel</b> – a tiny chapel on the steep slope above the road and beneath the great stones that locals call the Three Wanderers. It was Saint Afric who bound the ghosts of the three sorcerers and imprisoned them in cracks in the rocks. The chapel door is jammed – rust or ice? – but may yield to force or to patient prayer. Inside, a candle flame flickers, although there is no sign of a caretaker and everything is covered with dust – it seems to have been neglected for years. A cracked fresco shows a three part scene: three great kings following a man with a crescent on a fishing rod; the same three figures with demonic visages; Saint Afric brandishing a cross, with the three figures dismayed and prostrate.
</p><p>A sufficiently successful roll on intuition suggests that the paintwork around the cross is of a different quality. Chipping away at the fresco reveals a silver cross concealed within the plaster. It has, it seems, been unearthed and buried once before. A grey hair is wrapped around the join of the cross – a relic of Saint Afric himself?
</p><p><b>Hob’s Well</b> – locals know of the well, and water taken from it is said to have a restorative quality provided that a suitable offering of flowers or food is placed by the well, thanks are given, and implicit permission is sought by a declaration of good intent. Without those measures the water has a bad-eggs aroma and unpleasant warmth, but will do no harm.
</p><p>The well is unusually tall, more like a chimney or a little tower than a well, with the lip seven feet above the ground. To draw water requires a little agility, or fashioning some kind of perch on which to stand. Looking down the well reveals a crescent moon, reflected from the heavens. What is strange is that the crescent moon is there, day and night, whether the moon in the sky is new or full.
</p><p>At the bottom of the well is a loose stone, and behind it, a sack with the three ancient treasures in it. The sack, oddly, is undecayed. Anyone brave enough to dive into the water can retrieve the moon too (the permanently shining silver crescent with which Hob lured the three scholars astray) but they may have to reckon with Hob or the local fauna – perhaps a savage pike, or a plague of worms and leeches, or an irate owl, as the referee prefers.
</p><p><b>The Wanderers</b> - the three black boulders described in the introduction.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYQeyj28vK9fDkToXotBaSBKuyCnE0dYoksvVBfQZmFljHEzaPUJNe6Y4ob8F-_EfLzcGCmRHtimYSo7McucsTYs2-YiPUjA4-2WBbQDlisLVFTReFhKq0zuPjioLxtVrB_Y3sbWmYKsptLgf2lbXj7bn4KwfnQ4LzVwm0dcnpPzdEmEf5ZLhybBa2EQ/s1024/ok3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYQeyj28vK9fDkToXotBaSBKuyCnE0dYoksvVBfQZmFljHEzaPUJNe6Y4ob8F-_EfLzcGCmRHtimYSo7McucsTYs2-YiPUjA4-2WBbQDlisLVFTReFhKq0zuPjioLxtVrB_Y3sbWmYKsptLgf2lbXj7bn4KwfnQ4LzVwm0dcnpPzdEmEf5ZLhybBa2EQ/w400-h400/ok3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>
</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Timeline of events, if the party do not intervene
</h2><p>Grauves and his men have demanded entry to Beeley Manor and been refused by Thunrulf and his steward. Grauves claims that Baron Aldred has appointed him lord of the manor in Thulrulf’s place, and has sworn to return with a Warrant of Possession signed by the baron.
</p><p>Thunrulf sends his steward to Athgeld’s Inn to discover more. The player-characters could enter the adventure either as Thunrulf’s guests or as travellers at the inn – or both.
</p><p>At the inn, there is an argument between Grauves and Crespin. Crespin sends Grauves and his men up to the rocks with a promise that they will only get the letter when they’ve done their job. The party may overhear this argument, which takes place is Crespin’s room.
</p><p>Grauves and his men go up to the rocks. Crespin has equipped them with an iron spearhead of ancient Selentine design, enchanted so that it can prise the silver crosses off the iron bars.
</p><p>Only five of the men return, and they are in a state of terror, having encountered Shazz Ul Haq. Grauves himself is among them, having got separated from the others in the snow; thus he was spared the harrowing encounter with the ghost.
</p><p>Anyone going up to the rocks now will find the iron bars have been pulled away from the inside.
</p><p>Grauves presents the three crosses to Crespin as proof of his deed, claims his forged letter, and ventures out to Beeley Manor to try to claim it from Thunrulf. Other men may go missing every time they venture out in the dark.
</p><p>On Christmas Eve the three magi, now at large, will close in upon the stable at Athgeld’s Inn, to meet Beatrice and Crespin and the “baby”.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SMhoex_YfTs3Oso9BKg9AAVNiZfFDOByvv7QI8vStAVTZniWcf-mRinfQKyAAksO_cufpc-447Jk3wd97V9xhbR7hO4bs8PBVMkA_BjW8mxm6SepeuiuwIOcTtDM2VljXJkLyTJz06Vasz-ZFy9JW2UgTkRvOdQPJX3Md2fN8bPq5Z0NCwKjVtjTiG4/s512/ok2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SMhoex_YfTs3Oso9BKg9AAVNiZfFDOByvv7QI8vStAVTZniWcf-mRinfQKyAAksO_cufpc-447Jk3wd97V9xhbR7hO4bs8PBVMkA_BjW8mxm6SepeuiuwIOcTtDM2VljXJkLyTJz06Vasz-ZFy9JW2UgTkRvOdQPJX3Md2fN8bPq5Z0NCwKjVtjTiG4/w400-h400/ok2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>
</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Secrets that the party may discover
</h3><p>The Three Wanderers are ancient sorcerers from a thousand years ago.
</p><p>They were led astray by Hob o’ the Well, who put a silver moon on a stick and stole their gifts.
</p><p>The moon and the gifts are concealed at the bottom of Hob’s well. The silver moon might be used to lead the sorcerers away towards the holy land.
</p><p>Crespin has forged a warrant declaring Grauves de Courtai the rightful lord of Beeley Manor.
</p><p>Pessimus Broil plans to do away with Martin Marigold and become innkeeper (he fell out with Marigold years ago when he worked at the inn).
</p><p>There is a sacred relic concealed behind the fresco of Saint Afric’s chapel. It is one way to cow the three sorcerers.
</p><p>Crespin’s magic is unlikely to fool the three sorcerers, but his enchantment to give the “baby “ a semblance of life may be more potent than he anticipates, given the forces assembling at Christmas Eve.
</p><p>
</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Motivations
</h3><p>Sir Thunrulf wants to retain his manor and his dignity, but is also duty-bound to protect travellers through his manor from harm – including the residents of Athgeld’s Inn.
</p><p>Beatrice has been promised money by Crespin but will not risk her life once danger threatens.
</p><p>Crespin hopes to fool the wanderers and secure their treasures.
</p><p>The Wanderers are barely sentient now; they are malevolent after their long imprisonment but may be calmed by Beatrice and the baby.
</p><p>Grauves is hoping to take possession of the manor; if thwarted he is likely to try to make trouble and resort to ordinary theft and assault.
</p><p>Hob o’ the Well is bent on devilish mischief (the high flavour of mischief that does not balk at causing death or lasting injury) and highly amused by the Wanderers, although there is a risk he oversteps himself. His is only a little local devil, after all, and they are mythic ghosts.
</p><p>Pessimus Broil hopes to leave Thunrulf’s service and take over at the Inn, although he has not fully thought through how this will be achieved. Murder of Martin Marigold is not impossible. He might also try to strike a bargain with Grauves.
</p><p>Katy Catkin likes to gossip, knows a lot, and will easily be persuaded by some coin (or perhaps flattery or even earnest curiosity). She may relate some of the legend of the Three Wanderers. She may also point out that, although abandoned, Afric’s chapel has long seemed inviolate and protected by the Saviour.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8MdHNoZmHtBgBZS7ylXB9wiP3VVMsxF7oxeGQWb5hSr8u0aa2FJDFkl7WkWcPy69lMLiA2a4iYqUSsY7fY77ljREP7DxBVXVzpoGAQwjBaRrfJRnQV7usGzua0O9Mq_0J8UjYLX52ylEg8DYfXqAllb2eOFIveLPP9pOOgVTwr1QjFlrEOWfDquzT-0/s1024/ok4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8MdHNoZmHtBgBZS7ylXB9wiP3VVMsxF7oxeGQWb5hSr8u0aa2FJDFkl7WkWcPy69lMLiA2a4iYqUSsY7fY77ljREP7DxBVXVzpoGAQwjBaRrfJRnQV7usGzua0O9Mq_0J8UjYLX52ylEg8DYfXqAllb2eOFIveLPP9pOOgVTwr1QjFlrEOWfDquzT-0/w400-h400/ok4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>There's yet another Yule one-shot scenario over on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/wizards-of-93756910" target="_blank">my Patreon page</a>. Tim's are better, I think; he always manages to weave just the right seasonal magic. Agree? Then you should take a look at his books. Perfect Christmas gifts for the thinking people in your life:</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=fablland-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0593084594&asins=0593084594&linkId=721734f0970c474697426313826cb1e9&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=printmedia-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=0349143862&asins=0349143862&linkId=7dd64ffda598266f5b03db2623f1f201&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=fablland-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B072F4XN14&asins=B072F4XN14&linkId=7676040003700d7fab570d698aed4d3a&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=printmedia-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=9124052388&asins=9124052388&linkId=39b608f0374c97f9b8d20db1d378e8d1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br /><i>
and for kids:</i><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=printmedia-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B09W95KSD7&asins=B09W95KSD7&linkId=d0d2cf1acc16237aad54b5b60fb2c78b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.com9