tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70518050769760225212024-02-20T02:22:17.654-06:00Appendix NInspired by the original Appendix N from the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Musings on how to use things ranging from reading a variety of materials, games, movies, and miniatures for your role playing games.Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.comBlogger878125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-39350969078290843912018-08-11T18:20:00.003-05:002018-08-11T18:20:24.371-05:00Wolfheart by Richard A Knaak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2OqEJNB">Wolfheart</a><br />
Written by Richard A. Knaak<br />
World of Warcraft<br />
$7.99 in Kindle Format<br />
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I'm a fan of Richard A. Knaak from way back in the 80's. I read his <a href="https://amzn.to/2OvWzPf">Legend of Huma </a>and Kaz the Minotaur as well as his numerous <a href="https://amzn.to/2nwLdPC">Dragonrealm </a>series. In those days Dark Horse and the Gryphon were some unique characters although the Farmboy who saves the world cliche was in full bloom.<br />
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Since then Richard A. Knaak has done work for a variety of properties including <a href="https://amzn.to/2KKwhqc">Diablo </a>and World of Warcraft.<br />
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The last time I knew anything about Warcraft, Thrall was warchief, Night Elves were an almost unknowable immortal force and there were many stories to yet to be told.<br />
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So licensed settings change quick yeah?<br />
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Thrall is apparently dead. There's a brand new warchief in play and he isn't a fan of "can't we all get along." Instead, he's an aggressor. He leads the Horde on a mission against the Night Elves and the Alliance.<br />
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The Night Elves? No longer immortal. They are aging and susceptible to disease. One of the characters introduced in the book, Jarod Shadowsong, is brought in trying to save his lover, Shalasyr, whose once immortal frame cannot resist the lure of death anymore.<br />
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Mind you, much like many older characters, the pains and aches of these Night Elves are for storytelling purposes only. Few of them are ever hindered by these aches. There's not a "Malfurion staggered and fell to the ground clutching his chest knowing that the foe would get away this time..." No, it's purely a storytelling device used here.<br />
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The Alliance? Well, it's got members I don't recall hearing about before, including some dark dwarves whose portrayal as being paranoid of others up to the point of bringing their own food to large gatherings, such as that of the alliance, is entertaining and gives us a different take of the dwarf.<br />
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The gnomes and goblins of the Warcraft setting, always playing with technology that is resource intensive and dangerous to both user and enemy, are in full force here as well.<br />
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In terms of readability, I enjoyed Richard's work even though so much had changed. If you like the World of Warcraft and are a regular reader, the changes might be normal for you or you might already be passed these. This is a done in one book that ties into the other books and history of the setting so it's a fixed point in time in a setting that keeps moving forward.<br />
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Made me glad that I wasn't playing a game in the setting. I get mad enough when events like the Spellplague happen and give us a massive time skip in a setting to 'shake it up'. All of the changes described in this volume would make me leery of ever playing in such a setting again.<br />
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In terms of gaming, if you're looking to shake things up, this novel has enough inspiration to last for numerous campaign settings:<br />
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1. The Old Order Changes: Take your pick. The orcs have a new leader. The Night Elves are no longer immortal. The spirit of one of the ancients chooses a new champion in the modern era. The landscape itself is shaken up. Forces that were once enemies are now potential allies.<br />
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2. Sowing Dissension: Being a long-lived race, the Night Elves have had a few splits. But what happens when some of those errant children wish to return home? What happens if during those negotiations some of those elves are murdered? There are always numerous factions within the factions. Just because some Night Elves rever the druids and priests doesn't mean they all do.<br />
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3. The Enemy of My Enemy: The wolfkin in this series, worgen, werewolves who have control over their own shapeshifting, are lead by a man who once quit the alliance. In doing so, he created a rift among the human kingdoms. That rift is not easily mended but under threat of destruction by the orcs, well, giving someone another chance as opposed to being wiped out? Let's take a roll of those dice eh?<br />
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4. Competent Enemies: One of the nice changes of pace here is that the Horde are dangerous. They are cunning. They are competent warriors in the field. They have strategies in place for dealing with things like scouts and reconnaissance. In some aspects, the orcs as portrayed by Richard A. Knaak should have wiped out all resistance in this book. With their numbers and abilities, they had too much of a head start against the opposition. Divine resistance indeed. Where Thrall might have been a sympathetic hero, Garrosh is strong, cunning, and has powerful alliances and allies on his own side. His failure to take a complete victory here is a hand waved situation.<br />
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5. Relationships: In a campaign that involves characters, and there's nothing wrong with beer and pretzels Dungeons and Dragons, but in one that involves the relationships between characters, there are lovers, friends, family and rivals and frienemies. Use them all. Some will be poisoned by the actions the characters take. Will they seek to make them better? Some will be cast aside as the characters experience their own growth and their own wants and needs change.<br />
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Wolfheart is a novel that thanks to it being done in one, is an interesting look at a setting in motion that has probably already left the actions and elements of this novel in the distant past. Richard's writing allows one to see how the various conflicts of the world happen as the battle for resources and the need to redeem ancient actions shapes the modern world.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-39096911937465224122018-07-31T22:31:00.003-05:002018-07-31T22:31:52.994-05:00The West is Dying: Book 1 Fall of the First World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
The West is Dying<br />
Book 1 Fall of the First World<br />
Written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_C._Smith_(author)">David C. Smith</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2vpzNk6">$2,99 Kindle</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2LEGuK1">$19.99 Paperback</a><br />
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I read a few of David C. Smith's books back in the 80's. I read one Oron book and the six volumes he penned for the Red Sonja series. I had never heard of The Fall Of the First World though.<br />
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I found this one in the clearance section of Half-Price Books Skokie. After looking it over, turns out Davids revisited it with a more modern cover and name. Originally it was The Master of Evil with some weird I don't even know if I'd call it an 80's cover, but the new one is kind of 'grimdark' generic so take your pick and poison.<br />
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The border around the book certainly reminds me of the 80's. "Don't let the art full bleed damn you!"<br />
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I remembered enjoying the books from back in the day but if you asked me why I don't remember. I think they were violent for the time. Maybe 'proto-grimdark' if you will. You know, before every genre was sliced and diced for advanced marketing.<br />
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The Fall of the First World harkens back to the likes of <a href="https://amzn.to/2LDs3pA">Kull </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/2LH58Ke">Conan</a>. While Conan is well known to be in the Hyborian Age, Kull takes place well before Conan. In similar fashion, the 'First World' takes place before the modern eras.<br />
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The West is Dying sounds like it could have been written today. While I'm sure at the time it was probably based more on the collapse of the Roman Empire, due to things like being a vast empire with numerous other emerging empires rising and starting to nibble, due to corruption and devaluation of wealth, due to incompetent leaders and leaders who betray their people, I'm sure that some reading it in 2018 would think it was just written as opposed to being first publishing in 1983.<br />
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There are some things that David does that sit well with me. He introduces a large cast of characters and much like a well known 'modern' author, he kills some you think would be favorites with no warning. If the script says, well, telling the 'bad guy' you're going to try to fuck his plans now means you die, and you're stupid enough to tell the bad guy your plans... well, there is no mystery savior popping out of the shadows to save you.<br />
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David also has a good descriptive voice. I could easily use some of his descriptions in a role-playing game and players would know what I'm talking about. "Cyrodian the second prince of the empire, was indeed a man to inspire fear: Huge - taller by a head than the tallest soldier in the Khamar palace guard - he was broad-shouldered, buffalo chested, with arms and legs the size of oaks. His beard and mustache were coarse, and he wore his hair in a modified soldier's cut far from the forehead, unkempt at shoulders." (pg. 24 trade paperback)<br />
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David also described death in its many forms exceedingly well. "On the floor, the fat man groaned and rolled back and forth, holding his hands over his belly. Long rolls of intestines moved out of him like fat brown worms, and he sobbed as he attempted to push his bowels back inside." (pg. 332 e-version)<br />
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The only place I'd offer a warning, is that because this is the first part of a trilogy, and because it has a wide scope, much like modern sagas, it has a lot of characters and a lot of locations and a lot of things going on that are barely touched on in this book. Wizards, for example, are low fantasy, but their might cannot be denied. And there are several of them and you're left wondering, "Well, how is that going to play out."<br />
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New kingdoms and their players are introduced quickly and their stance against 'Rome' made clear. New plots and perils come to fruition at the end, but the author leaves us on a cliffhanger.<br />
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The Kindle versions are affordable at $2.99. And their all done. If you're looking for low fantasy sword and sorcery stylings, David C. Smith is an author whose is probably very unrecognized by modern readers. Check him out and let me know what you think.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-73241369471043775212018-07-30T23:05:00.000-05:002018-07-30T23:05:46.482-05:00Stealing From Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for your RPGs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dinosaurs have been a part of the Dungeons and Dragons experience for decades. this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)">wiki stub</a> provides a brief breakdown but falls to include the new 5e product <a href="https://amzn.to/2KbOEEn">Tomb of Annihilation</a> which features more dinos in the jungle.<br />
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But what does that have to do with the new summer blockbuster Fallen Kingdom? Let's see what you can easily steal from it:<br />
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1. Fallen Kingdom: Have the players or the people in the campaign run through an area that has now fallen into ruin? Did an old campaign fail with the players not saving Waterdeep? With Shadowdale being destroyed? Have the new players go through those ruins. Have them see the price of failure.<br />
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2. The environment as a challenge: While 4e may be hated for many reasons, it's skill challenge system had some potential. It allowed your characters to try and succeed at something with a certain number of successes needed before hitting a certain number of failures. Need to jump onto a crumbling spiral stairwell while lava burns through the roof? Need to dodge falling boulders while driving a carriage unto a boat that's leaving dock? Set some skill checks and devise some penalties for each failure. Maybe you get splashed with acid. Maybe you get jostled on the vehicle. Maybe a nearby monster gets to take a bite at you.<br />
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3. Minions: While it's great to give players equal opposition and sometimes even have them go against stronger foes, giving them numerous opportunities to knock out weaker foes gives them a chance to flex their own physical prowess.<br />
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4. New Enemies: In a game like Dungeons and Dragons, one of the most iconic monsters is the owlbear. Fallen Kingdom introduces the much cooler indoraptor, a super raptor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKCbkhRPg0Uq8wt7srkLX0jgWlvKxwyI7lTRpLQ02jWypwPsiaWXOeoyljYX7fXRJaAeOP6moL1qOanKtKyokaiGEXNzo6SxBCPCDAXZjdy4WtGEIf8_KMFLbeL53VJWKOg7aFUk1vsY/s1600/indoraptor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKCbkhRPg0Uq8wt7srkLX0jgWlvKxwyI7lTRpLQ02jWypwPsiaWXOeoyljYX7fXRJaAeOP6moL1qOanKtKyokaiGEXNzo6SxBCPCDAXZjdy4WtGEIf8_KMFLbeL53VJWKOg7aFUk1vsY/s320/indoraptor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In a game like dungeons and dragons where half-orcs, half-elves, half-dragons and more often hit the standards as a player race, well, seeing some new and unique type of dinosaurs is an almost assured thing. More importantly, though, it should serve as an example of making your own mark on a campaign. Has a new wizard decided to follow through with owlbear variants? Has a new dragon cult determined that dragons crossed with demons are stronger than those crossed with devils? Many many moons ago, Mongoose Publishing created a book dedicated to this type of monster creation, <a href="http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/crossbreeding.html">Crossbreeding</a>. Well worth a look for ideas.</div>
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5. Random Events: The biggest failing for me of Fallen Kingdom is the surprise savior bit that keeps getting played out over and over. Hero comes to save kid! Blue comes to save hero! Love interest comes to save both! But from that idea, comes the idea that if the heroes and villains are fighting in a wilderness-based area, perhaps there are other things out there that will gladly take turns and bites out of both groups?</div>
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6. Unique Features: The inoraptor has a distinct feature, outside of its own unique look. It taps one of its talons on the ground. It's something that instantly gives it personality and character. The raptor blue has enough features that it's no longer 'just' a raptor, it's a character. The big old T-Rex that's been around forever? It's now scarred but still standing and still doing its iconic poses and roars. Try to remember when the party isn't fighting nightless hordes to give them something to remember about the encounter.</div>
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7. Feature Expansion: At the end of the movie, the 'genie' is out of the bottle. Even though, you know, as technology progressess it would've been out of the bottle years ago. Dinosaurs are hinted to be at a much more involved state of the world. What if in most fantasy setting with a demon infestation that infestation explodes outwards? Overall perhaps smaller but in more 'mundane' areas? What if that magical desert starts spiking out in odd growth patterns and intrudes in other rareas? What if an outer planar feature that was just a portal becomes a city or opens up for much longer? Some huge ramifications and some serious thought should be given to such an event.</div>
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Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom isn't perfect but it's a fun summer film and can provide numerous opportunities to add fun elements to your own campaign.</div>
<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-79811996540719738772017-12-17T11:32:00.000-06:002017-12-17T11:33:02.494-06:00Wulf the Saxon by G. A. Henty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486475956/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0486475956&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=da10e24d9ac797c07bf046b7ee364483">Wulf the Saxon</a><br />
A Story of Norman Conquest<br />
Written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._A._Henty">G. A. Henty</a><br />
$6.99 Paperback<br />
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I've mentioned shopping at the Half-Priced Books in Skokie Il before and perusing their dollar rack. This book is another captured from that shelf.<br />
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It's not going to win any modern awards, but it is a book over one hundred years old! I didn't realize that when I first picked it up. My cover is so out of date that I couldn't find the right image to put up on my blog so I had to scan it. I've also never read anything by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._A._Henty">G. A. Henty</a> and was surprised that he had written so many books that I might be interested in as their historical eras are ones that have long fascinated me.<br />
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It's the story of 1066 and the battle of Hastings as told through the eyes of Wulf the Saxon.<br />
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There are a few bits readers should draw out for their own games:<br />
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1. Water is powerful: There are two separate occasions Wulf has trials and tribulations due to the waves he rides upon. One time casting him and his liege at the prisoners of William the Conqueror, the other dashing the boats of the English navy to pieces. This is a common trope in many stories though. If you've seen Frank Miller's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569714029/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1569714029&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=ba83991878f2d29c6edb9996e947cb4f">300</a>, there is a scene where the Persian Fleet is destroyed.<br />
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Don't be afraid to showcase how wild, powerful, unpredictable and uncontrollable elements are outside of the characters and even their patrons.<br />
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2. Death is not to be feared: When the former king of England is ready to die, he's speaking of rejoicing. If the belief in the afterlife is firm, death should not be a trial. It should not be a tribulation. It should be a time of earnest celebration.<br />
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3. A celebration of Victories: If the party is in town and the GM needs to give the town some local color, have the players come upon the village while it is in the midsts of celebrating a victory over some regional foe. Orcs, bandits, ogres, trolls, and even hill giants all may be threats to such townships but having claimed a victory over a great force, say perhaps at a ford or river or pass, the town celebrates that victory every year to remind themselves of the cost and the valor of those who died to achieve that victory.<br />
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4. Names. There are many ways to go about naming a character. For example, we have William. He's sometimes referred to as William of London or even as Bishop William of London. The main character, Wulf, is known as Wulf of Steyning and eventually takes the last name of the family he's adopted into.<br />
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5. Hostages: George R. R. Martin's fantasy series,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345535529/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345535529&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=a9aafe71834b38e2ed9e624d840f5346"> A Game of Thrones</a>, has 'Reek' who was raised by the Starks only to betray them. Being raised by an enemy is a common feature of history. Your children go as hostages to another lord and are raised under that lord's banner and learn that lord's ways and methods. It can lead to high drama if years down the road those loyalties are tested.<br />
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A name can come from a variety of places. Adding the 'of XXX" is a frequent use. We have such individuals of Edwin of Mercia in this book. In fantasy, we have <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345498623/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345498623&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=43549544118882885d925d5297fd02dd">Elric of Melnibone</a> for example. Instead of 'of XXX,' sometimes it's a descriptor, Conan the Cimmerian.<br />
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Names can also be of a profession or of a rank. Many nobles may go by Lord or Lady, for example, Lady Agnes. In religious factions, the rankings of the Church should be in full play. Is there a difference between a Bishop and a Cardinal? If you have four or five characters call Harold, you need a way to distinguish them.<br />
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They can be descriptive. Elric is also known as the White Wolf as is the most popular of Witchers. In this book, we have Edith of the Swan Neck.<br />
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Names can denote heritage such as Harkon the Son of Sweyn.<br />
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Names can also be of the House. For example, the House of Leofric. The House of Jor-El.<br />
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A character's name can say a lot about him without the character ever saying anything. Use it wisely.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-9329217479412969042017-12-04T19:58:00.001-06:002017-12-04T19:58:27.378-06:00Focal Point: The Complete Game Master's Guide To Running Extraordinary Sessions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDBb4jANcvhFI5KyKqtgg0hfKfGALfXgW05_x2_IAjcOSX7Yt3ThvnVQRYqj9wM80j7jxxLx86_I5fMzL6TDRmRmeNv2bgqnf3M9eRJ5RQ6jl4yn1DlNwc2FV5u2BqTeNqdVmgd1ZBXc/s1600/FP-big-final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="606" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDBb4jANcvhFI5KyKqtgg0hfKfGALfXgW05_x2_IAjcOSX7Yt3ThvnVQRYqj9wM80j7jxxLx86_I5fMzL6TDRmRmeNv2bgqnf3M9eRJ5RQ6jl4yn1DlNwc2FV5u2BqTeNqdVmgd1ZBXc/s320/FP-big-final.png" width="217" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983613354/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0983613354&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=651d8b1bc77dc0462b668e37dd1629e4">Focal Point</a><br />
The Complete Game Master's Guide To Running Extraordinary Sessions<br />
Written by Phil Vecchione, Walt Ciechanowski, and John Arcadian<br />
Published by <a href="https://gnomestew.com/">Gnome Stew</a><br />
$24.95<br />
EGP42006<br />
234 b & w pages<br />
<br />
Dusts off blog.<br />
<br />
Been busy with work, painting miniatures and day to day living. Been reading a lot of work-related non-fiction and short story anthologies like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907992073/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1907992073&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=41a93d2bf5ffc3a5ed82c7558b9a011a">House of Fear</a>. I bought House in October for Halloween themed horror and am still reading it.<br />
<br />
Shame!<br />
<br />
Anyway, in between the mundane, I did manage to finish off Focal Point, a book on game mastering by Gnome Stew by a trio of authors who've done some work for Gnome Stew before.<br />
<br />
First off, I hope one day to never see a non-standard gaming book size again. I get that there's some weird small press creed or it's easier to stock or they can be thrown farther or what have you but man I hate the way they look on my shelf.<br />
<br />
Layout is simple one column format with different varieties in type to set off special sidebars. Art is solid and goes well with the material. I'd say the cover art is one of the weakest pieces in the book. They might have been better just going with the die and the lighting as opposed to the art there is there. Then again, everyone's an art critic right?<br />
<br />
I've been playing since the mid-80's.<br />
<br />
I generally play with the same group of people.<br />
<br />
Some things in the book will not apply to me.<br />
<br />
That doesn't make it any less useful to read thought.<br />
<br />
When running a game, there are many chainsaws to keep in the air. Any book the helps remind you of things you may have missed, that provides you with ideas on game elements that could be enhanced, that's told in an entertaining way, is worth reading.<br />
<br />
The authors use Gemma and her group to frame the 19 chapters. Chapters are organized into wider sections, Lights, Camera, Action. The chapters move and the story of Gemma and her group flows with it. It's a good framing device.<br />
<br />
For me? As long as I play with my normal group, things like 'trigger' warnings aren't a problem. Advice on getting people to pay attention to the game? Variable utility depending on who the culprit is. Good to see that I'm not the only one with such problems though.<br />
<br />
Advocating game mastery as a way to streamline gaming? Such good advice. I'm tempted to have one of my friends who works with wood put together a sign, "Read the Fucking Book."<br />
<br />
I get at conventions or a brand new system, there are going to be things unknown for players who may be dipping a toe into the waters of the game. But four weeks later, few people, especially the Game Master, should be pondering how the skill check system works. Or at least know where it's at.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if it's just me being an older bastich, but watching how some people think that anyone who knows the rules is 'merely' a rule lawyer and they suck, is wrong.<br />
<br />
Expertise in a game system is not a problem. Abusing that knowledge over your other players, standing in every effort to move the game forward, arguing with the GM, those are bad elements.<br />
<br />
Knowing your game system is not bad.<br />
<br />
One of the things that the book hits a few times, is that gaming is a group effort. The gamers need to get along together. They should know how they're going to work in combat. They should have some idea of how things are going to happen once the action starts. They need to have each other's backs.<br />
<br />
Now again, as it's important to point these things out least someone go, "But what about..." Yes, if you're playing the Shield or playing some Vampire double betrayal special, then group unitiy in and of itself may not be the end goal of the game.<br />
<br />
But even in those instances, system mastery will reward the group as one player is not dominating game time thanks to not knowing the system and having to look up everything over and over again.<br />
<br />
Focal Point may read a little dry at times, but it's all solid advice. It'll go on the shelf next to the other books in the series and perhaps one day be updated through a Kickstarter into a big old Hardcover with all three books that can sit alongside the big boy books and leave it's paperback short shame hall.<br />
<br />
If you'r a game master, especially a new game master, I recommend not only checking out Gnome Stew's web site, but picking up their books. You may come across bits you already know, but tuck those away and move onto the examples and other bits that may be new territory for you.<br />
<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-1457785449991523912017-10-10T18:42:00.000-05:002017-10-10T18:42:35.819-05:00Murder in Lamut: Legends of the Riftwar Book II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ1c7La-asJsd1R-OkSWoK9YZQT3mTTqclvhmx4JkTXI8ak0WMUQcVryQwMZ0N6CIX4y0ZLjy_uxpDQ8hS__Y2n1Z4kThVAv6Yo3hOwHCc3W9cFY4_lK8vFEMwWAao3_jaUn10OJA0nc/s1600/Murder_In_Lamut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ1c7La-asJsd1R-OkSWoK9YZQT3mTTqclvhmx4JkTXI8ak0WMUQcVryQwMZ0N6CIX4y0ZLjy_uxpDQ8hS__Y2n1Z4kThVAv6Yo3hOwHCc3W9cFY4_lK8vFEMwWAao3_jaUn10OJA0nc/s320/Murder_In_Lamut.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
Murder in Lamut<br />
Legends of the Riftwar Book II<br />
Written by Raymond E. Feist & Joel Rosenberg<br />
$3.99 Kindle Edition<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060792914/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0060792914&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=0a821aef7f90f096f85d8f05e19acff1">$6.34</a> Mass Market Paperback<br />
<br />
I picked up my first Raymond E. Feist book from the <a href="https://www.sfbc.com/">SFBC</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553564943/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0553564943&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=cf2c5cf4286ce8f398434e39695f101a">Magician </a>by<a href="http://www.crydee.com/"> Raymond E. Feist</a>, many decades ago. One of the fun things about the internet is you can google the image of the book you used to have.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWxtMg4IsD1C3CKWiSciXHxIJjjcGvAxLkb9YRcq5i8T33JF16bL1DIXiK5TecDpIidkvmxA7hOZzapJK2s1v2fotslYL61tRdWUSWl1BJqvD_8FCy0dH1P7NpCm8ZQ4ByQ229HlX8Os/s1600/Feist_-_Magician_Coverart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWxtMg4IsD1C3CKWiSciXHxIJjjcGvAxLkb9YRcq5i8T33JF16bL1DIXiK5TecDpIidkvmxA7hOZzapJK2s1v2fotslYL61tRdWUSWl1BJqvD_8FCy0dH1P7NpCm8ZQ4ByQ229HlX8Os/s1600/Feist_-_Magician_Coverart.png" /></a></div>
<br />
I haven't kept pace with everything but I have bought a few of the old <a href="http://www.midkemia.com/">Midkemia Press</a> gaming books like Carse and Tulan. Recently I even had bought a few more, Jonril and Heart of the Sunken Land. Be sure to check out their website as they even have a few free PDF products.<br />
<br />
I never played any of the Betrayal series, but I have friends who did back in the day and they loved it.<br />
<br />
In short, Midkemia as a setting has received a lot of love.<br />
<br />
In the Legends of the Riftwar series, Raymond E. Feist allows other others to join him in crafting stories set during that time period. In this volume, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Rosenberg_(science_fiction_author)">Joel Rosenberg</a>, best known for his <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GSENGRU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01GSENGRU&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=3fa7823b494f7c9762dc7dd582c29377">Guardians of the Flame </a>series, to play in the city of Lamut.<br />
<br />
The novel starts with three different introductions, one for each of the main characters. Durine, Kethol, and Pirojil, are mercenaries who have fought against the Tsurani invaders, the 'villains' of the Riftware series, as well as the 'bugs' in the mountains. Throw in goblins and other humans and what have you and you'll understand that these are seasoned men.<br />
<br />
The characters are given small arcs to showcase their unique talents but as this isn't one of those mega-novels, their development arcs aren't lengthy or intensely detailed. At the end, the characters are much the same as they were at the start.<br />
<br />
Durine is a huge ugly individual whose reknown for his strength and size.<br />
<br />
Kethol is known for his wilderness lore. He is the closest we have to a 'breakthrough' character in that he starts to care about the job and the people involved.<br />
<br />
Pirojil is the brains of the operation. He sees beyond people's everyday facades and it makes him the one best able to determine who may be a murderer in Lamut.<br />
<br />
They are hired by the city's Swordmaster to protect one Baron Morray. As outsiders, as skilled outsiders, they are not involved in the many local factions and ongoing issues that the Kingdom itself is going through. Fans of the Riftwar series will enjoy the numerous references to other events in the series as seen from far away and will enjoy the 'guest' appearance of Fantus the drake.<br />
<br />
Although some novels in the series are high magic on the order of gods and things older and worse than gods battling, Murder in Lamut is entirely down to earth. None of the main characters are magicians or magic users, and at this point in time, the series hadn't gone to the higher ends involving the magician's guild.<br />
<br />
This makes it a good read for those who enjoy a little bit of gritty work in their series but take note when I say gritty, I don't mean the subgenre 'grimdark'. There are people working hard and the characters have an earthy feel to them, but one never reads the novel as if this was a work where anyone could die at any second and that life itself was but the stuff of stardust dreams.<br />
<br />
It's been a long time since I've read any Raymond E. Feist work and even longer since I've read any Joel Rosenberg's work so I can't tell you who wrote which section, but I can tell you that it doesn't feel that it was written by two people. It's a smooth flowing book that a dedicated reader with enough time should be able to finish in a day.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-4442741246933886822017-09-26T21:06:00.000-05:002017-09-26T21:06:14.209-05:00The Red Knight by Miles Cameron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wB4hYH-5aR64_vWtmQbu_HRC-un-ApL8KL0cghYuioVFKA1mKhv2uwMHFXQZChIEzuuG0239_bT_PgQFBhgKjNF76_eYRQvf7UYyaqNL48qJlCcYGLTMS0ssh-guRMhKc-kiP_GcuMQ/s1600/the_red_knight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wB4hYH-5aR64_vWtmQbu_HRC-un-ApL8KL0cghYuioVFKA1mKhv2uwMHFXQZChIEzuuG0239_bT_PgQFBhgKjNF76_eYRQvf7UYyaqNL48qJlCcYGLTMS0ssh-guRMhKc-kiP_GcuMQ/s320/the_red_knight.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316212288/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316212288&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=a120846524a06d3d4e72ca7a8910e2ac">The Red Knight</a><br />
Book 1 of the Traitor Son Cycle<br />
Written By Miles Cameron<br />
<br />
The internet works in mysterious ways. I bought the Red Knight a while ago when it was on sale with the intention of reading it whenever it fits into my schedule. But as I have a ton of books that fall into that category, the time never seemed right.<br />
<br />
Then I was reading on Mark Lawrence's blog about 'grim' fantasy books, and The Red Knight was receiving high rankings in a list. Being a fan of Mark Lawrence's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937007685/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937007685&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=6343d4104528c3a9ea62a336ace1a4b9">Prince of Thorn's </a>book, I immediately went and downloaded the Red Knight.<br />
<br />
Fantastic stuff.<br />
<br />
It's a massive tome being well over six hundred pages.<br />
<br />
It takes place in its own fantasy medieval Earth or at least medieval style Earth. It retains tropes of real-world religion while throwing magic and divisions of that magic into the mix. The 'Wild' that of nature is green in hue and wild in power. The 'Sun' or religious power, is Gold and pure in power.<br />
<br />
The Red Knight is a 'nameless' knight known as The Captain for most of the novel. He leads a ragtag band of mercenaries through the war-torn world, currently in an Arthurian country where a true king leads his knights into glory for his beauteous queen.<br />
<br />
The author's writing perhaps isn't the pinnacle of 'grimdark', but people come and go with some frequency. Just when you think, "Ah, this character is important to the plot... oh wait, a spike in the neck, nevermind."<br />
<br />
Since the Red Knight has a mercenary group at his command, there are a lot of characters to play with. That not being enough though, the author gives us viewpoint characters for the 'Wild' as well, including 'Thorn', the former royal mage who betrayed humanity itself and now looks more like Groot or Treebeard.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6FBA3GQMgsbYaAN8CTVhC-_fquzTAbMChhMNR03BMQvHmJVzHtgRq6zuilxcvm51OBDyPJzeKL1EdYIXv6z5m8kKluZbyCJZHOPDp8DKJsorPKGXtSPj5CD7gTfm0slrHqvmp1QF4MA/s1600/Groot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="990" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6FBA3GQMgsbYaAN8CTVhC-_fquzTAbMChhMNR03BMQvHmJVzHtgRq6zuilxcvm51OBDyPJzeKL1EdYIXv6z5m8kKluZbyCJZHOPDp8DKJsorPKGXtSPj5CD7gTfm0slrHqvmp1QF4MA/s320/Groot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Red Knight himself is almost typical in his design. A young man blessed with an extraordinary power which is filled with heresy because of his emo origin. He's an excellent swordsman, he's a great magician, he's a great leader. Yet he's not happy. His angst makes him less than perfect and makes those around him want to help him.<br />
<br />
As more of his background becomes known, the reader has to wonder how much of his rage is justified and how much of it is wasted. For example, when the Red Knight meets one of his brothers, the two are more or less on the same page and join forces.<br />
<br />
There are numerous complexities in the novel and multiple factions. The author does what I thought was a great job in showcasing elements that lead you to believe one thing only to turn out to be an entirely different thing.<br />
<br />
One of its overarching themes though was that of love and sacrifice. In some ways, it reminded me of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is there to show how love and sacrifice for others can better the world. When the Wild is perhaps closer than its ever been to victory, one of the key players on the Wild side finds that he cannot do what needs to be done to cement that win. I found it ringing true.<br />
<br />
But there are also elements that ring about the sacrifice part. The heroes don't just walk away from all holding their heads higher. Many die in the battles, many gain new scars, some scarred in ways they thought themselves immune to.<br />
<br />
The Red Knight has a lot of things going for it. The large cast of characters, the numerous factions, the exploration of how magic itself works, the red herrings, all provide hours of entertainment.<br />
<br />
Miles Cameron, in addition to his writing chops, is also a gamer, so if you want to support players who write fiction, especially great fiction, you could do worse than the Red Knight.<br />
<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-78109694332357176102017-09-11T11:11:00.000-05:002017-09-11T11:11:49.790-05:00The Red Knight and the Art of Making NPCs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoAMGWoVNj9SRX7xGnCUY5c3GjJndRR-r0bbM8utEXuLRcv7-QSXJTaxgk9YgJhvzjidsxCEVoJI-q3sAMFpayYjh9E2GxC1Hzxyq41-OSxqbp5nB10Itt2M_rACfIthMrmMCF5BBHAQ/s1600/the_red_knight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoAMGWoVNj9SRX7xGnCUY5c3GjJndRR-r0bbM8utEXuLRcv7-QSXJTaxgk9YgJhvzjidsxCEVoJI-q3sAMFpayYjh9E2GxC1Hzxyq41-OSxqbp5nB10Itt2M_rACfIthMrmMCF5BBHAQ/s320/the_red_knight.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316212288/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316212288&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=b884a65b174384cb332137162381cb11">The Red Knight</a><br />
Book One of the Traitor Son Cycle<br />
Written By Miles Cameron<br />
$11.80 at Amazon<br />
<br />
When making Non-Player Characters in Dungeons and Dragons, the question is really how much is too much? How many game stats do we need for the effective playing of such characters?<br />
<br />
If you're an artist or have an artist friend willing to help out, portraits are a quick way to customize your NPC's.<br />
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If you're strapped for time though, having a list of names and associations with those names is another route. It's a route Miles Cameron takes in the Red Knight to describe many of the mercenaries who follow their nameless Captain, the Red Knight.<br />
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Some examples:<br />
<br />
Sauce had won her name as a whore, giving too much lip to customers. She was tall, and in the rain her red hair was toned to dark brown. Freckles gave her an innocence that was a lie. She had made herself a name.<br />
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Ser Thomas: Bad Tom to every man in the company was six foot six inches of dark hair, heavy brown and bad attitude. He had a temper and was always the wrong man to cross.<br />
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Two Veteran archers - Kanny, the barracks room lawyer of the company, and Scrant, who never stopped eating.<br />
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Bent, the eldest, an easterner, and Wilful Murder...<br />
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Geslin was the youngest man in the company, just fourteen with a thin frame that suggested he'd never got much food as a boy...<br />
<br />
The book is filled with such characters. Sometimes a few sentences of description, sometimes not even a single whole sentence.<br />
<br />
Giving the characters something for the players and the Dungeon Master to latch onto, makes the keeping of said characters easier, even if you don't list out height, weight, hair, eyes, or even armor. This is probably much more important to keep in mind when dealing with characters that the players are not going to engage in anything more than banter in. Extra work that the Dungeon Master enjoys is never wasted work but is it work that you could be doing something else you enjoy, that will see game play?<br />
<br />
Miles Cameron brings his wide cast of the crew to life with quick descriptions and it's a great mining pool for those Dungeon Masters who want examples of how the pros do it.<br />
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<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-61114684986354947892017-09-10T10:07:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:07:09.161-05:00Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSalxc5CHeiv0oZTjRVQOHu3fOcclrq7CjhIyA7K71po7FcbIgzpO9RoU_X5lHJO09dpWl-8cWTAwhLReXSENSaZcMFS5wcpogncRUwAUEB_1jLzrbf-WBNhOPMDJ4ph6-pbihnBz30E/s1600/3_Hearts_3Lions.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSalxc5CHeiv0oZTjRVQOHu3fOcclrq7CjhIyA7K71po7FcbIgzpO9RoU_X5lHJO09dpWl-8cWTAwhLReXSENSaZcMFS5wcpogncRUwAUEB_1jLzrbf-WBNhOPMDJ4ph6-pbihnBz30E/s320/3_Hearts_3Lions.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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Three Hearts and Three Lions<br />
Written by Poul Anderson<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016CQUL4U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B016CQUL4U&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=34c2d1fd936d270e2c1e868952f38b53">$6.15 at Amazon</a><br />
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Three Hearts and Three Lions is another book by Poul Anderson that is recommended in the original Appendix N of the original 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game in the Dungeon Masters Guide.<br />
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Despite that, I'd never read it until now. It's a book fit to be placed in the same realm as the Red Book of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028614771/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0028614771&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=63d0bc40eb816ab7088a2c0abf77e4a4">The Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology</a>, the Legends of Charlemagne. While Charlemagne and his paladins are perhaps not as popular as King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, heroes such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140440755/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0140440755&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=dc640bf4ef6b1dd7eab422c42a95e33c">Roland </a>hail from the time of Charlemagne and one of TSR's green historical books focused on those paladins.<br />
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Being an older book, Three Hearts and Three Lions has many covers. The current one is serviceable enough, but my favorite would probably be the following:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-65PKgo2HXnhjmSQHPhUAI0tLJrZXO7kafP6KJALc69hK6gAkTw8osUPEyeDPGCXHzEH4F2g3-mG9zLGNnD24gB8bWd8U9HjaXsTruSeEujgOeZ2VlhHZ3LKLkwS9v68YIiSRoBJp7k/s1600/3_hearts_3Lions_Favorite.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-65PKgo2HXnhjmSQHPhUAI0tLJrZXO7kafP6KJALc69hK6gAkTw8osUPEyeDPGCXHzEH4F2g3-mG9zLGNnD24gB8bWd8U9HjaXsTruSeEujgOeZ2VlhHZ3LKLkwS9v68YIiSRoBJp7k/s320/3_hearts_3Lions_Favorite.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
Holger atop his black horse, the mighty swan behind him, his wood dwarf comrade at his side. The sense of motion with the clouds moving from left to right. It's a great piece.<br />
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Concerning writing, Poul Anderson is a writer worthy of reading just to study his word crafting. His descriptions are not overly long but provide a reader with detail enough to know where the characters are, what the character looks like, and what the mood of the land is. He tells in one book something that another author might have taken six to do so.<br />
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The main hero, Holger, is a 'modern' man who while fighting Nazis is grazed in the head by a bullet and awakens in another world. Poul doesn't spring everything on the reader at once. There is a build up of one scene to the next, each increasing the hero's awareness that he is not in his own time anymore, indeed, not even in his own reality anymore.<br />
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This time traveling hero bit borrows a little from the even older <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1615890017/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1615890017&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=3478550e7304842da39920464c7ea6da">A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court</a>: by Mark Twain and is even referenced in the book itself. The adventures of 'modern' man in other worlds was a favorite device before it fell out of favor. Even authors like Robert E. Howard used it as a means of taking modern giants of the world into environs more fitting for their strength and powers.<br />
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Holger's trip to the fantasy realm is one of the troublesome issues in that he appears to be of this new world. The horse he spies upon awakening seems to know him. The arm and armor he spies fit him perfectly. His knowledge of the language of the world is quickly mastered. His knowledge of deeper issues comes and goes at times prodded to the surface by current happenings.<br />
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This book brings many bits to fantasy. Here the troll is not a mythic race like those of the Norse, able to use magic and arms and armor, but rather, a massive brute with a huge nose and black eyes with green skin. Its most fearsome power though is its ability to heal from any wound.<br />
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Here is also perhaps one of the earliest examples of Law and Chaos in war. Chaos is wild and free and often evil while Law being civilization and the uplifting of man. Even in his time, Nazis were known for what monstrous acts they'd committed, and Poul Anderson puts them firmly in the grip of Chaos, evil entities intent on ripping down the civilization of humanity.<br />
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We also get a taste of courtly love as Holger travels with a swanymay, Alianora, a young woman raised outside of the norms of humanity and kin more to the wood dwarves and spirits of the woods like the unicorn she rides. Being a swanymay, Alianora is capable of becoming a massive swan with powerful wings and a stinging bite.<br />
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She does this through a magical garment, gifted to her supposedly from the Valkyries, as opposed to being an innate shape changer.<br />
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The use of Chaos and its minions, like the timeless and fey elves, who aren't evil necessarily, but are bored and are capricious at best, are intent on spreading their world. For them, the sun and its light, for example, are anathema. Their own world lies in a subtle shade that protects them, and there is a distinct difference between the world of man and that of the Fey.<br />
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The arrival of Holger is during a time when Chaos is on the rise. A time when Chaos may make a great play for the world. A time when Giants stalk the land and when those whose inheritance may have a touch of the old blood, are stirred to action.<br />
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Holger's travels bring him against wild men of the woods, fey courts, and one of the most powerful allies of the Fey and of Chaos, Morgana of Avalon.<br />
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The novel ends with Holger knowing who he finally is and wielding his sword, Cortana, a blade made of the same material as King Arthur's Excalibur and Roland's sword Durendal. In the restored Holger, better known as<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogier_the_Dane"> Ogier the Dane</a>, a hero who, like King Arthur, went to dwell on Avalon until he was needed, rides forth to save the world form Chaos.<br />
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Given how far removed modern readers are from the story, it's hard to emphasize how unique and enjoyable this book must be to someone who's spent years reading Games Workshop's various tales and their own Moorcock inspired tales of Chaos. How far Dungeons and Dragons have taken the rare and powerful paladins of older editions and made of them another class that's equal among the others with their own distinctions.<br />
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Given its age though, the novel's prose remains top notch and easily readable. If you're looking for a way to kill an afternoon and to wonder at where some of the foundations of modern fantasy come from, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions fits the bill.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-60018613937427907192017-09-04T21:44:00.000-05:002017-09-04T21:44:05.189-05:00The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Rlf58aoT8CzQXZxkOPz5uivbxO6895HjHueT3klm4y87N5r4OQXpONls_6OolDvPSGpdXMIf5xdPOPv-09jzm18oIc3yTRRQmKqLcuOkPQW5kzODrcBfMcTxpZB92NWHjpDzjkMjSqg/s1600/The_Broken_Sword.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Rlf58aoT8CzQXZxkOPz5uivbxO6895HjHueT3klm4y87N5r4OQXpONls_6OolDvPSGpdXMIf5xdPOPv-09jzm18oIc3yTRRQmKqLcuOkPQW5kzODrcBfMcTxpZB92NWHjpDzjkMjSqg/s320/The_Broken_Sword.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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The Broken Sword<br />
Written by Poul Anderson<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PI181JI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00PI181JI&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=48bdef22ce6cb8785353fb7e6a87670e">$6.15 Amazon Kindle</a><br />
208 pages<br />
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Let loose the red tide! Let the men be heaped like reaped golden wheat! Fall back in this telling in one book what would take modern authors a dozen times more pages!<br />
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Poul Anderson, one of the original quoted Appendix N authors in the original Dungeon Master's Guide, brings a tale of Norse revenge across generations.<br />
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If you are a fan of the show <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDTSFF8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CDTSFF8&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=4082e87bc88176eefb530808636647fc">Vikings</a>, if you're a fan of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345498623/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345498623&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=4bd2ee13723e697e7ad69b7bbd0f2eee"> Elric of Melnibone</a>, of cursed swords, of dire destinies, or cruel, uncaring gods, or things that never were but fit into the tales of old lore, then you should read The Broken Sword.<br />
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Poul Anderson weaves together some things that we say now are not true, such as the winged helmets of the Vikings, as well as land conquest as England suffers the raids of the Vikings. Of the rise of the One True God against those gods who used to rule. It showcases many different elements of mythology into one where there are still differences, but the mythological world is shared.<br />
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The gods of old Ireland are half gods, the elves here, not mere mortals with long hair who are good with bows. The trolls here are ancient and elderly powerful creatures that are not mere brutes that only know how to howl, but how to plan, how to set forth on ships warded against the wild seas, of using weapons of massive stone and bone because their strength allows them to do so.<br />
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The elves here are masters of magic, they control the weather, they can heal, they speak with the dead and are all things cruel and capricious. But they are few in number and even as they are timeless, they are not immortal. So when the opportunity arises to steal a man-child and add his mortal strength to their own, they take it.<br />
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Sadly they take this man child from a family that has wronged natives of England, and one woman who survives grows powerful in the dark arts of Witchery and sells all including her soul to darker powers to cast dark fate against the family that slew her own.<br />
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Into this mix comes the elves who when they capture the man-child, replace him with a troll born changeling. A heartless brute who has sisters and brothers and who will find his destiny leading the trolls against the elves and their kin.<br />
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Here the elves and trolls share a weakness to iron, they share magics even if the trolls are not as advanced as the elves, the two are both moral-less entities that are unseen by men as their battles are not fought in the mortal world. They both dislike the sunlight...<br />
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Poul Anderson crafts the tale and moves through the lives of these twins, the elf raised Skafloc, a champion more elf than man, more inhuman than human, and his pale troll kin shadow, Valgard.<br />
Their lives intersect in unknown ways as the witch sets her <span style="background-color: #f6d5d9;">sights </span>on Valgard, a non-human raised among men whose brutish lusts for battle and his desire for the women who manipulate him through the whole of the story.<br />
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So much happens in The Broken Sword, that Poul only hints at some of it. When Skafloc must seek to mend the Broken Sword, this cursed weapon forged long ago, a weapon whose fate spirals down time with such doom, that mighty Thor himself shattered it, Skafloc seeks out the heroes of Ireland. He sails with the lord of the Sea to the lands of Jotun where the sword is forged anew but the travel there and back is merely hinted at.<br />
<br />Even at the start of the tale, when we are introduced to how much of the culture of elves flows through Skafloc, we are given a description of Imric, the ruler of the elves, the one who stole Skafloc, fighting against "with a troop of exiled gods, grown thin and shrunken and mad in their loneliness but still wielding fearsome powers."<br />
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That in and of itself sounds worthy of more pages! Who were these old mad things that were once gods?<br />
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Other gods, more familiar, are still about. The Dark Prince himself, claims to have known Odin in the guise of Loki and liked not the one-eyed Lord. Odin, the master manipulator, the one who pulls strings, who would be a good fit for Merlin from Excalibur, weaves a fate to the son of Skafloc that is again, only hinted at here. The final fate of the gods, or mankind, or the Broken Sword itself? Vague prophecy but no finality.<br />
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And for this book? It works perfectly. It casts the net of the tale against a background much larger than what we see here. We are visitors to the tragedy that besets violence and only for a limited time. We see how the effects of the coming of a new religion forces out the old, we see those ancient powers still mighty, still magnificent in their own realms, know that their time is limited even as they themselves are timeless.<br />
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Poul Anderson brings us no glowing heroes. There are none here who escape without the reader seeing their faults. The elves, proud and haughty, the witch consumed by vengeance, the old gods striving to survive, the trolls, equally proud and equally haughty, the old glory of Ireland, the sorrow of the fauns who survived the passing of the old Gods of Greece and Rome... it's a tale that set forth so much more than modern readers, especially those who say enjoy <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345535529/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345535529&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=97e4b879ea007f7efaa2cc1afb79bf2b">A Game of Thrones</a>, might even be aware of.<br />
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If you want to see where the roots of modern fantasy come from if you want a rousing Viking tale of old gods and cursed blades, The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson is the perfect fit.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-58403902925666628742017-08-29T08:31:00.003-05:002017-08-29T08:31:46.254-05:00Thousand Shrine Warrior: Book Three of the Tomoe Gozen Saga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpdouPbw8AQbJZoO8RuUwvJQCM_3m4z1SgEnYlfbzPto31i0NwjsyRE3BHhSv6ZnOLqKmZXdfCKC1F5k3yyGdYX9sdQnoDCx14uBF8p4oYwgiiHOGQiiGNQA3Q8xm7wEAhDwxiXCLy3s/s1600/Thousand_Shrine_Warrior_New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpdouPbw8AQbJZoO8RuUwvJQCM_3m4z1SgEnYlfbzPto31i0NwjsyRE3BHhSv6ZnOLqKmZXdfCKC1F5k3yyGdYX9sdQnoDCx14uBF8p4oYwgiiHOGQiiGNQA3Q8xm7wEAhDwxiXCLy3s/s320/Thousand_Shrine_Warrior_New.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQEM1BW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00TQEM1BW&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=189df576843b196f15d8052389d1517c">Thousand Shrine Warrior</a><br />
Book Three of the Tomoe Gozen Saga<br />
Written by Jessica Amanda Salmonson<br />
$6.15<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=de945471082cfe4693e3f0a53303d159">Free on Kindle Unlimited</a><br />
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Thousand Shrine Warrior struck me as the best of the series. And for once, I'm not that thrilled with the old cover either!<br />
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Unlike previous volumes, this one is one told from start to end with no need for joining short stories. The book continues to use black and white illustrations to highlight parts of the story.<br />
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Tomoe Gozen has forsaken Bushido but remains a deadly swordmaster. Her skills continue to bring her into conflict with the world about her, but she approaches it with different eyes now.<br />
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Tomoe still wields her unique blade, identified by the craftsmanship, the sword of Okio, a renown master of weapon forging. A weapon so powerful and augmented, that it can affect those of the other world, those demons, and undead that stalks the fantasy land of Naipon.<br />
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This time around though, she wanders the land as a nun, a member of the Thousand Shrine sect. This allows her to go to any shrine and seek food and shelter from the elements. While she does not know all of the prayers, she is a master of her flute and it brings ease to the dying and wonder to the living. This suits her perfectly and makes her a wanderer in all but name.<br />
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On her travels, she runs into a young girl running away from drunken samurai in a small province. She quickly dispatches the drunkards but is then drawn further into the intrigues of the area. This brings her to the White Beast Shrine, where she drops off a near albino snake and meets the shrines master.<br />
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She learns of the strangeness going on and is thrust fully into the strangeness. She learns that the lord her is a near slave to Kuro the Darkness. When Tomoe uses her former status to gain an audience, she learns that Kuro is actually an ancestor or hers, but she later learns that Kuro is not only an undead ancestor, a cursed spirit but also possessed by a demon.<br />
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Things aren't what they always seem though, and Tomoe has to fight her way through various alliances, find old friends, meet new enemies, and ponder what her place is in a society that is not drenched in war and has little need for full armies of samurai.<br />
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Jessica Amanda Salmonson brings us a Tomoe whose enjoying her freedom, her ability to wander the land. Tomoe is getting old though, and the author brings something into play rarely done to a swordmaster, arthritis in the hands!<br />
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Thankfully when she's at White Beast Shrine, she meets the shrine keeper Bundori who knows how to create a salve that works like say, Tiger Balm or another ointment to ease the pain of sore knuckles. At this shrine, the strangest thing is the animals, most of which are shapeshifters who when Tomoe isn't around, take human form. They are described like elves of old being almost too beautiful to be contained in human form.<br />
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The nice thing about this element is that it gives the author more characters and provides some different opinions on what needs to be done about Kuro the Darkness. Things don't always work out as one would wish however and the disharmony caused by the disputes eventually convinces Bundori that he needs to continue his travels.<br />
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While Bundori's actions were not great in terms of what he could do, he does provide background elements that showcase that the shrine is more than just a place for nuns and travelers to rest. It must be maintained. It must remain free of blood and viscera. It is a place of power for him and one that Bundori feels he can hold against Kuro if things take a turn for the worse.<br />
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While the magic in the Tomoe series and the world of Naippon has been minimal, it's there in the background and elements of it sometimes poke out.<br />
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Among the samurai fallen on hard times, is Kuro's retainer, Ittosai Kumasaku, a man who fought for a general who fell. A man without a lord. Not willing to take on the role of monk though, he hires himself out to <span style="background-color: #f6d5d9;">those </span>who will take him for his value. Kuro doesn't do such and instead puts Ittosai to mundane drudge work that is ill befitting a samurai. He does it without fail although complaints are heard.<br />
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Jessica weaves an interesting world. Elementals falling in love with devils, divine children falling in love with mortals, ancestorial worship versus the evil things that the ancestors do in the modern world... all these things come to a head.<br />
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And I feel like one of those old commercials, "But wait, there's more!" In her past live as a samurai, Tomoe was a famed figure. An old general 'collects' such wives but as a nun, Tomoe is not going to relinquish her freedom easily and the general sends three of his mightiest warrior wives after Tomoe. These battles happen between Tomoe's other quest and make for a nice variety in the action and sequence of the story.<br />
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Tomoe Gozen ends up better than it started off as a series. Tomoe is a strong warrior but one with scars. She's fated to meet an old animal comrade who continues to fail in his life's karma and so, continues to come back in lesser and lesser forms, but perhaps with hope for the future. Her own destiny is cursed until she finds actual love, either in this life or the next, and she is wandering in a country where the need for warriors is winding down but is not over yet.<br />
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Who knows, with all of the other comebacks we've seen, perhaps there is hope for a Tomoe Gozen return? If <a href="http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/">Charles Saunders</a> could bring <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597800368/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1597800368&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=39a9e94e039edcdd5932d84465294827">Imaro </a>out after decades and bring more volumes to that saga, anything is possible.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-62449928017355720472017-08-28T09:42:00.000-05:002017-08-28T09:44:56.688-05:00Usagi Yojimbo: The Hell Screen by Stan Sakai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoYq4cBWPhOihQ9NKslvMwc7IjytyAGgaZpqXF8I8SYrIRG6vr2fWP1yBYbkooLbIWh0wjrngVe93t6gVBQLLA4Qiv6emgYKb9_zYtRjz69-hqffwnSg3zMkA45_94SBUgAFZ3tJYkvY/s1600/UY_31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoYq4cBWPhOihQ9NKslvMwc7IjytyAGgaZpqXF8I8SYrIRG6vr2fWP1yBYbkooLbIWh0wjrngVe93t6gVBQLLA4Qiv6emgYKb9_zYtRjz69-hqffwnSg3zMkA45_94SBUgAFZ3tJYkvY/s320/UY_31.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Usagi Yojimbo Vol 31<br />
The Hell Screen<br />
Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai<br />
208 b & w pages<br />
$17.99/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1506701876/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1506701876&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=8db8d9ebac263717b45c26a2f39a733d">$12.16 at Amazon</a><br />
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It'd been so long since I'd checked in on the rabbit ronin that two volumes had come out! Thankfully Amazon had both in stock and both discounted so with a few clicks they were mine.<br />
<a href="http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/"><br /></a> <a href="http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/">Stan Sakai</a> has been writing and drawing Usagi for decades at this point, and he has the character and the setting well in hand.<br />
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This volume brings us the following:<br />
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<b>The River Rising: </b>Usagi is unlike many of the more traditional samurais. As the tale starts, he is knee deep in mud and rock enforcing a man made wall as rain bring torrential floods. As Usagi helps out the peasants who weep about their miserable fate, about the loss of so many of their men during the last war, the farmers suffer further.<br />
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Bandits make off with their food stores.<br />
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Usagi leaves the villagers to handle the reinforcement of the wall as he hunts down the thieves. Only the bandits aren't bandits. They are homeless rabble who are starving. They are thin, poorly garbed, possess no weapons and no training.<br />
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Usagi quickly gets them back to the village where they help the village survive the rains. But after the rains, Usagi himself is nowhere to be found. Which leave the villagers with the question of what to do with the bandits.<br />
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It's not quite up to the scene in the Batman movie with the Joker and his two boat plan, but seeing these people understand that the 'bandits' are just regular folk and offer them a place in the village is a touching scene that reminds us that the world isn't necessarily filled with villains as much as people who need help and a place to fit in.<br />
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<b>Kyuri: </b>So what happened to Usagi? It's important to note that Usagi's Japan is more fantasy than just the humans being animals. There are things like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore)">Kappa </a>there as well. Usagi is no stranger to the Kappa having fought them in previous volumes.<br />
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Usagi sees one of the villagers being taken by a Kappa and follows it. Usagi is too late to save the villager but manages to follow the Kappa to its cave system where it escapes in the darkness. Descending further into the cave, Usagi finds a young Kappa and its mother, who swear that they are not allied with the savage or 'hairy' Kappa.<br />
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It's interesting that villagers who get seconds of screen time are given names, but the Kappa do not. The author throws a curveball at the audience as Usagi suffers a career injuring wound to his arm as the 'Hairy' Kappa uses its might to bring a stone against Usagi's sword arm and shatter the bone.<br />
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But this being Usagi's comic, he's saved from that f ate by the female Kappa who uses the healing arts that the Kappa is known for to save his arm. However, it does leave his sword arm weaker, and she warns him of this.<br />
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<b>Kazehime:</b> Stan has introduced many characters through his run of Usagi Yojimbo. Some of them make numerous appearances while others are introduced and are killed to showcase that the world Usagi lives in is not a pleasant one. In this case, the ninja Kazehime falls into the latter category. It's a poignant tale and it's one that Stan has hit on before and will hit on again. The Ronin who outlives those around him.<br />
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<b>The Secret of the Hell Screen (Three Parts): </b>This is the meat of this collection. Usagi comes across a temple where his old friend the Inspector Ishida. Like many of his longer tales, especially those involving Inspector Ishida, there are numerous elements at play here. There are several possible suspects, there are rumors of treasure, there are fallen samurai who've become monks, there is the terrible Hell Screen itself, a masterful piece of demonic art that shows the punishment of Emma's Hells. There are political forces at work trying to claim the land for hunting grounds as well as trying to fight against those claims.<br />
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In the three parts, Stan throws a few red herrings at the reader including the nature of the wounds suffered by those murdered but in the end, it takes more the simple deception for Inspector Ishida to be thrown.<br />
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<b>The Fate of the Elders:</b> Another reminder of what a harsh world Usagi lives in. In his standard method of encountering people on the road, Usagi comes across a son and mother. The mother is going to visit her husband. Only when Usagi gets to the mountain with the mother does he realize that she is going to stay and die there so make room in the village for her grand child. It's another sober moment in the Usagi setting and serves as a reminder that life is fragile.<br />
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The Hell Screen is another solid collection of ronin tales. If you've never read a volume before, check out the previews from <a href="https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/30-062/Usagi-Yojimbo-Volume-31-The-Hell-Screen-TPB">Dark Horse Comics</a>.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-67695347479875116072017-08-22T10:52:00.000-05:002017-08-22T10:52:52.426-05:00Usagi Yojimbo: Thieves and Spies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXjNkcaE21Yly7Hw-JncE38jUS-7S-Yhg8iBjDm_lewI72r31j0b0sDdCZ-1NbHaGIpCzWxL7aUg8b_gZsoeWajEPMz9HEqhmiZx_lg2UoJCAD8SpNC7pBm0ThyJ0wASZu_HIOuRDCgo/s1600/UY_Spies_Thieves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXjNkcaE21Yly7Hw-JncE38jUS-7S-Yhg8iBjDm_lewI72r31j0b0sDdCZ-1NbHaGIpCzWxL7aUg8b_gZsoeWajEPMz9HEqhmiZx_lg2UoJCAD8SpNC7pBm0ThyJ0wASZu_HIOuRDCgo/s320/UY_Spies_Thieves.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Usagi Yojimbo: Thieves and Spies<br />
Book 30<br />
Written by Stan Sakai<br />
Published by Dark Horse Publishing<br />
184 b & w pages<br />
$17.99<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1506700489/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1506700489&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=713372d1917a43fe584bf55b333f4623"> ($12.10 at Amazon)</a><br />
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There are few comics I buy in physical media anymore. Storing comics is not an easy thing when you've been collecting for years. Usagi Yojimbo is one of those I still do buy. I've been bad at keeping up however and I missed both this and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1506701876/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1506701876&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=08adfde06039c3ce85e78a71e1768275">Vol 31, The Hell Screen</a>. A few quick clicks from Amazon though and they quickly arrived and were quickly read.<br />
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<a href="http://stansakai.com/">Stan Sakai</a> has written over one hundred and fifty issues of Usagi, not counting his side trips and alternative takes like Space Usagi. Unlike most traditional super hero comics from the big two, Stan takes the 'long' approach. Usagi ages. He meets people who sometimes perish immediately, and others he sees years later. It gives the series some depth that can sometimes be lacking in one of the Big Two's series when you have to wonder what universal change is going to negate a meeting, marriage or even character existence<br />
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We get the following tales in this collection:<br />
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<b>The Thief and the Kunoichi:</b> While this is a fantasy Japan filled with animals instead of people, Stan still slips in little bits of terminology such as 'The Hour of the Ox'. Usagi himself though? He's still wandering and still running into people in trouble. In this case, it's Kitsune, the rogue, who in the middle of a heist, runs into Chizu, a ninja.<br />
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Usagi knows both of these women and is the peace maker between the two of them as Chizu is far more fatalistic in her approach to thieving whereas Kitsune and her prodigy, are more about the money.<br />
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Stan gives the readers a little taste of espionage as Chizu reveals behind a painting and hidden by a heat activated chemical, an agreement between merchants and lords to monopolize ginseng is afoot. Yes, that's right, ginseng!<br />
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I love that Stan uses mundane and standard items as a means of showcasing corruption and alliances on all levels. In the past, we've seen tales involving soy sauce for example. While Stan doesn't delve deeply into ginseng, the root and its healing properties have been used for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345321383/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345321383&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=d157f21aec4aeb7e0bd09ffb937ed887">other fantasy tales</a>.<br />
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<b>The One-Armed Swordsman:</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RTD6Z6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004RTD6Z6&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=a75b2076882c351fa7a6401ddf2f49c3">The One-Armed Swordsman</a> is a popular trope of martial art films and stories. Stan has brought readers other honorary versions of such characters before, such as a 'Blind Swordspig' to stand in for a certain Blind Swordsman. In this tale, Usagi meets Mizuna Takashi, a warrior who lost his hand to a cruel samurai whose infamy spreads from his habit of cutting off the hands of those who raise their blades against him.<br />
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<b>The Distant Mountain: </b>Another look at a bit of Japanese lore. This time Stan gives us suiseki, the art of stone appreciation. Usagi helps a samurai guard a Toyama Ishi, a distant mountain stone. It takes its usual twists and turns and Usagi's sometimes grim humor comes out the winner in this one.<br />
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<b>Death of a Tea Master:</b> A swashbuckling foreigner in the courts of Japan wishes to see the art of Sepukku. The one called up for this duty is a tea master that Usagi knows. When the foreigner wants to see it again, Usagi steps in.<br />
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<b>The Bride: </b>Many tales of Samurai involve the loss of freedom to love who one wishes. This is true of the merchant class as well. In this instance, Usagi helps the daughter of a sake brewer escape death. Stan uses a few twists in the storytelling here as well showcasing that not everyone is as pleased to follow duty when other options are available.<br />
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For those who've never seen the art in a Usagi Yojimbo book, Dark Horse provides previews of most of their books. Thieves and Spies can be previewed here: https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/30-060/Usagi-Yojimbo-Volume-30-Thieves-and-Spies-TPB<br />
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Thieves and Spies provides a quick glimpse into a fantasy Japan that never was. It provides a peak into the lives of heroes and the everyday people they meet. Stan's writing suffers a bit from the episodic manner in which the tales are told, as often Usagi just happens to be at the right place at the right time as opposed to actually seeking out purpose, but that's the nature of the beast. It's a character showcase when we get to see Usagi meet old friends and make new ones.<br />
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Thieves and Spies continues a tradition that has taken Stan over one hundred and fifty issue and here's looking forward to another one hundred and fifty.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-33522696351194561262017-08-21T16:31:00.002-05:002017-08-21T16:31:38.783-05:00The Golden Naginata (The Tomoe Gozen Saga Book 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKyN7UB6_KSLGSTsP9WrWOBa54m4DaPxv4I1h-aVe5UjpnjmULwm89sz5rgm605sjbzBzEwvOIQCSuM3nOYNqgdPy28j_-DDUUFO7k10f_dE5hsKcLX1rwpCSGmrmMIjVmXjY8w-KQz0/s1600/Golden_Naginata_Current.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKyN7UB6_KSLGSTsP9WrWOBa54m4DaPxv4I1h-aVe5UjpnjmULwm89sz5rgm605sjbzBzEwvOIQCSuM3nOYNqgdPy28j_-DDUUFO7k10f_dE5hsKcLX1rwpCSGmrmMIjVmXjY8w-KQz0/s320/Golden_Naginata_Current.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Golden Naginata </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Tomoe Gozen Saga Book 2)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Published by Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Written by Jessica Amanda Salmonson</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Fantasy/Samurai Genre</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">When Amazon had their 'prime day', I went in on the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=65cdcee5076a6f8ff3a8fe343851684b">Kindle Unlimited</a>. I've been unimpressed by the navigation tools that Amazon offers to get the most bang for your buck with that subscription service. </span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Having said that, I did discover an old series, The Tomoe Gozen Saga, where all three books were available in the Kindle Unlimited Library.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The second book, like the first, uses a new cover. Again, I'm a fan of the old school cover:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTI4Ylzpxe0B8-d7BtG_Wi3exxqnHrt4ifqtNDuXFFQMOm1a5sb19kjWOXaRarcoVGodq160VS3MFrJFwJ_0K5d1g3vtfdFv-KJqYbXuciDSqgCmbwCXJvzYuXxvikDpEQtqreKbYHrZQ/s1600/The_Golden_Naginata_Old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTI4Ylzpxe0B8-d7BtG_Wi3exxqnHrt4ifqtNDuXFFQMOm1a5sb19kjWOXaRarcoVGodq160VS3MFrJFwJ_0K5d1g3vtfdFv-KJqYbXuciDSqgCmbwCXJvzYuXxvikDpEQtqreKbYHrZQ/s320/The_Golden_Naginata_Old.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The writing is better than the first volume, but Jessica still does a lot of telling instead of showing, or telling and then showing. For example think, "Tomoe had a bad dream" and then the explanation of the bad dream itself. Tomoe continues to be a powerhouse with few rivals. She travels not only in the mortal world but into the depths of Hell itself. Her fighting skills and stances on various subjects are often brought directly into conflict with her samurai training.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The book includes numerous illustrations which are handy if you're unfamiliar with the genre or the topic. These are small black and white images that occur at certain points in the text.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Tomoe is not a fan of marriage. Even though for many, marriage isn't something done for love, Tomoe has more concern with it affecting her ability to enter the battlefield. She resists so much that her relationship with her family becomes strained and it's not until someone else points out the dishonor she's bringing herself and the family that she relents into marriage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Like the previous book, indeed, like many older books, this is a collection of linked short stories that taken together tells Tomoe's tale. Her search for the Golden Naginata itself is to help her in Hell. She needs a weapon of this heavenly quality to ensure her ability to fight against those who dwell in Hell. The author doesn't just give Tomoe an automatic win either.She has to quest to get it, can only use it for so long, and has to battle a heavenly 'good' creature, a <a href="https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/the-unicorn-of-japan/">Ki-Rin</a>, in order to claim it. Along the way, she has other adventures and encounters including running into a younger version of herself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">This sets up an interesting dissonance. Tomoe is willing to forgo much in order to continue her adventuring but she is reluctant to engage in a duel with her younger counterpart because Tomoe is reminded of herself. In some ways, it dishonors herself as Tomoe would not have tolerated such a behavior.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Another interesting theme is that despite her swordskill, Tomoe is not very sociable and indeed, even when her sword skills are unmatched, she often winds up failing at things.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">My favorite of the adventurers is Tomoe meeting several other 'rogue' adventurers like herself through a hungry ghost that seeks to avenge the death of his family. This ghost is able to reach out to Tomoe and the others because of the sword she yields. The others all also yield blades by this smith. It's a nice change of pace in how the characters meet and why they meet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">In terms of opposition, Tomoe encounters enough mortal enemies to make her the rival of any warlord, but she also battles in Hell against oni, she even meets Emma and his kinder side which tries to help the children trapped in Hell. Jessica also throws some different lore into the mix as Tomoe angers the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namazu_(Japanese_mythology)">Namazu </a>or Giant Catfish under Jessica's version of Japan.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Few figures get a 'clean' pass. We have people worshipping deities, people following Buddism, people following Shinto, people having little to no actual religion. It's all mixed in together in a strange mesh as all of them have a hand in the reality that Tomoe finds herself living in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Another one of my favorite bits? Tomoe fighting a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu">Tengu</a>. It's not that the Tengu is such a frightening match for Tomoe, but rather the humor the author uses. Tomoe clips the Tengu's wings and it falls into a vat of blue dye and the Tengu remains blue throughout the rest of the tale. The Tengu seeks to have its young nephews play pranks and test Tomoe's patience, but Tomoe manages to convince the youngsters to instead torment their uncle since the older Tengu can't fly after them to punish them. Children being children, they are delighted with the idea.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Jessica avoids the use of 'good' and 'evil' as signposts for Tomoe and her culture. Instead, we have traits like pride, ambition, and hope. Ambition, especially in this era and time, are high on the list and Tomoe rises and falls based not only on her own abilities but with those she's allied with so that the greater events surrounding her pitch her about like a cork on the open sea. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Despite having the Golden Naginata, Tomoe's final fate in the book is downcast and things are looking grim. Hopefully, the Thousand Shrine Warrior brings Tomoe back to a place where her swordskills shine enough that her dour personality can take a backseat again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">If you're a fan of fantasy elements in your Samurai, The Golden Naginata, despite some uneven writing and a change of cover, is a great place to start. If you're a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=65cdcee5076a6f8ff3a8fe343851684b">Kindle Unlimited member</a>, it's even free to read.</span></span></div>
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Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-85273200968227957622017-08-15T12:17:00.000-05:002017-08-15T12:17:30.659-05:00Wonder Woman (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MwOtKGK-28zZzKgvUxuFGUnziqb_dH0HWyNEFymvtOVqYhak9M4TO6IU3Bi2icrd5t7SOT69lnchyBbs3_ZiUpPyrPORGOkIAKuXcN0ZQDduBqdNZs20c-PXxsWVCXEn5Civs9cyAFM/s1600/WW_Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1000" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MwOtKGK-28zZzKgvUxuFGUnziqb_dH0HWyNEFymvtOVqYhak9M4TO6IU3Bi2icrd5t7SOT69lnchyBbs3_ZiUpPyrPORGOkIAKuXcN0ZQDduBqdNZs20c-PXxsWVCXEn5Civs9cyAFM/s320/WW_Movie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The last DC movie I saw in theaters was Man of Steel. If you see a preview clip for the upcoming Justice League, there's this whole bit about how Superman brought hope and showcased what people could be. Man of Steel showed little of that.<br />
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Wonder Woman makes Diana Prince's entrance into theaters as someone who brings inspiration and hope to those who meet her.<br />
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A small portion is given over to how Wonder Woman is raised but it's a rather simple origin. She was given life by Zeus and is the only child on an island of adult, apparently ageless warrior women. Her regimen that she starts as a child, is learning the Amazon ways of war. The island has its own charm and beauty, outside of being a timeless tropical paradise, it's covered with ancient art and is in a timeless pristine condition.<br />
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Diana grows up learning about Ares and his terrible plot to bring an endless war to the world of Man. She's shown the sword, the God-Slayer and told this weapon will one day end the threat of Ares.<br />
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I'm not like an ancient of the world but as a comic reader since the 80s, I was there for when <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563897504/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1563897504&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=ee84f400f37965d0f874ac07290848be">Crisis of Infinite Earths</a> changed up the Wonder Woman status. I loved George Perez's incarnation of Ares. I enjoyed that version more than the even recent version in the New 52 era.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zRRTp6oQKf9y3LXDnTN5Yz5JkKhM3qkSVmvQCISqZd_98W3VkgLU7nJrWDdQ2pWsuXH6VkYdKaHUUz4hnN8vKfDVDPGZGFanuje-q30CtdOobcgK2gKuFdCc0ywi0XwObTbKYwyJG2U/s1600/Ares_GP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zRRTp6oQKf9y3LXDnTN5Yz5JkKhM3qkSVmvQCISqZd_98W3VkgLU7nJrWDdQ2pWsuXH6VkYdKaHUUz4hnN8vKfDVDPGZGFanuje-q30CtdOobcgK2gKuFdCc0ywi0XwObTbKYwyJG2U/s320/Ares_GP.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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Note these stories and more are collected in the massive <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401255477/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401255477&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=8388d3c537f053596cfc89af6842414c">George Perez Wonder Woman Omnibus</a>. If you're a comic fan or want a retelling of Wonder Woman's tale, this is a great source of said tales.<br />
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So how does Diana wind up leaving the island? Steve Trevor, being pursued by a WWI German force, crash lands in the waters directly outside Paradise Island. Diana saves him but then she and her sisters immediately have to fight off a German landing party.<br />
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While the action sequences are fantastic and showcase a lot of energy and vibrancy I felt a twinge of "The Amazons are amazingly stupid." Atop of a hill, armed with bows capable of shooting further and farther than any WWI weapon, after a quick volley, they dive right into melee with a foe they've never encountered before.<br />
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Flesh and bone versus even, by today's standards, primitive firearms, provides something that the Amazons haven't had for perhaps thousands of years; casualties. <br />
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Steve, under the duress of the lasso of truth, reveals that he is a spy and has learned of a terrible chemical weapon that is going to be used to kill millions and he must return to London and try and stop it. The Amazons have no interest in 'Man's World'. Except for Diana whose been raised that it is her duty to help. That is it the reason she exists, to stop Ares.<br />
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When Diana's mother forbids her leaving, she does what any child does. She rebels. She steals the God Slayer and other assorted Amazon artifacts grabs Steve Stevor and preps a boat for taking off on the beach. A quick meeting with her mother who blesses her but tells her she may never return to the island leads us to the second act.<br />
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Diana is able to contrast the cleanliness and beauty of Paradise Island with London. London does not fare well. It's a place of filth, of smoke, of massive crowds and fear. Diana learns the current role of women in 'man's world' and fights it tooth and nail every inch of the way.<br />
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After a shopping trip to provide Diana with some less conspicuous clothes, Diana and Steve recruit a group of individuals who act almost as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160690583X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=160690583X&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=7b1efb6928beab8845a344219ea3db55">Doc Savage</a>'s crew. These are individuals who bring unique or specialized talents to the mission, an actor, a scout, and a sniper. Add in Steve and Diana and you've got Doc Savage and his old crew.<br />
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For those who don't know the old Pulp era hero Doc Savage, he was one of the first near superhumans of his era. He was one of the best fighters, one of the best scientists, one of the best people. And he traveled with a group of people who each had their own specialty. But it always seemed that Doc could do everything they could and more.<br />
<br />But Doc couldn't' be everywhere at every time and Diana at least, unlike Doc, doesn't know 'man's world'. Her crew fits her better.<br />
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I was impressed that in a WWI film, they managed to squeeze in so much diversity without it feeling pushed or fake. The scout, 'The Chief', works for everyone and is a well-known figure on the front line. The actor, Sammar, the one with the smooth tongue, able to use his 'lowly foreigner' status to fool people into thinking he's less than he is and moves about unobserved. The sniper? A drunk who is haunted by those killed in The Great War, but also a singer and player of the piano. the group works well. A diverse lot like this over the great range of Europe with the variety of people living in the continent makes a certain amount of sense.<br />
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Diana's role? The role she believes she has? It's to kill Areas. Based on information she's found so far, she believes it to be the German Ludendorff. She's intent on killing the man, of doing so at an elite gathering, one last 'huzzah' before peace is signed over. Trevor is intent on destroying the chemical supply.<br />
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To get to Ludendorff though, they must first cross 'No-Man's Land'. It's another one of the great action sequences in the movie. Wonder Woman in full costume, with shield and bracers, with strength greater than any normal man, advances into the hail of machine gun fire, taking the attention of the Germans long enough for others to make their advance and return fire.<br />
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The struggles that follow mire Diana further in the horrors of life in wartime. Innocents, men, women, and children, dying for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. People undergoing the horrors of starvation. People, she might be able to save suffering caravan breakdown as horses become dragged down in mud and muck. She learns she cannot save everyone.<br />
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But she manages to save a town and they celebrate the victory with dancing and even a rare photograph, the methods were far more primitive than simply pulling out a smart phone and selfie stick.<br />
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Diana manages to sneak into the party and is about to attack Lundendorff when Steve stops her and tries to bring her to his side of thinking. While that goes on, a shell of the weaponized chemicals is shot into the village Diana just saved.<br />
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Outraged, Diana blames Steve for all these peoples deaths and goes on to fight Lundendorff!<br />
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This fight was well done but such a red herring that it even had me fooled. See, Diana is far more than human. At this point in the story, she's not on Superman level or showcasing an ability to shrug off tank shells, but she's able to lift a tank, cover tremendous distances with a single leap, outfight whole rooms of trained soldiers and such.<br />
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Lundendorff is given some type of super steroid by 'Dr. Poison', the genius responsible for coming up with the chemical weapon in the first place. It's apparently enough to give him the ability to fight Diana on equal terms.<br />
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When she slays Lundendorff and the Germans don't stop loading a massive plane with the chemical weapons, learning that man is indeed monstrous even without the advent of Ares leading them on, that further breaks Diana's heart and she cannot understand why this is still happening.<br />
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Steve Trevor, a man on an almost single minded mission though, asks for her help again and she refused. Steve and his allies move on against the still loading plane and debate best on how to take down this terror weapon without activating the chemical agent in an occupied area.<br />
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A guy named Steve and a dangerous plane? Anyone see where that's going?<br />
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As Diana considers her options, the 'real' Ares shows up. There are several stages to this battle but it starts off with the simple act of truth. Diana rams the God Slayer at Ares who not only blocks it with an open hand but destroys it.<br />
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Turns out the God Slayer isn't the sword, it's Diana herself. Diana who in this incarnation, turns out to be a goddess, the last legacy of Zeus to the mortal world. This part wasn't as big a reveal to anyone paying attention to the beginning with all of the "Diana cannot know what she is!" bits but to those unfamiliar with such nods in the super hero genre, it may have come as a surprise.<br />
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Diana picks up her game considerably her. She moves faster, hits harder, and fights with more innovation.<br />
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Ares is unimpressed and thrashes her easily. At one point knocking her so far away from the battle that she falls from the sky and tumbles across the ground like a skipping stone where Steve finds her and a deafened Diana can't hear his words to her and ponder the meaning of Steve giving Diana his father's watch.<br />
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Diana returns to the conflict while Steve boards the plane.<br />
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Diana continues to suffer at the hands of Ares while Steve flies the chemicals high enough into the air that he feels confident that setting them off won't endanger millions. The explosion is seen on the ground where Diana undergoes a transformation.<br />
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Normally I hate <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F9IB1M4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00F9IB1M4&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=876266f768de5256cd0fe97f645018df">Dragon Ball Z</a> power ups.<br />
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1. Fight somewhat equal but villain having an edge.<br />
2. Villain showing 'true' power and beating hero easily.<br />
3. Hero seeing loved one slain and gaining an immediate power up.<br />
4. Hero becoming more powerful than the villain.<br />
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In this instance, it fits the evolution of the character. An Amazon whose only learning that she's a goddess. An Amazon who as Ares asks something along the lines of "let's see what type of god you are."<br />
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Turns out she's the goddess of love. Not lusty love. Not love of self. But an unselfish love for all humanity.<br />
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As corny as it sounds, the actress pulls it off. Her defeat of Ares isn't Wonder Woman conquering Ares, it's peace, hope, love, overcoming war, despair, and hate. It fits the movie far better than say, Superman snapping Zodd's neck.<br />
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Wonder Woman has a great score. It has great scenery. It has fantastic action sequences. It <span style="background-color: #f6d5d9;">is </span>a great showcase of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1577315936/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1577315936&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=f5fef077c4534c330b81a248afb863d5">'The Hero's Journey</a>'.<br />
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In terms of super hero movies, I was impressed that they went with the Great War instead of WWII. I also enjoyed that the movie takes itself seriously. I enjoy a lot of Marvel films and appreciate that they go to great lengths to avoid 'grimdark' that DC movies seem to seep themselves in. Wonder Woman however, doesn't use needless comedy and despite the subject matter, despite the Great War background, it has a lighter hearted feel than Man of Steel. Diana is a hero because she's a hero. It works for her. It works for the audience. She's earnest in what she seeks to do.<br />
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Wonder Woman is a solid film and a great super hero film. While I don't hold a lot of hope for the upcoming Justice League, I am hopeful that others will look at the different ways that great story telling in and of itself, can be used in a super hero movie and continue to push the boundaries of the genre.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-27862492561425428082017-08-14T10:50:00.001-05:002017-08-14T10:51:21.805-05:00The Bloody White Baron by James Palmer<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465022073/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0465022073&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=5d5febad281f050bd93406bc3b9d18fd">The Bloody White Baron</a><br />
Written by James Palmer<br />
Published by Basic Books<br />
$15.99 ($10.98 from Amazon)<br />
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The Bloody White Baron is a book I saw one of my fellow G+ users reading along with a pile of other books relating to Russia, Mongolia, and China. It looked more than interesting enough with a subtitle of "The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia."<br />
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I enjoyed James Palmer's writing style. I use transparent note stickies to hit passages I want to return to. The book is covered in them. Its flow is a little rough though because James provides a lot of backgrounds so we move chronologically back and forward. It's not Event X happened at year A in the start and event Z happened at year C at the end. There are numerous bits to try and catch the reader up to the larger picture around the Bloody White Baron.<br />
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Due to when the events happened, it's interesting to look back at how people saw the Bloody White Baron, also just called The Baron. Descriptions of him include having the power to cloud men's minds. That he was the child of crusaders and privateers. That he fit certain Mongolian legends of a White Savior.<br />
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His actual historical deeds? Monstrous is a quick way to describe them. Not quite a proto-Nazi, Ungren was firmly anti-Semitic. In some instances, the mass murder of Jews was 'simply' for the acquisition of their property, wealth, and other mundane bits.<br />
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In others? I'd hate to say 'typical' anti-Semitic nonsense but a look at America in 2017 and chants of blood and soil and Jews will not replace us should give you a small peek into the mind of someone who has an earnest fear of Jews and that killing them was the only way to be safe, the only way to follow the 'true path'.<br />
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Ungren was not kind to his own men either. He was a torturer and a sadist in using typical Buddha hells in order to come up with new and horrific manners in which to punish his own men. Note I said his own men, the Soviets. Those who followed him from the start, those who joined up with him later ignoring the warning signs. He did this because he could not indulge his sickness against his Mongolian allies.<br />
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Part of this was practical. He relied on the Mongolians for shelter, political alliance, and other understandable bits. Part of it was religious based. He was a man who sought out Oracles. A man who believes in Mystics. A man who despite not being very good with his own religion, was one who tolerated all religions as seeing them under the same cosmic umbrella.<br />
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He was a man who came from a country where the threat of the 'Yellow Peril' was widely spread. A man who came to see his own country as being weak, as being corrupted. A man who sought to behind the scenes to help a new Asian emerge, to bring forth a new realm of divine kings.<br />
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Ungren was also unusual in that he was not cut from the civilized cloth. He thought of horses and their role in combat and mobility as being unstoppable. He hated paperwork. He fought on the front lines often and was rarely injured there.<br />
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He disagreed so much with those in the civilized courts that he was often banished from their halls. His removal from numerous schools growing up was only allowed to advance as far as it did due to his family's background and nobility.<br />
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It's fascinating in many ways because James Palmer doesn't let us forget the poor bastards on all sides who get caught up in this madness. Russia at the time undergoing horrific civil wars. China undergoing a loss of monarchy and the rise of communism. Mongolia? Stuck in the middle with both sides claiming ownership of it or at least ownership over parts of it at different times.<br />
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One is not sure who to feel worse for. Those poor souls condemned to various monstrous torture under Ungren that were his own soldiers, the Chinese soldiers who are nomad like in their wandering from war to war seeking to merely survive day to day or the Mongolians whose fate under Russian 'leadership' left millions and millions dead even as their own culture was stripped from them.<br />
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If you don't know a lot about the time and reigion, a very specific time and reigion, The Bloody White Baron is a good place to start and a solid read.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-30063484978837758432017-08-08T03:11:00.001-05:002017-08-08T03:11:13.603-05:00The Disfavored Hero (The Tomoe Gozen Saga Book 1) by Jessica Amanda Salmonson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBTY2qtxU6k4vgc63cA0_tB0gm4Q5vs1-_sfnkFfeFWEAqAm3w89pqpTarH8SZ9vri9OTjpvG0QpQd4GWT7kxr6RytPdgxT3f5yyIfOPY3WHoQpNv5UOnROA6JjHn-gL1Oi9z8rAPW18/s1600/The_Disfavored_Hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBTY2qtxU6k4vgc63cA0_tB0gm4Q5vs1-_sfnkFfeFWEAqAm3w89pqpTarH8SZ9vri9OTjpvG0QpQd4GWT7kxr6RytPdgxT3f5yyIfOPY3WHoQpNv5UOnROA6JjHn-gL1Oi9z8rAPW18/s320/The_Disfavored_Hero.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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The Disfavored Hero<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQEM1NA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00TQEM1NA&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=582a129d9ea8d5c00b386f680f411382">The Tomoe Gozen Saga Book 1</a><br />
Jessica Amanda Salmonson<br />
$6.15 Kindle format or free on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=de945471082cfe4693e3f0a53303d159">Kindle Unlimited</a><br />
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While I'm pleased with the selection of graphic novels available on Kindle Unlimited, I'm less so with actual novels. I'm also on the lookout for interesting stories about non-western fantasy as it's a field ripe for exploration. I was pleased to discover The Disfavored Hero where the whole trilogy is available in the Kindle Unlimited library.<br />
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I will say though, that the publishers of the kindle book have gone the 'classic' yet cheap route on the cover. Look at the original from 1981:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IOPEQ6UaM0FQNPbjA-SOr5iJHaULrpXmCge8NhrC2u-AHlCNDJCsQXnNJYjMNmQ4vNF_vXCnnL893uBBzcp03iiiiLVBvTUOsAFWXXuQ8AZr1ipSh_fMufBkuikzuu28IAtl4Q14gcE/s1600/first_edition_Tomoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="269" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IOPEQ6UaM0FQNPbjA-SOr5iJHaULrpXmCge8NhrC2u-AHlCNDJCsQXnNJYjMNmQ4vNF_vXCnnL893uBBzcp03iiiiLVBvTUOsAFWXXuQ8AZr1ipSh_fMufBkuikzuu28IAtl4Q14gcE/s320/first_edition_Tomoe.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
That looks like it came right out of the 80s and it's glorious.<br />
<br />
That's also something going for it.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015NAUORA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B015NAUORA&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=2a6be8dcd1fa53b6003b0431c994467f"> Jierl of Joiry</a> gets a lot of credit for being one of, if not the first female heroes in the fantasy field and one of the first by a female author. But Jierl was not a great hero in her own tales. That might have been an artifact of the time but her sword skills and actual abilities always seemed to get the beat down being saved by the weird even more so than the original Conan tales.<br />
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Tomoe suffers defeat herself but her abilities are on a far superior level.<br />
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The book itself?<br />
<br />
Less so.<br />
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It's hard to describe the writing. At first, I thought this was a translation because it moves between telling the reader what happened and actually having some dialog between characters. It's more of a style thing that didn't gel with me. Heck, may be an 80's thing. In some ways, it reminds me of old fairy tales or legends.<br />
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It's also a bit rough in places in terms of transition.<br />
<br />
The cast of charactes is not wide. There are a handful introduced throughout the series with a few originally introduced making their way back towards the end but it's not a huge cast, no <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553593714/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0553593714&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=b9d39266e2ba2195830a5e26754e3ff6">Game of Thrones. </a><br />
<br />
But the meat of the story itself?<br />
<br />
A lot of fantasy goodness there.<br />
<br />
Tomoe herself is almost too powerful. When she's first introduced, she's a samurai who's already been on an important mission to the mainland of fantasy China to kill a traitorous swordsmith who was making weapons for the mainland.<br />
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She kept two of those swords for herself and along with three of her friends, grew into a legend. Again, this is before the book starts. When the book gets moving though, we see Tomoe use her two Chinese longswords against an army and win. Mind you the author notes that it's not that unusual for a highly trained, heavily armored and armed individual, to be able to cut through poorly trained chattel but Tomoe takes it to a new level.<br />
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In the doing so, Tomoe is injured unto death and is only saved through dark magic that temporarily enslaves her. During that magical enslavement, she commits acts of treason under a Chinese mystic but is restored by her Samurai honor being tested. Her honor proves stronger than the binds put upon her.<br />
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Now free, she wanders as a Ronin and encounters the people of fantasy Japan, which here the author calls Naippon, a slight change of wording to indicate it's relationship with the real world. Other authors, especially Gary Gygax, would do this with Oerth, Aerth, etc...<br />
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In this tale we get to see ghouls that when hacked apart, put themselves back together again with whatever is available. We get to see ogres and oni. We get to see kappa and dragon queens. We get quasi-planes and transportation through strange dimensions. The author does a solid job of bringing the fantasy and the unusual to her version of Naippon.<br />
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The tale and test set in the first section of the book come full circle in the end when Tomoe gets to met the only one to easily beat her but did so only because of the 'unpure' style she initially was using. It's mythical in the cyclic nature it takes.<br />
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As a side note, there's also several black and white illustrations in the novel. It's a nice change of pace for the standard walls of text and I enjoy seeing how an artist interpets the scenes and characters.<br />
<br />
I recommend the novel to anyone who's looking for something outside the standard westernized elves and dwarves. To anyone looking to run a game of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594720525/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1594720525&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=0a8585b899d49161cc93b2883ca61181"> Legends of the Five Rings</a> or old school Oriental Adventurers.<br />
<br />
The most difficult time I had with those settings when younger, was looking for inspirational material. The Tomoe Gozen Saga has it.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-29384708176595059752017-07-10T07:05:00.003-05:002017-07-10T07:05:33.116-05:00Kindle Unlimited: Old School Fantasy Picks<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=de945471082cfe4693e3f0a53303d159" target="_blank">Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=modappn-20&l=pf4&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<br />
With Prime Day coming up, Amazon recently did a bit where if you were a prime member, you could subscribe to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1454291293420&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=modappn-20&linkId=de945471082cfe4693e3f0a53303d159">Kindle Unlimited</a> for 2 years at 40% off. It's not cheap by any means, but I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I could afford it.<br />
<br />
My main purpose was to give my mom access to move reading. She has near unlimited time being a retiree and she's much less picky about starting something new than I am. She's read dozens if not hundreds of books that initially I purchased from a Daily Deal or monthly deal.<br />
<br />
But did that mean there was nothing for someone who grew up in the eighties? Someone who grew up reading Michael Moorcock and David Smith among others?<br />
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This is kind of a trick question in many ways. For example, while <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007978NPG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007978NPG&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=3488e87fee88068402ca797d50ad9598">The Fellowship of the Ring</a> is part of the Kindle Unlimited bit, I read it. If you've stumbled upon my blog, you may not know, but I rarely go back and reread anything as I have dozens of books I haven't read at all. Among those <a class="a-link-normal s-access-detail-page s-color-twister-title-link a-text-normal" href="https://smile.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B007978PGI/ref=sr_1_221?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1499686679&sr=1-221" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Silmarillion"></a><br />
<h2 class="a-size-medium s-inline s-access-title a-text-normal" data-attribute="The Silmarillion" data-max-rows="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-size: 17px !important; font-weight: 400 !important; line-height: 1.255 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007978PGI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007978PGI&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=9a280521d99ad03716d8cb4cfdc18290">The Silmarillion</a>, which is also available in Kindle Unlimited.</h2>
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When trying to find titles, it's a massive miss. For an electronic company, the ability to sort the options in Kindle Unlimited suffers vastly. There is no way to sort by author. What an amazing lack of forethought here. You can sort by featured, price, average review, and publication date.<br />
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But not by author.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugSi8XVaaI6WdSAqsGBwa5krdLo5CoAjss4ZKcAYIk_Cub2QTmobXeHpzCqgfN-HoCRTMQt_Smz5fvPJ4TU9NvBCIekp_eeBuFEqEXkQI0d7JjFTsT3Smmh4j1Emw5aKiSQ95WvC5QZM/s1600/sort_0.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugSi8XVaaI6WdSAqsGBwa5krdLo5CoAjss4ZKcAYIk_Cub2QTmobXeHpzCqgfN-HoCRTMQt_Smz5fvPJ4TU9NvBCIekp_eeBuFEqEXkQI0d7JjFTsT3Smmh4j1Emw5aKiSQ95WvC5QZM/s1600/sort_0.PNG" /></a></div>
Eh?<br />
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You'll also note that you can't sort by title. One of the most basic functions of sorting and you can't do it here.<br />
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You can use the various options on the left side of the screen to cut down and chop up the options, but again, no ability to search by author.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGLQRI_D9nhA8d-CnHikSuWkxeKOY48CAU58Nn5jqGpmS1_jSv1n0IzP6BLF0ydWLHCfad-Vav7LqrUuHWtV4JfiiS_WBMJWLkQ91dRSGEGP8oSWVtBPmZrgHQ9bqZXRq9tawRMISTeI/s1600/results.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="205" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGLQRI_D9nhA8d-CnHikSuWkxeKOY48CAU58Nn5jqGpmS1_jSv1n0IzP6BLF0ydWLHCfad-Vav7LqrUuHWtV4JfiiS_WBMJWLkQ91dRSGEGP8oSWVtBPmZrgHQ9bqZXRq9tawRMISTeI/s320/results.PNG" width="105" /></a></div>
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Some might be thinking, well, how about using something like the sword & sorcery to cut down the sexy mage ladies?<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=modappn-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B073C38DNT&asins=B073C38DNT&linkId=e8d30814c97dd1255f06f2f1c5ed6fdd&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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That gives you options like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.<br />
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Whoever is setting up the meta tags clearly has no idea of what they're doing.<br />
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Failure Amazon. 100% pure failure.<br />
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It does hit some popular titles. For example, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0192CTMYG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0192CTMYG&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=e62a418f3e59c49920adc55e2aeceb7b">Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone </a>is in the Kindle Unlimited package. So if you, like me, have missed that particular icon of modern fantasy, well, there's a lot of hope for you.<br />
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And if you're willing to just dive into a fantasy series, man, you've got your options. Some of the covers I recognize from long deals that Amazon has had on the series. Others look like supernatural fantasy modern day 'Buffy' style books that my mom devours daily.<br />
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Most I don't recognize at all.<br />
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But a few do stand out!<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IEJZRY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003IEJZRY&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=41b7a08c65ff84e96e7f1f73583199bd"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IEJZRY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003IEJZRY&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=41b7a08c65ff84e96e7f1f73583199bd">The Princess Bride</a>: Despite greatly enjoying the movie, I've never read the book.<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XS6TKC1/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06XS6TKC1&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=eff06e3e4eb84db37e29c34d82bfc1a3"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XS6TKC1/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06XS6TKC1&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=eff06e3e4eb84db37e29c34d82bfc1a3">Llarn Cycle</a>: There are many great authors that I didn't read when I was younger because when I found out about them, the books were out of print. Nowadays that isn't such a problem IF the books are in e-format AND I remember them. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardner_Fox">Garder F. Fox</a> is one of them. Some of his stories were even reworked into Marvel Comic's Conan. Heck, most comic books fans will be familiar with Garder from his work on the comics that did things like introducing the multi-verse to DC.<br />
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That whole bit is a win for me. I appreciate that not all of the oldies are goodies. That a lot of what has come since has been done better or is more fitting for modern politically correct times.<br />
<br />But I also like seeing where the genre came from and that includes things that are rarely touched on like Planetary Romance sagas.<br />
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Also included among other series by Garder, is his <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072FTSRZB/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B072FTSRZB&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=b97021617476e692bd6cdc66d645b9da">Kothar </a>series. A pastiche of Conan? Perhaps but more fun stuff <span style="background-color: #f6d5d9;">from </span>back in the day.<br />
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Witch World: Here's a series I'd HAVE to reread because my reading of it was all messed up due to the publication of the original series in how I bought them. Andre Norton has a LOT of books in the Kindle Unlimited bit and that alone almost makes it worth the purchase for me.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=modappn-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01GGQ2LNU&asins=B01GGQ2LNU&linkId=c15a758bb1a5197faab764a868d30a2d&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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Sword & Deviltry by Fritz Leiber: While it's great to see some original Appendix N love here, it's almost a tease. The first book in the Kindle Unlimited, the rest? Nope.<br />
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There are other features to the Kindle Unlimited I haven't got to yet. For example, there are a ton of comics.<br />
<br />But again, no easy way to see the authors I like or even to list it in plain alphabetical order. Again, an immense failure by Amazon.<br />
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I'll keep digging into the Kindle Unlimited and noting some of the gems when I run across them.<br />
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Those who who already have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, are there are comics, fantasy, science fiction, historical, or business books you'd recommend? I'm going to try to get some utility out of this even if I initially bought it for the mom.<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-31790330468567276722017-07-09T20:53:00.000-05:002017-07-09T20:53:04.200-05:00Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sXA8enCcrMYNEKnL3cTyzLrPKZAqB_kabjIqgsB6QJJC0XI4JbSnfuc1eyRhlS4GXM-55VONn9T9TfujHRaLPUbntx3gmZmcXuzQ4o71ZLExb6EMRfw8SKz5Vp_M_5selQznu0PW4lg/s1600/Baptism_of_Fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="879" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sXA8enCcrMYNEKnL3cTyzLrPKZAqB_kabjIqgsB6QJJC0XI4JbSnfuc1eyRhlS4GXM-55VONn9T9TfujHRaLPUbntx3gmZmcXuzQ4o71ZLExb6EMRfw8SKz5Vp_M_5selQznu0PW4lg/s320/Baptism_of_Fire.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316219185/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316219185&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=3576eabe1727731742b658b422f57331">Baptism of Fire</a><br />
The Witcher Book Three<br />
Written by Andrzej Sapkowski<br />
Translated by David French<br />
Trade Paperback: $16.00 /$11.34 Amazon<br />
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The numbering of the Witcher series confused me at first. The first book is the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316438960/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316438960&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=7b667ae8e37c0ea595f31a905de54da8">Last Wish </a>and that makes this the fourth book.<br />
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But it's only the third book of the 'series' as the Last Wish is a collection of short stories. Nothing too complicated but it does throw the numbering off on different sites.<br />
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Baptism of Fire brings us Geralt, the White Wolf, the Witcher. He is a highly trained warrior of an order of monster slayers whose origins lie in the use of mutagenic potions to augment the human body past its normal limits.<br />
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His standard companion, Dandelion continues adventuring with him. In many ways, Dandelion is a good 'companion' style character, much like Monglum of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345498623/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345498623&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=3799ac4a2afce39a79326d0f80d8dad0">Elric </a>fame. He's not a great fighter, but can at least thrust a sword. His background and socialite ways give him a far different, perhaps more civilized outlook, to the Witcher's monster butchery.<br />
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There are other new companions along the way that join the Witcher in his 'Baptism of Fire', including a hunter, an old enemy, and one who should be an enemy. Other characters met along the way, like Zoltan Chivay, will be familiar to anyone who's played the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AH8YSW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001AH8YSW&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=4553608ae268a7088f85b4c3b596d0aa">video games</a>.<br />
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The translation work is fairly done. It's not obvious that this is a translated work in terms of rough passages where you ponder what the author meant. There are times, however, when a lot of telling the audience what's going on instead of showing the audience what's going on happen.<br />
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On one hand, tell not show does save a ton of space. On the other, it's not as effective.<br />
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There's also some weirdness where a storyteller is telling children about the Witcher's tale. It's not badly done, just out of place compared to the previous chapters that didn't use a wandering storyteller.<br />
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Yennifer, the sorcerer who is at times the Witcher's lover and ally, has a brief spot in the book but it's more of a set up for future novels. Much of the material involves the Witcher save for a few brief spots on other characters just to see what they are doing.<br />
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Like previous novels in the series, this one ends not quite at a cliffhanger, but close enough that the reader is left eager to pick up the next novel.<br />
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In terms of stealing for a game of Dungeons and Dragons or other Fantasy RPGs, the game is ripe with ideas.<br />
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The Witcher in and of itself is a title bestowed upon those who pass a series of tests that make them more than human. Many die in the trying due to their bodies rejecting the potions that transform them. Others are changed in ways far more horrible than pale flesh and white hair.<br />
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The Witchers are supposed to be neutral, not serving any particular king or kingdom but instead, dedicated to the cause of killing monsters for profit.<br />
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It would make an excellent PrC or Paragon Path in 4th edition. The real trick is what do you bring in? In the novels, Geralt isn't that much of a showcase for Witcher power. Oh sure there are times when the author has the White Wolf cut through soldiers, but the novel starts with Geralt incapacitated due to wounds and it takes him a long time to recover. We also don't see any fancy spellcasting from Geralt in the novel nor even herb use or lore.<br />
<h4>
<br />False Princess</h4>
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Ciri, the 'foretold one' if you will, the girl with all the bloodlines, is supposed to be a noble character and bearing.</div>
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Instead, she travels with 'the Rats', a youth bandit gang that is murderous.</div>
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Play with player's expectations of how characters will be. Have them met people and later on find out that those people have undergone changes that might not seem normal, but are part of the growth they've been forced to experience by the harsh realities of the world.</div>
<h4>
Red Herrings</h4>
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The Witcher is bound to Ciri from events in previous books. This isn't just an older warrior feeling parental over a young child. Rather Geralt knows what's happening to Ciri through dreams and the dreams foretell a life less than happy.</div>
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Initially, Geralt hears that Ciri is in one country and is being prepped for marriage to seal an alliance. He spends a lot of time and effort moving across the land in order to get there.</div>
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But the information is wrong. It's false information to keep people off the real trail. The time lost in seeking out this false hope is considerable.</div>
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When you're running your own campaigns, don't be afraid to toss red herrings into the mix. If they players are seeking someone with a common name, do they have the right person? Are there multiple crypts with the same name? Is there a crypt and a tomb? Is there a lost library and a lost labyrinth? </div>
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<h4>
War As An Obstacle</h4>
<div>
Outside of the normal problems that war presents, in a war where the players are not part of any army or part of any nationality involved in the war, they are at risk for being attacked by all sides.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This can present it's own unique opportunities though as character get involved in the strangest things. For example, in Baptism of Fire, Geralt winds up saving a queen and becoming knighted. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The other problem with being in a war zone is that humanity is terrible. There are rapes, murders, genocide and other wretched factors that happen in the real world all the time. In a fantasy setting? Who knows what strange things may happen. For example, many settings ranging from the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk, to more modern Eberron, have some part of the campaign setting scarred from a 'big weapon' that ended a previous war.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
War As A Resource Drain</h4>
<div>
In addition to the dangers of getting killed outright, there are dangers of a more subtle yet still potentially dangerous origin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Supplies.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In their travels, the Witcher and his allies come across a logging operation. It's a vast operation and takes up a lot of space and slows their advancement as they cannot easily cross the logging operation. The trees cut down are shipped out for supplies elsewhere.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyone who's seen the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HEWNBO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004HEWNBO&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=55cd25da1ed1ac44172adff91ba545f0">Lord of the Rings</a> knows that one of Treebeards biggest factors in influencing his decision to fight against Sauraman the White was the logging of the forests. "A wizard should know better."</div>
<div>
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And in many cases, it's not going to be just trees. Food, metal, and in a campaign setting with available magic resources, any of those, will be up for grabs and become crucial points of potential conflict with the enemy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Witcher continues to expand the setting and touches on some modern issues while at the same time remaining fundamentally a fantasy story. If you're looking for something to inspire interesting characters as a player or different monsters and monster origins as a Game Master, Baptism of Fire is a good pick.</div>
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-86460405554870169492017-07-04T09:51:00.001-05:002017-07-04T09:51:32.633-05:00Devlin's Luck by Patricia Bray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j-OxhA1DO1pymKHRG6xU0t16EQN3jilJjHqGOMxM-joG8J4SwsK2y579-SWykyilWV-gUdmIpkoO1V3WyWPbenM936q0CJQ69pkEhNfWX6oMPekH15txywAZ7RaD-vIsijb-sLltpLI/s1600/DevlinsLuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j-OxhA1DO1pymKHRG6xU0t16EQN3jilJjHqGOMxM-joG8J4SwsK2y579-SWykyilWV-gUdmIpkoO1V3WyWPbenM936q0CJQ69pkEhNfWX6oMPekH15txywAZ7RaD-vIsijb-sLltpLI/s1600/DevlinsLuck.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012RMV8Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0012RMV8Y&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=aced503563d6d4868e9ed035efc62895">Devlin's Luck</a><br />
The Sword of Change: Book 1<br />
Written by Patricia Bray<br />
Published by Spectra<br />
434 pages<br />
$7.99 Kindle<br />
$7.99 Paperback<br />
<br />
A great thing about having a Half-Price Books close by is their random and changing selection of $1 books. It's a lot easier to take a chance on an author you've never heard of when you're only out $1. Same is true of the old Kindle books when they hit the various sweet spots on sale.<br />
<br />
Devlin's Luck is a solid fantasy book for someone just starting the genre. It uses a small cast, small kingdom, and easy missions to get the reader involved. If you're looking for 'popcorn' reading, Devlin's Luck has you covered.<br />
<br />
At the end, the book looks to expand in size and complexity allowing the setting and scope to grow with the series.<br />
<br />
Devlin's Luck is a perfect 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons book in many ways. The 4th edition D&D default setting was a points of light setting. A generic kingdom where things used to be better and the world was more dangerous than it should be. Devlin's Luck takes place in 'The once mighty kingdom of Jorsk is in decline, its borders beset by enemies, both worldly and otherworldly. The king has retreated to the capital, abandoning the far-flung provinces."<br />
<br />
That's not only a 'points of light' setting, it's a fairly standard low-level setting in most instances. There are things that need to be taken care of and the heroes are the ones to do it!<br />
<br />
The hero of the story, Devlin Stonehand, is a former farmer and metalsmith from a rugged frontier part of Jorsk, recently conquered by the superior militia of Jorsk. He's come to the capital city to become 'the Chosen One', an old institution where a champion fights for the people of the country. It's been so dangerous lately that the kingdom pays the new Chosen One and binds them with magic to only work for the safety of the kingdom.<br />
<br />
In the 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons, the idea of the Chosen One would have worked as a 'kit'. The profession initially doesn't seem to have a lot of character enhancing powers but does have a lot of social responsibility to it and does have a lot of social perks that go with it. The kits in 2nd edition were notorious for trying to use social issues in place of game balance.<br />
<br />
For a small setting, the book throws the deities names out immediately. Part of being the Chosen is picking a patron deity. 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons introduced new deities in part by stealing them from other settings and by adding new ones like the Raven Queen.<br />
<br />
Here we get:<br />
<br />
Haakron, the Lord of Death.<br />
<br />
Lady Geyra: Healers<br />
<br />
Lady Sonja: The War Goddess.<br />
<br />
Lady Tea: Mother Goddess. Patroness of those who worked the land.<br />
<br />
Kanjti: The God of luck. A God with no temples or priests. Some called him the bastard god, the only one of the seven whose origin was a subject for hot debate. A god with no family. (pg 21-22)<br />
<br />
Heavenly Pair: Father Teo and Mother Tea.<br />
<br />
Another thing that Patricia Bray does, is not shy away from languages. Even though the setting is small, there are a variety of languages spoken by the people including older languages like High Jorsk. Even today in countries like China that are 'one country', there are multiple languages spoken. Never underestimate the value of languages in creating the setting that you're running.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Adventure Seeds:</h4>
One of the things I enjoyed about Devlin's Luck is it doesn't pretend that it's trying to rewrite and rework the fantasy genre or some of the simple things that can be done with it.<br />
<br />
"There are reports of a band of marauders living in Astavard forest, who prey on travelers along the King's old highway." (pg 77)<br />
<br />
"There was no invading army, no great battle in their future. Instead the Kingdom was dying for a thousand tiny pinpricks." (pg. 90).<br />
<br />
Another example of how a potentially long campaign can be designed. It allows the players to pick and chose what incidents and events they will investigate and so move the campaign in a direction of their choosing.<br />
<br />
How much more classic than bandit attack can you get?<br />
<br />
<h4>
Character Actions</h4>
<div>
If you want the players to be engaged with the setting, both in the dungeon and out, make sure that others are paying attention to what they do for both good and ill.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"His self-discipline was contagious, and she noticed that her own guards trained all the harder for his example." (pg. 249)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"As he tried to read t he mage's expression he realized that for the first time in their acquaintance Master Dreng's eyes w ere clear, and the hand that clasped his was steady. A remarkable change in one who was reputed to spend his entire life deep in his cups." (pg. 256)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Humans are social animals. We try to be like others, we try to make organizations and achievements with others. Seeing someone strive to be better may encourage us to be better. Seeing someone who needs us at our best may encourage us to be at our best.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you show that the actions the players take off the battlefield have consequences in the setting, the players may decide to go with that. If you want to encourage that type of behavior and the player's don't normally do such, have the background be influenced by others. You can either act or be acted upon. When the players see people taking after X, Y, or Z instead of them, perhaps they'll be more motivated to be part of the setting as opposed to rogue loners. </div>
<h4>
Culture:</h4>
<div>
"I trade with many, but always with Brigia deMor, daughter of Nesta of the Mountains. She has given me the blessing of her name," the woman said proudly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A blessing was a powerful thing indeed. In the literal sense, it meant that Brigia deMore regarded this woman as a member of her family. It was rare for any outlander to receive such an honor." (pg. 35)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When designing an adventure, a setting, a character, or a quest, what role does the background of the people play in it? What are they known for? What are their codes of conduct? What makes one valued among them?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Culture doesn't have to be a whole society. It can be a part of the society.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
'A copper armband lay on the workbench. Favored by soldiers as a luck token." (pg. 59) The history of an organization, of a society, or a group of individuals, can be telling in many ways. It can be tattoos, it can be slogans, it can be art. </div>
<h4>
<br />Points of Light</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Devlin's foot skidded across a slippery stone, and he flailed wildly before regaining his balance. At the start of his journey, this road had been paved with interlocking stones, with a raised crown that allowed water to run off into the ditches on the side. The farther he traveled from Kingsholm, the worse the road became. The stones showed signs of wear, than cracking, and then weeds had begun to appear. By now, nearly two weeks' journey from the capital, there were many places where the stones had vanished altogether. And the drainage ditches were choked with weeds and debris so that instead of draining the water, the roads were covered with mud washed won from the fields on either side. (pg. 95) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's a great example of how a point of light campaign can be described. What was one mighty has tumbled. What once was great, is not even standard. It shares themes with <a href="http://www.bernardcornwell.net/">Bernard Cornwell'</a>s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC2RR2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000FC2RR2&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=7d40a19935b6d52e32a5579b5195cf73">Saxon Tales </a>where the Viking raiders are in awe of the Roman structures left behind in England. </div>
<h4>
Taverns and Inns:</h4>
"The Singing Fish is in the old city, near the river. It's not fancy, but they have good food and a very fine cellar." (pg. 30).<br />
<br />
Devlin is new to the city. He's new to this part of the country. Where better to hear how the common folk act that in a tavern in the old part of the city? Where the common folk mingle? It's an old trope to be sure but it's continued use showcases that it's still a viable way to gather information and to have a gathering place.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Weather:</h4>
'But then the rains had come. For the past three, days he had slogged on, ankle deep in muck.' (pg. 94)<br />
<br />
Never forget that the sun may rise in the east but the players don't necessarily have to see it. Clouds, fog, mist, rain, humidity, the dew point! All of these things can make the setting seem more alive than just using standard sunny days when the characters are traveling from point A to point B.<br />
<br />
Devlin's Luck by Patricia Bray is a solid fantasy story that contains many little nods to realism from numerous languages and social structures, to the evolution of Devlin Stonehand as the Chosen One. I look forward to eventually reading the next books in the series.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-23132500445181148902017-07-03T20:08:00.001-05:002017-07-03T20:08:26.990-05:00Little Big Man by Thomas Berger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iJhsUSYMnZ4TLoclJ0FB3Tupbe1RUOKli7nt7j1aumXyy0Iu6_pxDQ6rHc-gZMLZRcuI47RSuIjdsiRKXwj9rxV_PVVIIRhUEpKftTJis_3ncmsLXky2lCVmkd1g6DNGOMNvV57hGY4/s1600/littlebigman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iJhsUSYMnZ4TLoclJ0FB3Tupbe1RUOKli7nt7j1aumXyy0Iu6_pxDQ6rHc-gZMLZRcuI47RSuIjdsiRKXwj9rxV_PVVIIRhUEpKftTJis_3ncmsLXky2lCVmkd1g6DNGOMNvV57hGY4/s320/littlebigman.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385298293/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385298293&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=45b603f3b5ae16ed71bf3d199564ccf0">Little Big Man</a><br />
Written by Thomas Berger<br />
Published by The Dial Press<br />
$17.00/$11.51 Amazon<br />
<br />
One of the reasons I enjoy reading outside the 'fantasy ghetto' is that you never know what you'll stumble upon. I can't remember where I first read that Little Big Man was a classic of the Western Genre, indeed, of American literature itself, but I'm glad I dug into it.<br />
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After finishing the book, I was informed of the movie featuring Dustin Hoffman. He does a great job in a solid movie but man, if anyone from HBO or Showtime is listening, Little Big Man could use a truer to book edition in a season or limited edition format.<br />
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So what does Little Big Man bring that makes it worth reading for gamers?<br />
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First off, Thomas Berger is a great writer. If you're looking for one liners or other bits to throw into your game, Thomas has more than his share of them.<br />
<br />
"However, I believe that when Wild Bill Hickok faced a man he looked at his opponent's eye as if it was a cork." (pg. 305)<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Alien Cultures</b></h3>
Jack Crabb spends a lot of time among the Indian Cheyenne tribe. During that time, he enjoys boiled dog as well as having four wives. He returns to the tribe several times and it contrasts the ways of the Cheyenne, who call themselves 'Human Beings' to the 'White Man'.<br />
<br />
In terms of other nationalities, we get a brief taste of them. For example, while on a raid, Jack is ambushed and almost scalped when the ambusher realizes that he's actually a white man. That particular tribe is fond of the whites so lets Jack live. Jack promptly repays him with three arrows in the back.<br />
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When adding different cultures, much less different races, think about why they are different, to begin with. If the only difference between humans and elves turns out to be the lifespan, might as well just get rid of one or the other.<br />
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Think about how the children are raised. Are they raised by the clan?<br />
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What roles do men and women play?<br />
<br />
What foods are eaten? Even in the modern day world people in the United States tend to look in horror at southern China's holiday where they eat dog. Now never mind that the Cow is a sacred animal to millions of Indians...<br />
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How is history kept? How is the passage of time measured? The author gives us an event driven history that doesn't rely on days or dates but on seasons and events.<br />
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Are there common sayings?<br />
<br />
'My son," says Old Lodge Skins, "if it cannot, then the sun will shine upon a good day to die." (pg. 220).<br />
<br />
Culture can be a thousand things and none of them are easy to digest in one sitting. Don't hit the players over the head with things until they stop playing but feed into the differences a bit per session until the players can recognize weird words and phrases both in character in the real world.<br />
<h3>
Character Behavior</h3>
<div>
Behavior and motivation are separate things. Behavior depends on a series of actions that are necessary for a profession that may be technical or may be encouraged by other's behavior.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
'This is a good example of the suspiciousness which warps the minds of gunfighters. I had fell into it right quick, just being in Wild Bill's proximity. You feel like your whole body is one live nerve. At that moment one of them cardplayers having just won a pot, let out a holler of triumpth, and both Hickok and myself come out of our chairs, going for our iron..." (pg. 285).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
'Of course I could see he was a fanatic. You had to be, to get so absorbed in talk of holsters and cartridge loads and barrel length and filing down the seat to make a hair trigger and the technique of tying back the trigger and arming the hammer to fire, etc., etc...</div>
<div>
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<div>
"Now then, about that S & W you carry. It is a handsome weapon, but the shells have a bad habit of erupting and jamming the chambers. I'd lay the piece aside and get me something else: a Colt's with the Thuer conversion..." (pg 286-287)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here, the profession of the Gun Fighter shows its professional side. It's the difference between a mercenary who picks up a weapon and is surprised when it jams and the professional who can disassemble and reassemble it. </div>
<br />
<h3>
Character Motivation</h3>
<div>
'Course, he says, there's where the personality come in; whether fast or slow, there was one perfect shot for each occasion, and you killed or died according to how close you come to achieving it. Once arriving at your decision to fire upon a man, your mind becomes a blank, and your will, your body, and your pistol merged into one instrument with a single job.' (pg. 305)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of the easiest motivations for adventurers in any genre is to find that moment. While Dragon Ball Z's main hero Goku is nearly silly in his desire to be the strongest there is and to fight great opponents, he's always earnest in his desire. Gunslingers have been portrayed as seeking to be the best, the same is true of swordsmen. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Family</h3>
<div>
Jack Crabb comes from an interesting family and makes more along the way. His father a bit of an insane preacher. His sister a strong woman out of her time. His brother? A dealer of poisons.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But then there's his 'cousin' Amelia. Only turns out, Amelia, a former lady of the night, isn't actually his cousin and Jack knew that from the start. Rather, it's that Jack 'adopts' her into his family and their both okay with it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The family you make as opposed to the one you're born with.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jack is also the father to a son not his own. He also loses his wife Olga and son to an Indian attack and finds them long after they would recognize him as both they and he have undergone many changes. The transitional nature of family and the roots one sets are made in numerous contrasts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
History</h3>
"That still leaves the matter of the meat, and you can't escape the fact that there was awful waste in that area, whereas Indians generally consumed in one form or another every inch of a buffalo from his ears to the hoofs, including even the male part, from which they boiled up a glue." (pg 325).<br />
<br />
Sometimes the world moves in a direction and no matter what some due, they can't stop the movement of the world. In this case, Jack is assuring future readers that in many instances, the slaughter of the buffalo wasn't done to intentionally harm the natives, but rather, simply to make money.<br />
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If you look at the environment in 2017 and see how laws have been enacted and repealed and worked for and against, the pursuit of profit against the manner in which humans live, like dumping coal ash into rivers, is still debated.<br />
<br />
Elves may love their forests, but people need the wood for fuel, they need it for constructing weapons and buildings. They need the space cleared for crops and grazing. Sorry elves, nothing personal, but you got to go.<br />
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Dwarves? Dwarves in a gold-rich environment? I can't imagine the slaughter that would take place in any fantasy campaign that wanted to throw historical accuracy at it unless the dwarves were able to completely fight off the attackers. Problem is that doesn't count say the numerous horrors for the beneath the earth that the dwarves are usually dealing with.<br />
<h3>
<br />Plot Seeds</h3>
<h4>
Unappreciated Treasures</h4>
<div>
Towards the end of the novel, Custer and his cavalry, are on the move. To ensure that the Calvary stays focused on the mission, Custer hasn't paid the men. Instead, the money is kept separately from them. When Custer and his people are slaughtered, the money blows away in the wind.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes the opponents a group faces, don't have the same values as those they fight. While some of the Indians may have found a use for the money, most were happy to take other sorts of grisly trophies of their victory against Custer.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a fantasy campaign, if dealing with an insect people that have no appreciation of gold, jewelry or man-made weapons and armor, because they craft everything they need from the corpses of their dead using hard chitin weapons and armor, perhaps the players stumble upon a huge treasure that the enemy may not appreciate, but appreciate the presence of the player's even less.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Range Dependent Magics</h4>
<div>
'I was born there, on the Rosebud Creek. Indeed, my medicine works only half-strength when I come below the Shell River." (pg. 220)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Games like Rifts use Ley Lines or 'Dragon Blood' or some manner indicating that a certain part of the earth is rich with magic. Are there specific parts of a campaign setting that are known to be that like? Does victory depend on getting the enemy away from such a land?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the Forgotten Realms for example, after the age old Avatar Crisis, there were wild magic and dead magic zones. Mages wouldn't be caught dead in a dead magic zone if they could help it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Use variances in power level based on location and see how the players can turn it against their opposition.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Reputation</h3>
<div>
'Wild Bill Hickok was never himself a braggart. He didn't have to be. Others did it for him. When I say he was responsible for a ton of crap, I don't mean he ever spoke a word in his own behalf. He never said he put a head on Tom Custer, nor wiped out the McCanles gang, nor would he ever mention them ten shots inside the O. But others would be doing it incessantly, and blowing up the statistics and lengthening the yardage and diminishing the target." (pg. 284)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a game where there are 'wild lands' or sparsely populated areas, 'badlands', a player's reputation can take him far. What's he known for? What's he been seen doing?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A bounty hunter that uses a particular weapon in a particular way may have a greater reputation than another bounty hunter that uses the same weapon ever other hunter uses.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A character that gets lucky in a big brawl or arrives at just the right time may find themselves with a great reputation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The only problem? Wild Bill Hickok had to defend that reputation and in this book at least, his actions come back to haunt him the one time he doesn't sit with his back to the wall. Being known for something, especially something that involves violence, means that there will always be others out there trying to make their own reputation. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Reputation can be public and private. 'Even as a remnant, the Seventh Cavalry lived up to its glorious traditions, linking arms in public while privately slandering one another.' (pg 438)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
An organization may be known for its professionalism and its tactic, but those who know the 'real' organization may have different things to say about it. You often see this with people with terrible secrets. "Oh, Fred? I would never have suspected that he was a cannibal."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Senses</h3>
<div>
'But as we come closer, the marble-white was not clear, but streaked and sometimes drowned in red which the heat turned brown, and the smell was starting up too, attended by millions of flies, and the birds rose in great circles at our approach and coyotes scampered off to a safe range.' (pg. 424)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Berger puts the most obvious sense, sight to good use. But then he goes into smell. And then, the byproducts that often accompany death, the scavengers. If the players come across a slaughtered caravan, do you describe how ripe the smell is? Do you tell them that the ground is sticky with blood? Do you talk about the insect life making it's home in the corpses? The egg laying? The eye feasting? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<h3>
Weird Stuff</h3>
'And then, the summer of '74 billions of grasshoppers descended on the plains in a great blanket stretching from Arkansas to Canada...a Union Pacific train was stalled at Kearney, Nebraska, by a three-foot drift of them insects.' (pg. 338)<br />
<br />
Sometimes something weird happens. Throw it in the campaign.<br />
<br />
Little Big Man is an excellent book for both players and game masters of any genre. Character motivations and adventue seeds aplenty, NPCs and settings call to those who heed this book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=modappn-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0385298293&asins=0385298293&linkId=1f006173f1d309b23b028b4c5b9de3ef&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-69630189217963145292017-05-31T19:09:00.001-05:002017-05-31T19:09:22.045-05:00The Hammer and The Blade by Paul S Kemp<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Hl8tGSUhv9Nc-MdDHUPrQwtOk8FS5uz1ICHGyewQwOmy9jZcoW50dXNTUViyejEfqiamODo4TMkRifXewulmD0xwEJapn5R6ZJTz4wIN1XyNGAItN1f2TdyHOqoq-Hw8AvhPcAzwyzg/s1600/HammernBlade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Hl8tGSUhv9Nc-MdDHUPrQwtOk8FS5uz1ICHGyewQwOmy9jZcoW50dXNTUViyejEfqiamODo4TMkRifXewulmD0xwEJapn5R6ZJTz4wIN1XyNGAItN1f2TdyHOqoq-Hw8AvhPcAzwyzg/s320/HammernBlade.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101964952/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1101964952&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=5a838a8f72bf8f6ed8c54d8b398bb432">The Hammer & The Blade</a><br />
An Egil & Nix Novel<br />
Written by Paul S Kemp<br />
<br />
Paul S. Kemp may be more familiar to fans of the Forgotten Realms through his characters of shade and shadow. Here Paul starts a new chapter in his writing career, one that launches a new world with new characters with some very old themes.<br />
<br />
Cast in a similar vein as the ruin hunting adventures of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345461517/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345461517&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=2e2eaf38e1ef9a5099e88dc4a3f958a8">Conan</a> or <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1497699924/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1497699924&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=0e72526d421b9ae1284cb9b59e40b243">Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser</a>, Nix the Lucky or Nix the Swift, is the companion of Egil of Ebenor. Nix is clearly the 'rogue' of the pair. He does most of the sneaking, is quick, is known for his accuracy with thrown daggers, and like the Mouser is a dabbler in magic thanks to a year in a sorcerer college.<br />
<br />
Egil is a bit different. While you couldn't tell from the cover, he's often described as being so hairy that he's mistaken for a bear or wearing a heavy winter coat in summer. Like having a mustache and beard even. Like having a ringlet around his scalp of hair.<br />
<br />
In terms of being 'of Ebenor', that's the God who is of the Moment. In this case, an entity that was a god for a moment. And while Egil is referred to as a priest throughout the novel, he's not a spellcasting priest. He's a dual hammer wielder. <br />
<br />
The novel starts with the duo doing some tomb raiding and that spirals out into the main body of the story. Paul keeps the cast small and the setting around the cast. He expands upon that setting through the use of historical murals, psychic visions, and playful banter back and forth between the characters.<br />
<br />
Paul's work focuses on the 'adventuring' aspect with tombs to plunder and foes to battle. There's a lot of fighting going on in a setting that has sorcery and magical items but isn't awash in them like say the Forgotten Realms. Paul's descriptions of the numerous fights the duo get in are captivating and move along pulling the reader with them. Many of the foes the duo face, both magical and mundane, are able to be effected by normal steel and the dreaded forces of gravity. This gives it far more of a sword and sorcery pulp action feel than a setting where the main character is disintegrating individuals with power enough to destroy them from the timeline.<br />
<br />
At this point, neither character bears an enchanted or named weapon and their competencies are tested over and over.<br />
<br />
Despite the familiar ground, Paul walks, he brings his own twists to things. For example, the final 'fate' of the villain of the piece? Hinted at earlier but perhaps cruder than we'd have seen during the genre's top popularity.<br />
<br />
If you're a fan of sword & sorcery, of high action, of good guys who aren't necessarily 'good guys', The Hammer and the Blade is a great place to introduce yourself to Nix and Egil.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-62426742454947678742017-05-30T13:41:00.000-05:002017-05-30T13:41:01.751-05:00Crossing the Streams: Civil War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA4iERE_4XtVKrORgZrCBwzsOGTWVhiCoHefm06mnzpeJrDpI33pwdszIizDoF0x-qCSRoX9UgNfv2KywkQY-jDlO5M11mRt0WDF1MAGeMqObEtQ3eMefP8Uw5xfw3ozRAcJoI2vhWgk/s1600/Civil_Wars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="633" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwA4iERE_4XtVKrORgZrCBwzsOGTWVhiCoHefm06mnzpeJrDpI33pwdszIizDoF0x-qCSRoX9UgNfv2KywkQY-jDlO5M11mRt0WDF1MAGeMqObEtQ3eMefP8Uw5xfw3ozRAcJoI2vhWgk/s320/Civil_Wars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
When I talk about stealing ideas from any source, some may seem odder than others. How about Marvel Comic's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078512179X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=078512179X&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=9f1d44c7ffbfaad7cd6180ecedfa1b6f">Civil War</a> for example?<br />
<br />
If you look at the 5th Edition D&D Player's Handbook, you've got the following classes:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Barbarian</li>
<li>Bard</li>
<li>Cleric</li>
<li>Druid</li>
<li>Fighter</li>
<li>Monk</li>
<li>Paladin</li>
<li>Ranger</li>
<li>Rogue</li>
<li>Sorcerer</li>
<li>Warlock</li>
<li>Wizard</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
So how many of those classes cast spells or use some type of magic? How easy would it be to incorporate the idea of 'registration' for anyone who could cast magic? Even if it's just limited to a portion of the setting, it could create complications with most parties.<br />
<br />
Imagine in Waterdeep you are automatically tagged and put into a school and have to work for the city.<br />
<br />
Imagine in Cormyr you HAVE to be in the War Wizards.<br />
<br />
In some ways, the settings often work something similar if at a reduced structure into their settings. But when you push things to an extreme level? They can take on different shades, different meanings.<br />
<br />
It can also provide automatic breaks for the campaign. Imagine that it's not ALL magic using classes, just those that are arcane. All of the sudden you're sorcerer and warlock who didn't have to study for their magic, outside of the usual bits, now have to deal with witch hunters from all over the campaign setting. Now they have to deal with clerical spellcasters armed with dispel magic scrolls and a great knowledge of arcane magic.<br />
<br />
Imagine the competition so fierce that warlock patrons are being killed off in the campaign by the deities of the setting, forcing people who still wish to be spellcasters to turn to deities for their power.<br />
<br />
Pushing the ideas further, imagine groups that were once considered 'good' working on these terms. The 'Harpers' all of the sudden becomes a group that advocates for all mages to be registered and trained specifically so that they don't do any wrongs and that they have to be kept tabs on at all times. They point out the 'rogue' wizards of places like Zhentil Keep and Thay as a perfect reason why these laws must be passed and other countries, like Cormyr, fully agree, on the insistence that while in their country, these wizards work for both the Harpers and the country.<br />
<br />
Still further, and you can see anti-magic zones like those created during the Time of Troubles becoming hot spots where the martial classes would gather to plot their works against the wizards of the world.<br />
<br />
Still further and you can see countries using mage sniffing demons, hounds, or other entities that could sense and eat/countermagic.<br />
<br />
This might lead to mages that don't rely 100% on their magic, mages that are multi-classed or are in hiding by claiming to be clerics or druids.<br />
<br />
Comics can be a fun way to see how plot lines and ideas play out. Don't hesitate to steal from them.<br />
<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-82400897831769299452017-05-29T15:58:00.002-05:002017-05-29T15:58:43.582-05:00Of Truth and Beasts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj0hyphenhyphenTS82_kfoqBGa7E-psofpnckGaO_ycDJSjqXkA-dHyquCkE4RtguOns7S1R55mWzm-P7bx975v39sjzjNhpQQJ58Nr6dURb47MPSEcrg0cSRA7PzZIy-2Tc00nAHXH-FgnI_-uTk/s1600/oftruthandbeasts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="215" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj0hyphenhyphenTS82_kfoqBGa7E-psofpnckGaO_ycDJSjqXkA-dHyquCkE4RtguOns7S1R55mWzm-P7bx975v39sjzjNhpQQJ58Nr6dURb47MPSEcrg0cSRA7PzZIy-2Tc00nAHXH-FgnI_-uTk/s320/oftruthandbeasts.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451464028/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0451464028&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=a0487a59b705357427fd1507e7aaf9e2">Of Truth and Beasts</a><br />
A Novel of the <a href="http://www.nobledead.org/">Noble Dead</a><br />
Written by Barb & J.C. Hendee<br />
Published by Roc<br />
<br />
It's been a long time since I've read the Noble Dead series. Part of that was I don't like Wynn, Chane, and Shade as much as the original trio. They are pale reflections of the unique features that the original trio brought to the series.<br />
<br />
It's not that they don't have their own charm.<br />
<br />
Wynn is a scholar, a sage even, whose motivation in finding things out is to help save the world. In this her guild works against her because there are things that the guild thinks man is not meant to know and so it's a back and forth between her guild and the factions within it, including those that think, due to Wynn's tenacious nature, that she will find a way through to long-forgotten knowledge.<br />
<br />
There's there's Chane. Spoiler alert folks, he's a vampire who was killed early in the series by the former star, M<span style="color: inherit; font-size: inherit;">agiere. She even went so far as to cut his head off. It didn't take but the decapitation left him a nice scar and a raspy voice.</span><br />
<span style="color: inherit; font-size: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: inherit; font-size: inherit;">Oh, and he and Wynn have an '<a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/31424-starlord-peter-quill-gamora-romance-sex-guardians-galaxy">unspoken thing</a>' between them. You know, like Cheers. </span><br />
<span style="color: inherit; font-size: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: inherit; font-size: inherit;">The last of the original trio is Shade, a fey hound of sorts that doesn't speak in words, but rather conveys things through memories. It works well in some points but also limits how the character can be used in terms of interaction with the others. </span><br />
<br />
Having said that, since I haven't read any of the books in a long time, it was a pleasant read focused mainly on exploration and character interaction not only between the new trio, but also Ore Locks, a dwarf seeking redemption for one of his ancestors. Important when that ancestor is known as The Lord of Slaughter and you're not a worshipper of Khrone.<br />
<br />
Part of this back and forth involves trying to get permission to engage in the mission in the first place. The Sages aren't really keen on letting Wynn out of their sight but at the same time, if they banish her or try anything funky, well, there's the vampire dude and the dwarf and the fey dog... so many complications! Better to try and feed her a little information at a time and lead her in the direction they want her to go.<br />
<br />
But Wynn is not one so easily lead and quickly slips the leash taking limited funds and spending them all in an effort to get ahead of her own guild, which to a certain point works.<br />
<br />
The novel includes a few different factions that don't all get equal face time but it does give us a peak into the wraith, Sau'ilahk, a man who served the 'Enemy' because he thought he'd get to be young forever. Nope! Turns out they bound him after a long lived life and took his flesh so he's a formless, shapeless, black cape! He could be a super villain, "Fear the Wraith!"<br />
<br />
He's kind of annoying. When a villain gets a good death scene, go with it. And in the last volume, Sau'ilahk got that death scene. Bringing him back and giving him some more background and motivation works to a point, but it's also a mirror of bringing back Chane in previous volumes. "Kill your darlings" as the old saying goes.<br />
<br />
Having said that, the mix of exploration and character conflict comes to a nice climax in an ancient dwarf hold and the things in that old dwarf hold? Well, let's just say that fans of The Hobbit aren't going to be disappointed. The novel ends with an epilogue that sets up the next series in the Nobel Dead series.<br />
<br />
If you're a fan of fantasy exploration and standard races with a bit of a twist on them, like Ore Locks and how the dwarves in this setting work, you'll enjoy it. If you're looking for high action thought and intense combat scenes like <a href="http://www.gemmellawards.com/">David Gemmell</a> or <a href="http://rasalvatore.com/">R. A. Salvatore </a>or known for bringing to their series? Not so much.<br />
<br />
The Nobel Dead continues to move the plot forward with "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin">the McGuffin</a>" for at least another 'phase (3 even!) of five books so if you like your series long and epic, the Nobel Dead should hold you over.<br />
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</iframe>Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051805076976022521.post-49795830902540604912017-05-22T08:46:00.000-05:002017-05-22T08:46:08.062-05:00Elantris Appendix N Musings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1mSl41-2QFFi9APTnjyTh8yJm4SFVpOdk8F5MZsMS0yJzNb353Zs2VWlZwoQEiY8pKLFHsWGWW-piTkxZMLc6rwrjr1bqgAHevKzHSBmfFkYsUPmoYkOb3cPswaCHF_Lo46os7Pl5Fo/s1600/elantris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1mSl41-2QFFi9APTnjyTh8yJm4SFVpOdk8F5MZsMS0yJzNb353Zs2VWlZwoQEiY8pKLFHsWGWW-piTkxZMLc6rwrjr1bqgAHevKzHSBmfFkYsUPmoYkOb3cPswaCHF_Lo46os7Pl5Fo/s320/elantris.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
When you read a beefy tome like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765350378/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0765350378&linkCode=as2&tag=modappn-20&linkId=6028526ffe4556bf75a1c67a2ebf6948">Elantris</a>, many elements may start to swirl around your brain and demand a place at your gaming table.<br />
<br />
1. Take the most popular city in your setting and destroy it. Forgotten Realms? Waterdeep sent into the plane of Shadow. Eberron? Sharn collapses and is surrounded by a psionic energy barrier that flares with runes similar to the various house marks. Greyhawk? Well, of course, Greyhawk city!<br />
<br />
You can either have it happen right at the start of the campaign or as something that has happened in the recent past. No one knows how or why it happened but it gives the players the chance to explore the ruins of a freshly destroyed city. They can hunt for survivors. They can hunt for lost lore. They can try and return the city to its former glory. The options are almost limitless when you're dealing with a subject as big as a lost city in a magical setting.<br />
<br />
Players may also get caught up in the changes that are wrought by a major city falling. For example, if Waterdeep itself falls, what about the various farms outside of Waterdeep? What about the various towns outside the city? Will they rise and take over the maintenance of the roads leading north? Will they be destroyed by raids from nearby towns looking for plunder?<br />
<br />
What about the political situation? Waterdeep, as a large city, an old city, as a trading city, has many alliances and enemies. Will those in the South use this as an excuse to invade their northern neighbors and become the new "Gateway to the North"? Will those in the north use this as an excuse to start an extermination of evil in order to safeguard their own lands and ensure that the same thing that happened to Waterdeep does not happen to them?<br />
<br />
2. NPC Motivations: Some characters aren't necessarily evil but they have a goal. That goal can range in time and tune with the evolution of the campaign. In Elantris, Roial and Ahan are merchants that compete with one another. Roial always getting the better of Ahan. Under the promise that Roial would be imprisioned, Ahan betrays Roail and their friends. Thing spin rapidly out of that as the one Ahan betrayed the group to decides not to imprison Roail and the others, but to kill them. An event completely against the wishes of Ahan but outside his control once the ball started rolling. Things move as motivation directs them for a character, but when that motivation encounters other character's motivation, it can spin in a completely different fashion.<br />
<br />
Are there secrets that friends of the characters know? Are there things that might make others jealous? Have the players learned something that is of vital consequence to others in the region but they themselves don't see it that way?<br />
<br />
And motivation doesn't have to be used against the players. One of the main characters of Elantris, Hrathen, is the high priest of Fjordell and is in Arelon to convert the people. This is his goal. To convert the people.<br />
<br />
When he learns that his church never had that as an intention, he turns against them. This is the classic case of organized religion versus a man's own interpretation of that religion and the organization fell short.<br />
<br />
3. Secrets. During the course of the novel, prince Raoden uses two different aliases in order to move forward with his own plans. During the course of the novel, we learn that Raoden's father was a member of a cult that engaged in ritual sacrifice. As the novel unfolds, we learn of a hidden cult of killers within the religion that Krathen seeks to bring to the people of Arelon. At the end of the novel, there are still mysteries left to ponder. Keep some things hidden from the characters. Keep enough elements of the campaign that the characters may choose to follow a few of them without ever knowing what the others lead to.<br />
<br />
Now mind you in a multi-year campaign where the players are playing the same characters and growing in tune with the campaign itself, that's a little harder to do but in many campaigns, especially shorter-lived ones, it gives the players something to look forward to the next time they come back to the campaign.<br />
<br />
4. Minor Characters: In a dungeon crawl that's packed with monsters, Non-Player Characters aren't necessarily that important. Oh sure there might be a 'Meepo' in the waiting or something of that nature, but mainly, it's about the crawl.<br />
<br />
In a city-based campaign, in a campaign that interacts with civilization, it's in part about the people. A Game of Thrones, one of the most popular of novel series, has dozens of characters. While Elantris in one book does not boast quite so many, it does have numerous individuals. For example, Sarene is married to Raoden. Raoden and Sarene both have fathers. Sarene also has an uncle. That uncle has children. Some of those children are married. Many of these characters have their own little niches about them.<br />
<br />
The depth and details of the campaign can shine much greater when the players have an actual attachment to the campaign. Some of these can serve as mentors, as friends, as allies, as rivals, as enemies. The amount of swordplay or violence directly in a mirror to what the player's do.<br />
<br />
5. Social Combat: One of the most interesting aspects of Elantris to me, from a gaming point, is the lack of fighting.<br />
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Hrathen vs Sarene: As a high priest, Hrathen is out and about preaching. He is intent on bringing the people into the fold. Sarene has seen the works of the church in other countries, sometimes resulting in bloody revolutions and is determined to stop it. So when Hrathen is out preaching, Sarene is there asking questions that undermine the church.<br />
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Sarene vs King Iadon: The King has no use for women in the court. He feels them useless and out of place among the political games that go on. Sarene is having none of that and at first, plays off as if she were too dumb to understand the problems that Iadon has with her being in the court. She does this once by pretending to paint and claiming it's part of her own courtly duties.<br />
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Raoden vs Sarene: During part of the novel, Raoden is in exile in Elantris and Sarene is bringing food to the people of the city. Raoden is in many ways the default ruler of the city but doesnt' control all of it and seeks to keep things are while at the same time trying to get more supplies to improve the lot of the people of Elantris. This leads to a list of goods needed by Raoden while Sarene not trusting him, provides corrupted versions of them. For example, instead of blocks of iron, bent nails or near transparent sheets of metal.<br />
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The use of social combat and the gaining and losing of status is often underlooked in roleplaying games. Most of the rules in games like Dungeons and Dragons are for spells and combat but social combat can be a little more involved and allows the players to occassionally lose without dying on the spot.<br />
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Are there any other parts of Elantris that you'd bring to your campaign or thought would make for some interesting bits in a game?<br />
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<br />Joe G Kushnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454826299896049587noreply@blogger.com0