Wulf the Saxon by G. A. Henty

Wulf the Saxon
A Story of Norman Conquest
Written by G. A. Henty
$6.99 Paperback

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.

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 My cover is so out of date that I couldn't find the right image to put up on my blog so I had to scan it.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 G. A. Henty 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.

It's the story of 1066 and the battle of Hastings as told through the eyes of Wulf the Saxon.

There are a few bits readers should draw out for their own games:

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 300, there is a scene where the Persian Fleet is destroyed.

Don't be afraid to showcase how wild, powerful, unpredictable and uncontrollable elements are outside of the characters and even their patrons.

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.

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.

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.

5. Hostages: George R. R. Martin's fantasy series, A Game of Thrones, 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.

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 Elric of Melnibone for example. Instead of 'of XXX,' sometimes it's a descriptor, Conan the Cimmerian.

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.

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.

Names can denote heritage such as Harkon the Son of Sweyn.

Names can also be of the House. For example, the House of Leofric. The House of Jor-El.

A character's name can say a lot about him without the character ever saying anything. Use it wisely.

The Abbot's Gibbet by Michael Jecks

The Abbot's Gibbet
Written by Michael Jecks
A Medieval West Country Mystery
A Knight's Templar Mystery

Michael Jecks continues the tale of former knight templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill and his ally and friend Simon Puttock in the fifth novel in the series.

The mystery around this time starts off with a headless corpse. In an era where modern forensics are unknown, to have a corpse with no head leads to difficulties beyond the standard whodunit mysteries.

Setting the murder during the fair of the 'dock' city of Tavistock, makes things more difficult. Michael Jecks initially hits us with so many characters, that the names and descriptions come fast and furious. It takes a while before we even get to Sir Baldwin and Simon!

As with other books in the series, Michael's enjoyment of the era comes through. This isn't blind devotion or thinking it a superior in terms of moral authority, but a knowledge of how things work. Take the title of the book itself, The Abbot's Gibbet. Sir Baldwin's order, the Templars, did not fare well under the agents of Gods mercies. When Sir Baldwin looks at that, the ultimate sign of authority over life and death, he is not a man pleased with his place in the world.

It does serve to steel his spine and ensure that he always works towards providing the justice he feels his brothers in the templars were denied.

Michael continues to expand the setting. This novel introduces us to Lady Jeanne, a widower who benefits from the generosity of the Abbot. Sir Baldwin, who is a single man of no small years, is smitten with her and her presence is hinted at being continued strongly through their courtship in the novel.

There are enough characters and possible motivations and possible rationales and red herrings, that if you catch the villain before the end piece, I salute you. Mind you, this is somewhat deliberately obstruction in some instances as bread crumbs leading in very specific directions are laid before pulled back. Too much of that can ruin a story but as more information comes to light, nothing from before is invalidated.

For me, it's enjoyable to read these books because it's fun to see where the characters are going. Who the characters are interacting with. How the setting itself as it involves the characters, is getting larger and more involved.

If you're interested in history or more information on Michael Jecks, check out his youtube channel.

Sword of State by Nigel Tranter

Sword of State
Written by Nigel Tranter
336 Pages

I'd never heard of Nigel Tranter before picking up Sword of State. It was one of my finds on the good old $1 rack in Half Price Books in Skokie.

I'm a sucker for historical fiction.

But it's really not historical fiction. It's like a history book that wants to be a fiction book.

Dialog? Minimal.

Story elements or descriptions of the times? Minimal.

Recording the events of the time as they happened? Dead on.

Not everyone has the ability of say Bernard Cornwell to put historical fiction into a rousing tale.

If you want a play by play of events as they happened, though, Sword of State is $3.99 on the kindle format right now, and even more affordable in hardcover format as it's well out of print and not rare.

Having said that, it's time to think how this could be useful for running a campaign.

Character Build. One problem I see in a lot of players is that they make their characters to be these weird self-sufficient bits that have no hooks into the campaign setting. This doesn't matter if it's a super hero setting or a fantasy setting. So many dark wolf loners that don't care about anything but vengeance.

That can be boring in that it doesn't lend itself to a campaign contribution.

What do I mean? Let's look at Patrick here.

Patrick has a father, Cospatrick. There can be only one Cospatrick at a time as a matter of tradition and culture. When Cospatrick dies, Patrick will take that mantle. This little bit of tradition is something that adds to the campaign.

There are things that happen in the setting that revolves around family.

For example, marriage.

And here's the thing, the marriage itself doesn't have to be between player characters, it can be NPC's in the background. The important thing is that it's creating a social event. This creates a gathering of characters around the event.

If it follows the ways of comics, this could be one of those times when the bad guys come around and aren't vile miscreants, but it could just as easily be a time when the villains think it's the perfect time to strike.

In a fantasy setting, the same is true. Perhaps the players need an introduction to some figure but don't have the social status to just up and approach them. Going to a wedding and doing so there could be a great time to make an impression.

Outside of marriage, we have children.

Again, in super hero comics, there are often quests to save the poor mother to be such as when Reed Richards has to delve into the Negative Zone to find a cure for his wife's ailment.

But it's also a great time to throw another social event. It's a time when rulers may provide gifts of land. It's a time when people who may be estranged come together for the sake of the children. Perhaps the characters have parents who never visit, but now with the birth of a granddaughter, they do!

And lastly, when it comes to family, there is death.

This is another social event. Depending on the nature of who died, it may be made a social holiday. It may be a time of celebration. It may be a time of celebration for some and mourning for others. Few men die perfect world round.

Even those who history tends to treat kindly such as Winston Churchill may not be fondly remembered by say, families of the French Navy.

But what else can be brought out into gaming from Sword of State?

Hunting!

In the manga Berserk, it uses the social event of hunting to great effect to allow the Band of the Hawk the seeming appearnace of saving the Princess Charlotte from assassination.

In George R. R. Martin's modern fantasy classic, A Game of Thrones, it is an off stage hunting accident that brings war to the kingdoms.

Hunting can have a social part and a combat encounter part.

Are the characters there to meet new individuals or to prove themselves?

Are the characters there as body guards?

Another element that can be brought into the campaign is that of trade.

There is a market crash of Scotland Wool that Patrick has to investigate. If this were told as it's own story, the levels of intrigue and corruption could be a book in and of itself.

Nigel Tranter treats it as "X happened, Y happened, Z happened."

But even in that, Patrick goes to find out why the price has dropped. He offers new ways of sorting out the costs, noting that not every country wool prices have fallen, he goes on to explore new markets for the wool and finds that other products, such as salted meat and stone, may be highly desirable in those other markets as well.

In a traditional campaign, the mere act of questioning why the wool was cheaper might have brought individuals out of the shadows who were seeking to create a monopoly on the product.

It might have brought out bribes and attempts at blackmail.

And that sounds crazy over wool, but man, in the real world we've seen some strange stuff involving what people want to control and regulate so no, it's not that off the wall.

I give Nigel Tranter kudos for his research into this era and the inspiration it brings forth when thinking of how these things can be taken for anyone's campaign. For those who've read other Tranter novels, are particular recommendations? I see he has a huge catalog and while I'm not impressed with his style, his substance is strong.

Gates of Fire

Gates of Fire
Written by Steven Pressfield
Historical Fiction

Steven Pressfield was known to me for his non-fiction book, "Do The Work". It's a sequl of sorts to his other non-fiction book, "The War of Art." The former was good if a bit short, the later I've not read.

The story behind Gates of Fire is well known to most modern audiences. Frank Miller put forth a frentic energized version in his graphic novel "300" which was later turned into a movie.



Note, this was not the first movie to capture the tale of the 300. The 300 Spartans was out well before Frank took his interpetation.

Steven Pressfield's book Gates of Fire isn't a frenzied tale of blood soaked madness in rapid fire. It's an unwinding tale told by a survivor of the original battle at the  Gates, one who is captured by the Persians and feels compeled by Apollo to tell his tale. It winds in and out of different time periods providing the reader with a great scope of the region than 300 dudes going to a blood soaked pass to fight.

It's well told and flows smoothly. The narroator brings us around various cities and regiions while providing his own history which is filled with tragedy of the times. I'd trust Steve Pressfield's descriptions of the Spartans having actual armor and a variety of methodologies over Frank Miller's warrior nudists.

Another benefit of a tale told longer, is there are more characters with their own stories prior to getting to the Gates. This allows the reader to see the daily lives of both those who life and breath the Spartan way, and those like the narrator who while a Freeman, are not of the caste but serve under it willingly as this allows them to serve under the best.

One of the nifty things that Steven Pressfield's book brings to the table, are nicknames. For example, we get "Suicide", a warrior who fights alongside the Spartans and rushes into battle eager to die and yet never does. We get "Rooster", a short onery fellow who hates the Spartan's despite his father being one as he identifies with his mother's people. Yet it is Rooster who provides opportunities to the Spartan's that they would not have had without him.

Gates of Fire is tale of the military at it's core. The strengths necessary to fight off "this factory of fear" as some of the Spartans refer to their flesh. To love their brothers enough, to love their cities enough, to love their civilization enough, to fight not to win necessarily, but to provide courage and inspiration to those that will come after them.

The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford

The Ten Thousand

A Novel of Ancient Greece

Written by Michael Curtis Ford

The cover boldly proclaims “In the ancient world, one army was feared above all others…” With such a proud figure on the cover and such loud proclamations, I gladly picked up The Ten Thousand. I was fortunate in that the cover notes that this is a worthy successor to Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, which I also managed to snag. Each book bought for a mere $1 apace.

The Ten Thousand is not filled with battle upon battle. Rather it is a well written novel of how Xenophon became a leader of the Ten Thousand, Greek Mercenaries who in this case, lost their patron half way across the world, and how Xenophon had to lead them back to safety.

The writing is highly descriptive without being overly boring. Michael Curtis Ford brings even small characters to mind with a few well placed bits, such as telling an old story that even modern readers should be familiar with. There were several sequences I initially though he was babbling, wasting pages, but they come back to fruition later on in the novel, one of the earliest sequences I thought fascinating but wasteful, nearly at the very end of the novel itself.

In short, if you want to read a historical novel of Ancient Greece, a well written, well researched novel, one based on the book Anabasis, then The Ten Thousand is a fantastic way to spend a few evenings.

For role players though, what can be gleaned?

1.       The environment must play a part in your campaigns. The initial trek to met with destiny takes the Ten Thousand away from their familiar coastal areas and through harsh desert terrain. Have you ever wanted to actually use your desert sourced theme books? Do so. On the way back from crushing defeat, the army moves through blinding, killing, snow. Want to use those winter themed books? Do so. The world is small enough that ever environment should play it’s role in your campaign.

2.       Start After a Loss: The book really picks up pace after the army that the Ten Thousand are but a small part of, meets disaster. That’s when the heroes of the book must come together and fight as one. This can be done at any level but you have to be willing to start with loss. The caravan is overrun. Waterdeep is destroyed. The Prime Material Plane is vaporized. The city of Sigil falls into the Abyss. After opening with such a crushing defeat, the players should be motivated to do what they do best!

3.       Historical Context Builds Culture: “Some three hundred years earlier, Sardis, even than a great city, had been overwhelmed by hordes of pale-skinned barbarians who had swept down from the north in endless numbers like packs of ravenous wolves, devouring all its riches and mingling their wild barbarian blood with that of the refined and delicate natives. It was said that so many men and women were killed during the barbarians brutal sweep through the city that when the carnage was over, thousands of children were left wandering the streets, homeless and wailing. The offspring of royalty mingled with those of the lowest cowherds, and the children’s identities were obliterated through the effacement of their outward customs and manners as they scrounged for scraps in the gutters. It was finally decided that no one could determine their origins with certainty, for every child claimed to have been sired by the king, and so they were simply lined up in the market like so much chattel and auctioned to the highest bidder, as slaves of the barbarians or for adoption by surviving Sardesian adults. Since that time, each baby has been imprinted with a tiny, discreet tattoo shortly after birth, usually along the hairline on the nape of the neck, depicting an identifiable family symbol such as an animal or a letter.” A few sentences of background and you’ve got a cultural bit that almost instantly identifies people from Sardis. Great stuff.

4.       Unique Characters: Description can be a boring and tedious thing but making sure that the players remember the main attractions of the event is important! “Clearchus was as terrifying an individual as Proxenus had led us to believe, and worse. His face was so homely and pockmarked as to be almost comical, but he had an evil, jagged scar running halfway down the side of his temple, which he was constantly picking at, keeping it inflamed, perhaps intentionally, for effect. His beard was so ragged and lice-infested as to raise eyebrows even for a Spartan, and he never smiled – in fact, he hardly talked except to cuss out his men, and could barely chew for the rotten blackness of his teeth.”

If you’re looking for inspiration, The Ten Thousand deals it out chapter after chapter.

The Eagles' Brood

The Eagles' Brood
Written by Jack Whyte
Book 3 of the Camulod Chronicles
Price: $25.99 ($16.04 at Amazon)
Historical Fiction/Fantasy (Arthurian)
Pages: 623 (mass paperback)

The Eagle's Brood is Book Three in the Camulod Chronicles. The series reimagines the Arthurian mythos from well before King Arthur's time, indeed, even before Uther's time. The chronicle is focused in a historical manner with a few nods to things that 'could' be interpreted as 'magic' or 'mysticism' but happen all the time such as deja vu.

Because Jack Whyte is always moving the series forward, The Eagles' Brood introduces a new point of view character and it is no less than Caius Merlyn Britannicus or simply Merlyn. This version of Merlyn is unlike any I can actively recall. He's no seer. No prophet. No magi-. No wild druid.

This Caius Merlyn Britannicus is a soldier, a leader, and a strategist. In this, he is joined by his cousin, Uther Pendragon. The two are the heirs of the growing colony, Camulod. They strive to keep all that is best from the old Roman Republic alive while adapting to their homeland.

As they do this, they find enemies about them including Lot, a king to the south whose ambitions include taking over Camulod and indeed, all lands.

Jack Whyte does a fantastic job of detailing out the ruin of the island as more and more traces of civilization fade. Without roads and with what crumbling infrastructure remains falling under constant attack by Saxon raids, civilization itself, or at least civilization in the cities, begins to fall apart.

Even as that happens, Uther and others craft and create their own weapons. Uther discovers stirrups for riding a horse. As I've read a few stories dealing with the Arthurian mythos, this bit struck in in particular until I did some cross references. Ben Bova did something similar with Orion, a time traveller who also helped King Arthur.



Uther on the other hand, invents the flail. This turns out to be a widely used killing weapon capable of smashing skulls and destroying breastplates as if they weren't there. The early day weapons and revisions to counter the new weapons plays out well in the novel.

This first person telling of Arthurian myth in a historical fashion is different than say, Bernard Cornwell and his own first person telling in the Warlord Chronicles.



For me, the Warlord Chronicles was all about the strategy. All about the terror and exultation of being in the shield wall.

And it's not that Jack Whyte doesn't have several combat scenes within his tale, but rather, they serve to move the story forward to the next character moments. The characters and their fates are what keeps the series moving forward.

I was a little worried by book two what I took as numerous useless passages but here the story movies quick and the character beats are solid. At the end I was left wanting to pick up the next chronicle ot find out "what happens now!".

If you're looking for an Arthurian version that tries to stick with the historical as opposed to the fantastic, The Eagles' Brood should be on your reading list.

The Singing Sword by Jack Whyte (Appendix N Edition)

The Singing Sword
Written by Jack Whyte
Published by Tor
$17.99 paperback ($12.93 Amazon)
560 pages (mass market paperback version)

When looking at things to take as inspiration from a novel, sometimes there are things we already know. Thing's we've already used. But things we haven't used in a long time. Game 'tricks' and 'tips' are like a muscle, when a specific technique isn't used in a while, it fades.

With that in mind:

Letters: Caius Britannicus son is a military son whose off fighting in various parts of the world. He writers his father several times. This allows the reader to get a taste of who leaders are in different parts of the world, what actions of importance are happening, and acts as potential foreshadowing to things that may happens in Caius' part of the world.

When looking at your own game, do the characters know people from other parts of the world that would think enough of them to send them letters? Many games, like Call of Cthulhu, make extensive use of the written word to relay vital information to the players. The author K. J. Parker makes good use of letters as communication in his novel, The Folding Knife.

But how can you use it in a game like Dungeons and Dragons say?

Look at it from a traditional class perspective:

Warriors: Those who are in a guild, might tell the players of new enemies that they have fought. They might send word of new weapons they have discovered. They might talk of new fortresses being built. 

Clerics: Might make mention old religious icons or texts found. Might mention the rise of an opposing religion. Might mention a prophet of their own religion that has been seen all about the world and tell the players to keep an eye out for him.

Wizards: Might speak of planar disruptions. Might talk about new spells that have been discovered. If the players are very friendly, might even include new spells. Not every spell needs to be torn from a crypt and if the players have invested the time and energy to cultivate good relations with others, those relations should also have a pay out.

Rogues: Might relate if a guild war has broken out. Might speak of a new "sheriff" in town. Might speak of a wagon full of riches that are moving into the player's area and the rogues will share this information... for a price!

Historians: Not all "classes" need to of an adventuring type. The players are often looking for lost legends and lore and historians can provide that. Try to give each historian it's own feel and flavor to insure that the characters can tell them apart in letters. Maybe one always sends missives that are stained with mustard and foodstuffs while another sends only immaculately clean and pressed letters with perfect writing.

Military: I've mentioned the military before because as an organization, it has a lot of utility. But one theme I failed to mention, is stuck behind enemy lines.

Being stuck behind enemy lines is a trope It's such a trope, that there are actually movies with it as the title. 



But there are all manner of scenarios to think about. There's the short term stuck behind enemy lines where the players have to fight their way out.

There's the short term where they have to sneak their way out.

But what about the long term? What if the players are part of a military group on an island where the natives destroy the military encampments and burn the boats and it's going to take at least a year for the player's reinforcements to get there?

What happens when the player's "friendly" alliance shows up? With they think the players have gotten too chummy with the natives? Will the players have to fight former friends and allies? 

The Singing Sword is filled with great ideas ranging from "The Lady of the Lack" being an ingot of Skystone metal that "gives" the sword Excalibur to the forging of bloodlines to save the ideas of civilization itself. 

The Singing Sword by Jack Whyte

The Singing Sword
Written by Jack Whyte
Published by Tor
$17.99 paperback ($12.93 Amazon)
560 pages (mass market paperback version)

The Singing Sword is book two in the Camulod  Chronicles, following immediately after the events of The Skystone. Told in first person by Pubius Varrus who with his good friend and brother in law, Caius Britannicus, the duo continue to advance their dream of creating "The Colony" which will retain the best and truest essence of all that was good of Rome, even as Rome continues its slow slide into oblivion.

The biggest problem with the Singing Sword is Jack's editor. There are whole swathes of the book that could have been cut with little effect to the flow or function of the remainder of the story. Pages are spent on Pubius' lust for a woman who torments him with her "wicked ways" that leads into a bit where the Colony then decides they must deliberately strive for greater community. The whole striving for greater community could have been handled without the whole "torment" section.

Jack Whyte could have taken those pages to discuss how the Colony fared when their stores were burned by someone seeking vengeance against them for example.

When looking at most modern movies, the "main" bad guy shows up in one movie. This is usually because once that villain is introduced and his role done, he's no longer needed. Another villain can be brought in. Sadly, Jack no new menace here. Instead Jack brings back the villain from last book without change. As that villain came from a huge family, the author could have introduced a relative of said villain, a relative, whose whole family already hates Britannicus as established in the previous book. A feud going back generations even.

The good new is that Jack's writing is easy to power through in situation that might not be of interest to the reader. The first person narration allows the action to move quickly and after a few eye rolling incidents, I found things progressing in the actual story and plot.

Pubius and his people strive to usher in the future age of Arthur. They are allies of the Celts and marriages take place that strength the bonds of the former Romans, now calling themselves Britons, and the Celts. The Empire of Rome continues its crumbling. The Celts are slowly, very slowly, starting to use yew longbows of great pull, a direct nod to the future importance of the longbow to Britain.

The nature of warfare begins to change. Caius instructs Pubius and his allies to adopt to it by breeding horses, stronger, heavier, capable of carrying more weight. This is paving the way for the era of the mounted horseman and his specialized weapons.

These parts are well told fit in well with the epic feel that is proper for a "Camelot" chronicle.

If you're a fan of the myths of King Arthur and want to see Jack's ideas of what the "Lady of the Lake" and how Excalibur itself is forged, The Singing Sword is solid. Just be prepared to plow through some of the dross to get to the gold.

The Skystone by Jack Whyte: Appendix N Edition

The SkyStone

Book One in the Camulod Chronicles

Written by Jack Whyte

Historical Fiction

I’ve already done my book review of the SkyStone, so now I’m going to talk about what I would think about in my own campaigns in relation to the book itself. Note this will include spoilers in the book.

1.       The Military: The viewpoint character, Publius Varrus, is former military. While he didn’t take an “arrow to the knee” as so popular in internet memes, he did suffer a wound that left him with a limp and unfit for military service.

But his time in the military did provide him with skills. It did provide him with access to a powerful organization. It did provide him with numerous contacts and friends.

When looking at your own campaigns, what role is the military playing in your campaign? Is it active? Is it at peak efficiency? Do they have new technologies? Are they known for their discipline? Are they known for a certain weapon style or fighting style?

Whose in the military? Varrus’ best friend, Caius Britannicus, is the soldier’s soldier in that there is nothing he asks of his men that he himself does not know how to do. When looking at your version of the military, whose running it? Are all branches run the same?

2.       Two Sides: In the SkyStone, Rome is at a dangerous time. There are those like Caius who represented what is finest in Rome. There are those who represent what Rome is now. Rome is seen by many as a parasite, a country unable to feed itself so it keeps conquest high on its list of priorities. The people suffer but the elite are wealthy beyond measure. Corruption runs rampant but in the “country” like say, Britain, life is cleaner somehow.

When looking at your own settings, are there places that have two sides to them? Most fantasy cities have a wealthy section and a poverty stricken section. This includes fantasy cities like Waterdeep as well as Mithril, the City of the Golem, from the Scarred Lands campaign. In the latter, Mithril, the city is run by paladins. They cannot eliminate poverty. There are paladins who are so involved in their “holy” and “righteous” aspects, that they  consider themselves above things in the lower wards.

3.       Trade: Towards the end of the Skystone, a wealthy duo find that they are finished not because of anything they have done wrong, but because the country is unable to safeguard the waterways. All of their ships suffer raids and capture from pirates. The land routes don’t fare much better.

While not often touched on in most campaigns, trade is an artery of the world. Without trade, how do things get done? Does famine happen? Do certain types of weapons go out of style as the expertise to make them is no longer known?

If you’re trying to incorporate such elements, have the players enjoy something from outside of the normal reach. It could be an exotic fruit at the market. “Ah, these mangos sure do hit the spot eh?”

And then as the campaign moves on, those mangos are nowhere to be found.

Now players being players, hey, they’ll often try to jump right in and fix things. And if you want to run your campaign around the characters selling their services as  caravan guards or military strength on boat escort duty, there have been many adventurers that start that way.

It gives the Game Master a great opportunity to create characters. For example, maybe someone on the  caravan is a traitor? They’ve already sold out the location and known stops of the caravan. Perhaps one of the player’s lost his character in a previous fight and this allows the Game Master to easily allow a new character from a variety of sources.

4.       Making Your Own Legends: While Excalibur is not forged in the SkyStone, the hunt for the SkyStone itself takes place over the course of years. Given that the next book is the Singing Sword, one can only imagine that the main character, Varrus, is going to forge Excalibur in that book.

One of the fun things about the old Forgotten Realms novel, The Crystal Shard, is that the dwarf fighter in the book, makes a magical hammer, Aegis Fang, that he gives to Wulfgar as a token of his respect and fatherly love.

Often players and non-player characters move around the game board hunting down old items. Centuries old, millennia old, eons old. So ancient it came from  beyond the creation of the universe.

Don’t hesitate to allow the players to make their mark on the campaign in other ways. Having them make a brand new item with it’s own legends and lore, the gathering of the components, the gathering of the knowledge required to forge the item, the places that have to be visited, the people that must be spoken to, those things can add a lot of depth to a campaign and in the end, give it a new legend that future players and characters will come to know as opposed to “hunt down this 10,000 year old sword.”

The SkyStone is brimming with ideas if you want to apply them to your own  campaign.

The Skystone By Jack Whyte (Book Review Edition)

The Skystone

Written by Jack Whyte

Book One in the Camulod Chronicles

Still experimenting with format of these blog posts. Trying to keep the reviews separate from thoughts on how I’d use the material in a game. Any opinions on that? Keep them separate? Bring them back together?

The King Arthur mythology is well tended. It’s had numerous books, comics, and even movies done about it. Some of these are classic. For example, Excalibur with a young Patrick Steward and a fantastic soundtrack.

Despite the age of the myths, despite numerous classic books like the Quest for the Holy Grail and modern books, such as Bernard Cornwell's own fist person telling through the Warlord Chronicles, there’s still room for others to plant their vision.

In the Skystone, the first book of the Camulod Chronicles, we’re introduced Pubius Varrus. He is our first person narrator for the tale of the Skystone. 

Varrus is a bit of a Mary Sue. He does face adversity. He does face loss. But when the chips are done, he always comes through smelling of a rose. 

He often finds himself in situations where no, he should be dead, but nonetheless, comes out on top. As a main character though, his flaws, such as his injured leg, help make up for the overwhelming good fortune he has.

Unlike some books on Arthur, this one takes place well before Arthur, or even Uther is introduced to the reader. This is a tale that takes place when Britain is a land still under the control of the Roman Empire but that control, over a number of years, slips and begins to vanish away.

Jack Whyte takes his time in the slow descent of Rome. It doesn’t happen overnight. There are signs and portents of it everywhere. Some people looking at things in America now might draw some parallels to how things work in Jack’s Rome. For example, discipline in the Roman army is down. They used to dig trenches prior to setting up for an overnight stay on the road for defensibility purposes.

That in and of itself may seem small, but coup it with soldiers not being treated right by Rome in the first place. In tandem with the Roman empire accepting people of various nationalities that aren’t Roman but who leave after service, bringing those skill sets with them. When people in other countries have been under assault for years by the Empire, their children killed, their resources drained. There are some parallels if one chooses to look for them with modern America.

By the end of the tale, Varrus and his good friend Caius Britannicus, have started to forge their own colony for the former Romans who are of long standing British birth. They have their own plan and their own method.

And more importantly, they have access to the fabled Skystone!

Jack Whyte puts a little too much description and detail into his writing but the good news is that it flows quickly. In terms of writing style, it’s not an “as it happens” 1^st person. It’s an “as it happened” first person. The author is alive and well. We might fear something bad is going to happen to Varrus, but we know he’s not going to die. An editor who wanted to reduce this novel could probably have lopped out 50 pages without doing it any harm as it would still weigh in over 400 pages.

With such rich details and interesting characters, Jack Whyte has hooked me for at least the next two books as I already own the third and will shortly hunt down the second.