The Hammer and The Blade by Paul S Kemp

The Hammer & The Blade
An Egil & Nix Novel
Written by Paul S Kemp

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.

Cast in a similar vein as the ruin hunting adventures of Conan or Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At this point, neither character bears an enchanted or named weapon and their competencies are tested over and over.

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.

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.

The Godborn by Paul S. Kemp

The Godborn
Written by Paul S. Kemp
The Sundering Book II
Dungeons & Dragons
Forgotten Realms

This book has more categories than it knows what to do with. It's Forgotten Realms, it's Dungeons and Dragons, it's the Sundering and it's the continuation of Paul S. Kemp's work of sun and shadow.

Hate to say it, but the initial chapters didn't win me over. It's not that Paul isn't a solid writer, but rather, that he's shackled by the setting. In this case, the 'Sundering'. See, it wasn't enough that the Forgotten Realms in Paul's last book was getting ready to undergo changes, and that oh, it's been about 100 years since the last book, well, 70 at the start, and you know, the whole 4th edition Spellplague and whatnot, but...

As I've gotten older, I've become less a fan of the dreaded 'women in refrigerators'. Paul does that to Vara, the mother of Vasen Cale. Some might argue that it's some weird necessary trial or tribulation but hey, he gets raised by a stepfather of sorts and that character dies off screen.

That's because by the time we're introduced to Vasen, he's thirty years old.

There was absolutely no reason why Vara couldn't have had the same kindly end. When something similar happens, later on, it's enough to get an eye roll from me.

I'm also not a fan of the whole time jump thing. In this book, in many ways,  it's even more obnoxious than in others.

Riven: One of the three who has the divine might of Mask in his shadowy blood. Waiting for Vasen to grow up. Oh, he's undergone many a change in the waiting time mind you and in that aspect, is probably one of the few who has.

Cale: Trapped under ice. In hell. So yeah, not a lot of character development for him eh?

Rivalen: He's one of the other three who has a shard of Mask's divinity. His name is also way too similar to Riven. He's one of Shar's Chosen and has sat for the last one hundred years looking at a tear in reality grow larger. Not a lot of development.

Magadon: The half devil literally spent the entire time in a bar waiting for something to happen. Anyone see a pattern here?

Mephistopheles: Been ducking a call from his boss for the last one hundred years until he could get some more divine energy.

Brennus: Brother of Rivalen, one of the Shadovar. A master of magic, a specialist in divination. He's spent the last one hundred years looking for a way to kill his brother Rivalen.

So all of the main characters from the previous series have been letting moss grow on them.

The new characters, or at least the main ones, keep things moving. Vasen Cale is a paladin, a dawnsword, a man whose spent his life in the shadows of Sembia. He's protected the Oracle his whole life. He's the one with the most seniority.

A strange being, Orsin, a deva, one whose lived many lives, befriends him. The duo makes a solid pairing. Paul has always had a solid grip on making characters move forward and take to the action.

And it's this ability of Paul's to move characters, even characters who've literally been sitting on their backside for one hundred years, to action, that makes this a solid read. One that I finished in a day.

When the pieces all line up, the action happens. There are those who, under the assumption that Mephistopheles is to be trusted in any shape, Zeeahad and Sayeed, two who have been cursed by the Spellplauge, are hunting the son of Cale. Mephisopheles believes that the son has the answers he needs.

In their hunting, we get to see what monstrous characters they are. They make a great evil duo to cast contrast against Orsin and Vasen.

We also have Paul's little nods to repetition that work well, especially when dealing with sayings that the faithful would have. For example, Rivalen notes on many occasions "Your bitterness is sweet to my lady." A great bit acknowledging Shar and her dark desires.

There's also the fact that for all the importance the Sundering is supposed to have, this story, this here very story, is in its own way, far more important. The hole in reality that Shar has started and that is growing, will eclipse all wars. Will eclipse all personal matters. Will devour the world itself and all those who are in it. Against this, the war of the Shades against the Dales, against The Forest Kingdom, those are all petty bit players in the grander scheme of things.

And Paul captures that epicness well.

Paul wraps up his chapter of the Sundering leaving the Forgotten Realms changed and a little more familiar. It allows those who hope to see Cale or who want to see more of his son in future adventures, to have that opportunity. Someday. Maybe. As you know, Wizards of the Coast may in some distant future decide to actually publish more fiction.

I know I've picked on Paul a bit for what I saw as weaknesses in the pulling together of the characters. But honestly, I don't know how much of that was on Paul. When you work in a shared setting, while it's great to have access to long known characters like Shar and Mask, the peril of having to work on 'event' bits like how the last series ended or the very necessity of this book itself, the 'Sundering', show that it has its own perils.

Glad to see that Paul's been doing his own work lately. with Egil and Nix. I've got the first book in my queue and it's just waiting for (more) free time to devour it.

Am I being too hard on the Forgotten Realms? Or the shared setting? Or the whole Spellplague and the whole Sundering? Or were these big events the death knell of the fiction line?

Midnight's Mask: The Erevis Cale Trilogy Book III

I'll be talking about Midnight's Mask and what a Game Master or player might draw from it. One thing to warn of though is that this is a spoiler filled review. Lots of discussion about various parts of the book.

"His girls were gentle creatures- he had no idea why--but he did know that gentleness was not rewarded on the street. He had learned that lesson often in his youth. But somehow his girls had managed to survive without becoming vicious"..."Friends," he said softly, and pondered (p.86-87).

In almost any game and any setting, there will be those players who insist on playing the loner. They will want to be the Wolverine of the X-Men. They will want to be the Punisher of the Marvel Universe. They will want to be the Assassin in the group of paladins. If the players can work among themselves how this will work in the actual game, that's great. The Game Master should try to foster enjoyment of the game for everyone and if one of the players must be the lone one eyed assassin, ask that player why on earth the other characters would travel with them. In some cases, the answer may indeed be as simple as friendship. In long term campaigns, this can be more problematic as opposed to one shot games where the length of the game may determine that a good reason for adventuring once is no longer valid.

"What he saw froze him. His numb hand fell from Jak's shirt....A virtual mountain of flesh was squirming itself loose from the ruble. Cale had never seen a creature so large. He recalled the size of the shadow dragon they had encountered on the Plane of Shadow. This creature was easily several times that size." (p. 224).

One of the great things about games like Dungeons and Dragons, is that the Game Master can throw some larger than live elements into the mix. As a Game Master, not only may you benefit from having a huge library of books, but having a great imagination. When possible, always try to impress upon the players the fantastic of what they are encountering. Always try to keep the wonder alive. Always try to make the players wonder what it is they're encountering. Good description can go a long way in this avenue.

"The slaadi began to change. As before, when Riven had watched the Sojourner transformed them from green slaadi to gray, now they were transforming before his eyes into something even greater." (P. 252)

When playing in a long term game where the players may be meeting the same foes numerous times, try to insure that the enemies don't fall behind them on the power curve. If the players gain numerous new abilities and powers as a result of their adventurers and those long term enemies remain the same strength, the end meeting will result in the quick destruction of the villains.

There will be some stories and some themes where that's perfectly fine. If the party is continously pushing the envelope and the GM is showcasing the bad guys perfectly at contentment with the status quo, then have them remain the same. If the villains were numerous levels ahead of the players, have them stay the same.

But whne the last fight needs to be one where the heavens shake? Make sure that the players know that these foes they face are not the same as they initially encountered. Make sure to showcase the new abilities.

"She's waiting for you. She and your father. Your grandmother too. Even your younger brother Cob. Do you remember him?"

"Remember him? Of Course!" Jak could hardly believe his ears. He had not seen any of these people for years, not since they all had...

Not since they all had died. (p.275)

To all good things an ending. When characters fall and the player wishes to move on, if appropriate and time allows, give that fallen hero a send off. Explain what the afterlife looks like to that character. How does his deity approach him? What is the sky like? How good does it feel?

It's also a good event to use for downtime. Do the other players bury the character? Is there a funeral for the character where NPC's who know him can come and speak? Do the players enact any rituals? Do they enjoy that fallen character's meal as a salute to him? Do they return the items to the character's family? Do they use the items themselves in that character's name? Do they take a page from Yellowjacket and take on the name of the fallen? Do any of the other characters take on new traits?

"Men always ask why, as if there must be some overarching reason for events. Not this time, priest. There is no such reason. Thousands will die to satisfy my whim." (p. 295)

In three books, the main character has hunted down a wizard of immense power who put into play an event to change the face of the setting. The wizard did this because it reminded him of a childhood memory and he wanted to experience that event again under his own power. In doing so, many died. There was nothing personal to the wizard in regards to the hero. What if the characters in the game aren't even on the radar of the main bad guy as nothing more than an obstacle to a desire that in essence, makes no sense to anyone outside of the villain? It's not the accumulation of further arcane power. It's not the creation of a new empire. It's not the birth of a new monster. It's something the NPC does simply for the sake of doing it that makes sense in the context of the NPC's background. If the Game Master can bring that type of indifference to the main villain and at the same time, make it personal to the players, he will have created a villain that players will talk of for months to come.

There are other bits in the book that could be used as a reminder to a Game Master. For example, that massive beast that Cale sees? They don't fight it. A good example of there always being something bigger than yourself. In that same sequence there is some action on the magical plane that doesn't take effect in this book, but is strongly hinted at having greater repercussions. If the Game Master can sow the seeds of future events, especially off of things that the players are currently doing, it's all the better. The players will see that their actions have a direct impact on the world and at the same time, provide the game with some focus that can take the campaign in directions the Game Master never would have thought of.