I am about half-way through Jim Butcher's (that's jimbutcher) First Lord's Fury, which is I believe the last book in his Codex Alera series.

I resisted reading the CA for awhile, since the "pimpery" in the endpages of some of the Dresden Files books rubbed me the wrong way. Becuase I'm an often contrary cuss.

This was a mistake. Codex Alera is really, really good. And FLF is the best so far: apocalypse and awesome. (For more on awesome, see below.)

Last night, after I set down the book to prep something to eat, I had a Dresden-relevant thought:

1. The DF series ends with a capstone trilogy that will, in all likelihood, be a big ol' apocalypse.

2. FLF is, as noted above, rockin' the house.

3. FLF is Jim practicing for the capstone DF trilogy.

(And an associated 4., Jim's setting the bar for himself pretty high, if #3 is true.)

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Now, onto the awesome.

Four of my favorite current authors are Jim Butcher, Steve Brust (lj user="skzbrust">), Scott Lynch (scott_lynch), and Arturo Perez-Reverte -- who are all writing long series that fantastically hit my joy, whose volumes I snap up as soon as possible, and read as only an obsessive can.

In cogitating about Dresden Files/Codex, Vlad Taltos/Khaavren Romances, the Gentleman Bastards Sequence, and the Captain Alatriste books, I have learned some lessons for my own fiction writing (which I hope to resume Real Soon Now, after current projects are cleared off the sched):

A. Bring the awesome -- both awesome-good (badass moments; best thing that could happen) and awesome-bad (badass moments; worst thing that could happen).

B. Increment awesome dial +1.

C. Goto A.

That's a little flip, but not untrue.

In comparing and contrasting with the last several stories I've tried to write, I've discovered one of my particular problems: I am not starting the awesome dial at 0 or 1 -- I'm starting it, at minimum, around 8.

Even if this one goes to 11, there's not much room to grow... which is why most of my fiction writing efforts peter out after 2 to 4 chapters.

(headdesk)

So thank you, Gentleman (Author) Bastards, for the lesson.

Tags: 240 dollars worth of puddin', books, dresden, improvement, sf&f, writing

Well, November is packed with (writing/editing) work:

* Freelance editing project, at my day-job rate.
* Starting DFRPG edit work Real Soon Now. [1]
* Working on STotC at odd moments. [2]
* UA PDF project progressing. [3]
* Day-job editing of many, many 2 yr old DOCs.
* Once again, pondering Hyperworld. [4]

I think that this weekend is the last anyone will see me in a social context until December.

NOTES:
[1] That would be the Dresden Files RPG.
[2] That would be the Strange Tales of the Century sourcebook.
[3] That would be the Thin Black Line, the Order of Saint Cecil sourcebook.
[4] That would be the revisiting of my "Hyperworld vs. the Invadroids" CiaB. . . and a backdoor new edition of T&J under the PDQ# rubric.

Tags: asmp, ciab, day-job, dresden, evilhat, gah, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, s7s, silly, truth-and-justice, unknown armies, work journal, writing

In the wake of the multi-year "mostly dead" status of Pen & Paper, and the looming demise of Geocities (where my other publications credits are listed), I have begun to try and assemble a decent CV of my work in the gaming industry over the past few days.

It's harder than I thought it would be (especially for an egotist like me!)... apparently I did not keep adequate track of ALL of the work or award nominations I received.

Still, I can say, with some assurance that, since 1998, I have worked on...

20 RPG books

and wrote

50 articles or columns.

. . .

Whoa.

Still assembling data; will let you all know when the credits page on the ASMP site goes live.

Tags: asmp, books, ciab, dead inside, dresden, evilhat, freelance, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, mnpr-rpg, pdq, s7s, spirit-of-the-season, truth-and-justice, work journal, writing, zoz

One of my greatest regrets is never meeting John M. Ford in the flesh.

One of my greatest blessings is to have interacted, oft-times regularly, with John M. Ford on the Pyramid messageboards and in email.


God grant I am half the writer Mike was, and I will be happy.

Tags: covet, fact, gah, gaming, improvement, mental health, mumbo jumbo, sf&f, writing, wtf?

Master Plan #48: Chad Underkoffler on Setting Design, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies

On this episode, Ryan sits down with Chad Underkoffler about designing setting (and, in some respects, writing in general) with his latest release, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. They touch on how the setting for this setting-rich book was conceived, fleshed out, and trimmed down to aim the right information at the play group. Afterward, Ryan tells you to check out Paul Tevis' A Penny For My Thoughts, because he's frankly damned proud of the work and thinks it makes for a great case study for one school of thought in design.

Direct download at http://media.libsyn.com/media/masterplan/masterplan_48.mp3

(Taste the Macklin!)

Tags: 240 dollars worth of puddin', asmp, evilhat, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, philosophy, podcast, s7s, vitamin u, writing

Download the S7S Errata Sheet PDF!

Despite demiurgent, drivingblind, and myself poring over the S7S manuscript for weeks (if not months), a bunch of errata crept into the hardcover version. Mostly little, irritating ones.

I suspect a good chunk of these are due to MS Word trying to "help" me, with another chunk due to disconnect between my headguts and phalanges, and the final chunk just sloppiness on my part. (Mea culpa; bygones.)

The upshot is that the majority of the errors are typos, "spell-os", and punctuation problems. However, there are four errors that have mechanical impacts; on the Errata Sheet, they are bolded.

Quick Thumbnail Summaries for those four here:
1. All koldun can hex; no specific Technique required.
2. In Vehicle Combat, the character Showing Some Flair gets the die, not the Captain.
3. Vexing Misfortune is an instant 3 Style Dice, not 2d6.
4. A Minion Squad of 6 Pirates uses 6d6, not 4d6.

On the whole, I feel pretty good that there are only 4 mechanical errors in a 320+ page book. (That's like 1.25%... not bad. Probably a better score than my other books.)

An interesting thing arising from the partnership with Fred on this book is that the subject line -- "No Book Goes to Press Perfect" -- has been a repeated phrase from him to me. And a learning curve for me.

I am somewhat of a perfectionist (some say "prima donna") about my work: i want it to be as Quality (in a Pirsig sense) as possible. I tweak and twist and sand and adjust and fiddle, around and around, slowly making infinitesimal alterations as I go madder and madder. Given the exceptionally long development period of S7S, you can probably guess that by the end of December, I was crazier than a snake at a shoe convention.

One of the great things about working with Fred over these past couple years is that he really, really tried to hammer that "perfect is the enemy of good/done" into my skullmeats. And I did need that. NOT ENTIRELY sure it got through, but it did enough that I didn't end up in a soft room with a wrap-around bathrobe.

(Thanks, mang.)

Tags: asmp, evilhat, game design, gaming, mental health, pdq, philosophy, s7s, work journal, writing

A Contest of Champions

The main forces of our respective armies had moved off to the south. My regiment remained at the Haiduk Aqueduct, ostensibly to hold it, but really because the Zultanista regiment across the field was still in the area. They, I discovered later, were remaining in the area because we were still there. Ridiculous.

When the idea came for a Contest of Champions to determine who would hold the Aqueduct, I immediately volunteered. One way or another, win or lose, we could then quit this staring contest and return to the real fighting. The Zultanista commander agreed with ours.

Bright and early, just as dawn was breaking, I and my servant climbed the ivy that grew on the crumbling stones of the Haiduk. I saw my opposite number and his servant climbing up the other side.

It was quite a shock when we both reached the top, and looked full into one another’s face across the Aqueduct’s channel. It was the Sandman I had fought alongside Baron Theodoreson in the alley behind Baroness Izolda’s house back in Chansonville! I saw he recognized me as well.

I spoke first. “Good morning, Rahimat. You’re looking well. Care for a spot of breakfast?” I indicated my manservant, who was setting out a dozen eggs, some rashers of bacon, a loaf of fresh white bread, a knob of butter, a small skillet, and a somewhat cracked but still serviceable heatstone.

The Sandman unhooked the veil that covered the lower part of his face, letting it hang free, before he replied. "Leftenant Armandson—-"

“Victor, please.”

He paused before continuing. “Victor, then. I would like nothing better.” He snapped his fingers, and his manservant stepped forward with a wooden tray, bearing a steaming silver pot, a small copper bowl and cover, and a stoneware jug beaded with sweat. “Coffee?”

We smiled at one another.

As is right and proper, we broke our fast together before we tried to kill one another.

—Leftenant Victor Armandson, King’s Musketeer, Knight of Grande Dellaluna

---

This piece of flashfiction is the third part of a sort of triptych of flashfiction: three interrelated bits of story. Of course, they're spread throughout the book.

This moment is an homage, of course, to two -- possibly three -- of my favorite swashbuckling moments. Can you guess which ones?

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Pre-order the book here!

Tags: asmp, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, s7s, writing

(BTW, insomnia is GREAT... not.)

While the Great S7S Easter Egg Hunt continues, no one seems to have risen to my earlier hintery re: the Major Islands' names.

Therefore... additional clue.

Barathi = BA*** RATH**** I

Wanna play? Go and respond at http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/438026.html !!!

Tags: asmp, evilhat, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, s7s, silly, writing

drivingblind made a little post about Easter Eggs in S7S... on Easter, natch.

Those of you familiar with my writing style know that I do drop such things in -- and with S7S being one of the largest things I've ever written in the game industry, there are a bunch.

What I consider an "easter egg" (in my work, at least) includes allusions, references, remixes, mash-ups, reinterpretations, anagrammic games, and pseudo-tuckerizations.

Some of them are obvious (see the example in the comments on Fred's post), some are obscure enough that you'd have to have been there (like the pseudo-tuckerizations of some of the S7S playtesters). Some of them are so deeply arcane that probably only I get them -- mostly because ratmmjess is too busy, and probably too uninterested, to hunt them down.

If you are one of the folks that's already got your PDF, and you think that you've located one of these eggs, head on over to Fred's post and join in the game!

http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/438026.html

And let me give you a starting hint: except for two of them (Crail and Sha Ka Ruq), there's something "eggy" about each of the Major Islands' names...

Tags: asmp, evilhat, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, s7s, silly, writing

Two characters who were important in the Alpha playtest of S7S: Sigur Stormeye and Livia Petro.

(I can only hope people link this on Monday; weekends usually have low readership, and holiday weekends even moreso.)

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Let me give some context -- I ran two separate alpha playtests: "the Musketeers" and "the Pirates." The Musketeers ended up being a group of Crail Falons (involved in politics and finance), and the Pirates... well, they were piratical (involved with revenge and adventure).

I had grandiose plans: two halves of an over-arching story that would let me bring both local alpha groups together.

This never happened: both groups stalled (due to LIFE ISSUES) penultimately.

Dammit.

---

The Musketeers met up with Sigur, and saw the terror a Warmaster Griffin could wreak.

The Pirates met up with Livia, who had changed from NPC to PC (because a new player joined that game). Quickly, the PCs figured out that Livia Petro and "Imre Molnar" (sharrukin) had actually been each other's intended.

She fled, and he was enslaved, because of politics related to their arranged marriage.

Rock on.

---

Here's the thing: Sigur and Livia were designed NPCs. I more or less knew how they'd react in a situation.

Handing Livia over to Melanie CHANGED that.

In a GOOD way.

---

In the penultimate sessions of each group, the "Pirates" were establishing a new, complex Barathi Noble House. The "Musketeers" ended up on a skyship headed for Barathi, ready for mayhem and skullduggery.

---

We never ran the big double-group session. ALAS!

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You wanna hear a secret?

Sigur and Livia are my S7S interpretations of Popeye and Olive Oyl.

Look. See. Comment.

Tags: asmp, evilhat, game design, gaming, mad rpg theory, pdq, s7s, work journal, writing