Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
The Toil of Creativity
I may write more on this topic later, but for now I'd like to simply observe how much toil and (some might say) drudgery goes into finishing a creative endeavor. You get this great idea, you work on it and are driven by your intensity and then, suddenly, the creative part grinds to a halt. It is at this point that refinement, editing and finishing kicks in. Once all the creative processes are complete, you still have (in my case) spell lists to write out and format and re-format, summaries to write, indexes to assemble, tables to assemble and read through's for editing spelling, grammar and consistency. It's not a complaint, not really, but there's a lot of hard work that goes into finishing a creative project, whether you're doing it all yourself or working as part of a larger team within an established company.
Progress Update
I've been working on finishing all the miscellaneous bits of Renaissance that were still floating around, waiting to coalesce into legitimate mechanics and have recently moved on to the final editing process. I'm still missing an Index, Table of Contents, Art and Bestiary, however, these are all superficial things at this point. All of those will be necessary for a final print, but prior to public play-testing they are superfluous. I'm currently on page 217 out of about 290 in my final edit so progress has been made surprisingly quickly all things considered. There are a few things I will need to go back and change due to other changes I've made in the editing process but for the most part the 217/290 assessment is a fairly accurate progress bar.
The End of an Era. Maybe.
I've been reading "The Dungeon Master Experience" article's by Chris Perkins for about 6 months now. He's been writing them longer than that but I came to the show late and frenzied my way through the archives pretty quick. These are some fantastic articles he's written and are well worth the read. As of this last Thursday though, 03/21/2013, his 4th edition campaign is over and so may also be his articles on this topic. There is still the possibility he'll return when his D&DNext campaign gets underway with new Dungeon Master Experience articles, but I would be surprised if he did so. I wouldn't be surprised to see him return with a new series of articles though.
In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting their archives, sorting by Category and reading every one of "The Dungeon Master Experience" articles available. There's lots of good advice and general entertainment, ranging from designing balanced encounters (and whether or not you even should) to how to create a game world that feels truly alive.
'til later...
In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting their archives, sorting by Category and reading every one of "The Dungeon Master Experience" articles available. There's lots of good advice and general entertainment, ranging from designing balanced encounters (and whether or not you even should) to how to create a game world that feels truly alive.
'til later...
The Sandbox Campaign
I've been doing a lot of reading recently, re-learning how to GM and prepare adventures. Over the years I got into the habit of having no preparation beyond a general idea of the plan and a book from which to pull names. Thoughts and plans are beginning to coalesce and today I've been pondering Campaigns.
Believable Villains
Light and Dark can be found in everyone. It can be fun to have a villain that is pure evil, with no redeeming qualities. In such cases the players don't have anything to feel guilty about when they defeat the villain. However, in mortals (and immortals if you take your cosmology cue from most polytheistic religions) Good and Evil can be found within everyone.
Re-learning to GM
I have't GM'd a regular game in years. I used to be pretty decent, though I'd never say great. Over the years, my style and game quality have declined. It's time to get back to the basics.
The plan for now is to start with a small shanty-esque town outside a larger city. The scene begins with the players having been kicked out of the larger city for one reason or another (perhaps to be determined by the players themselves), leaving us with a smaller city area for them to role-play in. In the shanty-town there will be one developed NPC who offers the PC's a job in a simple dungeon, either simply for pay or in exchange for the means of getting back into the city. The means, of course, may or may not involve additional work/adventures to come to fruition.
The plan for now is to start with a small shanty-esque town outside a larger city. The scene begins with the players having been kicked out of the larger city for one reason or another (perhaps to be determined by the players themselves), leaving us with a smaller city area for them to role-play in. In the shanty-town there will be one developed NPC who offers the PC's a job in a simple dungeon, either simply for pay or in exchange for the means of getting back into the city. The means, of course, may or may not involve additional work/adventures to come to fruition.
Designer's Block: Solution 1
Yesterday I wrote briefly about Designer's Block and wondered at whether it could be resolved with some of the same solutions available when dealing with Writer's Block. The answer is a resounding Yes. I tried unfiltered writing, that is, I just jotted down every option that came to mind without trying to figure out how each one would work, and then when I finished/ran out of time went back later to add mechanics to what I'd written and it worked beautifully. I had 9 deities to assign clerical powers for and now have only 3 to do, after less than an hour of brainstorming.
I don't think I'm going to meet my arbitrary Year's End deadline for having Renaissance ready for Beta testing, but it won't be long after.
Also, the title of this post is "...Solution 1". I may or may not post additional solutions as I come across them so be on the look out for those. And, naturally, if you have any solutions of your own for Designer's Block, please share them in the comments below!
I don't think I'm going to meet my arbitrary Year's End deadline for having Renaissance ready for Beta testing, but it won't be long after.
Also, the title of this post is "...Solution 1". I may or may not post additional solutions as I come across them so be on the look out for those. And, naturally, if you have any solutions of your own for Designer's Block, please share them in the comments below!
Miscellanea Creep
I thought I was making great progress towards finishing by the end of the year but the "read throughs" of my notes are taking longer than anticipated, lots of stuff to add because of them. Plus, I keep adding things to the list that I had put aside when writing. Formatting stuff, mostly, like making a concise list of character Backgrounds, a concise list of Races and one for Spells. Supernatural Attributes etc. are essentially done but I need to build a few Supernatural Powers as examples.
Secession: Comments and Gaming
In case you weren't aware, there's been a lot of talk about secession from every state in the United States this last week or so. Except it hasn't been the States, officially, just citizens of the states. I wanted to take a moment to comment on that and also look at the inspiration this can offer for GM's because, after all, everything in life is relatable to role-playing and vice versa.
Democracy in Fantasy
From past and recent posts, you may think this blog is rapidly becoming a socio-economic political blog. However, it is not. Gaming is still my passion so, instead of despairing or reveling in last nights results, let's look at them from another angle. Inspiration. Imagine what an election would look like if magic were involved.
To begin with, the things the candidates could promise the masses would be vastly more fantastic: eternal water wells, no blight for the crops, weapons and tools that never lose their edge, etc. etc. And what's more, they'd actually be able to deliver on it, unlike our current politicians who practically do offer such ridiculous things.
There are hooks galore one could take from this or the pre- and ongoing-elections. Let's look at a few:
-One candidate or another has been elected. Now he needs to deliver on those promises but his political opponents need a little "support" before they're willing to enact the laws that will send government wizards to all the towns for the crops.
-The newly elected Grand Citizen has enacted laws requiring all blacksmiths to install an enchanting circle in their forge so that the weapons and tools they make comply with the new law ... but the local guilds are resisting and they've got enough political clout to make a public move against them impossible. The PC's are brought in by one side or the other to enforce the law or defend the guild from rogue agents.
-The PC's wizard has been enlisted to visit towns and build the Well of Eternal water but certain supplies are needed and, like all efficient governments, only insufficiently close approximations have been provided. You'll have to do what you can with what you've got 'cause you're on a time schedule and you don't get paid if it's late. Whether it's done right or not, that's irrelevant to your pay scale.
-The election has yet to take place and one candidate or the other needs some more experienced, specialized protection to see them through the campaign.
--What if both feel they need protection and both contact the PC's? Are they really in danger from each other, something more sinister apart from them, or are they just paranoid. How do they react if the PC's take both jobs and try to keep their divided loyalties a secret?
-The PC's uncover information that the magically monitored and operated polls are being manipulated by a third party to some nefarious means. Do they get involved, is the nefarious goal truly nefarious or just politically selfish? What's involved and is their assistance viewed as such, or is it seen as illegal interference despite the need and benevolence with which it is performed.
-The PC's are tasked with guarding one of the wizards being sent to modify the wells and crops (or the PC's wizard is being sent). Wacky hijinks and/or dire consequences ensue when spells go awry, the influx of magic to the nations fields and water produces imbalances and unexpected side effects, etc. What about the results of people eating the MMO (Magically Modified Organisms) crops.
These are just a few of the possibilities. Do you have other ideas/suggestions? Drop them in the comments section for Mutually Assured Enjoyment or discussion!
To begin with, the things the candidates could promise the masses would be vastly more fantastic: eternal water wells, no blight for the crops, weapons and tools that never lose their edge, etc. etc. And what's more, they'd actually be able to deliver on it, unlike our current politicians who practically do offer such ridiculous things.
There are hooks galore one could take from this or the pre- and ongoing-elections. Let's look at a few:
-One candidate or another has been elected. Now he needs to deliver on those promises but his political opponents need a little "support" before they're willing to enact the laws that will send government wizards to all the towns for the crops.
-The newly elected Grand Citizen has enacted laws requiring all blacksmiths to install an enchanting circle in their forge so that the weapons and tools they make comply with the new law ... but the local guilds are resisting and they've got enough political clout to make a public move against them impossible. The PC's are brought in by one side or the other to enforce the law or defend the guild from rogue agents.
-The PC's wizard has been enlisted to visit towns and build the Well of Eternal water but certain supplies are needed and, like all efficient governments, only insufficiently close approximations have been provided. You'll have to do what you can with what you've got 'cause you're on a time schedule and you don't get paid if it's late. Whether it's done right or not, that's irrelevant to your pay scale.
-The election has yet to take place and one candidate or the other needs some more experienced, specialized protection to see them through the campaign.
--What if both feel they need protection and both contact the PC's? Are they really in danger from each other, something more sinister apart from them, or are they just paranoid. How do they react if the PC's take both jobs and try to keep their divided loyalties a secret?
-The PC's uncover information that the magically monitored and operated polls are being manipulated by a third party to some nefarious means. Do they get involved, is the nefarious goal truly nefarious or just politically selfish? What's involved and is their assistance viewed as such, or is it seen as illegal interference despite the need and benevolence with which it is performed.
-The PC's are tasked with guarding one of the wizards being sent to modify the wells and crops (or the PC's wizard is being sent). Wacky hijinks and/or dire consequences ensue when spells go awry, the influx of magic to the nations fields and water produces imbalances and unexpected side effects, etc. What about the results of people eating the MMO (Magically Modified Organisms) crops.
These are just a few of the possibilities. Do you have other ideas/suggestions? Drop them in the comments section for Mutually Assured Enjoyment or discussion!
Progress Update
About 6 or 7 years ago I self-published the first edition of Renaissance. I then spent about a year selling and demo-ing it at conventions. It was fun and I met a lot of people but it just didn't take off. There was something missing from the system that kept it from really shining. I put it aside for a couple years and then about 2 years ago I had the time to pick it back up and re-imagine it. I've worked on it here and there for the last few years and I have to say that I'm really excited with how it's turned out. I'm now really close to having all the rules complete and temp-finalized (after all, you never know what will happen in testing) and I can't wait to start getting some feedback on it from people other than my players. Read on to see just how close to completion Renaisance 2nd edition is!
Magic and Supernatural Attributes - Update
Progress continues on getting Renaissance completed before the end of the year. The Magic system has had many variations over the design of 2nd ed. and my players have been justifiably irritated (in a good-natured way) with me plenty of times when I would text or call them mid-week to let them know that we would need to update their characters because of changes I had made to the magic system after the last session. However, this weekend saw, among other things, what I hope is the final version of the magic system. It may need a little polish for final publishing but it's definitely complete enough for public testing.
Constant Inspiration
It's been months since I made much progress on any of my role-playing projects. I get a little done here and there but recently that's been it. I haven't had the inspiration necessary to sit down and spend time getting large sections completed. Thankfully, I was recently reminded of the solution to this doldrum.
Effective Editing
I was running through the spell lists this morning, searching in particular for any necromancy spells because I couldn't remember if or how many I had included. There aren't a ton, but there are a reasonable number to spark the interest and research of budding necromancers. However, what I also discovered was that I had several different spells that did the same thing. Suddenly it occurred to me that this was a much more effective editing practice for games than the standard proof reading style.
Tools For Finishing Projects
Renaissance has been on the back burner for a while now. To continue that analogy, not only has it been on the back burner, but the heat has been set to 'low' (or 'lo' as most stove dials have it). There simply hasn't been time available, with all the other priorities in life, to work on it much. However, I have made some progress and wanted to touch on that and the tools/practices which have enabled me to do so.
The Importance of Other Projects
I have read in a number of places that it is important, as a creative person, to do something creative everyday to further your talent. If your creative art is writing, write every day. If it is painting, paint every day. You get the idea. This is not something I am good at, but like my projects I am a work in progress.
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