Hiya,
It's been a few days since I got back from the awesomeness that is GenCon Indy, and while I intend on making a blog post about it, I still find that I lack the mental faculties to effectively do so.
But never fear! Once I recover my ability to think properly, I shall update with the fury of a thousand suns.
Peace y'all.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
"Holy Crap" Second Verse, and "Siblings: Part One"
So, um, apparently this short story stuff is working out for me. 'Cuz I've just finished a second one(cheers, applause!), this time needing just a day or two to construct and upload the thing. There's just something about gaming that convinces my muse to get up off her lawn chair, set aside her smoothie, and kick me squarely in the rump. And, no, that doesn't mean I enjoy pain.
Anyway, as for the matter at hand, this second story, "Siblings," is another prequel to the Ravenloft game of which I'm a member. Most of the characters in the party have twin siblings, for reasons integral to the plot of the game, and I wrote this story to illustrate the dynamic between Kai and his twin sister, Saffi. She's a gear-head, undeniably steampunk-inspired, and I've had a lot of fun just working out her personality and the way she and her brother interact. This particular story also has a short section involving Kai's best friend, Gerhart, whose death still plagues Kai several years after the fact for a number of reasons that I won't go into here(just yet, anyway XD). Lastly, it should be known that the country where Saffi and Kai currently have their home is Lamordia, which you can basically think of as a Switzerland analogue full of people who are boring and dismissive of anything supernatural(especially magic), but who are on the whole brilliant scientists and inventors.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the story itself. Enjoy!
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“So, how'd the grocery hunt go, Kai?” Gerhart asked, turning from the table where he and Saffi had been sorting out foodstuffs. The kitchen of the small house that the Stadtfeld twins shared – when Kai was on leave, anyway – was far from fully-stocked, but there was enough to keep from going hungry, especially when Gerhart pitched in. A year older than the twins, at fifteen, he had a home in the city with his mother, but he would often come to the Stadtfeld home to share in a group dinner, a habit that had been going on for some time since Kai had managed to move his sister from the vast dangers of the slums to a place at least somewhat safer. Which was good for the twins, as neither of them had anything beyond basic cooking ability.
Kai grinned a bit sheepishly, and held up the small bag of vegetables he had procured. Most of them had a somewhat wilted, if not barely edible, look to them, as he came to the table and started to place them atop it. “Well, all things considered, I'd say it could have gone a lot worse. Though a group of high-ranking officers apparently came through the market this morning and got all of the good stuff.”
Anyway, as for the matter at hand, this second story, "Siblings," is another prequel to the Ravenloft game of which I'm a member. Most of the characters in the party have twin siblings, for reasons integral to the plot of the game, and I wrote this story to illustrate the dynamic between Kai and his twin sister, Saffi. She's a gear-head, undeniably steampunk-inspired, and I've had a lot of fun just working out her personality and the way she and her brother interact. This particular story also has a short section involving Kai's best friend, Gerhart, whose death still plagues Kai several years after the fact for a number of reasons that I won't go into here(just yet, anyway XD). Lastly, it should be known that the country where Saffi and Kai currently have their home is Lamordia, which you can basically think of as a Switzerland analogue full of people who are boring and dismissive of anything supernatural(especially magic), but who are on the whole brilliant scientists and inventors.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the story itself. Enjoy!
---------------------------------------
“So, how'd the grocery hunt go, Kai?” Gerhart asked, turning from the table where he and Saffi had been sorting out foodstuffs. The kitchen of the small house that the Stadtfeld twins shared – when Kai was on leave, anyway – was far from fully-stocked, but there was enough to keep from going hungry, especially when Gerhart pitched in. A year older than the twins, at fifteen, he had a home in the city with his mother, but he would often come to the Stadtfeld home to share in a group dinner, a habit that had been going on for some time since Kai had managed to move his sister from the vast dangers of the slums to a place at least somewhat safer. Which was good for the twins, as neither of them had anything beyond basic cooking ability.
Kai grinned a bit sheepishly, and held up the small bag of vegetables he had procured. Most of them had a somewhat wilted, if not barely edible, look to them, as he came to the table and started to place them atop it. “Well, all things considered, I'd say it could have gone a lot worse. Though a group of high-ranking officers apparently came through the market this morning and got all of the good stuff.”
Friday, July 9, 2010
A Raven's Feather, Part Fin
Yup, this is the end of A Raven's Feather. If you've read it all, muchos gracias, and I hope you'll consider reading more of my work ^_^.
A Raven's Feather, Part One
Hello again, intrepid adventurers. While I work on getting a more acceptable format up, I've just decided to toss my short story up in pieces here on ol' ACN. So the next few entries will be dedicated to one Kai Naustvik, a kind-hearted mercenary, and his exploits before joining his current team. So, yes, this is technically a prequel to the actual Ravenloft game I'm in. Anyway, I hope it's enjoyable, and feel free to comment, as always.
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“He's going to be late.”
This private meeting room was tucked into a corner of the Frothing Mug, a sleepy little inn that was tucked away into an equally sleepy village on the western edge of Barovia. Counting those around the central table, and the armchair next to the small bookcase, there was room for five people to sit comfortably inside. Three of those seats were currently occupied: the man with the reed-thin voice who had spoken, short, balding, and just short of his middle years, sat in the armchair; a taller, younger fellow, clean-shaven and turning over a silver cross in one hand, sat at the table; and the third, a somewhat pale woman who was slender enough to look taller than she actually was, stood at the bookcase, the sheathed sword at her hip shifting quietly as she reached for one of the books on a high shelf.
-------------------------------------------------
“He's going to be late.”
This private meeting room was tucked into a corner of the Frothing Mug, a sleepy little inn that was tucked away into an equally sleepy village on the western edge of Barovia. Counting those around the central table, and the armchair next to the small bookcase, there was room for five people to sit comfortably inside. Three of those seats were currently occupied: the man with the reed-thin voice who had spoken, short, balding, and just short of his middle years, sat in the armchair; a taller, younger fellow, clean-shaven and turning over a silver cross in one hand, sat at the table; and the third, a somewhat pale woman who was slender enough to look taller than she actually was, stood at the bookcase, the sheathed sword at her hip shifting quietly as she reached for one of the books on a high shelf.
Holy Crap, Short Stories ARE Possible!
Not only are they possible, but they're pretty awesomely fun when you're in the groove.
To make a long story short(pun intended), I'm involved in a Pathfinder tabletop game set in the much-feared Ravenloft world. For those of you who are tabletop noobs(or otherwise unfamiliar with gaming lore), Ravenloft is kind of a mashup between multiple fantasy nations with a decidedly gothic horror flavor. Picture what would happen if Sauron-ruled Middle Earth, Dracula's Transylvania, a medieval Nazi Germany, Switzerland with a resident Dr. Frankenstein, and several other similarly dark-and-troubled nations all existed right next to one another, and were plagued by all manners of unearthly horrors, and you kind of have a good idea of what Ravenloft is like. Evil is damn near omnipresent, but because of that good is all the more heroic when it exists. I could go into much more detail, but Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing(Ravenloft) so I'll instead move on to the point of this entry.
To make a long story short(pun intended), I'm involved in a Pathfinder tabletop game set in the much-feared Ravenloft world. For those of you who are tabletop noobs(or otherwise unfamiliar with gaming lore), Ravenloft is kind of a mashup between multiple fantasy nations with a decidedly gothic horror flavor. Picture what would happen if Sauron-ruled Middle Earth, Dracula's Transylvania, a medieval Nazi Germany, Switzerland with a resident Dr. Frankenstein, and several other similarly dark-and-troubled nations all existed right next to one another, and were plagued by all manners of unearthly horrors, and you kind of have a good idea of what Ravenloft is like. Evil is damn near omnipresent, but because of that good is all the more heroic when it exists. I could go into much more detail, but Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing(Ravenloft) so I'll instead move on to the point of this entry.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Setting Reboot
So I'm undergoing kind of a big reboot on one of my Dungeons and Dragons settings. Specifically, the Dragonlance setting, brainchild of my unaware mentors, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. In case you aren't familiar with this setting, here's a short summary: dragons are uber-important, the world is still largely medieval in tech level, and magic is, depending on the era, either A) restricted to priests or mages who graduate from a rigorous(and sometimes deadly) magic school, or B) literally bursting from the natural world, and therefore able to be drawn on by afore-mentioned mages, sorcerers who learn on their own to tap into the ambient power of the world, and so on. I think you get the drift.
While this setting is the one where the bulk of my older tabletop gaming experiences occurred(and thus the world where the epic-level campaign I'm running for my old buddies at home takes place), I've found numerous inherent problems with it that make it no longer suitable for the sort of game I want to run.
While this setting is the one where the bulk of my older tabletop gaming experiences occurred(and thus the world where the epic-level campaign I'm running for my old buddies at home takes place), I've found numerous inherent problems with it that make it no longer suitable for the sort of game I want to run.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Subtle Maneuvering
If you came here looking for free cake, I have this to say to you: the cake is a lie.
This blog, however, is not.
And isn't reality much more satisfying than sugary treats?
This blog, however, is not.
And isn't reality much more satisfying than sugary treats?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Persistence
That was the title of the motivational poster in this office - "Persistence."
Which is fitting, because that's exactly what it took to figure out what was going on in the picture. So far as I can tell, it was the two massive claws of a giant humanoid mech sticking up out of the ocean. I can only conjecture that this mech had finally broken out of whatever force had imprisoned it beneath the ocean, and that persistence is what inspired the poster itself.
A very inspirational story, indeed. But you be the judge: FREEDOM!
Which is fitting, because that's exactly what it took to figure out what was going on in the picture. So far as I can tell, it was the two massive claws of a giant humanoid mech sticking up out of the ocean. I can only conjecture that this mech had finally broken out of whatever force had imprisoned it beneath the ocean, and that persistence is what inspired the poster itself.
A very inspirational story, indeed. But you be the judge: FREEDOM!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Story Writing
My characters are angry at me, and I'll tell you why.
I'm currently sitting at my not-quite-a-desk, listening to a song called "Storywriter," from the soundtrack of the anime series Eureka(pronounced "eh-uh-recka") Seven. Though I admit that I don't know the lyrics, the music, tempo, and general feel of it is very lighthearted, fun, and inspiring. It's actually one of the main themes of my Dungeons and Dragons character Drake, who is very much "kitty cats and rainbows, YAY!" I may outline him on here at some point, but that's for another day.
I'm currently sitting at my not-quite-a-desk, listening to a song called "Storywriter," from the soundtrack of the anime series Eureka(pronounced "eh-uh-recka") Seven. Though I admit that I don't know the lyrics, the music, tempo, and general feel of it is very lighthearted, fun, and inspiring. It's actually one of the main themes of my Dungeons and Dragons character Drake, who is very much "kitty cats and rainbows, YAY!" I may outline him on here at some point, but that's for another day.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Introduction
Hiya, and welcome to quite possibly one of the most eclectic and cracked-out collections of thoughts and ideas that you'll ever run across. Some things to know before you start reading:
You can call me "Ro." Many people do. Also, "Roski," "Roski Bill," "Roski Bilowski," "Skible," "The Big Ro," "Roseph," "Lightning," and "Reaux."
As of the beginning of this blog, I'm in my mid-20s.
I'm a crazy-huge fan of video games, and I'm currently on a bit of a retro game kick. Sonic the hedgehog will rock you like a hurricane.
I watch dubbed anime. I also watch subbed anime, but people don't draw the same fun conclusions from the latter. I tend heavily towards action and comedy, but there's also quite a few that are campy, cheesy, just plain girly, or otherwise unexpected. Yes, I'm an otaku, but not in the crazed sense.
Due to the fact that I missed out on a lot of classic games growing up, as well as not getting into anime until relatively recently, I very nearly named this blog "The Latebloomer Otaku and Gamer." However, that would have ignored one of my greatest interests...
You can call me "Ro." Many people do. Also, "Roski," "Roski Bill," "Roski Bilowski," "Skible," "The Big Ro," "Roseph," "Lightning," and "Reaux."
As of the beginning of this blog, I'm in my mid-20s.
I'm a crazy-huge fan of video games, and I'm currently on a bit of a retro game kick. Sonic the hedgehog will rock you like a hurricane.
I watch dubbed anime. I also watch subbed anime, but people don't draw the same fun conclusions from the latter. I tend heavily towards action and comedy, but there's also quite a few that are campy, cheesy, just plain girly, or otherwise unexpected. Yes, I'm an otaku, but not in the crazed sense.
Due to the fact that I missed out on a lot of classic games growing up, as well as not getting into anime until relatively recently, I very nearly named this blog "The Latebloomer Otaku and Gamer." However, that would have ignored one of my greatest interests...
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