I recently voted in the poll for “why you don’t submit more articles to Canonfire,” and my answer was a resounding lack of time. A few days later, O-D was kind enough to list one of my articles among his favorite CF! works.
The combination of the two events got me thinking. I have a dozen or so articles for CF! in preparation. Finding time to finish them is a real problem for me. Eventually they will all get posted, but slowly and infrequently. If there are actually people out there who like my stuff (gasp!), it would be a nice service to them to have the articles they are more interested in finished first, and the ones that are just vanity pieces put off for later.
So, what follows are brief descriptions of some of my oeuvre, and what the “next” similar article would be. You can vote above for which article you would like to see next.
Vesve Places Series (Gazeteer)
These articles describe elven population centers in the Vesve, detailing geography, economics, history, defense, and important people. A previous posting was Tal Aska - An Elven City in the Vesve.
The next post would be Wendover, An Elven Village in the Vesve.
Abduction of Thrommel Series (fiction)
These articles follow the exploits of the PC’s in my CY 573 campaign as they try to recover Prince Thrommel, discover who kidnapped him, and learn why they were framed for the kidnapping. So far there have been eight installments, Prelude to Circus, The Circus, The Chase, Interlude with Kris, Interlude with Carnail, A Summons From the King, Into the Heart of Darkness, and Prisoner of Darkness.
The next post would be On His Majesty’s Secret Service.
Meta-Analysis Series (the game engine)
These articles take a theme common to many editions and show how it is treated in 1st Ed, 1.5 (UA), 2nd Ed, and maybe 2.5 (SP). The number-crunching comparisons made enable DM’s to choose which treatment would be preferred in their campaign. A previous posting was Meta-Analysis of sword and bow use in 1st & 2nd Ed.
The next post would be Meta-Analysis of Monk Combat in 1st and 2nd edition.
The Elven Class series (Classes and Kits)
These articles give class descriptions for character classes specific to elves in my 2nd Edition campaign. Previous postings were Faroth - An Elven Character Class and Elvish Class - The Arathalian.
The next post would be Herutaur – An Elven Character Class.
Ship of Fools Series (The Planes)
These articles give in-depth accounts of a plane or region of one of the Outer Planes in which the Ship of Fools sometimes makes port. The first in the series was The Abyssal Plane of Tempest.
The next post would be Aego, the realm of the selfish damned on the Plane of Dis.
Voices of the Dead Series (Magic and Spells)
These articles describe the ancestor-worshipping cultures of Greyhawk and give descriptions of new clerical spells. Previous works have been The Uli, The Tiger Nomads, The Wolf Nomads, The Rovers of the Barrens, and The Cult of Perren.
The next post would be Ancestors, Lost Souls, and Hungry Ghosts.
Knights of the Hart Series (History)
These articles recount the history of the Knights of the Hart, describing their members, their philosophy, their struggles, and their secrets. The installments so far have been Origin and Founding, High Forest Branch (350-460), and Witch Queen, Demon Lord.
The next post would be High Forest Branch: The morchan-thalian years.
Finally, I am preparing to start a new series on the Astronomy and Astrology of Greyhawk. The first installment would be Solar, Lunar, and Celenar Eclipses.
Thanks for your input! _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
I must say that that was a hard choice. I was only able to readily eliminate the last option. Just as a recommendation, in the future, I do not think that you should include the last option. It is potentially misleading. The explaination points suggested a dislike for your writings (so why anyone would cast that vote is beyond me), but the text alone could be read as validating a vote for someone who just does not read any articles and thus does not care about the subject (IMO, a legitimate point). I prefer including an "other" option. Looking forward to whatever is next.
The last option (and the gasp) are supposed to be humerous, letting people know I don't take myself too seriously. The poll could be interpreted as "you know, I'm just SO prolific but SO busy, and I know you are all waiting for the next thing I write..." So I am just trying to say I'm not my own biggest fanboy. If you like my stuff, great (and I do enjoy complements), but if you don't like my stuff, that is fine, too. _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
Can I change my vote? I tallied for Wendover, but the Ship of Fools article looks ultra-cool, now that I've read the explanation.
Sure you can! Just vote for all the other options once to offset the vote for Wendover, then vote once more for Aego.
As they say in Chicago, it is our civic duty to vote early and often! _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
hi KIRT, you smean to do a lot of articles on elves, and i was wondering if you have or will do any on the drow? my vote was for the elven chacter class as if elves need any more bennys
hi KIRT, you smean to do a lot of articles on elves, and i was wondering if you have or will do any on the drow? my vote was for the elven chacter class as if elves need any more bennys
Of the two principle PC's in my campaign, one is an elven Knight of the Hart. So a lot of this stuff, history, character classes, is stuff I have developed first for my own campaign, then broadened it a bit for CF.
As it so happens, the Knight PC is a drow, or more precisely, she has the body of a drow. She was born a human but killed; a reincarnation spell returned her as a dark elf. However, the campaign is not set in the Underdark. The PC's did GDQ, but have not been back since. So the only thing I really have written specifically about/for drow are some rules about how the PC will eventually turn into a regular elf if she spends enough time on the surface. _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
Well...it's been a week and the poll is petering out, so seems like my next submission will be about Aego.
Thanks to everyone for voting. I am going with the Aego rather than the
Voices of the Dead, because it will be less work to finish!
In order to do the Voices, I will need help converting monster stats to 3E.
Any volunteers?
So I will set to work on Aego...here is a preview:
Aego is a realm within Dis, the Second Hell. The realm is reserved for torturing the souls of those whose greatest evil was their lack of compassion. These people were not cruel or vile, but simply indifferent to the suffering of those around them whom they could have helped.
Because the devils reserve their respect for those who actively sought or promoted evil, the torture of those who were merely selfish is not considered a great priority. This realm of the Hells is largely a disregarded backwater, and its administration continually passes between various devils who have lost favor with Dispater. While it is by no means a safe haven in the Hells, a clever and careful party can “hide out” in the realm almost indefinitely (resting, recovering, and planning as need be) without being discovered or challenged.
The entire realm is an extensive desert plain with gently rolling hills, some twenty five thousand miles from the City of Dis. The realm is ringed by low red mesas that delineate its borders. The soil is reddish-brown, dry, and hard, without any vegetation. Strong winds would easily churn up dust storms, but there is never a natural breeze in the realm. The sky is the dull green common to all Dis, lit with soundless flashes of lightning. There are no clouds or any form of precipitation and the dry air quickly parches non-devils.
The lowest of the valleys have sloughs and channels the size of streams, rivers, and small lakes, but the liquid in them does not flow; it merely collects in the depressions. The black, sluggish water is unwholesome and undrinkable, even to natives.
The damned souls here have a physical form similar to that which they wore in life. They are divided into two groups – the ill and the idle. The ill lie, thousands upon thousands, in the valleys and low slopes. Some lie on cots, some on stretchers, some on piles of rags. All are restless, but are too weak to stand, being able to crawl only a few feet in an extreme situation before collapsing in exhaustion. They are wracked with fever, chills, thirst, hunger, and nausea. None are injured or in acute pain, but all suffer a profound and endless discomfort. A minimum of attention would ease their suffering greatly – a draught of cool water, a blanket, a soft hand – but no aid is forthcoming here, just as they themselves gave no aid to others in their lives. Their pitiful groans of distress and their feeble cries for help fill the realm and echo unheeded through the valleys.
At the top of each hill is a banquet camp of the idle. The idle are present in about a hundredth of the number of ill. They are young, attractive, and healthy and sit at long tables eating and drinking the richest of foods and wines. Their plates and goblets are of gold and silver set with gems. In the day, they dress in silks, drink chilled wines, and are cooled by handsome servants with ostrich-plume fans. At night, the idle drink heated brandies and chocolates and wear long fur robes which they drape over silver foot-warmers filled with hot coals. They continually eat, drink, and make banal conversation. They speak loudly, attempting to drown out the cries of the nearby ill, but that noise is always present.
It may seem like the idle do not suffer, for they have all their physical desires richly satisfied. However, they are damned souls as well, and are in constant mental anguish. They have a continual fear of becoming sick – of catching some disease and being carried off by the devils and left with the ill. This fear is well-founded, for disease outbreaks happen every few months and sweep through the camps of the idle.
The idle are also aware that infernal spies are everywhere, and one wrong word could expose them to being taken away. Any mention of the ill, overheard by a devil, is punished by the offender joining their ranks. Thus, although the ill can be heard and seen on all sides, the idle cannot even acknowledge their existence. Any contact with beings not of the Hells is also forbidden. In addition to these real crimes, each camp of the idle has built up a number of subjects that cannot be mentioned in conversation – certain colors, foods, parts of the body, etc. These taboo subjects are based on the last conversations of the idle that have been forcible removed from that particular camp. The remaining idle superstitiously avoid all reference to these topics, although the devils don’t actually care. The longer an individual idle remains in a camp, the greater becomes the list of known topics that must be avoided. Most idle eventually sink into paranoia and terror-filled babble. Thus, their situation resembles the dinner parties many of them attended when alive. Polite conversation masks hysteria over things, like epidemics and peasant revolts, that must not be mentioned.
The idle are attended by physically attractive but dull and voiceless servants. The servants fulfill their every command, albeit slowly. They wait table and assist the idle in dressing, fan them in the day and fetch the braziers at night. The servants are mostly lemure. Each has a seeming spell to appear as a human servant, the spell being permanent so long as they remain in the realm of Aego. Some of these servants are actually polymorphed erinyes – there is a 25% chance of one in any given camp, on a given day. The erinyes pretend to follow orders as servants, but they listen and watch carefully. Whenever an idle mentions the ill, the erinyes reveals her infernal form and drags the offending idle off, usually kicking and screaming for help from his or her former dinner companions. The other idle desperately ignore these cries and talk all the louder. It is believed that if they so much as meet the gaze of the one being removed, the erinyes will return for them. Of course the entire episode is never mentioned again, along with the name or any reference to the idle who was removed.
Besides the endless bodies of the ill and the numerous banquet camps of the idle, the other two common features in the realm are the kitchens and the charnel houses. _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
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