FIGHT ON!

On Monday I'll be taking part in the Fight Scene Blogfest! that's being organised over at Mireyah Wolfe's Crimson Ink blog.

I'd have liked to have included a scene from my latest publication, as that has a couple of decent brawls, but I stumbled on this late when reading ralfast's Neither Here nor There blog, so haven't had time to contact the publisher and sort that out. I'll have to go with one of my older publications, or something unpublished. Shouldn't be to hard to find something; everything I write is packed with fight scenes!

FRPG Friday: Redwald Classes

It's Fantasy Role playing Game Friday so here is some more Redwald. This time it's the final installment of the Classes . . .

WIZARDS

Dweorgas Wrydwebba
Before you became one of the edwita, the disgraced you were a Wrydwebba, a fate weaver training under one of the great Dwarven Runemasters. Now you roam the lands of men and fumble after the true meanings of the runes without guidance.

Wrydwebba's gain an XP bonus from a high Wisdom score. A high wisdom also gives a bonus when rune casting that stacks with their level bonus.

Starting equipment: Robes, Dwarven Dragontooth dagger, Runes, 1d6 farthings.

Lvl Hit Dice THB ST Rune Bonus Runes Combined Number of Rune Aett's
1 1d6-1 +0 14 +1 1 1
2 3d6 +0 10 +2 2 2
3 6d6 +1 6 +3 3 3

Criticals & Fumbles

Criticals
The casting goes so well that the Wyrdwebba may reuse the same rune later that day/adventure.

Fumbles
The casting was ill fated and the Wyrdwebba must relearn the meaning of the rune and may not use it until two weeks/adventures have passed.

Heroic Effort

Casting the Sun and Moon
The Wyrdwebba may make two simultaneous castings combining, in each, as many runes as his level allows.

Ælfcynn Gealdor Sangere
Until your spirit tree died, you were a Gealdor Sangere, a spell singer, learning to chant the magic of the forest. Now, lost in your doom, you dwell in the land of men and sing for silver.

Gealdor Sangere gains an XP bonus from a high Charisma score. A high Charisma score also gives them an increased bonus to their Glamour’s powers.

Starting Equipment: Antler Knife, Deerskin shirt and trews, Amulet of the Wolf, 1d6 farthings.

Lvl Hit Dice THB ST Glamour Duration #Glamour Affects
1 1d3 -1 16 +1 1
2 2d6 +0 12 +2 2
3 5d6 +1 10 +3 3

Criticals & Fumbles

Criticals
The Glamour goes so well that the victim doesn’t get chance to break the Glamour for a year and a day.

Fumbles
The Glamour failed obviously and the victim is not only immune to any further attempts, they now hate the Gealdor Sangere with a passion.

Heroic Effort

Words of Gold and Honey
The Gealdor Sangere may Glamour everyone within hearing.

Scinnlæca
You were made an outlaw because you are a Scinnlæca, a Shinning One. Using forbidden knowledge, with a flash of eldritch light, you call the dread spirits of the otherworld. Once called you bind them to your will and use their malign powers.

Scinnlæca gain an XP bonus, and a bonus to the powers of the spirits they can contain, and the length of the possession, based on a high Wisdom.

Starting Equipment: A knife that has pierced the heart of an adulterous woman, the skull of a strangled murderer, a silver penny stained with the blood of a traitor, a wand of Rowan wood taken from a hanging tree. Robes made from the funeral shroud of a king betrayed. 1d6 farthings.

Lvl Hit Dice THB ST HD of Spirit Spirit Powers Duration
1 1d3+1 -1 17 1d3 1 1
2 2d6+2 +0 13 1d6 2 2
3 5d6+3 +1 11 1d6+1 3 3


Criticals & Fumbles

Criticals
The spirit you called is so cowed by your power that you may control it until you banish him. You suffer no taint or fatigue.

Fumbles
You lose the battle of wills with a vile spirit who possesses you for 1d3+1 rounds before departing leaving you doubly tainted and fatigued.

Heroic Effort

Call of the Dammed
You call forth foul spirits to posses your enemies (up to 3 HD + Wis bonus in total). You control them completely without fear of taint or fatigue. Their comrades must make a ST against fear to face them in combat. When you end the possession your victims must make ST or die.

Réðealingas Wicce
You cursed a chieftain and had to flee your wildling homeland. Before that you were being taught the craft of the Wicce, the Witch Woman, by your tribe’s crone. Now you are an outlander roaming the realms of your people’s enemies, and worse you must rely on a foul-spawn familiar to learn your Wicce craft.

Wicce rely on intelligence, to learn, memorise, and utilise their cures, curses, potions, charms and spells. A gain an XP bonus and a bonus to the potency of their magic based on their Intelligence bonus.

Starting Equipment: The bowl and the knife, small bronze cauldron and tripod, a nine herb charm, pouches of dried henbane, fly agaric, and belladonna, a brace of mandrake roots, a bag of dead things, a wax mommet and thorns. 1d6 farthings.

Lvl Hit Dice THB ST Apps of potion Potency
1 1d6 -1 0 16 1 1
2 3d6 +1 12 2 2
3 6d6 +2 10 3 3

Criticals & Fumbles

Criticals
You practice the craft so skilfully that your familiar is impressed and agrees to teach you another piece of the craft without the price.

Fumbles
Your magic backfires: a charm cause’s harm, a potion becomes a poison, or your poison fails, your curse rebounds on you, you are pierced by your own thorns.

Heroic Effort

Thrice Cursed
The Wicce may place three curses on her enemy that will automatically succeed.

A List, Not the A List

Last Week . . .

Page a day, minimum, of new writing. - Yes, just about, was close.
Edit Ice Wastes story. - Made a good start
New scene for Magus script. - Yup.
Notes for Lembek novel. - Lots of notes.
Human Magic for Redwald RPG project. - Done needs an edit.
Outline for T&T RPG project. - Very rough outline.
More than one blog post a week. - No. Spaced this one out.

This week . . .

Writing Goals for 25th - 30th Jan 2010

Page a day of new writing.
Continue editing Ice Wastes story.
New scene for Magus script.
Notes and Character Bio's for Lembek novel.
Write Wicce Class for Redwald.
Continue with T&T Project.
Blog.

Getting Crafty

The Purpose of this blog was, and still is, to keep a record and follow my, glacially slow, progress as a writer of fantasy fiction. I also wanted to use it as a place to discuss the craft of writing generally, and more specifically writing fantasy. I haven't really done this.

Partly because I'm often busy trying to actually write, but also because I don't feel qualified to drone on about 'the craft' as I'm so very slightly published. However, I then realised this is 'teh internets', the very place for people to drone on about things they no nothing of.

So I may not be an expert, but if I hold forth with the attitude that I'm just musing about things, rather than spouting authoritative truths, I can't see the harm. So, I'll add a few regular posts on writing craft to the RPG stuff and all the lists. I guess the place to start would be at the beginning, so that's where I'll start, with a post later in the week about story openings.

Goals: The Listing

Last week . . .

Page a day, minimum, of new writing.- Missed friday.
Finish Elf magic for Redwald. - Done
Finish Delverton article.- Done
Read notes for next Magus scene. - Done
Start writing notes for Lembek ( and other novels?)- Other novel, not Lembek
Edit Ice Wastes story. - No
Brainstorm ideas for Tunnels & Trolls GM Dungeon. - Have basics.
Write a blog entry that isn't a list! - Almost!

Next Week . . .

Writing Goals 18th -23rd Jan 2010

Page a day, minimum, of new writing.
Edit Ice Wastes story.
New scene for Magus script.
Notes for Lembek novel.
Human Magic for Redwald RPG project.
Outline for T&T RPG project.
More than one blog post a week.

The Rules of Writing

To say there’s a lot been said about writing rules is to push the boundaries of understatement. Most of it is contradictory and confusing so I thought I’d clear things up . . .

The Rules of Writing

Rule 1
There are no Rules when it comes to writing. There are however a million-and-one tips, guidelines, hints, and pieces of good writing advice that new, and unpublished, writers ignore at their peril. This is what people are really talking about when they’re talking about writing rules. When thinking about these a writer should always bear in mind Rule 2.

Rule 2

What works for you, works for you. What doesn’t, doesn’t. Always remember this. However, see Rule 3.

Rule 3

What works for you and what doesn’t work for you can change. If that is a problem consult Rule 4.

Rule 4

If in doubt consult Rule 1.

There. That should clear things up. :D

This Week's Goals, Last Week's Goals!

Last weeks goals went well . . .

A page a day, minimum, of new writing - Check two pages most days.
Start Galdr class write up for Redwald - Finished that and made a start on magic too.
Start Delverton article for TrollZine! - Started
Re-read Magus script - Read script and wrote another scene.
Prepare notes, etc. for Lembek of the Towers - played with these a little could have done more.
Start editing Ice Wastes story - only a brief look at this and a few deletions.

This weeks . . .

Writing Goals 11th -16th Jan

Page a day, minimum, of new writing.
Finish Elf magic for Redwald
Finish Delverton article
Read notes for next Magus scene
Start writing notes for Lembek ( and other novels?)
Edit Ice Wastes story
Brainstorm ideas for Tunnels & Trolls GM Dungeon
Write a blog entry that isn't a list!

Writing in a Winter Wonderland

Got up at stupid am and wrote my two pages today (medal in post). After writing I opened the curtains to see the land, well our street, blanketed in snow. Which made my morning walk cold but beautiful. Many of my stories written in January feature snowfall, No big surprise there I guess, although for a long time January has been a snow free zone. Here in England snowfall has been rare for a good few winters recently. Instead we had overcast; grey, rainy affairs that were more like extend autumns. At one point there were more than a few years with no snow at all. However, over the last few years snow has made a welcome return. Well I say welcome; it seems these days the whole country grinds to halt at the first flake of snow, but welcome to me at least.

Living in the city snow doesn't stay pristine very long, often it turns to a dirty slush, but when I lived in the hills of mid Wales, snowfall was something breath-taking. Now when it snows I always try to get a 'feel' for it, to make a sense memory that I can save and use in my writing. I try to record the pregnant heaviness of clouds full of snow ready to fall. I stare up into a sky of heavy snowfall watching the flakes swirl and whirl in the wind, try to remember the feel of cold then wet as fat flakes of new fallen snow melt on my face. Anything really to get a great feel, a sense of snowfall that I can then relate in my writing.

Outside it is dark and snowing heavily again, which bodes well for my morning walk and more chances to soak up the wintery atmosphere. I have a story I wrote in the summer, a story set in the icy wastes of an imaginary mythical dark ages north. I think tomorrow would be a good time to start editing it.

Sunday List Time!

Writing Goals Jan 4th - Jan 9th 2010

1. A page a day, minimum, of new writing.
2. Start Galdr class write up for Redwald.
3. Start Delverton article for TrollZine!
4. Re-read Magus script.
5. Prepare notes, etc. for Lembek of the Towers.
6. Start editing Ice Wastes story.