Promises (Mostly Kept)
Journal 128 23-29 Sept 2024
Last week I promised that I was going to try to get back on a weekly schedule with the blogs. So, here we are, two weeks in a row again. I also made some promises to get some character work done (more for gaming then novels), play some solo RPGs, and finish the chapter outline for the new project.
A bunch of those things were attempted, and even achieved. But not all.
I should probably just get the disappointment out of the way.
Writing Progress
The novel is stalled at the moment.
With my desktop completely dead, I spent too much time trying to figure out what was wrong with that. I did look at the chapter outline, and basically argued with myself.
Should I do a pattern with the chapters?
Like I did with the Ashlands; rotating POVs. Or the last two books where I alternated between A & B stories, swapping POVs among several characters. Example: Story A, POV1 then B 1, then A2, then B2 and so on.
Except, Dusk isn’t really a two-storyline book. It’s a bunch of individuals who are all in the same city and who end up together for the last half of the book. And then there is the “weight of the stories.” Two characters are native to the setting and they are the prime storyline. They should, and do make up at least half the word count. The other POVs are moving through the setting, changing/ influencing things. They together should be the other half of the story, or maybe even less.
In short, I argued myself in circles. In the end I even asked if I should just pants it as I go?
The only problem with completely pantsing it later instead of just pantsing the outline now, is that I will slow down during the writing of the novel. And slowing or stopping mid flow is dangerous.
Other Promises.
Frustrated with the computer, stalled on the outline, (and also dealing with scheduling and errands) I did take some solace in achieving my other goals.
Some SOLO RPGs and creating two characters for new D&D campaigns. I also thought up the concept of a third character for a game starting later.
Solo RPG
As a kid I was deeply into the Lone Wolf books. I had a near complete collection (or so I thought, there were a bunch of books that never made it to the USA).
Every so often I think about collecting them again, and I’m happy to say they are all coming back into print. So, it wouldn’t as difficult as it was twenty years ago when I was scouring through used bookstores in three states buying up my missing volumes.
In the last few years, probably spurred by a mix of Covid and the trend of boardgames being designed as co-op games against the game itself. Thus, enabling single player boardgames.
Anyway, I’m dragging on.
I love dungeon crawls and a month or so back, I bought Ker Nathelas, a pretty interesting game where you play an executed criminal dumped in a deep undercity, only the execution didn’t take. The game has complex character creation and was a blast. Though I did not like the way the dungeon was created (roll on a chart of geomorphs and all of them are weird shapes that are annoying to draw).
Also, it was very easy to optimize the character into a killing machine. Until I came across a rule that sidelined and would eventually kill my character no matter what I did. I got bored quick, despite having plans to play a whole crew of characters who would eventually come together.
Four Against Darkness
That was in the past, I wanted to move on to something else. Four Against Darkness is an older game with literally scores of expansion books. You play a four-person team, hence the name, exploring places for money and fame. It has a ton of throwbacks to old school D&D. Like BECMI days, where you can play a fighter, rogue, elf, or dwarf.
I played my first game this week and it was crazy how the rolls went. I don’t know if I’m blessed or if I just did some things wrong.
I don’t want to spend pages talking about the rules and how things work. So, I’ll just touch on the advancement rules. You get an XP roll for every Boss, Weird Monster, or 10 Minion groups you defeat.
Power Leveling
With normal games you fight tons of minions and it takes a while to level. And when you make an XP roll, it is NOT guaranteed you will level. I went into my first dungeon, and I encountered weird monsters and bosses almost exclusively. And thanks to my party makeup I was doing pretty damn good.
I only failed a single XP roll, so my characters were leveling after almost every fight. Toward the end of the Dungeon I rolled a double-6 for the encounter in room, which is the best roll and you find a dragon’s lair, with extra treasure and an extra XP roll. I then made a “final boss roll” and bam, this dragon became the final boss. A dragon as a final boss gets a bunch of enhancements, but also yet another XP roll.
So, the dragon fight was worth 3 XP rolls, and three treasure rolls.
I’ll get to the end, but I had to take the long way out of the dungeon, fighting all the way. By the time my characters exited the dungeons they had gained 10 LEVELS! between the four of them. One dungeon!
Mind blown. I had planned for a long campaign with rotating characters in a guild and trying to get them all leveled. But I already have a badass team of adventurers in the first game. Crazy.
Character Building
Besides my 4AD team of heroes I had to start making up new characters for my D&D campaigns.
This is a crazy weird—all planets coming into alignment—event where three of my four current games are all coming to an end. So, creating three characters at the same time, or close to, often has issues. But, I’m super excited for what’s to come.
1 Game is full 2024 rules and moving forward.
Another is a strict throwback mega-campaign where I need to make 11 characters in the most ambitious game my buddy has ever run. 10 Prequel chapters that explore the back story and history leading to the main story. I won’t be able to start that main character until sometime next year, or even LONGER!
And the last game is a homebrew heavy, mixed up world by the youngest DM among us (both in age and experience)
Hellbound
The wholly 2024 game had its character creation last night.
I mentioned all of these games in previous posts, but the short version: We’re playing characters who find ourselves in hell. Either from broken deals, abduction, mishap, or because we died as sinners. Our characters are currently working off our ‘debts’ as bounty hunters for hell. Tracking down other contract breakers or escaped devils. Sometimes we get conscripted to fight demons that breach the hellish borders.
My character was a bad guy. He was a warlord, a conqueror who burned through cities and ruled through fear. When he started to slow down, drink and wealth corrupting him, he was assassinated. He dropped to hell where he lived as a slime, a bug, a horrid little devil, and eventually over a LONG time he rebuilt/ earned his body. Only a hellish version of it.
Rebirth
A grey, hairless creature with slightly pointed ears and black demon eyes. The strength and power of his living life are gone, but the quickness and endurance remain. (Dex and Con build, with Cha as prime as his force of personality is what brought him back).
He worked as a soldier in the hell legions and through his persuasion and charisma he managed to work himself into a more specialized roll. Becoming a scout and eventually getting into the Hellhunter Division.
HOWEVER… on one of his missions as a scout he ended up falling through a crack and into a hidden place in hell. Possibly into another plane entire. He is unsure. But he wandered through a desolate wasteland of empty ruins and sand swept planes before he finally found a huge lake, and on the other side, a magnificent city.
Hali and Carcosa.
He found dread Carcosa, a city of myth, legend, and entropy. The end of worlds and yet, still a place in the end of everything. He wandered through lost streets and dark halls and only saw the twitch of curtains and people ducking into doors and alleys.
Until he came to the grand palace and saw that a show was happening. He entered a courtyard full of people in mixed dress, strange fashions, fabrics, armor and not. Ballgowns, togas, centurions, business suits, and every cut and style amongst them.
All were masked and they offered him food, drink, dance, and anything else he desired. He took a length of yellow silk and fashioned it into a bandanna with eyeholes, masked. He entered the castle and moved through the various rooms. He drank the wine, bourbon, port, etc. He ate the odd foods. He danced thru rooms, laughed at bad jokes, gagged on a cigar and in the end, he met the king.
The King in Yellow
He followed the King into the throne room and the other guests were dismissed. Alone with the king, Chamber, as he called himself since his rebirth left him with no memories of his original name, knelt.
The King removed his pallid faceless mask, but it was NO mask. The avatar melted away and the presence of Hastur filled the room. It filled Chamber’s mind with the laws of entropy. The end of all things, the true Nihil. As Chamber reached his breaking point, Hastur departed and the King in Yellow sat on the throne again.
Chamber was stripped of his gear and clothed in black scale armor, etched in gold edges and panels, a yellow silk robe and cloak covered his arms and legs, a helmet obscured his face. The yellow sign was emblazoned on his flesh and in the end the king gave to him a sword. A rapier with a complex, twisting hand cage with a single yellow eye.
Chamber swore his oath over this blade, put on his helmet, and he left the city of Carcosa to bring his masters gift to the rest of the world.
OMNIA FIT NIHIL, EGO SUM OMNIUM RERUM FINIS.
Everything becomes nothing, I am the End of all things.
Chamber has returned to the hellhunters, his body encased in his new raiment, and over time he has slowly tattooed the words of Hastur onto his flesh. He seldom removes his helmet, even when alone and he bides his time as he grows in strength.
Stat Lines and Nerd Shit
Chamber is a “human” 2nd level Fighter, 1st level Warlock. He has pact of the blade and will mostly continue as a warlock. At Warlock 3 I will take Great Old One as my patron.
I’m Dex, Con, Cha build. 14, 14, 17, every other stat sits at 10. I have decent AC, second wind to heal or improve skills, eldritch blast, plus mastery in three weapons. My character is set with a longbow or eldritch blast for my range attacks. I have a rapier and daggers, so I can duel with my sword, or two weapon with rapier and dagger (or dagger-dagger). I also have Hex to bolster my damage. So, I have a bunch of options.
I plan to be combat heavy up front, but as I level I’ll slid over to be more useful in other ways.
When my character was alive, he was a wayfarer, and outsider, who came into the realm and became a warlord. The point was the Wayfarer gave me a bonus to my Cha and Dex, the Lucky Feat which is ok, and Thieves tools which allows me to pick locks and disarm traps.
Our party doesn’t have a rogue so those were needed skills… course, we have a wayfarer gnome bard… so he’ll probably be the one picking all the locks. But I wanted to bring in some level of support.
Teaser Outro
And that’s the character. I’ll share his adventurers as they happen. See if he progresses the way I envisioned… usually not as the story of the game changes all of my ideas.
I went way longer than I expected with this one.
I don’t think I have the space to talk about the other character I created this week. I feel bad about that since I’ll be playing him next week.
So, a teaser.
The other character I created: For Chapter 1 of School Daze.
We’re a merc company sent into a mega-dungeon to retrieve a holy relic reported to have been smuggled inside. I am playing a Fighter Runeknight, Bugbear. My character is in full adamantine platemail. He’s a walking steel juggernaut with a huge weapon.
Interestingly, I realize that I took a similar theme for my character in the third game that is coming in October. Where I will play a caveman—based on Erikson’s T’Lan Imass from Malazan Book of the Fallen—who wields a flint greatsword. That game has homebrewed Book of Nine Swords classes and I’ll be a warblade.
And with that… I think I have gone on very long now.
Ouch.
Thanks for reading this far. See you next week.
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