Fantasy Wargaming Player Survey Continued: Myth and Magic!

This is the second post I have written concerning Bruce Galloway's 1981 tome of essays, history and role playing rules and errata known as Fantasy Wargaming; the Highest Level of All.


The post previous to this one gave a general summary of the differences that one could expect to find regarding FW as compared with D&D.


So, given these differences and the seeming complexity of the rules, I asked the question, why play?


I will cite the fascination we as gamers have with the dark age and medieval cultures as a major reason (who would not enjoy at least occasional gaming sessions set in real world history?), but I think the major selling point in running this game is the magical flavor.


That very feature might drive some away--its a like or hate thing.


The notes that a player will assemble to keep track of their spells could well end up looking and feeling like an actual grimoire. Spell components are to be gathered, and these are all related to a zodiacal table of correspondences.


One example given in the book is a Taurus wand. The Bull sign corresponds to hornbeam, copper and sapphire, so these items are used in the construction of the wand. Astrological lore is key to running the magic system of FW.


Spells cast in the month related to Taurus and the time of day and in areas will have great effect, being diminished by opposite controlling signs.


The spells will necessarily have to be related to the spheres of influence which correspond to Taurus.


Gemini, for example, relates to hidden knowledge, concealed things and mysteries, so divination spells will be most auspicious when cast using physical components that correspond to Gemini.


The GM is actually required to make notes of these ethereal zodiac influences in specific areas of his adventure and relate them to the mage character is needed.


Complicated? Could be? But nice flavor and authenticity, as well, if a mage is your thing.


In my next post I will discuss magic in FW a bit further and also talk about Religion, which works in much the same way except that character conduct and piety continually influence appeals for Divine Aid, whether you are a cleric or a warrior.


Its all a bit to keep up with and very much changes the nature of the game, but if you can craft a scenario out of these subtleties and make them part of the game itself (instead of assumed magic preparations which we find with D&D), you might have a thoroughly enjoyable session.


More to come.

The Highest Level of All! Bruce Galloway's "Fantasy Wargaming" Rules Cyclopedia

Ah, the possibilities.




This book has tantalized me since finding it at a B. Dalton bookstore in Oklahoma City, circa 1985 (...maybe?) at the impressionable young age of fourteen.




Bruce Galloway's essays vastly improved my D&D game, though any hope of playing his strange and eccentric system was beyond miniscule since the his taste for the obscure, the esoteric and for absolute realism made his game mechanics cause my brain to melt and run out of my eye sockets in puddles around my wringing hands.




But I am again thinking of giving it a try, and this is a heads up for my prospective players.


 I've always wanted to run at least a series of scenarios based on the rules, but I state this with the caveat that it must be the closest facsimile of Galloway's rules that I can possibly manage, since the normal calculations for magic and combats during a round seem, at long study, to require Stephen Hawking as a DM. Oh, yes, I can understand them...can I execute them in a manner expeditious enough for a role playing game session?




Without serious truncating, my guess would be no, and so I will use what parts of the rules are expeditious and leave the rest for Mensa members.




Should you deign to join these sessions, know that this game will be vastly different from D&D for the following reasons:




1. It is historical. You will be a character in a real world medieval or ancient setting in the real world of earth, albeit magic, religion, and monsters will be real.




2. All player characters will be human.




3. At times during the game you may lose control over the actions of your character. These times are when morale is checked before and during physical combat, when going berserk in battle, and when you are required to roll a temptation savings throw. This is based upon your character attributes, and is used when a DM thinks your character's refusal of a proffered temptation is not in alignment with your these scores.




4. Astrological influences are considered paramount to magic. The proper estimation and application of these ethereal influences are integral to your crafting of spells and the outcome of the same. Although a sample spell list is given, you and the DM are required to craft spells as you conceive of them, calculating an array of influences and arriving at a "Degree of Difficulty" which determines your percentage chance of casting. Three rolls are needed--one to establish a "link" with the ethereal plane, one to determine whether a target saves against your spell, and one for the actual casting. Mana points are expended to cast magic spells--these are gathered through rituals and preparations as well as by gaining magical levels.




5. Religion works along the same lines as magic but success is determined by a point system which awards or penalizes a priest or cleric for their daily actions depending on keeping with the Deity's established codes of conduct. Prayer, fasting and penance increase scores as well.




6. You gain a new level of Experience with every 1000 adventuring points. Points are gained through using character skills. Upon attaining a new level you will receive 2 points to spread among your physical and mental attributes as desired.




7. There are only four basic types of characters: clerics, mages, fighters and thieves.




So, these are the features of the game--quite different form D&D as any experienced player can see. Why play, you ask? If D&D is a good meal you enjoy regularly, look upon Fantasy Wargaming as an exotic cuisine to enjoy occasionally and with great appreciation.




Any takers?

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

 

 

 

Night of the Death Cult

Fantasy Horror Scenario

 

 

 

Classic and cult horror films are a lonely pleasure of mine; almost no one among my family or friends appreciates them, and my fiancé doesn't care for horror of any kind (except for yours truly), so I usually watch them alone with a glass of wine and some cheap compilation discs. I have loved these kind of films since childhood, and confess an especial fondness for sixties and seventies Italian and Spanish creep cinema. It was while watching the Night of the Death Cult (properly titled Night of the Seagulls at the Internet Movie Database) that I realized what a great one to three session scenario for a Dungeons and Dragons game that the movie would make.

 

The above movie still is actually from the Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971), the forerunner to Night of the Death Cult (1975), and apparently there are other loosely related films featuring these same skeletal Knights Templars who, by means of ancient pagan blood rites, prolong their existence from medieval times until the 1970's in the Old World countryside near the ruins of an ancient keep and sleepy nameless villages. Silent, slow moving, shrouded in black hermetic robes and bearing ancient swords, these monsters look every part St. Tolkien's Nazgul.

 

The films can only be loosely related because there is little real plot in Tombs and there is no story connection between the features...it seems it was more a matter of getting as many movies as possible out of these costumes and the spooky shooting environs. In terms of art (I use the world liberally), the real magic of the films for me is the very surreal and horrifying images of the undead knights venturing forth from crumbling crypts across the misty moors or upon lonely moonlit shores. Usually filmed at night and with slow motion, they do leave an impression on the midnight movie watcher. Both films contain some cheap gore and mild nudity, although Tombs is much more sexually charged and is as much meant to be erotica as horror. Both are the work of Amando de Ossorio. Both are to be valued for their atmospheric dream like palettes rather than any ingenious scripting, acting, or production values, especially since the versions I watched were dubbed very badly.

 

Why do I want to run a scenario based on Night of the Death Cult? Because, it has everything a good D&D game wants!

 

A young doctor and his wife travel into the Spanish country side to take over the practice of an elderly village doctor who has abruptly closed shop and wants to get the hell out of town. He is friendly to them as he departs but full of cryptic warnings. Upon arriving, the couple find a sea side village out of time where the people are as mysterious and impregnable as the ruins of the forbidding keep which lies not far from town. No one wishes to talk or have anything to do with the newcomers and the puzzled newlyweds are told frankly to go away...but of course, they don't listen, not least because the idealistic physician feels he has a duty to the backward place to bring medical care. They are befriended by a strange young woman, native to the village, whom they take in as a servant and also by the hapless village idiot, a mentally deranged but harmless and pitiable middle aged man with the demeanor of a young child and who suffers perpetual cruelty from the hard hearted village folk.

 

The couple is warned that they are restricted by a curfew applying only to them and cautioned not to travel abroad by night for any reason. But being awakened by tolling bells and mysterious choral singing, they look out their window to see a procession of black garbed men and women leading a young girl in a white robe towards the crashing shore of the sea. Compelled to sneak out and watch, they realize the girl is the focus of some pagan rite which they cannot fathom as they witness her being chained to a rocky outcropping at the edge of the shore. Then, the baleful apparitions of the rotting warriors appear galloping from the shores near the old keep who arrive to retrieve the screaming girl and spirit her away to a cryptic fate. Thus begin the chain of events which will lead to the inexorable doom of most in the film...

 

 

 

 

I think the clever DM is already seeing all of the wonderful material here for a short round of games.

 

There are literally tons of adventure props and interesting moments for any D&D session. Angry villagers, supplicants beating on the door at night begging refuge, the old keep with it's dungeons below and the grotesque stone image of a terrifying elder god from lands far over the sea. All kinds of little mysteries that grow and branch out of the same underlying pathos of the old settlement and it's ghastly pact with the lords of the ancient keep, who appear to have been the feudal lords of old and who still exact expensive tribute in the coin of tender virgins. Designing the keep as a dungeon would be great fun, as would laying out the village and placing some areas of interest there, such as an old cave. One could even follow the exact plot of the movie--having a cleric hear of a priest of their faith abandoning their parish and traveling there to inquire as to the welfare of its people.  Or you could simply have the party become lost and happen upon the village.

 

You have only to watch the film all the way through to outline the essential elements of the adventure.  It is not complex at all and would lend itself well to a brief episode between campaigns of for those game nights when for whatever reason you are not able to run your usual game.  Of course the final showdown is with the evil undead order. A good trail into the adventure would be the party being told not to leave their quarters but then hearing and seeing the ritual march--what D&D player will not break the curfew? You don't even have to have a detailed structure--just a series of related episodes and encounters that grow more and more menacing until the adventurers find themselves completely on the outs with the townsfolk, who have no love for their spectral masters but don't wish to suffer their ancient curses and threats of final destruction.

 

Sounds like a game just in time for Halloween....

 

 

 



 

 



 

Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons; Intitial Thoughts

On Saturday nights I catch a D&D game with my fiancé and her family.


 I will admit to having joined the game so I can sit at the side of my most favorite beautiful creature and touch her leg under the table, but that doesn't mean I don't thoroughly enjoy the other company and the game itself.


Her brother DM'ed for the longest time and then one of his high school buddies took over and both were running Pathfinder. Both proved excellent DMs and introduced me to great new styles of play.


I took some ribbing about this from a few of my fellow gamers because I had long affected a jaded attitude towards anything but Old School versions of the game, my favorites being Tekumel, Basic D&D (Holmes version) and 1st edition AD&D.


 I had long resisted these friends' attempts to enlist me in a Pathfinder campaign, but love conquers all. I did shed some of my prejudices against Pathfinder, although after many months I can state unequivocally that I still prefer the relic  systems--like priceless artifacts of ancient magical power, they have the same shine to me they did when I first played them as a gawky 13 year old kid.


Anyway, my love light's game group has now decided to switch to 5th Edition. I've only played in one episode thus far so I have only about four hours play from the basic starter set to base my initial opinions on.


I must say I liked it.


I think it had a very old school feel to it. What stuck out to me most was the abundance of material provided to facilitate role playing--lots of character background info and motivations and quest objectives built into your first level character. I was glad to see that as a focus.


I played a fighter named Felhaus--I don't often play fighters, but wanted something easy and simple.


I came up with the name but the prepared character sheet for Felhaus had noted his places of origins, parentage, life history, weaknesses, motives and a quest objective to revenge himself on a wayward dragon.


This is good. If a person totally new to these kind of games picks up these books, I think they will have a better grasp on the original spirit of the D&D game than fresh players of the latter editions. I don't see the new edition leaning on feats and powers so much as on roleplaying.


 Seems a little less like a free shopping spree in a candy store and more like the story based, character driven game I love.


System wise, it played very well and felt somewhat old school. I don't really have much to say about the mechanics as I had almost no time to digest them--it played like Pathfinder but with a lot less formula and factoring, but then, we were first level. Our Pathfinder campaign ended at 20th level and I don't like the endless bookwork and formulation every single player seems to have to engage in every single round.


I hope 5th Edition doesn't end up the same way at upper levels.  Still, I did enjoy the game and would not be adverse to playing it again...though I still favor the original game and probably always will.


Kudos to those who worked on the game--this edition does seem to have some thought and care put into what sort of a game experience it will provide and not to simply throw out yet another pile of glossy book covers, endless reams of ink, and garish illustrations to make a quick buck on the unsuspecting masses.


I will say of some games that their producers do with D&D what the hip hop group Atmosphere said some rappers do with that musical genre in their song "Trying to Find a Balance":


"Wait, let's prey on the blind, deaf, dumb, dead
Hustle, maybe a couple will love what you said;
MC's drag their feet across a big naked land
With an empty bag of seeds and a fake shake of hands."


I'm not a rap fan much at all but I know a good lyric when I see it and must admit that if toy companies let marketing and advertising execs mess with D&D, it has kind of the same effect.


5th edition seems to have some true gamer love in it's development and it came through.

R.P.G. Project in the Works: "Secrets of the Mistwater"

 

 

"Secrets of the Mistwater"

A Complete "Sandbox" Campaign for Levels 1-12

Having It's Own Rule System or Compatible

With Any Fantasy Role Play System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am currently working upon the manuscript and maps for publication of the campaign which I have Dungeon Mastered for my players for the last year, tentatively entitled "Secrets of the Mistwater".

 

This will be a complete campaign setting with a large City Map, a Towne map, several villages and settlements, an "Outdoor" Map, and no less than six dungeon locales. It will feature all original art, some of which is complete as I write, and will be a "sandbox adventure" in the truest sense of the word.

 

It is a challenge but I am attempting to add several design elements to this book which I hope will make it a welcome tool to any seasoned Game Master and his or her players as well as to novice players.

 

One of these ideas is a complete set of simple rules that allows anyone who purchases the game to play it "as-is" without buying any other rule set. I have the rules system written and will not preview it yet but it is less than ten pages and will decidedly favor "rules light" playing. However, the creatures and treasures will be familiar enough that any system like D&D can be used.

 

Another feature I am building into the game is that each dungeon locale will have a keyed map that has alternate encounters depending on the level of the player characters when they actually enter that dungeon. I struggled with how to make the map truly open and not railroad players in a certain direction, because I really wanted the party to be able to go anywhere they wanted at any time.

 

Normally, this would lead to trouble if they decided to explore a ruin that was beyond their level of skill or ability. As a veteran DM, I'm well aware of the methods one can use to discourage a group from entering an area but I did not want the "Mistwater" campaign to use these methods--I wanted the players to feel they could go in any direction fate or choice led them so that it would unfold naturally.

 

The solution I came up with at this point was to have a dungeon key for each map that provided different monsters and treasure that a DM could choose from dependent upon the power level of the adventuring party at the time they enter the ruin. I call this the "Level Neutral Dungeon Approach." Basically there will be a room description that will be the same for any adventuring party but below this a list of encounters. with treasure, that will match the level of the Party.

 

The Devil will be, of course, in the details, and I'm still working it out right now. Feedback is therefore much appreciated, reader!

 

The real challenge as I see it is to not let the dungeon map and encounters become too generic, and to ensure that story flow is kept. As an example, if the players are to visit an ancient barrow that is a reputed haunt of the undead--if they decide to visit it at 1st level, there will of course be skeletons and zombies and similar monsters. But let us say they decide not to go there until much later in the saga--any map I had designed for 1st level players will be useless at that point. With a "Level Neutral Dungeon" key, I have stats for undead monsters much more commensurate with the level of the party when they finally do arrive...mid level parties might encounter wights where a higher level party would meet a vampire.

 

Now there will still be some areas clearly marked "Don't Come here Till You Can Kick Some Ass", but only two, and part of the mounting tension of the campaign will be players getting to a place where they feel ready to brave the ultimate lair.  But for the most part, a DM running this book will have at his or her fingertips at all times the preparation for any course of action the players may choose.

 

There will also be XP awards for "Quest Objectives", so that sessions that involve mostly role playing can help level up characters as much as dungeoneering.

 

The campaign is a locale within my larger, private world of Rysanthis--it will include world setting material such as holidays, customs, culture, and calendar, as well as major myths and known legend. However, this will be inserted in such a way as to either be of easy use to the DM or set aside in favor of his or her preferred setting. If the campaign setting is well received, I may begin work on an atlas of Rysanthis as a published setting.

 

The Rysanthian setting is one I invented about six years ago and have been playing with ever since. I originally created it as a realm to introduce my kids, then 11 and 12, to fantasy gaming. It was also to be the setting for some stories I began to write but did not finish...life and work intervened, alas.

 

Some Rysanthian differences are race, culture, and magic. In Rysanthis as I envisioned it, I created my own races and did not use any Tolkienish patterns. I was inspired by a little of everything from Tekumel to Sci Fi and sword and sandal flicks, not to mention my own readings in myth, magick, and lore. In Secrets of the Mistwater, since most will be coming from a D&D or LOTR fantasy background, I make exception so that the campaign will be compatible with D&D. I did this with my AD&D campaign that the Miswater locale was originally played by, but added the caveat that in Rysanthis is that magic comes from a source which only the Faery races can use and not be corrupted. All magic use by humans is considered "Dark Arts" and is Dragon Magic. leading to evil alignment. But the Elves have a different psyche and spiritual relationship to Illuvion, the central Deity of the Rysanthian setting, and so can use magic without being turned to the dark side and falling under the "Dragonspell".

 

So, in this setting, a party would have clerics or warriors/paladins of Illuvion and his Temple but no human magic users.  However, I do plan to make this optional and set up the module so that straight D&D can be played to one's content.

 

And what of the themes of the Mistwater campaign? I can promise lots of adventure, perfected by having run a very skilled group of players through this campaign. There is a deposed King who has gone missing with an heir who lurks somewhere within the environs of the Mistwater, a great fresh water lake with many ancient secrets. There is an ancient elven ruin unashamedly based upon Tolkien's Menegroth with plenty of peril and gold to whet the appetites of any party of adventurers. There is intrigue and betrayal within the Temple of Illuvion, the subterfuge of the Dragon Cultists, the oppression of the people by the tyranny of a despotic Overlord and his evil sorceress Queen. There are many ancient relics whose magic will tip the balance of power. There is a mysterious and forbidden isle where the forgotten past of Rysanthis is revealed. Encounters with angels and avatars, the testing of the moral fiber of any lawful party (the setting is geared towards lawful or neutral groups), visions and stronghold building--I have aimed at this setting having it all!

 

I have a great deal of material already written and will be finishing it up by the Fall I hope.

 

And as usual, I would love to hear your thoughts!

 

 

 

 



Book Review and Author Interview: Sally K. Ito's The Prison Blade

 The Mazes have been quiet of late, but there's no better way to get the quill flowing again than for me to introduce the first book in a fantastic swords and swords series that is well underway by an author I feel very privileged to know!

Sally K. Ito is a librarian in Central Oklahoma who self-published her debut book The Prison Blade in October of last year. The Prison Blade is the first tale in a series she is writing entitled Shadows and Light.

I was very pleased to receive a print copy of her novel and I truly enjoyed reading it. I am happy to recommend it to readers of this blog as well as travelers in the various gaming forums I frequent, because while just about anyone who loves swords and sorcery will probably enjoy the Prison Blade, it will resonate especially with the old school gaming community since Ms. Ito is a life long D&D player who has played the game in it's earliest editions and traces of the aura of the gaming table are quite discernible in the Prison Blade.

The Prison Blade opens with a young princess and her brother excusing themselves from wedding festivities in the Palace of Verindii to enter a forbidden reliquary in the vaults where powerful and dangerous magic relics are stored in safekeeping. Orielle and her younger brother Kye, a boy with innate talent as a mage, are captivated by the legendary artifacts they find, but by none so much as the Prison Blade, a mysterious sword sealed by spell craft in an ornate but ominous scabbard. The two know the legend of the Prison Blade; how one of their ancestors saved the realms from devastation by imprisoning within the sword the spirit of a being half mortal, half divine, named Everie. Oreille is compelled irresistibly to draw the sword; having some magical talents herself she overcomes the locking rune on the scabbard and looses the Prison Blade, just to have a look. Curiosity proves perilous indeed as the demi-god attains a measure of freedom and also power over the young princess.

The book moves from this scene into the events of the life of Orielle many years after her fateful choice, laying the foundation for the series of catalysts that will unfold to determine both her destiny and the destiny of her kingdom, and whether the Light can outshine the Shadows or the old, dark gods instead prevail. One of the most fascinating and original elements of the Prison Blade is the unique symbiotic relationship between Everie and Orielle through the magic of the blade, and how Kye's enchantments have created an uneasy balance between the young woman Orielle's will and the greedy and destructive will of Everie. Since this drama and the unfolding nature of those enchantments form a large part of the plot I will not spoil enjoyment of it for the reader and will simply state that it is one of the most intriguing and original concepts for a magic swords that I have ever seen, making matters like the soul and the strength of the human spirit in resisting evil real themes in the Prison Blade.

Ms. Ito has joined us to talk about her book and answer some questions about this great series. Her answers and comments are italicized.

Sally K. Ito

Tell us about your novel. What sort of stories and characters can a reader expect in the
Shadows and Light series?

It's sword and sorcery, full of epic battles and struggles of good and evil, and also some
fun and silliness. It's very character driven while being largely plot-based. I like to
throw challenges in my characters' paths and see what they'll do, so a lot of the story
highlights their personalities, and draws a clearer picture of each character while the
story keeps moving and the plot unfolds.

Tell us about Orielle, the Mad Lady of Verindii, your conflicted protagonist.

I think some people who like strong female leads my be disappointed with her at first.
She does begin the book considering herself powerless. She thinks of herself as Everie's
pawn and expects her brothers to take care of her, not much for girl power beyond
complaining. But that's really what the story's about. Orielle is in a nearly impossible position. She
is outmatched by nearly everyone around her, and it's only when she has to make a choice
that she realizes she can, and she finally finds the strength that is hers.

The book's title comes from the magical sword which is the catalyst of the epic events
that unfold in Orielle's life and provides to the reader an extremely compelling character
in the personality of the soul within the blade. Tell us about the Prison Blade and
Everie, its inhabitant.

Everie is shown to be evil from the beginning of the story. His plan was to steal Orielle's
body and live again, and it wasn't because of any kindness on his part that she was
spared.
Yet it's easy to forget he is a villain. He's Orielle's constant companion, and, in a way,
her only friend. He is elegant, attractive, and even helpful from time to time, and
Orielle struggles to remind herself that he cannot be trusted and that the power he
sometimes uses to protect her could just as easily destroy her.
His goals are unclear and his indifference to the suffering of others obvious, but the
past he hides so carefully may hold more than just the history of a monster.

The Prison Blade imprisons Orielle in a different way than it does Everie, doesn't it?

They are both trapped by the enchantment that binds Everie's soul to Orielle's body.
It is a new life for Everie, a step along the road of immortality.  It was not supposed to
be a trap. But he never intended to have the company of the original soul of any body he
posessed.  Everie is caught with Orielle in her body and forced to look at the world
through her eyes, an experience he doesn't at all appreciate.

For Orielle the prison is far more extensive. Her thoughts and feelings are all exposed to
him. She knows no peace or privacy. After so much time with him she doesn't even know who
she is alone. She has never had a real life or friendships. Everie is the stronger, and he
makes all the choices for the body they share.

You wrote the Prison Blade over many years--tell us about your writing process.

I actually started it ten years ago. At first I wrote simply for fun. I sent the story
chapter by chapter to a friend just because she enjoyed it, but when I finished I realized
I really had a fun story here and gave it to others to read.

I have changed things extensively due to the commentary of others. I'm not naturally a
writer, just a storyteller, and it took a lot of criticism to get it into a proper
structure.

I am very lucky to have a family that was interested in assisting in the process. I have
had help with all sorts of editing--I think my sister is one of the best editors ever if
you can manage not to be sensitive.

I think I'm pretty good about not taking things personally. I just want to make the story
better.  I doubt more than a third of it is actually the original writing.

Your writing style is more narritive and storytelling based than descriptive, isn't it?

It is. And I really feel more like a storyteller than a writer. For me it's not about the
words and the art of writing. I can appreciate beautiful writing and clever word use, but
I write to let my characters live and to get my story told. I have a habit of skipping
through books I've read before, looking for the good parts, the exciting bits and the
entertaining conversations, and that's basically what I've written, a good parts
version--or at least I hope so.

How much of your D&D gaming comes out in your writing?

I've been tempted to call my book gamer fantasy. I really feel like my world could just be
a big RPG. I use the flashy magic everybody loves, and the enchanted weapons, and even the
same sort of epic monsters you might run across gaming.

I love the setting. The city of Torindii and the manner and customs of Orielle's time and space very much evoke the Renaissance cities. And yet the book has such a definite flavor of Japanese mythology in it as well. I was impressed at how neatly you blended these.

Torindii does feel Italian; I'm glad you noticed that. Italy is really the core of the
high renasance for me, and I wanted to have the feeling of that sort of sophistication for
the capital, but I do see what you mean about the Japanese elements as well. The Japanese
wasn't really intentional, except that I lived in Japan and was watching lots of anime
when I wrote the rough draft.

I like the speed of anime and manga and picked that up intentionally, but looking back I
can see that my characters, especially my villains, have a Japanese edge. There're a lot
of pride and loyalty issues that I might have dealt with a little differently if I had
never had that exposure.

I think it makes my book a little more unique, with just a slightly different flavor from
most sword and sorcery fantasy.

You don't spare readers when it comes to showing the dark. Is that why you call your
series Shadows and Light?

Sort of. I was really thinking of Orielle living constantly surrounded by both shadows and
light and also of Everie's sort of fluctuating loyalties.

I think the horror has to be there though because I want the conflict to be real. I want
readers to understand that this is a fight that has to be won because the alternative is
unthinkable. I also want the danger to be clear. There is a very real chance for
failure--and honestly, one of my biggest struggles is giving my heroes a fighting chance.

How much of a part do the gods and goddesses play in the tale?

Well, Everie is the son of a dark god, as is the Nameless One, but their father does not
activly appear in the story.
But there are prophecies and destinies and once I even have Lyaru appeal to and recieve
help from a goddess.
I plan to involve them more, but at the same time, I really think more Greek gods than
all-powerful gods, and in the end the story is a human struggle.

When will your second book be ready for readers and what is the title?

I plan to release the next book this summer. I'm still working on the title--for some
reason, for me, that's one of the hardest parts.
Tell us how to buy your book.

It is available on Amazon as both a paperback and an e-book. It is also available from the
Apple store and Barnes and Noble. I have a website at www.kitostories.com where you can
find some extra content and a few other works I have in progress.


Ms. Ito, thanks so much for taking the time to talk about your novel!

I would like to add as a final note that the printed copies of Ms. Ito's book are very sturdy with a beautiful glossy finish on a cover decorated by a very simple but beautiful original illustration of the Prison Blade. It's book store quality and at very affordable price.  I wholeheartedly recommend this great tale!

JB

Greetings friends, gamers and webtravelers. I always have the best of intentions in getting the Mazes up and going again but life has been busy of late.

I do have some content to upload and will try to do so after tax season.

We have enjoyed a very long campaign with a very eclectic gaming group for the last nine months or so, and I say eclectic because it has a diverse mix of game experience and ages. Our youngest player is nine, we have a preteen boy, a teen aged girl, and several middle aged folks.  So it has been very interesting from that vantage.

It has also been loads of fun and I have been working for over a year now on the material in the hopes I can soon offer a simple set of rules and a campaign module.

Now I'm kind of hungry to play some Tekumel!

A keeper for me from this campaign is an innovation I introduced to deliver myself from the headaches DM's face sometimes in mediating party relations, decision making and treasure sharing: The Thane.

The Thane is basically the party Caller for those who know what that is, as well as the official party leader and final arbiter of party decisions and treasure distribution. In the setting, it is a warrior culture and the Thane can be challenged only under four conditions that must all take place:

1. By right of arms in a non-lethal duel, though deaths can occur accidentally.

2.Only if the Challenger has at least half of the party's support.

3. The duel can only be fought at the beginning of each of the four major seasonal festivals.

4. It is nonmagical. Wizards must have a stand in.

With the Thane protocol in place, I am effectively removed from all party squabbles, any people not happy with leadership must contend for it and have some support, and if trouble does arise, it is settled in a game scenario during festival.

Drawbacks are obvious, but this has eliminated disputes over magic items and treasure in our games. It has also eliminated endless dithering over choices and path decisions. Liberty is given at times under certain conditions to not follow the Thane's edicts but you cannot try to sway others.

Give it a try if you are having problems in this area (and all groups see this from time to time, it's only human!)

Peace and good games.