Last week and the Facebook SNAFU

So, probably no one got my last couple of announcements about posts. A couple of weeks ago, I found a font I wanted through routes various and sundry. They wanted a Facebook post as payment. I didn’t want to spam my friend feeds with such, so I made it a private post. Well, Facebook took that to mean I wanted all my posts private (changed my default security), and while I knew that, I forgot to change things back when I was done. So, for the past couple of weeks, posts I thought were more public than they were, weren’t. So, go back and take a look at the past couple of weeks.

In other news, I didn’t work much last week, and I’m easily distracted. I got in some writing (and some sketching!), mostly on the aesthetics of the various races as well as some about the worlds and the government of the Worlds of the StarSea. I dug up some old papers I had regarding the names of worlds and such, and mined them for names I liked, as well as gave the Noble Houses a place in the world.

I have a couple of possible arcs in mind related to the politics of the StarSea (as well as some others), but when I write up the setting book for publication, I think I’m going to all the possibilities, giving DMs options. I think that’s best, as it makes the setting more appealing.

Really, that’s all I’ve got for now. Hopefully, I’ll have more next week…

History and Prehistory

So, last week I had a full day in one of the rental offices, and it was very slow, so I got in a lot of time to write. In fact, I burned out on writing that day. I filled about a quarter of the little notepads I carry around with me to work. And I wrote out a good sized chunk of my prehistory. That is, I have what was going on in the StarSea before the coming of the Ür and what happened after they did, and through to their fall. I needed this, at least in my own mind, to explain the source of intelligent humanoid life throughout the StarSea. I needed to know why the Ür did what they did, and what caused them to fall. Now I just need to merge that to the history that moves forward from the Fall of the Ür to the present.

I also realized I’m still in the play phase of creating; I’m still throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks, at least to me, and at least in the realms of details. I want the world to be pretty solid in its construction, so that the the criticisms on publication are minimized.

The historical stuff came from trying to settle on races. So far, I’ve got five races I’m pretty happy with, and four others that I have yet to develop into more than just a sketch. I’ve got humans (as typical), dragonfolk, “squats” (not final name, your basic dwarves, but less beardy and more armored), “gnomes” (so far taking some from the dromites of 3.5 and some from the tinker gnomes of DragonLance), and “Starborn” (a tall, willowy race that lives in the StarSea almost exclusively). The other ideas include trolls (in a more classic sense), a warrior race (like 4e half-orcs, but since there will be no orcs…), maybe something like a tiefling or dranei, and maybe a were-race like the shifters. All of the races are going to be touched by the Ür somehow, even humanity. The actions of the Ür are going to explain the origins of races full weres, goblins, doppelgangers and such.

I also know I’ve got to start giving some thought to how society works outside of the Orders. I’ve been pretty focused on that for a while now, but eventually I’ll need to expand beyond that. I’ll need politics and crime and economics and all the fun stuff that makes the setting more real.

That’s all I’m going to discuss tonight, I think. I’ll have more next week, I’m sure…

More on system choices…

Last week, I didn’t get a lot of hours at my job, and most of those I did get were local, which means I didn’t get a lot of downtime to use for other projects. About the only thing I’ve done with my daylight hours lately is look for a job with more consistent hours. That, and working my check book and projecting what I’ll be able to afford in the near future. I’m hoping for a tablet by the end of the year.

I have done some thinking on the nature of the Ür and how much manipulation of the life of the StarSea they might have done. I’m not really ready to discuss much of that right now, as it’s still pretty nebulous.

However, on the rules level, I’ve picked up a couple of new rules sets that I’m looking into. A few weeks ago, I picked up FATE Accelerated, and that inspired me to pick up FATE Core. (Read more here.) I like the system, and I think I could make the StarSea in it pretty easily. I like that I could create the orders as if they were PCs and have them grow and change as players do things in the world. That’s a concept I might adapt to other systems, once I make my choice. However, I’m not sure the kids would like the system. (In fact, the Boy made a remark that he’s going to play 4e even when he’s an adult. Amazing the influence adults have…) But my attempts to run something, even a session or two to find out, have failed. I can’t seem to get the kids to give up their electronics long enough.

I also got my copy of the Numenera PDFs. I could also see this game as a set of rules I could use for StarSea. The roders would likely have to change some, as would the function of the numenera themselves. I haven’t really read much of it so far, as all I have is the PDFs, and no method to read them at my leisure (like from a tablet during work downtime). So, now I’m waiting for my hardback, so I can sit and read it before bed.

I need to get around to finishing reading Savage Worlds, although I’ve got the system stuff down. I did pick up the Fantasy Companion, but there really isn’t enough system material there to be necessary to read thoroughly.

I’d also like to pick up the races book for Bare Bones Fantasy, but that’s going to wait for a while until I can get ahead on the bills.

That’s pretty much all I’ve got for this week. In fact, I’ve written more than I expected. See you next week.

Legends and Lore

Last week’s work was mostly on historical aspects of the StarSea. For example, “were dragons created by the Ür, or are they natural creatures?” I’ve decided they are natural, and I can foresee a number of conflict this will create, due to other questions I’m answering. These are questions like “where did the various races come from?” and “how many are uplifts of lesser creatures by the Ür?”

I’m also still trying to figure out what the actual nature of the Ür was, as I think it will shape their behavior. The more alien they are, the less empathy they have for “lesser races.” The less empathy, the more susceptible to Corruption the Ür become. And I’ll need this kind of info if I decide some of the Ür are still around…

This line of though leads me to think about humanity’s appearance in the StarSea. The original idea was that humans are newer to the StarSea, having come from elsewhere and migrated into the area. But what I’m now thinking is that this is a mistaken belief. Humanity has it’s origins in the StarSea, and some humans fled rather than be used by the Ür for their nefarious ends. They went off, studied magic, and came back to their legendary homelands to overthrow their oppressors. By then, so much time has passed that humanity has forgotten most of what they knew of the StarSea and it seems new to them. The humans that stayed behind have become the other races that are more common is such a setting, or various monsters. So, what each races knows has devolved from witnessed truth into distorted legend. I can write up these legends and have them available to players, while the truth is in the GM’s section of the books, like the stuff that used to be in the Deadlands books.

Well, that’s all I have to report, and my eyelids are getting heavy. Laters.