Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
You didn't see Apep at level 1. Renraw with access to
-level spells would be a lot more cocksure and malevolent. Hell, he's pretty damn malevolent as-is.
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Ptolus: Midwood - "The Dark Waters of Moss Pond"
- Thread starter Whizbang Dustyboots
- Start date
Renraw Kem
First Post
So malevolent there were concerns about his alignment. I'm still happy with Chaotic Neutral, though. He has moments where he's not quite as selfish as usual. They're rare, but I think it's enough to keep him from being out and out evil.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I wasn't happy with where yesterday's chapter ended, so I just added several hundred more words.
The next chapter is coming later today.
The next chapter is coming later today.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
And yes, I've left in all the other "bear rapist" references, because they fit in with Renraw's inexplicable fear of all things rural, despite being a country boy, born and bred.
And, incidentally, Renraw's not wrong: Something was stalking them in the woods that night. Who or what he was won't be seen for a long while. (It hasn't even been revealed in the ongoing campaign yet, although it will be soon.)
And, incidentally, Renraw's not wrong: Something was stalking them in the woods that night. Who or what he was won't be seen for a long while. (It hasn't even been revealed in the ongoing campaign yet, although it will be soon.)
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Sorry for the delay in the updates. I've had a hellish flu (I've lost 9 pounds in a week -- I don't recommend it as a diet plan) and have only now regained upper cognitive functions. Expect posts to resume every weekday. We're actually quite close to the end of the chapter, including a big action movie style set piece, the Baron of Midwood, and we finally find out what was up Khenemet-Apep's sleeve. I expect this chapter to be wrapped up by June 15.
Now to resolve that delayed combat round for those poor folks in the Longcoat game ...
Now to resolve that delayed combat round for those poor folks in the Longcoat game ...
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
That's right, it's a Judy Blume shout-out. Everyone says they want old school flavor in their game, but how many really commit like that?
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Writing the baron was a lot of fun for me. He's very consciously sort of a refugee from the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, although hopefully much less obnoxious than Norrell.
When coming up with Midwood Hall and the throne room, I used A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe but I also thought about the personality of Nicodemus Midwood and his predecessors. (I have a full list of all the barons and at least a sketchy bit of information about each of them, so I can layer their history into the barony.) The Oak Throne isn't the sort of throne that Nicodemus would create, but it's the sort he'd inherit.
The lion topiaries outside are, indeed, topiary guardians from MM3. It works out nicely that the lion is the symbol of the Tarsisian Empire, as having magical lion-shaped bushes guarding the castle (Skeeter of course recognized them as unnatural) is just the sort of cool thing I imagine a wizard-turned-baron would do.
When coming up with Midwood Hall and the throne room, I used A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe but I also thought about the personality of Nicodemus Midwood and his predecessors. (I have a full list of all the barons and at least a sketchy bit of information about each of them, so I can layer their history into the barony.) The Oak Throne isn't the sort of throne that Nicodemus would create, but it's the sort he'd inherit.
The lion topiaries outside are, indeed, topiary guardians from MM3. It works out nicely that the lion is the symbol of the Tarsisian Empire, as having magical lion-shaped bushes guarding the castle (Skeeter of course recognized them as unnatural) is just the sort of cool thing I imagine a wizard-turned-baron would do.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
1. Baron Gideon Midwood - The first baron of Midwood. Named baron in IA 344.
2. Baroness Lasea Midwood - Second baron of Midwood, Lasea the Wise.
3. Baron Felix Midwood - Third baron of Midwood.
4. Baron Harhaiah Midwood - Fourth baron of Midwood, wielder of the sword Headsman.
5. Baron Elymas Midwood - Fifth baron of Midwood, also known as the Sorcerer of Midwood.
6. Baron Laadan Midwood - Sixth baron of Midwood, Laadan the Lusty. Inherited the seat after his older brother, Philologus Midwood, vanished in a magical accident.
7. Baron Abidah Midwood - Seventh baron of Midwood.
8. Baroness Talitha Midwood - Eighth baron of Midwood, inherited the seat after the death of her older brother, Benoni Midwood.
9. Baron Nicodemus Midwood - Ninth baron of Midwood, the current baron. Named baron in IA 698.
The biblical names all followed me using Nicodemus for the baron's name. An earlier version of Nicodemus Midwood was a central Gandalf-like figure in a Mystara campaign I briefly ran during the transition between the 2E and 3E eras. I think I got the name "Nicodemus" from a Fighting Fantasy book, I don't recall. When I decided to bring him back, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell-style, I knew I wanted to make his name fit in with the others from his family. Biblical scholar types will pick up a lot of hints about his ancestors and relatives from their names, although sometimes a good name is mostly just a good name.
2. Baroness Lasea Midwood - Second baron of Midwood, Lasea the Wise.
3. Baron Felix Midwood - Third baron of Midwood.
4. Baron Harhaiah Midwood - Fourth baron of Midwood, wielder of the sword Headsman.
5. Baron Elymas Midwood - Fifth baron of Midwood, also known as the Sorcerer of Midwood.
6. Baron Laadan Midwood - Sixth baron of Midwood, Laadan the Lusty. Inherited the seat after his older brother, Philologus Midwood, vanished in a magical accident.
7. Baron Abidah Midwood - Seventh baron of Midwood.
8. Baroness Talitha Midwood - Eighth baron of Midwood, inherited the seat after the death of her older brother, Benoni Midwood.
9. Baron Nicodemus Midwood - Ninth baron of Midwood, the current baron. Named baron in IA 698.
The biblical names all followed me using Nicodemus for the baron's name. An earlier version of Nicodemus Midwood was a central Gandalf-like figure in a Mystara campaign I briefly ran during the transition between the 2E and 3E eras. I think I got the name "Nicodemus" from a Fighting Fantasy book, I don't recall. When I decided to bring him back, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell-style, I knew I wanted to make his name fit in with the others from his family. Biblical scholar types will pick up a lot of hints about his ancestors and relatives from their names, although sometimes a good name is mostly just a good name.
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