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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hellcow" data-source="post: 3457532" data-attributes="member: 15800">First off, if that's the way it comes across, that's the way it comes across - nothing I say will change that. The Dreaming Dark books were my first novels, and I'm the first to say that I learned a vast amount with each one... and that if I could do it over, I'd do many things differently, especially the end of book three. With that said, I certainly knew where the story was going from begining to end, and I know exactly where it will go next. I know now that it was a mistake to leave as many things hanging as I did. However, the situation in the epilogue isn't intended to be a random "What the %&$^ is going on" scenario. The events leading up to the epilogue are set in motion all the way back in City of Towers; it's a convergence of things spread throughout the series, not a random "Let's end with a weird twist!" But of course, if the average reader doesn't SEE that, that's my fault as a writer... and I'm the first to admit that I played my cards too close to the chest. I have seen people post who've figured out what's going on - but the number who are just confused by it shows that it's flawed.   This is a valid concern. There are a few things that immediately jump to mind, such as a certain very unusual warforged character. You can easily say "If I was making a PC, how would I make that character?" to which the answer is "By the current rules, you can't." The main thing is that I wrote it as I'd run it. With characters with unusual backgrounds, that is how I'd run it - with the PC finding out more about his or her background along the way, and having to learn what it means. So it's a question of style of play. Taking a character like Harmattan or Hydra, there's no existing template for them, but I know how I'd use them in my campaign. Likewise, I did come up with stats for the characters. I can pretty much tell you the game definition of anything Lei does, and it's all within the scope of a 7th-10th level artificer (as things progress). A critical point on Lei is that she uses spell storing item a LOT; if it looks like she can do "anything", it's because it's an extremely versatile infusion. Off the top of my head, I remember her using it for glitterdust, haste, shocking grasp, cure wounds, daylight, and dimension door, but I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of things. Likewise, Lakashtai uses psionic abilities quite often without announcing "I'm using psionic suggestion." She uses psionic charm, psionic suggestion, brain lock, and a bunch of other powers along the way. But it often plays as "people find themselves mysteriously doing what she says" as opposed to her proclaiming "DO WHAT I SAY!" Anyhow, there's certainly a few things that extend beyond the rules, no question. But if I'm not directly basing an action on the rules, I at least try to make sure I know how it would work. If you're curious about a specific thing and can ask about it without major spoilers, I'm happy to explain how I'd translate it to tabletop... though I recognize that many of the stranger things are tied to spoilers.</blockquote>

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