Rel's Faded Glory II (Thanks Old One) Final Update 7/14
- Thread starter Rel
- Start date
Rel
Liquid Awesome
*Blows dust off of thread. Coughs uncontrollably.*
Hello? Is anybody out there? Does anybody remember this old thread? Anyone? Bueller?
Ahem, well I had promised that I'd post a new update by 5/11. I'm only going to miss that mark by a day. A new update will appear here sometime tonight after I get home. I've roughed it out but I need to make a few refinements based on some notes I've got to scrounge out of the back of the gaming closet. But, there will be an update later today. I promise.
Whether anybody will want to read the update, that's another matter. But, if for no other reason than so I can say I did it, I'm going to push through and finish the Story Hour writeups for the campaign by the end of the month. If you are still reading this, I can promise you that by the end you will get to see two HUGE battles, bigger than any in the campaign so far. You will also witness the death of one of the PC's.
Lastly, I'll mention that one of the distractions that has provided a nice break from writing Story Hours (and served to make me a terrible procrastinator - as if I needed help in that department) is Neverwinter Nights. I've recently started playing around with the Neverwinter Toolset and I'm designing an adventure set in my version of the town of Glynden. If (and I can't stress the word IF enough) I get it into some kind of playable form, I'd be happy to pass it along to any of the readers out there who play NWN. I'll go ahead and warn you that it will almost certainly not be up to the high standards of some of the modules I've downloaded and played from the web. But it will be in the lands of Faded Glory. Maybe that's enough to make it special.
If you are reading this, check back in tonight and I'll have the next update in place.
Hello? Is anybody out there? Does anybody remember this old thread? Anyone? Bueller?
Ahem, well I had promised that I'd post a new update by 5/11. I'm only going to miss that mark by a day. A new update will appear here sometime tonight after I get home. I've roughed it out but I need to make a few refinements based on some notes I've got to scrounge out of the back of the gaming closet. But, there will be an update later today. I promise.
Whether anybody will want to read the update, that's another matter. But, if for no other reason than so I can say I did it, I'm going to push through and finish the Story Hour writeups for the campaign by the end of the month. If you are still reading this, I can promise you that by the end you will get to see two HUGE battles, bigger than any in the campaign so far. You will also witness the death of one of the PC's.
Lastly, I'll mention that one of the distractions that has provided a nice break from writing Story Hours (and served to make me a terrible procrastinator - as if I needed help in that department) is Neverwinter Nights. I've recently started playing around with the Neverwinter Toolset and I'm designing an adventure set in my version of the town of Glynden. If (and I can't stress the word IF enough) I get it into some kind of playable form, I'd be happy to pass it along to any of the readers out there who play NWN. I'll go ahead and warn you that it will almost certainly not be up to the high standards of some of the modules I've downloaded and played from the web. But it will be in the lands of Faded Glory. Maybe that's enough to make it special.
If you are reading this, check back in tonight and I'll have the next update in place.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Enk, that remains to be seen. This is our first try at module design, so anything (including giving up in frustration) is possible. At this point, I'm guessing that it will benefit from (if not require) some sort of DM intervention. If we ever get it into final form, which is weeks if not months off at best, we'll include some documentation so that other groups can run it with a DM with a bit of guidance from us.
As much as is possible though, I want to try and make it playable for a solo character. It can be hard to coordinate with others to play online sometimes.
As much as is possible though, I want to try and make it playable for a solo character. It can be hard to coordinate with others to play online sometimes.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Hey Rel, nice to see your thread back on the front page!
RE NWN, I'd like to recommend you to the online community at neverwinterconnections.com; it's a site designed to help folks find others to play in scheduled games. I've been playing there for 9 months now, since the game came out, and it's a blast. NWN with a DM and a regular group of players in an ongoing campaign is, IMO, the closest thing yet to the tabletop game that I've seen yet on the computer. I have players in my current campaigns from England, Austria, Canada, and all over the U.S. We're always short of good DMs, though, and if you're interested, I know you'd make a great one.
Good luck on your NWN mod; I've done several campaign mods and know how much work it takes! I agree that good DM docs are essential for a good multiplayer mod. You might want to check out the DMFI (DM-Friendly Initiative); this is a group that is dedicated to making tools and mods that are easy for any DM to pick up and play. Their wand kit is a MUST for adding into a module (http://razorwise.com/dmfi_dl.html); they add incredible functionality to the DM client. I believe you will find modules on Neverwinter Vault like The Vethboro Dragon and The Sinister Secret of Saltmash that were designed to be DM-friendly; they might give you some suggestions on how to prep your mod for release.
Another GREAT tool, if you haven't already found it, is the Lilac Soul Script Generator (also available at the Vault). It is incredibly powerful and has taken my own scripting to a much higher level (it's a simple Windows app that runs outside of the toolset).
Anyway, I look forward both to more Faded Glory story, and maybe someday experiencing part of the world in NWN as well!
Lazy
RE NWN, I'd like to recommend you to the online community at neverwinterconnections.com; it's a site designed to help folks find others to play in scheduled games. I've been playing there for 9 months now, since the game came out, and it's a blast. NWN with a DM and a regular group of players in an ongoing campaign is, IMO, the closest thing yet to the tabletop game that I've seen yet on the computer. I have players in my current campaigns from England, Austria, Canada, and all over the U.S. We're always short of good DMs, though, and if you're interested, I know you'd make a great one.
Good luck on your NWN mod; I've done several campaign mods and know how much work it takes! I agree that good DM docs are essential for a good multiplayer mod. You might want to check out the DMFI (DM-Friendly Initiative); this is a group that is dedicated to making tools and mods that are easy for any DM to pick up and play. Their wand kit is a MUST for adding into a module (http://razorwise.com/dmfi_dl.html); they add incredible functionality to the DM client. I believe you will find modules on Neverwinter Vault like The Vethboro Dragon and The Sinister Secret of Saltmash that were designed to be DM-friendly; they might give you some suggestions on how to prep your mod for release.
Another GREAT tool, if you haven't already found it, is the Lilac Soul Script Generator (also available at the Vault). It is incredibly powerful and has taken my own scripting to a much higher level (it's a simple Windows app that runs outside of the toolset).
Anyway, I look forward both to more Faded Glory story, and maybe someday experiencing part of the world in NWN as well!
Lazy
Broccli_Head
Explorer
checking in....would like to see update!
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I'd just like to say that for those of you who waited so long to get my next installment, I am very sorry to have made you wait. All I can say is that there came a point late last year when I was just burned out on writing the Story Hour. I couldn't bear the thought of slogging through the last few updates. Part of that was because there was some truly spectacular moments of gaming in those last sessions and I just couldn't do them justice in my frame of mind back then.
But as I was writing up this one, the words seemed to rush out of my fingers as I types. It was very nearly effortless and I am stoked about writing the next installment. It feels really great to write when you're "in the groove", so expect a new update soon. Probably before the end of the week. Hopefully on Wednesday.
Thanks again to anybody who is still reading this and I hope it was worth the wait.
East on a Cold Wind
The clanging was incessant. Literally all day and all night (as though those times could be differentiated in the underground halls of Durgeddin's Forge) hammers rang on steel and mithral. The forges had been too long out from the control of their rightful owners and they intended to make up for lost time.
For Raven, the ringing was as soothing as a mother's song. He had long been away from his home far in the eastern mountains where the sounds of the forges of Mithrak Ghul had rung with hammer blows as he became a servant of Moradin. And like the forges of his homeland, those within the Stone Tooth imparted the metals worked on them with strength and magic.
His own hammer moved to his will and the magic flowed from his voice as he annealed his armor with a new enchantment. For a priest of Moradin a hammer was of utmost importance. But a hammer in your hand without steel across your back was a quick road to a glorious death. Raven had been caught without the protection of his armor once too often and this enchantment would assure that when it was time to fight, his armor could be Called to him with but a thought.
***
Thought was becoming difficult for Speaks With Stone. Urgency was tightening its grip on him and each passing day he felt as though the stone of the mountain above him was pressing on him, trying to squeeze him out and send him where he knew he must go. Now that the Journal of Macer was in the hands of the dwarven Record Keepers, he could commit himself to a dangerous task. Its danger and the dread he felt about it did nothing to shake his resolve in completing it. The elven Dark Druids must be dealt with.
Any moral ambivalence that he had felt upon learning about his predecessors among the Druidic Order being involved with the Temple of Bane was gone. His purpose and the power that he served were now clear. His allegience was to Nature, represented by Great Root, not some organization of other druids who huddled in their parks and preserves across the Crescent Sea in Emor. His task was to destroy the Dark Druids and the undead minions that they were amassing. And that was a task that was better done soon, before their evil corruption could spread through the Darkwood destroying he and his friends.
***
Friends was not a word that Scar would ever come to call the Dwarves of the Stone Tooth. The fact that Raven (or whatever his many-sylabled dwarven name was) had vouched for him as well as Speaks, who had been instrumental in liberating the Stone Tooth from the Orcs and the Dragon, did little to change the fact that he was an Orc, living among Dwarves. At best, he was regarded with pity, a poor half-breed whose mother had been so badly used by the orc tribe that had captured her. At worst, he was accused of being a spy, lying in wait to strike at the Dwarves when their backs were turned.
But their backs were never turned when Scar was around. His presence in any room assured that he would be the focus of unwanted attention. It was time to go. The sooner the Dark Druids were dealt with, the sooner he could get back among the peoples of the Northern Wilds. There, he was still viewed with some distrust by those who didn't know him well. But he could take care of himself, and, when the situation demanded it, could take care of others too. Independance and the willingness to aid the less able were traits that were valued in the harsh lands of the north. Scar might never have what could truly be called a home. But if one could be found, it was to the east. Away from the dwarven mountain.
***
By sheer luck, dawn was breaking as the trio of heroes gathered on the rocky path descending from atop the Stone Tooth. Raven was the only one to look back. He stared at the stout doors that the dwarves had repaired and could almost feel the heat of the forge through them. He could have spent years back at the forge, his hands and hammer bringing use to useless ingots. But that would have to wait.
"It's time." spoke Speaks. His throat formed a chant and his hands wove patterns as a force of animism swirled among and then gripped the three companions. In the blink of an eye, three birds took flight into the summer sky and headed east.
But though it was summer, the Stone Tooth stood high and it stood in the far north of the Western Wilds. Though the sun shone brightly on the friends as they set out on their task, it was a cold wind that bore them to the east.
Next Time (hopefully Wednesday): Impossible Odds - Again!
But as I was writing up this one, the words seemed to rush out of my fingers as I types. It was very nearly effortless and I am stoked about writing the next installment. It feels really great to write when you're "in the groove", so expect a new update soon. Probably before the end of the week. Hopefully on Wednesday.
Thanks again to anybody who is still reading this and I hope it was worth the wait.
East on a Cold Wind
The clanging was incessant. Literally all day and all night (as though those times could be differentiated in the underground halls of Durgeddin's Forge) hammers rang on steel and mithral. The forges had been too long out from the control of their rightful owners and they intended to make up for lost time.
For Raven, the ringing was as soothing as a mother's song. He had long been away from his home far in the eastern mountains where the sounds of the forges of Mithrak Ghul had rung with hammer blows as he became a servant of Moradin. And like the forges of his homeland, those within the Stone Tooth imparted the metals worked on them with strength and magic.
His own hammer moved to his will and the magic flowed from his voice as he annealed his armor with a new enchantment. For a priest of Moradin a hammer was of utmost importance. But a hammer in your hand without steel across your back was a quick road to a glorious death. Raven had been caught without the protection of his armor once too often and this enchantment would assure that when it was time to fight, his armor could be Called to him with but a thought.
***
Thought was becoming difficult for Speaks With Stone. Urgency was tightening its grip on him and each passing day he felt as though the stone of the mountain above him was pressing on him, trying to squeeze him out and send him where he knew he must go. Now that the Journal of Macer was in the hands of the dwarven Record Keepers, he could commit himself to a dangerous task. Its danger and the dread he felt about it did nothing to shake his resolve in completing it. The elven Dark Druids must be dealt with.
Any moral ambivalence that he had felt upon learning about his predecessors among the Druidic Order being involved with the Temple of Bane was gone. His purpose and the power that he served were now clear. His allegience was to Nature, represented by Great Root, not some organization of other druids who huddled in their parks and preserves across the Crescent Sea in Emor. His task was to destroy the Dark Druids and the undead minions that they were amassing. And that was a task that was better done soon, before their evil corruption could spread through the Darkwood destroying he and his friends.
***
Friends was not a word that Scar would ever come to call the Dwarves of the Stone Tooth. The fact that Raven (or whatever his many-sylabled dwarven name was) had vouched for him as well as Speaks, who had been instrumental in liberating the Stone Tooth from the Orcs and the Dragon, did little to change the fact that he was an Orc, living among Dwarves. At best, he was regarded with pity, a poor half-breed whose mother had been so badly used by the orc tribe that had captured her. At worst, he was accused of being a spy, lying in wait to strike at the Dwarves when their backs were turned.
But their backs were never turned when Scar was around. His presence in any room assured that he would be the focus of unwanted attention. It was time to go. The sooner the Dark Druids were dealt with, the sooner he could get back among the peoples of the Northern Wilds. There, he was still viewed with some distrust by those who didn't know him well. But he could take care of himself, and, when the situation demanded it, could take care of others too. Independance and the willingness to aid the less able were traits that were valued in the harsh lands of the north. Scar might never have what could truly be called a home. But if one could be found, it was to the east. Away from the dwarven mountain.
***
By sheer luck, dawn was breaking as the trio of heroes gathered on the rocky path descending from atop the Stone Tooth. Raven was the only one to look back. He stared at the stout doors that the dwarves had repaired and could almost feel the heat of the forge through them. He could have spent years back at the forge, his hands and hammer bringing use to useless ingots. But that would have to wait.
"It's time." spoke Speaks. His throat formed a chant and his hands wove patterns as a force of animism swirled among and then gripped the three companions. In the blink of an eye, three birds took flight into the summer sky and headed east.
But though it was summer, the Stone Tooth stood high and it stood in the far north of the Western Wilds. Though the sun shone brightly on the friends as they set out on their task, it was a cold wind that bore them to the east.
Next Time (hopefully Wednesday
): Impossible Odds - Again!
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Ominous new beginning!
Great to see ya back writing again, Rel!
sometimes I get writer's block, so my mind has to be distracted until the Muse comes again.
Singing helps! I love to sing. Reading helps. A new game (Hero! ) helps! Even analyzing data at work...
But the good thing is that She...the Muse always returns.
Great to see ya back writing again, Rel!
sometimes I get writer's block, so my mind has to be distracted until the Muse comes again.
Singing helps! I love to sing. Reading helps. A new game (Hero!
) helps! Even analyzing data at work...But the good thing is that She...the Muse always returns.
Darklone
Registered User
Yeahyeahyeah! Just checking in expecting some whatever creative bumps... and I got an UPDATE!!!
Wahey!
Lazybones, Rel... if any of you will DM a NWN session during somehow daytime here in Europe... please let me know
Lazy: Checked your game announcements on NWNconnections, but it's usually at 2am ...
Rel: Glad to have your dudes back at wasting evil ones!
Wahey!
Lazybones, Rel... if any of you will DM a NWN session during somehow daytime here in Europe... please let me know
Lazy: Checked your game announcements on NWNconnections, but it's usually at 2am ...
Rel: Glad to have your dudes back at wasting evil ones!
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Broccli_Head said:
Thanks, Broc. It was pretty weird this time. I've had writers block before when I needed to bang out something creative. But really, I wasn't short on material to work from. The campaign was complete and had been for months. I even had pretty good notes outlining what happened. But somehow I just couldn't bring myself to write it.
The strange part was that it wasn't just my SH that I lost interest in. I stopped reading virtually all of the ones I had been keeping up with, regardless of how fine the writing was. I had been reading yours, Piratecat's, Sagiro's, Wulf's, Milo Winby's and I had been slowly working my way through Lazybones'. But it was like the Story Hour switch in my head just sort of turned off.
The only exception to that was Small Beginnings. I started reading that one because I was getting ready to run Sunless Citidel as a solo game for my wife. But the writing was so compelling that I just couldn't help myself. I really do highly recommend it because I think that the quality of the setting and writing is right up there with Old One's. And you know what a high regard I hold him in.
So, now I've got a lot of catching up to do. But I suppose that it puts me in the enviable position of getting to read Story Hours for a while without having to pine away for updates!
Thanks again for reading.
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