Thursday, June 26, 2008

BDK8-03 Teaser

My very last writing project for Living Greyhawk is BDK8-03, which I think I am renaming 'The Combination of Souls'; that has an allusion to the BK's proper name, Combination of Free Lords, and relates to the plot. The story is going to wrap up the Dahlvier and Vorelornir (That Which Slept) storyline that started way, way back in 2004, I think it was? Well, the first mention of That Which Sleeps was back in 2002, I think, but we got the real storyline started a couple of years later. Anyway, there's a lot of background information that I've given to some of the PCs over the years, but has never really filtered out to the playerbase. This adventure will fix that, telling everything that happened to all the characters, how they got where they are, and how to stop That Which Slept. The strange thing about this adventure, what really has me feeling uneasy, is that it is a love story. I've never written one before, it's not exactly the normal forte of D&D, and I'm not sure how well it is going to come out.

On the way up to OK, I wrote a bit of the adventure - yes, while driving. I pulled out my notebook and scribbled while driving, looking down every once in a while to make sure I was still somewhere near the lines and the ink was still flowing (that was a constant battle). The result is actually some of my better narrative text; though, that's not saying much, since narrative text is one of my weak points. I figured I'd type it up here for the BK people to have a sneak peek and for other friends to just read something I wrote, if they care. Here you go:

The lich reaches into his robes and retrieves a silvery orb. Deep shadows, black as tar, flow across its otherwise flawless surface. Dahlvier raises the orb in front of his face, his milky-white eyes examining it intently. The expression on his face indicates that, were it possible for the animated corpse, he would be crying.
"This...is all that remains of what we once were. The immortal forms we now inhabit are as nothing compared to what lives on in this twisted mockery of union, a sadistic antithesis of what we once shared. Ironic, isn't it? I fought the Stern Lady to an unholy stalemate so that I could have more time - time to right what went wrong, time to save my people...time to free Her. Thousands of years have passed, and all I have ever known, all that I cared about has fallen into Wee Jas's embrace, all but the two of us. Now, to finish this, to set her free, I must finally cede the game to Death's Embrace. For Vorelornir to die, so must I."

Long time no see...

Yeah, it's been a little while since I've posted anything. To sum everything up, I graduated law school, I wrote 4 rounds of core/core special adventures, LG is wrapping up, I'm homeless for the foreseeable future, and I'm in Oklahoma for just under two weeks (back in Austin on the 8th, most likely). I will spend a few days in Tulsa, then over to Stillwater, then back to Tulsa, I think :)

One related note is that I just noticed, while driving into town, that I feel differently. I grew up here, and I'm intimately familiar with the city, yet it somehow feels alien to me. It's not that I get lost, can't find anything, or get confused; it's just that it seems off somehow. I guess all the traveling plus living in Hong Kong and Austin broke me of feeling like this is home. Now I just have to find a home, which has been a recurring theme for me for quite some time :/

The big Bandit Kingdoms finale was last weekend. With the end of the BK and LG, I will be posting a couple of entries related to what I've learned in all my time playing, writing, editing, and admining for the campaign. The BK post will likely be tomorrow and will cover playing and a bit of writing. The LG post will be later in the week or next week and will cover the more administrative, behind the scenes stuff.

I'm going to type up one other blog entry, check my email, then go to bed. Catch you on the flip side.