Aug 16
Dragon Names No other creature is as evocative of the contemporary fantasy genre as the dragon. They combine snakes, lizards, dinosaurs, large mammalian predators, and human intellects into one massive, armored, fire-breathing package. (Their drives, however, are their own.) The current version of the dragon dates from within the last 100 years. Tolkien gave us …
Aug 09
Fantasy organizations are not limited to the grandiose and world-shaking. Scores of bureaucratic organizations run silently beneath the surface, serving to frustrate and stymie your characters in pursuit of their goals. Terry Pratchett, Franz Kafka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Stanislaw Lem, and J. K. Rowling all used them to good effect. Often they also serve as …
Aug 02
The Granddaddy of all Fantasy fiction tropes must surely be the Medieval Inn, with its open hearths and wenches in low-cut bodices, unsavory characters lurking about, and bowls of hot stew. (No less a luminary than Tolkien created the seminal template with The Prancing Pony.) In truth, inns served a vital function in the Medieval/Renaissance …
Jul 26
Secret and Arcane Societies Secret societies are a mainstay in popular fiction. (Just look at Dan Brown.) In fantasy and science fiction, we have the Bene Gesserit, The Dharma Initiative, The Talamasca, The Sith. In mundane life, there are many, from the sinister to the accepted. Freemasons are one. But there’s also Aleister Crowley’s …
Jul 19
Civic and Community Organizations Not as glamorous as evil societies or those dedicated to dark magic. But every sizable town and city in a typical Medieval European society has them. There are guilds devoted to workers and tradesmen, merchants’ leagues, secret societies like Freemasons, civic leagues dedicated to improve some aspect of city life, and …
Jul 12
Organizations, Fellowships, and Secret Societies Fantasy fiction (and science fiction, for that matter) is full of secret societies, thieves’ guilds, Hellfire clubs, and other associations for like-minded individuals. Often these are major drivers of the plot. Frank Herbert’s Dune would not be the same but for the Bene Gesserit, or The Wheel of …
Jul 05
More Magic I was going to list some ideas for evil societies for this week, but the randomization software needs more tweaking. So here are some more random magic spells and items. Lamp of Grim Digging: Enables the owner to find and dig up buried bodies quickly and easily. Yungamel’s Levitating Unicorn: Causes a …
Jun 28
“Yes, I do heartily repent. I repent I had not done more mischief; and that we did not cut the throats of them that took us, and I am extremely sorry that you aren’t hanged as well as we.” — Anonymous Pirate, asked on the gallows if he repented “I am sorry to see …
Jun 21
Continuing on my theme of randomly-generated magic spells items, let’s look at wizards and magic users in fantasy fiction. There are many memorable characters that come to mind, and if there’s one thing they have in common, it’s an unforgettable name. For example, Gandalf the Gray. Short and to the point; and more importantly, much …
Jun 17
Because it was just too much damn fun to come up with these. Another selection of free spells to add to your campaign, story, novel, game, comic, whatever. Chantsuma’s Wondrous Cacophony: Creates a mosaic of noise around the target, a mix of music, voices, animal cries, thunder, chants, roaring waves, bird calls, crashing objects, etc. …
