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Topics - MJZ
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« on: July 23, 2007, 08:37:32 pm »
After reading many, many reviews (Amazon, mainly) of various recent, and not so recent, very successful fantasy novels, I'm starting to think that the genre might be glutted to bursting. So I thought I'd ask this community of obvious appreciators of fantasy your opinions! Firstly, it seems a rule of thumb that about 80% or more of all reviews of these successful novels by big names in the genre, are 5-star, and give practically no critical input. The gist of these and generally, all the 4-star reviews as well are more often than not: "this is an excellent book, I enjoyed it so much, it was so well written, and the characters were so real and well drawn." Now, this really doesn't provide any measure of information or insight - so I've devoted most time to the 3-star and below ratings, particularly, the 1-star reviews, which seem to be an even 10% of all total reviews from every book by whatever author. Interesting. In any case, I think I'll pose my question now instead of blathering senselessly on. Do you think the fantasy genre is glutted as far as novels go? I assume most people here have read more than one fantasy novel - I know I have, and I have to say I honestly never really read one I enjoyed, and I stopped reading them at about the age of 15. This is fantasy. One should think by mere definition it should provide for endless opportunities, new worlds, new ideas. And yet, they all seem to have been done, and re-done to the point of nausea - kind of the feeling students get when they see canned soup. I think that maybe this problem stems from the fact that we read fantasy expecting certain elements that we love - but this results in those elements being repeated, over and over and over; and writers who perhaps invent some novel (hehe) ideas, get bashed over the head for daring to leave out the fundamental basics - "where's the typical hero? where are the wizards? where's the main villain, like Thulsa Doom or Lord Vader?" etc. Alright, we can't please everyone. You could say that the overwhelming amount of positive reviews prove that the genre is not glutted - but I beg to differ, I think fads tend to disappear just as suddenly as they cropped up, without warning, and with recent mass-appealing projects gaining cult-like followings of millions (Harry Potter, fantasy series being made into movies in general), I'm sorry to say it seems fantasy really has become a fad, to the general public, at least. And fads, as I've just said, have a habit of dying after they've been glutted. So, is the market glutted or nearly so? Will you continue to buy fantasy books from new authors as they emerge? Are you incapable of growing tired of predictable and unavoidable prophecies, insanely powerful wizards, that damned apparent struggle between good and evil, and a few different humanoid races to make characters seem more interesting? I'm afraid dozens upon dozens of reviews have made me even more cynical than I already am, and I've begun to think that no matter how adolescent the themes, weak the characterization, poor the quality of writing, unoriginal and predictable the plots, or pilfered the concepts, only about ten percent of readers will perceive it. I've played fantasy and science fiction games for as long as I can remember, watched fantasy and sci fi series and movies for as long as I can remember, and read fantasy and sci fi books, yes, for as long as I can remember (had fantasy read to me before I could read well myself, I think we all did). I've spent many many hours spewing out my own fantasy plots and characters, as I think many appreciators do. I don't eat it up with a spoon - I stick my head in the damned bowl. But I'm not a mindless goon or a rabid cultist, I do read and appreciate fine literature as well, I am capable of making critical analyses. And so it worries me, to see so much seemingly mindless, unwarranted following of the genre - leading me to think it might be (last time I'm going to use this word, I promise), glutted. Is it? Glutted!  As a side note, I wish I could have made a poll, but I wasn't able to find the option. I assume it's been disabled? That's a shame..
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« on: April 23, 2007, 08:03:47 pm »
I have two boxes of aloe, and one box of corn for sale. I believe the standard prices are as follows: twenty-five-hundred (2,500) true for one box of aloe, and nine-hundred (900) true for one box of corn.
We can arrange a meeting-place in Port Hempstead. If you haven't met me before, I have fair hair, wear red and give off quite a bit of static. (You may also need to tilt your head down a bit.)
Ariel Applerose
PS - More aloe is on the way
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« on: April 07, 2007, 07:41:53 pm »
What's the most (or one of the most) idiotic things you've ever done, on Layonara? Mine happened but moments ago! A certain halfling sorceress sets out with five courageous friends to the dreaded Bear Island in hopes of lobbing the Chieftain's head. Shortly after arrival, a group of the lovely critters is spotted. Ariel: ..Boom? Ced: Yes. Ben: Yeah, hit it.
A valiant battle ensues - that is, until a second group of said critters comes crashing in.
One by one, the courageous friends fall to the earth, hacked to bits.
Miraculously surviving a barrage of bolts and arrows, Ariel ducks and hits the invis button. Then runs like hell.
Cackling to herself for her good fortune to be the sole survivor, she heads to the inn for a rest - a good night's sleep being sorely needed, she having only 3 hp left.
. . .
And that was very, very, very, stupid.
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« on: April 07, 2007, 12:23:17 pm »
Right? I mean, "halfling" is clearly a term humans have given them - seeing as elves are only a foot, or over two at most taller than they are. I know in the Forgotten Realms they're called the "Hin." Thus far I've just been using the subrace names, but they must have some sort of name for their kind on a whole?
Could we create one if it doesn't exist?
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« on: April 06, 2007, 11:05:53 am »
Could we place a loom in the Eye of the Storm, so that new characters can create an outfit for themselves prior to entering the world? I think before you leave the Storm, you have 100 true, so it would still be possible for the PCs to do the crafting.
This would be very useful, I think, because otherwise I (and others like me!) have to drag a new character to the crafting hall and craft, which is very OOC. And because the craft halls are highly public, you end up attracting attention and such... attention you don't want until your character is properly decked out in their barbarian hides/ tribal tattoos/ sea-shells/ cloak and dagger ensemble.
Just an idea?
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« on: April 05, 2007, 01:55:17 pm »
I have an iron maul that has been doing little more than working a groove into the back of my ox for some time.
Give me an offer in true or an item for trade and I will take it. I would rather see the maul put to use than pawned, but perhaps it will come to that.
Contact me in Hlint or Port Hempstead - I wear a wolf's head mask.
- Caelte
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« on: April 04, 2007, 03:05:23 pm »
I have a box full of sacks of assorted spider venom for sale. Nine from Giant spiders, Twelve from Dire spiders, Twelve from Phase spiders, and Two from Araneas. They have been carefully cut and are undamaged.
I would ask twenty-five hundred true (2500), but I will take what is offered.
I can come to Port Hempstead, or Hlint for the trade.
- Caelte
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« on: March 26, 2007, 11:28:12 am »
So this isn't terribly original of me, but I always enjoy seeing what kind of music people are listening to. Tells you a lot about them.
Myself? At the moment, Elton John's Your Song, as performed by Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina in Moulin Rouge.
*Belts out, deafening Kindo* Anyways the thing is, what I really mean!!!!
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« on: March 20, 2007, 02:48:52 pm »
I suppose someone at some point has already suggested this and it has been decided against, but I still think it's an interesting idea!
Couldn't we work in a sort of 'favoured craft' as a part of character creation? As with a language ear, if a character's biography involves some sort of crafting skill, baking, smelting, sewing, or what have you, they could request one skill to be 'favoured.' I suppose decreasing the required XP to gain levels in that favoured craft would involve some sort of heavy CNR scripting modifications, so maybe the character could begin at level 2 or 3 in the favoured craft.
Let me draw up an example. In Ariel's biography, she spent 14 years living with her foster father, an inventor, helping along with his zany gizmos and gadgets. I could then ask for tinkering to be a favoured craft due to this information.
I do of course realize every character should start from "scratch" in as many ways as possible, but I do find it a bit of a hamper to have a character with a supposed predisposition to something who's just as bad as anyone else at it, in reality.
I just thought it was an interesting idea. *Braces for impact*
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« on: March 18, 2007, 11:52:11 am »
I haven't been able to hunt down any info on this, but I'm very hungry so perhaps I've overlooked something.. When the forums were moved, formatted posts didn't transfer properly. I went in and edited all my posts in my CDTs to fix the tags and such that had popped up. But now, it's happened again to one of them, and I can't think why! For example, all apostrophes have been transformed into ’, dashes into [SIZE=10] [SIZE=16][FONT="]–[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE] etc. As far as I know, it hasn't happened to anyone else's threads this time around. Only mine seems to be affected. Here to look at it. It was a pain to fix it the first time, I'm loathe to do it again to only have it happen again. Does anyone know what could be causing this?
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« on: March 12, 2007, 06:28:15 pm »
I suppose I don't want to be left out. Though I really would prefer to remain dark and mysterious, here..
"CIAGW." My name's Dorotka, I also go by Toff and Dorothy. I'm 19 and am currently in Sweden; though I've lived in Canada for a long time. I am Polish/German by blood and culture.
I've always been involved in fantasy, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7 being my hallmarks of gaming, all those many years ago. They remain my favourite games, along with Diablo II and Morrowind. And Baldur's Gate. Heh.
I love literature, am severely disappointed with its treatment in both secondary- and university-level education (but hey, my list of disappointments is long and rambling). The best crafted books I've read are Watership Down and Fall on Your Knees, I love 'em to bits. It's kinda cool, the former I first read when I was eight, the latter I just read last year. Anyways. Wuthering Heights is great, too.
I want music to accompany everything that's done - wouldn't that be swell? :B Like in a musical..
I have huge variance in my taste in pretty much everything, music isn't much exception. My favs there are Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Nobuo Uematsu (what? He soo counts..), Michael Jackson, QUEEN, and Sara McLachlan. I also love opera in general and Tchaikovsky. And, I have a soft spot for a certain emo punk rock band, whose name I'm too embarrassed to pronounce... :B
Man this is getting long so I'll cut it short. I love writing, making critical analyses, proving myself right, drinking wine, art, gaming and fantasy. I also am a hopeless romantic... *places down a solitary rose and recoils into her lair*
And before you say it, Kindo, NO, "MJZ" does not stand for "Michael Jackson Zero"!!
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« on: March 06, 2007, 08:55:52 pm »
[SIZE=10][There is no title on the pale cover of this slim book, the first leaf having only the names "Nildro'hain," and below, "Ariel Applerose"; scribed onto it; the first in Gnomish, the second in Halfling. The first entry appears in Common, a few pages in, and is written in a curling, perfectly-legible if somewhat careless hand. There are no orthographic errors, though the occasional splotch of ink, no doubt due to holding the quill over the paper a moment too long, does occur. It has no date.]
[/SIZE]
I’m rambling. I’d tell Ced about it – well, I have told Ced about it, he just denies everything – of course! and says the right thing in something of the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong here, I am thankful for his kindness, his constant kindness to me. Of course I am. Very much so! Only, sometimes I wish he’d have a thought that wasn’t so compliant with me. Oh, what am I doing? Ced’s not the one troubling me!
Well, the bare bones of the matter is I’ve met someone who scared me silly. This [a sizeable blot occurs here] cloying, bubbly, utterly [another blot] inane woman, who seems to mean no harm but fries everyone’s nerves bouncing off them, who doesn’t seem to know too much, behaves perhaps completely on a whim and gets upset over the slightest thing.
And all I could think about was, oh, dear gods, please don’t tell me I come off like that. [There is a blot here.]
So here I am, sitting on the grass with Ced, writing this out that I have someone to tell it to.
I know I’m green. I know I just left home (my second home), I know I was raised by a clan of happy Halflings – before they were trodden on, that is. I know I’ve barely gotten a grip on this power of mine, I know that maybe I ask [a blot] unnecessary questions at times.
But please, Beryl, Ilsare, Mist – who-ever is listening, how about you, Rofirein? While you’re inspiring dry old clerks somewhere in a cold, empty courthouse, how about dabbing me with a bit of justice? I know despite all those things I’m no-ones fool – tell me the rest of the world sees it that way, too.
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« on: March 06, 2007, 12:54:39 pm »
How about those famous last words? Here's one that made me laugh today. "Die, Ogres!" -Ameli Lihn and then there was, "Craft it," as in: Tailor's Armor Dummy: "Given your dexterity, intelligence, and level, you have 75% chance of successfully crafting this recipe." Caelte: 1. Craft it Tailor's Armor Dummy:"Failure. You rolled a 1." ... Tailor's Armor Dummy:"Given your dexterity, intelligence, and level, you have 75% chance of successfully crafting this recipe." Caelte: 1. Craft it Tailor's Armor Dummy:"Failure. You rolled a 1."
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« on: February 23, 2007, 11:32:51 am »
On their first day...
Caelte: Look, someone's grave.. Ameli: Ooh.. Caelte: *Inspects it* ...? Ameli: Hmm! *Inspects it herself* ...Whatta? What the heck's "grave hop past?" C: I have NO idea. So I left it alone. C'mon, let's go. A: But.... but... what is it? It has to be something! C: *Laughs* See what it is then! A & C: *both hold their breath* GOINK! A & C: Ohhhhh! It's hop past grave!! From that day on, neither of our brave adventurers feared inspecting any strange graves they came across (though they did keep a wary eye out for the grammar of gravediggers).
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« on: February 17, 2007, 08:24:50 pm »
[SIZE=10]~This is a goodly sized book, it's pages taller than they are wide, moreso than usual. It is bound in a stiff reddish leather, but encased again in a thin layer of hide. Held closed by a reinforced strap with no lock, the book somewhat resembles a suitcase, for there are many loose leaves of parchment, scraps of leather and paper, even herbs and leaves between the pages. There is no title, but a carefully carved symbol on the front, depicting an oval of outreaching vines, and a stylistic howling wolf's head in the centre. The script within varies both in colour and style, sometimes it is hastily scrawled, at others it is noticeably more carefully written. Regardless, the lettering is simple and somewhat strained - not elegant nor elaborate, to say the least.~
[/SIZE]
Among my people, there are no books of song. A tome is a man; his mind and his heart are its pages. My people honour works and deeds in ballad and song - they pass down the ballads to their children. A bard is a lorekeeper, historian, poet. His word speaks of courage and tradition, his song is the spirit of his kin. The chieftain leads the clan, the warriors defend its borders, the shaman consults the stars. The bard reminds them of who they are, that they may never forget.
My people keep no written history. Perhaps that is why I fear when the last tribesman dies, we will all be forgotten with him. Most of my tribe, what's left of it, have already forgotten who they are. The tribe's ways should be as secrets, even our names are not given lightly. There is much one can divine with the knowledge, and always there are enemies in wait. To break a man is far harder than to read a scroll, so while the tribe is whole, its secrets are safe. But what good is secrecy to man who is dead? In death, all is laid bare. If the tribe dies, who will write a song for it?
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