Notes on Amazon, Movies, and Lawmen
As I'm currently working on an assignment for a new sourcebook for White Silver, I've returned to an old question of mine about character design in RPGs. If you're a member of a fantasy world's City Watch, what are the odds that somewhere along the line, you've had to take a level of rogue (or similar class, dependent on the RPG)? It seems that most of the investigative skills you need in order to solve crimes come right along with the more criminal-oriented classes. Do you go ahead and take the levels but either ignore the less lawful elements of those classes (or simply not invest in those skills)? Or do you buy skills that you need at a higher rate because you're not taking the other class?
The Kenzer Crew just designed a new class that has elements of an urban-style ranger in their new Kalamar Players Guide to the Sovereign Lands: the Watchman. It certainly has some really nifty elements for a d20 class that work well for lawmen (additional damage against criminals, the ability to use gather information to track), and has a high skill point ratio that makes it a good fit. Eberron Campaign Setting has the Master Inquisitive as a prestige class, which seems to come pretty naturally from a rogue or ranger background. Wizards of the Coast's Complete Warrior has the Justicar prestige class, which seems to come the most naturally from the fighter background. So I'm looking at those and trying to determine what elements they have that make for a good private investigator/constable/city watch sort of character. Then I'll have to see what kind of special abilities I can use from the Chronicles of Ramlar A/B system to make up a good city guard.
I imagine that part of this train of thought comes from having just finished the first of the Dresden Files, Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. The wizard-as-private-eye thing is great fantasy noir. It's right up there in my mind with other successful mixed-noir novels like Kiln People by David Brin. Excellent reading.
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In other news, Amazon has yet to make Into the Reach available. Also, you can only find it by typing in my name, or typing the title into Amazon's search box in quotes ("Into the Reach"). I am still working on this, but it's getting to the point where I'm tempted to recommend that people just buy it straight from the publisher's Web site. As soon as there's more news, I'll post it.
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Speaking of Into the Reach, I want to apologize to folks who watched the movie Hero before they read my novel. I just watched Hero for the first time this week, and toward the end, the subtitles are nearly an exact match for one of the things one of my characters says a couple of times. This completely spoiled a dramatic moment for my husband and me as we watched it, as I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping that people wouldn't think I'd deliberately stolen from the movie.
So you heard it here first. I wrote all of Into the Reach and its sequel before watching the movie Hero. Any similarities are completely unintentional, although I thought the movie was quite good, and wouldn't mind being compared to it at all. I'm a sucker for wire-fu movies, particularly when they evoke wuxia literary tradition.
Currently Reading: Queen of the Amazons by Judith Tarr
Just finished: Sorcerers and Secretaries vol 1 (again), Once upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson (again), and Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Currently Replaying: Knights of the Old Republic II, because I'm hoping to use their mechanic for a play-by-e-mail with a good friend.
The Kenzer Crew just designed a new class that has elements of an urban-style ranger in their new Kalamar Players Guide to the Sovereign Lands: the Watchman. It certainly has some really nifty elements for a d20 class that work well for lawmen (additional damage against criminals, the ability to use gather information to track), and has a high skill point ratio that makes it a good fit. Eberron Campaign Setting has the Master Inquisitive as a prestige class, which seems to come pretty naturally from a rogue or ranger background. Wizards of the Coast's Complete Warrior has the Justicar prestige class, which seems to come the most naturally from the fighter background. So I'm looking at those and trying to determine what elements they have that make for a good private investigator/constable/city watch sort of character. Then I'll have to see what kind of special abilities I can use from the Chronicles of Ramlar A/B system to make up a good city guard.
I imagine that part of this train of thought comes from having just finished the first of the Dresden Files, Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. The wizard-as-private-eye thing is great fantasy noir. It's right up there in my mind with other successful mixed-noir novels like Kiln People by David Brin. Excellent reading.
*
In other news, Amazon has yet to make Into the Reach available. Also, you can only find it by typing in my name, or typing the title into Amazon's search box in quotes ("Into the Reach"). I am still working on this, but it's getting to the point where I'm tempted to recommend that people just buy it straight from the publisher's Web site. As soon as there's more news, I'll post it.
*
Speaking of Into the Reach, I want to apologize to folks who watched the movie Hero before they read my novel. I just watched Hero for the first time this week, and toward the end, the subtitles are nearly an exact match for one of the things one of my characters says a couple of times. This completely spoiled a dramatic moment for my husband and me as we watched it, as I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping that people wouldn't think I'd deliberately stolen from the movie.
So you heard it here first. I wrote all of Into the Reach and its sequel before watching the movie Hero. Any similarities are completely unintentional, although I thought the movie was quite good, and wouldn't mind being compared to it at all. I'm a sucker for wire-fu movies, particularly when they evoke wuxia literary tradition.
Currently Reading: Queen of the Amazons by Judith Tarr
Just finished: Sorcerers and Secretaries vol 1 (again), Once upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson (again), and Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Currently Replaying: Knights of the Old Republic II, because I'm hoping to use their mechanic for a play-by-e-mail with a good friend.