From Where?

Real life has intruded on my blogging.  My current location is the home of Superfriends' Hall of Justice--or at least its real world stand-in.  Any guesses as to where that might be? (no internet searching now!)

Anyway, From the Sorcerer's Skull will return to its regular programming as soon as possible.

Tourist in Other Worlds

While I’m increasingly ambivalent about Google+ overall, I’m completely positive on gaming via Hangouts.  Not only have I been playing my Weird Adventures game there, I’ve gotten a chance to play with some other bloggers in their games.

Twice now, Horvendile Early, gambler and pistoleer, has ventured forth into the wilds of Erik’s Wampus Country. Orwendill, fighter and artist (of tasteful nudes) has had one outing with that dubious coterie, the Nefarious Nine, in Chris Kutalik’s Hill Cantons.  Tonight, an as yet unnamed Chaos-tainted soldier from a grim future is going to kill things as a part of a Warband courtesy of Mike Davison.

I’m also playing in Scott’s (he of the Huge Ruined Pile) strict textualist AD&D game, though that’s play by post via G+.

The gaming itself is great, after so much writing about gaming, but what I may like even more is getting to put a face and voice to all those posts I’ve read.  I suppose that sort of connecting with folks in a shared hobby is exactly the sort of stuff social media is suppose to for.  

That and pictures of cute animals with humorous captions.

Planet of the Elves

Here are some images from the future world where Man is only a dim memory...

Many young elves heed the call to adventure, despite the fact their simple and pleasure-loving society sees their actions as odd--perhaps even aberrant.  The elvish word for "hero" carries the connotation of "fool."

The shimmering sprites are sometimes found in old forests.  These beings claim to be visitors from metal cities which circle the earth like the moon. Right-thinking dwarves don't believe such foolish tales.

Though their numbers are few, ancient dragons know many secrets and will impart them--for a price.

Mutated cultists haunt subterranean ruins.  Not only are they dangerous, but their ideas are theologically suspect.

Warlord Wednesday: Who's Who

Before I embarked on Warlord Annual #4, I though I should recap the major characters of the series for any new readers.  So here we go. The cast of Warlord:

The Warlord's family:

The Warlord - Travis Morgan: Former pilot in the USAF, he now fights injustice in the hollow world of Skartaris.

Tara: Mate of Travis Morgan, queen of the city of Shamballah.

Tinder (Joshua): The son of Morgan and Tara. Believed by his parents to be dead due to the machinations of the demon-priest Deimos, Joshua is known to them now as the former street urchin and sneak-thief, Tinder.

Jennifer Morgan: Skartaris's sorceress supreme. She's Morgan's daughter by his first (now deceased) wife. She followed her father to Skartaris but found her own destiny.

His companions:

Shakira: Women who turns into a cat or cat who turns into a woman? She keeps her secrets

Machiste: Former king of Kiro and Morgan's companion from his gladiator days.

Mariah Romanov: Machiste's lover. A Russian archeologist and fencing champion who came with Morgan back to Skartaris after he briefly returned to the surface world.

Ashir: King of Kaambuka. Self-styled second greatest thief in Skartaris.

Krystovar: A healer and seeker of ancient knowledge. He spent his life fighting the New Atlanteans for taking his brother.

Scarhart: Taciturn warrior and last of his tribe from a parallel world.

His enemies:

Deimos: The former priest of Thera, Deimos had mastered both magic and ancient Atleantean technology. After many return battles, he appears to have finally been killed.

Saaba: A witch with the ability to turn into a raven. She bears a grudge against Morgan and is now working with the New Atlanteans.

Lord Sabretooth: Beast-man and leader of the New Atlantean forces in Skartaris. He has sworn personal revenge against Morgan.

Methods of Magic: Dreadstar

I’ve been thinking about how magic is portrayed in works in various media and how there might be some tidbits that could enliven rpg magic.  I’ve delved in the broad strokes of different portrayals of magic before, but now I think I’ll look at some specific cases.  First up, Dreadstar.

Dreadstar is Jim Starlin’s comic book space opera about a group of super-powered rebels fighting the galactic theocracy, the Instrumentality. It’s got aliens, robots, psionic powers--and magic. Like in Empire of the Petal Throne (and the real world for much of history), magic in Dreadstar seems the province of people in special clerical orders which study and communicate with the gods of the Instrumentality and related supernatural forces. One of these groups (or perhaps the sole group) is named as the Order of Vieltoor. There are renegade or “infidel” sorcerers, but the only two we see in the series are unsual (one is the offspring of a human woman and a demon).

In the origin of Dreadstar’s sorcerous protagonist, Syzygy Darklock, we see him summoning a demon in usual ritual magic fashion. In the process, we are told that planes of reality exist, which are less adventuring places than metaphysical ones, and are depicted in a vaguely Ditko-ish manner.  We are told the gods store their power on “the eleventh level of reality.”

At the end of that story, Syzygy is said to have gained power perhaps equal to one of the Instrumentaility’s gods, which (if not hyperbole) is interesting given that he appears superhuman but can be knocked out by things that would kill a normal human.

While spells are spoken of (and named) in Dreadstar, they mostly seem to fall into the “magic as energy manipulation” territory. Spells appear to be patterns of energy that adepts can recognize, not formula. Perhaps there are mental algorithms associated with spells. We only see hand gestures, never incantations (except with rituals).

The most commonly utilized spell is the mystic bolt. This seems to come in degrees of strength from just injuring/damaging to disintegration. Flight and levitation appear nearly effortless--at least to the super-powerful Syzygy. Circular magical shields (which can shatter when hit with sufficient force) are frequently used--at one point a guy projects small versions of these from his eye! Cubic or spherical area shields seem to require more effort. Sufficiently powerful adepts are able to feel magical power in others like jedi sensing the force. Syzgy at least is able to quick open portals to places where tentacled things dwell.

There are limits to magical power. Expending too much can strain the sorcerer physically and cause him to lose consciousness. Things that significantly disrupt concentration (“hypersonic” beam directed into the skull) prevent the use of spells.

Overall, magic in Dreadstar shows its comic book origins. It bears a greater resemblance to sorcery in Doctor Strange than in literary fantasy. It's probably most easily modeled in a rpg system that accommodates superhero powers.

The Game is (Almost) Afoot!

With two Weird Adventures games about to kick off (one face-to-face with WaRP, and the other with Lorefinder on Google+), there are few rumors and events in the City that might be of interest to one or the other groups of players:

Cyrus Westerly died 10 years ago, but in accordance with his wishes, his estate has yet to be settled. Westerly’s lawyer and executor, Rothger Croston, has summoned the five potential heirs to the remote and decaying Westerly Mansion on the Eldritch, north of the City. It’s rumored the will has some eccentric provisions.

Barton Blanchefleur, Hell Syndicate “made man” and notorious germophobe, has got a new moll that fits his usual all-white wardrobe: a young dame with white hair.

Millionaire thaumaturgist, Charles Ranulf Urst, passed away a couple of months ago, and no one has yet to enter his mansion--everybody’s too afraid of magical traps. Interestingly, his lawyers (Shreck and Wail) have recently been seen in the City taking private meetings with adventurer types.

Terror Birds

Giant birds show up pretty frequently in fantasy art. The phorusrhacos and diatryma represent the group in game products, and are joined by fictional giant fightless birds. Check out this size comparison chart, though.  There's a whole untapped range of them:

Check out the size of the beak on Kelenken there.  It's the largest beak on any known bird.  An adventurer killing beak.

Now, all of those guys are sort of the usual suspect flightless carnivores. There's also the extinct Kairuku penguin which stood over 4 feet tall.