Worldbuilding: Fantasy Currency
Hey nerds! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about coinage and currency and how they relate to worldbuilding. In Dungeons & Dragons, we pretty much accept that ten copper pieces are a silver piece, ten silvers are a gold, ten golds in a platinum and we leave it at that. It doesn’t matter, most of the time, where you are, the same coins still apply. [EDITOR’S NOTE: But what about poor, forgotten electrum, the US half dollar coin of D&D? Read on…]
Anyone who’s ever traveled abroad in real life, though, and had to go through the awkward song and dance of having their money exchanged for local tender knows that isn’t true at all. Of course, we don’t bother tinkering with that in D&D most of the time because it’s not really the focus of what we’re doing and for most campaigns – it’s going to be way too distracting to be worth it. But for things like fantasy fiction and the rare campaign that gets down to a lot of roleplay and the brass tacks of the world you’re in, this can be a really nice touch.
Making a Pact with Warlock Patreon from Kobold Press
Since 2012, the Kobold Press imprint has produced some of the best-received third-party content for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Their biggest release – both in terms of sheer size and tabletop roleplaying game culture penetration – is the Tome of Beasts. The 433-page book of monsters is a staple on the shelf of countless D&D players, as iconic and indispensable as the Monster Manual for many Dungeon Masters (myself included).
The material produced by Kobold Press runs the gamut and truly includes something for everyone who plays D&D. Everything from a complete campaign setting to new schools of magic, Game Master guides, the 2017 Ennie Award-winning Kobold Guide to Plots and Campaigns and the recently released Prepared 2: A Dozen One-shot Adventures for 5th Edition offer valuable resources for D&D DMs and players.
But if even all of that isn’t enough, esteemed game designer Wolfgang Baur and the team at Kobold Press launched a new project designed to give even more cool material on a regular, ongoing basis. The Warlock is a Patreon-fueled project in the form of a booklet containing new maps, monsters, character options and more. You can find out all about it and pledge your support here.
The ‘Fabulous’ Heart of the Marvel Comics Bullpen
Hey, guys, Professor Bill of Comic Book University (where we are always tuition-free) and I want to talk about the mythical Marvel Bullpen!
Blast from the Past: Shogun Warriors
Shogun Warriors history
Five of the original Shogun Warriors in all their plastic, two-foot-tall awesomeness.
Long before most in the United States had heard the words “manga” or “anime,” and a generation before the world would discover the Power Rangers, there were the Shogun Warriors.
Based upon Japanese television shows, the Shogun Warriors were a collection of toys, mainly robots though there were also a few vehicles.
Gaming Has Changed My Media Expectations
Jon Heder, as the titular Napoleon Dynamite, and Aaron Ruell as Kip engage in a nerd battle in the independent film “Napoleon Dynamite.”
Arguing about media is a staple of the nerd subculture. We spend an inordinate amount of time going over our favorite shows, movies and books with a fine-toothed comb picking out small details and jabbing at each other with them, because as nerds it’s just what we do. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise, then, that my friend group is no exception to this.
I’m not going to lie, much of the time it’s my fault. I am a total killjoy to watch a movie or anime with, because I absolutely hate it when the main character does everything.
Marvel Super Heroes RPG Live Game All About the Chat
D&Dized Spider-Man build for D&D 5E
Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” [Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures]
But all that aside, what I’ve really been thinking about all day is a character build to represent Spider-Man in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Nerdarchy YouTube channel has a long history of D&Dizing fictional characters and objects, and it sounded fun to take a shot at this iconic, beloved Marvel Comics character. My previous crack at D&Dizing something – the Sword of Omens from Thundercats – was tons of fun to work on.
Spider-Man: Homecoming Review (Spoiler Free)
[caption id="attachment_22415" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Spider-Man climbs the Washington Monument in Columbia Pictures' "Spider-Man: Homecoming" [Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures][/caption] Class in session for a review of Spider-Man: Homecoming Hey, guys, Professor Bill of Comic Book University and I saw "Spider-Man: Homecoming" twice… because comic books! Spider-Man is one...
Basic advice on editing your novel
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First, you need to realize there are two basic different types of editing. There is line editing and plot editing (also called development editing).
Plot Editing
Plot editing is the guts of your novel. It’s not only the plot itself, but your characterizations and dialogue, structure and narrative. A lot of it is your style of telling your story. These things are important because you want your plot to make sense logically, your characters need to stand out from one another, and the characters’ dialogue needs to be appropriate and distinct; you don’t want all your characters to talk exactly the same because it’s boring to the reader. To add, your story structure needs to flow well to keep your plot moving. Narrative needs to remain consistent. All of this will help the reader enjoy their experience with your book all the more, and could have them wanting to see more work from you. Also, following these tips will make your writing appear strong to editors and publishers, and you want to look good to those people if you want to be a published novelist.
Hail Hydra! Marvel FASERIP’s Mr. Cyber Explained
Hey, guys, Professor Bill of Comic Book University and I’m going to explain Mr. Cyber, the main bad guy in the Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game (FASERIP) I’m running every Monday for the Nerdarchists. Mr. Cyber is, well, me.Where he’s from
Writing violence in fiction: How much?
How much violence are you writing in your fiction? Is it enough? Is it too much?
Fiction and violence
Nearly all fiction writers are going to have violence of one form or another sooner or later in one of their short stories or novels. Fiction is about conflict, and violence is one of the most common forms of conflict. Even romance writers will occasionally have a sword-slinging hero rushing in to save the day, or a pistol-packing thug as the villain. In horror, violence is almost a given. Violence is also common in much fantasy and science fiction. And what would a Western be without a revolver or two or a lever-action rifle?
D&D Adventure Awaits with Tomb of Annihilation and More
Along with announcing the next storyline in the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons family at June’s “Stream of Annihilation” live stream event, Wizards of the Coast revealed several new products set for release in Q3-4 2017 along with the Tomb of Annihilation adventure. Whether your bookshelf could use a few things to fill the space, you’re a D&D completionist or looking ahead to the holidays at gift ideas for the nerds in your life, here’s a rundown of D&D books and accessories headed your way.
Screenwriting Broke My Writer’s Block
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Screenwriting saves the day
I began writing fiction about thirty years ago, unless you count a couple of short novels I wrote back in fourth and sixth grades; those novels would be called fan fiction today, one being about James Bond and the other about Don Pendleton’s character The Executioner, Mack Bolan. But other than those early novels, the first real fiction I wrote was a short story called “Entering Jupiter.” I wrote that story for an astronomy class in college; the professor allowed me to do so instead of writing a paper.
Our live Open Legend game’s aether parasites invade!
This article comes to Nerdarchy from a fan of the Open Legend RPG-sponsored “Aether Skies – The Beginning of the End” live game that streams Fridays at noon EST. YouTuber AJ Kinney was inspired by an encounter in Session 6 of the game and sent in this in-depth look into one of the fantastic creatures Nerdarchist Dave challenged the party with during a long airship voyage – the aether parasite. AJ writes from the perspective of someone living in the world of Zanterra where the game takes place. A blend of fantasy, steam punk, eldritch horror and espionage, the populace lives on floating cities high in the sky. The surface is a desolate, dangerous place, if there even is a surface! Theories abound about what lies below, for no one in memory has traveled there. Or have they…?
Without further ado, let’s get to it and see what AJ, er, Professor Kalthzar Quin Terril has to say.
Nord Games unleashes Revenge of the Horde on your D&D game
Ultimate Bestiary: Revenge of the Horde from Nord Games offers an awesome resource for incorporating a variety of monstrous races into your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons game. At nearly 200 pages, the book presents creature options for bugbears, gnolls, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, ogres, orcs and more. The book is available through Nord Games in PDF and hardcover options, for $15-45. In addition to the D&D version, there is a Pathfinder edition, too.
Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch backed the Kickstarter campaign, and you can watch their Nord Games-sponsored flip-through video above. In addition to the hardcover book, they received the reference deck, all five encounter builder decks and 258 pawns featuring the new creatures from the D&D book.
