Hello, I hope everyone has had a nice holiday season and a Happy New Year (in a couple of days at the time of writing this).
This month’s newsletter has a small d6 inspiration table for giving out hooks and rumors. The continuation of my recent reads & listens, and finally a round-up of videos from other creators (and myself).
Feature: D6 Odd Ways to Give Hooks and Rumors
I apologize that this month’s feature is a short one. I have been busy with hosting family for the holidays, and I have hadn’t a lot of time to work on a deeper article.
But enjoy this d6 table on odd ways to give hooks, rumors or information to the party! I use it to get some inspiration for generating some interesting hook/rumor givers. I provide some basic examples, but you can take it in a variety of different ways.
Sentient objects - Intelligent swords, soul trapping gems, a living spell worked into a grimoire, etc.
Tragic Tales - a star crossed lover’s diary, treasure map found on a lone skeleton in the wilds
Puzzles - Wizard’s puzzle vault reveals secret library. Mix ingredients to break a barrier protecting information. Solving the sliding tile puzzle reveals a picture showing ____.
Vision Quests - Arcane messages in your dreams, divine omens after consuming blessed substances (water, incense, etc.)
Flora & Fauna - Talking animals, plantation forming symbols and directions
Oaths, Geas, Curses and Vendettas - Binding magics impart knowledge, or set the party on an adventure. Magically learn some information at the cost of a dreaded curse.
Recent Reads & Listens
Fiction:
Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay (Audiobook)
Lord of Emperors is the second book in a duology (In issue #8, I highly book one). The story's setting is based on the 6th-century Mediterranean world, and the looming conflict between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy.
Crispin is a mosaicist commissioned with rendering a mosaic worthy of the Sun God grace in the greatest city in the world: Sarantium. But the beauty and solitude of Crispin's work cannot protect him from the dangerous intrigues of court and city, swirling with rumors of war and conspiracy. The emperor is plotting a conquest of Crispin’s homeland to regain an empire.
Lord of Emperors is a satisfying conclusion to Gavriel Kay’s duology. The world building, the depictions of royal courts and the integration of religion into the story were all well done. The climactic twist in the book felt a bit contrived. It does make sense given the story background. But it was just something that didn’t have too much foreshadowing. So it felt a bit sprung on the reader.
Rating: 8/10
Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay (Audiobook)
Inspired by Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Norse cultures of the real world, this story tells the tale of intrigue and revenge. The story actually takes place in the same fantasy world as GGK’s Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors albeit in a later time period.
The story follows a series of characters that ultimately are trying to outlive the shadows of their parents. Some characters like Bern Thorkellson, are punished for his father’s sins, and he commits an act of desperation to make a name for himself. Ultimately, this brings him to face the past he’s been trying to leave behind. A tale of viking-esqe sea raiders that come looking for plunder only to learn they’ve been lied to. Realizing they can’t leave empty handed, they make a desperate gambit that sends the central characters in a head on collision with one another.
There are some interesting fantasy aspects of the story: Strange witches, Cursed woods, and Faeries. But largely this is a low-fantasy story.
Rating: 6.5/10
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Tress of the Emerald Sea is a story inspired by the Princess Bride, if the Princess actually did something in that story. Tress is a commoner that falls in love with the Duke’s son Charlie on a tiny island. When the Duke leaves with his family in hopes of marrying Charlie off, he returns with a different heir: his nephew.
Tress learns that Charlie was sent to an evil sorceress that trouble’s the kindgom. Tress embarks on a journey to save Charlie from the sorceress. She gets tangled up with an odd crew of pirates as she navigates the deadly seas of her world. The seas are not water like we’d find on a traditional sea/ocean, but rather are fluidized spores. And the spores react violently to liquid causing disastrous effects.
Its a fun story, with some swashbuckling adventure. Sanderson has a particularly writing style that some readers may not enjoy. If you’ve read his works before, then you probably know if you like him or not. If you haven’t, well its worth reading some of his works to find out. He is quite prolific in the modern fantasy fiction space.
Rating: 7/10
Videos
Daniel at Bandit’s Keep discusses Exploration:
Ben at Questing Beast talks about the Tunic Principle:
I talk about reputation mechanics for your D&D game:
In honor of 1 year adrift on the Earthmote, I hosted a Q&A: