Orcs...again.

I seem to recall many ages ago blogging about orcs. I like them. They are arguably my favorite fantasy race, and I will often judge a high fantasy world (at least partially) on whether it has orcs in it or not (sword & sorcery worlds get a pass as they tend to be human-centric).

I am also a huge role-playing geek, and I love to tinker with the idea of creating and writing my own rpg. Therefore, it stands to reason that eventually I would try to combine those two ideas and create and write a game about orcs. Well, I have been doing just that for some time now (off and on). And I have the first part of the project more or less done.

I have often seen this project as having four phases. The first is to write the rules. This involves devising a dice-mechanic, the relating system for using that mechanic, and putting it all together in a coherent manner. I believe I have done this fairly well, though I use the term “devise” loosely in regards to the mechanic. I basically borrowed a mechanic from another game, modified it to my liking, and plugged it in. It works, and has the potential for the level of brutality a game about orcs should have.

The second phase will be to create the world that the game takes place in. This will be both easy and difficult. Easy because I have done this sort of thing a lot, and world creation is in itself a fun activity. But it will also be difficult, because the world needs to be familiar enough that people who pick up the game will recognize familiar tropes, yet unique enough that it won’t be derivative or plagiaristic.

After that will come playtesting and editing, which will probably be the most difficult, as I have no idea who I will get to playtest it. And the final stage will be revision and production, to include art and layout. This part I can do on my own, though I may try to get art from other people in there. That’s assuming this whole thing doesn’t just peter out and fall by the wayside, as so many of my projects do.

So, there I am. I have a basic, functioning rules set. And I have a decent idea of what kind of world I want to make. It will be a world where the only playable race is orcs, and everyone else is either an ally or an enemy, depending on the day and the mood of the characters.

At this point (if you’ve bothered reading this far) you may be wondering what kind of orcs will be presented? As most fantasy aficionados know, there are as many kinds of orcs as there are books and games about them, or involving them. They range from the original form presented by J.R.R. Tolkien, to the wildly bizarre ilk found in many of today’s games. This topic has come up during conversations with Scott Oden, who is a Tolkien Purist when it comes to orcs, and equally passionate about them. Personally, I like the orcs of WarCraft design. They represent more of the “noble savage” rather than the mindless killing machine so often portrayed in fiction and gaming (the irony here is that this is how Scott likes his orcs as well, even though WarCraft orcs are much more so than the orcs of Middle-Earth, though he still maintains their inferiority).

As a result, my orcs are hulking, brutal warriors, with an honorable streak that is rivaled by their capacity for treachery in the name of self-affectation. They fight constantly, for pleasure, sport, money, or just because. They respect strength and despise weakness. They are willing to ally themselves with anyone who pays enough, or promises to benefit them in some way. They are often loyal to each other, but not to the point of useless sacrifice. Orcs will support their friends and comrades, but if those friends do something stupid, they are on their own. They live in a tribal, shamanistic society, where only the strongest rule, and an orc is not an orc until he (or she) has proven himself in combat.

So tell me, would you play this game?

‘Tis the season…I guess.

Let me preface this blog by saying that I have NO regrets about moving to Wisconsin. I love my wife more than anything, and for the most part, there is nothing I would change about my life right now. At least, nothing that has anything to do with Wisconsin or my decision to move here from San Diego.

That being said, I am not a huge fan of the cold or the snow. But, even my wife, who has never lived anywhere but here her entire life, is fond of saying “I don’t live here for the weather.” The cold and snow have a way of sapping everything from a person. Their warmth, their motivation (and often their ability) to get out and do anything. And so it is with me. I have lost all momentum for fitness. I burned myself out on the gym, so I looked for alternate things to do. I found martial arts again, but between work, illness and small children, I have been one time in a month. And I will likely not go tonight. I’m hoping that after the holidays that will change. Things will settle down and I can start going on a regular basis. Even then, I feel stifled. A “regular” basis amounts to one night a week on Tuesday. We’re hoping to get Sydney into it starting in January, so that will also open up Saturdays for Family lessons. At least, when her dad’s plans don’t interfere on his weekends. So, I will only be able to really count on every other Saturday.

Eh, I’m probably just whining and bitching. But hey, it’s my blog, so I can do that.

Anyways, on the creative side, I’ve been doing a little here and there to keep the “muscles” loose. I doodle a lot, and think about stories. I even managed to finish a short one recently. A fantasy/horror/action yarn about a girl assassin. I sent it to my wife to read, and am probably going to see if others want to be “casual editors” on it soon (let me know if you are interested). That makes three complete short stories in the last year. Not bad for me, all things considered. I also have a few more in the works, and of course, there are the other, larger projects that I occasionally revisit for short periods. Eventually one or more of them will get done, most likely.

The D&D game has taken a hiatus for the holidays, but I’m eager to start up again. The DM has set things up in a way that promises to be very interesting. Online gaming has been strictly the DCUO MMO Beta. I have to say, I love this game. Graphically, it makes City of Heroes look like Super Mario Brothers. And since it’s only a beta test, there are occasional updates to the game that are changing how it looks and plays, which is cool because they seem to be on track to building a really good MMO, despite the fact that it’s concurrently designed for the PC and the PS3. I keep eying the new WoW expansion, and am dying to see how it is, and to play again. Perhaps in the Spring I will suspend my CoH account, and re-up my WoW account, once I get the expansion of course.

I have my final court date for custody of Faith in just a couple of weeks. After that, it’s over. One way or another, I will (hopefully) never have to deal with the issue again. Faith will either be with me or her mom for the next three years, and then she is an adult, and able to go where and do what she wants. In the meantime, it will be a matter of either sending or receiving Child Support payments, and buying plane tickets for Summer visits. All things considered, I have my preferences, but I will be content with whichever way it goes. At least I can be sure that my daughter knows I did what I could for her, and that I was never a “deadbeat dad”, despite what her mom would like her to think.

Work is going well. At least in that I still have a job, and based on my 3-month review, it looks like I will for the foreseeable future. There are busy days and boring days. But overall, I’m happy. Like I told my boss when he asked, I may have days where I’m not all that happy to be here, but I NEVER have days where I seethe and inwardly HATE being here. I’ve had plenty of jobs like that. So, this is pretty nice, all things considered.

And that is my life in a nutshell. Working, playing, writing, doodling, and loving my family. All things considered, it could be (and has been in the past) much worse. But really, it couldn’t be much better.

How I Write

Scott Oden, bestselling author, and personal friend and mentor of mine [shameless brown-nosing], discussed his method of writing on his blog recently. His method is interesting and unique, but it works well for him, as evidenced by his excellent books [more brown-nosing, but it’s the truth]. He also encouraged others to share their methods for writing. I have decided to not clutter his blog with my own ramblings, but instead discuss how I write here. You know, when I actually do write.

The Idea

I usually just start with an idea. Whether that idea is a character, a situation, or even a setting, it generally starts the same. I simply open Word and begin writing. By the time I actually sit down to write something, the idea has often been germinating in my mind for some time, possibly months or even years. So, I have a general idea of where the thing is going in my head already.

Exploration

I tend to compose on the fly. I explore my idea through words. I start describing the idea in what feels the most logical manner, and just let the description flow from there. Character nuances and personalities develop as they are born on the page. If the character is one that I have been thinking of for a while, this part is much easier. Since I generally write science fiction and fantasy, I also explore the world, and build it as I go during this stage, adding details that further the story or develop the character(s) as I need them. This stage is usually a stream-of-consciousness endeavor.

Editing

I am a chronic self-editor. I know that conventional writer’s wisdom is to not edit as you compose, but I can’t seem to help myself. I correct spelling and grammar errors as soon as I see them (Damn you Word, with your squiggly, colored lines!!!), and will often re-write a sentence or paragraph several times before moving on. It’s a wonder the letters on my Backspace key are even visible anymore. This, combined with my lack of outlines, is probably my biggest enemy, and one of the main reasons that I have yet to finish anything longer than a couple of short stories. I have begun drafts for countless projects, only to be bogged down by the details and get derailed to the point of setting it aside indefinitely.

Does it work?

Well, that depends on your benchmark for success. If you measure success by completed projects, then my method is a dismal failure. But if you measure it by my enjoyment of writing, then I’d say it works fairly well. At this point in my life, I am not trying to earn money with writing. I am simply writing for my own enjoyment (and maybe a few friends who seem to think I have some talent). Again, conventional writer’s wisdom states that they are not mutually exclusive, and that one should exist with the other. But for me personally, the writing is just an adventure. I use it to explore ideas, develop characters and settings, and just entertain myself.

So there you go. The Tom Method of (not) Writing. Probably an abject lesson in “what not to do,” but there it is. What can I say? I’m no Robert E. Howard or Scott Oden or David Morrell. But I like to pretend that I am on the internet. That’s what this place is for, right?