This is your standard (often stereotypical) hero who fulfills a Main Character role, and they embody attributes many people aspire to like courage, a sense of honour, benevolence, kindness, etc. The character doesn't have to be perfect however, they could be a "Fallen Hero" like Thorin Oakenshield who aspires to heroic ideals, succumbs to greed, and then later redeems himself.
2. The Protagonist Anti-Hero
This is a Main Character who is not your standard hero and does not fit neatly into the standard hero role. Eg. If all of the Harry Potter books were written from the perspective of Severus Snape, then Snape would be an Anti-Hero.
3. The Antagonist (Villain)
Villains don't have to be stereotypical or humanoid. Sauron, Voldemort, Darth Vader, etc are certainly good examples, but they could also be monstrous like the dragon Smaug or any of the massive sharks from the Jaws franchise.
4. The Deuteragonist
The Deuteragonist is often called a Secondary Character. They often fulfill the role of sidekicks, squires. They're not a Main Character, but they're more of a Side Character. Eg. Ron and Hermione, Samwise, Podrick Payne, etc.
5. The Tertiary or Tritagonist
The Tritagonist is a minor character who only makes brief appearances in the plot and fulfills relatively minor roles. They're not villains, but they could be servants, friends, allies to the main character. They could even be neutral. Eg. The goblin bankers in Harry Potter, the elf Elrond in Lord of the Rings, or Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones.
6. The Paramour or Damsel in Distress
The lover (or presumed lover) of the Main Character could be a damsel in distress character, but he/she could also be a variation of the Femme Fatale. Whatever their role in the plot they are the paramour of the MC. Eg. Ygritte in Game of Thrones, Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter, Arwen in Game of Thrones, etc.
7. The Confidant
Confidants are often best friends or mentors for the MC. They might be someone the MC feels comfortable talking to and asking questions. They could also simultaneously be Secondary Characters or Tertiary.
8. The Foil / Rival
Not the villain, but certainly a rival that the MC doesn't get along with. Their methods often differ dramatically from the MC and reveals more about the MC's sense of fair play, honour, good sportsmanship, etc. Eg. Draco Malfoy.
9. The Dynamic or Rounded Character
This character is well-rounded and ever changing. They learn things, they evolve over time. They could be the MC or a secondary character, or even a tertiary.
10. The Stereotypical Stock Character
The fool, the mentor, the sage, the wise leader, the priest, etc.
11. The Symbolic Character
This is a character who represents a specific ideal such as hope or courage, but could also be something loftier like representing a godly power. Eg. Aslan in Chronicles of Narnia.
12. The Extras / Static Characters
These are simply background characters who don't even have a name. They don't really change and don't feel any larger roles. They often don't even talk. Eg. "Red Shirts" in Star Trek, Stormtroopers in Star Wars, random orcs in Lord of the Rings, random students in Hogwarts, etc. Often they're just there to be scared and run away, or to stand there and die.
I have often doing a collaboration with another author or several fantasy authors.
The trick I think is to find other fantasy authors with similar styles and figuring out how to split the profits from said venture...
With traditional publishing the matter of splitting profits is handled by the publisher and all authors are treated equally.
With Amazon Publishing and similar methods of self-publishing there is a problem however. There currently is no way to split sales between multiple authors, and likewise they have to split up the responsibilities of marketing/etc.
However I think I have come up several possible solutions:
SOLUTION #1: The Simultaneous Trilogy
Imagine that you have three authors who want to write a trilogy together, within the same shared setting. For simplicity's sake let's say all of the action in the stories takes place in a single city (eg. New York).
Each author could, in theory, write their books simultaneously and release all three books on the same date: February 2nd 2022 or something like that.
The books in question could take place in a specific order, or they could all have their events happening simultaneously. The characters of each book could be separate but their stories interconnected in some manner etc.
Likewise each author would responsible for marketing their own books, but would also be able to mention the other books from the series.
It also doesn't have to be a trilogy. It could be a duology of two books or a plethora of writers all writing in the same world. (Similar to the Thieves World anthology series, but without it being an anthology.) In theory 20 or more authors could all publish their books within the shared world at the same time, setting their own prices, using the same logo, book cover layout template, etc.
As a result each author is responsible for their own work, their own
marketing, and reaps their own profits within the Amazon system.
SOLUTION #2: An Open Collaboration
An Open Collaboration would involve one author (or several authors) getting the ball rolling by writing one book and putting it on Amazon, and opening it up for other authors to add their own works in the world. Any author could, without even needing permission, publish their own work set within the world, reusing the logos, branding, etc created by the first author(s) who has created the world and allowed other writers to publish within the world they created.
Again, each author joining the Open Collaboration would be responsible for writing and marketing their own work, but would benefit from being part of a newly established world.
For example H. P. Lovecraft implored other writers to create new literary works based on his Cthulhu creation (which is also currently in the public domain), because he wanted other writers to add more to the story. However the phrase "Call of Cthulhu" is copyrighted by a roleplaying game company, so that specific phrase cannot be used in either books or marketing, asides from Lovecraft's book "The Call of Cthulhu". Otherwise any books that people publish within the Cthulhu world is effectively part of his Open Collaboration.
Thus if someone wanted to they could join Lovecraft's Open Collaboration, or they could start their own open collaboration based on their own world and hope other writers join them.
SOLUTION #3: Shared Amazon Account
This really only works if the authors are very close (like a married couple, close friends, etc) and they agree to collaborate on one or more books and share the same Amazon account, receive royalties via the same joint bank account, etc.
If the two or more authors don't really trust each other I don't see this working. Not without getting a lawyer or a middle man involved.
SOLUTION #4: Collaborate, but Buy The Publication Rights
So this option means the author is taking a financial risk that the book will sell. They hire a fellow fantasy writer to collaborate with, similar to hiring a ghostwriter, and then pay the author for the publication rights to the work produced during the collaboration. The hired author gets paid for their work, still gets their name on the book cover (unlike a ghostwriter who doesn't even get mentioned), and goes on their merry way knowing they've already been paid for their work.
The author who bought the collaboration is then responsible for the remaining writing, all the marketing, and collects all the profits.
SOLUTION #5: Collaborate with a Dead Author
This is a bit more of an unusual idea, but let's run with this...
Find a book that you as an author like which is now in the Public Domain (eg. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald recently became Public Domain as of January 1st 2021) and then co-write a book with the dead author.
Because the book is in the Public Domain you don't have to pay anyone for the rights or worry about splitting the profits.
What is more there are many other books already in this field of Public Domain Collaborations, so it isn't like you're the first person to do this. Every year on January 1st more novels are getting added to the list of Public Domain books. Any number of authors seeking to co-write a book can simply choose an author who has been dead for a very long time and co-write a book with them*.
* It is generally accepted that you are changing a significant part of the book compared to the original book. The characters, the overall plot, the themes, etc will likely be changed significantly, although certain aspects of the book will stay the same.
So which is best?
Hmm. There is no best. There are pros and cons to each of these options.
Can you co-write a book with Jane Austen? Absolutely. Would you really want to? Speaking for myself, no. Not my type of thing.
Some options require more planning, or possibly the expectation that other authors will follow suit, but there is no guarantee than any of these options will be successful in getting readers.
Execution is another factor. What if your writing style and other writer(s) don't have matching literary styles? It might end up being a wasted effort.
You really would need to find a living author who has a similar style and writes similar things, or you are better off just doing your own thing.
Going the traditional publishing route is also always an option, although that has its own set of pros and cons for two authors who want to collaborate.
For fantasy writers and D&D dungeon masters alike having a "common
tongue" language is a bit of lazy storytelling just so the person
telling the story doesn't have to worry about different languages
regularly.
However you may have noticed that when reading books by professional writers they put more thought into how they present languages, possibly even having characters speaking in different languages in order to relay secrets.
For example Tolkien used a common tongue in his works, but he also
created multiple languages to fulfill his needs. He also understood
that languages evolve and change over time. He created 15 different dialects of elvish, as well as languages for the orcs, ents, hobbits, and more, and his creation of the languages influenced place names, the names of characters, and how he presented languages.
In the real world
English is currently the equivalent of the common tongue on the global scale. Depending upon
what part of the world a person lived in, and at what point in history,
the common tongue would have been something different however. Eg. French,
German, or Latin at varying points would have been considered a common
tongue in Europe. In the future it is conceivable that English will fade
in popularity and a language like Chinese (specifically Putonghua, aka
Mandarin) will become popular in the future.
However as you've
probably guessed not everyone in Europe spoke Latin, despite the Romans
doing their utmost to conquer everyone. If someone was educated or a
merchant there was a good chance they also spoke Latin, but the
craftsmen or the peasantry would barely speak a word of the language
beyond ita vero et minime (yes and no).
Granted, if you're
writing fantasy then some readers won't particularly care if you skip
such realisms, but if you're writing historical fiction then you're
going to want to be as accurate as possible.
It really depends on how much realism you want in your story.
Here's a few questions to think about to improve realism:
1. What is the common tongue called?
Eg.
In Korovia then Korovian is the common tongue in that part of my world.
But if a person travels to Al-Kazar or the Azagolian Empire then
Al-Kazarian or Azageul is the common tongue in those regions.
2. Are there regional languages or older languages which are spoken more often in certain areas?
Eg.
In Korovia the region is Slavic themed, but some people still speak
Middle Korovian, Old Korovian or even Ancient Korovian. Thus I like to
borrow bits from languages like Romanian and Russian.
3. Are the towns or villages based on words from the language, or are they based on words from a different language?
Eg.
When naming a number of the towns and villages of Korovia I opened a
map of Romania many years ago and then I browsed the names of villages,
creating new names which sounded similar to existing places.
4. Does magic use a specific language?
Eg.
In Korovia, yes. This is where I like to borrow words from Esperanto.
Esperanto is a made up language created by a Polish academic in 1887. It
is mostly spoken by language scholars, but for my purposes it makes for
a good "language of magic".
Note - J. K. Rowling did something similar for magic in her Harry Potter series. She used Latin for all of the magical words. 5. Do you have a map showing where different languages are spoken?
Something to consider doing. Very useful.
6. Are there any hybrid languages?
Hybrid
languages are usually spoken near the borders between major countries,
but they can also happen when two cultures are mixed over a long period.
Eg.
Yiddish is a hybrid of German and Hebrew. Similarly Alsatian is a
language spoken mostly in eastern France that is a mixture of French,
German and even Yiddish. Likewise in modern times Denglisch is a mixture
of Deutsch and English, the result of so many English speakers living
in Germany these days.
Note - If you watch the film Waterworld you will note that the characters refer to one language they encounter as Portugreek, which is apparently a hybrid of Greek and Portuguese.
7. What are the languages actually called in their native tongue?
Eg.
Germans don't actually speak "German", they speak Deutsch. Russians
speak Russkiy. The Chinese actually speak over 300 languages native to
China, Putonghua (Mandarin) is just the official state language, but
depending upon the region a person is in there are different dominant
languages.
8. Does each language have a traditional greeting or way of saying goodbye?
Useful to use these.
Eg.
In Forgotten Realms the common greeting is "Well met", but that
wouldn't necessarily be the only way of saying hello and other greetings
might be more popular in specific regions.
9. Is there more than one common tongue in your world?
When cultures collide it might make sense to just call the two languages by their names, as opposed to calling both of them "common".
10. Do you have a separate alphabet for one or more languages?
Below... the Dwarven alphabet created by Tolkien.
Final Thoughts
Not all writers (or Dungeon Masters for playing Dungeons & Dragons) are into this level of realism within their writing, but for those that are the extra details and realism helps to immerse the reader (and players) within the fantasy world. Or in the case of historical fiction, within a time and place.
For example if you're writing a book set in the Holy Roman Empire the people there don't speak English obviously, and they don't speak Latin either. They're speaking German (Deutsch). Thus they wouldn't use words like "Hello!" they would say things like "Good day!" instead because "Guten Tag!" is the standard greeting in German. In France you could get away with Hello because the French "Allo" is very similar, but honestly you could just use Allo instead of Hello anyway and the readers will quickly guess the meaning based on context even with zero knowledge of French.
Are you a fantasy writer and you're trying to polish your work for publication?
You're going to need an editor.
Proofreading and editing your own work is not enough. You need someone who can fix the mistakes you made like:
Spelling & Typos
Grammar
Sentence Structure
Flow & Tone
Reader Friendliness
Redundancies
Inconsistencies
Unbelievable Issues (unless you want it to be unbelievable, of course)
My Introductory Editing Rate is 2 cents per word, or $100 USD for 5000 words.
This
allows me to gauge how 'riddled with mistakes' your work is, and
determine how much time is required to edit your work. Based upon that I
can then charge you an amount consistent with my normal editing rate of
$35 USD per hour.
Contact charlesmoffat@charlesmoffat.com to inquire about editing the first 5000 words of your story. Payments are made via PayPal or Interac E-Transfer.
Short Story Discount Rate
During
the month of December I am also offering a "Short Story Discount Rate"
of 1.5 cents per word, which means you save 25% compared to my regular
rates.
Short Stories: 1,500 - 7,500 words = $22.50 to $112.50.
Contact charlesmoffat@charlesmoffat.com to inquire about editing your short story.
Regular Rates*
*
Actual rate may vary depending upon how 'riddled with mistakes' your
work is. It could be more/less depending on a variety of factors like
whether you self-edited and used spellcheck/grammar check before sending
it to your editor.
Short Stories: 1,500 - 7,500 words = $30 to $150.
Novelettes: 7,500 - 17,500 = $150 to $350.
Novellas: 17,500 - 40,000 = $350 to $800.
Novels: 40,000+ words = $800+
So for example if you have a 100,000 word novel that you need edited then it will cost you $2000.
Contact charlesmoffat@charlesmoffat.com to inquire about editing the first 5000 words of your short story, novelette, novella or novel.
What About Other Genres?
Yeah, so here's the thing. I have reached the point in my editing career where I want to focus on a single genre.
So yes, I am really do want to focus solely on editing fantasy, but with a few small exceptions:
#1. Historical Fiction. Basically like fantasy, but minus the magic and the monsters.
#2. Historical Fantasy. Technically counts as Fantasy.
#3. Science Fantasy. Not to be confused with Sci Fi.
#4. Time Travel Fiction. I have a soft spot for this.
Contact charlesmoffat@charlesmoffat.com to inquire about editing the first 5000 words of your fantasy story. Payments are made via PayPal or Interac E-Transfer.
And then there are the ones that publish fantasy, horror, sci fi and speculative fiction. So you don't to choose "Just Fantasy" if you want to read short stories, novellas and flash fiction from any of those genres. Steam Punk? Steam Punk Fantasy? There's a journal for that.
Below is a list of publishers just for Flash Fiction... The document is organized by which publishers pay the most for Flash Fiction, down to those publishers who just provide a token copy, or is completely unpaid. For writers there is also the matter of word count limits, the typical response times, and whether they allow simultaneous submissions to other periodicals.
There are other categories too. Fantasy Periodicals that publish mostly short stories, and others which also publish novelettes and novellas. So length is another factor for distinguishing between the different periodicals. Whether they actually pay the writer is a completely different topic.
There is one important factor however... It is very difficult for fantasy periodicals to make a profit and be viable commercially. Most of them have readerships in the low thousands.
And then there is fantasy pulp fiction (40,000 to 60,000) words... A short novel effectively.
Herein lies the issue for writers who write pulp fiction. They want to get PAID, ideally at least semi pro (0.01 per word) or pro rate (0.06 per word) for their writing.
If they're writing a 50,000 words short novel then they are expecting to sell the 1-year publishing rights for that pulp fiction novel for $500 to $3000, or more, and their goal is to sell to a fantasy periodical who buys such stories...
Why just the periodical industry?
Because the regular book publishing industry these days gravitates away from publishing short novels, preferring books to be in the 90,000 to 120,000 range. With the exception of YA (Young Adult) fantasy fiction they don't see any benefit to buying and selling books that fall into the pulp fiction range.
Enter online publisher Wattpad, a website/app where readers can read books for free - or buy access to premium books for a price.
Essentially it works a bit like self publishing via Amazon, which is also an option frequently explored by writers who write short stories and novellas.
Wattpad provides free content to over 85 million readers via amateur writers (and professional writers like Margaret Atwood and others who use Wattpad to help market their writing) and consequently there is a huge readership base. People can grow their popularity on Wattpad, and then spin that into book sales on Amazon and in traditional book stores.
At present however there are a few tricks to this...
#1. In order to sell your books on Wattpad (instead of just free) you need to qualify for Wattpad Star status, which means you need to first write at least two finished novels that are over 50k each.
#2. You need to get popular on Wattpad. Easier said than done, although there are guides on How To Get Popular On Wattpad.
#3. Wattpad hasn't yet figured out how to properly monetize short stories. If it is a novel, sure, you can sell it in the Paid Stories categories. They did at one point try giving writers a share of ad revenue, but this plan apparently didn't work properly and was later scrapped in favour of the Premium/Paid Stories system they currently use.
So should you just skip the periodicals industry completely?
Well, hold on a second, because there might be a solution...
Why not do ALL THREE?
Step One, Submit Your Story To Periodicals
Go the normal route and try to get your story into periodicals. Possibly get published and get paid.
Step Two, Self Publish
Publish and sell your work on Amazon and similar self publishing platforms.
Step Three, Wattpad
Put free samples of your writing - especially your shorter bits of fiction - on Wattpad, plus two works that are over 50k in order to try and get Wattpad Star status.
This three step approach means you get the best of all three systems of revenue. It is more work, but it also means your writing is being exposed to a much larger audience of people - and it means you ultimately get paid more and have a greater chance of becoming successful as a writer.
It is also a system I am putting to the test myself, with my own writing. You can find samples of my writing (both short stories and longer works) on Wattpad at wattpad.com/user/CharlesMoffat. My goal during 2021 is to see how many periodicals I can get my fantasy writing into. I have already been publishing nonfiction in magazines for years, so I am overdue to publish fiction writing too.
Now you can follow the steps in order, or you can do a different order or tweak the steps to suit your needs. There is no rules that you have to do everything in that order. However there is a benefit to that particular order, because some periodicals refuse to publish anything that was published elsewhere first (including Amazon and Wattpad). Thus there is a good argument for trying to publish in periodicals first, before publishing in Amazon and Wattpad.
Maybe someday Wattpad will put Fantasy Periodicals out of Business?
Maybe.
Maybe someday.
If they can figure out how to properly monetize short stories, novelettes and novellas.
It could be that they might monetize them in the same way they already monetize novels on their website, and they might simply lower the word count requirements for Premium/Paid Stories.
Or maybe they will figure out a different way of monetizing short stories, like possibly a tiered payment system similar to semi pro and pro rate.
They could even get into the business of buying stories from professional writers, including reprints which is another important factor.
Usually when a writer sells a short story or novella it is the first year publishing rights that gets sold. Buying a reprint of a story that was previously published elsewhere isn't considered to be as valuable.
However Wattpad could buy reprints of popular stories by famous authors, creating a database of premium stories using a system similar to what Netflix does with movies and TV shows.
And it isn't like the market isn't there. All of Wattpad's money comes from two revenue streams: Ad revenue and premium stories. So they are making money off the stories, one way or the other.
What they need to do is to get professional writers (or even semi pro writers) to switch over to Wattpad simply because it pays better.
And if they do that they will put the fantasy periodicals industry out of business. Every writer who normally writes for periodicals will end up switching.
Alternatively there is another way...
Wattpad could buy/acquire companies that publish periodicals, either online or traditional book versions. In doing so they would acquire the publishing rights to any short stories published in the last year and be able to put them on Wattpad.
They could then transition the readers from those periodicals (which are often online already) over to Wattpad by offering them Premium Wattpad accounts at a discounted rate.
The good news is that many of these publishing companies aren't making much of a profit (or are in the red) and would love someone to buy them out at a pittance of the cost. Many of these "companies" are just a few people who aren't even getting paid to work there. Offer the owner enough money and they would probably take it.
Most fantasy periodicals fail and fold within the first five years of operating.
So it wouldn't really take much to put them out of business.
All Wattpad needs is the right payment program that will bring out the pro and semi pro writers.
One possible way to do Treasure Distribution for Dungeons and Dragons (or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)...
The Ranked Picking System
Each time we gain treasure the players should rank in order of significance how much they want certain items.
For example let's say we find the following:
1 wand of Burning Hands
1 staff of Light (cleric or druid only)
1 large shield +1
1 potion of Extra Healing
1 suit of plate mail (non magical, dwarven sized)
1 suit of elvish chainmail +1 (human sized)
1 riding horse, complete with saddle and saddlebags/etc
evil looking dagger +1, possibly cursed (detects of evil)
treasure chest containing over 2000 gold
Each player would then rank how much they want the item:
1, 2, 3, 4, etc...
Any time there is an item your PC cannot use you should automatically
put NOT INTERESTED when ranking their interest in an item. Ranking an
item your character cannot use disqualifies you from getting the item.
Everyone is automatically listed for a share of the treasure chest
(unless you have a vow of poverty), but this will always be the last
thing divided up and is always ranked at the bottom.
So for example Charles (Beldin) would rank the items like so:
shield - 1
dwarf sized plate mail - 2
potion - 3
horse - 4
human sized elvish chainmail - NOT INTERESTED
wand - NOT INTERESTED
staff
- NOT INTERESTED
evil looking dagger, possibly cursed - NOT INTERESTED
share of treasure chest - AUTOMATIC
Everyone
would rank the items in a similar manner, and starting with the items
which have the least number of 1s we then divide up the treasure.
If
only 1 person wants the item, they get it automatically. If 2 or more
eligible people want it, the players vote to decide who receives it
(often with people voting based upon usability).
Before voting each player wanting an item can make a brief argument (30
seconds or less ideally) for why they are deserving of the item.
[Note - Characters do not get a vote. Players do. Effectively each player is in this on behalf of 1 main character.]
Once
all the items with ranks of 1 have been divided up then we repeat the
process for ranks 2 for any items that have not yet been distributed.
Often most of the items will disappear during the distribution of Rank 1
items. However the difference now is that anyone who already received a
Rank 1 item is exempted from getting a Rank 2 item - UNLESS there was
nobody else interested in the item in the Ranks 2, 3, 4, etc. Thus it is
possible for 1 player to receive two items, but only if nobody
else actually wants it in the lower rankings. We continue down the
ranks, voting and dividing up each item based upon desirability and
usability.
The "Share of Treasure Chest" is
divided last, but it is also unevenly based upon how many people
received a higher ranked item. Anyone who received a Rank 1 item only
gets 1/2 share, and anyone who received 2 or more items gets zero share
of the treasure chest. Someone who received 0 items during the
distribution of other items gets double the share of gold/etc.
Thus:
If someone received an item, they would only receive a 1/2 share of the gold.
If
someone received no items, they would receive a double share of the
gold (effectively 4 times what someone would receive if they already
received an item).
Ranking Strategically - Someone might look at the value of the gold
and decide they're not interested in things like the riding horse and
then decide to rank strategically, saying NOT INTERESTED in the horse or
similar items, just so they can get a double share of the chest full of
gold. Others might look at the horse as being useful and decide it is
worth not getting a larger share of the gold.
Cursed
Items - If nobody actually wants an item believed to be cursed the
party should make an effort to either give it away, use it to bribe
someone, deliberately lose it somewhere unlikely to be found, or attempt
to destroy it.
Party Funds (Optional)
In
order to pay taxes, tolls, food, stays at inns, bribes, repairs,
Identifying magical items, etc it is recommended setting aside 1 share
of party gold for Party Funds, which can be used to pay miscellaneous
things that the party needs. Usually this sum would then be carried by
various trustworthy members of the party.
While we're at it, let's quickly discuss a few extra topics that will inevitably come up during games...
MATTERS OF OWNERSHIP
Once
a person owns an item it is considered theirs and theirs alone, unless
they sell the item, trade it, give it away, throw it away, or destroy
it. Items cannot be redistributed later if a second treasure is later
found.
However if two players agree to trade an
item, or one player agrees to sell an item to another for an agreed
upon sum of gold and/or items, then this can be done privately
(preferably outside of game time).
Players
could also decide that they don't need two swords, for example, and then
give away an item to another player (or give it to an ally, or
henchman/hireling, or even as a bribe to a NPC). What they do with it is
their choice and theirs alone.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
PCs
should be encouraged to write a last will and testament stating who
gets their various items if their character should die. It should never
be a situation where the party just automatically loots the dead
character. The items could end up going to PCs, to NPCs, to be donated
to an orphanage, or they might even insist the items are buried with
them.
THIEVERY
Thievery is certainly a
real possibility, but would spell consequences for the thief when
eventually caught. PCs who discover a thief might decide to attack them,
might choose to punish them in some manner, or might simply refuse to
aid the thief thence onwards (eg. leaving them to die). Items stolen once
discovered would be returned to the proper owner. A severe and
non-violent penalty however would be to take all magical items (or
anything else considered valuable) from the thief and give them to the
person who had been robbed, who can then use them, or sell/give away
items at their leisure.
Missing potions and
scrolls. Another problem. Harder to prove who took them and used them.
Again, consequences should be swift and severe.
Players
should make an effort to record where on their persons (or their
horses) they are storing various items of value. Eg. Hiding a potion in
their boot. Thus if someone is attempting to rob them they must declare
where they are looking and the DM can check with the character sheet to
determine where a particular item is hidden.
Over a decade ago I joined a 1st Edition AD&D game. The game has had its highs and lows, including players moving to other countries, players getting married and having kids (myself included in that category), and we don't play as often as we once did.
The trick about playing 1st Edition AD&D is that it is gritty. It is "Old School". Your characters die frequently. Kind of like watching Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or similar shows. Characters die. It is just part of the game.
So one workaround for the inevitable character deaths is that DMs will often have players create multiple characters so that in the event that one character dies then they can just immediately play a different one because they have a whole roster of characters to choose from.
In the game I am in what we will do is roll stats for 12 characters all at once.
Like so...
Note - I had some difficulties making the following videos. My camera was running low on hard drive space, so I ended with 4 videos instead of 1 big long video. Also I forgot about the rerolls, so the 4th video is just the rerolls.
So there you go. That is how you roll 12 sets of stats, in order, plus the rerolls.
I admit it takes awhile to do all of those rolls, but you aren't necessarily going to play all 12 characters. You are probably only going to play the characters who can potentially make the characters you WANT to play.
For example, if you're not really into making wizards, then don't play a wizard. Just make all your characters fighters, thieves, clerics, etc, and thus you use the stats which are appropriate for making those characters.
Our DM also allows players to "trade stats" to other players so that they can get stats that make the character they want to play. So even if you failed to roll the necessary stats to play a ranger, maybe you can trade a set of your stats to someone who wants them in exchange for suitable ranger stats.
So far I ended up making a dwarf fighter for the game, but going over the stats I also have ideas for another fighter, a cleric, a wizard and a thief. So I should at least have some backup characters in case my dwarf bites the dust.
I am hoping he doesn't die, obviously, but let's say he falls down and hurts himself (and needs to heal for awhile) then I might need a replacement character while my dwarf rests up.
Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: 4 rounds + 1 round/level Casting Time: 1 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None
Also known as Blizzard Scimitar this ancient spell is popular amongst Blizzards (ice wizards) in Korovia and dates back to the early bronze age when the spell was first created, after the First Demon War. The spell conjures a magical scimitar made of para elemental ice (para elemental ice is immune to melting) and imbues the caster temporarily with the proficiency skill to wield it. (And only it. It does not confer the ability to use all scimitars.)
The razor sharp ice scimitar deals 2d4 damage per hit, counts as a magical weapon, and can parry (or be parried) by spells like Flame Blade. It deals a combination of ice and slicing damage, but can also be used to pierce or stab opponents and objects. Creatures composed of fire or mostly of fire take an additional 1d4 cold damage when hit by the ice scimitar.
Someone under the effects of a Resist Cold (or similar protection) suffers 1 point less damage.
If a Blizzard casts this particular spell and has successfully gone through all three transformation rituals to become a full Blizzard then the duration of the spell lasts twice as long.
Unlike many cryomancy spells which often require a bit of ice or snow to cast, this spell does not require any such material components. It is considered by cryomancers and Blizzards to be "a staple spell" which can be useful in a variety of situations.
This particular spell appears in Charles Moffat's March 2020 book: "The Blizzard's Daughter" which is available in paperback and ebook formats.
More Cryomancy Spells
The following spells are from a third party source: Dragon Magazine
Chill (Evocation) 1st level Range: 30’ Components: V S Duration: 2-5 rounds Casting Time: 1 Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: Negates
This spell creates an area of intense cold around the target, causing it to shiver regardless of how much clothing or fur is worn. For the duration of the spell, the target moves at half-speed and suffers a -2 penalty on attack and damage rolls provided he fails a saving throw vs. magic. An interesting side-effect of the chill spell is that, if it is cast on a target under the effects of a chill metal spell, the target suffers a -2 penalty on Armor Class as well. Note that a resist cold spell (or any other related protective magic) prevents this from working.
Snow Tread (Alteration, Enchantment) 2nd level Range: 10’ Components: V, S, M Duration: 1 hour per level Casting Time: 5 Area of Effect: One creature per level Saving Throw: None
This rather simple but valuable spell allows those affected to tread through snow without fear of slipping and at their normal movement rate, thus making it possible for the recipients to travel through terrain covered with ice and snow without being bogged down (ignore modifiers for snow when determining the daily movement rate for the party, including the approximate time needed to complete the trip). Another benefit offered by this spell is that it makes it harder for others to follow the party, for it magically brushes snow into the tracks behind them (-3 penalty on top of all other tracking modifiers). Up to five creatures can be affected by the snow tread spell, plus one additional creature per level of the caster over 5th level (a total of 10, maximum). The material component of the spell is the snow or ice that is to be traversed, in which the caster traces the last words of the spell (a sure sign that the spell is in effect is that the traced words are swept away by its magic).
Freezefire (Alteration) 3rd level Range: 5’ per level Components: V, S Duration: Special Casting Time: 3 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: Special
Freezefire is an unusual spell that allows the caster to freeze one or more fires within range, whether natural or magical, into inert blue ice, thus allowing it to be touched or handled without harm. Up to one 5’ x 5’ sphere of flame (normal or magical) is transformed into blue ice for every four experience levels, and its duration is permanent with regard to normal fire. As for magical fire,it is affected in the following ways: If it hasn’t manifested yet (e.g., a fireball flying through the air), it stays inert for 3-5 rounds (the aforementioned fireball would fall to the ground as a lifeless lump of ice and sulfur); If the magical fire is already in effect (e.g., a wall of fire),the spell causes it (or a part of it, if it is too large for the caster to affect completely) to turn to blue ice for the space of 1 round per level of the caster. While frozen, it can be physically touched,even broken, without ruining the spell. Thus, part of a wall of fire that has been frozen could be broken down and one could pass through unscathed, while the frozen lump that was a fireball could be picked up and thrown a few rounds later for the usual effects. It doesn’t affect fire-based spells of 5th level or higher, nor does it prevent a dragon or chimera from breathing flame unless it was cast1 round previously. In that case, the creature is allowed a saving throw vs.spell to resist its effects, and, if the save is failed, it is unable to breathe flame for 2-3 rounds.
Ice Claws (Conjuration, Evocation) 3rd level Range: 0 Components: V, S, M Duration: 1 round per level Casting Time: 3 Area of Effect: The caster Saving Throw: None
Casting this spell brings into being a disembodied pair of icy, clawed hands,totally under the control of the caster.The caster can attack twice per round with these claws as a fighter half his level, causing 1-3 hp damage each plus an additional 1-4 hp cold damage (those with resistance to cold suffer no additional damage from the cold). They can be used to attack someone up to 30yards away from the caster, and on a natural roll of 20 the claw(s) have secured a hold on the target, causing automatic claw and cold damage every round thereafter. The material component of this spell is a pair of crystal claws connected to a small brass chain, all of which is worth 5 gp.
Also let's look at some works of H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote in a different subgenre, but also wrote Pulp Fiction short stories, novelettes and novellas:
One of the great things about our crazy Amazon-driven book world is
that book length matters less than it used to. In the world of the
1790s, books had to be triple decker novels. During the Age of the
Storytellers (as Mike Ashley calls it), for A. Conan Doyle and the crowd
of story writers that filled the new magazines, 6-9000 words was the
target. Pulps, paperbacks, and now online publishing, have all dictated
to the length of works. It is only now, when an ebook is a file, no
different than any other file, that we seem to be free from these
constraints.
Art by John Buscema and Alfred Alcala
I think we can all agree, first
off, any story needs to be as long as it needs to be to be told well. As Ben
Peek, author of Black Sheep says, “Honestly, I don’t
really think there is an ideal length. Depends on the work, on the ideas behind
it, and how long and short that all is.” John R.
Fultz, author of Seven Princes, agrees: “I’d say there is no ideal
length–it’s whatever the story will support–and whatever the author feels
comfortable writing. Or David Bain with: “the one that
tells the story.” The nature of any story should
determine its length.” Despite this, I still think there is a sweet spot
for Sword & Sorcery. It might not be the same as Space Opera or a Western
or even a novel of manners.
Perhaps the father of Sword & Sorcery can help. Robert E. Howard
is the acknowledged creator of all-things Conan and Kull. His Fantasy
fiction ranged from shorter pieces to one full-length novel, Hour of the Dragon (1935) at 73,000 words. All the original Weird Tales
Conan stories are either novelettes (7500 to 17500) or novellas
(17500-40,000). The original Conan saga averages out at 18,500 words a
story.
In 1973, Lin Carter edited the
first of five volumes in the Flashing Swords (1973-1981) series. These
anthologies of original novellas featured (usually) four stories of 15,000
words each. As Carter put it: “A charming editrix, Gail Morrison of Dell Books,
liked the idea and requested an original 15,000 worder from each of us, that
being, in the opinion of many writers, just about the best length for a good
story.”
I had very much in mind Carter’s
format when I created the Swords of Fire anthology, which features four
15,000-ish tales from David A. Hardy, C. J. Burch, Jack Mackenzie and myself.
One of these days, there will be a Swords of Fire 2, and hopefully 3 and
4…. because I have such a love for Sword & Sorcery novellas. But maybe I’m
wrong. Maybe I need to think differently about this for the next one.
I’ve asked a host of writers of
heroic fantasy writers (I think “host’ is the right term here, you know, like a
murder of crows) what they prefer.
The Really Short Story
Marcie
Tentchoff: I’ll always have a fondness for flash fiction, even in heroic
fantasy. And heroic fantasy novels often end up becoming a series, which makes
word count less important.
Short Story
Robin Wayne Bailey, author of the Frost trilogy and Swords Against the Shadowland:
“For novels or stories, the complexity of the story always dictates the
length. I don’t think you can declare a specific word-limit “ideal.”
For marketing purposes, most anthologies require around 6,000 words or
less. Much more than that should probably be discussed with the editor.
I’ve written s&s stories as short as (roughly) 4,000 word and as
long as 10,000 words.”
Lillian
Csernica: I like 8k. Depends on the story, of course.
Michael Ehart, author of The
Servant of the Manythcore: “I have always enjoyed reading
and writing in the 5000 word range for short stories. The pulp flavor is lost
in a longer piece. There are important exceptions, of course.”
Howard Andrew Jones: At least 5 or 6k. I think it CAN be done at shorter length, but
I think many of my faves come in at 8k or longer. Of course, as editor 8k is
about my max, so I therefore like to say 5 to 8k.
Warren Lapine, most recently
editor of Fantastic Stories says:
“3k on the Internet. At Fantastic Stories we
found that far fewer people read the longer stories and articles. That said, if
it takes more it takes more, and year end stuff can be different.”
James Lecky, frequent contributor to Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Black Gate,
says: “To use an old fallback, I’d say it depends on the story in
question. But, on a more personal level, I like a short that runs to 4
or 5 thousand, which gives scope for both character and action. When it
comes to novels I prefer the ‘classic’ model – most of Moorcock’s novels
were fairly short by modern standards (about 50,000 words at a guess)
and I reckon that’s about right when the primary purpose is colorful
adventure rather than soul-searching drama.”
Darrell
Schweitzer, Fantasy author and editor: “There are
very few short-shorts, but it can be anything from a short story to a
multi-volume epic. I certainly have written sword & sorcery stories under
3000 words. Robert Jordan represents the other end of the spectrum. There is no
one answer. Any story should be as long as it needs to be.”
Jason M.
Waltz, author of Writing Fantasy Heroes: “Good question to which I don’t
have a straight answer. I don’t think it lends itself to novel length – I think
S&S can be in novels, can even infuse a novel, but I don’t think it can be
effectively sustained through the novel length. I think great S&S can be
carried through the novella and novelette and I would not be adverse to reading
such works by anyone claiming to have done so. So that leaves the short story;
I’ve read great S&S at 2,000 words and at 9,000, but I’m going to say I
personally prefer the 5-7k range. Does that make it the ideal? How about for
me, yes.”
Novella
Seth Lindberg, author of the
Dyscrasia series: “Short story to novella (5 to 20k words) I
really like the novella or short novel length for sword and sorcery. Generally
a novel should be no longer than 65,000 to 70,000 words. For novella’s, 20,000
to 35,000. I like S&S short stories a lot too. Great lengths are 6,000 to
10,000.”
John O’Neil, editor of Black Gate: “Well, I love novellas. I’d have to say 10,000-20,000 words.”
Joshua Reynolds, Warhammer novelist: “I think anywhere from 5 – 10,000
is a good solid length, that allows for character development,
atmosphere and action. Most of my S&S fiction tends to fall into the
6,000 range, which is the sweet spot for me.”
Best-selling
author, Michael A. Stackpole: “Don’t want to sound flip, but whatever
length the story demands. For me, right now, I like working in the
novella range 7K+ words. Give me room for character development and a
strong plot.”
C. L. Werner,
another Warhammer novelist: “I think for a short
story, you should be shooting for between 5,000 words and 10,000. That said,
Howard himself used to make longer-form pieces that moved just as fast as any
shorter narrative.”
Davidy Hardy: I am partial to the 10K novella. It’s a pretty neglected form
these days, though electronic publishing gives you more freedom. Back to my
point, novellas give you room to develop the setting, while maintaining focus
on the action. It was an optimum for Howard, Leiber, Moorcock and others who
helped create Heroic Fantasy. They worked in the pulps where tight restrictions
on length were common. REH, Leiber & Moorcock were also strong enough to
swing headline spots with a more generous word count. Clark Ashton Smith created some real gems with fewer words, and
of course Tolkein famously wrote a trilogy. But I find very few who can match
their unique talents in those forms.
Short Novel
Valerie Frankel: “I love big 600 pagers.”
Scottish Horror and Fantasy author, Willie Meikle: “Around the 50-60K mark for me, like all those Moorcock ones.”
Peter Welmerink,
co-author of Bedlam Unleashed: “For “lengthy” piece I’d say
anywhere from 45 to 90k words. That’s just me. I like reading shorter pieces,
but writing…I can’t do Robert Jordan-sized scrawls…plus I’d lose interest, I
think, if reading such a volume. I have always been a fan of short fantasy
tales. They have to hit on all cylinders throughout the entire piece to be
good.”
E. P. Berglund: The ideal length for heroic fantasy . . . hm. As a
writer I would have to say it depends on the plot; as a reader I would
say between short story and novelette length. Some of the Conan in the
60s and 70s were kind of hard to get through. I don’t really read heroic
fantasy much anymore.
Jack Mackenzie, author of “The Green Beast” says: “Sword and Sorcery
tales need to move fast. They’re lean tales that don’t have a lot of
space for interpersonal transactions or political minutiae. Something
like Game of Thrones ( if you want to consider it Sword and
Sorcery) is obviously an outlier. For me I go by Robert E. Howard. His
longest Conan tales are around 75,000 words. That’s about the longest I
would go, personally. Any more and you risk boring your reader, which is
something that S&S should never do.”
Full Novel
CJ Cherryh: I’d say a ‘direct’ plot, few subplots, and no more than
100,000 words. Readers want to get to the un-tangle with little baggage
and have a main character who’s a rogue with a sense of honor, or at
least honest determination.
David Farland: “I kind of like longish books in fantasy–225,000 words feels good to me Any shorter, and I want more.”
James A. Moore,
Fantasy and Horror novelist: “That’s a tough call. I normally average right at
100,000 words per novel, but mostly I write series, so, you know, 400,000 and
300,000 respectively if you add the series together, But mostly I aim at 100,00
because much longer gets unwieldy.”
Robert E. Vardeman, author of many excellent heroic fantasy novels in the 1990s, and more recently the novelization of God of War: “The 75k length works for me. Long enough to get things done without getting boring and destroying yet another forest.”
Angeline Hawkes: I think it’s hard to have an extremely short story
in the heroic fiction genre — because most plots are quest-driven.
Unless the story is entirely earth-based, there also has to be some
world building or at least character development so the story doesn’t
seem cookie-cutter. So, I would say a good length for a short story
would be 6-10k, and a novel would be a minimum of 80k. I know “back in
the day” a lot of writers cranked out 40k “novels”, but I think the
20-40k range now falls mostly into novella lengths. I also think that
most heroic fantasy works tend to be action-driven so the work (if
written well) reads fast, if you know what I mean. So what might seem
longish and, perhaps, more tedious to read in a longer length in another
genre, seems over much too soon in heroic fantasy.
Charles Gramlich, author of the Talera Cycle and editor of The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E, Howard Studies:
“I really like the novella or short novel length for sword and sorcery.
Generally a novel should be no longer that 65,000 to 70,000 words. For
novellas, 20,000 to 35,000. I like S & S short stories a lot too.
Great lengths are 6,000 to 10,000.”
Perhaps we are
all like Angeline and Charles. We like them all, as long as they are awesome
tales of heroes and monsters and fantastic worlds. Whatever
your favorite length is, remember to support your favorite authors.
