I have to admit, just like some people that were drawn into Eragorn, I was drawn into Robin Hobb's breakthrough novel "Assassin's quest." Like a chump, I got he damn thing which, to those not exposed to that book, is not a bad series.
Here's an informal review. The main character, Fitz, is recruited as a young lad to secretly kill of "undead" like people that has been popping up in his residence. At least that's how it starts. It's been awhile but I think I remember how the rest of the story went and to sum it up, let me tell you how you can envision this epic tale by yourself...
Take your favorite childhood object, cherish it for... say 5 minutes... then go to your fireplace and chuck it in with about a gallon of gasoline and watching to burn into oblivion. This is what Robin Hobb's The Tawny Man Series is about. (Which started with Assassin's quest) It was 6 books of depressing lore that sucked you in word for word in the vain hope that, one day, the main character might get some small measure of justice for the atrocities he's life had brought him. And, like a chump, once you read the first book you can't put it down. It's so damn sad you find yourself hoping against hope... maybe the next chapter... maybe the next line...
"NO!" Robin Hobb recites, thumbing her fingers together in that Mr. Burnish kinda of way. "You shall have no pleasure while I scribe this tale."
But I digress, it's not like she's the first one to do it. The now infamous George R. R. Martin takes this too. Hell by the end of his third book he's literally killed off 90% of the characters he started out with. He kills the mother the father the 3 boys and a daughter. (if memory serves) But unlike Robin Hobb, GRRM's appeal doesn't come from some forlorn hope of the chance of justice.
Let me take you down GRRM's way of thinking. Take the most cliche Fantasy line you can think of. Let's say, "You won't take me alive." Now stirr in some spilberg... then spill in the longevity of Dr. Who, and suddenly the cliche line of "You won't take me alive" is the culmination of a 300 page chapter that blows you're socks off! This is what GRRM excells at, making those moments in fantasy history alive again and making it, for some reason, work. And, while many others try to do this, he is the only one that TRULY excells at it.
I remember, in his recent novel, of this one chapter that has a knight valiently rushing a horde of angry mercenaries for the honor of his lady. Sound corny? Read his latest work, "A fest for Crows" and you'll find yourself leaning back in your chair, just like I did, wallowing in the expert writing you've just witnessed.
But maybe that's just me.
-Longbow
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
TableTop D&D
Look, I get it. Getting together with friends... playing a game... escaping reality... I do. I get the appeal of table top D&D. And, while this may have been fun back in the days when color TV was for the alpha males of society, it made sense. But something about manually keeping track of stats, talking to a dungeon master that you know personally and casting a spell by saying, "I cast a spell" somewhat creeps me out.
I've tried it. Just once. And I felt dumb the entire time I was playing it. Not that I would ever tell my buds that but something about it felt a little too over the top. There's nothing wrong with spinning a good tale but arguments over +5 hammers that are written in a small little book, doesn't overplay the fact that i'm standing right next to you.
Maybe I'm a closet Fantasy Fan, afraid to admit that I love reading stories about honor, elves and magic. But I digress. It is said that the Elder Scroll series was conceptualized by a group a friends that created their own world for a table top D&D. I guess that makes sense. Having to create a world really fills out the details you would have not otherwise thought. Oblivion is the most intricate and well plotted RPGs on the market today, if not ever.
But that doesn't mean i'm rolling 1d10 hoping that my attack hits.
-Longbow
I've tried it. Just once. And I felt dumb the entire time I was playing it. Not that I would ever tell my buds that but something about it felt a little too over the top. There's nothing wrong with spinning a good tale but arguments over +5 hammers that are written in a small little book, doesn't overplay the fact that i'm standing right next to you.
Maybe I'm a closet Fantasy Fan, afraid to admit that I love reading stories about honor, elves and magic. But I digress. It is said that the Elder Scroll series was conceptualized by a group a friends that created their own world for a table top D&D. I guess that makes sense. Having to create a world really fills out the details you would have not otherwise thought. Oblivion is the most intricate and well plotted RPGs on the market today, if not ever.
But that doesn't mean i'm rolling 1d10 hoping that my attack hits.
-Longbow
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
The Carebear
For those to enumerated by their dice-rolling sessions in the basement, this passage is not for you. For those of us with a pulse, you have no doubt been flashed with what has been termed "Crap", also known as World of Warcraft.
My own reservations aside, the carebear seems an ample fit in this EQish mentality of playing what is essentially a single player game. I digress, but the importance of these people cannot be unmeasured. Games like Shadowbane and Darkfall, however player vs player oriented, seem to (or at least will) thrive on this carebear.
What is a carebear you ask? A carebear is the person (not limited to a particular sex) that plays the game to fight monsters. A carebear is more casually oriented, often new the genra of mmorpg gaming or was introducted to mmorpg via the Carebear mentality. This is the type of gamer that pays the 10 bucks a month for the "experience" more than the interactions with fellow players. While, this is not bad, this is the same type of person that's more inclined to spam "dying sucks" on the forums 24 hours a day.
And yet, as an avid Shadowbane Fan, I find without the carebears, a part of the community has died. You can no longer find that lost guy in Khar (a public town in Shadowbane) that's screaming for help or a better weapon. Gone is that guy who is farming 24/7 at that particular spot to get that particular sword, which you jack in the meanwhile. And gone are the days when there's a million merchant towns to ravage, or that guildmate you can go to because you know he has all the stuff.
We, as pvp addicts, would like to think that we don't need the carebear. "If you don't like pvp, don't play the game" was the common mantra that we repeated over and over again in our heads, as if repetition alone might suffice to stave off our burning desire for the carebear.
Because it is a need. A need for variety. We need that person in the game that's different from us and that seeks different goals. It makes the game feel epic, it makes the game come alive. If everyone was just like you, how boring would the world be? Even if you're all brown, you dont like the same things your neighbor likes. You're not him.
So stay Mr. Carebear. Stay and cultivate on our doorstep and hog that prime farming spot. We'll be waiting, with a sword in hand... and a rose hidden in our boot.
-Longbow
My own reservations aside, the carebear seems an ample fit in this EQish mentality of playing what is essentially a single player game. I digress, but the importance of these people cannot be unmeasured. Games like Shadowbane and Darkfall, however player vs player oriented, seem to (or at least will) thrive on this carebear.
What is a carebear you ask? A carebear is the person (not limited to a particular sex) that plays the game to fight monsters. A carebear is more casually oriented, often new the genra of mmorpg gaming or was introducted to mmorpg via the Carebear mentality. This is the type of gamer that pays the 10 bucks a month for the "experience" more than the interactions with fellow players. While, this is not bad, this is the same type of person that's more inclined to spam "dying sucks" on the forums 24 hours a day.
And yet, as an avid Shadowbane Fan, I find without the carebears, a part of the community has died. You can no longer find that lost guy in Khar (a public town in Shadowbane) that's screaming for help or a better weapon. Gone is that guy who is farming 24/7 at that particular spot to get that particular sword, which you jack in the meanwhile. And gone are the days when there's a million merchant towns to ravage, or that guildmate you can go to because you know he has all the stuff.
We, as pvp addicts, would like to think that we don't need the carebear. "If you don't like pvp, don't play the game" was the common mantra that we repeated over and over again in our heads, as if repetition alone might suffice to stave off our burning desire for the carebear.
Because it is a need. A need for variety. We need that person in the game that's different from us and that seeks different goals. It makes the game feel epic, it makes the game come alive. If everyone was just like you, how boring would the world be? Even if you're all brown, you dont like the same things your neighbor likes. You're not him.
So stay Mr. Carebear. Stay and cultivate on our doorstep and hog that prime farming spot. We'll be waiting, with a sword in hand... and a rose hidden in our boot.
-Longbow
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