Switching Gears

I was walking back home from a class today. I was looking around the campus and seeing all the interesting things around here that I’ve missed. I’ve probably never said this, but I’m an arts and technology student at the University of Texas at Dallas. I spend most of my time in the ATEC building, maybe the arts and humanities building if I take a random literature class. There are entire buildings on this campus I’ve never been inside. I really wanted to explore, take pictures, document my findings, make stories.

Then I realized: I don’t have anywhere to post that.

When this blog began, it was primarily for Forcastia. It was ONLY for Forcastia. When I wrote for this blog, I took on this persona of a creator of a world, interested in all the different facets of his living creation, but utterly disinterested in all other things.

And I got to thinking – that’s not really what I want to do anymore.

The character of the Avatar is an in-world representation of me, the author. But the Avatar’s character shouldn’t be disinterested in everything that isn’t Forcastia – he should be interested in both worlds. That’s why I’ve decided to use this blog more like a blog and less like a place to drop a Forcastia-related thought and call that updating my website. The thing I keep learning about the arts – literature, painting, sculpture, photography, digital creation – is that to truly understand an author’s work, you need to know the context behind their work. What their lives were like. Their hopes, their dreams, their values, their fears.

It’s about time I, as an author, gave that to you.

Let's Play Bard's Tale: Playing the Scales

These thieves must have been dragons...



...because they dropped scale armor.

Let's Play Bard's Tale: Spell Level Two

From Elena's Journal:

The Review Board has granted us all another level of experience. Sai and I have advanced to the point where they will teach us a new spell level's worth of conjuration and magic. However, as we learned a bit too late, they charge for this service.

I don't know how exactly, but the sages knew instantaneously we didn't have enough gold. They didn't ask or check us or anything. They just... knew. I think that's a little strange, and honestly, I'm a trifle offended. Do I just look like someone who wouldn't have a thousand gold?

Regardless, we pooled our gold once again and had enough to pay for both our lessons.

One interesting thing I noticed during the lesson was the Word of Healing spell. "With the utterance of a single word, heal a party member's minor wounds."

This is a major boon to our quest, as now we won't have to constantly pay temples for healing our scrapes and scars. Bluey and Darkmoon have been sharing jokes about what the eponymous word of healing is. Hmph, as if I could heal wounds by saying the names of female body parts...

Let's Play Bard's Tale: The Samurai Statue

From Elena's Journal:

There is a statue of a samurai on Rakhir Street, between us and the Scarlet Bard. Has this always been here?

It blocks the street completely. Darkmoon kicked it out of frustration, and as we turned to leave...

It came to life and attacked!

Its first move was to knock Bluey aside.

But Darkmoon and Bluey were able to fell the enchanted statue.

I must admit, the statue coming to life gave me quite a scare! Will this become a regular obstacle, these statues? Once again, I curse Mangar's dark sorcery as we head back to the Thief Temple to heal.

Let's Play Bard's Tale: Skara Brae at Night

"The Review Board is closed for the evening. The guild leaders will meet with you in the morning."

"But you haven't reviewed me yet!" Bluey sputtered.

"Reviewing takes time," one of the sages said. "You should've spoken up. Come back tomorrow."

The party stepped outside as the review board locked its doors. Bluey growled at the doors until Elena stepped up and pulled him away.

"It's not fair," Bluey said, staring at the ground. "I feel so weak compared to you guys."

"It's because you are," Darkmoon replied. Bluey shot him a glare that could've melted castle walls.

"I don't like being out at night," Sai said, staying close to Elena. "C-Can we please go home?"

"That's where I was heading," Darkmoon said. "No use staying out when I can't see-" He grunted as he ran into something.

Darkmoon's eyes widened as he looked up at the zombie, who was moaning and staring at him with dark eyes. The zombie had three fellow zombies shuffling along behind.

"And this is why I don't like being out at night!" Sai whimpered, hiding behind the conjurer.

The two parties stood in front of each other for a moment. Bluey's party was in stunned, scared paralysis; the zombie party was trying to decide who to bite first. Finally, Elena broke the silence.

"RUN!"

Bluey's party turned tail and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. They didn't stop until they were safely back at the Adventurer's Guild.

The next day...

"The guild leaders deem that the warrior Bluey hath earned a level of advancement..."

Let's Play Bard's Tale: Our First Level-Up

From Elena's Journal:

The guild leaders peer at us down from their pedestals. They impose a strange measure of valor and battle skill called "experience points" that I've never heard of. Then they pick arbitrary numbers of these points for us to gain before they give us advancements, measured in "levels". Strange, but I suppose whatever it takes to streamline something so subjective as adventurer worthiness.

Despite this, we seem to have met their requirements this time.

Darkmoon was first to step forth. They gave him more dexterity.

Selendro requested a review after the monk. He got more dexterity.

I stepped forth next. They awarded me with more dexterity.

I pushed Sai up after me. They gave him, surprise, more dexterity. We must have caught the board in a "faster adventurers" mood.

And finally, our paladin. He received more intelligence. A bit random, I must say, considering the four advancements before him.

Then I noticed the light of the moon wafting in through a window...

Let's Play Bard's Tale: Talk Ain't Cheap

From Elena's Journal:

The Scarlet Bard has become our unofficial base of operations. It's where we go to rest, share stories with other tavern-goers, and revitalize Selendro's voice. The other five were off doing assorted things in the tavern while I sat at the bar, pondering what to do next.

"You look like something's bothering ya," the barkeep said, washing out a used flagon with a rag. He was a tall red canine who looked vaguely familiar.

"You could say that," I replied. "We've been fighting monsters all week, but we don't seem to be any stronger. I thought practice made perfect, but..."

The barkeep chuckled. "Have you been to the Review Board?"

"The what?"

"I would've figured a conjurer like you would know this! The Review Board is a council of guild leaders who look over prospective adventurers and decide if they're worthy of advancement. If they think you are, you're instantly much better at what you do."

"Interesting!" I smiled. "Where do these leaders join?"

"Now that is something you're supposed to find out on your own," the barkeep smirked, leaning in. "But maybe I could let you in on the secret, for... maybe ten gold pieces?"

I have always been against the prospect of paying for information, much like I have been against the prospect of paying for air to breathe, but this sounded quite important so, reluctantly, I handed over ten gold pieces that we had liberated from a pair of unruly kobolds just an hour earlier.

"Trumpet Street's your answer," the barkeep said, a smile on his face from being ten gold richer. "Look for the first building with white columns."

I thanked the barkeep kindly and gathered up the party to head to the Review Board first thing. It was at that point Darkmoon let me know that the barkeep was his father, and he had known where the Review Board was all along. Precisely why I do not like paying for information...