fiction: call to battle
SLIMER1509
"Call to Battle", and the cover calls it Book 1. I know that there are no
others, but what happened? Did the author finish them, and they weren't
published, or did he never write them? I haven't read "Call to Battle" yet,
but if it's good, this question will probably drive me crazy for a while. :o)
BA
>"Call to Battle", and the cover calls it Book 1. I know that there are no
>others, but what happened?
The series was cancelled.
I believe developer Ethan Skemp's comments on that book are something along the
lines of, "I prefer gaming fiction to be about characters people can actually
*play* in the game; Garou-Bastet hybrids genengineered in Progenitor labs do
not meet that definition."
"...there are evil men in the world, truly evil men. Sometimes we hear of them,
but more often they work in absolute darkness."
Stephen King, _'Salem's Lot_
SLIMER1509
>the
>lines of, "I prefer gaming fiction to be about characters people can actually
>*play* in the game; Garou-Bastet hybrids genengineered in Progenitor labs do
>not meet that definition."
>
I hope that's not the whole reason. Anyways, has anyone read the book? If so,
what did you think about it?
Der Kommissar
better than some of the books that have come out of the WoD.
SLIMER1509 <slime...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010103224717...@ng-ba1.aol.com...
Ethan Skemp
> Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
> Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf
> Date: 04 Jan 2001 03:47:17 GMT
> Subject: Re: fiction: call to battle
>
>> I believe developer Ethan Skemp's comments on that book are something along
>> the
>> lines of, "I prefer gaming fiction to be about characters people can actually
>> *play* in the game; Garou-Bastet hybrids genengineered in Progenitor labs do
>> not meet that definition."
>>
>
> I hope that's not the whole reason.
It's not the whole reason. It's not even the reason, to be honest; the
fiction department is quite separate from the actual game lines, and follows
a different set of standards. These days, there's much more interplay
between fiction authors and the developers, but fiction still answers
ultimately to fiction and not to games. Us game developers don't have the
time to micromanage the fiction department, anyway.
The series did get aborted before the second book.
SPOILER
YES, IT'S A SPOILER
IF YOU CARE ABOUT JAY NO-NAME, THIS IS A SPOILER
Although I don't know what I'd be "spoiling," really, as I understand it the
intention was for Jay to wind up aging at an accelerated rate and ultimately
die in dramatic fashion at the end of the third book -- essentially, he
wasn't really a shapeshifter, but a mage's creation, and Paradox would
finally have caught up with him.
Hence my desire to have Werewolf or Rage novels that are about...werewolves.
--
Ethan Skemp
WWGS
Mant
Ethan Skemp <alpha...@white-wolf.com> wrote:
> > From: slime...@aol.com (SLIMER1509)
> > Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
> > Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf
> > Date: 04 Jan 2001 03:47:17 GMT
> > Subject: Re: fiction: call to battle
> >
> >> I believe developer Ethan Skemp's comments on that book are
something along
> >> the
> >> lines of, "I prefer gaming fiction to be about characters people
can actually
> >> *play* in the game; Garou-Bastet hybrids genengineered in
Progenitor labs do
> >> not meet that definition."
> >>
> >
> > I hope that's not the whole reason.
>
> It's not the whole reason. It's not even the reason, to be honest; the
> fiction department is quite separate from the actual game lines, and
follows
> a different set of standards. These days, there's much more interplay
> between fiction authors and the developers, but fiction still answers
> ultimately to fiction and not to games. Us game developers don't have the
> time to micromanage the fiction department, anyway.
>
> The series did get aborted before the second book.
>
> SPOILER
<snip spoiler>
Seems a lot of the early plot threads in the fiction got dumped.
Did you know what the deal with the guys with red eyes in When Will You
Rage (and the other stuff set in San Francisco) was going to be? Always
wondered about that one.
While fiction follows different rules from games as an ST I much prefer
when the authors make the character interesting because of *character*
rather than funk. Some player is going to wave the book under my nose
sooner or later and go "See? Its in *print*, it must be possible for my
character to be like that too". Then I'm going to have to calmly explain
why this isn't the case, and then, as a book lover, do something with
their book that I would rather not :)
Mant
--
Mant's Lair
Resources for the World of Darkness games
http://www.mants-lair.org.uk
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Bruce Baugh
wrote:
> While fiction follows different rules from games as an ST I much prefer
> when the authors make the character interesting because of *character*
> rather than funk. Some player is going to wave the book under my nose
> sooner or later and go "See? Its in *print*, it must be possible for my
> character to be like that too". Then I'm going to have to calmly explain
> why this isn't the case, and then, as a book lover, do something with
> their book that I would rather not :)
I agree. I don't like to "hear the dice rolling" in stories, but I think
that tie-in fiction should dramatize and evoke what it is that the
source game does.
--
Bruce Baugh <*> bruce...@sff.net
Writer of Fortune
I'm a professional vulture/haruspex, presenting pop culture's entrails
to the world as nicely arranged hors d'ouevres. Er, I mean, I'm a writer.
Ethan Skemp
> Organization: Deja.com
> Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf
> Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 17:13:12 GMT
> Subject: Re: fiction: call to battle
> Seems a lot of the early plot threads in the fiction got dumped.
>
> Did you know what the deal with the guys with red eyes in When Will You
> Rage (and the other stuff set in San Francisco) was going to be? Always
> wondered about that one.
That was before my time, but as I understand it the red-eye plague was some
sort of "new menace" that got put in as a way to tie all the fiction
together and never got off the ground in the games department.
> While fiction follows different rules from games as an ST I much prefer
> when the authors make the character interesting because of *character*
> rather than funk.
As do I. Not to drag out the equine corpse of Clan Novel: Setite once more,
but I'm very fond of that book as an example of how to do game fiction
right. The word "vampire" is rarely used, and "Serpentis" never at all
(IIRC). Hesha is the epitome of a Setite, but that is *part of* his
personality rather than being the sum total of his personality. That's the
perfect blend of playing up the properties of the world just enough to have
it be logical, and leaving the rest to the personalities of the characters
involved.
> Some player is going to wave the book under my nose
> sooner or later and go "See? Its in *print*, it must be possible for my
> character to be like that too". Then I'm going to have to calmly explain
> why this isn't the case, and then, as a book lover, do something with
> their book that I would rather not :)
Heh.
Ethan Skemp
WWGS
SLIMER1509
>fiction department is quite separate from the actual game lines, and follows
>a different set of standards. These days, there's much more interplay
>between fiction authors and the developers, but fiction still answers
>ultimately to fiction and not to games. Us game developers don't have the
>time to micromanage the fiction department, anyway.
Makes sense, of course. I haven't even read the book yet, so I couldn't even
tell you if I'm disappointed in the book's cancellation. :) It just seemed odd
because I remember seeing it at a bookstore once, and then never seeing any of
the sequels that it appeared were going to be released.
>Although I don't know what I'd be "spoiling," really, as I understand it the
>intention was for Jay to wind up aging at an accelerated rate and ultimately
>die in dramatic fashion at the end of the third book -- essentially, he
>wasn't really a shapeshifter, but a mage's creation, and Paradox would
>finally have caught up with him.
>
I'll keep that in mind when I get around to reading it. However, it does sound
like it would've been interesting....
>Hence my desire to have Werewolf or Rage novels that are about...werewolves.
Again, understood. Slapping the Rage logo on it was perhaps a bit misleading,
but then again, slapping the Mage logo on it would've been kind of a spoiler.
Ah well, such is life. :o)
Richard Clayton
Ethan Skemp wrote:
> SPOILER
>
> YES, IT'S A SPOILER
>
> IF YOU CARE ABOUT JAY NO-NAME, THIS IS A SPOILER
<dramatic ending revealed>
Awww, man, you could have at least WARNED us before posting a spoiler!
Richard Clayton
> While fiction follows different rules from games as an ST I much prefer
> when the authors make the character interesting because of *character*
> rather than funk. Some player is going to wave the book under my nose
> sooner or later and go "See? Its in *print*, it must be possible for my
> character to be like that too". Then I'm going to have to calmly explain
> why this isn't the case, and then, as a book lover, do something with
> their book that I would rather not :)
I also feel that the necessities of an interesting and coherent story are
more important than the "rules" of a game world. (If you'd rather focus on
rules-consistency than a good story, you should probably be writing a
sourcebook, although WWGS typically does an OUTSTANDING job doing both-
splatbooks full of neat stories, as well as fiction that describes things that
can actually happen within the scope of the game.)
<Warning: A few tiny spoilers below>
However, I always feel a little internal shudder of evil delight when a
player attempts to use OOC knowledge gleaned from novels and sourcebooks...
especially since I like to throw little surprises in to keep the plot fresh and
surprising. (After all, if this is your fourth Gehenna chronicle, the
characters probably have "WK. OF NTMRS- RAVANA AWKNS" marked on their calendars
eighteen months in advance.)
So guess what? The Week of Nightmares doesn't happen in 1999, it happens in
late 2000, and the Antediluvian who rises isn't going to be Ravana, it's
Ventrue. The Big Bug Breakout doesn't happen in 2055, it happens in 2054, and
it's not in Chicago, it's in Denver. And did I mention that the Tzimisce clan
founder is actually Saulot...? ^_^
--
Richard Clayton (for...@earthlink.net)
"Life is a strange place."