:: Zelazny :: [polish] :: sparks that fly from the ironsmith's hammer ::
::. Friday, June 6 .::
IMC :: In My Campaign
Blog, Jvstin StyleTir, The City in the Sky My friend, Jvstin, starts a meme and invites GMs to wax eloquent about the interpretations of standard Ambercanon and starts us off with a series of questions to be answered about the Ephemeral City, Tir-na Nog'th.
For instance, when can you visit Tir? Is it only at the Full Moon? Is it every night, but its simply too ephemeral unless the moon is full? What about a gibbous moon? Is the length of a possible stay in Tir dependent on the phase?
Visiting Tir is dangerous to a royal and might be deadly to others. IMC, the royals know that they can chance the visit the night before, the night of, and the night after the full moon. Some sensitives are said to see Tir at other times but no reason is known for this. Staying in Tir is subject to illumination from above falling on Castle Amber, so as the shadows of clouds might sweep the castle, so would these shadows be reflected by gaps and loss of focus in the substance of Tir in the sky above. Come the setting of the moon, it is the lowest parts of Tir that disappear first with the towers vanishing last.
Who can go to Tir? Is it limited in anyway? Tir is a special place, after all. Although it is a reflection of the Primal Pattern just as Amber and Rebma are, it is a reflection vastly different than the two others. Clearly you don't need to have already walked the Pattern in order to enter Tir (it is established in the Second Series that Luke and Dalt both did this). But do you need Blood of Amber, then? Can an ordinary person dare to tread the staircase?
IMC, ordinary persons can dare a lot and yet have more chance of failure than royals. So yes, the stairs have attracted mortals who hear wild speculation about the mysteries of Tir.
How big is Tir? What are its dimensions and how much of an area does it cover? Where can you go in Tir? We see that in the novels, the focus of visits to Tir is the Castle. But is that all there is to Tir? Rebma is larger than the Pattern Room, the "bubble" that covers it clearly extends out to the city. But how far does Tir's "bubble" go? If you didn't want to go to the Castle, where else could you go?
Rather than ask, "how big" one might ask if Tir's size has been explored. IMC, those with time, curiousity, and daring have discovered the Tir seems to extend as another city, including the lower portions and 'harbor reflections'. Time is a tricky matter of perception in Tir-na Nog'th, and many have never returned from attempting to explore there only to lose track of the night that gives them a way home.
And so there is the ephemeral Kolvir with another set of glimmering stone steps set near its ghostly summit. Where does this lead? To an even stranger environment, even more fragile in Time and Dangers. A place that most amberites shun. A realm locked and guarded for centuries: Embre.
What is the true nature of Tir? Why is it so different than its counterparts? Why does it even exist? A place of dreams, of potential, of what-might-have-beens and what-might-be's. Rebma has inhabitants, as does Amber, but Tir seems to be only populated by Ghosts (or is it?) Tir only appears as a phantom of the real city, with no life of its own (or does it?). It stands apart from the City of the Sea and the Eternal City. Symmetry is important--so why does Tir break the symmetry in being so basically different?
Sorcerors and mystics speculate about the elemental nature of Rebma, Amber, and Tir-na Nog'th. Some see the four elements incomplete and wonder where the missing elemental realm might reflect Amber.
These questions are insightful, but gloss over the essential question of what they try to define. What is Earth? What is Water? Is watery Rebma a reflection of earthy Amber? Or is water a reflection of Rebma's power? Is earth a reflection of Amber's vitality? When asked in this fashion, the question becomes more pertinent and more illuminating. Amber is the source of earth. Rebma is the source of water. Embre is the source of fire. And Tir-na Nog'th is the source of air.
How little we understand Air unless we study Tir and those energies which the Dragons have called the Abominable Caress.
Of course Tir is peopled, just as Amber, Rebma and Embre are populated. And as in those other realms, we cannot understand those inhabitants without a deeper understanding of what sort of folk thrive under those energies. Dreams? Ghosts? Aberrations of Time? Of Destiny? And dangerous, yes, so deadly that it kills visitors for so small a variation as moonlight. So fraught with peril, that the ancient and near infinite dragons call this source: abominable.
Some knowledge carries too high a price.
Unless your Destiny gets in the way...
WISH 50: Going Pro:
"Have you ever considered trying to publish something professionally in the gaming industry? Why or why not? What are the good points and bad points of being in the industry?"
Ahem-
For a while, I was a partner in a company that, among other dreams, was going to provide gaming material and/or systems to the public "straight out of the box" without a bunch of frills. In the end, my increasingly demanding day job plus my own real-life relationships never allowed my mind to get off of square one. The company is no more.
One of the famous quotes from this period was a friend/partner, "I'm only talking about making a business out of the stuff you are thinking of already and giving away for free."
What did I learn? One: my brain doesn't work well when I try to live three lives. Two: I really dislike over-committing myself. Three: the copyright Amber game properties are sewed up so tight that you couldn't shave them with a monofilament.
Four: I actually like "giving it away" and getting feedback from folks like me who just love to game. I'm not sure "working at it" would be nearly as much fun.
Other than that, I don't know much about the pro world of game design. I respect those that give us those wonderful products.
This Russian site which quotes this Betancourt interview and then links to comments at Shadows of Amber and this blog as well. Russian to English translations here. As there is no additional commentary from the Russian author, this blog entry is for international history purposes only.
Sci Fi Wire: Rowling Talks to BBC "Rowling will offer details of the new book and provide an insight into the inspiration behind the novels, as well as discuss the effect her books have had on children's literature, the trade paper reported."
Dworkin in the PatternFall War is a very different man. He's ill. He's hurt. And he's very old. Can he even remember his youth? If we mortals are poor reflections of these immortals, perhaps even Dworkin has forgotten the first impressions of culture that set him on his path in life. Or like an ancient bit of sculpture, do the details blur with time but the shape of things remain?
What did he grow up believing?
That the Courts were supreme. That House Nemirab was an elite of Chaos. That his senior officers and Lords of the House were wise beyond his ken. That life was harsh, but power allowed defense. That the Self was submissive to the All. Yes, in Chaos, the act of shaping establishes the theme: "I must alter myself because I do not have power over the greater All."
Following from the above, there is no children's story, "The Three Little Shapers", where the industrious last Shaper overcomes the Howling Abyss by building a sturdier Ways. The last Shaper would triumph by following House Law and demonstrating his superior understanding of House protocols over his two brothers.
Thank the Powers that I recently backed up all my archives --- because at the moment --- I can't prove they exist.
Update :: yeah, they are there, just not attached to my main page. It's the postings database I can't find. So what's lost is since Monday.
New Blogger interface. Quite startling early in the morning. Looks fine, let's see if it works. Hmmm. Doesn't show old posts as of now --- but they are there, I think.
I was asked recently by RT about my favorite little bits from past games. Since I did the research and thinking on this, I present it here as a handy linkage post.
Well, y'know you're *never* supposed to ask a GM to wax on his own creations --- but its too late, y'did. I've been told many times that my "Dworkin" presentation is something to behold. I try to disguise how much that pleases me.
I love my 'bits' that awe or give Players the jitters. There are lots of little bits of lore and specific creatures that can threaten an amberite.
There is nothing quite like taking a tiny element of Zelazny and blowing on the embers until it glows and lights the eyes of Players.
Likewise, while many campaigns deal with the wives of Oberon (often making them powerful Chaos babes), I took a different approach, making Oberon seek his wives almost exclusively anywhere BUT Chaos. The reasons having mostly to due with staying as far away from Chaos as possible for as long as possible --- something to do with Chaos kicking his ass in a bad way. I had Oberon looking for dregs of power to match to his own blood for strength not dependant on Chaos antecedants. It seemed a natural extension of his many trips to shadow.
I enjoy my many twisty explanations for canon elements.
Oberon picked his mates carefully---for they determined much about his children. Is this a theme in many campaigns?---I would think so. It is an undercurrent in Eternal City, a sub-plot, one that really doesn't come across on the web pages I've built.
Variety in the sons/daughters of Oberon.
The solitary children of Cymnea.
The moody bitter offspring of Faiella.
The bright quick sibs from Clarissa.
The outcast daughter of Moins.
The all-around excellent sons of Rilga.
The strange daughter of Dybele.
The tortured offspring of Paulette.
The independant and brilliant children of Hara/Lora.
The slightly mad kids of Deela.
The innocent fluke of Kinta.
Where is Oberon in all of them? Mainly their toughness, their mental perspective, their ego it would seem. Few of them seem to have Dworkin bits in the mix either. Hmmm. "Dworkin bits." Now with extra vitamins and more FIBER!!!
(-the immediate above from a prior blog comment-)
I'm also inordinately proud of my layered history of the universe, as prepared for Empire of the Gleaming and as posed here in this essay.
MB&LK's Amber Bits: Spikards Vs. Primal Powers One of the reasons I would use the second series heresy of Pattern Ghosts would be for the Pattern to try to 'figure out' tough concepts. Kind of like the Pattern dreaming... but not in a sentient fashion.
Interesting. We had a circle of GMs and we created a concept called "Children of the Jewel" to do something like this...
So I often think of this blog's work/design as itSoG, pronounced in my head as "it-sawg"
yet the original project name was "shadowthriller" and the actual name is "In the Shadow of Greatness" (a reminder to never compare my words to Zelazny's own in direct linkage)
Don't you feel better now that you know?
