Sunday, August 14, 2022

Dawn of Madness Gameplay and GenCon 2022 coverage

This is one of a series of reports on GenCon 2022; other links coming soon from this Table of Contents, to be posted in random order:

·                 Rogues in the House Podcast 

·                 Conan IP Owner and the Board Game - Playing with Rogues

·                 The Skull from Tales From the Magician's Skull roams the Exhibit Hall

·                 Dawn of Madness Gameplay with Byron Leavitt [You Are Here]

·                 Writer's Symposium Overview

·                 Moderating Sorcery & Sorcery, Horror, Pulp, and Game Panels

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Dawn of Madness Gameplay and GenCon 2022 coverage

I'm a bit of Diemension Games nut, having (a) interviewed Byron Leavitt, (b) contributed stories with the "Sanguine Heretics" fan-group that made the Exhalted Blasphemies expansion, (c) created the Deep Madness Scenario Chronology (with Phil Blake), and (d) reviewed the Shattered Seas novel for Black Gate. 

  • God, Darkness, & Wonder: An Interview with Byron Leavitt
  • Exalted Blasphemies - Fan-Made Expansion for Deep Madness Boardgame 
  • Deep Madness Scenario Chronology
  • Shattered Seas Novel Review - Review by SE
  • As part of my Event Coordinator role at GenCon Writers Symposium I championed getting Byron on some panels and was able to hit the Exhibit Hall for some Dawn of Madness footage! 

    Byron Leavitt on GenCon Writer's Symposium Panels (to be loaded soon)

    1) Repulsive Appeal  (SEM22214058); Thursday, 11:00 AM EDT Aug 4th 2022

    How do we make horror appealing? Maurice Broaddus, Richard Dansky, Byron Leavitt, Jason Ray Carney, Steve Diamond, S.E. Lindberg (M) - link to recording coming soon

     2) Gamifying Stories and Storifying Games (SEM22214106) ; Friday, 2:00PM Aug 5th 

    2022 Translating from one media to the other. Jennifer Brozek, Byron Leavitt, Matt John, Lucien Soulban, S.E. Lindberg (M) - link to recording coming soon

    DAWN of Madness - Gameplay of Emily Hawkins (The Nurse) Story: "Bonds of the Twins"


    The King of Average's Diemension Games Coverage

    Deep Madness reprint with expansion coming this October?! 
    Giant new mini's of the epic monsters!

    Saturday, August 13, 2022

    S.E Lindberg debuts on the Rogues in the House Podcast, wins award from the Skull at GenCon 2022, BTS Footage

    This is one of a series of reports on GenCon 2022; other links coming soon from this Table of Contents, to be posted in random order:

    ·                 Rogues in the House Podcast  [You Are Here]

    ·                 Conan IP Owner and the Board Game - Playing with Rogues

    ·                 The Skull from Tales From the Magician's Skull roams the Exhibit Hall

    ·                 Dawn of Madness Gameplay with Byron Leavitt

    ·                 Writer's Symposium Overview

    ·                 Moderating Sorcery & Sorcery, Horror, Pulp, and Game Panels


    S.E Lindberg debuts on the Rogues in the House Podcast, wins award from the Skull at GenCon 2022, BTS Footage




    Early this year I reported on the Rogues in the House podcast for Black Gate. Check it out. As the Rogues move beyond podcasts to build the Sword & Sorcery community, they started publishing anthologies including the just released A Book of Blades which I proudly contributed a Dyscrasia Fiction story: "Embracing Ember." With my Event Coordinator role for the GenCon Writers Symposium, I did my best to gather the Rogues and other contributors to A Book of Blades on several panels. We gathered in Marriott Ballroom #4 to record this special session. I highlight two timepoints:
    • 6:45 min:sec: The Skull crashes the party and award his only named intern an award
    • 48 min: I namedrop two friends, fellow Aikidoka Sensei Dirk Domaschko and Master David Silver, attributing them for getting me into the GenCon culture years ago. 

    The Rogues on Hallowed Ground (link to Aug 8-2022 podcast episode)
    "Rogues, old and new, meet at the mecca called GenCon. In this very special episode, Deane and Matt are joined by Howard Andrew Jones, Seth Lindberg, Steve Diamond, Sean CW Korsgaard, Jason Ray Carney, and *shudders* The Magician's Skull himself. Topics include sword and sorcery (of course) as well as our "top picks" from GenCon."

    Embedded Podcast - listen here!

     

    Behind the Scenes Footage

    • Matthew John - Conan the Board Game and Rogue in the House
    • Steve Diamond - Horror Writer
    • Sean CW Korsgaard - Baen Books
    • Howard Andrew Jones - S&S Author and Editor of Tales from the Magician's Skull
    • Jason Ray Carney - Whetstone and Professor of Dark Arts
    • Deane Geiken - Rogue in the House Podcast
    • S.E. Lindberg - S&S Enthusiast




    Monday, August 1, 2022

    Dyscrasia Fiction in Tales From the Magician's Skull sneak peak

    The mighty Skull revealed the cover to issue #9 today over in Kickstarter:

     "Issue #9 is nearly complete and slated to begin layout soon."

    The cover reveals a story of mine within its covers.  More Dyscrasia Fiction is coming!



    Sunday, July 31, 2022

    Tales From the Magician's Skull Blog Round-Up: Jul 12 to 29th 2022


    Skull Minion of the Thirteenth Order, Bill Ward, casts more spells upon us weary, mortal dogs (via the Tales From the Magician's Skull Blog, link).

    JUL 29   In The Land of Dreams: Lord Dunsany’s At the Edge of the World by Fletcher Vredenburgh

    I didn’t read any of Dunsany’s stories until long after I had encountered several of his direct literary descendants. I discovered H.P. Lovecraft on the Stapleton Library shelves, Clark Ashton Smith on the foxed pages of old anthologies, and Jack Vance in dad’s boxes of books in the attic. I didn’t know their style had been presaged by Dunsany’s stories of mysteriously abandoned cities, phantasmagorical river journeys, and strange, forgotten gods. I knew some of Lovecraft’s earlier stories, especially his short novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927), were called “Dunsanian,” but it is only in more recent times I’ve read Dunsany’s own words.

     

    JUL 26   Ballantine Adult Fantasy: William Hope Hodgson

    William Hope Hodgson, godfather to cosmic horror and ghost detectives alike, had two books reprinted in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy line, The Boats of the Glen Carrig and The Night LandThe Night Land was published in two volumes because of its length — more controversially it received heavy editing from series editor Lin Carter to render Hodgson’s deliberately difficult prose more accessible.

     

    JUL 24   Adventures in Fiction: Lord Dunsany (also known as Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany) by Michael Curtis

    Some Appendix N authors directly influenced the creation of fantasy role-playing. We see concrete inspiration in the trolls borrowed from Poul Anderson or the “Vancian” magic system of D&D. Other Appendix N writers exerted a less obvious influence, providing more a sense of tone and wonder than any specific element. It can be argued, however, that one Appendix N author wielded the greatest influence on fantasy role-playing not because his works were borrowed wholesale or served to color Gygax and Arneson’s campaigns, but because he inspired numerous other Appendix N writers, impelling them to create the stories from which RPGs derive their origins. Few would recognize the name Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, but many more know him by his title, Lord Dunsany (pronounced Dun-SAY-ny), whose birthday we honor today.

     

    JUL 22  Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Lord Dunsany

    Among the most reprinted authors in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy line was Lord Dunsany, the Anglo-Irish peer who was also a tremendously prolific short story writer and playwright. Dunsany’s sweeping elegies of imagined worlds were both reminiscent of classical myth and the dreaming aesthetic of the visionary fantasists and tellers of Weird Tales going back to Poe. Dunsany is cited as an influence by almost every major writer of the fantastic to emerge over the course of the twentieth century.

     

    JUL 19  Fantasy in the Time of Lord Dunsany by Brian Murphy

    https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2022/07/19/fantasy-in-the-time-of-lord-dunsany/

    When Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (July 1878-October 1957) set pen to paper, he was wrestling tigers and dragons from the air and committing them to paper. None before or since have done it quite like the man known as Lord Dunsany. He was sui generis, writing in an age where there was no fantasy genre as we know it today. Dunsany was influenced by the bible and Greek mythology, old fairy tales, and to a lesser degree by a few peers including Rudyard Kipling and William Morris. But crucially, not a body of fantasy literature. Coupled with his one-of-a-kind elevated writing style, Dunsany’s early fantasy material feels ethereal and wondrous, as fresh as when it was written more than 100 years ago.

     

    JUL 12   A Look at Savage Scrolls

    New from Pulp Hero Press is Jason Ray Carney’s Savage Scrolls (2020), an anthology of contemporary sword-and-sorcery fiction. And make no mistake, this is actual sword-and-sorcery, not sword-and-sorcery used as a vague descriptor, a marketing buzz word, or a broad umbrella term for dark fantasy or fantastic darkness or pseudo-fabulist progwave interstitial slip-hop ironically-referencing-a-loincloth wannabe litfic masquerading as sword-and-sorcery. No, Savage Scrolls is refreshingly exactly what it purports to be, and it does what it says on the cover – providing a collection of contemporary sword-and-sorcery from some of the best modern practitioners in the game.

     

     

    Wednesday, July 27, 2022

    “You Are A Grim Hero”; topical highlights of Grimdark’s history (Zothique, Fighting Fantasy)

     “You Are A Grim Hero”; topical highlights of Grimdark’s history (Zothique, Fighting Fantasy)

    Spring 2015, guest post by S.E. Lindberg (author of Dyscrasia Fiction) for Hyperborea Blog – Francesco La Manno --> that link is defunct, so the article is now reposted here in 2022.


     

    As “Grimdark” matures and gathers traction, readers seem interested in defining its scope.  Many blog posts already cover the topic of “What is Grimdark,” including posts from champion Mark Lawrence (author of Prince of Thorns): Mark Lawrence Post May 2013  - What is Grimdark?; and Mark Lawrence Post Feb 2015 - "Is Grimdark dead?"  (With guests: R Scott Bakker, Karen Miller, Joe Abercrombie, Teresa Frohock, Kameron Hurley, Richard Morgan). This post will not try to disambiguated the boundary between overlapping/similar genres, but it will highlight a few books/topics that aficionado’s and newcomers should enjoy:  

    1) 1930’s Grimdark/Sword & Sorcery: the oft-overlooked Clark Ashton Smith

    2) 1980’s Grimdark/Sword & Sorcery: the origins of Grimdark stem from Game’s Workshop’s Fighting Fantasy series

     



    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Zothique.jpg

     

    1930’s Grimdark: Smith’s Zothique

    The pen pal mega-trio of Robert E. Howard (REH), H.P. Lovecraft (HPL), and Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) seemed to dominate pulp fiction ~1930.  At that time, today’s genres of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy (and hence Grimdark too) were just lumped into “weird fiction” (i.e., published in “Weird Tales” magazine). The form was almost entirely short story, though some poems and novelette’s emerged. REH wrote the most heroic adventure of the three, and became most known for his Conan yarns (earning the title of “Father of Sword & Sorcery”, though  the genre was not coined until 1961 by author Fritz Leiber); influenced by his pen pals, REH also wrote some good HPL-style horror too.  HPL was fascinated with nondescript/unknown horrors, and is widely known for his Cthulhu yarns.  Then there was CAS. He is least known of the trio, but he shouldn’t be to any Grimdark fan (CAS is also known for his Hyperborea cycle, which likely inspired this blog’s subtitle). CAS was fascinated with poetic horror; his style is denser than REH’s and more descriptive than HPLs.  Since “Grimdark” seems to be primarily novel length horror/fantasy, it is easily argued that it evolved from weird fiction; and of three mentioned here, CAS’s work was the most “Grimdark.” CAS’s Zothique tales are the most dystopian and if you are reading this post, you should also read them (bulleted arguments below). In his to L. Sprague de Camp, dated November 3, 1953, CAS described Zothique as:   

     

    “… the last inhabited continent of earth. The continents of our present cycle have sunken, perhaps several times. Some have remained submerged; others have re-risen, partially, and re-arranged themselves…The science and machinery of our present civilization have long been forgotten, together with our present religions. But many gods are worshipped; and sorcery and demonism prevail again as in ancient days. Oars and sails alone are used by mariners. There are no fire-arms—only the bows, arrows, swords, javelins, etc. of antiquity...” 

     

    Why Read The Zothique Tales?

    • Aficionado’s duty – know the origins of Sword & Sorcery and Grimdark

    • Short Stories – won’t consume much time

    • The stories are awesomely Grimdark

    • Free – available online thanks to Eldritchdark, a fan website run with permission from CAS’s family. The Zothique tales are ordered as they appear in Necrocomicon’s Press 1995 printing of “Clark Ashton Smith’s Tales of Zothique” edited by Will Murray and Steve Behrends (i.e., chronological order of publication). A great review of these was shared by author Ryan Harvey on Blackgate:

     

    1. The Empire of the Necromancers - Jan 1932 

    2. The Isle of the Torturers July 1932

    3. The Charnel God - Nov 1932

    4. The Dark Eidolon - Dec 1932

    5. The Voyage of King Euvoran  - Jan 1933

    6. The Weaver In The Vault - Mar 1933

    7. The Tomb Spawn - July 1933

    8. The Witchcraft of Ulua - Aug 1933

    9. Xeethra  - Mar 1934

    10.  The Book of Vergama - Mar-May 1934 

    11. The Last Hieroglyph - Mar-May 1934

    12. Shapes of Adamant- fragment circa 1935 (fragment)

    13. Necromancy In Naat - Feb 1935 

    14. The Black Abbot of Puthuum - Spring 1935

    15. The Death of Ilalotha - Mar 1937

    16. The Garden of Adompha - July 1937

    17. Zothique - poem 

    18. The Master of The Crabs - Aug 1947

    19. Mandor's Enemy - fragment  (fragment)

    20. Morthylla - 1951-52

     

    "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” Warhammer 40,000 tagline

    “The FF (Fighting Fantasy) books were the early thoughts about fantasy needing to be dark and grim that became more fully developed in the worlds of Warhammer” John Blanche, 2014


     

    1980’s Grimdark: Fighting Fantasy  

    Many cite Grimdark’s name as being evolved from the tagline of Game’s Workshop’s sci-fi brand of fiction/games: Warhammer 40,0000. The tagline follows: "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” Of course, GW also produces the fantasy Olde World line up too (medieval fantasy). Check out GW’s Black Library for their books. So before Warhammer 40,0000, what did GW produce?  What spawned this tagline of Grim Darkness?  The answer: Fighting Fantasy. Its development is chronicled in a new book, and the series has been revived in App/eBook form. 

    My gateway into the Sword & Sorcery genre was most likely the Fighting Fantasy books (choose-your-own-adventures + dice) created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in the early 1980's (Games Workshop founders; these two would then co-found Warhammer). Before personal computers & smart phones could satiate the need for solo adventuring on the go, these books rocked. They were full of disturbing illustrations that still haunt me to this day (see blogpost on evolving Fighting Fantasy books). Interestingly, select ones (like Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery) are now available on Kindle from Worldweaver and iTunes by Tinman games.  The tablet evolution has revitalized these game books, check them out!  Ostensibly marketed toward the young adult crowd, these are full of darkness. The artwork of the Games Workshop has always been top notch.  The corpse image from Section 122 of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain has haunted me for two decades! 


    Jonathan Green, author of many novels including those under the Warhammer and Fighting Fantasy brands, recently led a Kickstarter campaign to create a history book detailing how these adventure books evolved.  This 2012 effort was successful, and the print and eBook copies are now available.  The resulting book You Are The Hero (YATH) is 272 pages of illustrated goodness, with insights from authors, publishers, and artists.  John Blanche, currently Games Workshop’s art director and “the man responsible for coming up with the look of the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000” (p45 YATH) explicitly addresses the evolution of Grimness:

    The FF books were the early thoughts about fantasy needing to be dark and grim that became more fully developed in the worlds of Warhammer – and it is still happening today. The punk thing is a tribal street visual that pervades all history as far back as you wish – it’s a hint of shamanism, tribalism, barbarism, etc. People relate to that in a very enthusiastic manner. Fantasy is not about fairies and golden knights but about guys with shaved heads and zombies and a multitude of macabre horrific nastiness.” (p52, You Are The Hero, 2014)

    Diehard Grimdark aficionados will hunt down The Zagor Chronicles, a series of four 1994 novels which FF fan Lin Liren found The Zagor Chronicles to be, “surprisingly grim, bleak and brutally violent for novels aimed at a 13-15 year-old audience, and the bittersweet ending is unforgettable.” These seem expensive and obscure--I’m hunting for these myself.

     

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5119RGnYvLL.jpg

     

     

     


    About S.E. Lindberg 


    S.E. Lindberg resides near Cincinnati, Ohio working as a microscopist, employing his skills as a scientist and artist to understand the manufacturing of products analogous to medieval paints. Two decades of practicing chemistry, combined with a passion for the Sword and Sorcery genre, spurred him to write Lords of Dyscrasia, a graphic adventure fictionalizing the alchemical humors. Spawn of Dyscrasia continues the dark saga, featuring cover art by Ken Kelly (available now in audio book too).  Beyond Dyscrasia Fiction, his short story Legacy of the Great Dragon opens the new anthology from Perseid Press HEROIKA: Dragon Eaters (available for pre-order now, paperbacks available ~May/June 2015), in which the Father of Alchemy entombs his own source of magic.

    S.E. Lindberg co-moderates a Goodreads group focused on Sword & Sorcery and invites you to participate (link).

    Dyscrasia Fiction on Youtube

    S E Lindberg Author Blog  





    Sunday, July 10, 2022

    Rogues in the House releases A Book of Blades

    I am truly honored and excited to be amongst the rogues in this anthology. "Embracing Ember" is a Dyscrasia Fiction story that fills in Dr. Grave's struggles (as a single father and necromancer) to "raise" his three golem daughters. The chronology of short stories to date is below; a few more contributions are needed to span the epilogue of Spawn of Dyscrasia (in which Dr. Grave finally finds the ingredients to make his own family) to another novel in the works.


    About A Book of Blades and Rogues in the House

    This January Black Gate teased a second publication from the Rogues in the House Sword & Sorcery podcast while we covered the folks/rogues behind the show and highlighted episodes (Go Rogues! link). Beyond luring in S&S authors like Howard Andrew Jones, Scott Oden, John R. Fultz, and Jason Ray Carney, they’ve covered Morgan King & Phil Gelatt (creators of the movie The Spine of Night), Peter D. Adkison (founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast and owner of GenCon, the world’s largest board game convention), and Sara Frazetta (granddaughter of the fantasy master painter, an artist herself, and CEO of Frazetta Girls).

    Now the anthology has been released into the wild. A Book of Blades hosts 15 short stories from established and emerging heroic authors! Check out the table of contents below. There are even illustrations from the aforementioned Morgan Galen King & Sara Frazetta, amongst other artists. All proceeds go toward making the show a stronger and more attractive platform for all. 


    The anthology is available now in Paperback and Kindle.


    Cover Blurb:

    Within this tome are buried the blades of warriors, thieves, and wizards. Tales of their deeds, glories, and triumphs shall ring throughout the ages.
    Rogues in the House Podcast has gathered the best tales of Sword & Sorcery from across the community.

    Here, brave adventurers will find stories lovingly crafted from Heroic Fantasy greats such as Howard Andrew Jones, John R. Fultz, and John C. Hocking. At their side are up-and-coming genre authors Chuck Clark, T.A. Markitan, Cora Buhlert, and many more.

    Includes artwork from various artists, including Morgan King, director of Spine of the Night, and Sara Frazetta, granddaughter of the Legend himself!

    Short Stories Table of Contents:

    • “By the Sword” John C. Hocking
    • “Ghost Song” Chuck Clark
    • “Last of the Swamp Tribe” L.D. Whitney
    • “Wanna Bet?” T.A. Markitan
    • “The Serpent’s Heart” Howard Andrew Jones
    • “How They Fall” Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten
    • “The Breath of Death” Jason M. Waltz
    • “Embracing Ember” S.E. Lindberg  (A Dyscrasia Fiction entry)
    • “The Curse of Wine” J.M. Clarke
    • “The Gift of Gallah” Matthew John
    • “Crawl” Scott Oden
    • “The Spine of Virens Imber” Nathaniel Webb
    • “The City of the Screaming Pillars” Cora Buhlert
    • “Two Silvers for a Song of Blood” Jason Ray Carney
    • “The Blood of Old Shard” John R. Fultz

    Illustrations/Art by:
    • Gilead
    • Ursa Doom
    • Sara Frazetta (legendary Frazetta Girl)
    • Lorelei Esther
    • Hardeep Aujla
    • Morgan King (director of The Spine of Night)
    • Jesus Garcia (front cover)

    Go Rogue!

    Join the critically acclaimed podcast focusing on Sword and Sorcery & Heroic Fantasy.