Friday, August 18, 2017

The Ramparts of Tharrenton Deep

I only just today realized that I haven't posted anything here since the closing days of 2015.  Wow.  That's not a good way to maintain a blog.

And I look around, and the blogosphere seems to be a different place than it was back then.  A few familiar faces, some new ascendant voices, and a bunch of blogs that seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Ah, well.

So much to talk about, but time grows ever more limited.  For now, I only want to talk about one thing.  Two things, actually.

My novel, The Ramparts of Tharrenton Deep (TRoTD, because why not?), is now live at Amazon in both kindle and paperback formats.  It is currently in the form of two novels: Book One, which comes in at 350 pages softcover, and Book Two, which comes in at 404 pages.  Despite being two books, they tell a single story.

TRoTD is my love-letter to old school gaming.  As I wrote back in November of 2015:


At its most basic, the story revolves around a group of young men (basically peasants from a farming village) who want for something more in their lives.  They set out to explore the ruins of a dwarven stronghold and city a few days walk from their village.  Adventure ensues.

I wanted to write a story that matches my earliest gaming experiences playing OD&D and AD&D.  In all of the fantasy fiction that I have read, very little of it matches those experiences.  If you consider yourself ‘old-school’, you know what I mean:
  • Brand new characters are weak and tend to survive or not by their wits as much as their brawn.
  • This typically involves being careful and methodical as opposed to brazen or aggressive.
  • There are no heroes attempting to save the world, but merely ordinary people struggling to survive.
At the same time, I wanted to include some ‘standards’ from my earliest days of gaming that I believe are typical of ‘old-school’ game play:
  • Dungeon crawling (which, if written well, can be suspenseful and interesting)
  • Resource management (Torches, food, your health, etc.)
  • Mapping
  • The idea that, as a bunch of neophytes, it’s probably not wise to split the party
I have attempted to wrap all of these elements and others into an enjoyable story with memorable characters.  I think that I’ve succeeded.

To this point, I measure my success on the fact that several people have read it who have never played D&D and enjoyed it.  And I think people who have played the game will enjoy the various nods to old-school gaming that the story includes.

The story is not a straight D&D knock-off.  There are some differences, some twists to make the story my own.


I would like to think that, in addition to being an celebration of some old school adventuring, it is also a well-written an exciting book.  People who have read it seem to think so.

I hope that you'll check it out and find the same.

10 comments:

  1. BOLA PELANGI - BANDAR MIX PARLAY TERBESAR DI

    INDONESIA HANYA DENGAN 1 USER ID SUDAH BISA

    BERMAIN SEMUA GAME.
    Join US ! klik link di bawah ini ?
    Prediksi Bola dan Togel
    Bola Online
    Mix Parlay
    Link Altenatif Bola Pelangi
    Bandar Bola

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Ingin menghasilkan uang dengan cepat ..
    Ayo buruan gabung sekarang bersama kami di Bolapelangi ....
    1 id untuk semua permainan ^^
    - SPORTBOOK
    - TOGEL
    - TANGKAS
    - SLOT
    - POKER
    - KENO
    - CASINO
    Join Sekarang dengan klik link dibawah ini :
    www.bolapelangi2.net?ref=695DD0

    Buruan daftar ya jutaan rupiah menanti anda dengan cepat ^^"

    ReplyDelete
  3. SITUS RESMI EURO 2020 - LIGA UTAMA
    SPECIAL EVENT EURO 2021 : EVENT TURNOVER TERTINGGI

    BERHADIAH :
    Hadiah 1 = ASUS TUF GAMING DASH ( 1 ORG PEMENANG )
    Hadiah 2 = IPhone 12 Pro Max ( 1 ORG PEMENANG )
    Hadiah 3 = HP SAMSUNG A20S + Hoodie ( 1 ORG PEMENANG )
    Hadiah 4 = FREECHIPS 100K + Hoodie ( 5 ORG PEMENANG )
    Hadiah 5 = KAOS LIGA UTAMA ( 20 ORG PEMENANG )

    Syarat Dan Ketentuan Berlaku..

    #ligautama #ligaitali #ligainggris #ligaspanyol #epl #serieA #championsleague #laliga #ucl #timnas #jadwalbola #timnasday #bigmatch #parlay #ligachampions #EURO2021 #EURO2020 #SitusResmiEURO2020

    Daftar Website Judi Online Dengan Bonus Terbesar
    MENERIMA DEPOSIT VIA PULSA , DANA , OVO , GOPAY , BRILINK.
    DAFTAR SEKARANG : https://utamasbobet.info/

    Hanya disini bisa deposit pada saat bank OFFLINE
    * Menggunakan sistem yang aman tetapi tidak meribetkan pemain
    * Minimal Deposit dan Withdraw kita hanya 50.000 saja loh
    * Bank yang tersedia di LIGAHOBI :
    BCA | Mandiri | BNI | BRI | Danamon | CIMB Niaga

    TESTIMONI : http://www.ligautamalounge.com/
    DAFTAR SEKARANG : https://utamasbobet.info/_View/Register.aspx
    Whatsapp : +855 16 32 6756

    - Cashback Up To 15%
    - Bonus Refferal Seumur Hidup
    - Bonus Deposit Perdana New Member 15%
    - Bonus Deposit 10% Setiap Hari Bebas Klaim
    - Bonus Rollingan Casino 0,8% Seminggu Sekali
    - Bonus Cashback SLOT & TANGKAS Seminggu Sekali Hingga 15%
    - Dapatkan panduan bermain terbaik bersama kami

    DAFTAR SEKARANG : https://utamasbobet.info/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hung was formerly an official distributor of industrial lubricants of Shell in the North. Currently, in addition to oil trading, we also trade in transportation and equipment trading. After nearly 12 years of establishment and development, Yen Hung is now a prestigious partner of nearly 10,000 large and small domestic and international factories. Main products:
    giá dầu truyền nhiệt
    dầu bánh răng
    dầu tuần hoàn
    dầu dẫn nhiệt
    dầu thủy lực shell
    mỡ bò bôi trơn chịu nhiệt

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kunjungi Situs Liga Bintang Taruhan Bola | Togel Online | BandarQ | Casino Online | Slot Terpecaya.

    Liga Bintang
    Liga Bintang Lounge
    Taruhan Bola
    LigaBintang

    - Minimal Deposit Rp 50.000
    - Minimal Withdraw Rp50.000

    WA : +62 821 3257 3276
    WEBSITE : WWW.BINTANGPLAY. INFO

    Pendaftaran GRATIS !
    Menerima Deposit Pulsa, OVO, DANA, GOPAY Dan Bank Dalam Negeri Indonesia.
    ROLLINGAN POKER TERBESAR DI ASIA

    ReplyDelete