-+@ Path of Morpheus @+-

Move and change?



Art Credit:
Chana by Goodman (who else?)
Smot by Zastrow/Holmberg
Bigil by Strom/Whyrl

That's 3 more cards for Twilight War (TW). Chana is named after Goodman herself. No she's not blonde nor does she look like that, but that's one dolly that she's drawn and I thought it would be good to have her as a magi. Smot was originally Smits as named by Justin, but the name is a bit European so I renamed him slightly to sound like smote (paste tense of smite, old English word meaning kill). I did the Holmberg background maybe 2 weeks ago in anticipation of getting the right image for it. Bigil is a contraction of "Birdgirl" which is what Whyrl named this image. Well, she doesn't have the green skins that's prominant of the Paradans... so she'll need a background story as well... like the other Paradan emissary.

I went back to look through the RP cards and was surprised that the people there have added more images to the eXodus cards. Some of them are nice, others are so-so. Austin Gardner seems to be improving his skill at it while Beth Zyglowicz is drawing up her own style and is moving into her own. Even Jen Reed is contributing images to the set. I didn't template any of those though. Instead I did the 5 spells that Jeffrey Ransom picked out art for. They can be seen either at Novelty's Custom Card Forums (look under Fan Cards), at the RP section of Insiider or at MND at CCGW. As mentioned, none of those spells are going to make it into Exodus Flight.

gEngine stuff (and staff) is/are still quiet, everyone is probably enjoying summer and such. Even the forums are quiet and I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign. One good sign though is that there's a post in the AvP forums asking about deckbuilding and stuff. Seems interesting there and I hope the game picks up, but I doubt it.

I had an interesting thought today (well, that's one more than usual, I suppose) - which series of books would make a good CCG? I'm talking about true books only stuff, not, LotR, for example which only got playable because of the movie, or games like VS where the characters are in a whole host of media from movie to games to action figures. Mythos, perhaps is the best known and probably the most successful game of this genre, the direct book to CCG adaptation. Imajica and Wheel of Time are another two examples that are available for play on gEngine. Others include A Game of Thrones and Call of Cthulhu off the top of my head.

Well, I only have a Sci-fi/Fantasy background so here are some series of books which might make a good CCG.

Raymond E. Fiest and his Midkemia universe. There are almost 20 books in this series, starting with Magician: Apprentice, with the latest being King of Foxes in the Conclave of Shadows Trilogy. Two of the books in this universe are even the reverse adaptation of the 2 computer games; Betrayal at Krondor and Return to Krondor - the former was a trendsetter, the latter is forgettable. The world is large, the characters are plentiful and the artifacts, events, locations, etc. are there for the taking. And if that's not enough, there's always the world of Kelewan across the rift...

Peter F. Hamilton and his Commonwealth universe. OK, so there's only one book so far, but with 1144 pages, it's a rich world that he's painted with a multitute of races, over 40 locations and a cast of characters that needs a who's who right in the front of the book. The second book Judas Unleashed will be published later in the year (if you're a Brit or if you order from amazon.co.uk) or next year (if you're American).

Robin Hobb and the Six Dutchies. She's barely touched on the world she's set her characters on, even with three trilogies under her belt. Throw in the Chalced States, the Mountain Kingdom adn the Jamailla Empire with the Outislands and there's enough factions. Add in dragons and a fool and things turn interesting. Not to mention memory stone and a rooster crown... and liveships!

Janny Wurts and her neverending tale of the Mistwraith set on Athera. Two blueblood born with the gift over the elements, but not the usual elements. Lysaer, with his ability over light and Arithon, the Master of Shadow. From the mighty Fellowship Sorcerers, the Koriani Order and the clanborn vs the city folk, this tale (spread across 9 books, where it was originally supposed to be 3) has plenty to offer everyone.

Tanya Huff and her Quarter series. No, not the vampire stuff, which is set in a different universe and genre, nor the Valor series, which is currently too limited for a good CCG. I like the concept in the series, bards, singing and manipulating the elemental kythes (or however that is spelt) in a religious sort of capacity. Very interesting stories in the entire series, from political intrigue to romance and a whole host of other things.

OK, I'll stop there, 2 American, 2 Canadian and a Brit. I did think about Asimov's Robot series or even Le Gruin's Earth Sea Quartet, but the former is way too boring and the latter is a bit limited in terms of characters. My favourite Sci-Fi trilogy Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy didn't even make it into the list as I think the game would end up being really nerdy (very much like the books). Terry Brooks (Magic Kingdom for Sale!), David Eddings (Tamuli and topless women) Arthur C. Clarke (HAL2001) and Jack L. Chalker (Husaquahr) all didn't make it into my list for some reason or another. Oh well. Someone recommended RA Salvatore to me, but I've yet to read anything from him.