The One for Fantasy Books

[stormlight-drafter]

Trying to get my friends to play the Stormlight TTRPG with me so I can create a Cryptic Npc named Algorithm who invents Bitcoin

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I had a dream last night where I got to be a student in Brandon Sanderson’s writing class. And for one of his lectures he brought us to Sandoland, his Cosmere theme park. And we went on one of those water thrill rides where you get in a raft and zoom down a river into a fake cavern and stuff. And then my friend was like come this way and brought me to the park’s secret shop where you could buy special unreleased merch, and it was filled with stickers and buttons for his newest book about an order similar to the Knights Radiant but each faction differed itself based on which mythical mount it rode. And then I woke up and it took several hours to convince myself that this was all a dream because honestly this sounds like something Brandon Sanderson would totally do if given the chance.

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I dunno, is anyone else tired of the found family trope constantly getting praised as the most wholesome, greatest thing? It just never felt that deep to me. Ok, you have an ensemble cast. They care for each other despite their differences. Human beings fulfill their basic desire for connection, support, and safety.

In my opinion, it’s far more difficult to write and much rarer to read stories where connections between characters aren’t super strong. Found families tend to happen by circumstance because the plot demands it. Your characters have to really care about each other if they’re going to risk their lives and go on that big quest because the chosen one has a magic ring.

Like sure, that’s fine sometimes, but you need variety. The mercenary who you became friends with, only to see them again on the villain’s side. Sorry man, it’s just a job. The love interest keeping you at arm’s length, despite their feelings, because they want something else even more. The thief’s mentor telling you every day that he’ll betray you, and finally one day doing it with tears in his eyes. That’s the shit that keeps me turning pages.

[stormlight-drafter]

I am BEGGING the BG3 fandom to acknowledge that the story is specifically set up so that the player always makes the “right” decision.

Trust The Emperor? He does exactly as he says, treats you as a friend, helps you kill The Netherbrain, and floats off into the sunset without ever once betraying you. Don’t trust The Emperor? He taunts you, says he always thought of you as a puppet, shows you how evil he is and fights against you in the final battle.

Help Astarion ascend, Gale become a god, and Shadowheart become a Dark Justiciar? They say thank you, this is what I always wanted, I’m very happy. Keep Astarion a spawn, Gale mortal, and make Shadowheart a Selunite? They say thank you, this is what I really wanted, I’m very happy.

The characters aren’t real people. They’re plot devices to ensure that the player always gets a satisfying conclusion to following the plot and side quests to their completion. I’m so tired of the same arguments over and over where people use evidence from Choice A to explain why Choice B is bad and invalid.

[stormlight-drafter]

Wit: I get the feeling one of us isn’t going to survive…

Kaladin: Well as the main character of The Stormlight Archive, I’m going to miss you.

Wit: Well as the main character of the Cosmere, same to you.

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Was reading through the Cosmere RPG preview and found some interesting lore bits in the Safety chapter. Maybe these things were already known (I haven't read the novellas) but there were some I wasn't aware of.

"Asexuality. All populations on Roshar, regardless of species and culture, include a spectrum of asexual people. Herdazians have a long tradition of valuing people who aren’t interested in sex or producing offspring. Singers, excluding when in mate form, are not expected to show any interest in sex."

I don't think I've ever seen Asexuality specifically called out like this, instead of it just being a footnote in Sexuality sections. Good on Brotherwise. The Singer thing was pretty obvious from Venli's chapters, but I didn't know that about Herdazians. Loving all the lore I'm learning about them from the rpg. Absolutely the most based ethnicity on Roshar.

"Discrimination Based on Eye Shade. The spectrum of eye colors for humans on Roshar is different from our own. Both darkeyes and lighteyes can have violet, blue, green, yellow, gray, or brown eyes."

Full list of possible eye colors. Though idk I'd probably just let my players have red, orange, or pink eyes if they really wanted it, why not. This section didn't mention if it's possible to have a medium shade that makes people confused on whether you count as darkeyes or lighteyes, but I'd assume so.

"Gender Identity. Breathing in Stormlight over time passively heals Radiants to their true genders."

I did know this, but it's nice to have it spelled out instead of buried in a novella.

"Gender Roles. Vorinism is one of many ideologies that impose strict gender roles on followers. Will your game include details such as female safehands, male illiteracy, and so on? Is being an ardent the only way for gender nonconforming characters to avoid social persecution?"

That was something I was wondering about, how Vorinism handles trans and non-binary identities. I'd assume "poorly" but I was curious if there were any quirks, considering it's pretty mild about same sex relationships. I don't know if the trans character talks about their life pre-transition or not, but this passage kind of implies that being an ardent is the only way for non-binary people to feel safe, but I'm not sure if it's just addressing the obvious assumption or actually stating its canon.

"Mental Illness. The Stormlight Archive features many characters with mental illnesses. While some might correlate mental illness with becoming a Knight Radiant, they would be missing the point."

Lol "please don't force your fanon on other people."

[stormlight-drafter]

No one:

Absolutely no one:

My brain: If Kaladin becomes a herald and reinstates the Oathpact in order to protect everyone then he's giving up the chance to ever be happy again because allowing himself to "be warm again" means dooming thousands of people to die in war.

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Alright everyone, how will Moash fare by the end of Winds and Truth?

Admits he was wrong, lives, is redeemed

Admits he was wrong, dies, redeemed via redemption equals death trope

Believes he's correct, lives, is set up to be a bigger villain

Believes he's correct, dies, not redeemed

Believes he's correct, lives, and gets a major heroic character to join him

Believes he's correct, dies, but gets a major heroic character to see his way

Other (comment)

Voting ended onApr 3, 2024

[swagspren]

Thinking about how Moash vs Kaladin’s interactions with Khen, Sah, and the other Singers seems so intentionally juxtaposed. But like why create that narrative foil moment just to reduce Moash to a villain later like truly what was the point?? He could’ve made those any Singers but instead he made them the specific individuals that Kaladin betrayed. And Moash betraying bridge four and then training these hopeless enslaved individuals to fight just like Kaladin did for Bridge four… like what was the point of all that!!!

[cosmereplay]

I think those moments were there to show that Moash's frame of mind, his intentions, and his philosophy are actually very different from Kaladin's. Where Kaladin has started a journey of questioning his values, Moash still strongly believes in traditional Alethi values.

Where Kaladin starts off having a bias about Khen and Sah, and then overcomes it by actually listening to them, Moash pushes his own agenda and his own point of view on them. He doesn't listen to the Fused or the awakened singers. He imposes his beliefs on them.

When Moash was young he believed in the moral authority of lighteyes, and later became disillusioned by their betrayal of their power. Thus he came to believe darkeyes should have the power, showing that he hasn't given up his belief in that system, just the placement of who should be in charge. By Kholinar, he's given up on humans entirely and now believes singers should dominate. But he still believes, as he always has, that one group should have the moral authority to dominate another group.

He expects that group to be strong and authoritarian but also fair--that's why he believed that Dalinar would make a better king. So he imposes that ideal on the singers. When he says "you should be better than this!" he's saying "why aren't you conforming to my ideals of a strong but benevolent authoritarian?" It's always been about propping up his own belief system, not about helping others.

(As another example, before the tower, Kaladin's original goal with the bridgemen was to escape with the men so they would be safe. Moash's goal was never to help those singers escape. He believed they belonged as fodder for the Wall Guard, because the Fused are the good benevolent authoritarians and they know best. So he trained them to be the best fodder they could be.)

That belief is also what makes him so vulnerable to Odium. He wants a better person in charge--but he still wants that person to have ultimate power. Ultimately Moash wants a strong authoritarian parent figure to make all his problems go away for him, and that ideal, that philosophy, is consistent from the way of kings all the way through to Rhythm of War.

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One of the most annoying things about discussing The Stormlight Archive online is just how, like, long the series as a whole is planned to be. Like I'll see people on tumblr getting mad that Sanderson brushed aside the caste system he set up in the first two books and I'm like, "well what I think he's doing is showing that the caste system was a fragile construct that broke down the minute a real threat to society emerged and by having lighteyes and darkeyes working together, along with the fact that everyone's favorite hero is low on the caste, will cause change to the system if it comes back in a time of peace that is much less violent than the solution many fans seem to be asking for" but am I right? I don't know I'll let you know when the series concludes in 20 years.

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Admittedly I’m ace, so maybe there’s something really obvious to everyone else that I’m missing, but Astarion’s confession is really funny to me. “I have something terrible to confess. I was only flirting with you at first in hopes that you would like me, then slept with you in hopes that you would like me, but then I actually developed feelings.”

Like I know what he’s getting at, that he doesn’t trust anyone would like him unless they were sexually into him but. Dating, Astarion. That’s called dating.

[mermaidpill]

i no longer (and truly havent to begin with) give a shit about other peoples opinions on ascendant astarion. i am tired of being talked to like I'm the villain for enjoying the ending.

"its a game and you can play how you want, but if you do this you are an evil person irl" go jump off a bridge i dont care

"he becomes just like cazador!" oh well. the only qualms he truly had with cazador was because he did it to him.

"its the evil ending!" how is him not being able to walk in the sunlight ever again any better? you have made him go back to what he once was.

"he views you lesser than him!" thats fine, i helped him reach the power he wanted.

i fail to see how his "good" ending is good for him. he has to give up everything he grew to love, you, the companions, sunlight, just to go slinking back into the shadows. i understand the appeal of the "i can fix him" stance but you arent fixing him for him. you're fixing him for you, but thats fine! i just fail to see how its a "good" ending just because cazador is dead.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is a masterful narrative about how taking power will inevitably corrupt and either destroy you or leave you as a completely different person. That being said…

Skill issue I’m different [grabs the Crown of Karsus and runs]

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I’ve seen more people complain about Ascended Astarion fans than actual Ascended Astarion fans. Where are you finding these degenerates? I need to connect to my people.

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I don't know how people are like "This is my five Tavs/Durges" I've started and discarded 3 Durge runs because it always feels wrong unless I'm playing as my original Tav, the unwise sorcerer.

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My Tav is an OC one would make when they’re 13: Half elf half human half Illithid vampire.

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Can someone tell me how The Dark Urge works mechanically? I keep hearing conflicting information. What made the story sound cool was the idea that the game would force you to roll to resist murder hoboing characters you meet, but how often does that actually happen? I know of places where you definitely can't resist the urge (Alfira, squirrels?) or are in danger of giving in (whoever you're romancing) but this is a 100 hour game. If the number of times the Dark Urge is an actual urge - rather than the dark dialog options I'm not going to pick - can be counted on one hand, then I'm probably not going to play it. (And as someone who never played BG1 or 2, I don't care about the extra plot. I'd rather shove a new OC into a new Tav playthrough.)