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[CobaltKobold]

I read this back when it was posted, was kept intrigued, and quickly drew the conclusion the villagers did (it was the puppeteer! Strange and magical!) though slowly grew to realize that no, it wasn't.

Also, No Man.

Regarding fairy tales, the old fashioned sort of fairy tales, the key is words are 'capricious' and 'unique'. <snip> So keep your door barred and your children close, don't follow the lights in the woods, don't go too deep in the swamp, and never ever trust the old hermit.

But always give the roadside crone your food generously, and neglect to invite all the fey at your peril- capriciousness is two-sided, after all.

As for faerie tales, I'm of a few minds on this subject- for the more classic fey, there's simply the retreat from iron, and possibly the separate Elf-land (There are better words for this, but none come to mind at the moment.)
 For dragons, there's genocide as St. George.

Yet, this need not be true on all worlds..I can see a land of volcanoes where dragons rule the lands, or a heavily forested realm where even Elves fear the wild thickets.

And certain fairy tales are perhaps properly faded legends of ancient people, with ghosts or even just empowered beliefs, possibly the ghost of the original Bluebeard, possibly just a malevolent spirit who likes tempting and tormenting and killing fair maids.

Where else did fairy tales come up? Oh yeah, unicorn thread.

[Gantolandon]

When do we see a story where:

A stranger arrives in town.

Strange things are happening.

People suspect the stranger.

He ignores them, going about his business.

Someone attempts to arrest the stranger.

He casually murders the person and warns the others not to be so stupid, then goes back to his business - getting supplies and so on.

A posse forms to stop the stranger.

He plasters the walls with the blood of the posse, sighs to himself, and continues going about his business.

The entire town reacts, half the town trying to kill the stranger, the other half fleeing into the woods.

The stranger butchers everybody hostile he encounters, then spends some time wandering through the now-untended shops, whistling to himself as he picks up a few more items.

The stranger leaves the now-deserted town.

Dark Tower, first book.

[Vester]

When do we see a story where:

A stranger arrives in town.

Strange things are happening.

People suspect the stranger.

He ignores them, going about his business.

Someone attempts to arrest the stranger.

He casually murders the person and warns the others not to be so stupid, then goes back to his business - getting supplies and so on.

A posse forms to stop the stranger.

He plasters the walls with the blood of the posse, sighs to himself, and continues going about his business.

The entire town reacts, half the town trying to kill the stranger, the other half fleeing into the woods.

The stranger butchers everybody hostile he encounters, then spends some time wandering through the now-untended shops, whistling to himself as he picks up a few more items.

The stranger leaves the now-deserted town.

Dark Tower, first book.

Yes.

Except it wasn't so much casual as it was nonchalant.

[Grendus]

I'm noticing a trend in Threetoe's stories. Magic is always about binding something to your will or being bound to the will of a higher power. There's some generic powers, a few subtle pieces of high magic (like the puppets), but mostly it's about summoning and binding, rituals and machinery. It makes for great storytelling, but I imagine it would be hell to code something that in depth without scripting.

[Daywalkah]

ThreeToe, this is a very awesome story. Good job!

[Durin]

I really kind of hate magic in a game.  Magic becomes a replacement for know how, or else it just becomes too powerful.

Personally, I hope when it is introduced that there are some toggles to either mod it or turn it completely off.  All the great magicians in old stories are entirely too powerful to keep a balanced game, and tend to eventually turn out to be metaphors in and of themselves.  Gandalf was, as it turns out in the Simalrilian, a minor angel.  Likewise Sauron, servant of a fallen great angel of sorts.  (I forget what they were called, but the parallel to angels was pretty clear.)

Merlin is some sort of undefinable spirit of a passing age. 

Human wizards tend to be a lot like the evil bastidge who ends up dying here in the end -- meddling in things man was not meant to know and the like. 

Wizards, true wizards, are basically like -- storyline fiats best included for effect.

My two cents... worth what you paid for it.

[Ironhand]

(Demi)gods, actually.

The Maiar were made of the same stuff as the Valar themselves.

Also, way to get us all excited by posting in the Announcements thread...

[Durin]

(Demi)gods, actually.

The Maiar were made of the same stuff as the Valar themselves.

Also, way to get us all excited by posting in the Announcements thread...

Llamas son mas grandes que las radas.

I forgot this was the announcement forum. It's mostly full of stories... Sowwies.

[Ironhand]

Llamas are bigger than roads?
What is that supposed to mean?

And I was just giving you a rough time.

I actually agree with your perspective on wizards.
I like magic as it is in the game: a foreign and strange force,
that only manifests itself in fanciful creatures and divine inspiration.

[Durin]

Llamas are bigger than roads?
What is that supposed to mean?

Oops.

Ranas... frogs.  Old Monty Python skit... inspired by your pic there.  I totally ruined that joke!

I actually agree with your perspective on wizards.
I like magic as it is in the game: a foreign and strange force,
that only manifests itself in fanciful creatures and divine inspiration.

[ThreeToe]

That's alright.  It's good that people discussed ideas and what the game should be like.  That's part of the reason I write these stories!

[Durin]

That's alright.  It's good that people discussed ideas and what the game should be like.  That's part of the reason I write these stories!

The most intrigueing part of this game to me is it is a story generator.  Only frustration I have is I have to copy a save, stick it in a separate instance of the game, and go into legends mode to really get the full measure of what has happened to my dwarves.  Who killed who, etc. 

I read from time to time people find little use in legends mode, but I get a lot of use out of it.  I suppose it could stand to be a little easier to get to and search, but if anything I wish it kept even more useless details.  Ha!

[Qmarx]

I really kind of hate magic in a game.  Magic becomes a replacement for know how, or else it just becomes too powerful.

Personally, I hope when it is introduced that there are some toggles to either mod it or turn it completely off.  All the great magicians in old stories are entirely too powerful to keep a balanced game, and tend to eventually turn out to be metaphors in and of themselves.  Gandalf was, as it turns out in the Simalrilian, a minor angel.  Likewise Sauron, servant of a fallen great angel of sorts.  (I forget what they were called, but the parallel to angels was pretty clear.)

Merlin is some sort of undefinable spirit of a passing age. 

Human wizards tend to be a lot like the evil bastidge who ends up dying here in the end -- meddling in things man was not meant to know and the like. 

Wizards, true wizards, are basically like -- storyline fiats best included for effect.

My two cents... worth what you paid for it.

Well, given that the game already includes gods and Powers, which are slated to have influence eventually, I don't see how demigods and angels would be too overwhelming