| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 18:58:03
Well met
This being a collective scroll of any questions the Scribes and visitors of Candlekeep wish to put to a renowned author of the Realms, namely - James Lowder, whos works include: Prince of Lies, Crusade and Ring of Winter.
Present your questions herein and check back to see what news may also come forth from the quill of this author. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 13 Sep 2012 : 05:10:42
Hi:
In case you haven't heard, there's a Kickstarter going on right now to fund a documentary about the history of Dungeons & Dragons and its wider cultural impact. The project hit its first funding target tonight, so it is going forward, but there are still a couple days left to pitch in. I've been helping the guys behind the documentary make industry contacts. They interviewed me about the game and about TSR company history, too.
For the Kickstarter, I've agreed to sign some copies of Prince of Lies for supporters. They also have some copies of Beyond the Wall up there, too, signed by me and foreword author R.A. Salvatore. (This is an essay collection about Martin's Ice and Fire series I edited.) There are 10 copies of each book available, in case you might be interested.
The Kickstarter campaign can be found here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andrewpascal/dungeons-and-dragons-a-documentary
Cheers,
Jim |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 06 Sep 2012 : 00:14:15
Oops! *manners*
Thanks for the interesting info James.
I would really like to see you involved in the Realms again, you're just the kind of guy they need right now. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 19:16:59
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
I can imagine the dilema you were in. Must be hard using someone else's creations.
That's part of working in a shared world, but there was a big difference between working with Soth and, say, working with Azoun and Alusair, where I had help and support from Ed Greenwood. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 16:38:57
I can imagine the dilema you were in. Must be hard using someone else's creations. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 00:13:54
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
I can imagine they were upset about losing one of their iconic creations to the mists (I too was dubious at first) but you kept true to their portrayal of him though and did a fine job in both books. Shame the third book never happened.
I absolutely understand why they were upset. The decision was made at a management level above me, and when I was assigned the Ravenloft line as fiction editor, I did my best to find a writer for the book who would not change the character in any way that would preclude Margaret and Tracy from using him if they came back to write Dragonlance.
Initially, there were other writers considered for the book, but they didn't work out, for a variety of reasons. The head of the book division eventually called me into her office after we'd gone through the search process and told me that I was probably the best person to write Knight. I was actually somewhat reluctant to take the book on, because I did sympathize with Margaret and Tracy, but I did so in the hopes that the final work would show the character respect and not wall him off from his creators for future use. I think it worked out that way. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 23:29:09
I can imagine they were upset about losing one of their iconic creations to the mists (I too was dubious at first) but you kept true to their portrayal of him though and did a fine job in both books. Shame the third book never happened. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 00:30:05
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
Hi Jim, just a quick one-
I really enjoyed your books about Lord Soth and was wondering if there were ever any plans for you to write any more about him?
I have a soft spot for the bad boy death knight that stretches back many years to my first introduction to d&d in the world of krynn and dragonlance.
You did a fine job of writing soth's woes in ravenloft. Did margaret or tracey ever give you their opinion of your depiction of their character?
I had a third book in mind, Wake of the Black Rose, and there was talk at one point of White Wolf hiring me to write it, but they could not get the Ravenloft fiction license from WotC. They had the game license at the time. I wrote a Dragon article and some material for the White Wolf game sourcebooks that suggested the direction in which the third novel would move. I also have a partially written short story, "All the Colors of Sorrow," that I was going to write for Dragon, but that never worked out. It takes place between Knight and Spectre.
I did a lot of research on Soth to write the books and passed along all my research notes on the character's history to Margaret at one point. I know that Margaret and especially Tracy were unhappy about the TSR corporate decision to use Soth in Ravenloft, but I wrote the books so the character could be returned to Krynn whenever Margaret and Tracy wanted and without any significant changes to his character or motivations. (His character arc in the Ravenloft books is that he forgets his true history and then regains it, so the changes are a confirmation of their depiction of the character, not a change.) We've not talked a lot about the subject, though I remain friends with them both. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 00:03:08
Hi Jim, just a quick one-
I really enjoyed your books about Lord Soth and was wondering if there were ever any plans for you to write any more about him?
I have a soft spot for the bad boy death knight that stretches back many years to my first introduction to d&d in the world of krynn and dragonlance.
You did a fine job of writing soth's woes in ravenloft. Did margaret or tracey ever give you their opinion of your depiction of their character? |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 14:15:29
quote:
Originally posted by JamesLowder
I'd not sat next to Ed on a Realms panel for about twenty years. Thursday evening brought back a lot of great memories, and I was smiling about how well it went for quite a while afterward. Of course Ed and I have remained good friends over the years and have worked together on quite a few projects, so I was not surprised by the easy rapport. It really was a blast, and I hope Erik, Matt, Brian, and all the Candlekeep members know how much I appreciate the invitation to your bash.
Im sure you would be most welcome next year, or any year for that matter. thanks. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 06:54:30
I'd not sat next to Ed on a Realms panel for about twenty years. Thursday evening brought back a lot of great memories, and I was smiling about how well it went for quite a while afterward. Of course Ed and I have remained good friends over the years and have worked together on quite a few projects, so I was not surprised by the easy rapport. It really was a blast, and I hope Erik, Matt, Brian, and all the Candlekeep members know how much I appreciate the invitation to your bash. |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 00:44:15
Jim,
So,glad you did indeed make it to the Candlekeep seminar. Your energy was contagious. It was great to see. I wish every scribe here could have witnessed that panel. It really was a wonderful thing to witness. You and Ed have a great natural rapport and it was fun to see that whole panel feed off of everyone's positive energy.
Now, if only I wold see a realms fiction product with your name somewhere on it in the near future! |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 05 Aug 2012 : 04:41:28
Gen Con update:
Looks like I will be at the show this year, for at least a day or two.
I'll be participating in a panel at Gen Con with George Strayton, David Ewalt, Tavis Allison, and the filmmakers behind the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons documentary. They'll be debuting 10 minutes of footage from the film, followed by a Q&A. The event is free and takes place Friday afternoon, Aug. 17, from 4 to 5, in Westin: Capitol I. People interested in the history of D&D, TSR, and the cultural impact of RPGs are going to want to attend. Spread the word. Event: https://registration.gencon.com/events/37830
And I may be at the Realms anniversary bash Thursday evening, if the stars align. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 19:19:07
Hey, folks:
Apparently Wizards of the Coast has released several of my Realms novels in ebook form. If that's your preferred mode of reading, now's your chance to get actual legal files for them.
I also wanted to note that I'll be at San Diego Comic-Con again this year and I'll be doing a signing Sunday morning from 11 am to 12 pm at booth #4300, BenBella Books/Smart Pop. This signing is to promote Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, From A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons, a new collection of essays I put together for them. I'll be happy to sign anything else you might want signed. Or just drop by and say hi. The publisher is also running some book giveaways over the show. Details here: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/san-diego-comic-con-2012/
Not certain about Gen Con this year. If I'm there, I will be at the preview for the D&D documentary Friday evening; I was one of the interview subjects. And at the showing of Misfit Heights, a zombie puppet musical that has its debut at the con; I did some puppeteer work on that film. |
| stephenslate |
Posted - 23 Jun 2012 : 08:51:54
does anyone know the history of dragonfang keep for the second edition i seen the third and fourth edition on the subject which doesnt fit well with the 2nd edition of what it says about the keep ?
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| stephenslate |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 04:49:48
i almost have all the ravenloft and forgotten realms 1st and 2nd edition books for playing but not so many of the novels just about every ravenloft novel and alot of the forgotten realms novels, id like to find more of the novels to read, and thank you for the site, i dont really get into the third and fourth ed. but ill have to look at some of your books to read since the others were really good.
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| JamesLowder |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 03:39:42
quote:
Originally posted by stephenslate
very true, this player does not take criticism very well and uses all kinds of excuses for doing things and besides being a power gamer/ hack and slash player, and i must say i recently read prince of lies and also realms of infamy and i enjoyed them quite a bit but not sure what other books you have authored is there a site to look on to find out ?
My web site is http://www.jameslowder.com. There's a Wikipedia page that lists my major things, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lowder For the Realms I also wrote Crusade and The Ring of Winter, and stories in a few of the anthologies and some game design. I also did some work in Ravenloft. |
| stephenslate |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 01:53:51
very true, this player does not take criticism very well and uses all kinds of excuses for doing things and besides being a power gamer/ hack and slash player, and i must say i recently read prince of lies and also realms of infamy and i enjoyed them quite a bit but not sure what other books you have authored is there a site to look on to find out ? |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 01:46:21
quote:
Originally posted by stephenslate
well thank you for you input mr. lowder, this issue happened in the farmlands of scardale and as such are not druidic lands but i do believe the player does not know how to play a druid by his actions of killing a whole farmers family and burning their crops but i have thought of a few ideas to deal with the issue like; harpers, the dales and their justice, or just chauntea sending a small faction to restore what has happened, and this has happened more than once so i know its the player wrongfully playing his character hopefully he will learn after this.
Sounds like you have a good handle on it. In my experience, the best way to solve these kinds of issues is to use the world itself, to employ the story aspects rather than just to tell a player "you're doing it wrong." |
| stephenslate |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 23:27:52
well thank you for you input mr. lowder, this issue happened in the farmlands of scardale and as such are not druidic lands but i do believe the player does not know how to play a druid by his actions of killing a whole farmers family and burning their crops but i have thought of a few ideas to deal with the issue like; harpers, the dales and their justice, or just chauntea sending a small faction to restore what has happened, and this has happened more than once so i know its the player wrongfully playing his character hopefully he will learn after this. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 23:05:19
By the by, speaking of Bob Salvatore, he wrote the foreword for Beyond the Wall, the new essay collection I put together about George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. It's due out in June. You can find the table of contents and the prelim cover here: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/book/beyond-the-wall The publisher has a very good mailing list. You can sign up on the page I linked to. They give away promo copies and offer free essays on a variety of pop culture topics. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 08:29:28
quote:
Originally posted by stephenslate
my reasoning for this question is one of the gamers in my group has a character that has numerous times killed innocent people who he judged as going against druidic law and even innocent farmers are victim to his wrath and the player uses the avenger kit to justify this saying " everyone is to be killed because they are not trees or plants "
Well, if the characters he's killing are indeed "innocent" of the "crimes" he's accusing them of, then the character is not following his god's dictates. If they really are guilty of, say, needlessly damaging the ecosystem, then he might see himself as justified, and his church (and god) might agree.
Remember, though, that the characters have to live within the laws of their setting. The character can kill farmers, but not many lands are going to accept that kind of behavior and will have laws against it. Barring that, other churches may also react. If the followers of the god of the wilderness bumps off farmers, then the followers of the god of farmers or the harvest might react themselves. Or even just the followers of a lawful good god. In fact, if the character belongs to a true neutral church and he goes too far, his own church might send someone along to restore the balance.
On a cosmic scale, the god of the wild who is encouraging followers to kill off farmers would surely annoy a lot of other gods. The god of technology might get steamed because the murders are cutting down on the use of farming tech, costing his followers money and lessening his impact on the world. To that end, he might send his followers off on a little local crusade to plow under an area sacred to the druids. Same with the god of justice--though, if the farmers knew they were supposed to follow certain rules, because they were farming in druid-controlled lands, a lawful neutral god of justice might side with the druids. Or he might even side with both. A hung jury, as it were. And all this would filter down to how the gods' followers would react to the characters' actions, if they got serious enough to draw divine attention.
So as a GM, there are lots of ways for you to use story elements and the setting to keep the character from acting without consequences. |
| stephenslate |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 05:59:41
my reasoning for this question is one of the gamers in my group has a character that has numerous times killed innocent people who he judged as going against druidic law and even innocent farmers are victim to his wrath and the player uses the avenger kit to justify this saying " everyone is to be killed because they are not trees or plants " |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 01:41:41
quote:
Originally posted by Azuth
I'm curious, Jim, as to what you mean by the "Older Realms Cosmology."
I know the 1E through 3E versions of the Realms far better than 4E. Wizards could have changed details about the cosmology or the definitions of the alignments, so I was just making it clear my comments were grounded in the older versions.
On the 5E thread--it's an interesting discussion. I'm not contractually limited on what I can or can't discuss; the contracts I signed with TSR/Wizards pre-date a lot of the restrictive language that was attached to the standard deal. I wish the company good luck with the line, and I hope they show respect for the existing material--all of it, from all the ages. With any shared world the trick is to create bridges with new products, not wall off great sections of the backlist. It's not easy, but it's a goal that's worth pursuing.
There's not a lot to add beyond that.
It's rather unlikely that I'll be involved in the new version of the Realms. Wizards and I haven't spoken about anything new for quite a few years. I wouldn't rule anything out, but I am leaning heavily toward creator-copyrighted work these days. |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 01:35:49
quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
Splendid characterisation and wonderful atmosphere. I doff my hat to thee, good sir, and raise my glass.
Thanks, Icelander! I really enjoyed writing that story. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 23:57:05
I tend to pass on more negative feedback than positive and while this is effective at communicating my tastes as a consumer and might perhaps even occasionally result in useful critique, it cannot be a rewarding experience for an artist.
In case, then, that there exists one at least of that tortured class for whom the act of creation is not reward enough in itself and who takes some measure of his pleasure in the admiring reaction of the audience, I just want to say, Mr. Lowder, kudos for "Laughter in the Flames". By far the best horror/psychological drama I've read set in a fantasy world and one of the more interesting fantasy short stories I've come across in ages.
Splendid characterisation and wonderful atmosphere. I doff my hat to thee, good sir, and raise my glass. |
| Azuth |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 23:42:00
quote:
Originally posted by JamesLowder
I'd tend to agree with Azuth here. If you're talking about the older Realms cosmology, then true neutral characters would be dedicated to the balance of good and evil, law and chaos; that's spelled out pretty clearly in the 1E DMG. You'd have to look at the goal a deity sets out for his/her/its followers for how that would play out. Worshippers of a true neutral god of knowledge would, for instance, put knowledge above all, so both good and evil acts, lawful and chaotic acts, in the pursuit of knowledge might be allowed. However, actions that tipped the cosmic balance too far in one direction or another would not be condoned.
And it all depends on how the church or even different factions within the church interpreted the overall goal. The church of a neutral god of knowledge, for instance, might define murder as a serious negative action because it destroys a potential font of individual knowledge. A Zhentish splinter group of the same church might define murder of Dalesmen as okay, since what can they contribute to real knowledge anyway, or they might culturally accept torture or magical mind reading as a way to extract important knowledge from people before they are bumped off.
That subjective nature of belief, how different people and cultures put "objective" truths into action, is the underpinning of Prince of Lies.
One of the many reasons I loved Price of Lies. I'm curious, Jim, as to what you mean by the "Older Realms Cosmology." One of the things I really enjoyed in PoL was how you showed Midnight struggling to become Mystra, and especially the return of Kelemvor and some insight into Adon and how Mystra treated her patriarch - which was very different than how she treated her Chosen. The God of Knowledge seemed both open and cryptic at the same time, which was a coup of a plot.
Unless you're contractually forbidden, I'd be very interested in your insights into Erik's 5e Thread http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16093 when you have a few minutes.
Cheers,
Azuth |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 22:23:26
quote:
Originally posted by Entromancer
Mr. Lowder, I believe I read somewhere that you had once been set to write a novel in R.A. Salvatore's Demon Wars setting. Are there any details about it that you could share?
Back when Bob was working with CDS Books om Demon Wars, we talked about me writing a novel for the series. (Bob was also heading up the Everquest books for CDS at the time, and I was putting together the City of Heroes books for them.) The working title was Brotherhood of the Lost. It was solicited and I was working on it, but Bob ended up moving to another publisher with the series, so we decided it would be best not to proceed with the project under the Demon Wars logo. It was very much a mutual decision.
All the characters are ones I'd created and it was set in parts of the world that were not developed, so it's a project I can pursue on my own, as a creator-owned book--and one I hope to write one of these days. |
| Entromancer |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 20:00:12
Mr. Lowder, I believe I read somewhere that you had once been set to write a novel in R.A. Salvatore's Demon Wars setting. Are there any details about it that you could share? |
| JamesLowder |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 08:29:05
I'd tend to agree with Azuth here. If you're talking about the older Realms cosmology, then true neutral characters would be dedicated to the balance of good and evil, law and chaos; that's spelled out pretty clearly in the 1E DMG. You'd have to look at the goal a deity sets out for his/her/its followers for how that would play out. Worshippers of a true neutral god of knowledge would, for instance, put knowledge above all, so both good and evil acts, lawful and chaotic acts, in the pursuit of knowledge might be allowed. However, actions that tipped the cosmic balance too far in one direction or another would not be condoned.
And it all depends on how the church or even different factions within the church interpreted the overall goal. The church of a neutral god of knowledge, for instance, might define murder as a serious negative action because it destroys a potential font of individual knowledge. A Zhentish splinter group of the same church might define murder of Dalesmen as okay, since what can they contribute to real knowledge anyway, or they might culturally accept torture or magical mind reading as a way to extract important knowledge from people before they are bumped off.
That subjective nature of belief, how different people and cultures put "objective" truths into action, is the underpinning of Prince of Lies.
|
| Azuth |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 06:07:48
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by stephenslate
i have a question for who ever can answer it, i have a member of my group that has a character that plays a avenger druid and believes it ok to kill innocent people, and burn crops as part of their deities personality, and their deity is true neutral and a avenger druid himself is it right or wrong ?
True neutral would not condone murder. Only the evil alignments would do that.
Not sure what this has to do with questions for Jim (Hi Jim!) but I think your response requires a bit of clairty, Wooly. True Neutral would neither oppose nor condone killing. Murder depends on intent, of course. If a druid kills human hunters a druidic god might be okay with that. Or in the instance of Malar (who I know is not true Neutral) then the druid can hunt prey and be in agreement with the deity's needs.
I always felt that neutrality in its absolute form means that, in this instance, a druid who burns crops would also have to plant crops in equal portion. Again, the "innocent" adjective is subjective. An innocent person in Waterdeep is far different than an innocent person in Zhentil Keep.
So, my answer is that a truly-neutral deity would not accept murder of innocent people, but would accept murder of people who had transgressed that deities portfolio, without respect to the societal morals or norms (laws). This is one reason why I dislike true Neutral as an alignment, because players so easily diverge from the path.
Azuth |
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