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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Mar 2004 : 09:37:32
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In another topic, I made a passing reference to a series of audio lectures that Sage inquired more about. I was about to say that I’d put that into a private ether-mail, but stopped. Why should I? There was actually a lot of information in that lecture series that would be interesting to DM and player alike. Many more from other lectures I’ve listened to. And why stop there? Surely there are a lot of interesting items out there to use as inspiration, whether one is in the Realms or another campaign setting.
This scroll, then, is here for the purpose of sharing information along these lines. Historical, sociological, psychological, scientific, as long as it’s useful in a campaign, reference it here. In the spirit of roleplay, feel free to also mention books and movies where particular character traits were spotlighted, which a player (or DM) could use to better act out a part.
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2004 : 09:38:47
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I’d like to start with the lecture tapes I’d mentioned in that other scroll. They’re part of the Superstar Teachers Series, produced by the Teaching Company. Any subject you’d be interested in from that series would be worth listening to or watching (tapes, CDs, and videos are available). The worst lecture I've heard so far from them still ranks as 'good,' and I've listened to a lot. After all, only the best lecturers get the invite to do this, based on student acclaim rather than publication (the opposite of how professors get tenure these days, more's the pity  ).
The particular series I mentioned was The History of Science: 1700-1900. It is done by Frederick Gregory, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Florida. It showcases the evolution (mild pun intended) of scientific theory during those 200 years. Er, 199. (Well, I haven’t gotten to the end of it -- maybe he just rounded off.  )
More interesting to DMs, though, and to players with “scientific” characters (my half-elven wizard is also a minor natural philosopher) is this series’s predecessor, History of Science: Antiquity to 1700. This was done by Lawrence M. Principe, Professor of the History of Science at Johns Hopkins University (practically in my backyard), who is one of the best speakers I’ve heard from the Teaching Company (and, in fact, I’ll rate only one other orator over him).
Hearing those ideas in that succession got my brain spinning on all the ways to construct magic-related theories of nature. I stand by, of course, my assertion that the laws of physics stay as true as possible in the Realms and other D&D settings, but that doesn’t mean that the characters themselves know that. I’m still trying to work out my half-elf’s ideas on natural philosophy -- what was later termed science. I should stress that: “scientist” is a recent coining. Newton wasn’t a scientist. He was a natural philosopher.
(And considering that Jack Archer is a scientist, I’m sure that Sage is now thinking of interesting things to throw at him . . . .  )
Also of sure interest is History of Freedom, by J. Rufus Fears. This is the absolute best orator I’ve heard from the Teaching Company. I can’t stress enough how much people should listen to or watch this. Absolutely wonderful as a teaching device, and an excellent way to figure out how people in a story or campaign will think of the idea of “freedom” -- which hardly means the same thing to everyone. It also addresses government, of course, and how much or little of that people have wanted through history. Note that these aren’t necessarily the professor’s ideas; I consider him a conservative interpreter of the U.S. Constitution, but his focus is on how people of the time in question thought. This makes it excellent for the purposes of this topic.
And aside from that, he's wonderfully captivating as a speaker. There are a few places where he stops lecturing and starts telling a story, and when he was talking about Lee and Lincoln and what the American Civil War meant to each of them, I thought "This guy ought to do audio readings of major novels." I've frankly never heard someone that good.
I’ll list other titles if this scroll gains enough attention. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2004 : 14:31:52
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This is a wonderful idea...
I know from the considerable amount of personal experience I've had as a DM, that it is always necessary (and important) to locate sources of information and reference material from outside of the traditional gaming environment.
While a lot of this outside information I regularly use is usually for my Planescape games, I have at times used my own personal library to further enhance aspects of the Forgotten Realms gaming environment.
In fact, I'm using a piece of material at the moment. To most people, the dark works of the poetic, Edgar Allen Poe could be said to scream for inclusion in a dark and gothic-themed campaign setting. However, it takes a keen eye, especially when you want to uncover something new, and useful, to be able to identify parts of his writing that illustrate a particular atmosphere, an assortment of characters, and a set of general plot/storylines from his various poems and stories that can provide a wealth of source material for games set in a dark setting - whether it be for the Land of the Mists, or the Midnight setting.
It's a story from the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe, for my Ravenloft campaign, and it's called The Fall of the House of Usher. Written in 1839, it's a tale in which the penetrating gloominess of the atmosphere (in this case, the all-encompassing Mists of the Dark Powers) is accented equally with plot and characterization...A perfect background story for a 'Scholarly-based' PC, in the domain of Richemulot, or maybe even Dementlieu.
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2004 : 14:41:33
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Oh, here's something those of you who enjoy using dark and gothic themes in your campaigns can use to set a typical mood and/or atmosphere in your games (irrelevant of your chosen setting).
It's a gallery series of visual images from a short non-commercial animated film based on Jacek Dukuj's well-known tale. It's called The Cathedral, and the images involved have been used to set the tone in my Ravenloft games, Planescape games set in Sigil, and a few Underdark-themed adventures on Faerun.
These can really serve the DM who enjoys using visual aids very well...
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Elrond Half Elven
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
322 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2004 : 21:28:11
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Sage, I've a deep love for Poe's work and as such I shall attempt to list a few sources that I feel may be useful
St Agnes Eve By John Keats is a truly Epic poem, by most peoples standards 48 stanzas of Dark gothic Fairy tale framed by a sense of menace. The tale starts as a lover enters, the attention of his love's, Family Castle. The Poem is ideally set for a Ravenloft Campaign, however it could be easily twisted for a Realms Campaign.
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/keats02.html
The Second reference is one of my favourite Poe poems, named Eldorado. This short poem shouts out to be used as a plot idea, and while at first may seem innocent, is actually very dark- addressing the doubting of a valient Knight. This one is Easily translated into almost any campaign setting. Or perhaps I'm being Slighyly bias!
http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=189
Hanx
Elrond |
Once upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While i nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
-The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2004 : 03:45:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Elrond Half Elven
Sage, I've a deep love for Poe's work and as such I shall attempt to list a few sources that I feel may be useful
Wonderful taste. Poe was a great writer and his influence is still being felt. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2004 : 04:06:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Elrond Half Elven
Sage, I've a deep love for Poe's work and as such I shall attempt to list a few sources that I feel may be useful
St Agnes Eve By John Keats is a truly Epic poem, by most peoples standards 48 stanzas of Dark gothic Fairy tale framed by a sense of menace. The tale starts as a lover enters, the attention of his love's, Family Castle. The Poem is ideally set for a Ravenloft Campaign, however it could be easily twisted for a Realms Campaign.
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/keats02.html
The Second reference is one of my favourite Poe poems, named Eldorado. This short poem shouts out to be used as a plot idea, and while at first may seem innocent, is actually very dark- addressing the doubting of a valient Knight. This one is Easily translated into almost any campaign setting. Or perhaps I'm being Slighyly bias!
http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=189
Hanx
Elrond
Thanks for the suggestion Elrond. As it happens, I'm using a variation of Keat's St Agnes Eve, for a Cthulhu: Dark Ages campaign that I'm GMing.
I've never read Poe's Eldorado, but then I'm still working my way through most of his material - having read only a little of his works about 10 years ago. I'll look into this one as well, it sounds like a possible adventure hook for a Solamnic Knight in a Dragonlance game.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Referencing Non-Realmsian Literature
