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oh my gosh
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Trendy Books
Let’s talk trendy books.
I love to pick up books that everyone is talking about! I just need to know WHY the book is so popular. Read...
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Oh my gawd this is good! <3 :D
A study of a character: Part One (by Tim Holtorf)
Instead of inserting a large number of pictures into this post, such as the one above, I decided a video might suit better to this cause. It details the different incarnations of one of the main characters from Black Mask & Pale Rider, Shani Wennemein.
It’s a history, of sorts, of where the character of Shani Wennemein came from. I could also produce character sheets for that, considering she originated as a character in Dungeons and Dragons. The first video game aspect of her came in Bioware’s Neverwinter Nights. She’s still there and active from time to time, as I played a lot on a persistent world server called Legacy of the North. The server’s still there, just hasn’t been as populated as it was in its heyday. In truth, Shani never started out life in the video game world as an elf. She began as a tiefling, the half demon creatures of the Dungeons and Dragons world. But, thanks to the fact I was a bonehead and never asked for permission for a tiefling character (the DMs were strict on those rules), Shani became an elf instead. Which is fine, really. Being an elf is a lot easier to pass off as human in the Union and Confederacy of 1863. Whereas a tiefling would probably have been hunted down with all intentions of killing her. The horns and tail would have been a major pain for her. As it stands, with her Neverwinter Nights version, it’s hard to conceal a pair of wings as she is a Red Dragon Disciple (dual classing is awesome) as well as being a bard. She still has her roguish nature, however, as she started off as a thief (and considering you can have up to three classes in Neverwinter Nights, thief is not out of the question to add).
The latest incarnation is in Neverwinter Online, Cryptic Studios entry into the fantasy genre MMO, and Neverwinter’s first appearance in an MMO (the was the Dungeons and Dragons Online MMO, but took place outside of Neverwinter). As is the case in NWO, Shani is a thief, and uses all aspects of stealth and daggery goodness available to her. Sadly, NWO does not allow for dual classing, nor does it have a bard option (which I’d grab for Pania in a heartbeat). There are “coming soon” options, which includes a race (which I can only assume will be Drow) and a class (which I’m not certain of consdering many of the D&D classics like paladin, barbarian, sorcerer and monk do not exist).
I should add something about DDO, considering I did make Shani in that game, but didn’t get very far. She was rogue, and it was an interesting game, but it was very team heavy, which wasn’t always great if you just wanted to log on and run around for a bit on your own. Needless to say, DDO wasn’t very memorable for me.
Also, two other games that I don’t have in the video where Shani was created were both superhero MMOs. One I didn’t get Shani up very high in level, the other sadly doesn’t exist anymore, which next to Guild Wars 2 is possibly one of the best representations of Shani. The former is Champions Online, the latter is City of Heroes. In CoX, Shani was a dual pistols blaster, and she was a lot of fun. As I said before, it’s kind of sad that the game doesn’t exist anymore, considering it had it’s fun elements about it. I often like going back to a game I haven’t played in a while, even if it is online, and with CoX I can’t do that.
Lastly, which is the first part of the video, is Guild Wars 2. Quite possibly the best representation of Shani from what I’ve written in the book. A dual gunslinger who can swap out to dual blades should the need arise. A very acrobatic woman with the ability to cloak herself in darkness and disappear from her enemies. Unfortunately, there is no elf race in Guild Wars 2, but I managed to pick the smallest size available for Shani and gave her hair that covered her ears (which still stick out and she’s received the comment that she looks more like an elf than a human).
Shani did begin her life, so to speak, outside of the realm of the pages of a book, but did eventually end up there. But she still exists in the game world in many different facets. This happens to be where she began, and the constant aspect of role play developed the story that eventually did become The Adventures of Black Mask & Pale Rider.
Next week, I’ll do part two to this which explores where Pania Alow came from. It’ll include a video as well.
And now, time for shameless self promotion.
Both my first book, Black Mask & Pale Rider, and my second book, Canyons of Steel, are available for purchase online through many different online book sellers.
Lulu.com (where both books were published)
- Tim Holtorf Author Spotlight the front page store for my books on lulu.com.
Amazon.com (both in paperback and in kindle versions)
Amazon.co.uk (both in paperback and in kindle versions)
Amazon.ca (price not listed and currently out of stock)
Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
iTunes iBook store
- First Random Player: You don't look human.
- Shani: An' I would be insulted ifn ya said I was.
- Second Random Player: With all that armour, I can't tell if you're a man or a woman.
- Shani: I have it on high authority thet I am indeed womanly shaped.
- First Random Player: Who's authority would that be?
- Shani: The only one what matters. Mine.
The gunslinger, the warrior and the mystic.
Three of the characters I’ll swap back and forth between in Guild Wars 2.
The Gunslinger: Shani Wennemein. She appears human, but for role play purposes, she hides it. She’s actually an elf with a penchant for ballistic weapons. Shani has appeared in various games I’ve played, including Neverwinter Nights (where she actually began life as a Tiefling), Neverwinter Nights 2, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Champions Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online and now Guild Wars 2.
The Warrior: The warrior is Avalona Xanthe. Ava’s history has changed from table top D&D to Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights 2, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Now Guild Wars 2. She is someone who will appear in the writing of Black Mask & Pale Rider at some point, and is an elf as seen by Norse myth. But she began life in pen and paper as a halfling (she’s grown up a lot). Starting as a paladin ghost hunter (2nd Ed, Skills and Powers, Combat and Tactics), she’s also been a paladin/monk, a warrior, toyed with a guardian, but back to a warrior. The primary reason is her signature weapon. Throughout every incarnation Ava has seen, she’s always had a battle axe.
The Mystic: Pania Alow has gone through a huge number of changes depending upon the game she’s been in. Neverwinter Nights, she started as a bard, then became a bard/barbarian (for all of two weeks), then a sorceress, then a paladin sorceress. In DDO, she was a paladin. In Guild Wars, she started as an elementalist specializing in fire magic. Then became a mesmer. In Guild Wars 2, she’s a mesmer.
Oh don’t mind us, we’re just waiting around to kill a dragon.
Dragon slayin’! Serious business.
Especially when it makes your machine laaaaaaaaaag!
Thank god Shani uses dual pistols, heaven forbid she’d have to use her dual daggers to fight The Shatterer. Shani is the one dressed in the long coat and stetson with a pair of pistols, quite possibly the most clothed human I’ve seen (there’s no option for elves, so this version is different than the one I wrote in Black Mask & Pale Rider). As it was, there was a couple of times I had to be resuscitated. Fortunately that’s one thing people are quick to do in this game that is Guild Wars 2. Which is actually something I do want to talk about.
Most other games it’s really difficult to convince someone to pick your ass up when you’ve face planted gloriously (or tripped and fell, which can also happen). The usual response is “get your own ass up, you can have your spirit find your body” or “just port to the hospital, xp debt builds character”. But the point is that it’s a hell of a long way to go back to a mission point, or a raid, such as what we did here to take down the Shatterer (one of the Elder Dragons of Guild Wars 2).
But in Guild Wars 2, if someone falls flat on their face, you can pretty much guarantee that someone will come along to pick your ass up. The game has made it so it’s rewarding to help people. It’s the first MMO style game where being helpful is really a good thing. There’s no such thing as kill stealing, if someone’s chopping away at a minotaur and someone comes along and gets in a couple of stabs, they don’t steal your loot. You still get your loot and XP, it’s just now done a lot faster because someone came along and gave you a hand. Hell, people even stop to pick up NPCs that have had their asses handed to them. Because it’s all rewarding.
The game is great if you like to solo or if you like to go in a group, because chances are, if you’re wandering through the vastness of Tyria, exploring the jumping puzzles or trying to get to vistas, or even brandishing weapons at a big bad that comes along, chances are there’s someone who’s going to be there ready and willing to help you out. And you don’t even have to join their group, you can still be solo and keep going on your merry way when it’s done.
So, Guild Wars 2 has proven that stereotypical representations of more improved armour for women means that there’s less of it than lower level armour. Granted, this is also true for males of the Norn race. I’ve seen male characters running around with arm guards, greaves, a huge buckle and a loin cloth and it’s supposed to be better as well.
Also…
Norn must really be impervious to the cold.
pictured, the author’s character, Avalona Xanthe from Guild Wars 2 in level 48 armour and level 62 armour
It’s become pretty common that the higher in level, or better a fighter a character is in a fantasy game, the better their armour and weapons are going to be. However, it seems the default for armour for women is that less of it is more protective.
As I’ve been playing Guild Wars 2, I noticed this trend with characters in the profession of Warrior, Mesmer, Elementalist (the most guilty of this trend), thief and ranger. It’s especially mind boggling for a warrior or a guardian, both of whom wear heavy armour, chain, scale, and plate. At early levels, both warrior and guardian are covered almost head to toe (the player has the option to have helmets not show). But once past level 50, things start to change. Oh, yes, you can still get armour that covers realistically, but it’s not good armour. It’s no where near the epic armours that add to strength or power, or give small bonuses to defense.
Now, I will admit, the character of Avalona that I play in Guild Wars 2 is a Norn, and both male and female Norn have shown that when wearing armour, they aren’t picky if they’ve got a lot of skin showing. And admittedly, it’s kind of cool to see Ava’s tattoos. But this is an age old trend in fantasy.
I got thinking, there are many cultures that have a fantasy like mythos that drives them, but why is it when it comes to Western thinking, any woman who appears as a warrior is dressed in pasties and a bra made of chain when they go into battle? The answer is pretty easy and rather disturbing and we’ve heard it over and over and over. But, why isn’t other types of armour for women shown that might reflect a cultural choice. Like, say, for instance, a woman wearing a burka who happens to also be wearing metal plate chest protectors, arm guards, shin guards and so on. I’ve yet to see a video game with that kind of representation. Oh, there is that style, but it’s usually relegated to a ninja. And often depicted poorly.
Mostly, this is just an observation, but one I wanted to voice aloud.
At one time, a long time ago while playing video games, I’d turn down the music volume and play my own tunes. That was until Neverwinter Nights came out.
It’s no surprise really, that many of the video games I have played since then have had their musical soundtrack written by Jeremy Soule. It’s fitting and beautiful and amazing.
This song, Fear Not This Night, blew me away.
The last mission before you, as your character, goes to fight Zhaitan the Undead Dragon, you battle the Eye of Zhaitan. Toward the end of the battle, as the Charr, human, Asuran, Sylvari and Norn forces arrive to back you and your group up in the fight, this song starts playing. All other sound effects for me disappeared (which may have been an issue with my soundcard, but it fit, it actually worked well), there was no barrage of rifles and pistols, no twang of bow strings, no clattering of swords, no bashing of shields or the sound of daggers slicing across armour. There was just this song, and everything seemed to slow down. I also realized that I wasn’t worried, that I wasn’t going to faceplant in the middle of the mission and have to restart. I knew I’d come out victorious as soon as I heard the opening of this song.
The power of music can be really very amazing.
I saw a post come across my dash which the main point discussed the images of two women kissing in front of an anti-LGBT protest. They were counter protesting, and it was making it’s way around the Internet. Lo and behold, it turns out the two women were straight, which for some meant the images became invalid. Most of this was coming from one user, whom I will refrain from mentioning here (it’s the in the list of those who posted), who seemed appalled that two straight women would attempt to derail and take credit for pro-LGBT side of things.
the-real-seebs put up a pretty good rant on it, but added as well into the fact that the person who asked the question why two straight people suddenly get a lot of credit, that the-real-seebs checked their about information and found they support Blizzard Entertainment and play WoW. I couldn’t find that when I went to check out their page, so they may have taken that down since then, however…
Now, personally, WoW can take a mighty leap from a tall bridge and I’d never blink an eye. I tried playing the game and find it… really dull. Also, incredibly unhelpful within the community, especially for someone just getting into it. So, I never darkened that door again. Which I guess is why I do like Guild Wars 2. They actually make it rewarding to help people.
Faceplant? No problem, someone will get you up. Crafting materials? Don’t worry, that guy’s not stealing it, ‘cause you can still mine it while he’s doing so and you’re not stealing from him. Kill Stealing? No, it’s actually helpful to join the fight. Plus the forums that are around for GW2 are very helpful.
I know that Blizzard got slapped hard when they played a video that harassed someone, And it wasn’t until there was a complete backlash in the media about it that they finally apologized. I’m not 100% certain what ArenaNet and NCSoft’s position is on LGBT rights. I guess I could look it up. Give me a minute…
The only thing I could find was from City of Heroes website which held a Gay Prom in Paragon City a while back. Here’s the text.
Gay.com is covering a recent LGBT prom night - Rainbow Prom - that was held in Paragon City. They take a good look at the positive LGBT community in City of Heroes, and report that attendees had a blast at the prom.
From the article:
Rainbow Prom may have been the first virtual LGBT prom ever. Hundreds of super-powered lesbians and gays let their magical hair down at a new LGBT prom recently. They danced, flirted, elected a prom king and (drag) queen, played outdoors in their underwear at a mountain ski resort, and levitated with robotic boots and angels’ wings until they crashed the server. Yes, they were in a virtual online world called “City of Heroes.”
Gay.com is also working with NCsoft to provide 14-day free trial memberships.
Read the full article here.
Now, I have seen a lot of promotion for LGBT friendly guilds in Guild Wars 2, and no one really gives them any flack (when they promote themselves in zone chat). As for ArenaNet…
It seems ArenaNet has gone on the offensive against offensive speech in game, going so far as to setup a Reddit thread which explains to users why they were banned. From a Forbes article:
Here’s how it’s currently working: Redditors have posted to the thread asking to know exactly why they’ve been suspended, and ArenaNet has researched and responded.
Redditor gamer_vice, whose in-game name is Vice, was banned for “not OK” chat. gamer_vice had told another player, “shut the fuck up with non-english, geez >.< ”
Redditor Clouce wrote, “
Hi, my in game name is Clouce and I was banned for inappropriate behavior. I think its because I said boner… but I am not sure.” ArenaNet let him–and all of Reddit–know that it was because Clouce wrote, “Oh I am gonna break dance on your anal intercorse.”Redditor MolestingSandwich also wanted to know why he was banned. ArenaNet posted the offensive language: “he probably was gay so they banned him due to gay.” (In one of the Internet’s funnier disses, Redditor Jegorex was quick to point out, “Looks like you got yourself banned due to ‘gay.’”)
Of course, a lot of Reddit gamers have taken offense to this, stating that ArenaNet’s policies aren’t clear. However…
To explain it plainly, Redditor Fleshgrinder wrote, “This is a very simple concept… ‘[F]uck’ is fine. ‘Fuck you!’ however is not.’”
There’s flaws in the system, but it’s only been a few months. But it looks as though they want to create a safe environment for everyone with their game.
There’s probably other stories about NCSoft and ArenaNet and their policies on LGBT rights, but it’s Sunday morning and I’m kinda lazy.
Guild Wars 2 OST - 79. Fear Not This Night (piano version) (by SGTBizarro)
Guild Wars 2 Soundtrack - Charr Theme (by Rhys779)
Like I said, just a touch addicted to this game.
Flintlock Burnfur (I just like that name) with a flamethrower!
Guild Wars 2 Soundtrack - Norn Theme (by Rhys779)
Okay, I’m a little addicted to this game. Though, I did take a week and a half break from it.
My Norn ranger, Fadra Englen in a cutscene with main Norn NPC, Eir Stegalkin.
Some really cute things can happen in the gaming world of Guild Wars 2. There’s all kinds of opportunity to explore and many of the quests don’t involve the usual “kill ten of these dudes and collect ten of these things”.
In one area of Tyria, one of the Norn regions, there’s a event that involves a player having to trade different object with the local friendly Jotun tribe to get Jotun runes. These items include rocks, metal bars, and even rabbits. I don’t know for certain if the Jotun keep the rabbits as pets or if they eat them, but I do know I got a few comments about my charr carrying around a rabbit.
“Are you gonna eat that?”
“No. But I could. Rabbit tastes quite good.”
“But rabbits are so cute!”
“Human. Rabbits are dumb animals and are basically food. I don’t eat things that I have conversations with, so I guess that leaves you off the menu.”
As well, there’s an area close to the Norn home city of Hoelbrak where you have to assist the Snow Leopard Priestess. Around the shrine are several snow leopards, including a few cubs, with whom you can play with.
A friend of mine suggested to make a Guild Wars 2/Avatar the Last Airbender meme based on my comment in my review of Guild Wars 2. There are others in there, considering there’s a rogue Charr faction called the Flame Legion.
Eir Stegalkin from Guild Wars 2. Epic cosplay!
Once a Hero by *Adamoluna
HOLY!
While looking online how to spell Eir Stegalkin’s last name… someone did a cosplay!
I’ve had some time to play Guild Wars 2.
Over a month, in fact. I have a human thief at level 70, a human mesmer at level 30 and a charr engineer at level 25.
I do like how dynamic the game play feels, even when you’re exploring solo, you’re never really alone. There’s always the chance that if you find yourself in trouble, you can always feel as though someone will come and help you. Even with the open field of players in a zone, you never have to worry about kill stealing. It’s changed the way a player can look at a game. Instead of someone being accused of kill stealing, people are helping to take down a mob, and are given reward accordingly. People don’t ignore you if you’ve fallen, because you also get rewards for resuscitating people. A small amount of experience and perks toward a title (Shani, my thief, has brought back nearly 1,000 fallen allies from the brink).
It’s fantasy, with a little taste of steampunk in there. And maybe even a bit of science fiction. No other fantasy setting has swords and sorcery that combines with flintlocks and musket rifles, and then enter an area where inside the buildings are hovering computer screens and mechanical golems built with speech patterns that seem to come from computer if/then statements.
It’s also nice that you never really outlevel an area, as it automatically sets your level without removing skills to the level of that area. You happen to be level 70 in a level 15 area? No problem, you’re still going to find it a challenge and you’ll still get rewards accordingly.
My first play through (not complete) was with my thief. I like the speed of the thief, plus the ability to hide quickly and draw enemies away and confuse them. Plus, having the ability to switch from dual daggers to dual pistols (or a mix thereof) is really fun.
The mesmer was a bit of a challenge to get used to, and seeing how they have an odd array of weapon choices, but once I got past that it was kind of easy. Mesmers can wield a scepter, staff, pistol, longsword or a greatsword (have yet to try that as of this moment). Plus, many of the abilities can create copies of yourself so it’s like a small army of you. That happen to smash into butterflies once combat is done.
My third high level character is a charr engineer. The charr are feline like creatures that were at one time at war with the humans. Now, they’ve set aside differences and are working on a peace treaty with the humans. 250 years after the charr reclaimed their old home of Ascalon. My first charr is named Flintlock Burnfur, an engineer. The engineer profession took a little getting used to, but it definitely has some major versatility. Rifle turrets, healing turrets, grenade satchels, tool kit, and much more. No weapon swapping, unfortunately. This is mostly due in part to the fact engineers have so much versatility. Though you can choose rifle, dual pistols or pistol and shield. It was a bit difficult at first to play, as poor Flintlock kept face planting a lot. She still has some difficulty, but now she has the skill Flamethrower, and it chews through enemies quite nicely. There’s an Avatar the Last Airbender parallel in there: Everything changed the day Flintlock got a flamethrower.
One other thing I do like about the game is the visualization. And this points to how gender is represented in the game and how characters are created. There’s A LOT of female NPCs that your character will interact with. A LOT! Especially with the charr. Which is also something rather nice regarding races.
Often in a game, whenever a female character is created, it seems that they are made more for titillation and eye candy. In Guild Wars 2, charr females look nice, but they look like charr. They don’t look like feline heads on human bodies with huge breasts. Charr male and female characters have similar builds. The same can be said for the Asura, which appear like very small creatures, rather pudgy, large ears and large eyes. Norn are just large humans, but even the women are muscular.
This is my ranger, Fadra Englen, together in a cut scene with GW2 main NPC for the Norn, Eir Stegalkin.
