Answering Letters from the Void

Why a picture of A.J. Ayer? Because.

This month has been a surprisingly busy one for my blogger contact form as I've gotten quite a few e-mails. Since I've got a few minutes this morning I figured it would be a good idea to go ahead and clear them all out in one quick go. 

Dear Dyvers,

I was thinking about starting a new campaign in the world of Greyhawk, but I'm not really all that familiar with the setting. Where would you suggest we start?

Yours,
Alan

While there are some Dungeon Masters out there who will tell you that you should start out in the main city, Greyhawk, I've always found that option dissatisfying. I mean this is one of the few major settings where you are the king. Unlike the Forgotten Realms or Eberron, the world of Greyhawk is mostly open to your interpretation as there isn't the volume of information out there for people to tell you that your Greyhawk isn't Greyhawk.

You could go west and start in the kingdom of Zeif and run Arabian adventures; or east to the Great Kingdom where you have your players adventuring as freedom fighters against the despotic Overking. Then again you could go to Furyondy and have your players help lead the world's defense against the overwhelming forces of Iuz the Old. Or you could do like we did in my last campaign and start in the Hold of the Sea Princes. There my players stole a ship and became pirates raiding the fleets of the Overking and sacking the coastal cities of the Great Kingdom. In the end you'll have to do a little bit of reading about each of the regions and select the grounds that feel most fertile for your imagination.

All the same that answer seems as though I'm gushing about Greyhawk more than answering your question. So I'll tell you that I would pick the city of Dyvers. You can launch a ton of adventures from one of the major cities of the world without having to worry about your players knowing too much about it. The Nyr Dyv is to the east and that means you can have everything from Underwater adventures to Piracy. To the south and north are the vile forces of Iuz the Old and the monstrous humanoids. To the west and east are rival cities and nations looking to knock your city down a peg.

Lots of room to adventure there.

FUCK YOU AND YOURCUTN DIVNIN BLOG!!#!@!@

-- Anonymous

I always wonder if people who send these sort of e-mails think that they're actually doing some sort of harm to me? I mean a stranger screaming "Fuck you faggot" on the street has no impact on me so what does some cowardly internet troll mean?

Jack-fucking-squat, that's what.

I really like the short stories you've been writing lately. Any plans on doing more?

-- Meg

Thanks Meg!

I'm actually working on a couple of different stories right now but I'm holding off on releasing them on the blog until I've finished them. The last story I wrote, The Tuesday Incident, fell flat because I was writing it as I went and just lost interest. 

But I will tell you the titles of the two projects I'm working on right now: The Ballad of Milo Jones and Little Bear; and Tomorrow's a Stolen Memory.

Hey Charles, 

I'd like to tell you that I really like reading your blog. I found it whlie looking around for RPG stuff, but your non-rpg writings are usually just as fun/interesting to read. 

The main reason for writing this mail is your complaint ab out just getting the profanity mails as 'fan mails'. This is not right, but all I can do is send an e-mail. 

Keep up the good work, 
Holger

Holger, dude you just made my week with this e-mail. Thank you so much for your kind words and your praise. I really appreciate you. 

Well, that's it for this round of Answering Letters from the Void. Hopefully I'll get more letters and I'll be able to make this a regular feature. Either way, thank you all for reading this blog, commenting, e-mailing me, and sharing it. It wouldn't be anywhere near as fun for me if it weren't for all of you. 

Thank you all,

Charles Akins