Batman versus the Blues Brothers: What Makes a Good Sequel?

On By Charlie BrooksIn Greystone Valley, NovelsLeave a comment

Writing Conquest of Greystone Valley meant asking a bit of an uncomfortable question: how often does a sequel actually live up to the original?

Novels seem to have a higher success rate than films, but both media have challenges when writing a follow-up story. At their hearts, both film and literature are storytelling media that have many similarities. In thinking about what I wanted in Conquest, my mind continually gravitated to the best and worst movie sequels I could think of – specifically, The Dark Knight and Blues Brothers 2000.

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Gaming Stories: Dancing Half-Fiends and the Glory of Infinite Choices

On By Charlie BrooksIn Gaming Stories, Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

Originally published on Sicdekickcast.com November 17, 2015

Easily my favorite part of tabletop RPGs is the fact that they have so much latitude and room for player agency. No matter how robust a computer game is, there are always a finite number of choices. Because tabletop RPGs rely on human adjudication, the possibilities are limitless…like that time the PCs in one of my games inspired a pair of half-fiends to become vaudeville stars.

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My Son Wore a Superman Suit for a Month: Here’s What I Learned

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com September 15, 2014

Last month, my wife bought herself a new t-shirt. It was a Supergirl shirt, and it came with a cape attached via Velcro. Our son got extremely excited about the idea of Mommy being a superhero, and we thought it would be fun to get him a Superman shirt with a cape so the two could be superheroes together.

Weeks later, my son has worn his Superman shirt every single day.

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5 Ways the Tomb of Horrors will Kill Your PC

On By Charlie BrooksIn Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

Originally published on Sidekickcast.com September 23, 2015

Ah, Tomb of Horrors – one of the few classic D&D adventures that none of my players ever want me to run. Published in 1978 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, this was a tournament module designed to be played at conventions where they could chew up multiple groups and spit them out.

Somewhere along the way, folks decided to play the Tomb at their home games, where there are only a handful of players…and unless they have a perfect combination of callousness, paranoia, and sheer craziness, they’re all going to die.

So let’s hit the spoiler alerts now: here are just a few of the grisly ways that the Tomb of Horrors will totally kill your PCs.

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3 Great Novels that Helped Shape Conquest of Greystone Valley

On By Charlie BrooksIn Greystone Valley, NovelsLeave a comment

The original Greystone Valley drew inspiration from a wide range of fantasy classics, including The Book of Three, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As we start to make the transition toward the upcoming sequel, Conquest of Greystone Valley, those influences remain in place. However, there are also a few new additions to the roster of inspirational reading. Here are three books that greatly influenced the direction of the sequel.

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What Made the Baldur’s Gate Novels the Worst D&D Books of All Time?

On By Charlie BrooksIn Role-Playing Games, Video GamesLeave a comment

After enjoying popularity in the late 80s and early 90s, Dungeons & Dragons video games had largely gone extinct as the 21st century approached…until a little game called Baldur’s Gate revitalized the genre. The Black Isle/Bioware collaboration became a runaway hit that led to an even bigger sequel a couple years later. With something so popular, and with D&D making a lot of its brand money on its novel lines, a novelization was inevitable.

Wizards of the Coast tapped Philip Athans, their senior managing editor, to write the novel. Athans had spent a long time editing other Forgotten Realms novels and was one of the employees who had stayed with the D&D brand through its transition from TSR to Wizards of the Coast. Sadly, what he wrote turned out…bad. Almost unspeakably bad. Years later, the Baldur’s Gate novel would become a punchline until it was finally written out of official continuity with the approach of D&D 5th edition.

But the failure of Baldur’s Gate as a novel wasn’t just a matter of Athans whiffing on a video game adaptation. There were many factors behind the scenes that doomed this novelization and left Athans holding the bag.

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Greystone Valley: One Year Later

On By Charlie BrooksIn Greystone Valley, NovelsLeave a comment

Warning: Spoilers for the ending of Greystone Valley follow.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah finally turned back toward the door. “Goodbye, Kay.”

“See you later, Sarah.”

She touched the door again, and the image of her bedroom lit up in her brain. Then she threw open the portal and stepped through. Everything seemed foggy for a moment as she slid between the two worlds. She heard a voice in her ear – the old man who had been watching her from somewhere inside Castle Greystone.

“This isn’t an adventure that you get right the first time,” he whispered. “You’ve gained much experience, but there’s still more to learn. You’ll find your way back here, and you’ll change this world again.”
Then the voice disappeared. So did everything else.

Heroes always leave a mark on the world, big or small. Sarah’s trip through Greystone Valley may have been a brief one, but many of those whom she met were changed remarkably. One year after Sarah left the valley to go home, here are some of the marks she left behind.

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Conversations with My 18-Year-Old Self

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com June 13, 2014

I often have imaginary conversations with my 18-year-old self. The 18-year-old version of me is a kid who is stuck in the worst year of his life, suffering through an abusive relationship, and in a spiral of depression that he is not getting any help for.

He’s also a smartass who thinks he knows everything there is to know about life.

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Shadowslayers: The World of Blackwood

On By Charlie BrooksIn Novels, ShadowslayersLeave a comment

The empire of Blackwood existed for almost 1,000 years before Derrezen the Dragon-God broke free from his eternal prison. Although the realm has held Derrezen’s attacks off for the last twenty years, each battle leaves Blackwood weaker while the Dragon-God only gets stronger. To finally defeat Derrezen, the people of Blackwood may need to look to their past.

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