Recent content by AFistfulofBalderdash

If we go with a faction by faction battle, cutting free all the variables, we'll have something like this. I never said the gun loses out everytime. I only said I have to keep a believable conflict between a late medieval power and an Industrial Revolution one. On a biological level, the...

Yes, that is the same reason why Crossbows came to power. Nobody would have denied the superiority of an English Yoeman over a peasant with a crossbow, but I assure you that having to rely on a group of men that require a life-time of training isn't the same as just requisitioning an army of...

Always good ideas, but I don't include magic sniping assassins since the period of technology I'm talking about is about 1873-1888 using our real world example. A gatling-gun firing exploding fireballs of death that summon inferno snakes that constrict men and burn them alive sounds a...

Yep, this man is right. The Hussars of European military were still wearing plate breastplates until the invention of rifling. A pistol and rifle were deadly in close-combat which is why they became more effective than pikes. At a distance a shot was either inaccurate or wouldn't pierce a...

Have two best friends. Have those friends get killed. Have a Necromancer raise those two friends, since he's an idiot those two friends are now a combined into a gnashing abomination with the memories of both. ???? Profit. Yea, I use Necromancy a lot in my dark fantasy world. There it's a...

Well I'm already writing a bit niche anyways. Firearms are present in the arms of most infantry but it's not like shooting dudes guarantees a kill. This is very true since most of the races in this work can eat individual bullets to the gut without a problem... And I have my readers believing in...

Just a general discussion about the topic of firearms in fantasy. I've occasionally encountered the stigma from classical fantasy readers that the moment I mention guns in a fantasy setting that they write off any display of my talent or potential and say I should 'throw my world into the...

To me, historical influences allow me to add weight, a human element to an inhuman group. Humans are imperfect. We are both compassionate and cruel. The thing about fantasy humanoids is that ultimately they have to share some human aspects to really have any weight to the observer. This one of...

Nah, I never do that. The races have their appearances but I like to go my separate path. I use the stereotype as a "This came before I was born. Respect why it got there, but follow your own thread." As for the examples are an amazing use of a special literary technique I call "pulling things...

Rule one I've learned from my own lore-writing. Lore must compliment the Story. The lore must be suited to the project. And the lore must only be as complex as needed. In simple terms. Write about culture, history, language, and racial outlook to build atmosphere. Write the plot-lines to...

Gore should never ruin the suspension of disbelief. A dagger should never cut a man in half just as an arrow shouldn't cause a waterfall of blood. Besides that, you're free. Just remember the Golden Rule. Violence must have reason even if it's meaningless. In otherwords, kill the shit out of...

Of course I'm sure we know about those central elements, creatures, and races in a fantasy setting. I'm also sure some of you have also groaned when you see the Elven ranger petting rabbits and the Dwarf whose eternally a drunk viking. Of course these stereotypes became so do to being...

By the first week of January I'm heading back to start my proof-reading phase. By about the middle of January I should have a few things that are quite readable for my chosen beta readers and the show and tell part of this forum.

A lot of what Dev said, but my advice is that it seems you might be putting yourself in the pov instead of the character. Which is why it might seem awkward. Try fleshing the character out some, see how her personality is, feel for it like she's your best friend, then give it a shot by imagining...