Paul Wang
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Wanted: Topics for September
🕑 Added 2021-08-09 05:30:47 +0000 UTCThis is the voting post for September's articles.
Please choose one topic from each of the three lists below, and reply with the respective letter and number of your two chosen topics in the comments below. Voting ends on 11:59 PM PST on August 21st.
Topics marked with the asterisk (*) have been chosen by backers at the $10-a-month tier. They will be available for voting this month only, unless they are suggested again for October.
Note that due to a possible miscounting of votes regarding last month's options, I've decided to put one of the possible tied options (the one that didn't win) up for voting again. So if you're still curious about how the hell a mountain just walks away, you can have your chance to find out again after this round of voting.
Please reply with your choices in the comments below.
A Soldier's Guide to the Infinite Sea
A) Trade and Commerce: A description of the major trade routes in the Infinite Sea, as well as an overview of which power imports and exports what, and how this shapes their foreign policy.
B) Garing, Gutierrez, and Truscott - A History: A brief history of GG&T, from its humble beginnings during the Petty Kingdoms era, through its establishment as a major armsmaking firm during the Wars of Unification, to its current status as the Unified Kingdom's largest gunmaker.
C) Antagia's Rebellion: An overview of the last years of the Octovian Empire, the rising of the houses of Antagia and Khorobirit, and the final fall of the Heirs of Saint Stanislaus.
D) The Saintly Martyrs: An overview of the worship of the Saints in the Northern Kingdoms, including biographies of selected Sainted Martyrs, iconography, and cosmology.
E) Old Calligia - What We Know: The Kian poet J'eanne Lieux once said that "The only thing we know about Old Calligia are the lies". While not entirely true, very little of the long-gone northern realm has survived. This essay from the University of San'heu attempts to put together the pieces.
F) Warfare Then and Now: A relatively broad overview of the history of war and warfare in the Infinite Sea, taken from a part of a Callindrian children's book.
G) Edmund Garing, In His Own Words: An autobiographical account of the junior partner of GG&T, edited by the Countess of Welles for her report on the War in Antar.
H) Instructions to Traders and Travellers (Pt 3): The third part of a series of pamphlets issued by the Takaran Ministry of Barbarian Affairs, this one covering some of the minor powers in the Infinite Sea, including Azulae, Callindria, and Rathkurin.
I) Clerks and Commoners: Selections from a children's book written for the scions of the Tierran nobility, meant as their first real education in the classes and dynamics of the Baneless classes.
J) Tierra - Her Peoples and History: A "brief" overview of Tierra's ethnic groups, and how they have influenced Tierran history since the days of first settlement.
K) A Report on Tutors and Tutelage: Commissioned by the Royal University of Aetoria, this report investigates the education baneblooded children receive before they are admitted to the University itself.
L) A Call to Arms to the Faithful of the Tree: A religious tract summarising the worship of the Tree of Life, and calling for a renewed age of religious devotion in an age of Takaran secularism.
M) The Compleat Knight: A somewhat tongue-in-cheek guide to the behaviours expected of a Knight of the Red.
N) The Senior Service: A rather self-serving pamphlet extolling the virtues of the Royal Tierran Navy in the context of the army's new prominence following the Dozen Years' War.
*O) On the Use of the Bane as an Implement of Healing: An overview of the mechanics of banehealing, and how it's used by the Orders of the Blue.
*P) Excerpts from the Royal Diaries: Passages from King Miguel's personal diaries through the Dozen Years' War.
*S) Observations, Staff Sergeant S. Lanzerel, Dragoons: A set of candid notes by a certain Royal Tierran Intelligence officer regarding the owner of the largest set of sideburns in the King's Army.
An Adventurer's Guide to the Fledgling Realms
*1) The Mountain that Walked Away: An account of the awakening, rampage, and defeat of the so-called Silverspur Horror.
*2) Organised Crime in the Fledgling Realms: While most criminal enterprises are strictly local affairs, some more powerful organisations do exist, using magic, trickery, and the absence of authority in the frontier to amass immense wealth and power.
*3) Hey, Remember That Time We Killed a Dragon?: A transcript of the Baroness of Sonnemerci's rather... disorganised verbal retelling of a particular episode on her past adventures with Leofric, Duke of Kendrickstone.
A Creator's Guide to Writing and Worldbuilding
A1) Using Genre Conventions: Every genre comes with its own traditions and conventions. Some of them can be helpful, others... less so. How do you tell the former from the latter?
A2) Ordering a Society, Pt 5: With most of the theory out of the way, it's time to talk about specific aspects of a society. Let's start with religion.
*A3) Maps and Mapmaking: Some brief notes on making maps for your setting - though definitely not an art tutorial. You'll want someone who's actually good at visual art for that.
*A4) Worldbuilding and Characterisation: How does a character's culture change their behaviour? How does their class change their vocabulary? How does a setting's features shape its characters?
Comments
Paul Wang
I guess that works.
Javier Ricaurte
If there's still time I'll change my vote to option 2 then.
Paul Wang
And we're still tied.
Option 1
Option 2
Paul Wang
So, I've got King Miguel's wartime diaries and Characterisation and Worldbuilding, but we seem to have a tie for the Adventurer's Guide. That means I'll be extending this with a tiebreaker round. Anyone who hasn't voted yet, or has voted so far, but *hasn't* voted for either Option 1 (The Mountain that Walked Away) or Option 2 (Organised Crime in the Fledgling Realms) can reply to this comment sometime before 11.59 PM Pacific on the 28th to change their vote to either of the two tied options.
