New Perspectives - The World Design of Flesh and Blood Part 2

This week I dug my heels in to inspect the so-called "Savage Lands" of Rathe, continuing from where I left off.

While they are savage, and in spite of how much I love wild places and great fantasy art, the way the Savage Lands are presented in Welcome to Rathe is exhausting.

Barraging Brawnhide from Welcome to Rathe, art by Nathaniel Himawan.
One of the many savage creatures in the world of Rathe.

In Case You Missed It...

If you didn't see, I relaunched my Patreon page after a two-year break.

Recently I've been getting into Flesh and Blood TCG as a hobby, writing for myself about learning the game as well as thinking about the setting, Rathe, and making a tabletop adventure for the card game. So far, all of that has been on my blog here.

Over the next few weeks I'll be deciding where to continue posting my usual blog articles, whether I'll keep everything here on Blogspot or put them on both Patreon and Blogspot.

Either way, I'll be posting some previews and shorter ideas in Patron-only posts to fill time and maintain momentum between regular articles and bigger projects like OSR zines (Mork Borg), adventure paths (Eberron and Ravnica being my current favorite settings to write for, and Numenera and Asunder close behind), and of course anything related to my current focus on playing and learning Flesh and Blood TCG and designing a multiplayer campaign for that game (think a WoWTCG Raid Deck but with multiple chapters and a story).

I have a lot of ideas (tiny and colossal), and plans for most of them. So, for now I'll keep doing what I'm doing and see how far everything takes off.

Welcome, and thanks for reading! GLHF!

Welcome to Rathe - The World Design of Flesh and Blood Part 1

After playing Flesh and Blood TCG casually for a few months and failing to find a local playgroup two weeks in a row, I finally sat down to read Flesh and Blood: Welcome to Rathe in preparation for writing a campaign.

Excitement. That's what I've felt a lot of in the past few weeks as I've gotten into Flesh and Blood. Some of it is from having a new hobby to replace those that I've lost over the years. Most of it, I think, is from the design of the game, the art, and a handful of people I enjoy watching explore the game. I love seeing potential in things, and this IP and the studio of people behind it have a lot of potential.

Trading Card Games are an incredible medium for bringing people together. Their unifying force transcends age, race, religion, gender, and even social status, through a common language of "playing great games."
— Flesh and Blood: Welcome to Rathe, Legend Story Studios

These are the first words you see when you open the cover. I agree with them, deeply. Yet, after reading the rest of the book, I feel that some aspects of the world do not align well with that message.

That isn't to say I disliked the book, or its writing and information, or its art. I enjoyed all of those things, and I am still enthusiastic about Flesh and Blood as a game, and about its world—and creating spaces within that world for my own (and potentially others') enjoyment—because of its potential.

I love planting seeds and growing plants of all kinds, literally and figuratively. I view each of my worldbuilding projects in much the same way as I view gardening and taking care of my own and others' plants. Or, in this case, more like a large yard and all of its grass, trees, and shrubs, and potential gardens and visiting animals.
    This series is going to be about me digging into the setting of Flesh and Blood as it has been presented so far by Legend Story Studios, finding seeds (ideas) that interest me, and growing (developing) them into something I can use to create my own story and characters around.

Eventually (whether or not I find other people who are interested and willing to be emotionally invested) this will culminate as a homebrew adventure series that can be played by using print-and-play documents or Tabletop Simulator.
    As a matter of fact, I already have a prologue adventure primed for playtesting, and the fair draft of my story outline and chapters are ready for further development. But first I'd like to learn more; ideally, everything I make for this project would merge with and expand on the existing setting and story threads with fewer seams and smaller voids, just as I want my homebrew game design to work with the existing systems, mechanics, and overall design of the official game.

First Steps - Flesh and Blood Sealed Deck #2

Yesterday I played my second FAB Sealed Deck event online in preparation for another in-person event this weekend.

Aside from organizing a few games online and playing over webcams in Discord while everyone is busy and/or my body aches too much to play in person, not much has been going on. A little packing, moving boxes an hour's drive away, installing doors, having a moderately stressful (mostly physically) time caregiving throughout the week.

I realized while sleeving my deck last weekend that I should have brought a playmat to make things easier, and remembered this one I love from Theros in Magic: The Gathering.
It's magnificent on its own, of course, but even more wonderful having unearthed it after so long, setting Tales of Aria cards around it, and taking a moment to appreciate all the art.

I organized my gradually-thinning workspace and materials, my self, and my thoughts in preparation for getting over upcoming anxiety hurdles (game-related and life-related). Then further prepared to play and compete by reviewing rules and thumbing through my previous pool and blog post to re-familiarize myself with everything.

Finally it was time to open more booster packs, still thankful that I can do so.

First Steps - Flesh and Blood Weekend Event

Last night I went to my local game store to play Flesh and Blood.

After getting a box of Tales of Aria, then playing Sealed Deck online, I was excited to make time over the weekend to get out of the house and play a few matches in person. To prepare, I rummaged around for a messenger bag and an old World of Warcraft TCG starter deck box to carry around my sealed pool and Briar blitz deck with some old Ultra Pro "Vizkopa Guildmage" sleeves, plus the other two Tales of Aria blitz decks in case the store didn't have any welcome decks.

I also took an hour earlier in the day before my afternoon work to review my sealed games, look over the rules again (I'm getting familiar with the basics but not the details just yet), and do a little fussing with my deck. I wanted to be able to stand my ground against someone with a more competitive constructed deck but still be able to play against new players and the other blitz decks, so all I did was replace a couple of cards in the pre-constructed Briar deck that weren't exciting, then designate a chunk of the rest of my sealed pool as "sideboard" cards.

That afternoon I ended up caregiving for an hour longer than I expected, mostly having a long, meandering conversation about some important things we need to keep in mind and answering good questions. Usually this isn't a burden, and wasn't stressful on its own, but it takes energy out of me and, this time, cut into the time I would have to change, pack, eat, and head over.
    When I got back home, I ended up getting nervous about the time I would have to re-sleeve and review my deck, and settle down and relax before the pairings started. So instead of taking half an hour to settle myself before driving to the store, I spent ten minutes running around and only getting a few munches of food in belly.

Once I was actually at the store, I saw that things were fairly slow with just a few people playing Magic (Commander) in the back and a few other people coming in to look around for a while (either casually "window shopping" or checking out singles for Magic and maybe some Pokemon cards). It was nice and very relaxed overall, and although there was a bit of noise it wasn't too distracting.
    One thing that helped was seeing exactly the brand and types of deck boxes and card sleeves I wanted to get (GameGenic box, KMC Perfect Fit inner sleeves, and Dragon Shield clear matte sleeves), and learning they weren't too expensive.

Everything packed neatly away back at home.

First Steps - Flesh and Blood Sealed Deck

My experience learning the Flesh and Blood TCG by opening Tales of Aria booster packs to play Sealed Deck.

This month has been exciting for Flesh and Blood players, with the Calling tournament in Las Vegas, then pre-release and release weekend for Tales of Aria. And I missed all of it. But, thanks to the generosity of family, I was able to take a minute to make a little extra money last month, save most of that extra money, and buy a handful of booster packs.

Then I learned I had leftover store credit with an online retailer from when I must have been playing a lot of Modern in Magic: The Gathering some lifetimes ago, and was able to pay only a few dollars extra for a whole booster box.

My first booster box ever, and my first time buying a Flesh and Blood product.

Far Sector #2

I have been up all night getting tangled in an ever-growing web of anxiety and uncertainty, and reading Far Sector #2 with a good "breakfast" seems perfect.

This issue begins with Lantern Mullein literally pulling up a chair (a Green Lantern construct) and speaking to the audience directly. She catches us up to current events before we cut to the place we left off in issue #1 and move into an energetic chase. But the high-energy action and tension is slowly released, and we are eased into a much more intimate look into each of the major characters and world throughout the rest of the book.

Far Sector #2 cover by Jamal Campbell

The worldbuilding we saw in issue 1 informed what the world is like and taught some of its history. However, now, we get to know what it is like to actually live in this world for the Nah and keh-Topli and Lantern Mullein, and form a better idea of what it might be like for us readers. The way we are given information is also contrasted with the first issue in that there is a lot of deeper storytelling happening in subtext alongside dialogue and Jo's monologues to us and herself. And there is still great, expressive, visual storytelling but on a smaller scale—from character interactions to flashback vignettes, everything is very intimate.

Lantern Mullein using her powers and encountering an obstacle during the chase

The themes of this issue are emotions, self-control, and imperfection, and they are expertly presented. Much of the monologue and dialogue can be taken at face value, such as when Jo talks to us directly or other characters talk plainly to her. But a lot of the writing and art requires us to read much deeper into the conversational subtext and contextual storytelling in the background, such as when Syzn or the keh-Topli Councillor describe themselves and the emotions (or suppression thereof) of themselves and others. We learn what Syzn thinks of Jo and her capabilities and emotional self-control; we understand the self doubt Jo has when she hears this, and Syzn's desires and self doubt. A lot of storytelling (specifically tone-setting) even happens purely with color, both classical color theory and cultural connections between emotions and colors, and Green Lantern-specific colors (especially in the last scene).

Syzn talking about the keh-Topli

In the last part of the issue we get a climactic realization about one of the characters. This section does a great job at cluing us into the shift in tone and foreshadowing events in the near future. The subtext is deceptively obvious in a way that lets us slip into the moment and feel positive emotions with Jo and another major character while also gradually increasing the tension of the scene without us knowing exactly what's happening until the final page when the tension peaks with the big twist, and the build up to that moment suddenly makes sense. This entire scene contrasts with the tone we feel and with the emotions that Jo and the other characters have felt so far, and that with the more intimately-explored themes leading here make this moment as strong as it is.

Overall, this issue is as fantastic as the first, but more mysterious and eerie in its tone. Whenever there is a sense of discovery it comes with questions, suspicions, a heavier feeling of ominous anticipation rather than the lighter feelings of wonder from before. "Refreshing" isn't quite the right word for it, but it feels like the comic is heading down a winding path, into a deeper, darker tunnel toward more danger and more questions. And, possibly, more and more big discoveries that will answer questions and make unknown elements of the world and its characters clearer for us—or not, as neo noir science-fantasy stories with horror themes can tend to do. I'm excited about the possibility of either happening.

Far Sector #2 impressed me just as much as the first issue and pulled me deeper into the story, not just with its storytelling methods but also with how it changed the pace and themes and tension-stretching. It is different than the first in a lot of ways but still possesses so many of the qualities I already loved about the world; characters (Jo, Syzn, the horror-themed keh-Topli), fashion, the classy maturity, the noir mystery vibes, everything. And ending with the twist that it did while leaving out some notable aspects and characters (the @At Councillor and Jo's ring weren't explored in this issue)—and possibly foreshadowing other things—certainly isn't curbing my hunger to read more.
   It is, however, curbing my hunger to play Android: Netrunner and consume everything Star Wars after getting a taste of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order earlier this week. And my impulse to create fan-made campaigns for those settings are shifting into impulses to make something for the world of Far Sector. It scratches so many itches for fantasy, horror, and sci-fi while making me crave more.

I do have one complaint about this issue, and it's that I hate how short the issues are. But that isn't exactly a terrible thing, is it?

Shout-out again to Amy Dallen and her book club—check out her enthusiastic discussion of this comic and a bit of Green Lantern lore with other fans of the book on Twitch here—and to the writer of Far Sector, N.K. Jemisin, and the artist, Jamal Campbell. Fingers crossed that I can make time for issue #3 soon. Until then, thanks, go read the comic if you haven't yet, and please, stay mindful and safe, everyone! Cheers!