Things I'm Enjoying

Lots of work happening here. The next Thrones & Bones adventure, Keeper of the Drowned by ENNIE winning designer Brian Suskind, debuts in early May. And the one after that, Troll of the Town by Kelly Pawlik, just went to the copyeditor. And now I’m turning my attention to Fury of the Forsaken, written by Richard Pett (with lore and monster design by Yours Truly), which is probably the next Kickstarter, probably in the fall—it’s a BIG project. There are also more VTT offerings in the works, and updated/expanded version of the original setting guide, and more.

But with all the work going on, I haven’t been very good about communication!

And one thing I firmly believe is that when working on creative pursuits, the well needs to be continually refreshed or things run dry.

So I thought I’d give a shout out to a few things I’m really enjoying. That way we can shine some light on other amazing work and maybe refresh all our wells.

First, my home D&D game has been running Kobold Press’ Empire of the Ghouls from lead designer Richard Green. Kobold Press has their own amazing world, the world of Midgard, that is hands down my favorite fantasy setting (cough cough other than my own). And while they’ve got hundreds of short 5e adventures that you can plot all over their phenomenal interactive map, they only have two book length tomes. Empire is to Midgard what Storm King’s Thunder is to the Forgotten Realms, in that it’s a continent(s) spanning, globe-trotting adventure that takes the characters all over Midgard in an epic quest to throw a spanner in the works of a ghoul and vampire alliance. In classic fantasy fashion, it has a lot of travel, both through vampire-occupied war-torn lands as well as in Midgard’s fantasy hyperspace pathways, the Shadow Roads. The quest takes you from the Clockwork City of Zobeck to the Swiss0-inspired dwarven cantons to elven lands to Nordic regions to hot desert sands. It’s a wonderful introduction to my favorite world, and is providing us with (literal) years of play. Highly, highly recommend.

The next thing I’m enjoying is the work of Dan Slott. I’m late to this party. Dan has written more issues of Spider-Man than anyone else in history. It’s on my to-do list to read his work on that character, but there’s so much of it I’ve been intimidated. I follow him on social media, because he’s just such a good, positive guy, but aside from a few issues of She-Hulk, I really don’t know his stuff. So I decided to fix that and power through his Fantastic Four, and I’m loving it. He really gets that they’re a family, and a functional/dysfunctional one at that. His stories aren’t as gonzo-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink as Jonathan Hickman’s run, and he’s sidelined the Future Foundation, but The Bride of Doom, where the FF are invited to and screw up Doctor Doom’s wedding, is everything I want from a Fantastic Four narrative and MUST BE FILMED ONE DAY.

Meanwhile, I’m watching the final season of Star Trek Discovery with joy and sadness. I love these characters—gods, can I live without Jett Reno in my Trek? I love all the new Trek—I was surprised by how much I loved Lower Decks and Prodigy—but Discovery is my uncontested favorite of all Treks. I say this as someone who wrote for Star Trek Monthly for 5 years, who has walked on the set of the Voyager, DS9, the Defiant, and the Enterpris-E. I’ve sat in Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga and Ira Steven Behr’s offices countess times. I’ve interviewed Leonard Nimoy and joked with Jonathan Frakes. I’ve spoken to most of the casts of TNG, Voyager, and DS9, and hundreds of guest stars, crew, writers, etc… I wrote The Making of Star Trek: First Contact. And I tell you, Discovery Trek’s harder than any Trek has ever Trekked. Star Trek *should* push envelopes. Discovery pushes them all. Further in time than we’ve ever been. Further in space than we’ve ever been. The best first contact we’ve ever see with the strangest alien species we’ve scene—a type I (II?) civilization that isn’t just handwaving Q-magic but really thought out, with a linguistic system that is fascinating! And the best POC and LGBQT+ representation on any show. It also pushes the envelope of television narrative, abandoning episodic storytelling for season long arcs and character drama on a par with any show on HBO or Netflix etc…

And I think that’s actually the problem, as in why a lot of folks don’t like it.

I’ve got a theory that narratives all fit into a rung on a ladder. Let’s call it entertainment rungs labeled PreSchool, Children’s, Teen, Adult, and Drama (what we used to call “HBO-level” television). A series can dip one rung below its position and rise one rung above without getting pushback, but if it goes two rungs, it’s in trouble.

So let’s look at Star Wars. First, accept that Star Wars is children’s entertainment. Don’t get mad at me. That’s what George Lucas has repeatedly told us. Also, if you think there’s something wrong with that label, that’s your problem, not mine. Avatar: The Last Airbender was children’s entertainment (Korra was teen), and it’s one of the finest fantasy narratives ever conceived. So check your prejudice at the door. Star Wars is children’s entertainment. That’s why it can dip into little cute webisodes, and publish picture books, and it works. Sometimes, it rises to the level of Teen entertainment—Rebels, Rogue One, parts of The Mandalorian. But when it jumps up three places to Drama with Andor, it gets pushback. It’s gone too far. (Mind you, I think Andor is one of the finest things on television in a decade. I’m just still not sure it’s Star Wars.) So, Star Trek is Teen.

Star Trek, for its part, is pitched at smart teenagers. It’s not adult (that would be Dune or Blade Runner or something). It can hit adult and often does (STVI : The Voyage Home, “there are four lights,” SNW’s “Under the Cloak of War” etc.). But its baseline is smart teen entertainment. Discovery, however, has pushed past the Adult rung to claim Drama as its baseline—and that’s two rungs up the ladder. And that’s too far. Which is what sent us rushing into the episodic nostalgia of Strange New Worlds, which I love, don’t get me wrong, but is “what if we remade TOS with a budget,” and is chocked full of fan service and nostalgia, lead by three white commanding officers and with only the tiniest of nods to the queer communities (blink and you’ll miss them). Discovery’s great sin is being too sophisticated for itself, and that’s why I’m going to mourn it like I mourn Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who when it’s over!

So there you have it. I wanted to talk about things I love and ended up giving you my Theory of the Ladder of Narrative Entertainment.

Never know what you’re gonna get ‘round these parts.

Until next time…