Tuesday, April 10, 2012

S is for Spells: The Project and the Preview


Apologies for the dearth of posts lately - I've been toiling away (toiling, I tell you!) on spells.

For many bloggers, including a number of gaming-folk, April is a time for the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, wherein they attempt to do a post for each letter of the alphabet throughout the month.  While I didn't sign on for that challenge, I did have an idea... why not do a new spell for each letter of the alphabet?  Rather than post one each day, the plan was to format them all together in a free-to-download pdf.  I asked some G+ pals to help by suggesting names for some of the spells (thanks Reynaldo, Ashe, Jez, and Scraps).

The whole thing - now dubbed the Arcane Abecediary - has taken on a life of its own.  What was once 26 spells has now morphed into 78 new spells.  That's right, three for each letter of the alphabet, each spell name alliterative and most of them composed of deliberately obscure words (which might tell us something about what the wizards of Wampus Country are like).  And while I'm tap-tapping away on the keyboard, a handful of artists have started throwing spot art my way for inclusion in the pdf!  I could not be more excited.

I'm hoping to have it all put together before the end of the month (fingers crossed).  The spells themselves are a mix of the interesting, adventure-useful, and just plain odd, but there's a definite Wampus flavor there: strange transformations, wilderness travel, witch-curses, that sort of thing.  I think I'm praying that of the seventy-eight spells, most folks will find a handful they'd actually like to use in a game.

Here's a preview of some of the spell names - these are all spells which did not appear on the original G+ thread.

Ambeer Accipiter
Calceiform Calodaemon
Decorticating Defilade
Gambrinous Gliriform
Hamirostrate Hoxter
Landlouper's Levigation
Minimifidian Martext
Renidify Rampasture
Xenarthral Xenium

Of the spells named above, one conjures an armadillo valet, another dissuades pickpocketing by the cunning use of flamingos, and one turns rats into beer.  That's pretty damn Wampus-y, far as I'm concerned.

4 comments:

  1. I did a very similar thing last year, and ended up with An Arcane Alphabet

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  2. Oooooh there are some really great spells in there, Gavin! I'm so glad you said something, I hadn't seen that yet.

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  3. I am going to have to spend hours on a dictionary when you release the whole list of spells.

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  4. Nope, putting a glossary in the back. :)

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