Aielund saga novel

[Legacy_Savant1974]

               Don't know if anyone here actually played it, but I made a series of mods for NWN under the banner 'the Aielund Saga' back in the day, and I decided to turn it into a series of novels. The just completed the first one, and the ebook is online now, in case you're looking for some good fantasy action/adventure reading

Website

/shameless plug
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Savant1974, 11 août 2011 - 02:44 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Elhanan]

               Congrats! I have played the series several times, and your world is as complete, immersive, and comparable to the majority of the PW's experienced over these many moons. Best of luck moving forward!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*]

               I assume most longtime players have played it and if they haven't, they should . 

I only played it once, because it is so massive. But it was a treat all the way through.  It is the pinnacle of modules.

It is my go to recommendation for anyone who has the time to play such an epic series.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Lowlander, 11 août 2011 - 03:35 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               I wish you the best of luck!

Although, I actually PREFER having Orcs, Goblins, etc (re: standard fare monsters) as opponents in my fantasy worlds.  Too much has actually been done with the "human angle" IMHO.  The Wheel of Time series, etc - just about bored me to death with the entire "human conflict set in a fantasy setting" after awhile.  There is only so much human organization, plots, politics, etc that I can stomach, I guess.

If humanity is so strong that it can choose to "ignore" the outside menaces, then it sort of seems like all "monsters" (re: not humans) take a backseat, and threaten to disappear whatsoever from the fantasy world in question.

DAO got this balance right, IMHO.  Though I would still have preferred goblins, orcs, etc to the Darkspawn.  

DA2 seems to have such an imbalance in it, putting the Darkspawn on the backburner and center staging human organizations, groups, factions etc, as the main antagonists.  While a fine adventure, it does not really feel like fantasy, but more like a historical reference to ages past...

Take, for example, the DL saga.  I found that done well, all things considered.  With your very rich, detailed world, you could of course have focused on similar themes, I feel.  Very sad that it is not, and instead is more focused on the human struggle against human mechanisms.

Still, it is your novel, write it as you feel is appropriate.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Elhanan]

               @ WebShaman - Until you mentioned Orcs vs Humans, I never noticed. Instead, I was entranced by the deep NPC interactions, companion banter, and various story twists. And as a bonus, Dragons were to feared again; another perk of the DA and DL series, too.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               Yeah, I know, I know.  I am a hopeless D&D Oldschooler.  I absolutely LOVE kobolds, Goblins, Orcs...as opponents *sigh*

I mean, you remember "Bree-yark"?  Yeah.  

And as for "Dragons were to be feared again"...bleh!  DA2 makes and misuses Dragons again, much like NWN...gah!

Luckily for us NWNers, there is the improved Dragon AI tweaks...makes them much better IMHO.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <perking his ears up...>

WebShaman wrote...

Luckily for us NWNers, there is the improved Dragon AI tweaks...makes them much better IMHO.

Improved Dragon ai?
Um, <drools a little, unnoticed> could you point me at it?

<...and tries to wiggle them>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Savant1974]

               Yes I'm attempting to strike a balance between monsters, demi-humans and regular human lands for the novels. But I didn't want to do orcs, goblins etc, I felt they'd been done too much in recent times. But there's still dragons and monsters along the way, where appropriate! I figured if there are to many external threats, then humanity would stick together a lot more, and I didn't want that '>
Thanks for the support '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MrZork]

               I don't recall too many goblins, but there was at least fortress full of orcs that was pretty challenging (in chapter two?) in Aielund, nevermind that most of the first half of the saga is trying to deal with the (non-human) Ironlord. And, the second half (chapter 4A-4C)? Also lots of non-humans. I think the humans drive the storyline, but there's no shortage of monsters.

Anyway, I like non-human monsters, but I think Aielund does a great job of establishing credible threats in most of the encounters one has and that they be believable in the context of the story. I think that's what makes it fun and immersive, be the baddies mostly human or otherwise. And, so far, it's the only series I've played where one might have a dragon associate...

Anyway, I am a big fan of the Aielund Saga and I am not kidding when last week I was looking for a book to put on the kindle and wondered if you had finished the book version of your much-beloved mod. Anyway, best of luck with it.

BTW, does Amazon show how many people have purchased the book? I'd like to know which number I am. :-)
               
               

               

                     Modifié par MrZork, 12 août 2011 - 05:01 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Savant1974]

               I checked this morning and it was at '12', but I'm not going to check it every five minutes (lol).

And yes, there are still monsters to deal with, such as the Ironlord (which was actually a human in the end), other constructs, dragons, monstrous animals etc, not to mention the ultimate big bad towards the end of the mods. I reduced the variety, but cranked up the detail and history of what's left. You'll see what I mean when you read it '>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Savant1974, 12 août 2011 - 05:23 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_jmlzemaggo]

               Not only you probably made one of the top three modules in NWN history,
The Aielund Saga, 
another one hiding in my sig by respect to you, along with Stefan Gagne, but you also really, not only "talked about writing it" but actually really wrote a book about it?
I'm twice very impressed.
Yeah, as they're all saying, best of luck to you!

(Could you be so kind to give us the proper link of your "Aielund Saga" active site, downloads and discussions? You're having me confused here... '>)
               
               

               

                     Modifié par jmlzemaggo, 12 août 2011 - 06:24 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Savant1974]

               Here's the WEBSITE link!

And yes, actually getting the book done was quite an achievement for me. Now I'm in the habit of writing every day, so I'm plowing into book two, based on the 2nd module in the saga '>

I don't have a forum section as of yet, I've been really lazy, relying on facebook instead.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Savant1974, 12 août 2011 - 08:07 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               MrZork, I was not talking about the Mods themselves, but about the book.  Savant1974 mentions in the description that the central focus is not "human vs outside forces" but more centered on "human vs human" sort of threats...

Sort of like DA2 has done it.  

As for the improved Dragon AI, I believe it is included in Jassper's AI...or perhaps CODI?  I can't remember...probably Jassper's.

I am not saying that this is wrong, or bad, mind you.  Just expressing my personal likes here.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MrZork]

               WebShaman, I misread your comment, assuming you were talking about the modules. Sorry about that.

(I may give Jasperre's AI a try, if that's the one. Do you know if it's compatible with Tony K's, or are the two exclusive to one another?)

I haven't played DA2 yet (still working on the first DA and expansion/DLC). It would be too bad if they had even fewer monsters than DA:O (which I think generally has enough, though not as many as my NWN instincts had me expecting).

I suspect that novels benefit from a different focus than games because the fun is in the story and the combat isn't so central. Games have much more combat, so it's natural that a wider variety of opponents keeps things interesting. I guess I'll see how the mix Savant has chosen works out soon enough.

(BTW, I actually walked over to the PC to grab the kindle to read a chapter of this book, then decided to check the forums first...)
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_jmlzemaggo]

               

Savant1974 wrote...

Don't know if anyone here actually played it, but I made a series of mods for NWN under the banner 'the Aielund Saga'...

                       

I just realised that's probably the funniest humility statement I ever read in these forums...  

                                       

'looks like real talent always comes with it.
Humility, I mean...
               
               

               

                     Modifié par jmlzemaggo, 13 août 2011 - 10:53 .