Different series/books/settings require different sorts of music. For instance, my Shadowbane books are written with a mixture of Tool, AFI, and Stone Sour with a little 3 Days Grace, Metric, and European metal (mostly female singers) in the background. Meanwhile Ghostwalker owed a lot of musical inspiration to A Perfect Circle and 3 Doors Down. (Also, how perfectly does the Stone Sour song “Your God” fit the ghostwalker? I mean yeah.)

I once observed that Twilight in Depths of Madness basically was Amy Lee from Evanescence. (And interestingly, when I write about her more mature incarnation a century later, I associate her more with Evanescence’s more recent, matured music.) And even some Kelly Clarkson (shh, don’t tell anyone).

I recently wrote a scifi novel (which should be hitting the shelves soonish–watch for an announcement!) which was almost entirely written to a soundtrack of NIN, How to Destroy Angels, Massive Attack, and Daft Punk. A lot more instrumental when I’m writing about spaceships.

When I first dreamed up Justice-Vengeance, I was listening extensively to Disturbed’s Indestructible album, so that’s the musical reference material I head to when I’m working in that universe.

My YA urban fantasy series is mostly fueled by Paramore, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Death Cab for Cutie, and Fun. Which are bands I associate with the four primary characters. (I’d say you should guess, but you haven’t read the book, so that wouldn’t be fair!)

And that’s another way it manifests: As I write, I sometimes associate specific songs with my characters, which helps put me in the mindset. I listen to the song and I think of that character, every time.

For instance, Regel–one of the leads in SHADOW OF THE WINTER KING–is really closely associated with three songs: “Snuff” by Slipknot, “Say You’ll Haunt Me” by Stone Sour, and “Hand of Sorrow” by Within Temptation. My other principal character, Ovelia, is closely connected with the songs “Where Is The Edge” by Within Temptation, “The Change” by Evanescence, and “Made of Stone” by Evanescence. (So clearly there’s some overlap there!)

For me, music is just an intrinsic part of the writing process. I can write to almost any sort of music, but there are specific styles, bands, and sometimes even specific songs that fit certain stories particularly well.

Cheers

The chronology is a little wonky, as our campaign was actually designed as retconning the prequels (so we’d have players running Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, etc), and this originally took place between our Episode 1: Balance of the Force and Episode 2: Rise of the Empire, about 23-5 Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY).

Our Coruscant is a little bit different from the planet at the time, as the Supreme Chancellor has already outlawed the Jedi, who aren’t nearly as organized as they were in the movies (or the EU), and his antipathy toward aliens has already caused him to outlaw non-humans on Coruscant. Prominent races are appointed extremely corrupt human “ambassadors,” who are basically in the pocket of the Chancellor.

I purposefully did not date this story, and if you want to fit it into canon, it could occur anywhere from the end of Phantom Menace to shortly after Order 66 is issued in Revenge of the Sith.

And my character from the campaign is clearly the MAIN character of the story.

Without further ado: 

“The Lesser Evil”

By Erik Scott de Bie

            Bathed in the howling wind, the assassin perched atop the pinnacle of the blinking tower and surveyed the city a hundred stories below. Every inch of Coruscant was city, and all of it filled to the brim with humans: hot-blooded, sweaty, foul-smelling humans. The assassin wore sleek black armor, polished and new and far better than anything the masses could afford.

            The assassin had business with one of the humans this night.

            A light flashed blue on the assassin’s arm-mounted datapad, then winked out when touched. The signal was returned, and a transport—an unmarked black Lambda class shuttle, nearly invisible against the night sky—took flight, wings unfolding as it went. All its landing codes were legitimate, if illegally obtained, and generous bribes would keep anyone from asking questions. Such was the course of dealing with criminals.

            Behind the black helmet, the targeting computer whirred, sculpting a green lattice of the surrounding buildings. The assassin’s mark kept apartments near the palace itself, in a highly-defended area swarming with clone troopers. But when he sneaked out to meet with one of his hired escorts, he took only a personal defense team. Sure enough, he was currently riding the turbolift along with a detail of four men and one smaller life-sign: a woman.

            The assassin leaped off the building, arms spread wide in the whipping wind.

            The computer tracked them heading to the floor where the meet was to take place. Near about the sixtieth floor, the assassin’s datapad flashed, and the tether responded. The descent slowed over the next 30 meters until finally the assassin swayed to a gentle halt just above a window on the fifty-second floor. The assassin crawled along between windows, searching for the right one. Once there, the assassin attached the tether line for added security, then peered through the window.

            Comfortable couches and bed filled the room, along with a sidebar of exotic, bright-colored liquor opposite gleaming holocaster equipment. It was, without exception, illegally purchased with stolen credits. This was one of their high class love nests, but it still stank of crime: filthy money and indulgence.

            No one was in the apartment yet, but that would change soon. Hanging upside down, the assassin drew out a device the size of a man’s hand from a zipped pack and attached it to the wall next to the window sensor. Once activated, the scrambler tapped into the scanner and followed it through into the security features of the room itself. The assassin did not mean to deactivate the security scanner—not yet, anyway—but rather to take control of the room with the device.

            After a moment, the scrambler beeped, complete. The assassin detached the scrambler, which was now a remote control for the room, just as the inner door opened.

            Three Republic soldiers fanned through the suite, clearing the main room as well as the small attachment rooms with military precision. They wore hoods, but the assassin recognized their faces: they were all the same clone trooper face. They had eschewed their tell-tale armor so as not to attract attention, but wore blast vests under their thick robes.

            Once they had secured the suite, they spoke into their comm.-links. The assassin heard the transmissions through the scrambler. “Clear,” each said, in the same voice.

            “Finally.” A human in noble robes stepped into the room: Doriel Lassar, the Senate-appointed Falleen ambassador. Aliens were not, of course, welcome on Coruscant under the Supreme Chancellor. He looked around, stroked his exquisite goatee, and nodded. “This will do. Lieutenant, tell Jerun to bring the girl.”

            The lead clone trooper nodded. He dispatched one of his men back into the hall.

            Lassar was the mark.

            The assassin took a thermal detonator from the zipped pouch. The scrambler would open the window at the flick of a button, the detonator would go tumbling in, and everyone would die. Three seconds would be more than enough time to drop it through the window and be gone.

            Then the assassin sensed something and froze in place. “No.”

            A human in plain black robes appeared, this one not a clone but a light-haired man with a scar across his face. Ahead of him, he pushed a shivering young Falleen woman. She could not be much more than a child by the looks of her, addled with deathstick addiction, and her pheromones reeked of fear and desperation. There was defiance in her, however. The girl was a slave, freshly taken, but with no illusions about the treatment that awaited her.

            Teeth gritted, the assassin deactivated the thermal detonator and stowed it back in the pack. Using that would kill the hostage too. This would have to be personal. But the window wouldn’t open fast enough to take them by surprise.

            The assassin drew out a small black rod and pressed a button near one end. The device started buzzing.

            “What’s that?” the nearest trooper said over his comm.-link.

            The assassin raised the device out into the night and whispered an apology. “Forgive me, mother.”

            A blade unfolded from the hilt in the assassin’s hand, glowing faintly purple, and began vibrating. The assassin brought it across twice with a shick sound to draw an X in the window. Then the assassin kicked off the wall, swung out, and crashed through into the room.

            Chunks of glass shattered in every direction, startling the clone troopers, who had reached for their service weapons as the assassin rolled into a crouch. The vibroblade cut the first one down in a burst of blood, and he collapsed with a gurgling cry of pain. The assassin kept moving.

            “Blast him!” the lieutenant shouted over the comm.-link.

            Laser bolts exploded into the wall behind the dodging assassin and out the broken window into the night. One clipped the black armor, and an ablative layer disintegrated to absorb the shock.

            The assassin charged the second clone trooper and feinted to the left so his shots went wide. It bought half a second, which was all that the assassin needed to leap behind him, snake the vibroblade around his throat, and pull him to face his commander. Red blasts burned into the man, who grunted and slumped in the assassin’s arms, stunned by friendly fire.

            The lieutenant corrected his aim, but the assassin hurled a knife that sank into his unarmored neck, right over the collar of his blast jacket. The lieutenant gasped at the wound, spoiling his aim. The assassin seized the blaster rifle from the dead trooper, took aim, and blasted the lieutenant full in the chest. His torso burst into flame, and he crumpled against the far wall, stinking of burning flesh.

            “Clumsy weapon.” Contemptuously, the assassin tossed the rifle to the floor.

            Eyes on the stricken Lassar, the assassin finished the captive trooper with the vibroblade, then let the weapon shake itself free of blood. That done, the assassin rose and faced him. No words were necessary: by the fear rising from Lassar like smoke, he knew what would happen next. He shook so badly he could not even try to flee.

            He staggered back and collapsed on the bed. “Je-Jerun!” he stammered.

            The blond man stepped between them, his scarred but handsome face turned toward the assassin.

            “This does not concern you.” The assassin raised the vibroblade.

            The man smiled. Then a yellow glow filled the room as he ignited his lightsaber.

            An illegal Jedi. Damn.

            Jerun moved so fast it was all the assassin could do to dodge the first, high slash. Jerun came on, slipping inside and around the threshing blade of yellow light. The assassin deflected one strike with the vibroblade—a glancing blow that made the metal shriek and smoke. If Jerun struck it directly, he’d easily cut the vibroblade in half.

            Jerun calmly extended a hand, and a massive force sent the assassin hurtling back against the wall. The holocaster equipment shattered and the assassin lay groaning on the floor. The assassin groped for the fallen vibroblade, but the Jedi was not finished. He moved his hand and hurled the assassin across the room to crash into the opposite wall so hard the metal dented under the impact. The assassin hung there suspended.

            Jerun extinguished his yellow lightsaber and walked toward the assassin, looking very calm. His left hand was raised idly, as though using such power took no effort. The Jedi smiled silently, like a man looking forward to a pleasant meal laid out before him.

            “Don’t—don’t you want to know who sent me?” the assassin asked in a distorted voice.

            “Not particularly,” Lassar said. “Jerun?”

            The Jedi held up his hand and squeezed his fingers together. The assassin choked for air.

            “That’s better,” Lassar said. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s when they talk.”

            The assassin managed to palm a knife and hurl it at the Jedi. Jerun raised his other hand, and the blade stopped half a meter from his face. Then it reversed and shot back to plunge into the assassin’s left arm, propelled with such force it ripped through the black body armor. The assassin could only murmur at the pain.

            “Why are you waiting, Jerun?” asked Lassar. “Kill him already and be done with it.”

            The Jedi glanced at his employer, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. He gestured, and the force wrenched the assassin from the wall toward the window. The assassin caught at the sill, palms stabbed with shards of glass, but the force was too great. Jerun held the assassin aloft, choking, over a fifty-storey drop. The wiry body shook involuntarily, dying but unwilling to show fear.

            Then a blaster fired, and Jerun staggered toward the window. He fell to one knee, revealing a burn mark on his back. Behind him, the Falleen girl stood, one of the clone trooper’s weapons in her hands. Her black eyes burned with hatred. She fired again, but the Jedi ignited his lightsaber and deflected the bolt into the floor.

            The Force abruptly vanished, and the assassin reached out to grasp at the window ledge. Somehow, even though it was too far, the shaking black hands caught on the windowsill. The assassin slammed into the side of the building, then scrambled up, gasping.

            Despite the shards of glass, the breathless wheezing, and a stabbed arm that screamed in pain, the assassin nonetheless managed to climb back into the apartment. The Jedi was stalking toward the Falleen girl, easily parrying her blaster shots. She fired desperately, but he casually swept the bolts aside. Lassar was watching, not paying attention to the would-be assassin.

            Good hand shaking, the assassin reached down and unhooked a flash grenade, then rolled it toward Jerun.

            The Jedi sensed the attack coming early enough to shield his eyes, but the assassin only needed a second to spring on him with a cry and grapple for the lightsaber. They wrestled, punching and heaving. He struck the assassin’s injured arm, and the assassin howled and gouged at his wrist. There was no skill to their fight—no grace or art—only the fierce fury of two animals desperate to survive.

            Then yellow light flashed, blood sprayed, and the two staggered apart. The lightsaber fell to the floor between them.

            The assassin looked up at Jerun. He smiled and made a little humph sound.

            Then his body fell to the ground and split apart into two pieces.

            The assassin collapsed, chest heaving for air. Finally, one shaking black hand reached out and took the inactive lightsaber. Such an elegant thing, and so deadly.

            A blaster rifle clicked, and the assassin dimly saw Lassar pointing the rifle. “Die, you—”

            A blaster bolt struck him in the chest and he tumbled backwards to sprawl across the bed, dead.

            The Falleen girl dropped the rifle from shaking hands and stared at the corpse, her face devoid of emotion. Good. That was the proper way for a Falleen: to control herself and not reveal her true feelings.

            The assassin sat for a time, watching the girl, then finally spoke. “What is your name?”

            The girl was staring at the dead Lassar, but she blinked and looked up. “Xora.”

            “And I am Zythe.” The assassin sat up and took off her helmet, freeing her long black hair.

            “You . . . you are a Falleen.”

            “Yes,” Zythe said. “It will be all right.”

            Her words mattered less than the reassurance she sent toward the girl. Xora inhaled Zythe’s pheromones and her breathing eased. A human wouldn’t have seen anything pass between them, but for a Falleen, Zythe might as well be hugging the girl to her breast.

            The girl nodded. They sat together for a moment, communicating with their pheromones: Xora speaking of panic and rage, and Zythe soothing her, tempering that anger into a sharper blade.

            “When you remember this,” Zythe said. “Do not think of the horror or the fear. Think only of what must be done for our world. For Falleen.”

            Again, Xora nodded. “I murdered him.”

            “He was an evil man.” Zythe nodded.

            “And I murdered him,” Xora said. “Is that not evil?”

            “We do what we must for our people.” Zythe sent a communication to her shuttle, setting the rendezvous, and attached her tether to herself and the girl. She put her helmet on. “How can that be evil?”

            Xora nodded and put her arms around her savior.

            Cradling the girl, Zythe leaped out the window.

Cheers,
Erik

Why not check out my work, now available on Audible!

GHOSTWALKER:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_3?asin=B00B4XM0FA&qid=1361837683&sr=1-3

DEPTHS OF MADNESS:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_5?asin=B00B4W98LA&qid=1361837683&sr=1-5

DOWNSHADOW:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B00B5FP0Q8&qid=1361837683&sr=1-2

SHADOWBANE:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_4?asin=B00AWSJ57O&qid=1361837683&sr=1-4

SHADOWBANE: EYE OF JUSTICE
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00AU6ZDVU&qid=1361837683&sr=1-1

REALMS OF THE DEAD:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00AU6Y8JI&qid=1361837581&sr=1-1

REALMS OF THE ELVES:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00AW4DCRM&qid=1361837487&sr=1-1

It’s a little on the spendy side, sure, but think of the hours of great entertainment you’re getting. Plus you get to hear my Shadowbane characters speaking with faint British accents . . . except for Kalen, who has a faint BATMAN accent.

Cheers,
Erik

“I’m the Gods-damned Shadowbane!”

Now I have no interest in changing anyone’s mind, but you asked the question, so here goes:

“You didn’t really play the game. Not really.”

That’s over-simplifying it, obviously. I don’t know anything about your 4e play experience, if any. But all these arguments come down to only looking at the system at the barest, superficial level, and any RPG you view in such a way becomes exactly what you describe: a small, kitschy, flavor-less thing. Shadowrun, for instance, becomes a series of people running around with guns and shooting everything. Vampire: The Masquerade becomes a bunch of people rolling lots of dice. Star Wars is adding lots of small numbers. 

Ultimately, if you play a game as a hack-and-slash game, you’re going to get a hack-and-slash game.

And the first time you play a game, particularly if it’s new or different from what you’re accustomed to (as 4e is rather different from 3.5e in many ways), odds are you’re going to focus on the mechanical system, and it’s going to feel very much like a mechanical experience. Which in turn fosters the impression that “this is a very mechanical game,” and every “very mechanical game” runs the risk of feeling like a (un-)glorified computer game.[1]

As a DM by long experience (going on 20 years now), I blame a lack of flavor on the DM, mostly. Every edition of D&D (particularly 4e, which is very DM-empowering*) relies on a DM who understands the fundamentals of story-telling, how to improvise, and how to appeal to players. 4e offers a tremendously flexible method of doing that: skill challenges. And I don’t mean the horror story of an abstract skill challenge where the DM tells you what skills you can use and you go around the table making checks: I mean characters using skills and making roles in a dynamic environment to get the job done. 

Rather than bloat the skills with rules to describe every situation in which they might be used, it offers a tool box full of adaptable tools: a dozen general skills and three levels of difficulty (easy, medium, and hard) to represent skill challenges. Come across a door locked with magic? Use Arcana (hard DC) to open it. Run across a crumbling rope bridge over lava? Use an Acrobatics (easy DC) to do it, but if you fail, the rope bridge breaks under your weight and you have to make a saving throw to catch yourself and not plunge into the lava. The same logic can be applied to combat, too. Want to swing on a chandelier to kick a monster in the face? Melee basic attack with an Acrobatics check to get a +2 bonus–or a -2 penalty if you fail. And this is all by DM discretion, of course. In this way, your characters can do practically anything you and the DM agree is feasible, and you have a mechanical system to let you do it. 

I want to say two other things, about powers and healing surges.  

Generally speaking, powers are one of those things used to balance the system, at a slight expense to the flavor of certain classes. Rogues and warriors become substantially more interesting, where they have numerous tricks and techniques they can apply to a fight, which other rogues and warriors may not have. This is, if anything, more like actual fighting than previous editions of the game: your actual technique as a warrior depended largely on who taught you, and would-be masters would travel to great distances (making almost religious pilgrimages) to learn secret, unblockable moves. In 3.5, this was accomplished with feats, generally, but 4e made a conscious effort to make feats more about *static* bonuses to customize your characters, rather than combat options.

This approach gives you less to worry about, so you’re not juggling page after page of options. It’s really just a matter of preference.

By the same token, the powers system diminishes some of the variety of playing a spellcaster, and this was an unfortunate design choice. There are plenty of options WotC could have taken, such as allowing more flexibility in spells you can memorize–take a page from the 3.5 warmage and just open up the wizard’s spell-list to cast any of those spells at a moment’s notice. In the original 4e PHB, the designers seem to have aimed for balance and hit something more like “sameness,” but hey, that was the first PHB. If we judge a game by its first product, no game really stands up. Further development made the wizard (and other spellcasting classes) much more diverse and different.

From a narrative standpoint, healing surges make much more sense than hit points and healing magic.

Why do I say this? Well, let’s talk about what “hit points” signify. Why does the fighter have more hit points than the wizard? Obviously, because he is tougher, and can take more hits before going down. But consider this: outside of any mechanical system, is a disintegrate spell more or less lethal to a fighter than to a wizard? The fact of the matter is, whoever gets hit by that is going to get dead. If we have disintegrate deal damage, as it does in 3.5, logically that means it should deal MORE damage to a fighter than a wizard. But that doesn’t seem fair–the fighter worked and slaved for those hit points. Similarly, an axe through the head will kill anyone—I don’t care how vital a barbarian you are or how frail a rogue. But a critical hit with a greataxe to a barbarian is just a knick, whereas the rogue is probably cut in half. Isn’t it the same hit?

The answer is, “No, it isn’t the same hit,” because your damage is only half the equation—the other half is the remaining hit points of the victim.

For me (and this might be a helpful analogy for your games as well, if you like), what hit points represent is a measure of how likely you are to be brought low by an attack. (It’s not a lifebar in some Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat game.)

To explain: As a battle lasts, and as you take more of a beating, your defenses start to drop—you get tired, your focus wavers, and your luck starts to go bad. If you have full hit points, then a longsword strike is going to be an annoyance, but if it’s thirty seconds into the fight (an ETERNITY in an actual duel) and you only have 5-6 hit points, someone hitting you with that sword is much more likely to take you down. You’re still at high combat effectiveness, your problem is simply that you’re going to go down soon unless something changes.

And in previous editions of the game, the ONLY solutions to the problem of fatigue and getting battle-addled were rest (at a snail’s pace) or magical healing. What about picking yourself up off the deck with renewed determination, finding your second wind, or that adrenaline rush that comes from an inspiring speech or battle cry? That’s where 4e’s healing surges come in, and the various powers that activate them. And why do some people have higher surge values than others? Because a hardened warrior is apt to get more out of an adrenaline rush than a wizard, and it makes much more of a difference.

Really, they shouldn’t be called healing surges. They should just be called “surges,” as only in certain (somewhat rare) circumstances is actual healing magic involved.

Obviously, this is just my vision, and that’s the point. Hit points, healing surges, healing magic—all those are just narrative tools, and you can describe the actual process of battle however you want. I simply find “surges” considerably more flexible than putting everything on healing magic. Not to mention rather less mechanically unpredictable and considerably more effective.

This is not to say that 4e is a perfect system—far from it. It’s very wonky in many respects.

In particular, I find it a little annoying that combat often takes SO LONG (even though the average battle is like 3 rounds, so 15-18 seconds max), with all the immediate actions and opportunity actions, etc. But that’s usually a matter of your table’s play style. Also, the first books that came out for 4e were quite muddled, particularly the skill difficulty ratings [3], and it took a while for the game to reach the playability point I’m advocating. But I’ve been playing it for 5 years, as I noted, and my games are heavily skill and RP-based, where combat is never gratuitous (well, as rarely as any P&P RPG).

In conclusion, obviously, play what you want. Life is too short to waste time playing game systems that don’t appeal to you, and I have no interest in compelling you to play something you don’t like. You might hate 4e D&D, and that’s totally fine. But at the same time, that isn’t a reason to accept every criticism of 4e D&D blithely, particularly since most of them hold very little water. If you’re going to criticize the system (and there’s plenty to criticize), don’t get distracted by misconceptions about it. 

If you ever want to see the possibilities of a 4e D&D game, you are more than welcome to sit in one of my games. Consider it a standing invite.

Cheers

Notes:

[1] Though I speak at length about what I consider valuable about 4e, which I have been happily playing for 5 years now, this should not be taken to deprecate 3.x., which I quite happily played for 8 years, or even 1e/2e, which I quite happily played for 6 years since I was old enough to tell my own fantasy stories. I am a D&D enthusiast and love all editions of the game.)

[2] I say “DM-empowering” mostly because of the flexible skill system and monster creation (which is a SNAP, as opposed to an hours-long slogfest).

[3] A whole other can of worms that has more to do with management decisions internal to WotC than a flawed vision.

About the Author: Erik Scott de Bie is a fictioneer and game designer, best known for his Shadowbane series (set in the Forgotten Realms setting) and his design work on the Dungeons and Dragons game, ranging from 3.5e to 4e and beyond. Check his credentials at his website: erikscottdebie.com

Ilira dueling Kalen Dren in Shadowbane: Eye of Justice

In the final calculus, I think authors write in order to address questions whose answers can’t be put in a hundred words, but rather in a hundred thousand. I think ultimately, it isn’t something anyone can just tell you: it’s a journey as much as a destination.

To elucidate, if you asked me to tell you about justice, or about trust, or about self-respect, I’d point you to novels I wrote. Simply put, there are just some questions that defy brief answers, and that’s why I do what I do.

So here’s a question: “What is the Forgotten Realms?”

I’ve heard this question many times before—from curious relatives who want to pitch my book to friends, coworkers who see the ads and books posted at my desk, or gamers I’m inviting to my campaign—and all those times I haven’t really been able to answer.

Sure, I can offer a basic understanding of things going on in the setting—about the gods, the Zhentarim, Thay, the Seven Sisters, the Harpers, flying krakens, and all that—but none of that really answers the question.

But I’m a professional writer, and as brevity is the soul of wit, I’ll try to answer it in a single word.

And that word is life.

I don’t mean that the Realms is supposed to be an analog for the real world, or even that it’s particularly realistic. It’s a fantasy setting and isn’t supposed to be like the world we know. We don’t have things like dragons and magic and gods walking the land in search of Tablets of Fate. None of us really spar with Drizzt, match wits with Elaith Craulnober, or hit the bars with Elminster (though how cool would that be?).

What I mean is that at its core, the Forgotten Realms is a living, breathing, evolving world that is as diverse in its potential as our own (if not more so). The concept of the setting isn’t to tell one great big sweeping tale, like Lord of the Rings and the struggle against Sauron, or A Song of Ice and Fire and the struggle for succession to the throne of Westeros. The Realms has stories like that, but also lots of others, big and small, Realms-shaking and personal, all happening all at once. Any story that can be told in our world can be told there—any issue that affects how one lives, works, and loves can be distilled into the tales of heroes in the Realms. The Realms isn’t our world, but it tells us about our world in countless ways both overt and subtle.

The Realms is more diverse than any other fantasy setting. It thrives on its hundreds of authorial, editorial, and design voices from its twenty-five years of publishing, and is constantly pushing into new ground, with new writers, artists, and designers. Not only is it amenable to these new creators, but it actively thirsts for their visions. And yet, though you might expect so many cooks in the kitchen to cause chaos, the Realms holds true to itself. It remains what it is, changing but unchanged in that basic core.

On a personal level, the Forgotten Realms have meant a great deal to me. I credit the early work of R.A. Salvatore, Doug Niles, and Elaine Cunningham in the setting with my interest in reading, then the old 2e boxed set as my foundation in gaming, then the Realms as a whole as kicking off my writing career. It was the perfect place to look for the breadth of stories I wanted, which felt realistic even as they obviously were fantasy. By the same token, the world fits so perfectly into the stories I want to tell, that writing in the setting wasn’t any kind of choice at all.

Ultimately, the Forgotten Realms is a classroom to learn and to tell stories—to explore philosophical concepts and morality.

The Forgotten Realms is a world where heroes rise against evil, discover ancient secrets and awaken great powers, and prove victorious.

The Forgotten Realms is a grand yarn that shows us life, and endeavors to teach us how to live.

About the Author:

A self-professed geek, Erik Scott de Bie has been writing, gaming, and telling stories in the Forgotten Realms since grade school. He is the author of several Forgotten Realms novels and short stories, particularly the Shadowbane series. He has also contributed to D&D design projects both in and out of the Realms, including the Neverwinter Campaign Guide (August 2011) and the tie-in Encounters seasons, Lost Crown of Neverwinter and the forthcoming Storm over Neverwinter. He contributes regularly on Candlekeep and keeps a writerly blog on his website.

Ask Shadowbane

- R.T. Kaelin: editor of Triumph Over Tragedy, a Hurricane Sandy relief anthology (including a Lady Vengeance superhero story from yours truly, out now!)

- Jennifer Brozek: author, game designer, and editor of a number of anthologies I’m in

- Erin Tettensor: one of the Young Dragons and author of a forthcoming novel called Darkwalker. Check those out!

This gives me a great opportunity to chat about a novel I plan to bring out in the next year. Folks who’ve been following me online might have heard of it, but consider this a New Year’s resolution … or a thrown gauntlet.

What is the working title of your book?

Shadow of the Winter King is the first full-length fantasy novel set in my apocalyptic World of Ruin.

The novel chronicles the adventures of the aging warrior Regel, formerly known as the Frostburn and legendary king’s assassin in service to the last king of the World of Men. The Winter King perished five years ago, slain by his first shield Ovelia Dracaris (Regel’s former lover), and his line broke when Princess Semana’s airship went down under the assault of the infamous sorcerer-assassin Mask. Now, Regel answers Ovelia’s plea to help her hunt Mask, only to find that their quest will lead them headlong into a battle for the heart and soul of their dying world.

Where did the idea for the book come from?

The World of Ruin grew out of my love of apocalypse literature, from early religious texts to modern literary representations (the works of Vonnegut, Gaiman, King, and many more) to video games set in a fallen world (everything from Final Fantasy to Fallout to Dragon Age). I’m fascinated by the unraveling of reason and the death of morality on the global, societal, and personal levels.

The World of Ruin is a setting in which long-ago misuse of magic has scarred the world and is leading to an impending environmental collapse, and the last bastions of civilization are crumbling under the assault of ravening barbarians and internal strife. It parallels the collapse of worlds in the real world, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the diaspora of Britain, a meditation on the Cold War and apocalyptic brinksmanship, and offers a dire prognostication of the future of America and the world.

What genre does your book fall under?

Unsurprisingly, I would class it as “apocalyptic fantasy,” which can be understood as “dark epic fantasy.” Bad things happen to good people, morality is gray, and the stakes are huge.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie version?

I’ll cast six of my characters, in order of their role in the novel:

When I picture Regel, hard-bitten assassin past his prime, I think of someone like Gerard Butler or Russell Crowe–a tough but good looking man who’s moving on in years.

The treacherous knight Ovelia Dracaris calls for an actor like Charlize Theron or Uma Thurman, a strong woman who fits naturally in an action role.

Mask presents an interesting quandary, as he is wrapped in black leather from head to toe at all times and speaks in a broken, husky voice–it should be unclear who is playing him. Kind of like Darth Vader. As for who to cast, it’s hard to say, really–I need a good physical actor.

As a younger man, the vicious Tithian Davargorn should be a 20-something male actor, though the book calls for certain deformities (two different colored eyes, a hunch, and a club foot) that would make the role a cool challenge. I’d like to see someone like Ian Somerhalder or Liam Hemsworth.

The handsome, arrogant Lan Ravalis should be a middle-aged male actor who is really good at sneering villains. I wrote him thinking of Jason Isaacs, though he might be a little older than the role calls for (Lan’s in his late thirties).

Finally, the young but steely Princess Semana needs to be a young female actor who can play charismatic and damaged equally well, maybe Deborah Ann Woll or Emma Stone.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of the book?

Five years after the death of his beloved Winter King, the aging assassin Regel embarks on an improbable quest with the fallen knight Ovelia Dracaris and the murderous sorcerer Mask, seeking to bring justice to a world spiraling into ruin.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

That’s a good question. At this point, I will either self-publish the book (look for a Kickstarter!) or publish it through a small press. There are talks going on right now.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft itself only took a couple months to write, but I’ve since revised it substantially. I’ve been working on this book for several years now, navigating among new directions and various other projects.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

While it draws influences from a LOT of things, I think the book blazes new territory in the fantasy genre, so it isn’t quite a straight comparison to anything currently out there. That said, there’s a great deal of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire in there as well as books dealing heavily with assassins, such as Brent Week’s Night Angel series.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I suppose the inspiration for the story came originally from an idea I had for a D&D character of mine, but if I go into it, it would spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say, it was awesome. And no, it’s not Regel.

What else about your book might pique the interest of readers?

This book represents a somewhat more mature piece than my Realms work, where I flex my writing muscles with less restriction on content. More sex, more realistic violence, and the good guys don’t always win.

One reader praised the relationship between Regel and Ovelia as “fascinating . . . full of desire and regret.”

There’s strong social commentary in the book about environmentalism, respect for others, and the tension between justice and vengeance (always a theme in my books).

Also, if you know my work, you know I can be twisty–and there are some pretty huge ones in this book.

And now, some recommendations:

The concept of this meme is to tag people who haven’t been tagged before, but honestly, most of the writers I know already have participated or have been tagged. So I’m going to recommend a few writers I particularly enjoy, and anyone who wants to jump in with The Next Big Thing, by all means, go for it!

Paul S. Kemp has been writing for years now, beginning his career at Wizards of the Coast with the epic adventures of Erevis Cale, and since transitioning to Star Wars and off in his own direction. If you aren’t reading his work, you should look into it right away!

Jim C. Hines writes really fun, engaging fantasy with a strong undercurrent of social justice, particularly as it relates to women. The series that got me hooked was his Princess Series, which is basically the Charlie’s Angels of Fairyland with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, who kick tons of ass.

Nathan Crowder is an author and small press publisher, founder and CEO of Timid Pirate Publishing. He writes compelling stuff with a legitimate indie edge that’s free to wander in all kinds of awesome directions mainstream fiction doesn’t often explore. I will happily recommend his Cobalt City series, though I may be somewhat biased, as I’ve contributed to that world.

Cheers,

Erik

I am putting together a sample of the comic book I’m writing to pitch to publishers (or possibly publish independently), and what I need is an artist. Let’s do this!

EDIT: Here’s a fuller writeup, complete with more in-depth character descriptions: Justice/Vengeance

EDIT 2: Due to the level of response I’ve got and the several questions about timeline, I’m going to try to clarify the cycle of submitting for this. Please see below.

EDIT 3: I am happy to waive step 2 “submit a sketch” on the strength of an artist’s published work/online galleries/etc. If I already think you’d be a great fit for the book, then we’ll go immediately to step 3, sample pages (for pay). (This is also an option if you’d like to contribute to the book but don’t have time to produce a sketch.) You are always welcome to do a sketch if you feel inspired.

EDIT 4: It’s past December 14, and I’ve heard from about twenty artists! Thanks for your interest, guys, and I look forward to checking out your work! If you haven’t heard from me by email by now, drop me a line at erikscottdebie AT yahoo DOT com. If anyone else is still interested, drop me an email as soon as possible and I’ll get you on the list.

So what’s your comic about?

Here’s the premise:

Adopted pre-law student Marcus Orestes never knew his parents—not his biological ones, anyway. But when his birth mother dying of cancer contacts him, it will change everything. She whispers from her death bed that his father is the famous (and dead) superhero Justice, leader of the defunct band of heroes Supergroup.

His only chance to find out more about his past lies in a chance meeting with the alcoholic Lady Vengeance—the infamous black sheep of Supergroup—who has enemies of her own. And dogging their steps is the popular heroine Angel (or as her agent has decided, “A-Girl,” which tests better), who has sworn to bring Lady Vengeance to justice.

Good thing Orestes has inherited some of his father’s powers . . . though he has no idea how to use them.

He’s in big trouble.

My book (working title: “Justice/Vengeance”) is a classic contemporary superhero comic about three principal characters:

1) Orestes, a pre-law student who learns the truth about his biological father, the superhero Justice, and must learn to use the mighty legacy he inherits.

2) Angel, a young superheroine who has grown up in the shadow of her super parents and balances the demands and pitfalls of celebrity.

3) Lady Vengeance, a dark ex-superhero (former villain) who struggles with demons (both literal and figurative) and allies and enemies from her caped past who want to settle the score.

(Lady V has actually appeared in a couple published pieces of mine, specifically “Vengeance on the Layover” in Cobalt City Timeslip and “Eye for an Eye,” a novella in Cobalt City Double Feature, both published by Timid Pirate.)

The book is serious and whimsical by degrees, occasionally very violent (R-rated), and (most important) embraces diversity, feminism, and progressiveness. The three principal characters aren’t all white straight people, and neither are all the supporting characters. If you know me and/or my writing, you know these issues are very important to me, and it’s my intention to craft a book that’s fair to everyone. I want that clear from the outset.

For those unfamiliar with my work, hi, I’m Erik. I’m a speculative fiction writer, best known for my work in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting (my fifth novel, Shadowbane: Eye of Justice, came out in September), and also my superhero work in the Cobalt City Universe (a setting owned by Timid Pirate), which includes Cobalt City Timeslip and Cobalt City Double Feature. I also moonlight as a game designer, having worked on Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond and the very popular Neverwinter Campaign Setting. I’m a professional writer who knows well the importance of getting paid for your stuff. My wife and I live in Seattle with our several cats and dog. Learn more about me here on my website, or find me on facebook/twitter (see below).

Ok, cool–let’s talk business.

What I need over the next few months is an artist to draw my eight-page sample.

There’s money in it (to be negotiated). As a professional writer, I know the importance of getting paid for your work, and I have money. I’ve done some research on what’s competitive, and we’ll see what I can do based on the response I get.

I have no interest in buying up the rights to your work. It’s your work, and I want you to hang onto it and profit fully from it. If I choose you as my partner artist on the sample, I will be interested in purchasing the rights to use it as such, with an option to publish it, whilst still preserving your right to do so as well.

But we’ll get into all that later. The summary is, you’re not signing away your work.

And if the sample catches a publisher’s eye or turns into something we think we can do independently, the sky’s the limit. I am a strong proponent of creator-owned books, and if you and I work well together and you are interested in continuing to draw my story, we’ll see what we can do.

Also, I happen to know several folks working in comics and related fiction, so if nothing else, the added connections are cool.

I’m interested. What do I do?

Here’s the submission process:

1) Contact me (by Dec 14). First of all, contact me and express your interest in working on the book. This is an important step so I don’t just pick people willy-nilly without knowing that someone’s still out there, working on a piece. Find my author page on Facebook, ping me on Twitter (@erikscottdebie), or email me at erikscottdebie AT yahoo DOT com

Feel free to link me (no attachments, please) to a couple other pieces of your work if it relates to the theme, and if you have a deviant-art page or a website you’d like me to look at, let me know.

At that point, I will note your involvement and direct you to a detailed visual guide of my characters. In fact, here it is: Justice/Vengeance

Note the deadline here: I want to hear about your interest by DECEMBER 14, 2012. Preferably earlier, but this is the day I anticipate everyone will be working on providing me a sketch. This is so I give people plenty of time to work on the sketches (see below).

If you’re interested but haven’t talked to me by then, that’s fine, just let me know as soon as you can.

2) Provide a character sketch (Dec 14 – Jan 1). Once I have noted your interest, you are then on tap to send me a drawing of at least ONE of my principal characters (Orestes, Angel, or Lady V), preferably two or all three. The more you send me, the more I have to go on (the folks who’ve sent me the work I like best so far have done all three). I only expect sketches, but if you want to do color, that would certainly give me more to base my decision on.

This is not a paid submission per se, but if you produce a sketch I particularly like, I will negotiate to buy it from you.

Assuming you started working on a sketch as of December 14 or earlier, I’ll be hoping to see your sketch by JANUARY 1, 2013.

3) If selected, provide a sample (Jan 1 – Jan 20). Once you have sent me a sketch, I will get back to you in a timely fashion (as in a day or two) as to whether I want to see a 2 page sample (sketch, lettering, color if we can swing it). I anticipate there will be 4-5 people I ask for samples. If I ask for a sample like this, you WILL be getting paid for it (somewhere in the $20 range, to be negotiated), even if I don’t ultimately use it.

Hopefully, I’ll have these by midnight, Sunday, January 20.

4) If selected, craft the whole sample book (pencils Jan 20 – Feb 14ish, color Feb 14 - 28). From the pool of artists I asked for samples, I will pick one partner artist for the cover+8-page sample book. This project will involve the works: sketch, lettering, color. There will be more money at this stage, to be negotiated. You will hear back from me within a couple days after the deadline.

You will be paid for producing the book at a rate to be negotiated that is decent and fair to both of us. I’m not made of money, but you deserve to be paid for your work.

Hopefully, you’ll have the end of January and most of the month of February to work on this. We’ll negotiate, but a rough idea of the deadline plan has the deadline for delivering the sketched 8-pages as February 14ish (to check in on your progress), and (pending approval) the full final draft (fully colored and lettered) by February 28.

My goal is to have this whole thing put together by Emerald City Comic Con 2013 (March 1-3), but if we need more time, that can be arranged.

5) Now I have my sample book to show prospective publishers, and it’s all smooth-sailing from there. Ha ha, kidding. But it’s an adventure, and that’s what comic books are all about, right?

I look forward to hearing from you!

I’m not an artist, but I want to help!

Boost the signal and send out this call to the 216 corners of the Internet. If you have artist friends, let them know. If you’re a fan of my work and think you know artists who would be a good fit, let them know.

Thanks everyone, and happy reading!

Cheers,

Erik Scott de Bie

I mailed back my reply (his letter included a self-addressed, stamped envelope!), with extra postage for the updated fee of two years, but thought I’d repost my reply here (identifying details redacted!). Enjoy!

NOTE: The letter is about GHOSTWALKER, and there are some spoiler details ahead. Only read on if you haven’t read the novel or don’t mind MAJOR spoilers.

Dear K,

 A thousand apologies for the tardiness of this reply to your letter. It would appear that Wizards misplaced your letter upon receipt and just recently discovered it in some folder hidden in a filing cabinet at the end of a disused basement corridor marked “Beware of the Leopard.” Just one of those things that happens, I suppose. As such, my reply is an embarrassing two years late, but late is better than never, no?

 I’m glad you enjoyed Ghostwalker! I would be very happy to answer your questions. If you have more, or would like to ask me about anything else, try emailing me at erikscottdebie@yahoo.com, or check out my website http://erikscottdebie.com. I also have accounts on Facebook (Erik Scott de Bie) and Twitter (@erikscottdebie).

 1)     Was there a source for your ideas or something that triggered them?

Ghostwalker sprang out of a number of things I was seeing, listening to, and thinking at the time. I had just watched a number of Westerns, ranging from the classic (High Plains Drifter) to the fantastic (Desperado). Something about those stories just clicked with me: the lone, mysterious avenger on a quest to take down injustice on the frontier.

The action (particularly when the ghostwalker sees one of his old enemies and starts fighting with that cold focus) draws a good deal on the Matrix and Kill Bill. I use music a lot when I write, and the whole novel has a soundtrack of Stone Sour and A Perfect Circle: dark, moody, and exciting.

2)   Were any of the characters based on yourself or friends?

Heh. Well, officially, all fiction novels are work of fiction, and any resemblance any character holds to any person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. That said, yes, every writer brings aspects of real people into their characters and story. That’s how writers write, after all: by channeling their life experience into their work.

To answer your question directly, none of the characters in Ghostwalker are specifically inspired by people I know. But that’s just MY opinion on the subject. To this day, one of my good friends insists that the main character is me, which makes some of the romantic scenes really awkward for him to read. One of the best things about fiction is that we can see aspects of real people and situations reflected on the page.

3)   Did Lord Greyt know he was killing his son when he killed Rhyn?

Good question. Books mean different things to different readers, and the meaning of a book is only half there when I, the writer, write it. It’s up to you to fill that in. Perhaps the better question is, is the tragedy greater if Greyt only figured it out at the end of his life, or if he knew going into it? What do you think?

Great chatting with you, and again, I apologize for the delay. Hit me up online!

Cheers,

Erik Scott de Bie
erikscottdebie@yahoo.com

November 1st, download a copy of my novel, Downshadow, for yourself or a friend, relative, gamer buddy, etc. And if you’ve already read it and can’t think of anyone who hasn’t, post a review!

Downshadow (Kindle, Nook, Kobo)

The concept is, we’ll see lots of downloads of the novel, which will drive me up the sales on Kindle, etc., which will in turn make people more likely to find me. Win win!

Buy me November 1st!

So if you’ve been holding off on buying a copy, or a friend/relative/unsuspecting acquaintance doesn’t have a copy, here’s your chance! Do it sometime November 1st!

No purchase necessary, either: if you don’t want to buy a copy of Downshadow, post a review, or some thoughts, or just your desire to see the series continue!

Support Shadowbane!

Already bought/reviewed/blogged about Downshadow? Check out the rest of the Shadowbane series!

Cheers

Unforgettable: “I have to believe people can change. How can you expect a man to change if you do not trust him?” ~ Myrin Darkdance

Untouchable: “You want to pierce me, is that it? You and any of a thousand men–little boys with their swords.” ~ Ilira Nathalan

Unforgiveable: “I have spent decades striving to bring you nothing but sorrow, but it is not enough. Nor will it ever be enough–not until you lie dead at my feet with your blood on my hands.” ~ Fayne

Unstoppable: “Because shadow and darkness must be pursued in every form, through every street, down every path, no matter how dark, until it is wiped from the world.” ~ Shadowbane

The Shadowbane Series

Why, you ask?

I am a Christian. I was raised in the United Methodist Church of Dixon, CA—a small-town church that instilled in me a sense of fellowship, compassion, and responsibility to advocate for justice and goodness in our world.

And lest that seem like just a technical detail, let me clarify.

I was heavily involved in the church as a boy and a young man. I sang in the choir and played my saxophone in the church band. I helped supervise and even teach Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, a week every summer in which children attend classes/activities at the church. I served on the Paster/Parish Relations committee, which handles the administrative details of running the church and the relationship between the church body and our priest. I took a key role as a liaison between my Boy Scout troop and the church, facilitating use of the church for their home base meetings as well as their important ceremonies (such as Eagle Scout investitures). I even delivered guest sermons at my church. I did it all, from the artistic to the boring and administrative.

Growing up Christian

Growing up in the church, I developed a firm belief in wisdom, justice, and love. From an early age, I saw women as being an equal part of Christianity as men: we had a female pastor, Cathy Morris, who was notably liberal in her views and sermons, emphasizing love and acceptance. It perplexed me to visit my friend’s Catholic church, where not only were women not allowed to be priests, but indeed they had set “expectations” as regards their behavior in marriage. I, on the other hand, was much more equitable in my thinking as regarded gender roles—this, I think, was instrumental to my eventual anti-sexist stance. I had several very close Mormon friends in high school—I knew little about their actual faith (it seemed not unlike mine), but they were morally upstanding people, so I was naturally drawn to them.

Even so, I did not escape some of the negatives. Being in a church with mostly white/middle class attendants, I was certainly exposed to some tunnel vision as regards homogenized ethnicity. I had little chance to learn about anyone different from myself. I conceived certain unhelpful notions of “godly” behavior: for instance, that sex, while not necessarily evil, was the province of married couples only, and those who indulged outside of marriage were sinners. I learned nothing formal in the church about homosexuality—I never even heard of the concept before I got to high school, really. And at that point, gay people existed to me as a few particularly flamboyant people in the class that weren’t really my friends (though I didn’t dislike them or cross them, as that wouldn’t be very Christian of me). I wasn’t even sure lesbians existed outside of pornography.

By that point I was set in my views about the proper alignment of the human body and gender—though men and women were equal, as I’d learned before, they were properly aligned: one man, one woman. Why would anyone want anything different? It made sense to me that homosexuality was a choice, that some people had just decided they wanted to sleep with people of their own gender. It never occurred to me such people might want to get married, which I defined as a bond between a man and a woman. Because that’s the only concept of “married” I had ever experienced.

My faith evolved in college. I spent the first two years of my college career attending the United Methodist Church in Salem, OR, every Sunday. The pastor of this congregation was less liberal than Cathy. I really didn’t like his emphasis on “sin” and “guilt,” as in painting all human beings as loathsome sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. If God had sent Jesus to redeem all of humankind—and it had been so important that Jesus had to die to do so—then wasn’t preaching that humans were tainted with sin sort of saying God had made a pretty big miscalculation? What they were saying was that God was stupid or, barring that, just incapable of getting the job done. Either way, that philosophy didn’t sit well with me. But while I didn’t agree with all of the things preached from the podium and wasn’t particularly active in the church community (I didn’t feel particularly welcomed), I still went to church and got involved in the youth group as a counselor and teacher. I actually sort of reveled in my “heretical” views about universal love and acceptance. I enjoyed their song-based youth meetings, which appealed equally to local troubled youth and those secure in their faith.

Three things about college fundamentally changed my views about faith in general, and organized religion in particular: Religious philosophy courses, falling in love, and meeting new people.

I have a philosophy minor, having specialized in religious philosophy. The problem of evil resonated particularly powerfully with me, as it has continued to do until today. That is, “if God has the power to eradicate evil (because he’s all-powerful), and God has the will to eradicate evil (because he’s all-loving), why then does evil exist?” You have to compromise on one of those statements, and I wasn’t willing to do that—to me, a deity that is worthy of worship is one that is all-powerful and morally perfect. If God doesn’t love us—or loves some people and not others—then that being isn’t worthy of worship. If God is indeed capable, let alone gleeful, about throwing some people into everlasting suffering in Hell, then I’m really not interested in supporting what would then be an evil entity.

I met an amazing woman—the love of my life, Shelley. I won’t define her views and philosophies (I’m still discovering the wonder that is her), but I will say that she was not raised in any sort of religious tradition. Her perceptions were largely philosophically driven, but she had the strongest moral core of anyone I’d ever seen—stronger than anything I’d ever seen derived from faith. Doing harm was not to be tolerated, and one should strive to end intolerance, hate, and exploitation. In seeing that she derived such strong moral drives from no source other than simple human nature–let alone a God–it suddenly dawned on me that one did not need God or faith to be a moral person. It occurred to me that relying on God—and specifically on the promise of reward for being a good person or punishment for being a bad one—is a pretty cynical view of morality.

Perhaps most important of all my college experiences, I met people of various backgrounds, which varied from my own in terms of ethnicity, politics, or gender. For the first time, I met actual gay people who weren’t closeted or outspoken—they were just people who had different sexual impulses than I did. I won’t pretend it wasn’t scary—it was, since I’d had no experience with “the gay” before. I made a couple of gay friends, though I wouldn’t call us particularly close. Some guys experiment in college, but I never did—I spent a lot of time with gay men but never had any attraction to one of them. Embarrassingly, I also learned that “lesbians” were a real thing, but that made sense to me. After all, if I found things about women beautiful, why wouldn’t women?

My faith, as I understood it, accepted all these people, regardless of their drives, impulses, and desires. But the church I went to didn’t seem to identify with that goal. The pastor didn’t preach hate or intolerance, but he kept his silence on pressing issues, including when marriage became temporarily legal for all couples (straight or not) in Oregon or California. I might be mischaracterizing his position—it’s been a long time, and I wasn’t as engaged in that church as my home church. (I have nothing but respect for the UMC of Salem and would not want any of my statements to be taken otherwise.)

College cemented my politics. I had identified as a moderate Republican in high school, but the election of George W. Bush in 2000 drove me from the party in disgust. (How could thinking people vote for such an obvious wastrel?) Now an independent, I had a comfortable vantage on all sides of the political spectrum, and found myself mostly drawn to liberal political views. The conservatives I knew tended to be arrogant, dismissive, and selfish, which was something that I found extremely difficult to reconcile with my faith. Particularly upsetting to me were the several conservative Christian groups on campus, whose intimidation and exploitation tactics wreaked havoc on some more impressionable friends of mine. They used faith to justify prejudice and looking down on people different from them.

This was also the first time I saw people carrying “God Hates Fags” signs.

I had such a powerfully negative reaction to that. My god doesn’t hate anyone. My god loves everyone: male or female, gay or straight, white or not. I don’t know about your god, but I do know this: I want nothing to do with him. (And you should think long and hard about whether a god who “hates” anyone is worthy of worship.)

I haven’t found a church since college, because at this point I no longer felt the need for one. A lot of the people I choose to socialize these days with are not church people, seeing Sundays as a good day for an all-day gaming session or having bad experiences with organized religion, on account of being gay or not Christian, etc. I don’t often think of myself as a Christian—it’s not a fundamental part of my identity—but when I consider my philosophies and views of the universe, I find that I haven’t moved on from my faith. Left the church, yes, but I’m still a follower of the ways and teachings of Christ. I still believe in doing good works, and I still feel furious when bigots manipulate scripture to justify their hatred of minorities, GLBT people, or anything that is “the other.”

This is what drove me from the church: seeing what people who would call themselves my brothers and sisters do in the name of scripture. This is what is the greatest threat to the church—not the gays, or their marriages, or any politician advancing any agenda. It’s the fact that the church will not step up and purge itself of the vile, anti-Christian elements that are telling the rest of the world that not only do they not follow Jesus, but maybe they voted for the other guy. (The one with horns.)

How does a Christian get along with Gay People?

I’m living testament that “exposure to the gay” is not a problem in any way. I have lots of gay friends and have been running an all-gay (except me, obviously) D&D game for two years now. Our gaming sessions are filled with ridiculous double entendre (mostly propagated by me), witty/crude sexual humor (I certainly don’t discourage this), and all kinds of romantic subplots with male or female PCs or NPCs (created and run by me, the DM) in all sorts of combinations. And it’s really fun.

We hang out socially, often in large groups where I’m the only straight guy there. One of my players married his long-time boyfriend—I went to their wedding, which was officiated by a drag queen. Overall, I’ve had plenty of time to expose myself to “the gay,” as though somehow the radiation might damage my heterosexuality, with no effect. I enjoy hanging out with these guys, but have no desire to have sex with any of them.

I read Savage Love religiously. I stringently post about LGBT rights. I marched in the Pride Parade this year in a gray and pink gay gamer shirt.

Has any of it made me gay? Not remotely.

Being Gay is not a Choice

As I have learned, being gay is not a choice, no more than I had to “choose” to be straight or could “choose” to be gay for an afternoon. Anyone who believes otherwise has clearly never met or seriously talked to a gay person (at least one undamaged by so-called “ex-gay therapy”). And if you think otherwise, prove it—“choose to be gay” for a day, go pick up a guy from a bar, and … Well, do something sexual. If you’re concerned about that ambiguous line in Leviticus about not being allowed to “lie with a man as with a woman,” no worries—just do something you can’t do with a woman. (I suspect most of the women you sleep with don’t have certain parts that men do.)

But even if being gay WAS a choice, what does that have to do with having the right to marry the person you love? Absolutely nothing. People don’t give up their rights because they don’t have the same desires that you do. We need to stop legislating otherwise.

Why do I support Marriage equality?

Why should gays be able to get married? Because it’s a right of passage and a gesture of commitment that all people have the right to earn. LGBT people have every right to whatever straight people do, and our government—which was founded in liberty and enriched in the blood of patriots—should not be in the business of denying them that right.

I personally believe the government should not be in the marriage business at all. As far as the government is concerned, there should be a single status for tax reasons, inheritance, visitation, custody, power of attorney, divorce mediation, and other legal protections: CIVIL UNION, which you either have or you don’t. The criteria for this is that you are both consenting adults with legal rights (so no pets, children, inanimate objects, etc), who can sign a form saying that you are tied together under the law.

Maybe you’re a married man and a woman, an unmarried man and woman, or a married man and a man, or a married woman and a woman, a platonic couple of varying gender who work together but spend time together only occasionally or not at all, or two close friends who’ve been roommates forever and won’t break up the bromance, or a dutiful son taking care of his disabled grandmother with only familial love between them. The government should not be snooping into your bedroom and judging your relationship. The only consideration is that you are living your lives together, working together, and you are the closest person the other has, and vice versa. You are the person your partner relies upon in medical and financial emergencies.

“Marriage” is a totally different thing that is between you, your partner, and whatever authority you deem appropriate. It might be a priest of some kind, a parent, a dear friend, a celebrity, or a Jedi. If you get married in a church with thousands of attendees or in your grandma’s garden, it’s your business. The point is that the ritual is conducted, words are exchanged, and everyone can acknowledge your vows to have and to hold, for as much time as is given to you. Getting a CIVIL UNION certificate is *probably* but not necessarily part of your marriage. We are not here to judge you.

No one is forced to marry anyone against their will (not that such a thing would ever happen anyway), and everyone is equally protected under the law. Men and women can still get married, and doesn’t that make it MORE significant, that it’s not about taxes and legal benefits? Religious organizations are totally free to make it a policy not to marry whoever they want to discriminate against.

Also, this is America, which is a secular state based on laws and equality for all. I will never vote against civil rights for a minority group like homosexuals, no more than I would vote for stripping the vote from women or downgrading people with dark skin to be 3/5ths of people. That is not American. It is not our way.

Marriage Equality is not a threat to Straight Marriage

Ultimately, it comes down to “why do you care?” about gay people getting married. If you don’t like gay marriage, great, don’t get one. Either you’re gay and want to get married, or it doesn’t affect you.

By way of analogy, I’m a fantasy writer, and there are books out there that I really don’t like—things that actually offend me as a writer. I don’t read them. But do you see me calling for them to be banned? Nope.

Live and let live is my philosophy. That’s Jesus’s philosophy. And that should be the Christian philosophy.

No, it doesn’t “threaten” your heterosexual marriage—it doesn’t make it any less meaningful or significant. The urge to belong to an exclusive club is a very human one, but the thing is, you DO belong to an exclusive club: YOUR MARRIAGE. Some guy isn’t going to steal your husband by virtue of getting married, nor is a woman going to prey on your wife because she got married to a girlfriend last week.

The only threat to straight marriage is gays NOT being able to marry. Because like it or not, it weakens your marriage by tainting it with injustice. Like it or not, by being married, you forcibly belong to an exclusive group that lords itself over a smaller minority that can’t join.

This is not me saying not to get married. Shelley and I were together for six years before we finally got married, but we did, and we’re married today, four years later. And I’m not at all resentful or uncomfortable or anything about it. What I am is discontent that other people, by virtue of a genetic variance, don’t get to experience the wonderful thing that Shelley and I have together. They don’t get the acknowledgement that we straight people take for granted. They don’t get to take that life step, and they don’t get to be with the people they love as they’re dying in a hospital. I would be devastated if Shelley were dying and I couldn’t get in to see her because of what happened to be in my pants.

Support Marriage Equality–Vote YES to APPROVE Referendum 74.

If you call yourself Christian, or even if you don’t and you find your morality through another source, don’t let this happen to another person. Don’t be a villain. Be a hero to those weaker than yourself.

Vote Yes on Referendum 74. Support Marriage equality because it’s the right thing to do. And because it’s time.

Sincerely,

Erik Scott de Bie

Questions?

I understand if our opinions differ. And if we’re friends or you have any respect for me, at least show me the respect of allowing me to talk to you about it. Let’s have a conversation.

Email me at erikscottdebie AT yahoo DOT com, or find me on Facebook ( /erikscottdebie ).

(Do NOT take this post seriously. Though the books are pretty darn good . . . he said without bias.)

Some Facts!
The Shadowbane series, for those who don’t know, is the ongoing saga of one of my signature characters, Kalen “Shadowbane” Dren, the last true paladin of Helm, God of Guardians. A former thief inspired to become a divine warrior, Kalen takes up Vindicator, a sword sacred to Helm’s faith, and carries the fight to the forces of shadow and darkness that beset his world. The Realms need a Guardian, and Shadowbane is that man, for better or worse.

The story begins in “The Last Legend of Gedrin Shadowbane”, sees its first novel treatment in the Waterdeep-based urban adventure Downshadow (which is also part of the Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series), continues through my free e-novella “Chosen of the Sword” (seriously–85 pages for free), then makes its way to Luskan (city of Kalen’s birth) for Shadowbane, then (most recently) heads to Westgate and its many intrigues for Shadowbane: Eye of Justice, which came out just a month ago.

Some More Facts!
The story is small-scale, rather than based on a Realms Shaking Event (RSE), which is a blanket term for stories that shake up and alter the setting. The stakes are huge for the characters (particularly in regard to Kalen and his friend/ally/eventual romantic interest Myrin, an amnesiac wizard and heir to tremendous power), but they don’t mess with significant powerbases in the Realms. I don’t go blowing up the moon, but instead focus on my characters and their quest.

The last two novels are ebook only at the moment, but pending more sales, we may very well see print versions. Also, here is a link to free apps that will work on your computer, phone, or any other device: Free Kindle Apps or Free Nook Apps

Also, there has historically been an issue with international distribution of e-books, but WotC recently broke through on a deal to get international distribution going. If you tried unsuccessfully to download one of my books a few months ago, you might give it another shot.

The Question!
So. Knowing all about my awesome series (and having all those free downloads to pique your interest) as I just told you, and supporting small-scale/personal stories as you do, why haven’t you bought my books?

Cheers

Some suggested reasons:

1. I didn’t know about them! I’m clicking on those links right now.

2. I don’t have an e-reader! I’m downloading a free App!

3. I couldn’t download it because I’m international. I’m trying again!

4. I thought Shadowbane was a flash in the pan and didn’t realize there was so much story there! Wow!

5. I’ve been living under a rock! Seriously–my internet reception is the suck. But they sound awesome!

6. I didn’t realize supporting this series would support the WotC novel department’s course change!

7. Shadowbane’s not an elf/dwarf/halfling/shade/genasi/vampire, which I love. (But those are in there!)

8. I don’t like the 4e for XXXX reasons which you are clearly working to fix.

9. I don’t like awesome fantasy stories! Or the Realms! Or you! (Except that I totally would!)

10. I <3 Fox-at-Twilight and want her back! … (Wait, she’s in these novels? SOLD!!!)

11. I want adventure! Passion! Derring-do! Kickass ladies! Humor! Fashion! Treachery! (All there? SOLD!)

12. Fool! I *have* bought Shadowbane. Now stop posting online and write the next one!