73. (December 2018) Lyonesse by Jack Vance — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

Lyonesse - 3: Conflicts

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:17:51 +0000

3. Which conflicts drive the plot of Suldrun's Garden?
Unlike many fantasy novels, Lyonesse lacks a Big Bad Evil Guy whose machinations drive the plot forward. Which conflict, if any, do you see as the driving force in the novel? Is there more than one? Do we describe the characters as good and evil? If not, do they instead represent another force?

Lyonesse - 6: The Magic of Lyonesse

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:33:09 +0000

6: The Magic of Lyonesse
The world of Lyonesse is full of magic, but most of it seems to be in the hands of the fairies. Human magicians are few, and perhaps not fully human. In any case, they seem to perform magic by harnessing the power of faerie, rather than by direct spell-casting. What did you think of the magic and wizardry in Lyonesse? How would you work this into an RPG to capture the flair of the novel?

Lyonesse - 2: The World of Lyonesse

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:06:34 +0000

2: The World of Lyonesse
What did you think of the world of Lyonesse, a land to the west of France destined to sink between the sea? How does it compare to other fantasy worlds? How does it compare to other Vancian worlds? Does Vance provide enough detail? Too much? If you wanted to re-create this setting at the gaming table, how would you go about it?

Lyonesse - 7: Adapting Lyonesse

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:49:35 +0000

7: Adapting Lyonesse to the Gaming Table
What, if anything, do you identify in the setting or the novel of Lyonesse that should be considered when adapting the game to the table? Any thoughts on how to re-construct the dialogue or pacing of Vance? What about the bestiary? The magic? Is combat is a feature? What about social combat? What about Vance's propensity for pure invention?

Lyonesse - 1: A Vancian Novel?

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 20:59:47 +0000

First off, welcome to all to 2019, and welcome as well to the Tabletop Roleplayer's Book Club to anyone who is just joining us for the first time to discuss Lyonesse by Jack Vance.

To anyone who is new to the club, we typically handle discussion by posing a number of questions. I'll lead us off with a few, but if you find you have a specific topic you'd like to discuss in relation to our book that hasn't been addressed elsewhere, then please feel free to post a new topic and introduce it.

1: The Vancian Novel
Have you read Vance before? In what ways is Lyonesse similar to other Vance novels? How is it different? If Vancian magic is 'cast and forget', what is a Vancian novel?

Lyonesse - 4: Characters and their Relations

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:23:16 +0000

4: Characters and their Relations
Lyonesse seemingly has a cast of thousands. Did you gravitate to any particular characters? Are there any you hated? Characters often seem to have sordid and subtle relationships with other characters. Did any of these stand out for you?

Lyonesse - 5: Fairies

Apocryphal — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:27:07 +0000

5: The Fairies of Lyonesse
Fairies are prominent in the world of Lyonesse, yet often only loosely described. They have strict rules, though, and a strict hierarchy - but seemingly limitless powers. What did you think of the fairies? Would they make good gaming characters, or only antagonists?

Lyonesse Book 1: Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance - December 2018

Apocryphal — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 01:23:58 +0000

Announcing Lyonesse by Jack Vance, 1983, 448pp, as the December 2018 Monthly Selection.

Lyonesse Book 1: Suldrun's Garden

The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of ten contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.

I'm very pleased to announce that we'll be reading this well-regarded fantasy trilogy by Jack Vance in December. The novel promises Jack's trademark humour, wonderful fantasy invention, and sesquipedalian vocabulary. And Jack Vance is the favourite author of no less than club icon and RPG gadabout, @clash_bowley , who once famously said "Nobody cares, Chris," so you know it's bound to be good!

Collaboration with the Design Mechanism
Some of you may have heard that this trilogy is about to be given an RPG treatment by The Design Mechanism. In light of this, I've asked my friend and GM-who-likes-to-verbally-abuse-me-in-character, Lawrence Whitaker if he would like to join us in discussing the book, and he has graciously agreed. Lawrence is co-owner of the Design Mechanism and one of the authors working on the project. And if we're lucky, one or two other members of the team will poke their nose in, too.
For the moment, we're only reading book 1 in the trilogy, but if there's a demand for it nothing prevents us from reading the other two in the months to follow.

Read this book before the end of December 2018 and we'll convene to discuss it on Wednesday, January 2nd.

Fictoplasm Podcast

By the way, if you'd like to hear a great podcast episode on this trilogy, I'll point to the wonderful Christmas 2016 episode of Fictoplasm. Also available on I-tunes.

fictoplasm.net/podcast/xmas-episode-01-lyonesse-by-jack-vance/