Live-Blog a Book

I, Dan, am going to live-blog writing a Troika adventure over the holidays. Start to finish, warts and all, including bibliographies, habits (both good and bad), tools, everything. I'll even try not to think about it unless I'm also working on it actively. Live!

Why do this? Well, it's fun for me for a start. Usually creative stuff is slow and lonely, this will be fast and under your watchful eyes (comments are open). Don't even ask how long Get It At Sutlers took from inception to publishing, yikes. This whole process of documenting my process might also help people in their own work. It'll be messy, a bit dumb, lots of false starts and existential crisis', and hopefully encourage everyone to not worry so much about it. Just plough on through.

THE ADVENTURE SO FAR

Things in italics are quotes from the notebook. Except for this.

I bought a cheap-o exercise book from WHSmith to contain this thing. I don't usually buy a notebook specifically for anything, I prefer to have a pile of books which are in a regular rotation of being lost and rediscovered, but this is a finite project that must not bloat up. I have sat down for an hour or two and just written down a stream of consciousness conversation with myself about what I want to do, why, how, and possible fun things or points of issue.

This works how it sounds. I write down "So what is this?" and then I try to answer that in a stream of consciousness with the freedom to break off and focus in on any ideas I like.

"A location, a building, use a real map as a base to save time, bash together in photoshop. Set in Troika. WHAT IF someone has bought a mansion and the party is hired to clear it out of unwanted occupants."

This leads to three breakout paragraphs inspired by the setting. Mansions, grandfather clocks, clocks are cool right?

"Use the current time as a clock for a roving encounter. Check the last number of the time for a number 0-9. Optional possibility of adding the minutes together for a number between 0-14. That is fun in tandem"

 

It might be gimmicky but why not treat myself? I think this roaming encounter will be a horrible demonic thing that appears on a 10 or something. I haven't worked out the maths at this point and I don't consider it a priority, if it doesn't work or I change my mind later it's an easy thing to change.

Second breakout is Occupants?

"A corrupting influence, like ghosts or demons. Maybe a cult was squatting there. They unleashed something, but the house's robust colloidal security filament traps it inside (it's supposed to keep demons or ghostly things OUT!)"

That is written and thought about at the same time, thinking as we go. Quickly we arrive at cultists in a mansion, classic. Colloidal security is a fun idea, no idea if the word is entirely appropriate, but it has implications of "colloidal silver". Neat. I don't worry much about refining the wordings, I find it has a tendency to tart up the language too much and remove it from the more realistic pattern of the every day naming of things to be both literal and not very imaginative.

"COLLOIDAL FILAMENT - Either it is built into the fence or is a buried moat of liquid silver. Each one is quite interactive and can be broken. Plus it is valuable, maybe someone (the party?) may want to steal it."

Yea, that sounds fun. It's hidden, can be discovered, can be broken, and holds a secret hand over everything that is happening with the house. You remember that Buddhist story about blind people toughing and describing an elephant? How everyone has a different idea of what it is? I like adventures like that. There is a hidden pattern, an underlying truth, that is not necessarily going to be found but is definitely there.

I move on to Things one might find-. When an idea gets sluggish and can't be expanded quickly an easily I move on to lists of things.

• "Graffiti. Maybe lots, maybe it works like a running commentary on the house, and lies to get you killed for their amusement. A random list of graffiti would be cool, pus every room can have a set specific one or two. Some graffiti is single use, some is repeated tags.
• Controversial reading group (know the DEMON SCHEDULE and avoid it)
• OWLS in the attic
• Gremlin infestation
• Gamins smashing up the place
• Cult stuff - are they active? Maybe their joined the mothership already entered the underworld and left the door ajar.
• Drunks sleeping it off
• Urban explorers
• Ghost hunters
• Seance"

I don't know what the demon is, why they are on a schedule, who this cult is, and a lot of these are filler just to keep the pen moving. That's fine, it's best to get it all out there and see what returns to the mix later.

I have a map

I have a strong dislike for this place in real life, so it feels like a good starting point for a horrible house. I like to use things that have a personal resonance since it might create some friction that results in something entertaining. It's important that it stays below the surface or else it risks turning into satire. Besides, this house is an interesting shape and about the right size.

 

Yea, that'll do. This is above the ground floor in real life, so maybe the mansion has sunk into the ground in Troika, like old townhouses in London have, where they just cut a new front door on the first floor. Sounds good, adds a bit of texture.

I have enough now to start writing a couple of rooms or encounters. Maybe an NPC. We'll see what tomorrow (or the day after, you never know) brings!