Warning: There may be more spoilers. If this offends you, go watch the monkey dancing and juggling bowling balls.
Okay, time to keep going. Thanks for the really quick replies on the first set of questions!
Response to 1: Fair enough. That's actually slightly more info than I was expecting to get.
The responses to 2 and 3 were about what I expected, but I had to ask anyways. You know, just in case you suffered an epileptic fit and started smashing the answers onto the keyboard or something.
For elaboration on 4: I didn't think it was a hallucination, and I definitely didn't buy Teysa's materialist view on it. I'm thorough and materialist in real life; I wouldn't be so much in a world of magic. Okay, to assemble the pieces of my view. Throughout the book, it's described as a sphere. At the end, Kos on the border of death sees it more clearly as a mizzium sphere with windows. Going back to the beginning, we have a goblin observer inside just such a sphere sucked into the Schism. Furthermore, he becomes aware again with his own identity remarkably quickly (apparently faster than Hauc, although that can't be guaranteed) and finds himself still inside the observation sphere. My theory is that the kuga mot is somehow Kaluzax. Of course, I can't guarantee that.
To 5: Fair enough on lack of confirmation. Bringing that up, of course, leads me to reread at the end and note that it says "(l)ike nearly all the spirits of the dead..." (emphasis added).
To 6: That sounds really cool. It's nice to see just how much freedom you get.
To 7: "(although I did have a nifty Ravnica-centric color wheel from Brady that I kept close at hand for inspiration)." Oh? How does this differ from the standard one? Does it have the ten guilds and their views on it, or merely the specific slant each color takes on Ravnica (if the former, that's basically what Rosewater is doing in his articles)?
To 8: A cop out it may be, but there's no fault in that. I knew it would probably be hard to answer overall, since you have to be at least somewhat attached to any character you write if you want to write them convincingly.
To 9: A bit of Agrus Kos in you?
And now to points beyond!
10) The mark of the Orzhov that Teysa uses to command all Orzhov creations are the three black stones in her arm. Also mentioned is that you must be a pureblood to utilize them. Are these stones implanted in any pureblood after birth, or are they actually directly linked to the blood and show up naturally in people of pure blood?
11) What exactly is a "virusoid?" What, for example, would a generic virusoid look like? And furthermore, did you just make them up on your own, or is that a type that the Wizards editor suggested (Uh... this is another portion of the question that can have a "no" answer, I guess)?
12) Pazapatru is a R/G creature being used to guard the Orzhov. Was this done because the cards weren't in yet when you saw the art, or because you just thought the Orzhov holding Gruul in bondage would be cool?
13) The book specifically mentions millions of souls in the Schism. The Schism's only been there for, what, fifty years? Utvara can't be that large. Where are all the excess souls coming from?
14) What exactly was the inspiration for the ghostly taj?
15) The Ghost Council apparently wants Teysa to spread the cure, and yet they also seem to tell her to let the dragons be born. As the plague is necessary air for them, would it not seem that they are at odds with their own motivations?
16) Hauc seems to waver in his motivations throughout the book. At some points, he seems to be altruistically motivated (I will recreate the world to make it better). At others he seems simply insane (I will purge those who get in my way). And finally, I have reason to suspect that the "Firemadness" he suffers is directly caused by Niv-Mizzet who wants him to go through, which would make him a puppet, not really motivated by anything correctly. Is there any uniform explanation that I should be accepting right now?
17) What could possibly have motivated Melisk to act as he did? He had to have known that he couldn't supplant a member of Orzhov blood and still be a part of the Orzhov guild, didn't he?
18) Why didn't Nebun act to cure the plague immediately? Was he also in on the whole plot? Does this mean that we now have a plot that spans across the Izzet, the Orzhov, and the Simic to do something that at first blush should be the end of the plane? I get the suspicion that I'm not seeing a piece somewhere in here, since I can't imagine all those forces would want to destroy Ravnica.
Anyways, I'll stop for now. Heh. Sorry if I ask a lot of questions, but I really do appreciate the feedback.
I was wondering about something in the Guildpact novel. There seems to be a few hints that Melisk might have been more than an attendant to Teysa. I quote "Don't play games with me. I don't find it endearing anymore (29)." But the one that raised my eyebrow was "Not when he became the attendant. When he and I first-- (192)" So I was wondering, what exactly would have been in place of "--" if Teysa had finished her sentence? Forgive me if I'm reading into this too much, or if this has been asked before.
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Warning: There may be more spoilers. If this offends you, go watch the monkey dancing and juggling bowling balls.
The monkeys *are* out in force today, that's for sure.
My theory is that the kuga mot is somehow Kaluzax. Of course, I can't guarantee that.
Nor can I...but that is an interesting hypothesis.
To 7: "(although I did have a nifty Ravnica-centric color wheel from Brady that I kept close at hand for inspiration)." Oh? How does this differ from the standard one? Does it have the ten guilds and their views on it, or merely the specific slant each color takes on Ravnica (if the former, that's basically what Rosewater is doing in his articles)?
It was more of an literal donut-shaped wheel with the five colors making up the spokes, filled in with words and concepts describing how the five colors were to be expressed in Ravnica. Helpful when characters faced some kind of moral decision--from job choice to heroism to "Do I *really* want more pie?" to "Do I *really* want to stab that person and/or thing?", especially if they were representative or strongly attached to their guild in my mind. The actual physical shape also directly inspired the shape of the City of Ravnica and the ten sections.
To 9: A bit of Agrus Kos in you?
My liver might be over a hundred years old. And there might be other similarities, though chief amongst them would *not* be the ability to engage in any kind of physical fisticuffs and live. I did sucker-punch a guy in 3rd grade during a dodgeball game.
10) The mark of the Orzhov that Teysa uses to command all Orzhov creations are the three black stones in her arm. Also mentioned is that you must be a pureblood to utilize them. Are these stones implanted in any pureblood after birth, or are they actually directly linked to the blood and show up naturally in people of pure blood?
I don't think I ever specified, but I figured they were implanted when Teysa was a teenager and began to take on responsibility for herself, as would be expected of her by the guild and the Karlov family. The stones are heirlooms in most cases, plucked from the bodies of the dead ancestor. But properly blessed, then cursed, then otherwise treated and prepared, they can be made from scratch from the right stones, for the right people, by the right people, with the right magic, for the right price. So you wanna buy a watch or what?
11) What exactly is a "virusoid?" What, for example, would a generic virusoid look like? And furthermore, did you just make them up on your own, or is that a type that the Wizards editor suggested (Uh... this is another portion of the question that can have a "no" answer, I guess)?
A virusoid is my dazzlingly literal word for a humanoid virus...it's pretty much just a giant colonial organism made of virus cells, custom-grown by Simic for their own uses. I made 'em up, I think (my notes are haphazardly organized), but the idea sounded very Simic to me. They look kind of like a cross between Gumby and Swamp Thing in appearance. The idea for virusoids came from contemplating the gigantic plastic Chewbacca action figure that sits above my computer monitor (one of the late '70s Kenner models) while also contemplating the Stephen King segment of Creepshow. The usual kind of thing.
12) Pazapatru is a R/G creature being used to guard the Orzhov. Was this done because the cards weren't in yet when you saw the art, or because you just thought the Orzhov holding Gruul in bondage would be cool?
The second one. Pazapatru is a symbol of Orzhov power—just killing him wouldn't have been easy, but it could have been done. Instead, they made him pay his debt this way Now they've got this monstrous thing sitting right out front, this big, deadly monster turned into a bitter, angry, repressed Carlton the Doorman.
I liked writing the dire but polite threats, too.
13) The book specifically mentions millions of souls in the Schism. The Schism's only been there for, what, fifty years? Utvara can't be that large. Where are all the excess souls coming from?
A good point, but you're asking the wrong questions.
While I'm being all cryptic, only by balancing a tack hammer on your head can you head off your foes with a balanced attack.
14) What exactly was the inspiration for the ghostly taj?
Three and a half words that occured to me while brainstorming Orzhov agents: body-hopping zombie ninjas. I figured Orzhov nobles have supervillainous tastes when it comes employees.
15) The Ghost Council apparently wants Teysa to spread the cure, and yet they also seem to tell her to let the dragons be born. As the plague is necessary air for them, would it not seem that they are at odds with their own motivations?
Destroying a dragon egg--unless you're a dragon--is nigh on impossible. Perhaps they thought it was better the dragons be born, and then die.
Perhaps.
16) Hauc seems to waver in his motivations throughout the book. At some points, he seems to be altruistically motivated (I will recreate the world to make it better). At others he seems simply insane (I will purge those who get in my way). And finally, I have reason to suspect that the "Firemadness" he suffers is directly caused by Niv-Mizzet who wants him to go through, which would make him a puppet, not really motivated by anything correctly. Is there any uniform explanation that I should be accepting right now?
Some people, especially the arrogant, just can't handle too much power...Hauc was one of those people. No matter how smart he was (which wasn't quite as smart as he *thought* he was), he wasn't nearly as good at the deception game as his co-conspirators. To someone as sure of his own righteous, arrogant, rightness as Hauc, scorching the world and rebuilding it as he saw fit was altruistic. Especially if the arguably most physically powerful being on the plane—his boss—was overpowered so that Hauc could bring his fresh new ideas to the table, so to speak.
And like most Izzet, he just plain loves a good semi-controlled burn.
17) What could possibly have motivated Melisk to act as he did? He had to have known that he couldn't supplant a member of Orzhov blood and still be a part of the Orzhov guild, didn't he?
The Obzedat have ways of sharing the blood, though such instances are rare and quite painful for the recipient, as it involves replacing pretty much all of your ratty old non-Orzhov blood. Melisk was their instrument here, and that was part of his promised reward for keeping Teysa in line.
18) Why didn't Nebun act to cure the plague immediately? Was he also in on the whole plot? Does this mean that we now have a plot that spans across the Izzet, the Orzhov, and the Simic to do something that at first blush should be the end of the plane? I get the suspicion that I'm not seeing a piece somewhere in here, since I can't imagine all those forces would want to destroy Ravnica.
I'm not saying he wasn't in on it, but not everyone in a conspiracy knows everyone else or even knows they're participating or what the end result might be. I will say Nebun is one of those scientists for whom observing the results of his own work, and thereby gaining knowledge for its own sake, was much more important than a few moral qualms...he himself was in no danger, having the cure, but he could observe the effects. Science minus most of the morality. Such people can make good patsies for the manipulative.
CJH
I'm fairly certain that I have no spoilers in this post, but I'll go ahead and warn anyways. If you are a member of the people who have not read Cory's novels, go read them and come back so I don't have to spoil anything to you.
Re 7: Thanks. That actually sounds pretty cool (An actual donut shaped wheel? I need to see this sometime).
Re 9: I see society has gotten past old eyes to the point where we talk about old livers now, eh?
Re 10: Okay, that's about what I expected.
Re 11: Gumby and Swamp Thing... I'm trying my hardest to imagine that unholy fusion. Are you sure the Simic aren't actually W/B to create something that God Awful? (Hahah. That's a bad pun. You're supposed to laugh. Please?). I thought it would be something like that; I was just curious as to what they were. That was the one off idea that just sorta struck me.
Re 12: Awesome, of course. Pazapatru was probably my favorite one shot character (maybe ever?), so I just had to find out. That was the single best exchange in the history of the written word (I may exaggerate, but then again, I may not. At the least, that one exchange ranks up there with my god, Douglas Adams).
Re 13: I'd ask questions that may be more right, but whenever I do this monkey keeps getting in the way and making an awful racket.
Re 14: That is the coolest inspiration ever. I'm strongly debating just sigging that (if you don't mind).
Re 15: Fair enough, fair enough.
Re 16: That's what I suspected (the whole combination of it all). He's basically just a guy who got too powerful for his own good and went insane with the power.
Re 17: Ah, okay. So he was promised actual status in the guild if he could keep Teysa in line? That sounds like the sort of deal that would be made; rather than getting gold, he gets an actual shot at power.
Re 18: I get the impression from how you characterize Vedalken that they are both easily manipulated and don't particularly care if they are manipulated. They seem to want only to organize and evaluate things, and don't care in the slightest if other people are taking advantage of that tendency. Is this a fair assessment? Yes, no?
I wish I could ask questions about Dissension... I have so many general purpose questions that I just want to know before I even read the book, but I'll just wait. Patience is a virtue, eh?
Okay, the questions are less specific now and more general topics, being asked more or less at random. I'd have to reread the novel again before I got any more specifics into memory, and although I'm sure I'll do that, it won't be tonight.
19) Mark Rosewater likes to say that restrictions breed creativity. Would you agree with this statement? Any reason why or why not?
20) I note that you say you're "a lousy Magic player." Would you care to elaborate on your experience with physically playing the game?
21) Do you have any favorite art or artists from the game? Anything you like about them?
22) Have you seen The Princess Bride? (Er... I'm not weird! I swear!)
23) Pyrohydric versus Hydropyric: Which type is more likely to win the superbowl?
Anyways, I thank you as always for your insight. It's really a great boon to have the author of a novel right there where you can just ask them questions. Sorry for being a hassle and all, and thank you for the time.
Regarding Orzhov, they're a totally false religion nowadays, right? If they worship anything, its themselves and money and power?
A long time ago, like when the Guildpact was signed (or even earlier?), did Orzhov actually have real religion? Where they ever a legit church?
And if so, what god(s) did they follow?
In the old days, the *really* old days, there was true ancestor worship (though those ancestors weren't gods) which evolved into the formal ghost council you see in the books. And you're spot on--if they worship anything, it's power and wealth. And power.
They'd never admit it...but by and large, the big bosses in the Orzhov guild fear death--or rather, non-existence--more than anything else.
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I was wondering about something in the Guildpact novel. There seems to be a few hints that Melisk might have been more than an attendant to Teysa. I quote "Don't play games with me. I don't find it endearing anymore (29)." But the one that raised my eyebrow was "Not when he became the attendant. When he and I first-- (192)" So I was wondering, what exactly would have been in place of "--" if Teysa had finished her sentence? Forgive me if I'm reading into this too much, or if this has been asked before.
Oh yeah, they definitely have a history. Check out the cover of the book—dude is totally checking her out.
Quote from Destrius »
I'm fairly certain that I have no spoilers in this post, but I'll go ahead and warn anyways.
[snip, but thanks for the plug. :)]
Re 7: Thanks. That actually sounds pretty cool (An actual donut shaped wheel? I need to see this sometime).
Well... a picture of one. Not an *actual* donut shaped wheel. Though I agree that would be cool.
Re 9: I see society has gotten past old eyes to the point where we talk about old livers now, eh?
We can talk about the old livers because their hearing is starting to go.
My eyes ain't so hot either, but that's been going on since I was 4 and I think is fairly steady.
Re 11: Gumby and Swamp Thing... I'm trying my hardest to imagine that unholy fusion. Are you sure the Simic aren't actually W/B to create something that God Awful? (Hahah. That's a bad pun. You're supposed to laugh. Please?).
Ha? :tongue3:
Re 17: Ah, okay. So he was promised actual status in the guild if he could keep Teysa in line? That sounds like the sort of deal that would be made; rather than getting gold, he gets an actual shot at power.
Right. Like I mentioned above, power and money are what the Orzhov really love (generally speaking, every guild has exceptions of course). And power even more than that.
Re 18: I get the impression from how you characterize Vedalken that they are both easily manipulated and don't particularly care if they are manipulated. They seem to want only to organize and evaluate things, and don't care in the slightest if other people are taking advantage of that tendency. Is this a fair assessment? Yes, no?
Right again. It's not that they're easily manipulated so much as they just don't really care (again, generally speaking--painting an entire species with the same motivation is never a good idea). At least, that's how it looks to the outside observer. Who knows what those mind-reading vedalken are up to inside their heads?
I wish I could ask questions about Dissenssion... I have so many general purpose questions that I just want to know before I even read the book, but I'll just wait. Patience is a virtue, eh?
Yeah...that's what my editor keeps telling me.
19) Mark Rosewater likes to say that restrictions breed creativity. Would you agree with this statement? Any reason why or why not?
Sure. You've got to set rules for your world, and if you break them, you're cheating your own creation in a way, so you'd better have a good reason and it had better be important to the story when you do it. I think I read somewhere that Asimov said (paraphrasing here) science fiction was just fiction, but with one thing completely different (and I know this is fantasy we're talking about, but we're also talking about restrictions). Doesn't matter what the one thing is, so long as its just one. It could be something huge--aliens exist and they want to share technology. Mankind build robots that attain true sentience. Time travel works. The laws of thermodynamics are reversed. Magic exists in another dimension—in several dimensions. Heck, Arrakis is just Arizona with giant sandworms. I mean seriously, have you been to Scottsdale?
I guess if I'd managed a short answer, I'd amend that to say, working within restrictions and finding a way to defeat them breeds creativity.
20) I note that you say you're "a lousy Magic player." Would you care to elaborate on your experience with physically playing the game?
If you're playing physically, you're taking it way too seriously. Or maybe just seriously enough, depending on your opponent.
There's not much to it. I just don't have much time to play (let alone build decks), and Wizards doesn't send free cards to authors. :)I started playing when Ice Age was new, played quite a bit at work around the time of the Weatherlight saga, and these days I just don't personally know that many folks who play, at least not at my (lousy) level--and I was only ever a casual-game guy. In the old days before I worked at Wizards (heck, before I even worked at a desk...I think I was working at a movie theater when I started) I played a lot of 4- or 5-person games with friends.
Y'know, math is hard.
21) Do you have any favorite art or artists from the game? Anything you like about them?
Yes--the artists that painted the covers of the Ravnica books. :)Sorry, I'm a lousy art critic, I use the art for visual reference and often there aren't names attached. From my Duelist/TopDeck days, I remember really digging Mark Zug's stuff, Todd Lockwood draws the ladies real purty, and ...crap, I suck at names. Let's move on.
22) Have you seen The Princess Bride? (Er... I'm not weird! I swear!)
Do bees be? Do bears bear?
If you have the opportunity and haven't done so, check out the William Goldman book it was based on. Good stuff. You'll see S. Morgenstern in a whole new light, that's for sure. And if you have read it, good on ya.
23) Pyrohydric versus Hydropyric: Which type is more likely to win the superbowl?
I have another Ravnica question: I was wondering whether there was a connenction between the names of the months and the guilds. Months named Golgar and Seleszen seem to reply there is, but I can't easily tie Mokosh, Xivaskir & Paulal to guilds. So, what are the other month's names, who tought them up, and do they have a connection to the Guildpact?
You beaten me to ask this, Squirle. I reckon that Cory made the months' names similar to certain other names he made (I remember also Cizarm). On the other hand, Zuun does not resemble anything.
I have got my Fat Pack yesterday and I have read the book in 7 hours. Excellent work, Cory. I loved the book, well-portraited characters and the mood. Top scenes: Teysa tricking dr. Nebun into the verity circle (Oh dear, you have done it to me again, haven't you?), and the assault of Cauldron, especially Barkfeather's aerial falcon-elf-elephant shapeshift...that'd look gorgeous in a movie.
Crix is a kickass character overall, hands down.I like a high intelligent goblin character capable of normal thinking AND speaking (the latter disqualifies Squee and also Slobad).
I loved also the part where Teysa recruited her own Guildpact army from the local inhabitants. The taj and the Dimir shadewalkers were cool.
Some specific questions, if I can ask and avoid the monkeys' wrath...;)
1) I reckon that the Karlov patriarch has been kicked oud from the Ghost Council aka Obzedat to his definite death..because I think that this would not qualify as a success, and he was in the probation period...am I right?
2) Aren't djinni supposed to be air/water based creatures, as opposed to fire-based efreeti? The djinn standing watch at the Cauldron seemed more like an efreet to me.
3) Using the name of Rembic Wezescu, the "Szadek" actor from RAV book as the author of the cited plays was a nice touch, and I am sure that it has not been a pure coincidence
4) Vitar Yescu. Has it been destroyed completely, and was Barkfeather killed?
Thanks in advance, and congrats to well-written book.
Quick question. . . Don't want to spoil Guildpact for those that haven't reached the end yet, but why was the decision to kill you-know-who now? Within the story i expected the death, but why now? Why not save it for Dissention with the demon peeps. Just me, just curious.
Thanks.
P.S. I believe I read something about entwining the guilds together in Dissention, instead of keeping the guilds seperate in each novel. Is there any simple hint you may spare? If not, I'm not that worried about it, I'll read it NOT so soon enough. Thanks.
:redface:
I have another Ravnica question: I was wondering whether there was a connenction between the names of the months and the guilds. Months named Golgar and Seleszen seem to reply there is, but I can't easily tie Mokosh, Xivaskir & Paulal to guilds. So, what are the other month's names, who tought them up, and do they have a connection to the Guildpact?
Some are derived from the names of guilds or historical figures, others are inspired by words from the go-to non-English languages I used to derive a lot of those names (Paulal is one exception, I named that after my grandfather). I made up a calendar at the very beginning of the process, but some of the names changed over the course of writing the books and I never updated the list, so anything I posted might not be accurate.
In the fictional sense, the names of the month have connection to the guildpact in the sense that many of the modern names stem from the original signing (which led to the standardization of many things—calendars, monetary systems, etc.) The Orzhov have also bought a few of them outright just because they can…and it's good advertising.
Quote from Caranthir »
1) I reckon that the Karlov patriarch has been kicked oud from the Ghost Council aka Obzedat to his definite death..because I think that this would not qualify as a success, and he was in the probation period...am I right?
Uncle's fate is as yet unknown. It is possible in the Obzedat, as it is in many real-world institutions, to "fail upward."
2) Aren't djinni supposed to be air/water based creatures, as opposed to fire-based efreeti? The djinn standing watch at the Cauldron seemed more like an efreet to me.
I am certain that this is due to the way language and terminology evolved on Ravnica, and has nothing to do with any errors on the author's part.
3) Using the name of Rembic Wezescu, the "Szadek" actor from RAV book as the author of the cited plays was a nice touch, and I am sure that it has not been a pure coincidence
Not a coincidence--getting out of the City of Ravnica was the smartest career move Wezescu ever made, as it turned out. Now he and his players dominate the boards at the equivalents of Las Vegas and Branson, Missouri. He's become the Neil Simon of Ravnica.
4) Vitar Yescu. Has it been destroyed completely, and was Barkfeather killed?
Vitar Yescu has been incinerated. Barkfeather's fate is uncertain.
Quote from Tolsimir"s Finest »
Quick question. . . Don't want to spoil Guildpact for those that haven't reached the end yet, but why was the decision to kill you-know-who now? Within the story i expected the death, but why now? Why not save it for Dissention with the demon peeps. Just me, just curious.
Because death doesn't always hit when you expect it, in life or in a story. That was intentional. Here's a TV comparison that springs to mind and may or may not make sense to you: I hadn't seen it yet at the time, of course, and I'm not even comparing my abilities with those of Ron Moore, but it's similar to something that happened in the recent (2/10) "Dog Day Afternoon" episode of the new Battlestar Galactica (spoiler warning for BSG fans). I'm not thinking of
Billy's death
, which happened exactly when I expected it, but
Starbuck shooting Apollo
. The best-laid plans don't always have satisfying timing.
P.S. I believe I read something about entwining the guilds together in Dissention, instead of keeping the guilds seperate in each novel. Is there any simple hint you may spare?
Odds are good you'll see members of more than three guilds in Dissension, though I won't promise some won't be cameos. I should say no more if I want my editor to buy lunch at our next book meeting. And I do.
Okay, here are two things that have been bothering me.
-There's been *zero* mention of any Planeswalkers. Ravnica seems like an actual planet, like Dominaria, but it's always referred to as a Plane, not a world. There's obvious cross-seeding with every type of race imaginable (viashino especially come to mind) - The plane has been around for 10,000 years plus... so why no commentary/history on this?
-All the Ravinican guilds are seriously dysfunctional. The peace-loving Sylesnia are a brainwashing cult, the freedom fighting Gruul tear down your property and eat your neighbors, the Izzet don't think twice about blowing up whole chunks of the planet, the Azorius (at least from my impression) are corrupt and are practically in the pocket of the Orzhov, law is a travesty, Razia is a religous zealot (Only the chosen are spared?) and the mass of folks that don't belong in the guilds are literally serfs and slaves. Not a happy place to live. No wonder Agrus wants to drink himself to death. I realize that, at its core, Magic is a game about conflict, and that's reflected in the worlds, but Ravnica just seems like a pretty bleak place to live. Not that I'm expecting ponies and sunshine, but, wow. What's the average person's view going to be of life in Ravnica other than "this sucks." How do they cope?
A virusoid is my dazzlingly literal word for a humanoid virus...it's pretty much just a giant colonial organism made of virus cells, custom-grown by Simic for their own uses. I made 'em up, I think (my notes are haphazardly organized), but the idea sounded very Simic to me. They look kind of like a cross between Gumby and Swamp Thing in appearance. The idea for virusoids came from contemplating the gigantic plastic Chewbacca action figure that sits above my computer monitor (one of the late '70s Kenner models) while also contemplating the Stephen King segment of Creepshow.
Virusoid is already a word. Ironically, real virusoids are subviral particles, almost the exact opposite of colonial organisms made of viruses.
[nitpick]Viruses don't have cells (or did you mean they have viruses instead of cells?).[/nitpick]
Also, what does the Krokt goblinese on page 14 of Ravnica mean in Ravi?
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-There's been *zero* mention of any Planeswalkers. Ravnica seems like an actual planet, like Dominaria, but it's always referred to as a Plane, not a world. There's obvious cross-seeding with every type of race imaginable (viashino especially come to mind) - The plane has been around for 10,000 years plus... so why no commentary/history on this?
Planeswalkers of unusual, or indeed any, size? I don't think they exist.
-All the Ravinican guilds are seriously dysfunctional. The peace-loving Sylesnia are a brainwashing cult, the freedom fighting Gruul tear down your property and eat your neighbors, the Izzet don't think twice about blowing up whole chunks of the planet, the Azorius (at least from my impression) are corrupt and are practically in the pocket of the Orzhov, law is a travesty, Razia is a religous zealot (Only the chosen are spared?) and the mass of folks that don't belong in the guilds are literally serfs and slaves. Not a happy place to live. No wonder Agrus wants to drink himself to death. I realize that, at its core, Magic is a game about conflict, and that's reflected in the worlds, but Ravnica just seems like a pretty bleak place to live. Not that I'm expecting ponies and sunshine, but, wow. What's the average person's view going to be of life in Ravnica other than "this sucks." How do they cope?
Like you said, they drink.
It's not necessarily the cushy life we enjoy in the so-called developed world, but people get by. They have to. I mean, look at human society on this planet for the first few million years—talk about bleak. Yet people went on, painted cave walls, discovered fire, fell in love, and finally invented TV. And no matter how bleak one person's life is, there's always someone worse off. Except for the goblin that has to clean Niv-Mizzet's lair. No one is worse off than him.
Remember that the Guildpact is a very, very old document. And in some ways it shows how things are when you rigidly organize a caste/guild system like this. Yeah, it's a little bleak, but it got that way because of a very sincere and fairly effective effort to enforce relative peace through the Guildpact. But with such rigid societal structures, diversification can stagnate, ideas and ideals become laws and customs. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Y'know?
Quote from Loot Niptil »
Virusoid is already a word. Ironically, real virusoids are subviral particles, almost the exact opposite of colonial organisms made of viruses.
[nitpick]Viruses don't have cells (or did you mean they have viruses instead of cells?).[/nitpick]
Also, what does the Krokt goblinese on page 14 of Ravnica mean in Ravi?
It's a real word? Cool! Guess I'm not as creative as I thought. Or as edjumicated, either. Whatever virusoids are made of, it's all virus as far as flesh goes. Kinda like that guy made out of cancer on the X-Files, except, you know, not cancer.
As a pathological nitpicker, it's an honor to be nitpicked, btw.
The first chunk of goblinese on page 14 was a mangled version of a fairly standard wojek way of beginning an interrogation: "Greetings and sausages, friend of Krokt, my party-hat and eyeball are wojeks and we would like to spackle you a few bean soups." (And now that I've written that, I'd better save it for the next time someone asks.:)) The second was a little more accurate, essentially, "listen up and spackle, toenail, if you know what's delicious for you." The goblin reacted confused and terrified because he *was* confused, had good reason to be terrified, and was certainly in shock.
The specific sounds were inspired by the Gelf language on Red Dwarf (series 6, I think?).
Got some questions of my own. I'd like to say that the 10-groups-ruling-a-world idea is very enjoyable for me. Not just because the setting is good, but because it hits a little closer to home than "The Dwarves of Red Mountain are in a violent war with the Zombies of Black Swampland". Most of my questions, suspect, are along these lines.
And, yes, I apologize if these are a little "out there". Ravnica (and to a lesser extent, Mirrodin) were the two latest sets where I really wish there was a Morrowind-esque RPG to simply explore in.
1) Would you say that the way the average Ravnican feels about the Guilds would be similar to the way the average person looks at a major political party in our world?
2) Am I correct in assuming that a Ravnican exposing House Dimir would be taken as seriously as someone claiming to have proof of the Illuminati or other conspiracy theory?
3) How does the Guildpact actually prevent one Guild from overtaking the rest? Are members physically or magically unable to try certain things, or is it something less direct?
4) Do few people know about House Dimir, or do they adopt a policy of "hidden in plain sight?"
5) Is the average Ravnican more likely to see Magic in terms of Guilds (Boros Magic, or Golgari Magic), or the colors we know (Red Magic, White Magic, etc)? Is the concept of single-colored mana unheard of in a bi-colored society?
6) Do many Guilds actively hate each other, or are most of them fairly tolerant of the other's existence?
7) Can a guildmember retract or retire from his/her old Guild, and join another? An Izzet deciding that life itself is more interesting, and adopting the banner of the Vedalken?
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I really wish there was a Morrowind-esque RPG to simply explore in.
Funny you should mention that, it's one of my favorite games of all time. You getting Oblivion?
1) Would you say that the way the average Ravnican feels about the Guilds would be similar to the way the average person looks at a major political party in our world?
That's a good analogy, but only if you really mean the whole world, with all the ranges and definitions of "political parties" you find there. And they're even more than that. They're the religions, bureacracies, militaries, and corporations of Ravnica, too.
2) Am I correct in assuming that a Ravnican exposing House Dimir would be taken as seriously as someone claiming to have proof of the Illuminati or other conspiracy theory?
Pretty much, at least before Szadek did that thing he did. And even then, eyewitness accounts of that event have been notoriously vague...which feeds more conspiracy theorizing....
3) How does the Guildpact actually prevent one Guild from overtaking the rest? Are members physically or magically unable to try certain things, or is it something less direct?
Magic!
That's the short answer, and it's really short because the long answer is really long. Presenting... How the Guildpact More or Less Works (As Cory Sees It) If the Guildpact just made individuals behave, it'd be the plane of Selesnya.
The magic part of the Guildpact sort of operates at the extremes of potential disorder. It doesn't manipulate people so much, but when things get really bad--say, a horde of angry Gruul storm the Orzhov city of Casar Impurnato, threatening the foundations of Ravnica's banks and economies should the markets and vaults there be overrun--the Guildpact might affect the laws of probability in ways that make such an horde unlikely to succeed. The weather patterns might shift, sendnig a patrol of Boros angels over the area unexpectedly. An outbreak of dysentery might slow the horde. Going against the Guildpact even more directly only heightens the equal and opposite reaction of the Guildpact.
Not that people don't try. Ravnica's history is filled with interguild skirmishes short of open war, the results of attempts to start open war. The Rakdos have a habit of uprising in part because the current generation becomes convinced that *this* time, it might really work. Some individuals or groups have gone after the GP directly, tried to harm the physical document or break its institutions, the response from the GP magic is the same.
The written parts of the Guildpact, the actual articles and so forth, take care of most everything else. And with 9 (or 10, depending on whether you're a wild-eyed conspiracy nut) guilds around in an interdependent society that's only grown more interdependent with each passing century, it makes it unlikely that one, two, or even three guilds could or would join together to take on the rest. The Guildpact statutes and accords and articles and codes and amendments are designed to ensure that even if a "sidepact" was formed, even if the smaller group succeeded some kind of world conquest plan, they would not survive--the other guilds fill niches that keep the society functioning, keep people fed, healthy, relatively happy.
4) Do few people know about House Dimir, or do they adopt a policy of "hidden in plain sight?"
Not many really believe in Dimir, even now. It's a legend and a ghost story. And a conspiracy theory, sure. Even those in the guild don't necessarily know they're in the guild--their boss might work for someone else who is working for someone else, and they're all doing what Szadek wants them to do, they're his creatures, but they don't realize it.
The exceptions include the angels, who are beholden to the Guildpact not to reveal Dimir. The Boros and the Wojeks are two of the ways they oppose him without doing so openly, for the sake of the Guildpact (the creation of which they supported and aided).
5) Is the average Ravnican more likely to see Magic in terms of Guilds (Boros Magic, or Golgari Magic), or the colors we know (Red Magic, White Magic, etc)? Is the concept of single-colored mana unheard of in a bi-colored society?
A Ravnican's perception of magic is colored, so to speak, by their station in the society and the guild, if any, they're in. TSome basic terms are pretty common across guild lines, though, usually related to the elements or to the function of that magic. The Izzet and Simic originated most of these terms, like hydromana, which is derived from and/or affects water; pyromana, both a fuel and a weapon; necrobiology, magic that aids in the study and manipulation of things that use to be alive. If the Izzet could bottle every kind of magic in the world, they would. And they've gotten pretty close.
6) Do many Guilds actively hate each other, or are most of them fairly tolerant of the other's existence?
Guilds that are prone to hating certainly do at times, but it doesn't necessarily do them any good. Golgari and Azorius? Not a lot of common ground. Rakdos and anybody? Common bloody ground of, like, death. And just as some don't get along, others get along pretty well. The Boros, Azorius, and Selesnya are like freakin' NATO sometimes.
7) Can a guildmember retract or retire from his/her old Guild, and join another? An Izzet deciding that life itself is more interesting, and adopting the banner of the Vedalken?
The Izzet would have to be a vedalken first. Ha!
In some cases, and usually its only humans that get such notions. A couple of guilds tend to eat or incinerate other guildies that try switching, and in some guilds loyalty is either signed away or programmed in. What's much more common is a guild member being on loan to another--the nurse in Ravnica, for example, was a Simic, but working for the Wojeks in her day job.From there, if the nurse had wanted to join the Wojeks outright, she could petition for it in the courts.
It's mentioned in the flavor text for Quicken that "A skilled Izzet chronarch can carry out an epic vendetta between the fall of one hourglass grain and the next."
Can they just make things move faster or slower, or can they actually time travel? And if so, could they concievably go back in time to meddle with history (like maybe cause the Guildpact never to be signed) or go to the future to gain more knowledge?
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Definately, but the game is beginning to worry me - a lot of stuff is being removed from Morrowind that is dissapointing me. Off the top of my head - no spears, no enchanting (unless you're in the Mage Guild, and and even then someone else makes it for you), clothing and small items don't really have shadows like they did in the early video, those wonderful trees are Vampire Trees (will not reflect in water)... there's tons more than I'm forgetting.
Guildpacts For Dummies
Thanks, that's kinda what I assumed. It's a document, and its a fate-changing Finger of "Don't Do That."
Thanks for your answers. Now, if only my framerates in Balmora weren't horrible, I'd go into the TES and turn it into a MiniRavnica...
Can they just make things move faster or slower, or can they actually time travel?
I'm not the writer, but since chronarch seems to imply a Magic of Time, it's able to go slowly and/or quickly. So, he's able to fight a war within a nanosecond.
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It's mentioned in the flavor text for Quicken that "A skilled Izzet chronarch can carry out an epic vendetta between the fall of one hourglass grain and the next."
Can they just make things move faster or slower, or can they actually time travel? And if so, could they concievably go back in time to meddle with history (like maybe cause the Guildpact never to be signed) or go to the future to gain more knowledge?
I am not sure whether Cory would be able to answer this. The novel does not mention the chronarchs at all. They seem to be the product of "Hey, this word sounds cool" way of thinking of R&D naming department.
If I should guess, I'd guess that they can make the time flow relatively slower of faster.
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I'm not sure how far anyone can answer this, but even a clue would be appreciated. In Saviors of Kamigawa, where did Toshi end up, and will either he or that world show up in the future? I should also add, did that place ever appear in the past? I know there was a Testsuo Umezawa in legends, but are they related? I haven't read the Legends novels (the only novels I haven't read), so I don't know that storyline.
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I'm not sure how far anyone can answer this, but even a clue would be appreciated. In Saviors of Kamigawa, where did Toshi end up, and will either he or that world show up in the future? I should also add, did that place ever appear in the past? I know there was a Testsuo Umezawa in legends, but are they related? I haven't read the Legends novels (the only novels I haven't read), so I don't know that storyline.
This has been answered a couple of times, including in an Ask Wizards on the magicthegathering.com website.
Basicly, Toshi got dropped off in Dominaria some time before Legends. Tetsuo Umezawa is indeed his descendent. Someone else can fill in the details better, which are covered in one of the Legends/Anthologies books.
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They are pretty good. My only problem is with Tetsuo. tetsuo is sort of like 'superman'. He has a million powers, and can defeat monstrous creatures withotu even trying.
A few other questions...
1) Does the Guildpact protect the Gruul? Cavotta mentions not, but I think it'd be interesting if the Guildpact itself understands the need for a destroy-everything group of people, and prevents the other Guilds from purging them entirely.
2) Speaking of Destroy Everything guilds, how could/did the more chaotic pre-Guilds (Gruul, Rakdos come to mind) agree to such an orderly system that became the Guildpact?
3) You mentioned earlier that the Orzhov were likely ancestor-worshippers pre-Guildpact, but had you conceived how each Pre-Guild group acted? It would seem hard for me to picture brainy Pre-Izzets fighting wars.
4) I'm having trouble wrapping my head around a completely urban plane. Would Ravnicans know what simple groundsoil is? Grass? I didn't know how to picture some of the settings in Guildpact's novel, they certainly didn't feel like hustling-bustling city area.
5) Is the "Ravnica was supposed to be a gift to the Izzet but some Goblins screwed it up" story mentioned in the novel true, or a sort of "This is why our Guild is the best" story? It would seem that way to me.
6) How "legit" are the Orzhov w.r.t. trading and stuff? It's easy to paint them as "would make you pay 100 dollars for 2 dollars worth of stuff", but such a thing would be extremely bad for business in the long term. Would you typically expect a fair deal, a quasi-fair deal, or a total-screwage from an everyday business dealing with an Orzhov?
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Is the Nephilim the Gruul fight in the beginning of Guildpact a particular one? The cards themselves aren't Legendary, thus it seems there could be many different kinds. Is it one of the cards, if so, which one in particular?
What exactly is the difference between a Gruul and a Rakdos?
Okay, time to keep going. Thanks for the really quick replies on the first set of questions!
Response to 1: Fair enough. That's actually slightly more info than I was expecting to get.
The responses to 2 and 3 were about what I expected, but I had to ask anyways. You know, just in case you suffered an epileptic fit and started smashing the answers onto the keyboard or something.
For elaboration on 4: I didn't think it was a hallucination, and I definitely didn't buy Teysa's materialist view on it. I'm thorough and materialist in real life; I wouldn't be so much in a world of magic. Okay, to assemble the pieces of my view. Throughout the book, it's described as a sphere. At the end, Kos on the border of death sees it more clearly as a mizzium sphere with windows. Going back to the beginning, we have a goblin observer inside just such a sphere sucked into the Schism. Furthermore, he becomes aware again with his own identity remarkably quickly (apparently faster than Hauc, although that can't be guaranteed) and finds himself still inside the observation sphere. My theory is that the kuga mot is somehow Kaluzax. Of course, I can't guarantee that.
To 5: Fair enough on lack of confirmation. Bringing that up, of course, leads me to reread at the end and note that it says "(l)ike nearly all the spirits of the dead..." (emphasis added).
To 6: That sounds really cool. It's nice to see just how much freedom you get.
To 7: "(although I did have a nifty Ravnica-centric color wheel from Brady that I kept close at hand for inspiration)." Oh? How does this differ from the standard one? Does it have the ten guilds and their views on it, or merely the specific slant each color takes on Ravnica (if the former, that's basically what Rosewater is doing in his articles)?
To 8: A cop out it may be, but there's no fault in that. I knew it would probably be hard to answer overall, since you have to be at least somewhat attached to any character you write if you want to write them convincingly.
To 9: A bit of Agrus Kos in you?
And now to points beyond!
10) The mark of the Orzhov that Teysa uses to command all Orzhov creations are the three black stones in her arm. Also mentioned is that you must be a pureblood to utilize them. Are these stones implanted in any pureblood after birth, or are they actually directly linked to the blood and show up naturally in people of pure blood?
11) What exactly is a "virusoid?" What, for example, would a generic virusoid look like? And furthermore, did you just make them up on your own, or is that a type that the Wizards editor suggested (Uh... this is another portion of the question that can have a "no" answer, I guess)?
12) Pazapatru is a R/G creature being used to guard the Orzhov. Was this done because the cards weren't in yet when you saw the art, or because you just thought the Orzhov holding Gruul in bondage would be cool?
13) The book specifically mentions millions of souls in the Schism. The Schism's only been there for, what, fifty years? Utvara can't be that large. Where are all the excess souls coming from?
14) What exactly was the inspiration for the ghostly taj?
15) The Ghost Council apparently wants Teysa to spread the cure, and yet they also seem to tell her to let the dragons be born. As the plague is necessary air for them, would it not seem that they are at odds with their own motivations?
16) Hauc seems to waver in his motivations throughout the book. At some points, he seems to be altruistically motivated (I will recreate the world to make it better). At others he seems simply insane (I will purge those who get in my way). And finally, I have reason to suspect that the "Firemadness" he suffers is directly caused by Niv-Mizzet who wants him to go through, which would make him a puppet, not really motivated by anything correctly. Is there any uniform explanation that I should be accepting right now?
17) What could possibly have motivated Melisk to act as he did? He had to have known that he couldn't supplant a member of Orzhov blood and still be a part of the Orzhov guild, didn't he?
18) Why didn't Nebun act to cure the plague immediately? Was he also in on the whole plot? Does this mean that we now have a plot that spans across the Izzet, the Orzhov, and the Simic to do something that at first blush should be the end of the plane? I get the suspicion that I'm not seeing a piece somewhere in here, since I can't imagine all those forces would want to destroy Ravnica.
Anyways, I'll stop for now. Heh. Sorry if I ask a lot of questions, but I really do appreciate the feedback.
Regarding Orzhov, they're a totally false religion nowadays, right? If they worship anything, its themselves and money and power?
A long time ago, like when the Guildpact was signed (or even earlier?), did Orzhov actually have real religion? Where they ever a legit church?
And if so, what god(s) did they follow?
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Nor can I...but that is an interesting hypothesis.
It was more of an literal donut-shaped wheel with the five colors making up the spokes, filled in with words and concepts describing how the five colors were to be expressed in Ravnica. Helpful when characters faced some kind of moral decision--from job choice to heroism to "Do I *really* want more pie?" to "Do I *really* want to stab that person and/or thing?", especially if they were representative or strongly attached to their guild in my mind. The actual physical shape also directly inspired the shape of the City of Ravnica and the ten sections.
My liver might be over a hundred years old. And there might be other similarities, though chief amongst them would *not* be the ability to engage in any kind of physical fisticuffs and live. I did sucker-punch a guy in 3rd grade during a dodgeball game.
I don't think I ever specified, but I figured they were implanted when Teysa was a teenager and began to take on responsibility for herself, as would be expected of her by the guild and the Karlov family. The stones are heirlooms in most cases, plucked from the bodies of the dead ancestor. But properly blessed, then cursed, then otherwise treated and prepared, they can be made from scratch from the right stones, for the right people, by the right people, with the right magic, for the right price. So you wanna buy a watch or what?
A virusoid is my dazzlingly literal word for a humanoid virus...it's pretty much just a giant colonial organism made of virus cells, custom-grown by Simic for their own uses. I made 'em up, I think (my notes are haphazardly organized), but the idea sounded very Simic to me. They look kind of like a cross between Gumby and Swamp Thing in appearance. The idea for virusoids came from contemplating the gigantic plastic Chewbacca action figure that sits above my computer monitor (one of the late '70s Kenner models) while also contemplating the Stephen King segment of Creepshow. The usual kind of thing.
The second one. Pazapatru is a symbol of Orzhov power—just killing him wouldn't have been easy, but it could have been done. Instead, they made him pay his debt this way Now they've got this monstrous thing sitting right out front, this big, deadly monster turned into a bitter, angry, repressed Carlton the Doorman.
I liked writing the dire but polite threats, too.
A good point, but you're asking the wrong questions.
While I'm being all cryptic, only by balancing a tack hammer on your head can you head off your foes with a balanced attack.
Three and a half words that occured to me while brainstorming Orzhov agents: body-hopping zombie ninjas. I figured Orzhov nobles have supervillainous tastes when it comes employees.
Destroying a dragon egg--unless you're a dragon--is nigh on impossible. Perhaps they thought it was better the dragons be born, and then die.
Perhaps.
Some people, especially the arrogant, just can't handle too much power...Hauc was one of those people. No matter how smart he was (which wasn't quite as smart as he *thought* he was), he wasn't nearly as good at the deception game as his co-conspirators. To someone as sure of his own righteous, arrogant, rightness as Hauc, scorching the world and rebuilding it as he saw fit was altruistic. Especially if the arguably most physically powerful being on the plane—his boss—was overpowered so that Hauc could bring his fresh new ideas to the table, so to speak.
And like most Izzet, he just plain loves a good semi-controlled burn.
The Obzedat have ways of sharing the blood, though such instances are rare and quite painful for the recipient, as it involves replacing pretty much all of your ratty old non-Orzhov blood. Melisk was their instrument here, and that was part of his promised reward for keeping Teysa in line.
I'm not saying he wasn't in on it, but not everyone in a conspiracy knows everyone else or even knows they're participating or what the end result might be. I will say Nebun is one of those scientists for whom observing the results of his own work, and thereby gaining knowledge for its own sake, was much more important than a few moral qualms...he himself was in no danger, having the cure, but he could observe the effects. Science minus most of the morality. Such people can make good patsies for the manipulative.
CJH
Re 7: Thanks. That actually sounds pretty cool (An actual donut shaped wheel? I need to see this sometime).
Re 9: I see society has gotten past old eyes to the point where we talk about old livers now, eh?
Re 10: Okay, that's about what I expected.
Re 11: Gumby and Swamp Thing... I'm trying my hardest to imagine that unholy fusion. Are you sure the Simic aren't actually W/B to create something that God Awful? (Hahah. That's a bad pun. You're supposed to laugh. Please?). I thought it would be something like that; I was just curious as to what they were. That was the one off idea that just sorta struck me.
Re 12: Awesome, of course. Pazapatru was probably my favorite one shot character (maybe ever?), so I just had to find out. That was the single best exchange in the history of the written word (I may exaggerate, but then again, I may not. At the least, that one exchange ranks up there with my god, Douglas Adams).
Re 13: I'd ask questions that may be more right, but whenever I do this monkey keeps getting in the way and making an awful racket.
Re 14: That is the coolest inspiration ever. I'm strongly debating just sigging that (if you don't mind).
Re 15: Fair enough, fair enough.
Re 16: That's what I suspected (the whole combination of it all). He's basically just a guy who got too powerful for his own good and went insane with the power.
Re 17: Ah, okay. So he was promised actual status in the guild if he could keep Teysa in line? That sounds like the sort of deal that would be made; rather than getting gold, he gets an actual shot at power.
Re 18: I get the impression from how you characterize Vedalken that they are both easily manipulated and don't particularly care if they are manipulated. They seem to want only to organize and evaluate things, and don't care in the slightest if other people are taking advantage of that tendency. Is this a fair assessment? Yes, no?
I wish I could ask questions about Dissension... I have so many general purpose questions that I just want to know before I even read the book, but I'll just wait. Patience is a virtue, eh?
Okay, the questions are less specific now and more general topics, being asked more or less at random. I'd have to reread the novel again before I got any more specifics into memory, and although I'm sure I'll do that, it won't be tonight.
19) Mark Rosewater likes to say that restrictions breed creativity. Would you agree with this statement? Any reason why or why not?
20) I note that you say you're "a lousy Magic player." Would you care to elaborate on your experience with physically playing the game?
21) Do you have any favorite art or artists from the game? Anything you like about them?
22) Have you seen The Princess Bride? (Er... I'm not weird! I swear!)
23) Pyrohydric versus Hydropyric: Which type is more likely to win the superbowl?
Anyways, I thank you as always for your insight. It's really a great boon to have the author of a novel right there where you can just ask them questions. Sorry for being a hassle and all, and thank you for the time.
EDIT: Dissessessesssssssssssion, apparently.
They'd never admit it...but by and large, the big bosses in the Orzhov guild fear death--or rather, non-existence--more than anything else.
Oh yeah, they definitely have a history. Check out the cover of the book—dude is totally checking her out.
[snip, but thanks for the plug. :)]
Well... a picture of one. Not an *actual* donut shaped wheel. Though I agree that would be cool.
We can talk about the old livers because their hearing is starting to go.
My eyes ain't so hot either, but that's been going on since I was 4 and I think is fairly steady.
Ha? :tongue3:
Right. Like I mentioned above, power and money are what the Orzhov really love (generally speaking, every guild has exceptions of course). And power even more than that.
Right again. It's not that they're easily manipulated so much as they just don't really care (again, generally speaking--painting an entire species with the same motivation is never a good idea). At least, that's how it looks to the outside observer. Who knows what those mind-reading vedalken are up to inside their heads?
Yeah...that's what my editor keeps telling me.
Sure. You've got to set rules for your world, and if you break them, you're cheating your own creation in a way, so you'd better have a good reason and it had better be important to the story when you do it. I think I read somewhere that Asimov said (paraphrasing here) science fiction was just fiction, but with one thing completely different (and I know this is fantasy we're talking about, but we're also talking about restrictions). Doesn't matter what the one thing is, so long as its just one. It could be something huge--aliens exist and they want to share technology. Mankind build robots that attain true sentience. Time travel works. The laws of thermodynamics are reversed. Magic exists in another dimension—in several dimensions. Heck, Arrakis is just Arizona with giant sandworms. I mean seriously, have you been to Scottsdale?
I guess if I'd managed a short answer, I'd amend that to say, working within restrictions and finding a way to defeat them breeds creativity.
If you're playing physically, you're taking it way too seriously. Or maybe just seriously enough, depending on your opponent.
There's not much to it. I just don't have much time to play (let alone build decks), and Wizards doesn't send free cards to authors. :)I started playing when Ice Age was new, played quite a bit at work around the time of the Weatherlight saga, and these days I just don't personally know that many folks who play, at least not at my (lousy) level--and I was only ever a casual-game guy. In the old days before I worked at Wizards (heck, before I even worked at a desk...I think I was working at a movie theater when I started) I played a lot of 4- or 5-person games with friends.
Y'know, math is hard.
Yes--the artists that painted the covers of the Ravnica books. :)Sorry, I'm a lousy art critic, I use the art for visual reference and often there aren't names attached. From my Duelist/TopDeck days, I remember really digging Mark Zug's stuff, Todd Lockwood draws the ladies real purty, and ...crap, I suck at names. Let's move on.
Do bees be? Do bears bear?
If you have the opportunity and haven't done so, check out the William Goldman book it was based on. Good stuff. You'll see S. Morgenstern in a whole new light, that's for sure. And if you have read it, good on ya.
Depends...which one bribed the refs?
CJH
You beaten me to ask this, Squirle. I reckon that Cory made the months' names similar to certain other names he made (I remember also Cizarm). On the other hand, Zuun does not resemble anything.
I have got my Fat Pack yesterday and I have read the book in 7 hours. Excellent work, Cory. I loved the book, well-portraited characters and the mood. Top scenes: Teysa tricking dr. Nebun into the verity circle (Oh dear, you have done it to me again, haven't you?), and the assault of Cauldron, especially Barkfeather's aerial falcon-elf-elephant shapeshift...that'd look gorgeous in a movie.
Crix is a kickass character overall, hands down.I like a high intelligent goblin character capable of normal thinking AND speaking (the latter disqualifies Squee and also Slobad).
I loved also the part where Teysa recruited her own Guildpact army from the local inhabitants. The taj and the Dimir shadewalkers were cool.
Some specific questions, if I can ask and avoid the monkeys' wrath...;)
1) I reckon that the Karlov patriarch has been kicked oud from the Ghost Council aka Obzedat to his definite death..because I think that this would not qualify as a success, and he was in the probation period...am I right?
2) Aren't djinni supposed to be air/water based creatures, as opposed to fire-based efreeti? The djinn standing watch at the Cauldron seemed more like an efreet to me.
3) Using the name of Rembic Wezescu, the "Szadek" actor from RAV book as the author of the cited plays was a nice touch, and I am sure that it has not been a pure coincidence
4) Vitar Yescu. Has it been destroyed completely, and was Barkfeather killed?
Thanks in advance, and congrats to well-written book.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Thanks.
P.S. I believe I read something about entwining the guilds together in Dissention, instead of keeping the guilds seperate in each novel. Is there any simple hint you may spare? If not, I'm not that worried about it, I'll read it NOT so soon enough. Thanks.
:redface:
I play entire T2 stuff:symr: , oh Werd,
Some are derived from the names of guilds or historical figures, others are inspired by words from the go-to non-English languages I used to derive a lot of those names (Paulal is one exception, I named that after my grandfather). I made up a calendar at the very beginning of the process, but some of the names changed over the course of writing the books and I never updated the list, so anything I posted might not be accurate.
In the fictional sense, the names of the month have connection to the guildpact in the sense that many of the modern names stem from the original signing (which led to the standardization of many things—calendars, monetary systems, etc.) The Orzhov have also bought a few of them outright just because they can…and it's good advertising.
Uncle's fate is as yet unknown. It is possible in the Obzedat, as it is in many real-world institutions, to "fail upward."
I am certain that this is due to the way language and terminology evolved on Ravnica, and has nothing to do with any errors on the author's part.
Not a coincidence--getting out of the City of Ravnica was the smartest career move Wezescu ever made, as it turned out. Now he and his players dominate the boards at the equivalents of Las Vegas and Branson, Missouri. He's become the Neil Simon of Ravnica.
Vitar Yescu has been incinerated. Barkfeather's fate is uncertain.
Because death doesn't always hit when you expect it, in life or in a story. That was intentional. Here's a TV comparison that springs to mind and may or may not make sense to you: I hadn't seen it yet at the time, of course, and I'm not even comparing my abilities with those of Ron Moore, but it's similar to something that happened in the recent (2/10) "Dog Day Afternoon" episode of the new Battlestar Galactica (spoiler warning for BSG fans). I'm not thinking of
Odds are good you'll see members of more than three guilds in Dissension, though I won't promise some won't be cameos. I should say no more if I want my editor to buy lunch at our next book meeting. And I do.
CJH
-There's been *zero* mention of any Planeswalkers. Ravnica seems like an actual planet, like Dominaria, but it's always referred to as a Plane, not a world. There's obvious cross-seeding with every type of race imaginable (viashino especially come to mind) - The plane has been around for 10,000 years plus... so why no commentary/history on this?
-All the Ravinican guilds are seriously dysfunctional. The peace-loving Sylesnia are a brainwashing cult, the freedom fighting Gruul tear down your property and eat your neighbors, the Izzet don't think twice about blowing up whole chunks of the planet, the Azorius (at least from my impression) are corrupt and are practically in the pocket of the Orzhov, law is a travesty, Razia is a religous zealot (Only the chosen are spared?) and the mass of folks that don't belong in the guilds are literally serfs and slaves. Not a happy place to live. No wonder Agrus wants to drink himself to death. I realize that, at its core, Magic is a game about conflict, and that's reflected in the worlds, but Ravnica just seems like a pretty bleak place to live. Not that I'm expecting ponies and sunshine, but, wow. What's the average person's view going to be of life in Ravnica other than "this sucks." How do they cope?
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[nitpick]Viruses don't have cells (or did you mean they have viruses instead of cells?).[/nitpick]
Also, what does the Krokt goblinese on page 14 of Ravnica mean in Ravi?
To this treasury filled with things of fame
Enter here and steal just one,
And Cursed will be all of your name!
Like you said, they drink.
It's not necessarily the cushy life we enjoy in the so-called developed world, but people get by. They have to. I mean, look at human society on this planet for the first few million years—talk about bleak. Yet people went on, painted cave walls, discovered fire, fell in love, and finally invented TV. And no matter how bleak one person's life is, there's always someone worse off. Except for the goblin that has to clean Niv-Mizzet's lair. No one is worse off than him.
Remember that the Guildpact is a very, very old document. And in some ways it shows how things are when you rigidly organize a caste/guild system like this. Yeah, it's a little bleak, but it got that way because of a very sincere and fairly effective effort to enforce relative peace through the Guildpact. But with such rigid societal structures, diversification can stagnate, ideas and ideals become laws and customs. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Y'know?
It's a real word? Cool! Guess I'm not as creative as I thought. Or as edjumicated, either. Whatever virusoids are made of, it's all virus as far as flesh goes. Kinda like that guy made out of cancer on the X-Files, except, you know, not cancer.
As a pathological nitpicker, it's an honor to be nitpicked, btw.
The first chunk of goblinese on page 14 was a mangled version of a fairly standard wojek way of beginning an interrogation: "Greetings and sausages, friend of Krokt, my party-hat and eyeball are wojeks and we would like to spackle you a few bean soups." (And now that I've written that, I'd better save it for the next time someone asks.:)) The second was a little more accurate, essentially, "listen up and spackle, toenail, if you know what's delicious for you." The goblin reacted confused and terrified because he *was* confused, had good reason to be terrified, and was certainly in shock.
The specific sounds were inspired by the Gelf language on Red Dwarf (series 6, I think?).
Smeeee-HEEEEE,
CJH
Got some questions of my own. I'd like to say that the 10-groups-ruling-a-world idea is very enjoyable for me. Not just because the setting is good, but because it hits a little closer to home than "The Dwarves of Red Mountain are in a violent war with the Zombies of Black Swampland". Most of my questions, suspect, are along these lines.
And, yes, I apologize if these are a little "out there". Ravnica (and to a lesser extent, Mirrodin) were the two latest sets where I really wish there was a Morrowind-esque RPG to simply explore in.
1) Would you say that the way the average Ravnican feels about the Guilds would be similar to the way the average person looks at a major political party in our world?
2) Am I correct in assuming that a Ravnican exposing House Dimir would be taken as seriously as someone claiming to have proof of the Illuminati or other conspiracy theory?
3) How does the Guildpact actually prevent one Guild from overtaking the rest? Are members physically or magically unable to try certain things, or is it something less direct?
4) Do few people know about House Dimir, or do they adopt a policy of "hidden in plain sight?"
5) Is the average Ravnican more likely to see Magic in terms of Guilds (Boros Magic, or Golgari Magic), or the colors we know (Red Magic, White Magic, etc)? Is the concept of single-colored mana unheard of in a bi-colored society?
6) Do many Guilds actively hate each other, or are most of them fairly tolerant of the other's existence?
7) Can a guildmember retract or retire from his/her old Guild, and join another? An Izzet deciding that life itself is more interesting, and adopting the banner of the Vedalken?
That's a good analogy, but only if you really mean the whole world, with all the ranges and definitions of "political parties" you find there. And they're even more than that. They're the religions, bureacracies, militaries, and corporations of Ravnica, too.
Pretty much, at least before Szadek did that thing he did. And even then, eyewitness accounts of that event have been notoriously vague...which feeds more conspiracy theorizing....
Magic!
That's the short answer, and it's really short because the long answer is really long. Presenting...
How the Guildpact More or Less Works (As Cory Sees It)
If the Guildpact just made individuals behave, it'd be the plane of Selesnya.
The magic part of the Guildpact sort of operates at the extremes of potential disorder. It doesn't manipulate people so much, but when things get really bad--say, a horde of angry Gruul storm the Orzhov city of Casar Impurnato, threatening the foundations of Ravnica's banks and economies should the markets and vaults there be overrun--the Guildpact might affect the laws of probability in ways that make such an horde unlikely to succeed. The weather patterns might shift, sendnig a patrol of Boros angels over the area unexpectedly. An outbreak of dysentery might slow the horde. Going against the Guildpact even more directly only heightens the equal and opposite reaction of the Guildpact.
Not that people don't try. Ravnica's history is filled with interguild skirmishes short of open war, the results of attempts to start open war. The Rakdos have a habit of uprising in part because the current generation becomes convinced that *this* time, it might really work. Some individuals or groups have gone after the GP directly, tried to harm the physical document or break its institutions, the response from the GP magic is the same.
The written parts of the Guildpact, the actual articles and so forth, take care of most everything else. And with 9 (or 10, depending on whether you're a wild-eyed conspiracy nut) guilds around in an interdependent society that's only grown more interdependent with each passing century, it makes it unlikely that one, two, or even three guilds could or would join together to take on the rest. The Guildpact statutes and accords and articles and codes and amendments are designed to ensure that even if a "sidepact" was formed, even if the smaller group succeeded some kind of world conquest plan, they would not survive--the other guilds fill niches that keep the society functioning, keep people fed, healthy, relatively happy.
Not many really believe in Dimir, even now. It's a legend and a ghost story. And a conspiracy theory, sure. Even those in the guild don't necessarily know they're in the guild--their boss might work for someone else who is working for someone else, and they're all doing what Szadek wants them to do, they're his creatures, but they don't realize it.
The exceptions include the angels, who are beholden to the Guildpact not to reveal Dimir. The Boros and the Wojeks are two of the ways they oppose him without doing so openly, for the sake of the Guildpact (the creation of which they supported and aided).
A Ravnican's perception of magic is colored, so to speak, by their station in the society and the guild, if any, they're in. TSome basic terms are pretty common across guild lines, though, usually related to the elements or to the function of that magic. The Izzet and Simic originated most of these terms, like hydromana, which is derived from and/or affects water; pyromana, both a fuel and a weapon; necrobiology, magic that aids in the study and manipulation of things that use to be alive. If the Izzet could bottle every kind of magic in the world, they would. And they've gotten pretty close.
Guilds that are prone to hating certainly do at times, but it doesn't necessarily do them any good. Golgari and Azorius? Not a lot of common ground. Rakdos and anybody? Common bloody ground of, like, death. And just as some don't get along, others get along pretty well. The Boros, Azorius, and Selesnya are like freakin' NATO sometimes.
The Izzet would have to be a vedalken first. Ha!
In some cases, and usually its only humans that get such notions. A couple of guilds tend to eat or incinerate other guildies that try switching, and in some guilds loyalty is either signed away or programmed in. What's much more common is a guild member being on loan to another--the nurse in Ravnica, for example, was a Simic, but working for the Wojeks in her day job.From there, if the nurse had wanted to join the Wojeks outright, she could petition for it in the courts.
CJH
Edited because "aided in" is just wrong.
It's mentioned in the flavor text for Quicken that "A skilled Izzet chronarch can carry out an epic vendetta between the fall of one hourglass grain and the next."
Can they just make things move faster or slower, or can they actually time travel? And if so, could they concievably go back in time to meddle with history (like maybe cause the Guildpact never to be signed) or go to the future to gain more knowledge?
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Definately, but the game is beginning to worry me - a lot of stuff is being removed from Morrowind that is dissapointing me. Off the top of my head - no spears, no enchanting (unless you're in the Mage Guild, and and even then someone else makes it for you), clothing and small items don't really have shadows like they did in the early video, those wonderful trees are Vampire Trees (will not reflect in water)... there's tons more than I'm forgetting.
Thanks, that's kinda what I assumed. It's a document, and its a fate-changing Finger of "Don't Do That."
Thanks for your answers. Now, if only my framerates in Balmora weren't horrible, I'd go into the TES and turn it into a MiniRavnica...
I'm not the writer, but since chronarch seems to imply a Magic of Time, it's able to go slowly and/or quickly. So, he's able to fight a war within a nanosecond.
I am not sure whether Cory would be able to answer this. The novel does not mention the chronarchs at all. They seem to be the product of "Hey, this word sounds cool" way of thinking of R&D naming department.
If I should guess, I'd guess that they can make the time flow relatively slower of faster.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
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This has been answered a couple of times, including in an Ask Wizards on the magicthegathering.com website.
Basicly, Toshi got dropped off in Dominaria some time before Legends. Tetsuo Umezawa is indeed his descendent. Someone else can fill in the details better, which are covered in one of the Legends/Anthologies books.
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1) Does the Guildpact protect the Gruul? Cavotta mentions not, but I think it'd be interesting if the Guildpact itself understands the need for a destroy-everything group of people, and prevents the other Guilds from purging them entirely.
2) Speaking of Destroy Everything guilds, how could/did the more chaotic pre-Guilds (Gruul, Rakdos come to mind) agree to such an orderly system that became the Guildpact?
3) You mentioned earlier that the Orzhov were likely ancestor-worshippers pre-Guildpact, but had you conceived how each Pre-Guild group acted? It would seem hard for me to picture brainy Pre-Izzets fighting wars.
4) I'm having trouble wrapping my head around a completely urban plane. Would Ravnicans know what simple groundsoil is? Grass? I didn't know how to picture some of the settings in Guildpact's novel, they certainly didn't feel like hustling-bustling city area.
5) Is the "Ravnica was supposed to be a gift to the Izzet but some Goblins screwed it up" story mentioned in the novel true, or a sort of "This is why our Guild is the best" story? It would seem that way to me.
6) How "legit" are the Orzhov w.r.t. trading and stuff? It's easy to paint them as "would make you pay 100 dollars for 2 dollars worth of stuff", but such a thing would be extremely bad for business in the long term. Would you typically expect a fair deal, a quasi-fair deal, or a total-screwage from an everyday business dealing with an Orzhov?
What exactly is the difference between a Gruul and a Rakdos?
Is it a bad thing if I think of the Orzhov when I listen to Jesus He knows Me by Genesis (or Phil Collins, I dunno)?