Summertime Writing: Keeping a record

The next writing exercise comes from Spellbinding Sentences for the basic practice #2.

The entire purpose of this exercise is to help increase the number of words (vocabulary) that have personal meaning to a writer through conscious focus, reflection, and time to get to know and care about words.

Exercise: Listening to words rather than content

For this exercise, I will text to voice a science news article found on my Google Science News page.  "William Shatner Takes Playful Jab At 'Star Wars' Over 'Starfleet' Symbol Found On Mars". As the voice reads the article, I will jot down if any words stand out to me in the article.

playful, jab, dunes, surface, rivalry, captured, chevron, symbol, shade, war, meanwhile, processes, natural, lava, dune casts, life

Next, for this list I will pick out three of them to define and add a thesaurus entry to, commenting on the entries after each pool of information is presented. The commentary helps to personalize these words for me, the writer.

3 Focus words

symbol, captured, life

Definitions from Webster 1913

\Sym"bol\, n. [L. symbolus, symbolum, Gr. sy`mbolon a sign by which one knows or infers a thing, from ? to throw or put together, to compare; sy`n with + ? to throw: cf. F. symbole. Cf. {Emblem}, {Parable}.] 

1. A visible sign or representation of an idea; anything which suggests an idea or quality, or another thing, as by resemblance or by convention; an emblem; a representation; a type; a figure; as, the lion is the symbol of courage; the lamb is the symbol of meekness or patience.

So, the basis of the word symbol came from known things thrown or put together. A person can know or bring forward (infer) things—maybe memories, feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and even action based on symbols.

One symbol that I have always liked is the Yin Yang (太極, tàijí). To me, this is not just a symbol of oppositions, it is a symbol of infinite mixes of possibilities.

CC BY-SA 3.0

by John Langdon

\Cap"ture\, n. [L. capture, fr. caper to take: cf. F. capture. See {Caitiff}, and cf. {aptive}.] 

1. The act of seizing by force, or getting possession of by superior power or by stratagem; as, the capture of an enemy, a vessel, or a criminal. 

2. The securing of an object of strife or desire, as by the power of some attraction. 

3. The thing taken by force, surprise, or stratagem; a prize; prey. 

Syn: Seizure; apprehension; arrest; detention.

So capture is seizing or taking by force or attraction. Capturing can be physical, social, emotional, financial, or spiritual. Literally, I captured these words from the science article.

\Life\ (l[imac]f), n.; pl. {Lives} (l[imac]vz). [AS. l[imac]f; akin to D. lijf body, G. leib body, MHG. l[imac]p life, body, OHG. l[imac]b life, Icel. l[imac]f, life, body, Sw. lif, Dan. liv, and E. live, v. [root]119. See {Live}, and cf. {Alive}.] 

1. The state of being which begins with generation, birth, or germination, and ends with death; also, the time during which this state continues; that state of an animal or plant in which all or any of its organs are capable of performing all or any of their functions; -- used of all animal and vegetable organisms. 

2. Of human beings: The union of the soul and body; also, the duration of their union; sometimes, the deathless quality or existence of the soul; as, man is a creature having an immortal life.

3. (Philos) The potential principle, or force, by which the organs of animals and plants are started and continued in the performance of their several and co["o]perative functions; the vital force, whether regarded as physical or spiritual.

Life can be actual breathing and physiological or also philosophical through functioning or performance. In the Philippine language after asking someone how they are doing, the expression buhay pa ako is common which means, "I'm still alive." To me, it reminds me of being with friends and families that are experiencing difficulties in life. Despite all of the living struggles—even for minimal necessities of life—being still alive is a feat in itself. 

Allen's Synonyms & Antonyms 1921

symbol, n. representation, sign, significative (rare), emblem, figure, type, token, shadow (fig.), ensign (learned), presentation (rare), sacrament (rare); spec, palm, pictograph, totem, badge, character, letter, exponent, word, image, picture.

From this list, I like the words sign, emblem, ensign, pictograph, totem, badge, word, image, and picture.

capture, n. 1. seizure, taking, catching, apprehension {learned); spec, arrest, reduction, prize.
Antonyms: see freeing.

2. In a concrete sense: prize, bag. 

From this list, I like the words taking, catching, and bag.

life, n. 1. being (contextual), existence {contextual), course (fig.); spec, vitality, breath, head (.fig.), pilgrimage, journey (fig)-

Antonyms: see death.
2. Referring to those who are alive on earth: world.

See ENERGY, LIVELINESS, ESSENCE, ESSENTIAL. 

From this word list, I like the words existence, vitality, breath, journey, energy, liveliness, and essence.

Summary

This was a very fun exercise, more than I had planned. I can see how doing so helps to personalize and store up a word collection that have greater meaning. After submitting this blog post, I am going to go back and do the same for the other words on the list. I will not write down that information for speed-sake.

What are myths, legends, and folklore (fable)? Definitions (Quotes)

Myths
Myth making: my plan
What are myths, legends, and folklore? Definitions (Quotes)

I wanted to start with the dictionary definitions comparing myth, legend, and folklore. Also I look for other comments and a comparison of the terms.

Myth

by American Heritage - Myth
1. a. A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=myth

By PBS - Myth
Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional. But myths are more than mere stories and they serve a more profound purpose in ancient and modern cultures. Myths are sacred tales that explain the world and man's experience.

In search of Myths & Heroes http://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths_what.html

By wikipedia - Myth
The word "myth" is derived from the Greek word mythos (μῦθος), which simply means "story"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth

A myth is a story based on tradition or legend, which has a deep symbolic meaning. A myth 'conveys a truth' to those who tell it and hear it

http://myths.e2bn.org/teachers/info311-what-are-myths-legends-and-folktales.html

Legend

by American Heritage - Legend
1.a. An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.

b. A body or collection of such stories.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=legend

A legend is a semi-true story, which has been passed on from person-to-person and has important meaning or symbolism for the culture in which it originates.

http://myths.e2bn.org/teachers/info311-what-are-myths-legends-and-folktales.html

Folklore

by American Heritage - Folklore
1. The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.
2. The comparative study of folk knowledge and culture. Also called folkloristics.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=folklore

A folktale is a popular story that was passed on in spoken form, from one generation to the next. Usually the author is unknown and there are often many versions of the tale. Folktales comprise fables, fairy tales, old legends and even 'urban legends'.

http://myths.e2bn.org/teachers/info311-what-are-myths-legends-and-folktales.html

Fable

by American Heritage - Fable
1. A usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing as characters animals that speak and act like humans.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=fable

A fable's emphasis is on a "moral." Examples include Aesop's fables, such as the stories of the tortoise and the hare, and the fox who complained about "sour grapes."

http://www.mythome.org/mythII.html

Comparison

Fact to Meaning Continuum
Historical account      Legendary Occurrence      Mythical Event  Folktale based on cultural truth
Fact   <                            ----                                   >     Meaning

Myth vs Fable
Fable                                                                                   Myth
Morality  <                             ---                                   >  world issues and functions

ABS12: The anatomy of the combat numbers

All the changes from this page will be added to the complete master game page at A Basic System 12 (ABS12).

For this post, I wanted to look into what exactly the numbers in the formula mean. This is important to help determine how to describe actions.

Minor change

One other change I'm making is removing the PL from PL damage roll, PL Live, and PL defense, which don't seem to make sense anymore.

Verb Skill formula portions

1. Situation roll portion

The first roll 1d12, in every type of roll means the situation roll. Situations can vary from good to bad. The first random roll tells you how good current situation about the skill or combat.

Player should describe exactly how the character does something, not just what a character does. 

If a character uses a description verb to look for clues, then the player should explain exactly how the player will search for clues. Will they look through all the drawers and cupboards? Having explained how the character will search, the roll can then be performed to describe how lucky fate is with the character in performing the task.

Interpreting the numbers

A 1 is so bad that it's a fumble. A 12 is so good that it's a automatic success.

Describing the situation depends upon what type of action is being performed. Once you have that action in mind, you can describe the situation surrounding the action using adverbs and adjectives in similar degree to the the result rolled. The situation may be environmental. It may include actions of opposing characters. It may include the conditions of the character performing the action.

Above six becomes more positive.

Below six becomes more negative.

Here is a general adjective scale denoting quality and degree for the situation surrounding the how the action is performed.

If as in the prior example, if the character is looking through all the drawers and cupboards looking for clues, and the player roll a three - what does that mean?. A three is very bad. What could a very bad situation mean or look like when searching through cupboards and drawers? It might mean that the character rushes through the search doing a poor job of searching. It might also mean that despite ones great skill, something happens to be covering the thing that the character is trying to find. The first explanation is a more method based or quality of performance rational. Whereas the second one is luck based or quality of the environment. Either way, they both explain and describe a the situation that is very bad.

2. Learned description level and power level experience portion

Both the PL and DL portions are fixed. 

The PL represents experience as the character acquires more real world experience. Characters recognize patterns and appropriate methods just by watching life around them. The learn little tricks to help live even doing unskilled and untrained actions easier. They have life knowledge.

The DL represents learned skill. It represents actual study, practice, exploration, teachings, and education. They receive education formally or on the job.

The next portion of the formula appears in combat. It is a special kind of roll called the damage roll.

Offensive roll 1d12 + PL + DL + Damage roll

3. Why is the damage roll added to the offensive roll?

The damage roll represents how viscous and potentially damaging the attack, blow, or strike is. The damage roll is potential damage, rather than actual damage.It represents how deadly the strike could be - how much force and accurate the blow may be. Even with a little lesser luck, a very powerful attack my still do damage if the attack is powerful. Too much of a bad situation will make even a powerful attack miss. Yet a great situation might help a weak attack still hit and do damage depending on the defender's situation.

The lowest damage possible is 1. Even variable damage weapon will at least do 1 point of damage

In damages where even a roll of 1 is made out of 1d12/6, = is all one or the other. There is no fumble or automatic success from the damage roll. Your only trying to find the amount, in this case 1 or 2. It's either one or the 

Damage roll is countered with the armor value portion of the defense. The defender offsets the damage roll with their fixed defense which is made up of skill (DL) and experience(PL) plus any armor.

Damage Table

A Basic System 12 (ABS12)
Index of my blog

ABS12: Description Build points, Special Verb Actions

All the changes from this page will be added to the complete master game page at A Basic System 12 (ABS12).

So far, when I added creatures I tried to convert them over from several other open sources games, using an unofficial conversion system that I have in my head, using general rules that I created after analyzing the Open Gaming License (OGL) data several weeks ago for the black bear. I wrote up a comparison chart of common creatures from different systems months ago for Aioskoru world. Equiped with the list and the general rules that were extracted I converted the creatures using OGL data.

Last night I began to build a spreadsheet to help look at descriptions from a point based system. This may lead to some sort of description creation guidelines. I also included my first sets of creature data, removing the bonuses gained during PL increase.

That chart is shown at the bottom of this post.

DL vs Special Verbs
When I wrote the descriptions initially, it began with the concept that being one of the descriptions, such as a thief, would begin with a DL1 in thieving skills. I realized shortly after that it would be nice to have special skill verbs (abilities, stunts, and powers) built into the overall description. And so I added verbs such as covert stab and covert which can go above and ontop the DL1 bonus.

I realized that I've never added the rules for the special verbs yet. I think I need to more explicitly write in. I am adding the following text to the game.

I changed a few of the titles to special verb skill and DL.

Special Verb Skilled action

1d12 + PL + DL + Special Verb

Special Verb Combat action

Offensive roll 1d12 + PL + DL + Special Verb Damage


Special verbs are skills that go beyond the normal DL bonus. They can be thought of as special feats, special abilities, stunts, or special moves. Use the bonus for the special verb on top of the DL for added bonus. For combat, used the special verb damage instead of the standard melee damage for attacks using special verbs.

Skilled Actions
The definition itself is a group of skills defined by the gamemaster or in solo play the player for whatever appropriate for whatever world is being played. Anything that fits in this definition in a game will get a DL bonus. For example. Thieves can do thief skills not mentioned in the special verb skill sections. They may get the basic DL bonus when picking locks - if that is something all thieves do in your game world. Maybe they are good at bar fights. Maybe they have underground connections.



Possible Reduction: 2 covert for the thief
On top I put the 4 character descriptions. Unfortunately for the thief, they may lose one point of covert in order to balance out the descroptions.

[Click to enlarge]

I'm adding this chart to the bottom of the game for future use and comparison. It may change over time. New definitions will be added.

A Basic System 12 (ABS12)
Index of my blog

ABS12: Favorable, unfavorable, defense, damage, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, definitions

All the changes from this page will be added to the master game page at A Basic System 12 (ABS12).

The first thing I need to do is add a mechanic for situations that are favorable or unfavorable.

Situations: Favorable and Unfavorable
There will be certain periods of times that because of environmental, tactical, strategical, setting, psychological, social, emotional, or other reasons actions will be done more easily or difficult. These reasons could be weather, lighting, slope of a hill, a distraction, slippery surface, being under a fearful state, fighting in water, fighting behind an object, or almost anything.

If more than one condition both favorable and unfavorable exists in a situation the total for favorable must be weighed against the total unfavorable.  This comparison will determine whether or not the conditions cancel each other out or leaves the character with a more favorable or unfavorable total situation. Therefore, situations can be balanced having no modifier, favorable, or unfavorable. Balanced situations roll normal with 1d12 for the action.

If they are not balanced, the character will be in a favorable or unfavorable situation and will roll two dice.

Favorable: the higher of 2d12
If situations and influences are determined favorable, then to show that advantage the character rolls two dice instead of just one. The higher of the two rolls is picked for the result, and the lower roll is ignored.

Unfavorable: the lower of 2d12
If situations and influences are determined unfavorable, then to show that disadvantage the character rolls two dice instead of just one. The lower of the two rolls is picked for the result, and the higher roll is ignored.

Also, an explanatory section needs to be added in the character section describing defense and damage.

PL Defense
PL Defense is the amount of protection that natural or worn armor provides to a character.

PL Damage
PL Damage is the character's amount of  primary melee damage done if they hit the opponent during melee combat.

For certain sections I added language that describes the elements as nouns, definitions, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. I do so to help sculpt the system into a story writing system if possible

Descriptions are nouns. Descriptions are definitions in that they define what a character can do (skills: verbs) and how a character does it (PL bonus: adverb or adjective). It represents overall skill and expertise.
Skills are verbs.
Power Level and Description Level are adverbs and adjectives.


A Basic System 12 (ABS12)
Index of my blog