While exploring Grey and how my personal view of the world affects the direction of the vampire story, I wanted to take some time to look at myself and how my view of the world affects the story for Displaced. Why my players face the kinds of villains that they do, why the story progresses the way it does, and I think I’ve learned a bit more about my friends just from writing this.

You know what they say: pay close attention to the kinds of people you surround yourself with. It says a lot about you.

A three person coterie is incomplete, what’s really needed here is a little… tension. Get ready to welcome our fourth and final member of the coterie today!

The introduction of Isadora was the first step in setting up the coterie for this particular story, however she’s more than she appears to be, and not just in the world of fiction. Grey represents both who I want to be and fear to become. Isadora is a key to both.

Magic items are the backbone of all TTRPGs, regardless of genre (see the Clarke quote within), but what can be done about a world that doesn’t have access to the magical items of the fictional world?

Pack hunters tend to be more successful than those that hunt alone. If Grey wants his secret mission from Baronness Natalia Sharpe to be successful, it is time to build the coterie.

Did this one a little differently. Normally I’ll read the chapter, edit it, then sit down and reflect on it after. This week, I sat and wrote my reflection in chunks as I read. This one feels a bit more all over the place, but I think goes a lot deeper. Let me know what you think.

I wanted to take a moment and reflect on a particular character who does a lot of heavy lifing in the story. His role was meant to be small, but grew into something far more than I ever expected it to.

All predators have their hunting grounds. Here, Grey learns just how dangerous his are proving to be.

Blood of My Blood really forced me to look at a few of my biggest flaws as a person. Looking back on it, I can see points in my life where I inadvertantly treated people the way Grey does, and it makes me wish that there really wasn’t a reflection to stare back into.

Keeping players under control is difficult for any Dungeon Master. Trying to keep the players and their characters under control? Trying to keep them under control and write a series of novels about them? How can it be done?

The answer: Outlines.

The Baron of Charlotte awaits Grey as Diego leads him into the belly of the beast.

It’s always interesting to go back and look at something that you wrote at a different time in your life and piece together what it was that you were blind to at the time that affected the development of a story. Would I have made the same choices I did half a year ago?.Maybe, maybe not, but the story remains, as do the flaws, and flaws are what make characters worthwhile.

While the experience of going from table to tome is a fun one, the best part of the books vs the game is getting to leave some things on the cutting room floor. But how does one make the choice of what stays and what goes?

With great power comes great responsibility… but before we can truly accept that lesson we need to fail to uphold it. What does it make us when we do the wrong things for the right reasons? Are we still monsters? Are we acceptable monsters? Or are we heroes? The answer depends entirely on your perspective it would seem.

Grey remembers his humanity, and in the darkest of times, we all need to reflect on what keeps us human in the face of monstrous acts.

These books were not the first that I ever wrote, nor the first I’ve published, but they were the frist I can look back at and think: “Wow, I really did it!” with a sense of true pride. I think DMing has made all the difference in the world in my writing. Here are the main takeaways from the lessons I learned.

We’ve explored what can push us to the point of being a monster, but what separates us from true monsters are the things that hold us back. The things that keep us human, that remind us where we draw the line.

The world is a dark and terrible place at times, which means that those who don’t want to live in darkness need sometimes to embrace it to find the light. Each of us has something that would push us to that point. The question is, what would push you?

Dialogue can sometimes be the hardest part of writing. Figuring out what a character would say or how they would react verbally in a situation can be challenging. Sometimes, you have to work even harder to find those exact words because the person saying them doesn’t even know what they want to say. How do you find the right words when the character doesn’t even know them?

Once we have the power, we have to decide how we use it. What do we fight for? What do we stand for? And what do we stand against?