Hello readers,
First off, let me thank everyone for the amazing feedback we’ve gotten from War Aeternus: Harbinger of Ash. Every comment and correct we receive is feedback that we take to heart. Trust me when I say that we still bring up rather specific things we learned or were told when writing The Bathrobe Knight years ago. We’re always striving to get better at what we do, and feedback is the best way to let us know what you like, what you hate, what works, and what doesn’t work. Never hesitate to throw out a comment if you have something to say.
Secondly, we’re going to deviate from our regularly-scheduled War Aeternus for just a little while. While we’re hashing out what we want to do with the fifth book in that series, Charles has started working on a new book that is operating under a working title of The Heroic Villain. I’ve intentionally kept myself in the dark so far, but from what little I know, I think this is going be a somewhat unique spin. I know we’ve discussed some pretty crunchy and pretty in-depth skill trees, so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how this world grows. All I can tell you for certain at this point is that we’re going to see a spellcaster put his brains to work for the righteous side of villainy for a change.
Keep in mind that this is a rudimentary, preliminary attempt at the first chapter. We have a habit of going through the first chapter of our books multiple times, and sometimes the tidbits and information change drastically between when we start and when we reach something that we’re satisfied with. We nitpick every little detail and fine tune every little aspect so that we get the exact feel we’re looking for. I know we’re not there yet, but this is honestly a good first attempt.
The Heroic Villain Chapter 1
Let us know what you think!
Cheers.
Charles Dean's Novels 
I think the characters and interaccion are very interesting and solid but i´m not really buying the fact that is a game, it kinda takes away the stakes and i prefer the approach of war aethernus where there is only one chance and death is permanent. Makes the stakes higher wich i think would really help flesh out the characters.
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Thanks for the feedback Victor =D
I had been discussing this with editors and friends for a while, and one of the big issues with most of my novels is that death = permanent. This means that the reader ALWAYS knows the MC is going to live and all will turn out well for at least one party member. We wanted to change the stakes, make it so the MC could die. Make it so that when the reader has no idea whether the MC will win or lose a fight.
It’s just an experiment at the moment, and the game world lets me build a unique plot, but I am also fully in that “wtf do I do to add tension” curiosity mode. We’ll see. Wish me luck.
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Well thats another take on the subject and i´m not always right so maybe you will pill it off. One thing that really caught my attention is the main character far and beyond from the typical Mary Sue and i´m REALLY interested to see where you him.
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I agree with victor. The fact that it’s a game makes the stakes extremely low — like nothing that happens in it even really matters. That’s my problem with VRMMO variants of LitRPGs in general, and I know many share this view. It usually takes something like trapped in a game world, or the game being a prison or something to make it worthwhile. And those tropes are well used by now. But beyond the fact that the story is about a guy playing a game, the entire premise seems way too implausible.
If a player bugged his character like this and started killing people, players would call hacks and ask the devs to fix it. If the devs refused to fix it, or worse, if they found out the devs incited this player to bug is character and start killing people, then this Staffer’s concerns will become moot. They would no longer slowly lose players, the vast majority of the player base would just rage quit the game and they’d go bankrupt right there.
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I think this is going be a somewhat unique spin. if a player bugged his character like this and started killing a lot of people, players would call hacks and also ask the devs to fix it there. I prefer the approach of war Aeternus where there has only one chance and death is permanent. It’s just an experiment for a moment, and the game world lets me build a new unique plot, but I am also fully involved in that.
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I know many share this view. It usually takes something like trapped in a game world, or the game being a prison or something to make it worthwhile. And those tropes are well used by now. I prefer the approach of war Aeternus where there has only one chance and death is permanent. I think the characters and interaction are very interesting and solid but I´m not really buying the fact that is a game.
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