After a productive weekend of writing (and editing) Whitegrave, adding several new sections of rules to the game engine, I thought it’d be good to share a few thoughts about the city itself.
Whitegrave is a place that evokes both the brightness of the fantasy genre and the darkness of the post-apocalyptic. For me, it’s a place of noir as much as a realm of magick.
Early draft sketch of Whitegrave
City Maps
Once the decision was made to work on the setting and game, an effort was made to advance on two fronts simultaneously: the story and the description.
As there is no better way to describe a place than to draw it, I contacted an online friend and asked him to work on the map of Whitegrave. The artist, Josephe Vandel, agreed and within a few days we were able to share an initial sketch.
Since then, we’ve been to-and-fro as Josephe draws in the details of the map. As you can see from a recent work-in-progress image, he’s been hard at work designing the minutiae of the city.
A recent work-in-progress from Josephe Vandel
I get excited every single time that he sends over one of these images: there’s a palpable sense of Whitegrave coming to life that I really enjoy!
City Stories
I’ve always loved telling stories. Whitegrave is a place both new and old, it seems: new in terms of design but old in its place within my mind. It’s the city that I dreamed about many times over the years – literally – and a place that has a special resonance because it arose from my subconscious:
It is said that, originally, Whitegrave was a Dwarf city built across the banks of the river that runs through its heart. It not only sprawled east to west across the rich fields around the river, it also delved downward: even the most open-minded Dwarfish architect could not resist delving beneath in search of riches.
In the centre lay the Citadel, a square tower of stone overlooking a bailey and keep which was home to the House of Whitegrave. Around this central keep grew the town of artisans, safe within the outer walls of the Old City. Here were built the guild houses and businesses that began the city’s rise towards being the greatest trading port on the face of Taran. Along the river banks, running east towards the sea, grew the Port of Whitegrave.
This is the text that informed the sketches above. Josephe’s task has been to interpret and then develop my basic ideas. Of course, those words, snipped out of the initial draft of the book, are nothing more than the beginning: over the past few weeks I’ve been dreaming some more.
And, through it all, I’ve been drawn increasingly in to considering Whitegrave’s denizens.
City People
At this early stage, it’s hard to see the people of Whitegrave as much more than outlines. And yet, as I was adding details to the Species section of the book this morning, I found myself beginning to imagine their stories in more depth.
Of particular interest have been the non-human species, such as the Bruxx or the Krixx. Certainly these are not “new” in the strictest sense – the rat-like Bruxx have been in my games and writing for years, and the Krixx are insectoids which were probably inspired by Wurts and Hargrave. Yet, they engage my storytelling powers with promise.
Right now, the trick is going to be figuring out what city life might really be like for the people of Whitegrave. Is it bustling and retro, feeling more like spell-punk, or is it something more medieval with the merest tones of modernity? To be honest, I’ve not quite decided… and maybe it’ll be both.
In the end, this work in progress is being done for fun. Yes, I’m writing it up and publishing… but that’s not the point. The play’s the thing, as the Bard would say. And I can’t wait to play.
Game on!
