The following are six more questions from the folks at the Kickstarter for A Deadman’s Guide to Dragongrin.  They’ve been helpful in making me think more about Conquest of the Sphere, and among other things, identifying things I need to pursue.

 

How common are adventurers and heroes in your world?

Like our world, Conquest of the Sphere has struggles large and small. For some, the act of surviving in the world they’re born into is a heroic act. For others, writing their names in blood and stone so that generations will remember them is their lot.

So, I guess that means there could be heroes and adventurers everywhere. Someone with wanderlust, someone who sees one too many unchecked petty evils, someone who reaches out to their neighbor when a plague sweeps the land.

 

What’s your world’s biggest secret?

Well, that’s not really something that’s for public consumption, yet. But I’ll hint at it by saying, the world is much, much, much bigger and wilder than people living in it know. Otherwise, the first big secret is that while on the surface it is a low-tech fantasy world of warriors and monsters, it’s actually part of a much larger science fiction universe of deep time and ultra-tech.

 

What is the cosmology of your world? Other planes?

No other planes. Other worlds? Eventually.

I suspect this question is actually about gods and other supernatural elements, of which Conquest of the Sphere has none. Plenty of people believe in them, though. Each culture has its own stories of the origin of the world. Due to their shared history, Una and Yaro do have a lot of mythological crossover. But thousands of years of mostly separate cultural evolution have created some wildly different stories.

 

Which faction in your world is feared and reviled?

Again, this would probably be city-state of Daan. Their power is largely only in the eastern part of the continent, but for any neighboring lands, Daan can be a sort of boogieman. Their soldiers menace small villages, there are stories of kidnappings and abductions, and all sorts of nefarious goings on.

 

Who opposes evil and injustice in your world?

Like in the real world, anyone can, but few do. There’s no school for heroes. There’s no club. You could be a tanner, a merchant, a dirt farmer, or a refugee. Where you come from and what your job is or was are not nearly as important as what you do when you have the chance. I have written about a heroic ship’s captain, a skilled church inquisitor, and a deadly spy. But before she did the things I’ve written about, Baal was a gardener by vocation.

 

What iconic monsters exist in your world?

I’m really not sure. I don’t know if I’ve written anything ‘iconic.’ In fact, though there have been some animals and what have you, I don’t think I’ve written about any ‘monsters.’ The S’sahsha are a semi-mythological being that sometimes feature as monsters in stories. They’re like angels, demons, or fairies in our own mythology, inhuman and inscrutable, and serving whatever purpose the teller of the tale needs them to serve. Maybe that counts (?).

 

I’m always curious about what people might care about, and what things they’re interested in.  If you’re interested in any aspects of Conquest of the Sphere, please ask.

 

Check out my Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.  And take a look at my Patreon page, where I’m working on a novel and developing a tabletop RPG setting. You can also read my fiction over on Amazon.