Ok fa/tg/uys, i need a concept for a "realistic" wizard that could exist in modern times.
post character art please.
inb4 programmers
Well, what do you mean by realistic?
He could be an office worker by day, a cultist by night. He could be some sort of magical monster hunter. He could go from country to country, museum to museum, hunting down rare artifacts while posing as janitors and night security. He could actually be part of some security company, using magical foreknowledge to give himself an edge, or a hitman who uses magical spirits to take out his targets without anyone knowing the wiser.
>>47143479
Something like your pic or the one in the OP, essentially, any kind of wizard that could exist in a modern setting, the "realistic" part was mainly as in, he has to look like he lives in modern times.
>>47143302
There's always this guy.
>Italian nobleman
>drops out of university because he believes a bourgeois degree would diminish him
>becomes a master of the dark arts and is retained as court sorcerer for Mussolini despite being an anti-fascist
>hired by the SS to hunt down Freemasons and search for artifacts
>goes walking in the streets during air raids for lulz
>gets blown up by a Soviet bomb
>somehow survives mostly unharmed, but unable to walk
>spends the rest of his life writing about magic and teaching his cult
>as he dies, he commands his follower to lift him out of his wheelchair so he may die on his feet
>his body is burned to ashes and buried at the bottom of a shaft drilled into a glacier in the alps
Dude was like a living Hellboy antagonist.
>>47143581
So, I've got a few of his books sitting around and I have to ask: Did he really write in such an unbearably technical style, or is it an artifact of overly literal translation from Italian?
Realistically 'modern' wizards in fiction fall into 2 cliches.
>Brooding, serious, "I must use my powers responsibly and as infrequently as possible"
These characters tend to belong to secret societies that guard humanity from the dangerous forces that lurk in the dark.
>"Fuck that, I'm a goddamn wizard!" types who use their powers frequently and for pretty mundane things as well.
These characters tend to be showmen, stage performers, entertainers, businessmen, or playboys who employ their abilities for anything and everything, ranging from pulling a rabbit out of a hat (except you're actually summoning a rabbit out of thin air), influencing business deals, manipulating the stock market, making yourself more attractive, etc.
>>47143302
I'm not sure what you mean by realistic, but if you mean grounded and still operating in normal society Unknown Armies has its whole modern day wizards/cultists aesthetic.
>>47143302
Maybe you can get ideas from The Dresden Files?
>>47143869
Harry Dresden manages to be both at the same time, somehow.I know the Dresden Files is basically Twilight for dudes but I can't help myself.
>not reading Dresden Files
>not pretty much just doing that
>>47144097
>>47144158
I've only read the one book. How consistent is the writing? Because I really liked what I read.
>>47143302
I ran one guy who had been a combat engineer sort of person before getting dragged into magic shit. He was a shitty sorcerer-one of the worst his foes had ever seen-but the best artificer on the face of the planet.
Basically became "Wizard with a shotgun". He'd troll, trick, and finagle his way through problems, usually with the help of some domestic terrorism approaches. Remember kids, the real magic is a good pipebomb. The demon-banishing sword helps.
McGyver is pretty close imo
>wanders the world mildly carefree
>doesnt use a weapon, only mundane items
>uses chemistry, physics and other shit to get himself out of jams
Pretty much anyone who uses science or the like to their advantage in everyday life, considering most wizards are portrayed as scientist-like beings in most fantasy
The Taxi Monks
Through deep meditation and training, these monks learn to feel the flow of roads and streets, and in doing so, find routes through busy traffic that lesser men couldn't even fathom. They use this ability to transport passengers across cities at extremely high speeds, finding divinity and enlightenment through serivce to others. When they are deep in the flow, they become almost invisible - the human mind blanks them out, as it does for so much else in the urban landscape.
If one desires the Monks' service, every Monk in the city already knows. Stand on the curb and hold out your thumb, and a Monk shall already be there. Just make sure to pay your fare; the Monks never serve freeloaders twice.
>>47145031
Those sound exactly like good Unknown Armies NPCs.
>>47143302
your pic is good
his comic series anyway
Hellblazer
the one under the Vertigo print label
Wizard who still has to use the old ways, becuase as much as people would like to think otherwise, Magic didn't fucking move forwards with the rest of us.
Don't have eye of newt? Your spell's not going to fly, fuckface.
Oh, that creature went extinct, well fan fucking tastic, that source of lesser pink spotted cockatoo bladders are gone for good. Pity too as that spell cured cancer.
Summoning circle made out of chalk? I hope you've had a long and full life becuase that demon's going to chew on your throat.
>>47145110
What are summoning circles traditionally made out of? I didn't know there was more to the magic than the shape.
>>47144848
The writing improves pretty consistently, but the second book was my least favorite.
>>47145225
Salt or Chalk of some kind, if I remember correctly.
The circle's both for the summoning and protection against the thing summoned.
I mean, chalk can be used but I think salt is a much more interesting option.
>>47144158
Except it's you know, actually pretty fucking good. It does indulge in a lot of "HEE HEE CLEVER CLEVER" and "LOOOKIT THE MAGIC!", but then, it's also not as soul crushing to read as Phillip Marlowe can be. That shit is brutal. Or say, Blood Meridian or the Road. But then those are intended to be red eyed, hell on earth looks into the abyss of the human spirit akin to Heart of Darkness.
Harry has some bad times, but not that bad and they pass.
The overall tone and outcome of the Road make Mad Max look like Mr. Rogers.
>>47144848
It's a struggle getting through the first two.
Then his writing starts to pick up.
But book 4 it's exceptional.
He gets pretty powerful towards the most recent books though, but as you can see where he's come from and all the shit he's had his ass kicked by, it's not that bad.
He's still nowhere near the mojo of many other casters.
>>47145227
That is fucking dope
>>47145227
holy shit i love this character art. like words cant describe how much i want to play this dude
>>47145419
>I sold my soul. . . FOR THIS?!
Not exactly a wizard, but I think it's close enough to be relevant.
I ran a mage who was a wizardaboo basically.
He was a loser college student failing science while making some living money tutoring rich high school students in physics and chemistry, putting his spare time towards trying to get real arcane tomes (What he got barely qualified), and putting together sweet wizard gear (All he managed was a really tall blue beanie with stars on it and a really long cotton jacket).
Refused to join an order in the consilium on the basis that you could tell just from looking at their clothes (IE completely normal clothes) that they were clearly not serious about being wizards and were just there to have petty personal drama and use magic to get rich.
>>47143302
with the advent of modern technology, wizards started to be less sought after, eventually fading into obscurity. modern wizards, due to having led a life of paranoia for fear of ending up in a government lab experimented on, are solitary and selfish creatures that use their magic to make their lives easier. with their reclusion over the years, they have formed intense bonds with each other, sharing in the experience that is unique to them.
wizards eventually all end up sterile, weather though choice or happenstance. some think it is fate, others think that it is a result of magic and it's effects on the body.
>>47143302
Just put fantasy wizards in a modern setting.
And make no one bat an eye about it.
(Presumably because magic.)
>>47143302
Have you read The Injection by Warren Ellis?
Robin Morel from the Injection is basically this. For a start, he doesn't even have any magical spells: He's a folklore expert (A "Cunning Man") the British government keeps on retainer just in case.
Of course, shit gets crazy and so do the lines between what is and is not magic.
>>47146261
It's a weird series.
>>47144848
Power through the first few and shit gets epic fast once he hits his stride.
Also, I recommend dresden as well if you want a good modern wizard. Constantine works too, though they are pretry different archetypes of wizard.
>>47143302
>>47143431 this. I feel like a wizard every day. Like wizard. Not a sorcerer. Important difference when it comes to IT related stuff
Working with deamons, exploring the internet, defending your own network, hunting for forgotten libraries and tomes (*.dlls + documentation), having a bitch fight with the admin of another network about arcane concepts.
And always remember if you're a bad, then the deamons send you off to the googlag to mine bitcoins.
>>47143302
That show was cool as shit, even what they did with Chas. I enjoyed the shit out of it, sad it didn't get renewed. The comic too, made even more awesome because I'm originally from Newcastle.
>>47146799
Yes, I didn't see an episode until after cancellation but that coal episode sold me.
>>47146880
There wasn't a bad episode, the one with the fallen angel trapped in the barn with running water was the best.
Ink and the Storytellers:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyj0QfgDxY
Has probably the best urban fantasy/fey/wizard stuff going on that I've ever seen.
The antagonists are genuinely unsettling. The plot is very carefully crafted. For an amateur film, the acting, dialogue, and special effects are excellent. And the soundtrack...
Well, take a look.
>>47145225
Depends on the setti-, I mean, on the region.
I recently started playing a Magical Mercenary of sorts whose contact was bought out for the next 100 years by a shadowy group that hunts monsters. He's very much a soldier type kinda guy, except with magic instead of guns.
a time travelling wizard
he's been to the future
>>47147999
Too bad that it's Trips.
Claimin' dat
>>47143302
>>47145290
Except, you know, that you've really got juvenile taste.
I'm sure there's girls out there who think that Twilight is a deep, well-written, and truly romantic story about a really healthy relationship.
>>47149578
How is it childish?
Tell us all, wise /lit/ master.
>>47143302
That !NotConstantine here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPqXIHPnsrI
>>47150098
>that cigarette lighting
muh dick
i love magic use for really mundane shit, adds a layer of realism to the world in a way
>>47146277
>Technomagic sword
Reminds me of the game Hellgate London.
>>47146395
>>47143431
As an IT guy, I always mangle Clarke to cover this, "You can convince me that your magic is actually sufficiently advanced technology, but the guy who makes it work is still a goddamn wizard."
The MMO TSW (The Secret World) covers that them pretty decently, Illuminati being my favorite version of the idea.
Running a modern mage as a CIA operative could potentially be really cool, if you grounded it in real world blackops, "active measures" and plausibly deniable nation state skullfuckery.
Go in with a SEAL team to merc some cultits or supernatural creature.
Deploy with some SF and operate invisibly for a while to support some rebels, overthrow a government, or try to secure some important artifact or temple in the middle of Syria.
Maybe the new incredibly virulent strain of "ebola" is an egregore rapidly gaining power and sentience.
Perhaps the leading presidential candidate is a goddamn liche, but you cant just whack him because he's constantly on TV and followed by Secret Service 24/7.
Try to accomplish this while avoiding media scrutiny, dealing with FBI cockblocking, foreign intelligence agencies and the knowledge that if things go south, that stealth bomber overhead might get the order to thermoberic bomb the whole area. At least your family will get a nice, prewritten letter about how you were killed in an accidental helicopter crash.
>>47145546
That's the Librarian, right? Anyone watch the TV series?
>>47150098
God, I would have loved Secret World so much if they just made a proper single-player RPG and not more MMO shit. The setting got urban magic right, you can count on one hand all the other video games that can say the same.
![Heroes-Sylar[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/99AVGQi.jpg "Heroes-Sylar[1].jpg")
I'd imagine realistic modern wizards would work similar to the characters in Heroes.
You would get those going full Superman and doing good, some that would subtly use their magic for their own purposes and the occasional psycho that has a mission statement to wipe out all other magic users to learn their secrets.
>>47144848
Dresden Files is very much a beer & pretzels books series. It's not deep, it's rarely clever, but it's very tongue-in-cheek and never fails to be very entertaining. I love it.
Kudos for it being 15 goddamn books in and not succumbing to power creep, too.
>>47151231
Bending a bit the Delta Green background with a tad less "doomed from the start" might get you just there.
>>47144848
Overly consistent. The books are enjoyable but you'll start noticing the formula real quick.
>>47151423
It makes me sad that the modern wizard trope is getting infected by Dresden. Those books take a likable idea and then just makes it awful, kind of like how Buffy started out as a fun "What if?" and then fell apart after its first season, turning into just a list of terrible re-interpretations of fantasy cliches combined with poorly written drama intermixed with jokes that you can point at but can hardly laugh at.
>>47143768
Not that anon, but all the stuff I've read of his seemed really straightforward. Is there anything in particular that seemed objectionable to you? (To be fair, translation issues are absolutely a possibility.)
>>47143302
I'm writing a novel about a drug addicted wizard in Appalachia who's basically been enslaved to a family of drug dealers. Think Jesse Pinkman meets John Constantine.
He ends up tracking down one of his old associates, who wants nothing to do with him, and has begun to live a seemingly milquetoast life as an insurance claims adjuster...but secretly uses his magic to cheat at Cowboy Action Shooting competitions.
>>47151394
>The setting got urban magic right, you can count on one hand all the other video games that can say the same.
Except for that stupid, immersion-breaking fast travel dimension. They got that so, so wrong.
>>47143302
Any and all iterations of:
>Aleister Crowley
>Sam LM Mathers
>Austin Osman Spare
>Grant Morrison
>Alan Moore
>Andrew Chumbley
Etc.
>>47151523
In what ways are the Dresden Files books awful?
>>47151586
>Englishmen
Absolutely disgusting.jpg
>>47151755
It's like a long list of how not to write.
We've got characters without any charisma being lumped together to compose sometimes downright idiotic dialogue, along with a "got to get out of this corner I painted myself into" magic system that's as lazy as a writer could possibly get with it, and by-the-numbers plots that only surprise you by how stupid they end up thanks to masturbatory antics that fall short of being self-aware parodies and just end up being genuinely mind-blowingly nonsensical and poorly conceived.
Butcher also can't write a fight scene or sex scene without making them either awkward to the point of being unreadable or unintentionally humorous through sheer ineptitude.
Add that to a lazy setting filled with awful reinterpretations of fantasy fiction staples, and just generally poor writing, and we've got something you might secretly enjoy as an extremely guilty almost-pleasure, but is hardly worth recommending. These are books you read because you're starving for a modern-day wizard, and don't care if the meal is poisoned or rotten.
>>47152150
Fucking thank you, Jesus, I thought I was the only one who didn't like that crap. It's like being surrounded by crazy people.
>>47152150
De gustibus non est disputandum
Personally, I like the series. It has its limitations, but I wouldn't be nearly as critical as you've put immense effort into being. Frankly, I almost feel as if you're being intentionally in an attempt to get replies, but it still leaves me curious as to what could have possibly left you so bitter about the series. For my curiousity, what about Butcher's writing do you hate so much?
>>47151561
Are you retarded? It's okay if you are. That was traditional myth, you little shit.
>>47151226
I loved the idea of the dragon but they were so poorly executed. It would have been so much better if your contact for the faction had been a crazy homeless guy or, like, a TV in a mostly-empty warehouse, with pile of VCR tapes. Having the mission-complete messages be telemarters and broken clips from newscasts and talkshows, all ominously related to your quest. Sort of a Hotline:Miami style faction, mysterious, counter intuitive and very hands off. Proper chaos.
Instead we got a bitchy asian lady.
>>47152804
What is hard to understand?
They're poorly written. That's hardly a matter worth debating.
You can certainly enjoy it as much as you like, but it's hardly a matter of taste to call it bad writing, especially when even most fans of the series acknowledge this. To call it the male Twilight is perhaps a bit unfair, because in the case of Dresden fans they at least understand that what they're reading is not the work of any great writer but an amateur who happens to be catering to their tastes. But, you seem to really be gung-ho about establishing the fans to be as senseless as the young girls and women who call Meyer not only a competent writer, but a great one.
Butcher writes bad books that appeal to adolescent males. If that's your personal vice, by all means, live with that sin, but don't pretend anyone with a lick of sense has to call it good writing just because it has some rabid fans that may include yourself.
>>47151586
>Alan Moore
So a rapemage?
>>47152150
There are two types of narrativistic storytelling: Character driven Narrativism and Story driven Narrativism. The chief difference is how a character is identified. In Story driven narratives, a character is a device of a story, and exists for the sole purpose of driving a story further towards its conclusion. A good example of a story based narrator in popular fiction is J.R.R. Tolkien. In his book, The Hobbit, the titular hobbit, Bilbo, exists as a narrative object for the purpose of aiding the dwarves in securing their treasure. Though his character is developed in a manner congruent with a character driven narrative (the mark of a great author is probably their ability to hybridize the two styles), his purpose is to solve problems which would keep the story from being concluded. The weakness of the Story driven Narrative, especially as illustrated in the Hobbit, is the fact that a character may seem expendable or interchangeable. If the character is no more than a device, than he can be safely replaced with any other suitable device that gets the job done. This can lead to a lack of interaction between the author and the character and a consequent lack of immersion.
>>47152105
Jack Parsons: All American Wizard or bust
>>47153318
By contrast, in a Character driven Narrative, a story is merely a medium for developing a character. Although Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files are a good example of Character driven Narrative, I'll use Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky as an example to avoid conflict. Tunnel in the Sky is, like most but not all Character driven Narratives, told in the first person and relates the evolution of the main character through an adventure. As a bit of "coming of age" fiction, the adventure in question is unimportant, so long as it results in the developement of the character, in this case from being a Boy to being a Man. The weakness of Character driven Narrative, especially when told in the first person, is the interface between the character and the reader is largely dependent on the reader himself. Because a person views themselves in the first person, a reader is likely to relate to a first person related character through self insertion, which can result in values dissonance when the character deviates from the reader's view of himself. If the character is successful or developed to become succesful, a reader with a low self esteem may find himself irrationally repulsed by the character, not because he dislikes success, but because he tried to envision himself as succesful and failed. In this circumstance, a reader may come to dislike the author and his associated works, going so far as to formulate academic arguments to cover for the dislike caused by his own subconcious self-loathing.
The only realistic measurement for the success of a storyteller in relating a character driven narrative is his ability to clearly related the conditions surrounding a character and the characters actions regarding same. The burden of comprehension and enjoyment falls completely on the reader.
>>47143302
An alcoholic whose magic powers only work because he's too drunk to know reality shouldn't bend the way he makes it.
Check out Unknown Armies and/or Tim Powers. As far as "plausible" modern magic goes they've pretty much nailed it.
>>47153145
But, what I'm struggling to comprehend is what measure you are using to label writing "bad". Is it poor grammar or an incomplete understanding of the language involved? Is it a reliance on cliche or the repetition of a formula? Or is it merely a storyline that you find unlikely?
My point is that you can't call something "bad writing" without giving me an example of what is bad about it.
Now, does this argument matter? No. It's an argument on the internet. By definition it will not resolve anything. But it's my day off, and I like arguing, so please oblige me. What is it, specifically, that makes you say it's bad?
>>47145271
If I were a modern wizard my summoning circle would be iron, sunk flush with the floor with a small section I could unlock and raise open if I wanted.
Basically the entire plot of Supernatural season 3 and onwards is that things get blocked with chalk or salt until something blows it away/smudges it/ disturbs it/whatever.
>>47153441
>iron
Clever girl.
>>47152150
To quote tvtropes:
Hary Dresden isn't a memetic badass, because he's actually TWICE as badass as you think he is.
That sounds fucking horrible.
>>47153145
Not the guy you're talking to but holy shit anon, you do realize you can dislike something without being an enormous cunt about it, right?
>>47153333
>The Dresden Files are a good example of Character driven Narrative
What? How did you manage to err so badly?
Each book is written according to the standard detective model, poorly disguised and with its backwards-first process leading to a mess of a story thanks to Butcher's failure at understanding the purpose behind it.
The story exists around the main character, but he is just as much as a prop as the rest, used only to make the plot move forward. Even if the end result is just to add another feat to the main character's list of meaningless accomplishments, it's still a plot-first, character-second construction.
>The burden of comprehension and enjoyment falls completely on the reader.
That's one hefty excuse. It doesn't even make sense if you take the moment to try and apply it as the basis for any kind of literary criticism.
In the end, all it ends up doing is making the question of "comprehension and enjoyment" not even a consideration when discussing an author, which is probably the last thing you actually want to do when trying to defend a bad one.
>>47153548
Of course it is.
It's from tvtropes, that's like the club house for the biggest autists of every fandom.
>>47151278
Yes. It's great. Showrunner is the guy who wrote the D&D comic everyone here loves.
>>47153483
Bonus points for suspending it over a pit or sicking it in the bottom of said pit.
Like OK, you want to shake my house and blow shit around my living room, that's cute. Let's just lower you down there and pour some cement in, see you in a month when you're feeling more reasonable.
>>47153145
>poorly written
That's not saying much, m8.
How is it poorly written?
>>47153679
At risking of being a faggot, which comic is this?
>>47143302
>Realistic
Magic existing would mean modern society would never happen.
Unless it's so weak and useless that it's hardly magic at all the effects would be too big, like violating thermodynamics ( making perpetual motion machines possible ) or from sheer inconsistency of physics baffling scientists forever.
>>47153588
By good example, I mean it represents the narrative approach. I make no judgements on quality. In my opinion, the only measurement for the quality of an author's work is how well they communicated the events of the story.
In the work in question, the stories are used to develop the character of harry dresden and the innumerable side characters (some of whom I find more likeable than the MC).
When I say the burden of comprehension and enjoyment rests on the reader, I do not mean that it is your job to enjoy what you do not enjoy or comprehend what you do not comprehend. Just as it is the author's intent to communicate and entertain, it is your intent (I hope) when picking up a book to understand and be entertained. If you find a book dull, it is not the inherent quality of the book to be dull, but your interaction with the book that fails to satisfy your desires.
As I said, the only objective measure of a good book is based on how effectively the author communicated the events of the story in question.
>>47153747
It's just called "Dungeons and Dragons", it's really great and ends way, way too soon. Published by IDW, and the main characters are Fell's Five if you need more to find extra info about it.
>>47153402
>Is it poor grammar or an incomplete understanding of the language involved?
At times, yes. Thank god for editors, but even a few times through the editing mill can't fix the mess of sophomoric prose that is typical of writers with more confidence than ability. He writes like he's still in college.
> Is it a reliance on cliche or the repetition of a formula?
Very much so.
>Or is it merely a storyline that you find unlikely?
When the character's motivations and the nature of laws/physics/magic are typically just "what the plot needs", it's hard to call it "unlikely" and more "this world is a hollow shell where anything can happen and it is all equally weightless."
It's practically on the level of porn writing, except instead of everything just setting up the scene for some bizarre interpretation of sex, it's all setting up the scene for some bizarre interpretation of someone being a badass.
>>47153864
Huh, see, I provided those prompts in the vain hope of evoking a response containing examples of the work in question. However, it very much sounds as if you're having the mental disconnect between Character and Story driven narratives. That feeling of the "Hollow Earth" wherein the world is only experienced through the characters interactions is very characteristic of Character Driven narratives. Have you considered that the laws of the narrative do not follow the character's actions so much as the character's actions are guided or restricted to those selfsame natural laws?
>>47153864
According to Butcher himself the first book was written as a result of him getting pissed off at a creative writing teacher and setting out to write the most cliched, formulaic story imaginable. I'm not sure whether somewhere along the way he started taking it seriously or whether it's still all just for fun.
>>47154046
>Huh, see, I provided those prompts in the vain hope of evoking a response containing examples of the work in question.
If we want to talk about a specific example, I'd almost want to lead you through a fantastic example of everything wrong with the Dresden Files, all nicely summarized with a man riding a zombie t-rex with the aid of a comic relief character beating time in a polka-suit while exploiting a loophole in a law written specifically for him to exploit.
Going through that scene, piece by piece, is an exploration of why we can't have a sensible discussion about the Dresden files, because it is not a series intended for sensible discussions.
It is a series for you to say "HOLY SHIT, EPIC! FUCKING EPIC!", while the rest of the world goes "Why can't Harry ever have a line of dialogue that doesn't sound like he's exaggerating for the sake of an imaginary audience? Does Butcher not even want to pretend that Harry is anything except a stand-in prop?"
>>47154350
Ah, I see. So it's not so much the actual communication occurring between you and the author. The author is communicating with you quite clearly. You just don't find his world engaging because you look at a set piece like that and think, "This fucking hack author is clearly trying too hard to make this seem awesome, so I'll try equally hard not to enjoy it." Now, that characterization might be unfair to you, but it's how it sounds.
The act in question, i.e. the reanimation of the tyrannosaur and ensuing death match does take advantage of a certain amount of archetypical templateism in order for a reader to process it. So, at a certain level, it's a man saying, "Dude, Zombie T-rex versus native american ghost wizards!" and, yes, it is very much taking advantage of absurdism to entertain. Which is kind of the point of the fantasy genre. You might find it tacky, for failing to adhere to whatever imaginary law of writing prohibits authors from getting too excited about their work, but you can't call something bad writing for occurrences outside of narrative devices. It might be a story you find yourself incapable of engaging yourself it, but it is not, by definition, bad writing.
Also, your mention of the imaginary audience is a little facetious, as the narrative style is meant to evoke a certain amount of a "So, no shit, there I was..." personal story telling vibe. With a first person narrator, the narrator is either presumed to be you, or a person speaking to you, and I believe you got stuck on the former because you feel the need to self insert into your preferred media.
>>47153747
this one?
>>47154350
Please do explain.
So far 99% of what you do is yell "X is bad!" without even telling us why.
>>47154574
If you'll allow me, I think I can summarize your post a little.
"It's not the authors fault, it is your unwillingness to accept these contrived excuses."
That's really all that you've got building up there. There's no real reason to be polite anymore, because it's clear that you're just going to continue with your bizarre high school creative writing/psychology interpretation that is willing to perform laps around the central issue just to avoid looking at it. I almost get the sense that your entire goal is just to be as wearisome as possible, and you're quite skilled in that regard, but the flaw in that strategy is that I can rightly ignore what basically amounts to "It's not bad writing, because I am willing to use arguments that take things to such a subjective level that nothing can be called bad writing."
The issue is not that a man is riding a zombie t-rex. In the hands of skilled author, the pieces and parts that would be required to assemble such a scene could have been genuinely awesome or downright hilarious. Instead, the result is a half-baked, contrived, awkward mess that reads like a bad joke that popped its weak punchline early but just kept going for the sake of completion.
I'm reading, wanting it to be awesome, amusing, anything, anything to take advantage of what should be something absurd and exciting, and instead am treated to what's clearly an author reaching beyond his grasp. It's the kind of unique disappointment you get when someone sets you up to have low expectations in one field so that he can amaze you in another, only to have them fail in every spectrum.
It's the shitty youtube video that your friend says is worth watching until the end, only to discover it's just a shitty youtube video.
>>47155081
And yet at every iteration of this otherwise enjoyable argument, you must resort to telling me the work is bad, rather than showing me what is bad about it. That's why I've been giving you many opportunities to just say, "I don't like it." Which would be entirely acceptable, once again, a person's taste cannot be argued. However, you've repeatedly spent a lot of effort couching your complaints in the kind of language a literary critic would use rather than actually saying what you don't like.
It's awkward. Okay, how is it awkward.
It's half-baked. Okay, tell me what a fully baked dinosaur battle would include that butcher didn't give you?
Your accusation of subjectivism on my part is pretty correct, however. As I've repeatedly said, as long as the author does not make objective mistakes in the fields of grammar and spelling and as long as he effectively communicates what happens in his story, he has succeeded. You have yet to demonstrate where butcher fails to do this. Show, don't tell.
>>47153548
>tvtropes
Ignoring even that, arguing that a character is 'badass' is a weak argument, because that depends entirely on a subjective opinion on how 'cool' you consider a character and their actions to be. And that doesn't get into things like character depth, if you really relate to a character or find them realistic, or anything like that. I wouldn't call Sabriel badass, but throughout her series I was able to reasonably connect to her as a character and sympathize with her struggles.
>>47155231
There's no real reason to be polite anymore, because it's clear that you're just going to continue with your bizarre high school creative writing/psychology interpretation that is willing to perform laps around the central issue just to avoid looking at it. I almost get the sense that your entire goal is just to be as wearisome as possible, and you're quite skilled in that regard, but the flaw in that strategy is that I can rightly ignore what basically amounts to "It's not bad writing, because I am willing to use arguments that take things to such a subjective level that nothing can be called bad writing."
You're wondering what's awkward about a man in a polka suit leading a zombie dinosaur?
Aside from that by itself, all the rules of necromancy were twisted and built around for that scene. The Laws of Magic had to be redefined to let Harry perform it. There's still no real reason why the more experienced necromancers weren't doing similar or better.
Then, we can talk about the awkward attempts to describe the scene, which read more like Butcher recounting a trip in an oversized truck driven by a blind driver than riding a necromantically-powered dinosaur.
There's a million and one things wrong with that scene, and you being unable to find one makes me wonder how you expect to continue this conversation.
Yes, you like the series. But, to like it to the point of being blind to any faults it might have?
Here. Do me a favor. How about you go ahead and find me something you dislike about the writing so I don't have to assume I'm talking to someone who's just trying to excuse bad writing, using whatever he can to do so.
>As I've repeatedly said, as long as the author does not make objective mistakes in the fields of grammar and spelling and as long as he effectively communicates what happens in his story, he has succeeded.
By your standards, we can also consider Meyers a success. Or, really, anyone who's gone through the first round of editing.
>>47155231
>as long as the author does not make objective mistakes in the fields of grammar and spelling, and as long as he effectively communicates what happens in his story, he has succeeded.
As I Lay Dying and The Sun Also Rises says hi.
>>47155603
Did you just repeat the entire first paragraph of your last post? Speaking of bad writing.
So hold on here and let me get this straight. This argument has been you saying the writing is bad, follow by me asking you why and then you finally just tell me that I should go find the mistakes you need to prove your point?
Is he a perfect writer? No, I'm sure he makes all kinds of mistakes. I'm sure he has awkward prose. But you're the one saying he's terrible, so the burden of proof is on you, not me. Why in God's name would you ask your antagonist to prove your point?
>There's no real reason to be polite anymore,
See, that's something you should never say in an argument. There is always a reason to be polite. Keeping an even and level tone and not resorting to emotional arguments and insults prevents you from saying something stupid in the heat of the moment and losing the argument by default. It's also more likely to predispose an audience in your favor even if you can't convince an opponent that he's wrong. In the words of Churchill, "If you're going to kill someone, it doesn't hurt to be polite about it."
Pic extremely related
>>47155761
There's no real reason to be polite anymore, because it's clear that you're just going to continue with your bizarre high school creative writing/psychology interpretation that is willing to perform laps around the central issue just to avoid looking at it. I almost get the sense that your entire goal is just to be as wearisome as possible, and you're quite skilled in that regard, but the flaw in that strategy is that I can rightly ignore what basically amounts to "It's not bad writing, because I am willing to use arguments that take things to such a subjective level that nothing can be called bad writing."
>>47153323
^Bingo.
Also:
>Albert Pike
>Phil Dick
>Grady McMurtry
>Robert Anton Wilson
>Terence McKenna
>John Zorn
>>47155962
Ah, you see it's pretty obvious I'm slow. It took me this long to realize you were trolling. Goddamnit, I didn't even get to cum. Guess I need to find a new argument.
>>47156020
>Albert Pike
MASONS GET OUT REEEEEEEE
>>47156246
>no u
>>47156088
If you're really brought down to "no, YOU'RE the troll," I'm glad I finished taking you seriously when I did.
Try again when you learn to stop asking for more details after you immediately ignore the ones provided.
>>47156261
MPH was a Mason too? Didn't know that.
>>47156367
You never provided details, though.
>>47145290
>>47149667
there's a book where he rides around on a dinosaur, and states directly 'im riding on a dinosaur' about 5 times.
Multiple times antagonists are established out of nowhere as being totally a big deal, and then disappear by end of book
the contrived bullshit surrounding the whole 'suprise you have a daughter' escapade
The subsequent resurrection-based timeskip, proving twice that the author has no capability to write dresden as anything other than a shallow self-obsessed guyhero, and dodged any potential character development having responsibilities to other people might entail.
Requesting character art for a modern day mage
>>47158482
>>47158509
>>47158526
>>47158552
>>47158579
>>47158624
I think that's all i've got.
>>47153318
>>47153333
It's 2016. Why aren't you reading non-narrative literature?
>>47143302
>Concepts
Pyromancer pharmacist whose powers are tied directly to his emotions so he abuses his position and self-medicates, pops pills, and numbs his existence. Probably takes the bus now, or has to drive home late and early to avoid the ever-present threat of road rage.
Spiritual sight possessing homeless chick who has long since accepted that she cannot live a normal life because the world is crowded and spooky by her sight. Has grown comfortable talking to people who don't exist for anyone else. Mooches off her more magically well-adjusted friends.
Math teacher who possesses probability manipulation powers. Is able to put extra weight into his Luck column in exchange for bad Luck coming into play eventually. Has won the lottery, and has lost his ability to care about money anymore. Really just trying to deal with all the bad luck that's headed his way.
Architect who is skilled in transmutation and alchemy, using his skills to one-man operations, make himself more presentable for those investor meetings, and to fit the stereotypes people seem to associate or find attractive.
Guy who is haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend and who happens to see dead people all the time, to the point that the world seems far more crowded than it actually is. Is trying to keep his shit together, pretty much has to do telemarketing work because he'd often register orders for dead patrons at the White Castle.I do a shitty little webcomic and those are some of the concepts we've used. http://thesisters-comic.com/ if anyone gives a crap. It's essentially Fright Night with wizards and cults.
>>47156580
I miss the first two books where he did pretty decent, albeit average detective fiction with a twist. The power creep gets old really fast. I did think the Hades Heist was fun though, maybe because it was a smaller cast in a magic environment so things had some level of perspective.
>>47146928
Just finished watching this; good recommendation. The incubi were like the average of Slendermen and the Strangers from Dark City. I'm not sure it's exactly urban fantasy per se though. Still good.
>>47144848
I think that the author has steadily improved with every book. I've read every one, and I don't feel guilty about it; they're just good fun. The lore is some good solid, consistent stuff, too. Dresden Lore is my go-to when I'm in a pinch and need some rules of magic and behavior for mythical creatures.
>>47145212
A Cat That Walks?
>>47145419
WhatTheFuckAmIPainting.jpg
>>47159222
Just read through the comic, or at least what's written so far. It's pretty good, a shame the second most likable characterhad to die. The first most likable being Walt. I also noticed what you said in this post is not entirely shown in the comic, is this just stuff in your head or am I missing something?
>>47151231
>Perhaps the leading presidential candidate is a goddamn liche, but you cant just whack him because he's constantly on TV and followed by Secret Service 24/7.
So the main objective is to kill Hillary Clinton?
>>47162917
He said lich, dammit, lich.
>>47143302
magic NEET recluse who lives in a shitty hood apartment and leaves in the dead of night to get groceries and perform rituals in abandoned warehouses
>>47145212
Nekomancer?
Vermin Supreme
>>47158509
This is neat. I like this.
>>47152105
Cry some more, Johnny Foreigner.
>>47143302
the interesting question isn't how would you be a modern wizard - its how would you stop them.
>>47143302
Mage: the Ascension
You're welcome!
>>47162014
I genuinely feel sorry for you.
>>47165984
Wow that was very well written.
>>47166577
Goodness, have you not gotten enough attention? You're the prettiest girl at the ball.
>>47143302
>wizard
>realistic
>could exist in modern times
Sounds like a tall order. Wizards and magic are fairly unrealistic to begin with.
And then you want it in modern times so you where is shares the stage with modern technology, which is overwhelmingly powerful on its cutting edge.
Shadowrun makes an attempt at this while avoiding the incredibly stupid "Secret Supernatural Society" trope. I suggest you read the setting and see what inspiration you can take from it. There's also lots of novels.
You can take any suggestion that includes said trope and throw it in the trash. That's not realistic, that's passing on the problem by invoking suspension of disbelief.
>>47143302
Base him off modern urban occultists. Basically normal people who do meditation and a lot of lucid dreaming between looking for occult information on the internet.
>>47166974
>meditation
>lucid dreaming
Lemme know when you graduate to Lemegeton or Abramelin or Liber Iuratus Honorii or something with some meat.
>>47166974
Oh, and don't forget the neopaganism. If you want him REALLY modern have him practice chaos magick in some way, which is the "correct" name for what a lot of people in the site call meme magic. It supposedly helps with learning other systems since it makes the practitioner realize that none of the power comes from external rituals or such, but rather from himself.
Nowadays not a lot of people claim to be actually able to flip chairs or throw fireballs, it's mostly "mental" stuff if you get what I'm saying. Tulpas is usually the flashiest you get other than tales of astral projection
>>47145290
>That shit is brutal. Or say, Blood Meridian or the Road. But then those are intended to be red eyed, hell on earth looks into the abyss of the human spirit akin to Heart of Darkness.
>The overall tone and outcome of the Road make Mad Max look like Mr. Rogers.
You sound exactly like this pretentious neckbeard that I know. I hate you already.
>>47146186
>tfw undergoing acanthus mystery play awakening
>>47167081
>If you want him REALLY modern have him practice chaos magick in some way, which is the "correct" name for what a lot of people in the site call meme magic
Why go that route when you can do a little research on the Cultus Sabbati and run someone working toward a trans-historical synthesis of everything from Zoroastrian folk witchcraft to the Cunning Traditions as exemplified in the Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet, through modern Chaos magick as predicated on concepts described in Joel B.'s masterpiece Kaos 14?
>Chaos magick supposedly helps learning other system
Frankly, I disagree. Chaos Magick as a paradigm best rests in the hands of those who have already traveled pretty far in various specializations and specialties, looking for strings of thread to tie it all together. The core Chaos Texts say "there's a lot of technical material outside of these manuals and this is only the surface, you'll need to go farther to contact augoeides", which most Chaotes ignore.
>Play nWoD: Mage
>Spend some time making a character with a backstory, corporate man who climbed his way to the top as a mundane.
>Rich guy who married a rich lady, lives at the top of a penthouse apartment with her.
>One day after a late night at the office, he awakens, thinking he's hallucinating after overworking.
>Discovers a whole new level of power.
>Finds himself at the bottom rung again, this time among a society of mages instead of suits.
>Winds up going on permanent leave from his position and annoying his wife to no end as he simply sits around the penthouse, completely lost.
It's a shame that I didn't get to play him much though, the other guy playing with us made a literal murderhobo (Like, an actual hobo mage that just dumped all of his experience into force arcana and nothing else.) and played the game like Diablo. At least the end of the campaign was somewhat interesting since the murderhobo actually started working towards a goal other than "kill vampires" by then.
>>47143302
Say, while we're talking about modern wizards what would be the best system to run an urban fantasy game in? I'm thinking less reality-warping PCs and underground politics and more magical Ghostbusters/pest control.
>>47162014
Dresden Lore is possibly the worst version of anything you can find in fantasy I've ever encountered.
The magic, the creatures, the cosmology, what makes a person a wizard, everything is so stupid and contrived, it might be the second worst setting ever cobbled together.
]>>47162877Some is next storyline stuff which features the last concept character and Walt in more focus. Others were more just spitballing for more generic forms.
Glad you thought it was pretty good.
>>47166937
Sort of why I'm in favor of any secret wizarding society functioning like Alcoholics Anonymous or a fringe political club that meets in private. A bunch of people who experience weird shit and can do weird shit, sipping from dixie cups and wishing they were at Battered Spouses Support Group because they have better food out.
You've got a special power or two that make escalation to violence super easy, there are people who likely hate you or want to control you, and there's a good chance that nobody else in your life can relate to you. So it helps to have a place to vent, get your ear on the ground, and maybe meet like-minded people before you end up being a lone gunman who goes full Voldermort.
>>47167730
>a fringe political club that meets in private
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordo_Templi_Orientis
>>47143302
Electrical engineers.
Every other type of engineer at uni calls what we do "magic".
Everyone (electrical engineers included) calls electromagnetism "black magic"
So your modern day wizard should be an electrical engineer.
>>47166628
thank you. I have my moments (occasionally)
>>47159222
>I miss the first two books where he did pretty decent, albeit average detective fiction with a twist. The power creep gets old really fast.
this. so much this
>>47169357
I mean, Grave Peril is probably one of my favorite of his books because Michael is a really fun character; but the first two books had such a pulp detective vibe to them and Harry operating as he did made sense. Nobody believes him and he's unfortunately right about things, and the end of Fool Moon is literally Harry talking about how the world doesn't want to believe in this stuff and it helps give you this feeling that if the world were open to it he'd probably be a happier or at least nicer person. Because he wouldn't be constantly invalidated.
The stakes are highest when the power level is lowest. You don't want the world to feel like it'll end every other Tuesday. At some point Harry becomes the only person who holds himself accountable for his actions, which is a shame because then you're just a superhero.
probably not as creative as I'm picturing it my head, but.
>a wizard walks into office building, goes into the bathroom.
>polymorphs his clothe to look like a janitors uniform
>casts glamour on his face so everyone sees and hears him as the day shift janitor
>goes to the front desk lady saying he seems to have left the key to the janitors closet at home
>is allowed into the janitors closet
>gets the master key ring
>walks through the building getting a feel for all the unmarked rooms and access halls that are locked from the public
>goes to accountants office
>casts invisibility and waits for accountant to pop in
>waits and watches her enter the password to the computer
>keeps the invisibility spell on until the end of the day
>casts sleep on the nightshift janitor
>casts a bubble of magic around the cameras that make it look like it's just filimg the building interior
>walks into accountants office
>transfers millions of dollars to an offshore account
>wearing a spell that makes it so his fingers don't transfer prints, and he bought new shoes and put them on before he walked into the building
The Wizard theif
>>47145271
It's actually two circles. One for protection, superscribed on the summoning circle.
Ultimately though the circle matters very little; what matters is your belief in how safe you are. The circle is a placebo. If you believe you are safe in the presence of a demon, you are. If you don't, no amount of voodoo will help because a demon's a demon and your fear feeds it.
>>47170178
i think that the whole point of using an urban fantasy setting is that everything feels a lot more grounded that LotR style high-fantasy. And the more power-creep there is, the less grounded everything feels, at which point you might as well be in Narnia for all the relation the action has to the real world. In the early books real-life problems like the Chicago police were things Harry actually had to work around - and work with - in a realistic way. Now Chicago is just a cardboard-cutout backdrop, which begs the question: in what sense is this urban fantasy?
>>47170266
Mastigos in MtA can break into pretty much anywhere, even without teleportation. The trick is leaving enough evidence that those in the know who hear about the crime don't immediately realize 'a wizard did it.'
>>47153864
>let me show how clever I am by nitpicking something everyone likes
>>47175119
>let me try to pretend anyone over sixteen likes it
It should probably be an auto-ban to admit to enjoying that series, considering you need to be at least 18 to post on this site.
>>47151231
see GURPS: Black Ops or, for a more mind-controlling, mind-raping version, GURPS Horror: The Madness Dossier.
>>47145290
>namedropping pleb-tier Mccarthy books to appear cultured
It should come as no surprise that /tg/ has shit taste in literature. Fuck , even grossman's overly melodramatic series is better than Dresden files .
>>47175450
Don't judge all of /tg/ on a few idiots.
>>47175466
Nah after being here for a while it's pretty clear /tg/'s taste in literature is pretty bad. It's about the same as /tv/ where if you point out the flaws in their favorite books they'll start namedropping Blood Meridian to save face.
>>47175450
>>47175335
Dresden files isn't literature. I don't read it because of the insights it gives into the human condition, nor do I read it for its soaring prose or beautiful imagery.
I read it because I fucking enjoy it you pretentious, joyless, child. There's no greater sign of immaturity than caring about whether something fun is 'adult' enough.
And the Dresden files definitely is fun. If you can't see what's fun about riding a zombie T-Rex, you really don't belong on this board.
There really needs to be a /lit/ version of 'no /pol/ outside /pol/ rule'. There isn't a more cancerous, toxic board on 4chan than /lit/, and whenever any of that hipster trash is caught outside of their containment zone they should be banhammered back to where they came from.
>>47176192
You enjoy it because you're an idiot, plain and simple.
Your whole "I want a safe space to talk about my shit taste" rant is so pathetic, I'm going to have to say that if anyone doesn't belong on this board, it's the underage child who still thinks that you can excuse liking shit by saying "I like shit stop judging me."
No one can stop you from enjoying shit, but you really can't pretend it's not shit, and you're never going to be able to silence everyone from pointing out that you're enjoying shit.
Maybe you should come back after you start reading at the level you're expected to be reading at if you're old enough to post here?
Cry a little more, then come back when your balls have actually dropped.
>>47164838
Not sure if this hits the target but it's the only other character art i've got that's a gif.
>>47176341
>"I like shit stop judging me."
I didn't say that. I said your judgement is objectively wrong, and you need to fuck off and take your fail with you.
>>47176616
> your judgement is objectively wrong
Oh, in that case, I should just let you to continue to make a fool of yourself. I just wish you'd use a trip so it would let everyone have an easier time dismissing all of your dumb opinions you believe are objective.
>>47176883
>everyone
Sure anon, keep telling yourself that.
>>47176937
Are you trying to tell me it wouldn't let everyone have an easier time filtering you?
Are you genuinely retarded?
>>47177008
A. Not that anon
and
B. I don't understand where you're getting the idea that literally every single person here besides that anon agrees with you.
>>47177099
>literally every single person here besides that anon agrees with you.
Can you point where that was said?
You're a bit of a head case.
Might be time to stop trying to play a numbers game, especially if you've got to project your insecurities in order to do so.
>>47177152
>Can you point where that was said?
>let everyone have an easier time filtering you
>let everyone have an easier time dismissing all of your dumb opinions
>>47145293
>He gets pretty powerful towards the most recent books though, but as you can see where he's come from and all the shit he's had his ass kicked by, it's not that bad.
>implying he's not still getting his ass kicked
>>47177214
Yes, and?
What part of those sentences confuses you?
You start using a tripcode, and anyone can easily filter all your posts if they want to, meaning everyone has an easier time dismissing everything you're going to say, even before you say it.
Now please, put a tripcode on already.
>>47176192
Wow someone is very triggered that not everyone likes their favorite book series.
>>47167582
I've always thought this would be a really cool way to do it, though I'd leave in a bit of the reality warping. However, throwing fireballs is really kind of a brutish technique when you've got magic.
The sort of setting I'd like is one where the supernatural creatures are more horror inspired than anything else, and not the safe and easily fought sort of horror. The kind of stuff that often operates on a level most humans don't understand and can't really deal with, and can usually just toy with human lives at its leisure if it goes unchecked.
This is what people bring in the wizards for, since they're able to deal with these entities on the same level. Of course, this means a wizard and their magic are about as unsettling as the monsters they deal with, and really aren't all that different from them in the long run.
>>47177484
firstly, the Dresden files isn't my favourite book series. Just because I enjoy it, doesn't mean that there aren't things I enjoy more.
Secondly, I am fucking triggered because if we let shit like this slide we'll end up like /lit/
>>47176542
not the guy you were replying to, but that's a damn cool pic
>>47177587
If being like /lit/ gets fags like you to stop pretending it ain't anything other than shit, then I embrace the salty waves that come from those shores.
Damn do you need to expand your library. What else is on your shelf, Percy Jackson?
>>47177587
It sounds like you're just upset because whenever the Dresden series is brought up in /lit/, it's such an easy target to roast because that series is so bad but it somehow has fans.
It's male Twilight, but no one's dumb enough to admit they like Twilight anymore, but there's plenty dumb enough to admit they like Dresden.
>>47163591
>>47143302
Realistic wizard would be someone who is very good with science and psychology. He makes people think magical things are going on when really they are just illusions/ delusions and stuff like that. One simple example would be a guy using a microphone to talk through somebody's speakers via the internet but the target was slipped some drugs earlier that night so they think they are being talked to by their computer etc. etc. That would be a realistic modern day wizard.
>>47167209
>Why go that route when you can garblegarblegarbleblargh
Maybe because his players don't want to be assigned a reading list. That's not research, it's flaunting.
Speaking of the Dresden Files, are Wizards supposed to be wise-asses?
Is that a feature of having a high Int score?
>>47179262
>wizard
>rood word is 'wise'
>wise ass
>high int score
>>47165984
Does anyone have the picture used at the top of that story?
>>47146301
>Constantine works too, though they are pretry different archetypes of wizard.
>>47158526
Now, I'm not sure.
Is that Rasputin, or Alan Moore?
>>47181510
It's clearly Stalman.
So what do people think of Skulduggery Pleasant?
>>47181510
Yes.
>>47165984
Sounds like the concept of a novel in the making. I like it.
>>47143768
we's wearing a monocle...
>>47179597
>>47155603
>By your standards, we can also consider Meyers a success.
Meyers actually fucked up basic grammar pretty badly in some places.
>>47156580
>there's a book where he rides around on a dinosaur, and states directly 'im riding on a dinosaur' about 5 times
I've never read Dresden Files, but if I were riding on a dinosaur, I'm pretty sure I would yell, "I'm riding on a mother fucking dinosaur," at least a few times.
>>47181510
Why not both?
>>47181621
Okay - pretty fun, not bad for YA stuff, the main characters are decent.
Bonus points for the teenage girl acting like a realistic teenage girl and then being called out on it.
Also the for the bad guys that are just plain enjoying themselves, that's fun and refreshing to read
>>47181510
The Secrete World concept art.
Honestly, someone could dump all the pics, they get a rather good representation of modern day wizards.
>>47182652
Secret*
I should probably eat breakfast instead of checking 4chin.
>>47167721
I've never read it, but sorta planned on getting to it eventually. Care to explain?
>>47144917
>"Wizard with a shotgun"
>no sense of right and wrong
>>47150942
And what a game that was. Spent two weeks playing single-player as engie, only to learn that multiplayer died a month or so ago.
Shame, shame...
I still have the install...
>>47153145
I'm curious if you've read Michael Swanwick. Specifically Dragons of Babel.
>>47153793
Goddamn is post-modernism fucking cancer. Kill yourself.
I thought the Anita Blake series was pretty dope for the first 4 books. Modern necromancer that hunts monsters mostly through research and the time tested method of 5 rounds rapid if possible because magic is more of a bitch than it's really worth.
>>47153441
I'm sure that there are easier ways to make chalk or salt stay. You could mix them in a resin or something like that. You could carve a channel, fill it with chalk or salt, and then pour resin on top so it's more or less sealed in place.
>>47183524
>Anita Blake
Are you joking? I can't tell anymore.
>>47177723
You guys celebrated the death of Terry Pratchett, I will NEVER side with a /lit/fag on ANYTHING.
>>47183709
It's never fair to judge a board on its worst members. Pity the rest of us here who'd hate to be judged based on people like you.
>>47183683
Hey, I'm not saying it's a defining piece of literature. But it was decent enough meat and potatoes schlock with a couple of funny parts and a decent portrayal of monsters as being almost human but still fucking monsters and the different levels of awareness and acceptance of this fact they had.
But after the fourth book she just kept harping on that point - and tawdry vampire were smut orgies. Which also enjoyed but as erotic fetish literature.
>>47145069
The Jamie Delano run is best.
>>47163817
Still a better candidate than Hillary, Sanders, or Trump.
Also still a better love story than Twilight.
>>47183901
"Worse Buffy" might be as low as these sort of things go.
>>47145246
I found 8 a slog, but he improved afterwards.
>>47182912
So in order, though I might be wrong at places, it's been a while. Most magic stuff (for humans-wizards, that is) work by taking your energy and some around you and shaping it as you want, spells that create material out of thin air usually take it from the Nevernever and it kinda liquifies after a while. Creatures (nearly all linked to old real myths and stuff) usually come from this Nevernever I mentioned, some monsters come from Outside, as in, outside the universe, and those are pretty terrible. The Nevernever is kind of an alternate dimension of infinite size, some points of it link to Earth but "real" distances don't matter there. It hosts a lot of magic beasts, creatures, people and old pagan faiths. Also, God is real, probably. Angels and demons are a definite yes. People are wizards randomly, IIRC. Plenty people have some tiny latent talents that can't be worked out to much and just dabble like morons would do IRL, except it works. Others have more, and those usually have wizard family that takes care of them. If not, they end up working it out themselves, break one of the laws of magic instituted by the White Council and get their head chopped off, because using "dark" magic (ie, using harmful magic on other people) is addictive and they'd inevitably turn into stronger warlocks harder to put down than a scared teen that just shat his pants. Dresden's got problems with that when he was younger but another wizard vouched for him. I'd tell you more but that'd be spoilers, I think.
>>47184228
Sounds pretty weak.
>>47184488
Dunno, assumed that was average for the genre.
>>47143302
maybe you can find inspiration from charles stross the laundry files book series, not exaktly like the dresden files but far more modern
>>47184569
I guess that it's not horrible for a "magic is secret" urban fantasy. Anything as deep as the Nasuverse?
>>47143302
1)classic - magic is super-tech nanites stuff
2)less usual - drawing power from extra dimension using some device/mindpower, schools of magic based on actual science disciplines
>>47151423
The man is chronically under prepared for everything. They are funny as fuck though, here is the plot progression
>Shitty dead end wizard job and life
>Bad thing happens
>Unrelated bad thing happens to Dresden
>Bad thing happens to friend of Dresden
>Turns out to be indirectly Dresdens fault
>Shit goes downhill for Dresden
>Jesus christ its on fire
>Holy fuck, the fire is growing
>Wait, that thing I overlooked in the first hundred pages
>Yes that!
>Oh shit its on fire too
>Bad guy has massive advantage now
>Almost dead
>Thoughts of his mother
>STRENGTH
>MORE FIRE EVERYWHERE
>Didnt know I had it in me
>lets play D&D, Grognar smash
![51%2BiFmZCnbL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Sns87kh.jpg "51%2BiFmZCnbL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg")
Read this OP. And you probably got "wizard" wrong, you should go back to the roots of magick and i dont mean Gandalf.
>>47186121
>The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.
>>47186483
For a wizard with an afinity for fire, he really does suck at its use.
>>47145212
>>47153548
>quoting tvtropes
Really? Does anybody actually take the opinions there seriously?
>>47153145
>>47154350
>>47155081
>>47155603
You need to chill, it's just a book, no need to get your panties in a bunch. The sales alone show that quite a lot of people find it an enjoyable story. Though I don't think anyone believes it will ever be considered a classic. Additionally, the audio books are done exquisitely by James Marsters, and I find them very enjoyable in that medium.
>>47186514
He describes himself as a thug only capable of blowing things up and incapable of finer control, though. And he's not wrong.
>>47186698
True, he does. But so many things devolve in to fire everywhere.
>>47186649
>The sales alone show that quite a lot of people find it an enjoyable story.
Male Twilight?
>>47186734
I don't work myself up to a frothy rage when someone tells me they like twilight, either. And honestly the two are rather different in tone and quality. While Dresden Files is by no means a classic in story telling, and the first few are rather cliché and poorly written, the quality of the writing does improve as the books go on. Additionally, Butcher takes a fresh look at the supernatural without completely subverting the legends, hell in some cases, like with the fair folk, his directions are closer to the original legends than current pop culture depictions.
>>47186988
You do seem to get worked up.
You also like to exaggerate a lot.
>>47187013
Just to satisfy my curiosity, could you point out where I used hyperbole? I thought I was relatively straightforward and lacking egregious exaggerations.
>while not a mage himself, Xander does fight magical forces regularly and wouldn't be a bad role model for a contemporary mage.
>>47186121That's before the status quo burns down
>>47187114
I just wanted to be nice and not say you were flat out lying.
>And honestly the two are rather different in tone and quality.
Boys vs. Girls. Your personal taste adjusts what you perception of quality.
>without completely subverting the legends,
He's a serial legend rapist. At least Stephanie Meyer kept to only trying to ruin a couple of monsters.
>>47187179
>Boys vs. Girls. Your personal taste adjusts what you perception of quality.
>implying I'm male.
>He's a serial legend rapist. At least Stephanie Meyer kept to only trying to ruin a couple of monsters.
I said completely subverting. I personally like his take on some of them. I will grant that he shouldn't have used shagnasty, as speaking of them is taboo for the people who created the legends.
Also you should at least contribute pictures to the thread if you aren't going to contribute text.
>not art, but you can't tell me Weird Al isn't a wizard.or at least a bard
>>47187429
>implying I'm male.
I'm implying one's ankle deep fantasy for boys, the other is ankle deep fantasy for girls.
And, I'm going to have to disagree with you. Strongly disagree. Butcher's version of everything from wizards to vampires is almost always one of the worst I've ever encountered outside of the packaging of Halloween costumes.
>>47187678
We'll just have to agree to disagree, then. I will say that him having different courts of vampire allowed variety, the white court being basically incubi and succubi, black court being bram stroker's version exactly, and the red court being South American bat-like abominations, and whatever the hell Jade court are, did lend itself to more interesting stories than just a single flavor of vampire could.
>>47181621
I enjoyed them a lot. Fun read, the middle trilogy was for me the high point. The last book felt like a giant cop out though.
>>47143302
Look into either white wolf or shadowrun and choose your flavor of magic.
I mean anyone could be a modern day wizard thats half the fun.
Generally the theme is big coats and some seemingly magical artifact/pet
>>47177954
I use lord blackwood from the sherlock holmes movie as an example there
>>47182211
Cheers
>>47184744
>Anything as deep as the Nasuverse
Autism =/= deep
>>47187878
>court
What are they, fairies?
