As a child of the 90’s, it is interesting to look back now and see how many things that were fringe when I was young have become mainstream now that I’m a middle-aged adult. I picked up playing Dungeon and Dragons while the game and the hobby of TTRPGs was still recovering from the Satanic panic (and a grateful shout out to fantasy and sci-fi author Michael A. Stackpole for largely leading the defense of the industry there). Similarly, video games have gone from a consistent source of bullying in my youth to the largest entertainment industry in the world. Not to say that there isn’t still a stigma around those hobbies, especially when dealing with older generations, but it is interesting to see how far they have come and how their place in the world has changed.

My relationship with gaming has done its own evolution over the years. My first DnD character was little more than some stats assigned to my name, though my second (made in the especially esoteric 2e AD&D rules) is the foundation of the character that would eventually become Quartes. The fact that I made him in my teenager years is probably as clear of an explanation as any other for why he’s such an angsty character. While subsequent DnD campaigns (mostly in 3.0 and 3.5 editions) would help me expand the character, a major source of how I developed and found the voice of the character recently had a major bit of news.

For those following video games news, the shadow drop of the remaster of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was one of the worst kept secrets in gaming. However, it was also one of the first games where I made Quartes my character and focused on playing him true to form and not just as an avatar for completing all the quests. The only game I can think of earlier was using him as a second player character in Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, which really didn’t offer much in the way of roleplaying opportunities for him. While Quartes’ nature and origin would heavily change as I developed the world of Illithiust, and the power of stories there, getting to take Quartes through events ranging from the defense against the Gates of Oblivion and the intricacies of the Dark Brotherhood (a particular gut wrenching storyline for those who had played it but which I’ll leave unspoiled here for a new generation of players) helped me slowly add layers to the character. A play through of the original Skyrim on the Xbox 360 would later follow and trying to justify how the same character could be 200 years a part may very well have been one of many seeds that led to Illithiust’s eternal cycles of a Quartes fighting Dragons (though I like to think I have a bit more flare than Alduin).

I’ve gone on to use Quartes in Baldur’s Gate 3 (as a continuation of his role as a companion of the Bhaalspawn from the earlier game) but also in games such as Monster Hunter and Elden Ring. There was also several years of forum based role plays that I used him in (Also, remember forums?). There’s probably some Multiverse of Quartes concept bouncing around in my mind that should never get out. Regardless of whether the game specifically offered the ability to make decisions as the character, what I have found is each setting and iteration gave me new opportunities and insights with which to grow Quartes.  I’ve seen several tips over the years for ways to help flesh out a character (one of the oldest involving grabbing a magazine that would do interviews and ask your character the same questions).  I think seeing how your character works in a video game is a particularly fun and useful method.  In fact, one of the newer characters I’ve experienced this with is in my last play through of Skyrim where I developed the character Dwinaak and made a point of journaling the character’s adventures day by day.  It made for an easy way to practice writing when my time was otherwise limited and I suppose may one day find its way here onto this site (though I don’t look forward to the process of editing it).

The plan this week is to post Part 5 of End of War.  I say plan because as oppose to the first four parts, which I had written a while ago, I don’t have Part 5 written.  It is coming along but then there was a server issue and I lost several hundred words.  So, if we take a intermission from Airka’s battles and get a Fey and Bard drop story…well you’ll know why.  Beyond that, I did finally implement some navigation to the top of the page with the goal to have dedicated pages for each genre and setting (with just Fantasy and Illithiust, respectively, right now).  I’ve got a few other changes coming down the line but would appreciate any feedback and suggestions for going forward.  With that, I hope you all have a good week and remind everyone to maybe have two backups of their stories.

Go forth and do good things,

Sean