🦉Brandon Sanderson: Enemies to lovers

Welcome, adventurer!

Today I’m here to tell you a story featuring one of the most classic arcs in modern storytelling.

And no, it’s not about how I met my minion Saul.

And maybe “lovers” is too strong a word…

More like enemies to “I value you for the things you do well”

Anyway, today I’m here to tell you the story of my relationship with Brandon Sanderson.

Or rather, with his books.

And how his greatest strength can help you create your own fantasy worlds.

If you read to the end, you’ll also find a sneak peek at what I’ll be showing you next week, while I’m at Fantasy Basel in Switzerland.

A rough start

Sometimes things don't get off to a good start.

The thing is, we had a bit of a grudge against Sanderson around here because we have a group of friends who are... total pain in the neck.

You know when your friend won't stop talking about her crush and how perfect he is, and then when you finally meet him, you kind of don't like him that much?

Exactly.

The thing is, I recently decided to start reading the Mistborn series, and I quickly realized two things.

Apparently, women are in danger of extinction in Mistborn.

And this guy really shines at world-building.

And it’s true despite my many criticisms, Mistborn had me hooked right away.

Why is his world so interesting?

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking, Irene: this is a TTRPG newsletter, not a book club.

Yes, but as soon as I started reading the book, my mind automatically wondered how cool it would be to play this setting.

And I wanted to explore that.

Within the universe of Mistborn, I really liked how the author built on three pillars when creating worlds: a solid religion, a clear social structure, and an original magic system.

And above all, how they relate to and influence one another.

The thing is, those of us who run homebrew campaigns sometimes get lost in an endless lore for a super-cool pantheon of gods with more drama and drama than Olympus on a Saturday night…

But that’s where it ends.

We don’t stop to think about how those gods have affected the land. How their worship impacts the daily lives of the people who live there. We get lost in the bird’s-eye view and never come down to earth.

In Born of the Mist, this is handled with meticulous detail, and it’s tremendously satisfying to gradually discover throughout the saga how all the elements function like cogs in a great machine.

Rather than creating an overly complex world filled with elements (no, you don’t have to write the Cosmere), the merit lies in knowing and understanding how a few elements relate to one another to form something greater than the sum of all of them.

From the pages of a book to my graphic tablet

Beyond that, why did I go on and on about Sanderson?

Well, because I just couldn't resist.

I needed to draw something from the world that's had me hooked this past month.

And doesn't this wonderfully panoramic format just scream “let's do something with it”?

You know... Having it spread out on the table while you and some friends roll the dice and go on adventures in Luthadel...

You know what I'm getting at, right?

I'll show you the result next week.

Or maybe you can see it in person if you stop by to see me at Fantasy Basel

Successful quest and better rolls,

🦉Irene the Wizard

🦃Saul the Bard

P.S.: I’m looking for fantasy book recommendations. Have you read Sanderson? Do you know of other books with such a rich world? I’m open to recommendations!