Introduction & Acknowledgments

These pages are dedicated to information regarding the fictional fantasy world of Thystra, where the Adventures of Wulf the Freelance take place (they're somewhat risque, so follow the link above, click on the link to my fiction, and read all the disclaimers please!). I initially wanted to do a page of generic Wulf gaming data for the curious. Like most of my projects, it didn’t remain that simple for long. I ended up with maps, diagrams, histories, extensive game statistics, and a pretty massive collection of stuff. I’ve always enjoyed reading about other people’s gaming worlds, and I certainly hope the accompanying material provides you with a similar enjoyment. My original thought was to present all the material as generic, that is to say, adaptable to any gaming environment. In the end, I decided upon using Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS, since its rules are easy, straightforward and flexible. It’s my intention to eventually do AD&D versions of all the stats herein, as well, but that’s probably a few months’ off. Of course, the game statistics are optional – anyone who might like to translate my material into other game systems is welcome to do so. I’d even like to see your work if you’re that ambitious. Reconciling gaming statistics with works of fiction written entirely independent of any rigid framework can be a challenge. I’m certain that not all the following material jibes precisely with what I’ve written – think of the statistics as guidelines, not hard-and-fast definitive interpretations.

The maps of Thystra were initially created using Jon Olsson's Fractal Worldmap Generator , one of the most kickass applications I have ever seen on the Web. Go to the site, plug in some numbers, and watch the fun. Unfortunately for me, I have lost the original iteration number for Thystra, and I am unlikely to be able to recreate it in my lifetime. On the other hand, I was able to save every major view of the world to disk, and now use it for the creation of the regional maps. The individual nation’s maps are GIF files created using Paintshop Pro. The process I used (for anyone who really gives a rat’s ass) is as follows: I created a two-color map of Thystra, then cut the section I wished to detail. I then closed the Thystra map, pasted the cut material as a new image, and resized it to a usable dimension (usually 500-600 or so wide). Then I used the Soften tool to blur the continent’s edges, reduced it to two colors, then increased it back to 256. This process creates a fairly good-looking map, but also tends to reduce the map to basic shapes – lots of straight lines and angles, which make coastlines look crude and unrealistic. I therefore zoomed in on the map and added detail to the coastline with the paintbrush tool. For terrain, I made multiple pastes of standard features, then colored them appropriately. Whew…

It is an interesting challenge to make maps of stories that were written entirely independently with no thought to geographic consistency. In “Demon Crown,” for example, I say that the Demon Realms lie in the NORTH, when as any fool can plainly see by looking at my maps, they’re actually in the SOUTH. I will probably go through the stories and clean up such inconsistencies, but for the moment, I’ll live with ‘em.

Graphics on these pages were "found" throughout the web. As far as I know they are all in the public domain, but if anyone finds differently, or discovers that I am using copyrighted artwork, please let me know and I will remove it or credit it properly forthwith. Copyrighted art is so identified on the page.

While these pages, and the stories which predated them, are produced purely for fun and entertainment, I think it's only fair to make some mention of those writers and artists whose work inspired me in Thystra's creation. To such notables as Jack Vance, possibly the world's most eloquent writer; Stephen Brust, author of the Vlad Taltos series, in whom many readers may find parallels to my own Wulf the Freelance; Michael Moorcock, who almost singlehandedly made swords and sorcery a legitimate adult genre and brought us Elric of Melnibone, perhaps the most tragic and complex fantasy hero of all time; Fritz Leiber creator of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, two of the most memorable anti-heroes in literary history, and before whom, in the words of the inimitable Harlan Ellison, "Bradbury and Sturgeon and Norton and Goldman and Barth and Vonnegut bow, not to mention Robinson, Busby, Anderson and even yours truly, the maddest egomaniac of them all;" as well as the expected citations of JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, T.R. Edison, Shakespeare, the author of "Beowulf" and more. I also owe a debt to several artists, among them Phil Foglio, publisher of diverse works varying from the endearingly cute to the enthusiastically perverse, and Bill Willingham (sorry, no links - if somone has one, please send it to me), talented former TSR artist, who has since contributed to "The Elementals" and "Green Lantern," and created "Ironwood," one of the best and most mature erotic comics ever (from which I fear Wulf bears more than a little inspiration). If you enjoy these pages, or if you're one of the folks who has followed Wulf's adventures over the years, I strongly advise you check out some or all of these authors and artists. We only see so far by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Most recently, discerning fans may note, I've moved the site to Freeyellow.com in order to remove clutter from my public_html directory, and to eliminate the need to move the whole site if I change isp's again. I like Freeyellow so far, even though their ftp process is tedious and time-consuming (you listening, boyz?), and though we have the tasteful ads at the bottom of each page, at least we don't have those stupid pop-up windows like Geocities. Most of the above improvements are underway, with the help of a number of very talented artists. Also, look out for AD&D stats in addition to the current GURPS info -- just one of the benefits of having 12MB of space to play with. And oh, yeah -- I'm gonna add some cool fonts to the page (being an ex-typesetter I'm anal about such things) so you don't have to gawp at the stupid "Courier or Times" crap every time you log in here. Don't worry; I'll make the fonts available so you can see it right... :)

Anyway, without further ado, please select one of the links below to proceed into the wonderful world of Thystra.

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