GentlemanMad
Bio
Fire Rose thoughts
I have gotten a few pms asking about the stat sheet for Ashen. I feel I should make it clear, I am not using stat sheets for him. I am approaching Dark Souls from a realistic direction. That’s not to say he doesn’t get stronger from the collecting of souls from those he had slain, only that he doesn’t have a number sheet you can go by. If this was a crossover with a different series that uses stat sheets in a video game like setting then, yeah i would try to blend the two.
When I write these characters I treat them as people, not NPCs bound to a number of sets of moves and speech. I’m blending many of the gameplay mechanics into reality with an occasional twist here and there to make them function how I think they would in a realistic way. Some mechanics may be ignored outright because they won’t work outside a game setting. Example: summoning is replaced with encountering said people and having them help Ashen with that opponent. Invaders will be somewhat similar to what Paleblood (by Arrixam on FF.net) did with Bloodborne’s summoning bells in its story.
As for the flashback in chapter 9 I took inspiration from the Dark Souls comics, and various fantasy games. It’s easy to forget that Dark Souls takes place in a Fantasy Setting. The games have us experience what is happening during the end of a cycle of fire, but we never see what goes on during the time when the Fire is burning at its strongest and the Undead curse is temporarily lifted from humanity. What were the kingdoms like? Did they fight against each other like any normal kingdom would eventually do? What was the wildlife in each kingdom? I came across some interesting creatures introduced in the various comics. There are also various mythical creatures we encounter like the hydra, so what else was running around? What threats did they face when they did not have to content with the waning of the Fire and the Undead curse that it brings?