Dave Morris
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ECM Czar based in New York @business. Canadian. Opinions mine, not my employer’s. @morrisdave@mas.to
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Articles by Dave Morris
The Cairngorms Wildfire: Why We Need a Public Inquiry
The following is a short summary of a draft report that I have prepared for my colleagues in Badenoch Climate Action to facilitate discussion about the origins of the Cairngorms wildfire in July/August 2026, its suppression and future considerations. Given the national and international reputation of the Cairngorms for wildlife, scenery and outdoor recreation, the impact of this fire will be of concern to many people, including local communities put at risk as the fire spread.
How Nicola Sturgeon destroyed Scotland’s landscape – the Lochan na h-Earba pumped storage hydro scheme
Site investigations at Lochan na h-Earba. Photo credit Laggan Community Council Facebook Page Just before she resigned as First Minister in March 2013 Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Government pushed through the Scottish Parliament what were described as “radical” changes in planning policy.
Stolen breaths | Dave Morris
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GREEN SPACES NEED FRIENDS! - The why, what and how of Friends Groups
This post is greater than 6 months old - links may be broken or out of date. Proceed with caution! By Dave Morris, Chair, National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces Slowly but surely, especially over the last 20 years, an inspirational UK grassroots movement has been arising of people dedicated to improving, caring for, protecting, animating, appreciating and publicising the local green spaces they love.
Patterns in the Fire
Inspiration is the most important thing for a storyteller. But while you can train your brain to make those inspirational leaps, if you don’t think that way to begin with then it probably can’t be taught. And what about other tools of the trade: style and voice and a sense of pacing? Those you have to hone – and, like the arrow in Zeno’s paradox, even one lifetime may not be enough to hit the target of complete mastery.
"The King Under The Forest" (the first ever Dragon Warriors scenario)
I can tell you when it was: 1984, and fairly late in the year. And where: Ridge Close, near Woking, which was my parents’ home but I had all my reference books there so I’d have come down from London to write. And I’ll have banged it all out on an Olympia Traveller typewriter, the same one I’d used for school prep, short stories, and contributions to fan magazines like The Mystery Trader. I’m talking about “The King Under The Forest”, the first ever scenario for Dragon Warriors.
Fabled Lands: Elf or devil?
A cross-post today from my Patreon page, in a brazen attempt to lure you from the antechamber that is the FL blog into the Aladdin's Cave of true treasures. It is of course specific to the fantasy world of Legend from Dragon Warriors; other medieval imaginaries are available. * * * How can you tell a faerie from a devil? The first thing is to ask why it should matter. The fays of Legend were once deities.
Reality "in here" vs reality "out there"
"Many people think that there must be something more to the fabric of reality than what science can explain," said The Economist in a recent review of a book about the philosopher Henri Bergson, who once said of Einstein's theory of relativity that "it is not science, it is a metaphysics grafted upon science." Bergson obviously understood nothing about relativity, and The Economist is often surprisingly prone to magical thinking for a paper devoted to the dismal science, but the comment...
Fabled Lands: Cue the sun
Jamie and I have mostly avoided patching the Vulcanverse books once they're published, as obviously it's not as easy to deliver a patch for a book as it is for a videogame. We wouldn't want people who had already bought the book to miss out. If we do tweak anything in the text, we're always careful to make sure that it's backwards-compatible with earlier editions and doesn't invalidate anything that's already established. Here's an example.
Paid yesterday, broke today: ending the link between suicide and financial insecurity
Samaritans Scotland launches new report, Paid Yesterday, Broke Today, examining the impact of financial and employment insecurity on suicidal thoughts and behaviour Too many people in Scotland are finding that their hard work is not providing an income that can cover their basic needs. For many, there is no certainty about when they will get their next shift, or how long a job will last. These experiences take their toll.
The first full moon of Michaelmas
The darkening nights, the curling leaves, that smoky tang in the chill air -- and to really mark the coming of autumn here's a new issue of Casket of Fays, the Dragon Warriors 'zine. It's the usual high quality blend of scenarios and articles by what I maintain to be the top creative team in roleplaying games today. There are grave knights, poisons, saints, magic items, micro-games, creatures, adventure seeds, and much more.
BrewDog, Las Vegas and the Scottish Forestry grant system
When James Watt, sometime chief executive of the beer company BrewDog, speaks about tree planting in the Highlands, he reminds me of unpleasant landowners of the past.
A cautionary tale, with ebooks
Twelve years ago on the Guardian blog Anthony Horowitz asked, "Do we still need publishers?" A pertinent question at the time — so what do we think now? Horowitz has multiple successes to his credit including Alex Rider, the Power of Five, Foyle's War and - if your memory goes back that far - even a few episodes of Robin of Sherwood. (Actually, forget those; he was just starting out, and had the impossible task of measuring up to the legendary Richard Carpenter.
GREEN SPACES NEED FRIENDS! - The why, what and how of Friends Groups
By Dave Morris, Chair, National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces Slowly but surely, especially over the last 20 years, an inspirational UK grassroots movement has been arising of people dedicated to improving, caring for, protecting, animating, appreciating and publicising the local green spaces they love.
Earth Engine Double Slider
Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
Counting the days
Workshop of the Gods, the concluding instalment of the Vulcanverse saga, is available for pre-order now in full-color hardcover. 6115 sections. 750,000 words. Hundreds of quests, locations, characters, items. An open-world epic with a central storyline that builds across all five books to a world-shattering conclusion. Both the hardcover and b&w paperback editions drop May 19. That's this Sunday. Just thought you'd want to know.
Fabled Lands: A baker's dozen
There's very little new material released for Dragon Warriors these days, but I prefer to take a goblet-half-full approach, consoling myself with the thought that what is released is of top quality and written and drawn by the best creative team an old-school RPG designer could possibly wish for. Yes, I'm talking about Red Ruin Publishing, whose latest offering is #13.
You want fries with that?
In a very short time (I say that with fingers crossed) I'll be ready to put my Jewelspider RPG on DriveThruRPG. Urged by regular correspondent Stanley Barnes, and with the help of Simon Barns of Red Ruin Publishing, I thought I'd better learn the DriveThru ropes by uploading some books I did earlier.
Unacceptable communications masts (11) - the example of Creag Dubh near Newtonmore
[Ed note. While I wrote about the proposed mast on Creag Dubh in a previous post (see here), this objection to the Planning Application from Dave Morris sets out a reasoned and detailed case about what is wrong with the Shared Rural Network programme and the approach they are taking to fixing the “partial not spots” which affect people living, working and travelling through rural areas.
Lich Lord, Legend-style
writer Oliver Whawell writes to say, "I was the perfect age for Warlock of Firetop Mountain when it was released, and quickly became a fan of gamebooks. The Fighting Fantasy books developed alongside my reading age, but then they started to feel a bit immature - and along came Blood Sword: great writing and a challenging game, especially if you adhered to the rules.
Niseko Hanazono Resort Ski Resort Guide
Helpful resort information to assist planning your trip to Niseko Hanazono Resort. Season opens — Season closes — Accommodation — Restaurants | Bars 1 | 1 Nearest Airport Chitose (Sapporo) Nearest Train Station Kutchan Tourist Office Website Tourist Office Phone +81(0)136216655 The terrain at Niseko Hanazono Resort includes:: Halfpipes 1 Terrain Parks 3 X-Country — Ski Hire — What's it like at Niseko Hanazono Resort resort?
"The Three Wanderers" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)
A treat my gaming group have come to expect (though hopefully never take for granted) at this time of year is a new Yuletide adventure by the multifariously talented Tim Harford. With Tim's permission I share last year's with you. Without further ado, then, here is: On a windswept ridge in the Bleaks, visible from miles around, are three huge uneven black boulders, each at least four metres in diameter. Locals call these vast stones the Three Wanderers and will not approach.
Extending public access to land and water beyond Scotland
Along with Andy Wightman and Nick Kempe (see here) I recently spoke at the event on the Scotland/England border to highlight the campaign to extend public access rights England. The text of my contribution, which I hope has relevance to national parks and other land and water in the UK, is found below.
Fabled Lands: Ravages of Hate
It started with a throwaway remark that both of Mark Smith's Virtual Reality gamebooks are set in the same universe.
All boreal forest successional stages needed to maintain the full suite of soil biodiversity, community composition, and function following wildfire
Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
Access rights, freedoms and the Dartmoor judgement - parkswatchscotland
The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks are part of the UK family of national parks. The experience gained in any one of these national parks may therefore be of relevance to other parks within the family and more generally as regards the enjoyment, management and protection of land and water in the UK.
To business that we love
During my time at the Lucca Comics & Games festival, quite a few people came up and said how much my work meant to them. That's always really lovely to hear. You write to make a connection, hoping that what you do will inspire others. But I always point out to fans that I'm a fan too. There are writers who inspired me (Terry Nation, Stan Lee, Michael Moorcock, Roy Thomas, Robert E Howard, Gene Roddenberry, and many others) and they had writers who inspired them. It's a torch we're passing along.
Fabled Lands: Cliff face
In previous years we've had some marvellous Yuletide specials by Tim Harford, but this year we're going back to the Golden Age of titans, specifically Oliver Johnson, co-creator of Dragon Warriors. This (which may actually the the official 100th DW adventure to be published) is the follow-up to a long campaign that Oliver ran for us a few winters back using the Jewelspider rules.
Save your obols for Charon
Our cut-rate special offer on The Hammer of the Sun was such a hit with readers that we've decided to extend it to all the Vulcanverse books in paperback. Is this just a ploy to get you to try the series? You bet it is. Jamie and I think we've done some of our best work here and it's a shame that it might get overlooked just because it's an all-new series without a glow of nostalgia to attract gamebook fans' attention. As Vulcanverse is an open-world series you can start in any book.
A shopworn formula
Scriptwriting is increasingly about hitting a formula, perhaps because writers and studio/network execs attend the same courses that say X must happen on page Y, and so forth. And today's scriptwriters only have a very limited toolbox of tropes, it seems. Since Alien, every SF/horror movie must have a maladjusted group of squabbling malcontents.
St. Paul’s United Church celebrates 155th anniversary Original
Three-year-old Cohen Bruckler, the youngest baptized member at St. Paul’s United Church in Tillsonburg, and Doreen Smith, the longest serving member of 71 years, cut the St. Paul’s 155th anniversary cake following the anniversary service on Sunday, Oct. 23.
Bellissimo Blood Sword
I'm just back from Lucca Comics & Games, the biggest fair of its kind in Europe. Over a quarter of a million people cram into the streets of a medieval town which (within the walls) normally has a population of a tenth that number. I was there as guest of Tambù, the publishers of the Blood Sword 5e roleplaying game.
Five days to save Rum
Urgent representations need to be made to members of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government to stop the sale of Kinloch Castle and its grounds to an England based multimillionaire, Jeremy Hosking. The government body, NatureScot, who own most of Rum and manage it as a National Nature Reserve, aim to sell the castle to Mr Hosking on Monday 31 Oct. The sale, as today’s letter in the Herald shows, is opposed by Rum’s local community.
Heart of Ice - the ultimate edition
The deluxe edition of Heart of Ice is coming, and as these samples show it really is deluxe. You can get on board the crowdfunding now with just one week to go. Seeing as the colour hardback edition of The Walls of Spyte nowadays gets advertised for sale at $1500 up, it's an investment as well as a treasure.
Some NWSL Teams Hired Unqualified Coaches. Elite Women Athletes Paid The Price
The NWSL/US Soccer Abuse Report. What does it mean? What do we owe these elite female athletes? Where do we go from here? There is a LOT to unpack here. US Soccer sanctioned a “Division 1 Professional League” which means an elite league for the world’s best players, and then simply did not enforce even the most minimal standards when teams hired clearly unqualified coaches and executive staff.
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless
Jon Hodgson's artwork looks to me like Dragon Warriors was always waiting for it. I remember an evening back in the '80s. Oliver and I were working on the first DW book at his mother's place in Frensham. It was at the top of a meadow with the landscape of southern England spread out below us. A haze of rain was blowing in across the downs, trees swaying, grass rippling in the wind. Anything could have been out there in the twilight. Goblin magic was in the air.
No new thing under the sun
I knew gamebooks dated back much further than Choose Your Own Adventure and Steve Jackson's Melee and Wizard solo games. I used to play educational logic "gamebooks" back in the early 1960s. But it turns out that "Alan George"'s Treasure Hunt not only anticipated all that by a further two decades (it was published in 1940) but also sort of pioneered the graphic novel gamebook genre that I thought Russ Nicholson and I had invented in the early '80s.
Fabled Lands: It's all Greek
I was asked to prepare a bunch of posts for a Facebook group to promote the Vulcanverse gamebooks, but as nobody in their right mind goes onto Facebook (aka the Dunning-Kruger National Park) anymore, here are those posts with links. “ You will encounter friends and foes, develop relationships throughout your adventure, and the choices you make will have a lasting effect on you and the people you meet.
Over the crump-holes and far away
Something a bit different this time. A movie producer friend asked me to help out with a story pitch. I’m sure he has other writers he can turn to, but I’m an old pal so I’m cheap. Well, free. The story he’s developing has to do with fantasy and war – maybe simply so he can say it’s “Game of Thrones meets 1917” – and because those are subjects that might also be of interest to readers of this blog, here’s what I told him.
Park City Ski Resort Guide
Helpful resort information to assist planning your trip to Park City. Season opens 17 Nov 2023 Season closes 14 Apr 2024 Accommodation — Restaurants | Bars 80 | 15 Nearest Airport Salt Lake City Nearest Train Station Salt Lake City Tourist Office Website Tourist Office Phone — The terrain at Park City includes:: Halfpipes 1 Terrain Parks 1 X-Country 12.0 km Ski Hire — What's it like at Park City resort?
Rust Never Sleeps
Set up on an eye-catching cover the title was intriguing. The synopsis captured my interest giving me an insight into the title as the main characters were steel sculptors. From the beginning of the novel there was a hint of some unexplainable presence. This continues to thread throughout the novel, the feeling it evoked was uncertainty rather than fear. I enjoyed the harmonious relationship between Pam and Roy, they always used each other’s strengths.
Sustainable Missoula: The Climate Courage Tour and what it said
Dave Morris on his Climate Courage Tour. Outside a middle-of-nowhere gas station, a construction manager from Eastern Colorado pointed at me and said, “Climate change is real and we have to get serious about it.” I thanked him for his thoughts as he climbed into his SUV. “We gotta stop messing around with these little solar panels and windmills – we need nuclear power!” he pronounced before speeding off toward Laramie. I met that guy a few weeks into a climate-themed bike tour through the West.
Making warehouses more productive and fairer
For a nation that for decades has worried about unacceptable rates of unemployment, the idea that large areas of industry and commerce are experiencing serious labour shortages is something of a surprise. But it is all too true, and nowhere more so than across the logistics and distribution sector. There are shortages across the nation and across the board, from drivers to Customs clerks, and especially in warehouse operations.
Hot off the anvil
here and here.) open world solo roleplaying, which means you can start in any of the first four books and play them in any order. The numbers on the spines are just so you know where to put them on your bookshelf. The art is by Mattia Simone, who also painted the cover for the Librarsi edition of Heart of Ice. You'll be seeing more of Mattia's work on our future projects, I hope.
A close look at the Vulcanverse books
Vulcanverse gamebooks (in a few cases even with a slight whiff of dudgeon) so I thought now would be a good time to answer a few FAQs. Why are you writing these instead of getting on with more Fabled Lands? The short answer is that the funds are simply not there to pay for everything required to do a Fabled Lands book. Even if we found a few spare months and wrote one, there’s also all the checking (oh, those flowcharts!), editing, and typesetting.
Point/Counterpoint: How can we wipe out youth vaping: Copy the UK's approach
Columns From the column: "The United Kingdom followed the science and publicly endorsed vaping as a preferred method to help smokers quit." Written By: Dave Morris | 9:00 am, Aug. 1, 2021 × John Cole / Cagle Cartoons In 2006, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids President Matt Myers said, “The challenge to me is not to eliminate smoking, but the death and disease of smoking. If you had a product that addicted 45 million people and killed none of them, I would take that deal.
Manners maketh man
“It was their pity Driss hated. They seemed not to be aware that he could destroy them at any moment he chose. Destroy them and loot the little safe in their office, where they kept all their earnings from the bed and breakfast. They were not even aware of the compassion he was showing them.
Opinion: To eradicate youth vaping, we need only copy the UK
Opinion: To eradicate youth vaping, we need only copy the UK In 2006, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids President Matt Myers said, “The challenge to me is not to eliminate smoking, but the death and disease of smoking. If you had a product that addicted 45 million people and killed none of them, I would take that deal.
To Eradicate Youth Vaping, We Need Only Copy the UK – InsideSources
In 2006, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids President Matt Myers said, “The challenge to me is not to eliminate smoking, but the death and disease of smoking. If you had a product that addicted 45 million people and killed none of them, I would take that deal. Then you’d have coffee!” Since that infamous quote, vaping has proven itself to be the exact miracle of which he spoke, with scientific studies showing it to be at least 95 percent safer than smoking.
"A Hole in the World" (scenario)
You’d think multiple successful careers as an inspiring writer, captivating speaker and entertaining & informative broadcaster would be enough for Tim Harford. On top of that he’s a devoted husband and father, a steadfast friend, and one of the very nicest people you could ever hope to meet. But we, his gaming chums, know that he was really put on this world to run great RPG sessions just for us. Readers of the blog look forward to his enchanting Christmas specials for Legend.
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