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Finally... => Creative Projects => Topic started by: Dwarving on November 21, 2022, 02:48:15 am

Title: Dear Tarn, can I please have permission to use the Dwarf Conlag? Writing Project
Post by: Dwarving on November 21, 2022, 02:48:15 am
Hello, I'm writing a novel, originally it started off as a November Novel Month writing challenge, but I obviously found my output lacking and the time constraint a problem. To talk a little about my attempt at this novel its pretty much a selfish book, I'm writing. Its about all my favorite things, I'm attempting to put comedy in it, ai, a fantasy world, and I'm planning on riffing on Tolkien by making a "fling" a sort of halfling parody race, made by a spiteful Ai (the fantasy world is nested in a game made by an ai that has negotiated the world powers to a stand still of mutual destruction and has demands, namely to entertain it and stop it from being bored thus participation with the game world) to poke fun at one of the player's favorite fantasy worlds.

I want the over arching world to be set in a very dwarf centric world, with dwarfs being industrious, long lived, prone to odd moods, and master craftsmen they come up with some SCP style artifacts, its discovered by a necromancer that large amounts of blood are being gathered by the dwarfs to make blood steel (wip name) all blood steel is made by a single crafts dwarf of superb skill, whom was able to achieve a master work. A strange amulet that grows metal from blood. Necromancer is fervently against vampires for contrived reasons I haven't gotten to think about yet. I'm not at the state of revision to work in jokes and gags, because I'm just getting the basics of the plot.

 But this is a duo main character, a young hero archetypal teenster who gets eaten by giant rats, and becomes a skeleton via an artifact of the necromancer's, goblins have stolen+the hungry rats. (goblins in this fantasy are big rat fans and are blessed by the god that made rats, btw)+ the other main side character the player whom is none other then a dirty kinda self insert with some oddities changed for fun. I'm very much embracing the humor in this work, but I would love a stronger nod to dwarf fortress, and I'd love permission to use the Conlag bits of dwarf fortress. I don't know that this would ever get published but if it were to, I'd love to get a tacit nod towards the positive of using the DF conlag.

I've gotten so much fun just thinking of this novel that I've just gotta keep plugging away at it, just so I know it will eventually be a thing I'm gonna finish.

As for how I will use the Conlag I'm thinking of just using it for naming and locations, I believe its a very fun type of language to read, and I'd love to nest spoilers or little nods to motives in the characters names using the Conlag. I think that would be so fun. For instance I could say in a piece of scrawled graffiti "Undead Rats Watch out!" and the reader would just go well gosh its some hastily scrawled message spooky, and then if they get to the end of the book I could point to the Conlag and they'd have a fun time spotting these things on another read through or just checking back and going what the heck did I actually say in that message!?

I know making a Conlag is beyond me, because I've bought some books for it and the best I could do with my education is some substitution stuff, but I understand if you do not want to give permission.


I hope the December 6th release is super successful and I'm gonna really enjoy a deep dive into dwarf fortress during the steam release, that UI and the official art and sound, seems really compelling :)
Title: Re: Dear Tarn, can I please have permission to use the Dwarf Conlag? Writing Project
Post by: Cathar on November 21, 2022, 03:46:26 pm
There is a readme.txt in your DF folder that details the instructions to follow for this kind of fringe case.

You probably can, I'd be stumped if something legal would happen to you because of that. But if you want a real answer, the forum is maybe not the best way to contact the big boss
Title: Re: Dear Tarn, can I please have permission to use the Dwarf Conlag? Writing Project
Post by: EuchreJack on November 21, 2022, 07:32:34 pm
The best way to ask Toady One a question of this sort is to send a PM. You might not get an answer this month, as Toady is fairly busy with the upcoming release. If you don't get a response, try again in January.

You might not get that "definite permission" that you are seeking.
I'd suggest working on your project, but keeping the Conlag tagged so you can edit/modify/remove later if needed.

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