Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2023-11-29
After the introductions, Elf asks Bearsnake and Dotta how their Space was with Taproot Wizards. Dotta says that they said really nice things about Forgotten Runes and he believes two people bought Wizards during the Space.
The Barren Court & Komodo's Roost
Before diving into Cult Questions, Elf asks Bear and Dotta how many eggs they've nested in the Wildlands of The Barren Court. Dotta says he loves the Cult, but he hasn't done it yet. He says he recently spoke with Jitcy about the difficulty of keeping up with community mints.
Dotta says the team has spoken about ways to better organize community mints and mentions the possibility of a V2 of Forgotten Market. Elf agrees that it's hard to stay on top of things because the Runiverse grows so fast. Tadmajor then joins to speak on The Barren Court mint.
Tadmajor Speak About the Mint
Tadmajor starts by saying that he had no part in the Barren Court Komodo Roost mint other than being "a huge Runiverse nerd. He says he had been talking to creator, Battlemage Bullock, about it since Aug. 2022.Tad explains the origins of The Barren Court in Bullock's idea for a Forgotten Runes roguelike and even notes that Bullock set up an NFTX Vault for "Barren Warriors" with traits affiliated with the Barren Court. These Warriors could be staked for Barren Court familiar rewards.
Tad says that Battlemage Bullock originally created the Barren Court by himself as a passion project without any outside funding, but eventually brought in another developer for help. Tad also notes Forgotten Runes holders can walk around the Wildlands as their Characters.
Tad mentions that anyone can mint a Komodo egg in the current Komodo's Roost mint, and says they are 0.015 ETH at the time of Wizard Wednesday, but they are on a Variable Rate Gradual Dutch Auction.
Mint Mechanics
Tad explains the mint mechanics, noting that eggs have different levels corresponding to the length of time they are "nested." He also mentions that eggs can be stolen by Komodos that have already hatched.
Tad says he believes that The Barren Court still has plans to build out a roguelike game in the future, but the primary driver is to unite creators in the community. Elf mentions that some of the Komodos have saddles, and he wonders if they will be used as BlackSand mounts.
Dotta then announces that he has just minted a "Darkstar Egg." Elf says he was going to buy one of those on the open market. Dotta says Elf can't have his. Elf asks Dotta what he thinks about the tokenomics and technicals, to which Dotta responds, "They're really good!"
Dotta says those interested in the Barren Court mint should read the wiki page, because it helps navigate the Wildlands for the event. Tadmajor says if anyone has any questions, he is available in DMs to help.
Tadmajor Invites Wizards to Ecuador
Following that, Tadmajor invites Wizards to visit him in Ecuador on a 7 day trip around February 2024. He says he has someone who has already coordinated everything for the trip, and now he just needs up to 20 participants. Tad estimates the cost to be around $2,000.
The Chamber of Glory
Then, Elf speaks about the new Chamber of Glory collection which now features the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pumpkins given out to winners of the Nightmare Run Halloween '23 event. He says this is the collection where all trophies for future events will also be found.
Team Teases Wizmas Item Burn
Following that, Dotta speaks briefly about an Athenaeum Item event that will begin on Dec. 1 and run until Dec. 25. Elf adds that it will be a "full month of Wizmas."
Cult Questions
Comic Book Delay
Next, Elf launches into Cult Questions, starting with a question for Bear regarding the production delay of Issue #1 of the Forgotten Runes Comic. Bear says that it will not affect the release of the other issues.
Bearsnake says that he didn't realize the comic industry didn't push out much new content in January, so Issue #2 will release in February with Issues #3-5 following every month until May. He thanks the Cult for patience with the delays and says comics should be in hand soon.
Community Still Fascinated by Plums
Elf notes that he is still seeing Plum memes in the Discord and mentions a thread that he recently wrote of his top favorite memes from within the Forgotten Runes community.
How Runiverse? When Runiverse? Why Runiverse?
Elf then answers, "How Runiverse?", "When Runiverse?", and "Why Runiverse?" His answers are, respectively: "The technological singularity." "Time is a circle." "Because we are all trying to put our mark on the world and find our place in history." He asks for harder questions.
Lore of the Runes
Then, Elf speaks to lore of the Runes themselves. He says Wizards have:
- 4 Elemental Runes
- 8 Planetary Runes
- 5 Alchemy Runes
- 5 Misc. Runes
The Warriors are missing 2 Wizard Runes, but have 2 extra Runes.
Souls have All Wizard Runes in addition to the Soul Rune counterparts.
A Rune's Purpose
Elf says the purpose of a Rune works on multiple conceptual levels. Narratively, each Character has their own personal connection to their Rune and how it affects them. This is connection is for you to decide for your Wizard. Elf says Runes are also a metacommentary on what it means to be a Wizard — Runes condense large concepts into simple pictograms, and even function as creative primitives.
Working With Titmouse
Bearsnake then answers a question about the choice to work with Titmouse for animating the Forgotten Runes trailer. He says he's worked with some of the big animation studios in his "past lives" and he's always gotten along with Chris Prynoski, who started Titmouse. Bearsnake says that he pitched the show, concept, and art to Chris, who wrote back nearly instantly to tell Bear he liked the idea.
"Let me tell you: That does not happen in Hollywood — ever!"
Elf says he thinks the reason Chris said yes so quickly is because he trusts Bear. Bear says they would still love for Titmouse to animate the full series. Elf notes that the Hollywood strike really slowed down the process for the show, and it's hard to set a date for release, but it's still in progress.
Streaming Services & the Shift in Entertainment
Bearsnake speaks about his thoughts on streaming services, and says that he believes 1/3 will be acquired and go out of business. Elf says Hollywood is going through a major paradigm shift, and he thinks decentralized IPs could play part in the rebirth of entertainment.
The Heart Emoji
Elf answers a question about the heart emoji in the Forgotten Runes discord, noting he isn't sure what the two floating pixels on the emoji are because he didn't draw them. Elf says he made very few of the emojis in the Discord, but would love to make more.
Wizards In Hoods
Elf answers another question about the human nature of Wizards whose heads are hidden by hoods. He says some may be human, but others may not. He also answers a question about how Flaming Skull head Wizards sleep, noting that you would have to ask each Flaming Skull Wizard.
Lore of the Sacred Flame
Next, Elf speaks to the lore of the Sacred Flame. He mentions there is a storyboard about the Sacred Flame, but the gist is that the Flames appeared from nowhere. Some Wizards were fatally attracted to them. Some were thrown into them. Others walked in willingly. Elf says that the Sacred Flames caused a transmutation — rather than a transformation — of the Wizards. Meaning that the Wizards became something else entirely, rather than merely changing shape. He says a good example of this is when a Wooden Boy transmuted into Death Himself.
Elf notes that both the Forgotten Runes comic and TV show go into more depth about the Sacred Flames, so he doesn't want to say too much about them.
Portal Coin
Elf then asks about the Portal coin that has taken over the timeline. Dotta says he doesn't even know, but all of the FUD makes him want to buy a bunch. Lorepunk joins and speaks about Portal Coin, which will supposedly airdrop to those who engage on social media.
EnglishNFTea of Taproot Wizards Joins
Following that, EnglishNFTea also joins the conversation. He thanks Bear and Dotta for joining his Space earlier, saying he enjoys hanging out with Forgotten Runes. They speak about the "Ape" meta of the last cycle and how they believe that "Wizards" will be the new meta.
English and Elf also banter about the skill needed to make "shitty-looking" art, in reference to a comment Elf made about the unique charm of Taproot Wizards. Elf says this is an advantage when it comes to the swiftly approaching inundation of AI art.
Cult Content
The team wrap up the show by reviewing the Cult Content Chronicle with art from the Forgotten Runes community — collected every week by Tania del Rio.