Scott Oden
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden
@orcwriter.bsky.social
1.7K followers 520 following 540 posts
Author of whimsical tales disguised as found manuscripts. Specializing in mouse-run libraries, and gardens where magic blooms between dewdrops. The mushrooms insist they're 'philosophically inclined.' https://claudemoreaugarden.wordpress.com/
claudemoreaugarden.wordpress.com
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · Jul 22
In a strange crashing together of worlds, I created a page where you can find ALL of my author-direct work -- from straight historical fiction to historical fantasy to the gentlest of cozy fantasy:

scottoden.wordpress.com/books-by-sco...
Books by Scott Oden
Since 2005, I’ve been writing a myriad of historical adventure, fantasy, and sword-and-sorcery . . . as well as a side-trip into cozy fantasy in the style of Grahame and Milne. This page is m…
scottoden.wordpress.com
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
martial skills. Sultan al-Salih acquires him, he's assessed and assigned to the elite Bahriyya regiment under Aktay. He rises quickly to be Aktay's second, and by Mansura he's got the skills and the reputation to back it up.
orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
What I think happened: Baibars was older than a child when he was captured, possibly 19 or 20; he already had experience fighting the Mongols, some scars, and a violent disposition. Al-Bundaqdari buys him, recognizes a diamond in the rough, and converts him while sharpening his already formidable
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
Addendum: I have a sneaking suspicion, totally unfounded of course, that his early life and service are propaganda devised in his lifetime to make his usurpation more palatable, overall.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
about 5 years. So, who puts a newly-minted Mamluk in command of an elite regiment in 1250? Was he already trained by the time al-Salih takes possession of him? Was he already a formidable warrior when he was captured in Crimea? The military-school-child-prodigy thing makes no sense.

Thanks!
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
bring the crown prince, Turanshah, to Egypt). So, he's approximately 27 at Mansura. But, and here's where I get confused: he's not captured and enslaved until sometime around 1242 CE, and not transferred to al-Salih until 1245 or so (perhaps even 1247). Training in the Bahriyya regiment takes
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 2h
#Medievalists of BlueSky, I could use your help. I'm trying to parse out the timeline of Baibars I's early life. He's generally said to have been born around 1223 CE, and by 1250 CE, he in nominal command of the Bahriyya regiments at the Battle of Mansura (the regiment's commander was sent to
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 3d
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 3d
When the call is definitely coming from inside the house . . .

The Armchair Psychiatrist scottoden.wordpress.com/2025/10/19/t...
The Armchair Psychiatrist
It began with a meme, an innocuous graphic depicting the spiral of ADHD-brain. To my shock, I recognized myself in that little cartoon figure. “Surely not,” I muttered, and proceeded on…
scottoden.wordpress.com
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 3d
It's the weekend, which means I'm out here yapping about BOOKS FOR SALE: scottoden.wordpress.com/books-by-sco...

If you're full-up on books, the Tip Jar is always an option: ko-fi.com/K3K72OC14
Books by Scott Oden
Since 2005, I’ve been writing a myriad of historical adventure, fantasy, and sword-and-sorcery . . . as well as a side-trip into cozy fantasy in the style of Grahame and Milne. This page is m…
scottoden.wordpress.com
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 5d
Please do!
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 5d
I hear you, buddy. All we can do is the best we can, despite the world's ills and evils. Tell the story in spite of All The Things. And, as a dear friend would have said: "Swords together!"
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 6d
Thus, I dither and condemn myself for doing nothing.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 6d
What if D is the one that touches fire, but I ignored it to work on A? All of this going a mile a minute. In the past, I could prioritize eventually by telling myself "paid work first".

But none of this is paid. It's all speculative. No one's waiting for something from me.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 6d
This is my brain, today: it's paralyzed by indecision. I have four open tabs, four projects I *could* work on, but I'm not working on any of them because I'm terrified of making a wrong judgement call. What if I work on A and should have been working on B? What if C is just a waste of time?
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 6d
Seriously, this explains a lot:

I Don't Like This Because I Am In It scottoden.wordpress.com/2025/10/16/i...
I Don’t Like This Because I Am In It
I saw this graphic online and saw myself clearly: This, coupled with my mind always bouncing from idea to idea (each idea the next “Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!”), makes me wonder if …
scottoden.wordpress.com
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 6d
Sadness. It is sadness.
orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
I dragged out my Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance, so you know shit's about to get real :)
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
AND music, architecture, and philosophy :)
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
That's my plan for the afternoon. Find copacetic mechanics :)
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
I'm not a mechanics guy, but I do have a whole bunch of games I've collected over the years: PDFs, mostly -- whole games, quick start rules, etc. In theory, I could borrow my favorite mechanics and set them out in a way that supports the play I'm looking for.

Maybe even solo play.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
La Serenissima: A Tabletop RPG of Art, Magic, and Ambition

In the city-states of the Luminous Peninsula, where marble gleams and genius burns bright, artists wield brushes like swords and words like spells. Create masterpieces, navigate treacherous courts, and leave your mark on eternity.
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 7d
I don't know if anyone but me would even want something like this to exist in the world, but I think my passion project, my hobby, will be something that goes back to my roots: a tabletop RPG mixing art, writing, and ambition set in a slightly-altered Italian Renaissance . . .
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 8d
. . . all the books I've written have taken almost exactly two years from start to finish (add extra time for publishing).
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 8d
. . . can do THAT in the space of a few months, then the sky should be the limit.

Post-script: prior to the trauma-induced hypergraphia, an average book took two years to research and write; I had a seven year break between 2010 and 2017 to deal with grief and its aftermath. Otherwise . . .
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 8d
There's no good answer for this feeling I have. My brain needs to be rewired, the ideas pre-2007/2008 on what a writing career needs to be need themselves to be replaced by current standards and practices.

Those are three awesome books, regardless of how they came into the world. And if I . . .
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