THE STORYTeller’S THESAURUS FANTASY, HISTORY, AND HORROR JAMES M. WARD AND ANNE K. BROWN Cover by: Peter Bradley LEGAL PAGE: Every effort has been made not to make use of proprietary or copyrighted materi- al. Any mention of actual commercial products in this book does not constitute an endorsement. www.trolllord.com www.chenaultandgraypublishing.com Email:[email protected] Printed in U.S.A © 2013 Chenault & Gray Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Storyteller’s Thesaurus Trademark of Cheanult & Gray Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Chenault & Gray Publishing, Troll Lord Games logos are Trademark of Chenault & Gray Publishing. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS THE STORYTeller’S THESAURUS 1 FANTASY, HISTORY, AND HORROR 1 JAMES M. WARD AND ANNE K. BROWN 1 INTRODUCTION 8 WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK DIFFERENT 8 THE STORYTeller’s RESPONSIBILITY: RESEARCH 9 WHAT THIS BOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN 9 A WHISPER OF ENCOURAGEMENT 10 CHAPTER 1: CHARACTER BUILDING 11 GENDER 11 AGE 11 PHYSICAL AttRIBUTES 11 SIZE AND BODY TYPE 11 FACIAL FEATURES 12 HAIR 13 SPECIES 13 PERSONALITY 14 PHOBIAS 15 OCCUPATIONS 17 ADVENTURERS 17 CIVILIANS 18 ORGANIZATIONS 21 CHAPTER 2: CLOTHING 22 STYLES OF DRESS 22 CLOTHING PIECES 22 CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION 24 CHAPTER 3: ARCHITECTURE AND PROPERTY 25 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES AND ELEMENTS 25 BUILDING MATERIALS 26 PROPERTY TYPES 26 SPECIALTY ANATOMY 29 CHAPTER 4: FURNISHINGS 30 CHAPTER 5: EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS 31 ADVENTurer’S GEAR 31 GENERAL EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS 31 2 THE STORYTeller’s Thesaurus KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 35 LINENS 36 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 37 TOOLS 37 FARM EQUIPMENT 38 CHAPTER 6: FOOD 39 BAKERY 39 BREAD 39 SWEET BAKERY 39 CANDY 40 DAIRY 40 DRY GOODS/PANTRY 41 EGGS 42 FISH/SEAFOOD 42 FRUIT 42 MEAT 43 POULTRY 44 SALAD, SANDWICH, SOUP, SNACKS 44 VEGETABLES 44 BEVERAGES 45 ALCOHOLIC 45 NONALCHOHOLIC 45 CHAPTER 7: COMBAT, ARMOR, AND WEAPONS 46 COMBAT VOCABULARY 46 FENCING 47 PRE-1900 GEAR AND WEAPONS 47 ARMOR 47 SHIELDS 47 WEAPONS 47 POST-1900 GEAR AND WEAPONS 49 WEAPONS 50 SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TACTICS 50 HANDGUNS/PISTOLS 50 REVOLVERS 50 RIFLES 51 CENTERFIRE RIFLES 51 FANTASY, HISTORY, AND HORROR 3 RIMFIRE RIFLES 51 SNIPER RIFLES 51 SHOTGUNS 51 CHAPTER 8: MILITARY 52 RANKS 52 AIR AND WATER CRAFT 53 GROUND VEHICLES 54 WEAPONS 57 U.S. ARMY 57 U.S. AIR FORCE 57 CHAPTER 9: TRANSPORTATION 58 GENERAL VOCABULARY 58 INFRASTRUCTURE 58 GROUND TRANSPORTATION 59 AIR TRANSPORTATION 59 WATER TRANSPORTATION 59 CHAPTER 10: GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY, AND BOTANY 61 GEOLOGY 61 ROCKS AND MINERALS 62 GEOLOGIC TIME 64 SOIL 66 GEOGRAPHY 67 LANDFORMS 68 MAN-MADE BOUNDARIES 68 METEOROLOGY 68 BOTANY 70 FUNGUS 70 HERBACEOUS PLANTS 70 WOODY PLANTS 74 TREES 74 CHAPTER 11: ASTRONOMY AND CHEMISTRY 77 ASTRONOMY 77 STAR NAMES 79 PLANETS AND MOONS 81 CHEMISTRY 82 ELEMENTS 83 POISONS 83 4 THE STORYTeller’s Thesaurus CHAPTER 12: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 85 ANATOMY 85 AILMENTS 85 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 86 CHAPTER 13: THE ARTS 87 DANCE 87 MUSIC 88 THEATER 88 THE ARTS 88 VISUAL ART 89 CHAPTER 14: PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION 90 PHILOSOPHY 90 RELIGION 90 MAJOR RELIGIOUS BOOKS 92 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 92 GODS AND PANTHEONS 92 CHAPTER 15: ANIMALS AND CREATURES 94 ANIMAL HOMES 94 AMPHIBIANS 94 BIRDS 94 FISH 95 MAMMALS 96 INSECTS, BUGS, AND SPIDERS 99 REPTILES 101 SNAKES 102 CHAPTER 16: MONSTERS 103 MONSTER LAIRS AND LOCATIONS 105 CHAPTER 17: MAGIC 107 MAGIC VOCABULARY 107 MAGICAL TRANSPORTATION 107 MAGICAL OBJECTS AND SPELLS 107 CLASSIC MAGICAL OBJECTS 108 DESIGNING MAGICAL OBJECTS 108 DESIGNING SPELLS 108 LIST OF POSSIBLE MAGICAL EFFECTS 109 FANTASY, HISTORY, AND HORROR 5 WITCHCRAFT 114 CHAPTER 18: LEGENDARY, MYSTERIOUS, AND MYTHICAL ITEMS 115 AND LOCATIONS LEGENDARY/MYTHICAL LOCATIONS 115 LEGENDARY CHARACTERS 116 ARTHURIAN LEGEND 116 LEGENDARY/MYTHICAL OBJECTS 117 SECRET/MYSTICAL ORGANIZATIONS 119 NOTEWORTHY EVENTS 119 CHAPTer 19 — SymbolOGY & SYMBOLIC OBJECTS AND PLACES 120 CLASSIC HERALDRY 120 POSTURE 120 SYMBOLIC ITEMS 121 HOLIDAYS 122 COLLECTIVE SYMBOLS 123 DIVINATION AND FORTUNE TELLING 124 PALM READING 124 TAROT CARDS 124 SUPERSTITIONS 124 CHAPTER 20: DESCRIPTIVE TERMS 127 ADJECTIVES 127 COLORS 129 EXPLETIVES 129 EMOTIONS 130 NOUNS 131 VERBS 131 CHAPTer 21 — STORY ELEMENTS AND TREASURE 133 PARANORMAL THEMES AND CONCEPTS 133 WESTERN THEMES 133 TREASURE 134 CHAPTer 22 — SCIENCE FICTION 136 LITERARY CLASSIFICATIONS 136 GENERAL CONCEPTS 136 GEAR AND VEHICLES 137 SPACESHIPS 137 6 THE STORYTeller’s Thesaurus CHAPTER 23: HORROR 138 LITERARY CLASSIFICATIONS 138 GENERAL CONCEPTS 140 CHAPTER 24: FANTASY 141 LITERARY CLASSIFICATIONS 141 GENERAL CONCEPTS 141 APPENDIX A: COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS 142 APPENDIX B: PROVERBS 144 ALPHABETICAL INDEX 149 – Numeric – 149 –A– 150 –B– 175 –C– 207 –D– 249 –E– 268 –F– 281 –G– 301 –H– 318 –I– 335 –J– 343 –K– 347 –L– 353 –M– 368 –N– 393 –O– 401 –P– 410 –Q– 438 –R– 440 –S– 456 –T– 501 –U– 523 –V– 528 –W– 533 –X– 546 –Y– 547 –Z– 549 FANTASY, HISTORY, AND HORROR 7 INTRODUCTION According to some sources, the word thesaurus is synonymous with treasury. That definition is especially fitting for this book, which departs from the typical alphabetical thesaurus with its closely-linked synonyms, and instead provides groups of words for storytellers who are groping for just the right idea. This book is less about technical accuracy and etymology and more about helping authors to craft a setting, envision a character, or unfold a scene. Every author reaches a point in a writing project (usually at about 66,000 words of a 100,000 word manu- script) at which she’d like to conjure up an out-of-control city bus to careen down a forest path, flatten her group of fantasy heroes, describe their gelatinous remains, and gleefully write the words “The End.” This book is for moments like that. This book is also for those moments when everything sounds like a cliché, when every fantasy story contains a hooded stranger in a tavern, and when all the villains and monsters in all types of fiction suddenly sound like two-dimensional cardboard rip-offs of the mustached bad guys tying young damsels to railroad tracks in black-and-white melodramas. This book is for those moments when nothing appearing on the computer screen sounds any good. This book is about inspiration. We rarely know where inspiration comes from, so without a roadmap or a clearly defined formula, this book might be the next best thing. It is designed to trigger ideas, to link concepts not normally linked, and to familiarize authors with places and things outside their daily lives. It is also meant to remind us of interesting things we don’t think about very often. This book might remind an author of Grandma’s rhubarb pie and inspire a character with a passion for rhubarb; it might help an author in a warm climate write about snow; and it might suggest an unusual hobby or phobia that subtly motivates an emerging hero. By using a mix-and- match selection throughout this book, endless combinations are possible for settings and characters, such as the nephew of an archbishop who works as a gymnastics coach, wears suspenders, and collects antique hat pins. This book is designed to offer a multitude of choices to solve a multitude of writing problems. WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK DIFFERENT The first thing to notice about this thesaurus is that it is arranged by subject, not alphabet. It is designed by storytellers for storytellers. When trying to picture a rural scene, it isn’t helpful to see the entries for forest followed by the entries forget, fork, and formal. It’s much more useful to find entries for terrain features, rocks, trees, plants, and weather all in one chapter. While browsing for forest features, other woodland de- tails will become apparent to add depth to the scene. The next thing to notice is that this book isn’t about exact synonyms, but about groups of words that make sense together. Sometimes authors envision a scene but their minds just can’t fill in the details. Maybe it’s one of those days when we have to fight for every word, or maybe the topic is something that just isn’t familiar. Imagine writing a scene about a character who is a seamstress, for example. For anyone who has never taken a sewing class, it’s foreign territory. Even for an author with a fairly good working knowledge of sewing, this can be a chal- lenge. What types of fabrics and doodads and implements will surround the seamstress? A visit to the section about clothing construction in Chapter 2 will provide several pages of terms that might be useful in describing the work of our seamstress. In a standard thesaurus, a visit to the word seamstress will likely turn up only similar occupations such as tailor, and offer little in the way of sewing terminology. Thus, this book is designed to offer numerous choices to authors so they can effectively design a character or location. Another goal of this book is to function as a reverse dictionary. Perhaps an author just can’t recall a particular word and doesn’t know where to start in a standard dictionary. By turning to the section on Garment Pieces, for example, he might be nudged into recalling that the name of the odd stand-up collar popular on jackets during the 1970s was the Nehru collar. Likewise, he might wonder what a French cuff looks like and research it to discover that it is the type of cuff that requires cuff links—just the thing for the spoiled dilettante he is creating. 8 THE STORYTeller’s Thesaurus — IntroductION THE STORYTeller’s RESPONSIBILITY: RESEARCH Like any treasury, some things will be familiar and some will not.