Re: Hello! -- The Word

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Date Posted: 21:35:27 09/19/02 Thu
Author: The Writer
Author Host/IP: dialup-209.246.79.114.Dial1.NewYork1.Level3.net / 209.246.79.114
Subject: Re: Hello!
In reply to: IMP 's message, "Re: Hello!" on 10:06:55 09/15/02 Sun

Hi! Sorry it's taken so long to respond.

>Inquiring minds wish to know... well, your great
>northern fan does at any rate. Have you ever
>attempted to write a RPG module, Fantasy or Sci-fi
>based? I enjoy role playing games, but my DM
>(storyteller etc) skills are somewhat lacking. If you
>have any interesting ideas for would be adventurers,
>this would seem like a good place to put them :)

Ah, yes. I haven't written a moduel so tp speak, but I've run several games in my lifetime (one of which is going on one Sunday a month right now). I've found that *anything* can be interesting for adventurers, which sounds useless, but look at it this way: sometimes the smallest things are the ones to hit us the hardest.

Let's say you've got a group of four (four to five is ideal, unless you're used to mayhem or have some skill in shuttling back and forth between groups) people in a modern day speculative fiction setting. Bob is a regular Joe, on his way home from work. Let's say he's a software designer, and has just gotten off his bus.

He sees an old childhood friend of his in the distance, close enough to recognize, far enough to be hard to reach, and he chases after her.

The friend turns a corner; Bob turns the corner and finds her GONE.

Bob goes home, calls up a friend (another player character?). Gina tells him how their old grade school playmate Helen is missing, and presumed dead.

Oh, but didn't Bob just see her a moment ago?

...The devil's in the details. I find that I can have a loose outline in my head -- that's ufficient to move a story along. I just have to have an idea what the driving forces are, and what events will happen independently of the players, and when they'll occur. Everything is affected by everything else.

Imagine Gina demands that Bob call the cops to tell them he saw Helen. Bob calls, gets in touch with a detective called Gorrister (this, too, can be a player character). Gorrister drops by to talk; Gina comes by, too.

Now, Gorrister probably didn't have Bob on his radar at all until he called. Now the investigation will go differently than before.

The real trick to all of this is knowing what's going on behind the scenes, and being certain of it. You don't have to plan out everything meticulously; then your game turns into a novel and your players have no freedom. But definitely have the basics down when it comes to antagonists, allies, enemies, and random chance elements (storms, power outages, sudden brake failure -- though that could be the result of enemy activity).

You can do this with any genre. D&D? Your troupe all live in a city whose mayor has gone missing. Or the city is suddenly under siege by an enemy feudal lord, or a wizard who's bitter about being rejected by the local guild takes his revenge. Even better, connect the history of one or more of the characters into the story.

The trick is to be plausible and moderate. A character breaks the law? It's reasonable to think a cop might be around, or someone called the authorities. A character performs an heroic deed? The very next day, the media are on her for interviews and more.

Mysterious letters appear on a character's doorstep (props are good, and letters are easy). Who are they from? Why are they being sent? Who leaves them there?

Maybe the character has a shady past. Maybe someone close to the character has a shady past, without the character ever knowing -- until now.

I like to think of what would creep me out, or what would get *me* going, and then build from there .

Easier said than done, but like anything complicated, it takes practice.

I know I wrote an essay, but I hope it helped.

>I appreciate your approach to 9/11 this year. Few can
>put into words what they really must feel about such
>an event, and sadly, those who can are drowned out by
>the rest of the unwashed masses (mostly well washed
>"look at me" types this time round). The best
>remembrance I have found is here.
>http://www.kevinandkell.com/2002/kk0911.html
>It sums up allot about the people that are moving on.

That *is* nice. I figure if I don't hve anything pithy or innovative -- or *positive* -- to say, why clutter up bandwitdth?

>And since you asked so nice (remember, you said no
>stalking:), I am from Calgary Alberta. The city that
>takes up almost as much room as New York, but has less
>than a 12th of it's population. We try not to crowd
>each other ^_^ after all, this is the land of giants
>(my 6'2" body fits in fine here, but I feel like I
>should slouch when I travel).

I've heard it's beautiful up there. COLD, but beautiful. I'm in NYC myself. And 6'2" is a *fine* height. Except when you're in the backseat of a car for a long roadtrip. ;)

>canadIANimp - "I look louder than I act"

L'escriteur -- *can* she string a sentence together? Let's find out, folks!

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Replies:

Re: Hello! -- IMP, 12:08:00 09/21/02 Sat
- Re: Hello! -- The Writer, 16:37:48 09/22/02 Sun