D&D to help with writing? [Archive] - Wizards Community

D&D to help with writing? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
leather_book_wizard
03-09-07, 08:39 PM I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book?
MOTHdevil
03-09-07, 09:28 PM I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book?

It'll do both, depending on how you use it.

The bad- It will force you to think of your character in mechanical terms, and if you let it go too far, next thing you know, you'll end up trying to justify all your magic, character strengths, and otherwise intangible complexities as d20 quantifications. That may not SEEM like a bad idea (after all, wouldn't it be neat to know what your characters are capable of doing or not doing?), but the problem is that D&D is a GAME with mechanics set up for very specific balancing reasons. I assure you, the designers of the game were never intending D&D to be used as a book-writing toolbox!

If you let it get too far, you'll be thinking of your characters in very specific D&D-derived terms. It will stunt your creativity, and worse, if it goes too far, you'll find it eats away at the otherwise organic "pure imagination" ideas you come up with.

Basically, if unchecked, it'll put a constraint on your creativity without you realizing it. That said, if you're intending your book to be part of a Wizard's shared universe, I'll take back what I just blabbed and tell you to go for it.

The Good- I've found D&D to be surprisingly useful in developing working character ideas. Since D&D is such a flexible system, it's hard to come up with a basic character concept that isn't somehow supported by the rules. If you don't let those rules pigeon-hole your writer's brain, you can use your weekly game to get in your character's head: Explore speech patterns. Identify quirks. In short, you'll find traits that might not otherwise occur to you as a writer in a vacuum.

So... to sum up:

I think it's a GREAT idea, but not implemented exactly as you planned. I would approach character design cautiously, as something that can be tweaked in your book... don't EVER think to yourself that just because it's not allowed under the mechanics that it's not allowed in your story. Keep control of the genie. And instead of using D&D as a construction set for your characters, use it as a stage to test them out. I think you'll be surprised how well you'll get to know your heroes that way.
Singer_of_the_Song
03-09-07, 09:32 PM It can be great, just make sure your battles don't read like D&D encounters.
Solaris
03-09-07, 09:41 PM It can be great, just make sure your battles don't read like D&D encounters.

I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading.
literati
03-09-07, 10:22 PM I would agree with what MOTHdevil said there - the game mechanics work well for the game, but tend to lose something in translation sometimes. They can be a good jumping off point, but don't let your creativity be hampered by specific DnD rules. It's your world (even more so than a DnD shared campaign world), so allow yourself full reign to explore that world.

Good luck with the project. I write short stories, but tend towards literary shorts. Even though I've played for over 20 years, I've never been able to write a decent fantasy story...It's very frustrating.
Board_Rider
03-09-07, 11:41 PM I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading.

I felt that same way on a few of Mr. Bakers books.
WizO_Cat
03-09-07, 11:47 PM Ok, this is my personal opinion (nothing official):

The problem with this is that you're either going to limit your market for your books to people who play D&D or you'll have to spend pages in the book to explain the rules to people who don't play D&D. Trust me - I saw a D&D movie that tried to do the latter: as a movie viewer, it really didn't work that well. After ten minutes of watching the movie, my wife was running from the TV. (We were watching it on DVD)
Edymnion
03-09-07, 11:58 PM I'll chime in with the rest on the "don't use mechanics to justify your characters", as all you'll end up with are flat, uninspired stereotypes.

What you will want from the game as one who writes (trust me, there is a HUGE differance between a real writer and somebody that is just writing something for the heck of it) is to learn the spontenaity and character developement that can come through playing.

You'll quickly learn how organic character growth works, and will likely walk away with some funny stories you can translate into your story.

Personally though, I do it the other way around. I come up with the story, and then beat the rules into submission until I get something that matches my original concept.

Heh, you don't even wanna see the Sorcerer I'm finishing up. :D
Singer_of_the_Song
03-10-07, 01:15 AM I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading.

Exactly.
Ranger REG
03-10-07, 01:39 AM I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading.
I have no problem with his works. :cool:
_SIN_
03-10-07, 02:57 AM I have no problem with his works. :cool:

Me neither. Too much love for 'lame-ass-lovecraft' here!!

It's quite ironic really.... Not wanting fights in a D&D world to sound like D&D encounters?......

I'll drag some monsters over from cthulu into my D&D novel!! :D
Singer_of_the_Song
03-10-07, 03:15 AM It's quite ironic really.... Not wanting fights in a D&D world to sound like D&D encounters?......

I mean describing them in a boring, unrealistic, drawn out fashion that reduces writing to poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp.
_SIN_
03-10-07, 04:00 AM Yet salvatore's best selling Drizzt series is just that?....

Maybe there's a bigger market for boring, unrealistic, drawn out, poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp than you think?...

Not arguing, just pointing it out? My question is 'Why, if the fighting is as described above, do pepople buy them?'

The books are based on a group of warriors, so a reader should expect the fighting to be the juiciest bits? Right?...
literati
03-10-07, 04:25 AM I became bored with Salvatore in '97, '98 - I forget the exact year. It just started to read like the same thing, over and over and over again. I started with Drizz't with the Dark Elf trilogy back in '89 or so...Man, it was okay, but who expected the Dark Elf fury that would arise? I just stepped the hell back...and got bored after a bit.

Hm. That's me rambling...
VrecknidjX
03-10-07, 09:56 AM How much writing have you already done?

You could send some material to the fiction editor of Knowledge Arcana (http://wizo.wizards.com/ka/) and see what kind of response you get.

Dave
docballen
03-10-07, 10:16 AM Don't do this. (Unless you are attempting to write for the D&D universe.)

They will want you to pay to use their terms and statistics. If you don't then you'd be guilty of copyright infringement.

Now, if you have a way of taking your gaming sessions and truly making them sound as if they are really happening-- example follows-- then you might have a chance.

Please remember, also, that your players need to give you their permission to use their characters too. (It's the same thing when people try to write fan fiction... Paramount gets angry when you try to sell stories about Captain Kirk or Captain Picard without their permission.)

- - - - - -
My example

Sarah hung up the phone. "We've got an emergency call-- a girl is going to jump off the courthouse and the Doc wants us to go get her down."

"Okay."

Sarah went for the door. Simon grabbed his coat and ran out the door. "Do you want to drive?" Sarah asked.

"I rode my motorcycle," Simon replied.

"I could drive," Sarah said. "Oh, my car's in the shop--"

"Company car?"

"Doc," Sarah tabbed the intercom, "what about my car?"

"Take any car but not mine," the Doctor replied.

Sarah smiled as the went out of the door and toward the parking lot. They passed several cars with TMS-prefix licence plates until they came to an 1984 Lazer that was gunmetal gray with "TMS-1" plates. Sarah pulled another key out of her pocket and opened the car doors.

"Is this a company car??" Simon asked.

"Noooo," Sarah said as they pulled out of the lot.

"TMS-1 wouldn't be Doc Allen's, would it?"

"Fastest car in the fleet," Sarah replied.

"Oldest, you mean," Simon shot back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now, how much of what I just wrote was what my players said, and how much of that did I create myself, or add in during the writing process???

I played Doc Allen (see my sig) so I gave my permission to publish that here-- my current hubby played Simon, and I got his permission, but I haven't called "Sarah" to get her permission. (Will do that as soon as I'm done here.)
leather_book_wizard
03-10-07, 10:27 AM Don't do this. (Unless you are attempting to write for the D&D universe.)

They will want you to pay to use their terms and statistics. If you don't then you'd be guilty of copyright infringement.

Now, if you have a way of taking your gaming sessions and truly making them sound as if they are really happening-- example follows-- then you might have a chance.

Please remember, also, that your players need to give you their permission to use their characters too. (It's the same thing when people try to write fan fiction... Paramount gets angry when you try to sell stories about Captain Kirk or Captain Picard without their permission.)

- - - - - -
My example

Sarah hung up the phone. "We've got an emergency call-- a girl is going to jump off the courthouse and the Doc wants us to go get her down."

"Okay."

Sarah went for the door. Simon grabbed his coat and ran out the door. "Do you want to drive?" Sarah asked.

"I rode my motorcycle," Simon replied.

"I could drive," Sarah said. "Oh, my car's in the shop--"

"Company car?"

"Doc," Sarah tabbed the intercom, "what about my car?"

"Take any car but not mine," the Doctor replied.

Sarah smiled as the went out of the door and toward the parking lot. They passed several cars with TMS-prefix licence plates until they came to an 1984 Lazer that was gunmetal gray with "TMS-1" plates. Sarah pulled another key out of her pocket and opened the car doors.

"Is this a company car??" Simon asked.

"Noooo," Sarah said as they pulled out of the lot.

"TMS-1 wouldn't be Doc Allen's, would it?"

"Fastest car in the fleet," Sarah replied.

"Oldest, you mean," Simon shot back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now, how much of what I just wrote was what my players said, and how much of that did I create myself, or add in during the writing process???

I played Doc Allen (see my sig) so I gave my permission to publish that here-- my current hubby played Simon, and I got his permission, but I haven't called "Sarah" to get her permission. (Will do that as soon as I'm done here.)

I'm not using my players' characters. The characters are all of my own creation. I'm not going to put D&D terminology in it, not things like "Bob had an CHA score of 13." I just gave the character's statistics to use as a guide. Nothing is set in stone, however, so if I wan't to do something with a character that the stats won't allow me to do, I'll do it. It also seemed like Vancian Casting would be a good way to not make magic to powerful, because I've found that if you know the heroes can do anything with a wave of their hand, the story quickly becomes boring.
High Octane
03-10-07, 10:52 AM I would think the fleshed out characters would be great for inspiration, but you better be willing to bend or break some rules otherwise the book will be pretty damned tedious.
leather_book_wizard
03-10-07, 10:59 AM I would think the fleshed out characters would be great for inspiration, but you better be willing to bend or break some rules otherwise the book will be pretty damned tedious.

I am willing to utterly shatter the rules if need be.:D
Ranger REG
03-11-07, 01:33 AM Me neither. Too much love for 'lame-ass-lovecraft' here!!
Really? Could never appeal to his works. I have to be clinically depressed to enjoy them (and I'm not there yet). :evillaugh
Raust92
03-21-07, 10:56 PM That is very wise of you. Margret Weis herself made some of the characters in Dragonlance in D&D format. Then that's when they came up with the Dragonlance campaign. By the way which would have never have came out if it wern't for D&D!
_SIN_
03-21-07, 11:47 PM That is very wise of you. Margret Weis herself made some of the characters in Dragonlance in D&D format. Then that's when they came up with the Dragonlance campaign. By the way which would have never have came out if it wern't for D&D!

For the first time in my 27 years I CURSE D&D WITH A VENGANCE!

Weis & Hickman.... Damn them... Damn them to hell!!

Couldn't stand their books, well at least the DL ones. Hated the setting too. Though I'm interested in reading the 'Death Gate' series, and from the reviews I've read they're meant to be a big improvement on the DL books.

You'd be better off using a program like Dramatica, which is a writer dream! Everything from character building to plot lines, timelines (to keep tabs if you've got more than one thing happening at a time)... The list goes on....

Final draft is another prog used by some script/comic/authors I know, though I think it's more for comics than novels (I've not used it)...
HomebrewedMonster
03-21-07, 11:53 PM I find that DnD can inspire some cool ideas for campaigns, but like so many said before it can limit your abilities as well.

For instance, I really liked the master of the unseen hand class in Complete Warrior, but I didn't like how you have to be a 9th level wizard to be an interesting warrior PrC.

So I wrote about a little story about a warrior that was kissed by a genie. From that point on he had minor control over the wind, he used this ability to fight sword and board as well as fly a moonblade around the battlefield (think a moon boomerang).
Ranger REG
03-22-07, 03:44 AM Weis & Hickman.... Damn them... Damn them to hell!!

Couldn't stand their books, well at least the DL ones. Hated the setting too. Though I'm interested in reading the 'Death Gate' series, and from the reviews I've read they're meant to be a big improvement on the DL books.
Loved their DL. :cool:

OTOH, their DG were uninteresting. :bored:
Ranger REG
03-22-07, 03:48 AM I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book?
If you have no agenda nor attachment to the characters if they die or injured during the course of the game -- however serious or silly -- and you're pretty good with words, it shouldn't be a problem.

Then again, not many readers want a non-linear plot course in a story.
Raust92
03-29-07, 04:51 PM I really wouldn't go as far as cursing weis and hickman. They themselves were inspired by D&D!
Edymnion
03-29-07, 08:27 PM I mean describing them in a boring, unrealistic, drawn out fashion that reduces writing to poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp.What do you mean drawn out? Your standard D&D combat lasts about 30 seconds.
KismetRose
03-30-07, 02:11 AM Heh, you don't even wanna see the Sorcerer I'm finishing up. :D
Actually, I would, when you get done. :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
leather_book_wizard 03-09-07, 08:39 PM	I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book?
MOTHdevil 03-09-07, 09:28 PM	I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book? It'll do both, depending on how you use it. The bad- It will force you to think of your character in mechanical terms, and if you let it go too far, next thing you know, you'll end up trying to justify all your magic, character strengths, and otherwise intangible complexities as d20 quantifications. That may not SEEM like a bad idea (after all, wouldn't it be neat to know what your characters are capable of doing or not doing?), but the problem is that D&D is a GAME with mechanics set up for very specific balancing reasons. I assure you, the designers of the game were never intending D&D to be used as a book-writing toolbox! If you let it get too far, you'll be thinking of your characters in very specific D&D-derived terms. It will stunt your creativity, and worse, if it goes too far, you'll find it eats away at the otherwise organic "pure imagination" ideas you come up with. Basically, if unchecked, it'll put a constraint on your creativity without you realizing it. That said, if you're intending your book to be part of a Wizard's shared universe, I'll take back what I just blabbed and tell you to go for it. The Good- I've found D&D to be surprisingly useful in developing working character ideas. Since D&D is such a flexible system, it's hard to come up with a basic character concept that isn't somehow supported by the rules. If you don't let those rules pigeon-hole your writer's brain, you can use your weekly game to get in your character's head: Explore speech patterns. Identify quirks. In short, you'll find traits that might not otherwise occur to you as a writer in a vacuum. So... to sum up: I think it's a GREAT idea, but not implemented exactly as you planned. I would approach character design cautiously, as something that can be tweaked in your book... don't EVER think to yourself that just because it's not allowed under the mechanics that it's not allowed in your story. Keep control of the genie. And instead of using D&D as a construction set for your characters, use it as a stage to test them out. I think you'll be surprised how well you'll get to know your heroes that way.
Singer_of_the_Song 03-09-07, 09:32 PM	It can be great, just make sure your battles don't read like D&D encounters.
Solaris 03-09-07, 09:41 PM	It can be great, just make sure your battles don't read like D&D encounters. I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading.
literati 03-09-07, 10:22 PM	I would agree with what MOTHdevil said there - the game mechanics work well for the game, but tend to lose something in translation sometimes. They can be a good jumping off point, but don't let your creativity be hampered by specific DnD rules. It's your world (even more so than a DnD shared campaign world), so allow yourself full reign to explore that world. Good luck with the project. I write short stories, but tend towards literary shorts. Even though I've played for over 20 years, I've never been able to write a decent fantasy story...It's very frustrating.
Board_Rider 03-09-07, 11:41 PM	I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading. I felt that same way on a few of Mr. Bakers books.
WizO_Cat 03-09-07, 11:47 PM	Ok, this is my personal opinion (nothing official): The problem with this is that you're either going to limit your market for your books to people who play D&D or you'll have to spend pages in the book to explain the rules to people who don't play D&D. Trust me - I saw a D&D movie that tried to do the latter: as a movie viewer, it really didn't work that well. After ten minutes of watching the movie, my wife was running from the TV. (We were watching it on DVD)
Edymnion 03-09-07, 11:58 PM	I'll chime in with the rest on the "don't use mechanics to justify your characters", as all you'll end up with are flat, uninspired stereotypes. What you will want from the game as one who writes (trust me, there is a HUGE differance between a real writer and somebody that is just writing something for the heck of it) is to learn the spontenaity and character developement that can come through playing. You'll quickly learn how organic character growth works, and will likely walk away with some funny stories you can translate into your story. Personally though, I do it the other way around. I come up with the story, and then beat the rules into submission until I get something that matches my original concept. Heh, you don't even wanna see the Sorcerer I'm finishing up. :D
Singer_of_the_Song 03-10-07, 01:15 AM	I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading. Exactly.
Ranger REG 03-10-07, 01:39 AM	I had to quit Salvatore because of that. I could almost hear the clatter of the dice while I was reading. I have no problem with his works. :cool:
_SIN_ 03-10-07, 02:57 AM	I have no problem with his works. :cool: Me neither. Too much love for 'lame-ass-lovecraft' here!! It's quite ironic really.... Not wanting fights in a D&D world to sound like D&D encounters?...... I'll drag some monsters over from cthulu into my D&D novel!! :D
Singer_of_the_Song 03-10-07, 03:15 AM	It's quite ironic really.... Not wanting fights in a D&D world to sound like D&D encounters?...... I mean describing them in a boring, unrealistic, drawn out fashion that reduces writing to poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp.
_SIN_ 03-10-07, 04:00 AM	Yet salvatore's best selling Drizzt series is just that?.... Maybe there's a bigger market for boring, unrealistic, drawn out, poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp than you think?... Not arguing, just pointing it out? My question is 'Why, if the fighting is as described above, do pepople buy them?' The books are based on a group of warriors, so a reader should expect the fighting to be the juiciest bits? Right?...
literati 03-10-07, 04:25 AM	I became bored with Salvatore in '97, '98 - I forget the exact year. It just started to read like the same thing, over and over and over again. I started with Drizz't with the Dark Elf trilogy back in '89 or so...Man, it was okay, but who expected the Dark Elf fury that would arise? I just stepped the hell back...and got bored after a bit. Hm. That's me rambling...
VrecknidjX 03-10-07, 09:56 AM	How much writing have you already done? You could send some material to the fiction editor of Knowledge Arcana (http://wizo.wizards.com/ka/) and see what kind of response you get. Dave
docballen 03-10-07, 10:16 AM	Don't do this. (Unless you are attempting to write for the D&D universe.) They will want you to pay to use their terms and statistics. If you don't then you'd be guilty of copyright infringement. Now, if you have a way of taking your gaming sessions and truly making them sound as if they are really happening-- example follows-- then you might have a chance. Please remember, also, that your players need to give you their permission to use their characters too. (It's the same thing when people try to write fan fiction... Paramount gets angry when you try to sell stories about Captain Kirk or Captain Picard without their permission.) - - - - - - My example Sarah hung up the phone. "We've got an emergency call-- a girl is going to jump off the courthouse and the Doc wants us to go get her down." "Okay." Sarah went for the door. Simon grabbed his coat and ran out the door. "Do you want to drive?" Sarah asked. "I rode my motorcycle," Simon replied. "I could drive," Sarah said. "Oh, my car's in the shop--" "Company car?" "Doc," Sarah tabbed the intercom, "what about my car?" "Take any car but not mine," the Doctor replied. Sarah smiled as the went out of the door and toward the parking lot. They passed several cars with TMS-prefix licence plates until they came to an 1984 Lazer that was gunmetal gray with "TMS-1" plates. Sarah pulled another key out of her pocket and opened the car doors. "Is this a company car??" Simon asked. "Noooo," Sarah said as they pulled out of the lot. "TMS-1 wouldn't be Doc Allen's, would it?" "Fastest car in the fleet," Sarah replied. "Oldest, you mean," Simon shot back. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now, how much of what I just wrote was what my players said, and how much of that did I create myself, or add in during the writing process??? I played Doc Allen (see my sig) so I gave my permission to publish that here-- my current hubby played Simon, and I got his permission, but I haven't called "Sarah" to get her permission. (Will do that as soon as I'm done here.)
leather_book_wizard 03-10-07, 10:27 AM	Don't do this. (Unless you are attempting to write for the D&D universe.) They will want you to pay to use their terms and statistics. If you don't then you'd be guilty of copyright infringement. Now, if you have a way of taking your gaming sessions and truly making them sound as if they are really happening-- example follows-- then you might have a chance. Please remember, also, that your players need to give you their permission to use their characters too. (It's the same thing when people try to write fan fiction... Paramount gets angry when you try to sell stories about Captain Kirk or Captain Picard without their permission.) - - - - - - My example Sarah hung up the phone. "We've got an emergency call-- a girl is going to jump off the courthouse and the Doc wants us to go get her down." "Okay." Sarah went for the door. Simon grabbed his coat and ran out the door. "Do you want to drive?" Sarah asked. "I rode my motorcycle," Simon replied. "I could drive," Sarah said. "Oh, my car's in the shop--" "Company car?" "Doc," Sarah tabbed the intercom, "what about my car?" "Take any car but not mine," the Doctor replied. Sarah smiled as the went out of the door and toward the parking lot. They passed several cars with TMS-prefix licence plates until they came to an 1984 Lazer that was gunmetal gray with "TMS-1" plates. Sarah pulled another key out of her pocket and opened the car doors. "Is this a company car??" Simon asked. "Noooo," Sarah said as they pulled out of the lot. "TMS-1 wouldn't be Doc Allen's, would it?" "Fastest car in the fleet," Sarah replied. "Oldest, you mean," Simon shot back. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now, how much of what I just wrote was what my players said, and how much of that did I create myself, or add in during the writing process??? I played Doc Allen (see my sig) so I gave my permission to publish that here-- my current hubby played Simon, and I got his permission, but I haven't called "Sarah" to get her permission. (Will do that as soon as I'm done here.) I'm not using my players' characters. The characters are all of my own creation. I'm not going to put D&D terminology in it, not things like "Bob had an CHA score of 13." I just gave the character's statistics to use as a guide. Nothing is set in stone, however, so if I wan't to do something with a character that the stats won't allow me to do, I'll do it. It also seemed like Vancian Casting would be a good way to not make magic to powerful, because I've found that if you know the heroes can do anything with a wave of their hand, the story quickly becomes boring.
High Octane 03-10-07, 10:52 AM	I would think the fleshed out characters would be great for inspiration, but you better be willing to bend or break some rules otherwise the book will be pretty damned tedious.
leather_book_wizard 03-10-07, 10:59 AM	I would think the fleshed out characters would be great for inspiration, but you better be willing to bend or break some rules otherwise the book will be pretty damned tedious. I am willing to utterly shatter the rules if need be.:D
Ranger REG 03-11-07, 01:33 AM	Me neither. Too much love for 'lame-ass-lovecraft' here!! Really? Could never appeal to his works. I have to be clinically depressed to enjoy them (and I'm not there yet). :evillaugh
Raust92 03-21-07, 10:56 PM	That is very wise of you. Margret Weis herself made some of the characters in Dragonlance in D&D format. Then that's when they came up with the Dragonlance campaign. By the way which would have never have came out if it wern't for D&D!
_SIN_ 03-21-07, 11:47 PM	That is very wise of you. Margret Weis herself made some of the characters in Dragonlance in D&D format. Then that's when they came up with the Dragonlance campaign. By the way which would have never have came out if it wern't for D&D! For the first time in my 27 years I CURSE D&D WITH A VENGANCE! Weis & Hickman.... Damn them... Damn them to hell!! Couldn't stand their books, well at least the DL ones. Hated the setting too. Though I'm interested in reading the 'Death Gate' series, and from the reviews I've read they're meant to be a big improvement on the DL books. You'd be better off using a program like Dramatica, which is a writer dream! Everything from character building to plot lines, timelines (to keep tabs if you've got more than one thing happening at a time)... The list goes on.... Final draft is another prog used by some script/comic/authors I know, though I think it's more for comics than novels (I've not used it)...
HomebrewedMonster 03-21-07, 11:53 PM	I find that DnD can inspire some cool ideas for campaigns, but like so many said before it can limit your abilities as well. For instance, I really liked the master of the unseen hand class in Complete Warrior, but I didn't like how you have to be a 9th level wizard to be an interesting warrior PrC. So I wrote about a little story about a warrior that was kissed by a genie. From that point on he had minor control over the wind, he used this ability to fight sword and board as well as fly a moonblade around the battlefield (think a moon boomerang).
Ranger REG 03-22-07, 03:44 AM	Weis & Hickman.... Damn them... Damn them to hell!! Couldn't stand their books, well at least the DL ones. Hated the setting too. Though I'm interested in reading the 'Death Gate' series, and from the reviews I've read they're meant to be a big improvement on the DL books. Loved their DL. :cool: OTOH, their DG were uninteresting. :bored:
Ranger REG 03-22-07, 03:48 AM	I am in the process of a writing a fantasy novel. To help me a bit, I have given the characters D&D stats.(Alignments, class levels,etc.) Also, the wizard's magic is very close to Vancian Casting. How do you think this would help, or impede, my writing of the book? If you have no agenda nor attachment to the characters if they die or injured during the course of the game -- however serious or silly -- and you're pretty good with words, it shouldn't be a problem. Then again, not many readers want a non-linear plot course in a story.
Raust92 03-29-07, 04:51 PM	I really wouldn't go as far as cursing weis and hickman. They themselves were inspired by D&D!
Edymnion 03-29-07, 08:27 PM	I mean describing them in a boring, unrealistic, drawn out fashion that reduces writing to poorly-imagined pseudo-cinematic pulp.What do you mean drawn out? Your standard D&D combat lasts about 30 seconds.
KismetRose 03-30-07, 02:11 AM	Heh, you don't even wanna see the Sorcerer I'm finishing up. :D Actually, I would, when you get done. :D