Campaign becomes a book? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Campaign becomes a book? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
MetalDrummer08
04-18-04, 04:49 AM has anyone ever thought of turning their campaign into a book? just curious becuase i've decided to do that, although im only 18, i thought it would be a nice challenge, and a cool way to reward my players for playing. Plus i think it would be cool from a player's perspective to read about their own exploits.
Sarta
04-18-04, 05:08 AM People have done this in the past. Typically one ends up with really bad fiction. Long laundry lists of exploits don't make for great reading.

However, should you narrow down and focus on one particular event that occurred during a campaign you may be able to write a truly engaging novel.

Good luck!

Sarta
Another Gnome
04-18-04, 05:41 AM Just be sure you know the legal issues (namely copyright) involved if you plan to publish the story anywhere.
JoyandSerenity
04-18-04, 12:11 PM I just a second ago read a post about this. One of the players, though, keeps the entire gaming session recorded in the first person. It looks excellent.

Here it is (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=222941)
Autosponge
04-18-04, 01:25 PM Drizzt was a D&D character in RAS's game before he was a novel. So yes, it's been done before. I suggest starting out small though (smaller than novel size) and work up to a novel. Especially if you are shooting for publication. Fine tune some samples first.
ZeroEffect
04-19-04, 12:17 PM The original Dragonlance Chronicles are based entirely on the authors' D&D campaign.

Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos novels are also based on his roleplaying campaign.
Faraer
04-19-04, 12:48 PM Of course, scores of Ed's characters in novels were developed in campaign play, and in 2006, 19 years after the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, we'll see many of the exploits of the (somewhat cosmogonic) Knights of Myth Drannor first-hand.

I disagree with Sarta's point above; picaresque is just as good a kind of writing as that focused on a particular, event, theme, etc.

The Dragonlance Chronicles were a module and novel series simultaneously, with playtesting of the modules feeding back significantly into both forms.
Sarta
04-19-04, 09:54 PM Originally posted by Faraer
I disagree with Sarta's point above; picaresque is just as good a kind of writing as that focused on a particular, event, theme, etc.

I was going based on his original question:

has anyone ever thought of turning their campaign into a book?

Unless this was a very short-lived campaign, the book would either be humungous or have a lot of events categorized as laundry lists of exploits.

ie:

....After dealing with the stone giants we discovered that the fire giants were responsible for these problems, so we headed back to town, re-equipped ourselves and headed to their lair. After killing 145 giants and looting their corpses and treasures, we discovered a secret tunnel that led deep into the underdark....

Sarta
KismetRose
04-21-04, 04:21 AM As with any piece of writing, a book based on a campaign would need careful editing. It is all too easy to chalk things up in a laundry-list style, especially if you don't weed through the events in question. It will not be possible to focus on every movement the players have made in an interesting fashion, so you'll have to pick the scenes with the most action and plot. It may help to focus on the main story plots and to rank the limitless subplots according to their importance and function. Stick to the main plot(s) and use the subplots to fill in details about the PCs or to fill other functions.

A campaign that has run a decent length of time will be a challenge to put into book form. Take it down to chapters and scenes if you have to (down to bite sized pieces in other words) to make it more manageable. If there is a campaign journal, keep that close at hand. You might also want to pump your players for their character's point of view about major events or NPCs.

I have actually been told by more than one of my players, at different times and independently of one another, that I should work our major campaign into a book or a module. While the suggestion surprised and definitely flattered me, I haven't really had the time to think on it. Perhaps one day I'll come back to this post and consider my own advice. ;)

Either way, good luck. Even if you create something that doesn't get published, you might just make something that's unforgettable to your players.
Faraer
04-21-04, 10:45 AM The differences between the mediums are very real, but at the same time I tend to think a campaign that wouldn't stand up in novelized (or short-storified) form (for someone not absolutely wedded to the conventions of modern commercial novels) wouldn't be interesting to play in either. KismetRose's advice to emphasize a few main plots, while right on in terms of getting published, is against Ed's preferred way of running the Realms (in RPG play or prose) where the multiplicity of subplots is emphasized.

Of course, the Knights of Myth Drannor novels won't relate everything that's happened in the 20 years of the campaign, and it'll be interesting to read more by Ed on the challenges of that project.
Gemstone
04-27-04, 09:07 AM Drizzt was a D&D character in RAS's game before he was a novel.

Actually no. R.A. stated in the Dark elf thriology that he had not run Drizzt in a game before writing the Icewind Dale thriology.
The_Declaration
04-27-04, 10:40 AM My group is not really writing a book, but at the end of each session, one of my players has to sum up the game and write a paper of about 2 or 3 pages. He usually writes it from the point of view of his character, even though some are more creative...

then I setup all that so that it looks nice ("old" font, background like in D&D web enhancements, maps, etc.) and put that in pdf.
Arravis
04-27-04, 11:08 AM Drizzt came up spontaneously during a phone conversation when TSR asked Salvatore to add in another character to support Wulfgar. I think they were asking for a ranger or somesuch and out of nowhere he suddenly spat out the basic concept of the good dark elf.
Gemstone
04-27-04, 03:46 PM Okay, no I will sound like a real Drizzt nerd and I may offend someone, but that is not my intention. According to the Dark elf thriology, R.A. had a meeting with his publisher and she told him that TSR wanted something more out of the book. R.A. then spit out: A drow ranger which only seconds later became Drizzt Do'Urden.
Sarta
04-27-04, 09:01 PM Actually no, he was at a pie-eating contest talking to a circus geek who had just managed to eat an entire serving of chili fries in a single mouthful.

He said, "I have to add another character to my book that the kiddies will really like. Dual-whip wielding good svirfneblin? No, not sexy enough. Dual-machete wielding good derro? No, still not sexy enough. I've got it! Dual-scimitar wielding good drow!"

With that, the circus geek performed the world's most disgusting spit take and history was made in both the fields of roleplaying fiction and physical comedy.

Sarta

p.s. This may not be what actually happened, but it should be.
Forsaken_Rocker
05-02-04, 01:17 AM aight every campaign ive done ive considered at least writing a concrete couple pages (an outline) of what really happend i have writen a short campaign into well a short story (82 pages) i thought it was really cool.
What you really need to think about is do you really have the patience to put 100+ hours into a book of considerable length. ill quote the salvatore god "writers don't do it for money, they go through all this work to get it published because they have to, because they have these ideas/stories clawing at them from the inside, needed to be seen" (or something along the lines of that) so if you really want to put this into a book, if you feel that you just have to write it, then go ahead, writing is a great way to be as creative as possible and express ideas
Oberon
05-03-04, 02:54 AM I'm attempting to write a book, and the Main character was inspired by someone else’s character in a campaign. The DM asked this gnome illusionist/priest how many spells he knew or could cast and it was some ridiculous number and I was like !!!! !!!! and my character was born out of that.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MetalDrummer08 04-18-04, 04:49 AM	has anyone ever thought of turning their campaign into a book? just curious becuase i've decided to do that, although im only 18, i thought it would be a nice challenge, and a cool way to reward my players for playing. Plus i think it would be cool from a player's perspective to read about their own exploits.
Sarta 04-18-04, 05:08 AM	People have done this in the past. Typically one ends up with really bad fiction. Long laundry lists of exploits don't make for great reading. However, should you narrow down and focus on one particular event that occurred during a campaign you may be able to write a truly engaging novel. Good luck! Sarta
Another Gnome 04-18-04, 05:41 AM	Just be sure you know the legal issues (namely copyright) involved if you plan to publish the story anywhere.
JoyandSerenity 04-18-04, 12:11 PM	I just a second ago read a post about this. One of the players, though, keeps the entire gaming session recorded in the first person. It looks excellent. Here it is (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=222941)
Autosponge 04-18-04, 01:25 PM	Drizzt was a D&D character in RAS's game before he was a novel. So yes, it's been done before. I suggest starting out small though (smaller than novel size) and work up to a novel. Especially if you are shooting for publication. Fine tune some samples first.
ZeroEffect 04-19-04, 12:17 PM	The original Dragonlance Chronicles are based entirely on the authors' D&D campaign. Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos novels are also based on his roleplaying campaign.
Faraer 04-19-04, 12:48 PM	Of course, scores of Ed's characters in novels were developed in campaign play, and in 2006, 19 years after the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, we'll see many of the exploits of the (somewhat cosmogonic) Knights of Myth Drannor first-hand. I disagree with Sarta's point above; picaresque is just as good a kind of writing as that focused on a particular, event, theme, etc. The Dragonlance Chronicles were a module and novel series simultaneously, with playtesting of the modules feeding back significantly into both forms.
Sarta 04-19-04, 09:54 PM	Originally posted by Faraer I disagree with Sarta's point above; picaresque is just as good a kind of writing as that focused on a particular, event, theme, etc. I was going based on his original question: has anyone ever thought of turning their campaign into a book? Unless this was a very short-lived campaign, the book would either be humungous or have a lot of events categorized as laundry lists of exploits. ie: ....After dealing with the stone giants we discovered that the fire giants were responsible for these problems, so we headed back to town, re-equipped ourselves and headed to their lair. After killing 145 giants and looting their corpses and treasures, we discovered a secret tunnel that led deep into the underdark.... Sarta
KismetRose 04-21-04, 04:21 AM	As with any piece of writing, a book based on a campaign would need careful editing. It is all too easy to chalk things up in a laundry-list style, especially if you don't weed through the events in question. It will not be possible to focus on every movement the players have made in an interesting fashion, so you'll have to pick the scenes with the most action and plot. It may help to focus on the main story plots and to rank the limitless subplots according to their importance and function. Stick to the main plot(s) and use the subplots to fill in details about the PCs or to fill other functions. A campaign that has run a decent length of time will be a challenge to put into book form. Take it down to chapters and scenes if you have to (down to bite sized pieces in other words) to make it more manageable. If there is a campaign journal, keep that close at hand. You might also want to pump your players for their character's point of view about major events or NPCs. I have actually been told by more than one of my players, at different times and independently of one another, that I should work our major campaign into a book or a module. While the suggestion surprised and definitely flattered me, I haven't really had the time to think on it. Perhaps one day I'll come back to this post and consider my own advice. ;) Either way, good luck. Even if you create something that doesn't get published, you might just make something that's unforgettable to your players.
Faraer 04-21-04, 10:45 AM	The differences between the mediums are very real, but at the same time I tend to think a campaign that wouldn't stand up in novelized (or short-storified) form (for someone not absolutely wedded to the conventions of modern commercial novels) wouldn't be interesting to play in either. KismetRose's advice to emphasize a few main plots, while right on in terms of getting published, is against Ed's preferred way of running the Realms (in RPG play or prose) where the multiplicity of subplots is emphasized. Of course, the Knights of Myth Drannor novels won't relate everything that's happened in the 20 years of the campaign, and it'll be interesting to read more by Ed on the challenges of that project.
Gemstone 04-27-04, 09:07 AM	Drizzt was a D&D character in RAS's game before he was a novel. Actually no. R.A. stated in the Dark elf thriology that he had not run Drizzt in a game before writing the Icewind Dale thriology.
The_Declaration 04-27-04, 10:40 AM	My group is not really writing a book, but at the end of each session, one of my players has to sum up the game and write a paper of about 2 or 3 pages. He usually writes it from the point of view of his character, even though some are more creative... then I setup all that so that it looks nice ("old" font, background like in D&D web enhancements, maps, etc.) and put that in pdf.
Arravis 04-27-04, 11:08 AM	Drizzt came up spontaneously during a phone conversation when TSR asked Salvatore to add in another character to support Wulfgar. I think they were asking for a ranger or somesuch and out of nowhere he suddenly spat out the basic concept of the good dark elf.
Gemstone 04-27-04, 03:46 PM	Okay, no I will sound like a real Drizzt nerd and I may offend someone, but that is not my intention. According to the Dark elf thriology, R.A. had a meeting with his publisher and she told him that TSR wanted something more out of the book. R.A. then spit out: A drow ranger which only seconds later became Drizzt Do'Urden.
Sarta 04-27-04, 09:01 PM	Actually no, he was at a pie-eating contest talking to a circus geek who had just managed to eat an entire serving of chili fries in a single mouthful. He said, "I have to add another character to my book that the kiddies will really like. Dual-whip wielding good svirfneblin? No, not sexy enough. Dual-machete wielding good derro? No, still not sexy enough. I've got it! Dual-scimitar wielding good drow!" With that, the circus geek performed the world's most disgusting spit take and history was made in both the fields of roleplaying fiction and physical comedy. Sarta p.s. This may not be what actually happened, but it should be.
Forsaken_Rocker 05-02-04, 01:17 AM	aight every campaign ive done ive considered at least writing a concrete couple pages (an outline) of what really happend i have writen a short campaign into well a short story (82 pages) i thought it was really cool. What you really need to think about is do you really have the patience to put 100+ hours into a book of considerable length. ill quote the salvatore god "writers don't do it for money, they go through all this work to get it published because they have to, because they have these ideas/stories clawing at them from the inside, needed to be seen" (or something along the lines of that) so if you really want to put this into a book, if you feel that you just have to write it, then go ahead, writing is a great way to be as creative as possible and express ideas
Oberon 05-03-04, 02:54 AM	I'm attempting to write a book, and the Main character was inspired by someone else’s character in a campaign. The DM asked this gnome illusionist/priest how many spells he knew or could cast and it was some ridiculous number and I was like !!!! !!!! and my character was born out of that.