Fantasy gaming versus fantasy literature [Archive] - Wizards Community

Fantasy gaming versus fantasy literature [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
pyroguy6922
03-15-07, 04:25 PM Hey guys!

I have a problem, and I need your help. My D&D group has been playing since about 1999, and we've changed campaigns more times than I care to count. Recently we've started a "back-to-basics" campaigin (start at first level, slowly gaining experince and reputation and all that good stuff), and my group has brought an intriguing point up to me: the campaigns we've played and the fantasy literature we know and love dont quite mesh. Our group enjoys reading such fatasy literature staples such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, but no matter how we tried, we could never "capture the essence" of fantasy literature. And here is where we are stumped. We know that something needs to be changed, added, or removed (and probably some odd combination of all three), but we cannot figure out what.

So I beseech your aid: what can we do to make our games more like fantasy literature???
HomebrewedMonster
03-15-07, 07:05 PM The party can't be adventurers, they have to be heroes.
Rny2
03-17-07, 05:19 PM The DM must have more power and be willing to fudge for the sake of the story.
Mak
03-18-07, 11:45 PM Less magic, and more story.
Kensan_Oni
03-21-07, 04:13 AM I don't know. Maybe it's you're fantasy lit. that you are looking at. I know that my games can capture the feelings of Elric, Yojimbo, Myth Adventures, Conan, Lynkrahmar, and others. Part of it has to do with party compostion, and part of it has to do with not all stories being the same.

For instance, if you put Orson Scott Card's Hart's Hope next to Zelany's Heart of Amber series, you could have a very hard time finding common elements in either of them, although both are classified as fantasies.

D&D emulates pulp fantasy descently enough. What it does not handle very well is Epic fantasy. It doesn't do Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Xanth, or Wheel of Time very well.
Redbeerd13
03-22-07, 10:14 PM If you truly want to emulate epic fantasy, you need to make the story the most important part. In order to do that, you need to be able to adapt the storyline to the characters as the campaign continues. There must be a great villain, with many layers of lesser villains to be defeated before you get to him/her/it. The characters have to be the center of the story, but there have to be lots of other things going on behind the scenes that the characters don't know about. You have to have something that will motivate the players to actually pursue the goal you want them to, despite distractions and personal wants. You also have to lead into the main story slowly, but it has to all be related. Even if you start characters out at higher levels, you can still accomplish this goal. You just get to throw more interesting foes at them right from the beginning. Remember, setting the stage correctly can be just as important as the actors in the play. Have well-developed NPC's, but don't be afraid to create one on the spot. Some of my favorite NPC's I've used as a DM were created on the spur of the moment. I have also made extensive use of former characters, mine and those played by other people. Other than that, just make sure the players are all willing to play their characters as people, not just numbers, items and statistics.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pyroguy6922 03-15-07, 04:25 PM	Hey guys! I have a problem, and I need your help. My D&D group has been playing since about 1999, and we've changed campaigns more times than I care to count. Recently we've started a "back-to-basics" campaigin (start at first level, slowly gaining experince and reputation and all that good stuff), and my group has brought an intriguing point up to me: the campaigns we've played and the fantasy literature we know and love dont quite mesh. Our group enjoys reading such fatasy literature staples such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, but no matter how we tried, we could never "capture the essence" of fantasy literature. And here is where we are stumped. We know that something needs to be changed, added, or removed (and probably some odd combination of all three), but we cannot figure out what. So I beseech your aid: what can we do to make our games more like fantasy literature???
HomebrewedMonster 03-15-07, 07:05 PM	The party can't be adventurers, they have to be heroes.
Rny2 03-17-07, 05:19 PM	The DM must have more power and be willing to fudge for the sake of the story.
Mak 03-18-07, 11:45 PM	Less magic, and more story.
Kensan_Oni 03-21-07, 04:13 AM	I don't know. Maybe it's you're fantasy lit. that you are looking at. I know that my games can capture the feelings of Elric, Yojimbo, Myth Adventures, Conan, Lynkrahmar, and others. Part of it has to do with party compostion, and part of it has to do with not all stories being the same. For instance, if you put Orson Scott Card's Hart's Hope next to Zelany's Heart of Amber series, you could have a very hard time finding common elements in either of them, although both are classified as fantasies. D&D emulates pulp fantasy descently enough. What it does not handle very well is Epic fantasy. It doesn't do Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Xanth, or Wheel of Time very well.
Redbeerd13 03-22-07, 10:14 PM	If you truly want to emulate epic fantasy, you need to make the story the most important part. In order to do that, you need to be able to adapt the storyline to the characters as the campaign continues. There must be a great villain, with many layers of lesser villains to be defeated before you get to him/her/it. The characters have to be the center of the story, but there have to be lots of other things going on behind the scenes that the characters don't know about. You have to have something that will motivate the players to actually pursue the goal you want them to, despite distractions and personal wants. You also have to lead into the main story slowly, but it has to all be related. Even if you start characters out at higher levels, you can still accomplish this goal. You just get to throw more interesting foes at them right from the beginning. Remember, setting the stage correctly can be just as important as the actors in the play. Have well-developed NPC's, but don't be afraid to create one on the spot. Some of my favorite NPC's I've used as a DM were created on the spur of the moment. I have also made extensive use of former characters, mine and those played by other people. Other than that, just make sure the players are all willing to play their characters as people, not just numbers, items and statistics.