A New Year, A New Topic

I was recently asked if I was going to continue writing on this blog. “Of course,” I said. “Why wouldn't I?”

“Oh,” replied my sister, “because you haven't updated in a long time. I was wondering if you'd just abandoned it.”

“But I'm not writing anything,” I said, “except maybe adventures for our roleplaying games.”

“Why don't you just write about those?” she asked. It was a good question. Why don't I?

It's not like my content would change much. Devout readers will remember that I like writing about sci-fi and fantasy. It's not a surprise to hear that all of my gaming sessions are based in similar universes (that is, either fantasy or zombie mayhem, which is kinda sci-fi-ish). I've written two (crappy) novels that were set in a comfortable place between the two genres, but I hesitate to call it Science-Fantasy because another guy has basically defined that genre as something else altogether.

This is more my speed; bizarre.

But where should I start with a blog about roleplaying? There are already several blogs devoted to the mechanics of RPGs, and other still devoted to nothing but adventure creation. I don't really want a blow-by-blow account of a night's events, as I typically find those uninteresting. Because this blog is supposed to be my way of helping random strangers overcome writing hurdles, I think it'd be best if I covered the things I do from the perspective of an aspiring writer. Hopefully this will broaden the appeal of such a blog, ensuring that it can be read by people who might not care much about this kind of entertainment, but also by those who do.

Topic 1: What the eff is a roleplaying game?

Around December of 2010 I was regularly meeting with some friends from math. You can read the account for yourself in more detail. Long story short, I wound up trying to create and run a system of my design (read: poorly conceived) and play a rudimentary adventure with my friends. Well, most of those math friends only lasted as long as the class itself, so at the end of the semester I found myself writing stories for some new players, most of whom were directly related to me.

A few months and one systems change later, I found myself slightly more experienced with this kind of game. I had played board games in the past but I had never been a huge fan (note: this opinion has changed significantly since July 2011, but that's a topic for another blog).

To say that a roleplaying game is like a board game is to do them both injustice. Board games have very clear-cut rules and goals, and typically one player wins. They're made to appeal to a fairly broad audience; they're play-tested rigorously before production, which itself can be expensive. Roleplaying games are typically based around a system of rules, which can vary wildly depending on preference. They're written by one or more people, they're also play-tested, but these games are mostly distributed as a book of rules. There are no boards to print, no cards to make, no wooden chips or bits to include in a box. Some people are baffled by RPGs for this reason; if a board game comes in a box, then how can a roleplaying game come in a book?

Almost every game here is terrible.

So what exactly is a "system?"

Similar to how there are many different makes and models of automobile in the world, there are numerous roleplaying game systems. If I drive a Chevrolet and you drive a Toyota, we're both driving places but we're getting there with a different style. The feel of the cars might be different; the shape of the seats and the layout of the air conditioning controls might vary, but ultimately we're both driving cars. 

To continue the analogy, imagine that while you're driving your Toyota, I'm actually driving a completely different kind of vehicle. For instance, a train or airplane. Hopefully now you can start to understand the difference between the Dungeons and Dragons system and something more obscure. For instance, Savage Worlds .

The reason the game comes in a book instead of a box is because most of the game is about imagination. But how is that any fun? Some people think the idea of playing with their imagination is childish and stupid. Perhaps it is, but only as long as they're imagining childish and stupid things. The word imagination (like many other words) has suffered from Disneyfication; when people hear the word "imagination" they hear it in either a mysterious Sleeping Beauty Narrator kind of voice, or Ms. Frizzle shouting "use your imagination, kids!"

Ugh.

The first thing a you need to realize is that imagination can be a very dark and powerful thing. If you've ever read a book then you were subject to some degree of imagination both on the part of the author and from your own mind. Whether your were reading the driest and most boring narration of 15th century European history or the most exciting moments of the Lord of the Rings. Imagination is a part of your life whether you know it or not: If someone asks you what you're thinking of having for dinner, you'll probably look forward into the future with your imagination to see what you might eat. "What sounds good?" really means "what do you imagine yourself eating tonight?"

I googled "imagination"

Imagination isn't complete fabrication, either. When you're thinking, you're really pulling on every experience, conversation and memory in your life, usually with the most recent stuff floating to the surface.

With this in mind, I present you with the most simple explanation of why the heck anyone would waste their time playing a game like this. Essentially the game is one long string of hypothetical scenarios. If I said to you, "imagine that right now, while you're sitting in front of your computer, you look up and see a strange person standing in your doorway. The person is holding a knife and looks murderous.

What would you do?"

I'm not even sure they're playing a game. Looks like a really
terrible family reunion in the heart of the 90's.

Of course not every scenario is so dire, but these kind of scenarios are used frequently, even in things like employee training. This is nothing new to most people. So why is there such a jump in perception when I call something a hypothetical scenario versus when I call something a roleplaying game? A negative stigma brought on by horror stories of kids who killed themselves after playing D&D? The fact that the players of these kinds of games are typically really dorky? 

The fact is that tabletop RPGs are still fairly unpopular in the eyes of the mainstream, played only by an obscure underground of people. It's not all number crunching and funny voices; it's one writer creating a space for players to answer questions to hypothetical scenarios. It's this writing aspect that interests me the most.

Writing Medieval Fantasy

Most fantasy stories take place in medieval times. Usually these medieval times seem almost exactly like current time, complete with whiny teenagers and indoor plumbing. Many writers don't know much about this particular era in time. As I have done before (and will do again), here's a list of things I know off the top of my head, followed by a list of things I don't know about the Middle Ages.

The Black Plague happen around then. Lots of people died. There were these super-cool priests who wore these terrifying bird-masks.

There were knights, queens, princesses, dukes, duchesses, peasants, and landlords. The caste system was very important but awful for the people at the bottom.

The food was awful if you were a peasant, and slightly less awful if you were a King.

Peasants never married princesses (unless you're talking about China, but we're focusing on a more European setting.)

Horses were ridden everywhere, and they require quite a bit of work to take care of.

(Sidebar: As of 2010, many, many people hold to romanticized (or Disneyized) notions of what it is or is not like to have a horse. I have talked to at least one girl who was convinced that owning a horse was an almost mythical experience. Having been around horses quite a lot myself, I was able to say with confidence that owning a horse is like owning a really large, quite expensive dog. Having never been around horses, she disagreed.)

Lots of people starved to death. This was not an isolated thing, either. Ever heard of the Irish Potato Famine? Well, it's not really in medieval times, but it's a famine. So there.

Tapestries hung in castles were to keep the warmth in and the echoes and breezes down. Plus they looked pretty.

Suits of armor weight a ton.

Here be dragons.

What many people fail to grasp when writing in this setting are things like:

How does a monarchy actually work?

What is the purpose of a King holding court every day?

What is a count and how does one attain such a title? What is his purpose?

Does everyone really talk like in Romeo and Juliet?

Now, I'm not trying to make your exciting medieval story into a boring research paper. I'm just pointing out that usually the world behind the story is pretty thin. You don't need to go and research all of the questions that I brought up, but it wouldn't hurt to know some of them. And even still, you probably don't need to know it unless your plot centers around political intrigue.

If you want a really excellent example of a modern book written about medieval times, read Michael Crichton's Timeline. Seeing the movie doesn't count. I learned more from Crichton's heavily, heavily-researched Lords-and-Ladies book than a dozen textbooks on the subject (mostly because his book actually held my interest.)

But I've gotten ahead of myself. There are several pitfalls you want to avoid (or purposely enter, if you're snarky) when writing in this setting.

The Princess Bride. No, I'm not talking about the cult movie, I'm referring to the fact that in most of the (bad) stories I've read, the hero always gets the girl, who is also a princess. Or a princess in disguise. Or a lower-ranking member of the court who happens to be the true heir to the throne which she inherits at the end of the story. Or she's a peasant who (guess what!) somehow becomes queen. You see where I'm going with this. If I were writing the story, I'd steer very clear of this ever-so-overused trope. In fact, if there were a princess, she wouldn't even be a character in the story. If she were, she'd get killed because we'd hate her. No, better yet, just cut her out completely. What is the lesson here, anyway? Are men only supposed to be attracted to women who hold governmental power over them? Is this some kind of feminism kick that's been around since before feminism? I dunno.

Though the Chrestomanci and Howl's Moving Castle books did a great job of using this trope in an interesting way.

The Mysterious Hermit. Lots of stories have these, and not just fantasy ones. Even Star Wars had Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi. You know the character: He doesn't really seem very helpful, but he gives character advice to the hero that later comes in handy. He doesn't even have to be loveable; pretty much he can be Doctor House when it comes to a personality, but the main characters still hang around him more than they should.

You know what, I just realized that this advice is really not limited to fantasy stories. The same kinds of themes can be seen in everything from sci-fi to romance novels. In fact, there are probably sci-fi-romance novels that use all of these things.

Though when people write about medieval times, they usually include magic, something that probably wasn't used at the time. There are many things to avoid in this kind of medieval magic-tale as well.

Pretty much writers using magic have a convenient catch-all that can do everything that they can't. This can take the form of the amazing bag of holding from the final Harry Potter book, or something more needlessly complicated like nearly any kind of magic from Discworld. Some authors realize how ridiculous some magic is and make an effort to mock it.

I prefer magic to be something a little more difficult to achieve; that is, more like a simple algebra problem in that it takes some time to work out, but it's not as easy as breathing.

“I flicked my hand an teleported across the world,” is less interesting than something with a little more challenge and danger. I think I'll save the Difficult Magic discussion for Friday's blog.

Then again, your story could be more like the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; there's not really any interaction with people outside of them asking for help, being murdered by vampires or getting crushed to death by watermelons.

If there is a moral to this story, it's that you should read at least one good medieval fantasy book before jumping in and writing one. The cliches that I've listed aren't necessarily bad things, even; I'm sure any savvy reader will be able to find at least two or three books that feature one (or all) them. They're not really the kind of stuff that kills a story, but if you think of them like adjectives, they can create bad habits that encourage bad writing. Almost like how urine attracts bacteria.

That's right: Cliches are like urine. That's a good sentiment to finish the blog on.