From the article archive
Writing Practice, Nov 14th 2001
News: This damn cold has put work on Ki on hold. When you're sleeping most of the time it's kind of hold to do anything constructive. But work shall get down, fear you not.
Essay: Today I'll be taking look at the role of story in RPGs. Not at RPGs as story, but stories in the games setting. What sort of stories are told by the people of your campaign setting?
Going back to the Writing Practice of yesterday (Nov. 13th, 2001) I wrote of an article in the Oct. 2001 Scientific American which talked about a possible habitable zone in our galaxy, and of the possible effects on galactic civilization. In today's essay I present this question; what sort of stories would such a civilization have about the core and the rim?
What tales would they tell? Would there be stories of hidden civilizations? A pirate base orbiting some dim, cold red dwarf out on the edge of the galaxy? A highly advanced culture existing in a realm where great blue-white stars spin about a common center of gravity just 10 AU (Astronomical Units, the distance from the Earth to the Sun) apart?
Better believe it.
Man is a story telling creature. He lives for story. Look at all the stories we hear everyday. Tidbits about the neighbors, doings overseas. Every TV show you watch, every song you hear, every book you read is a story, and possibly more than one. This essay is a story. We are a bunch of curious critters who have to know what's going on, and one way we have of learning is by sharing stories.
Every human society that we know of has used story for many things, to educate and entertain. Story is used to impart moral truths, instruct the young, and explain how the world works. Even the most rigorous scientific theory is a story, based upon what we know, the facts we have about a phenomenon. An attempt to explain what's going on based on the best information we currently have.
So, what roles do stories play in your campaign setting? What myths and legends are there? What folk-tales are told in the early evening before the peasants head off to bed? What's the favorite subject of gossip among the chattering classes? What sort of news do people ask for when tinkerers, merchants, or troubadors come to town? What sort of tales do people tell?
Heck, asking your players to write a few stories about their PCs, about the peoples those PCs come from could help to flesh out your campaign. What legends do halflings tell around the supper table? What boasts are shared at a dwarven mead hall? If worst comes to worst you could always use elements of a story in an adventure.
In a comment on my intro essay a reader complained there wasn't enough about Ki to get a handle on it. A fair assesment I must admit. So here I present a tidbit on Ki, and on the campaign setting itself. The Wolf Folk Sea.
The Wolf Folk Sea is named after the people who originally settled the area in days long passed. At one time they had a great empire. An empire of werewolves. Over the course of time the empire declined and eventually fell. New races moved into the area, and came to dominate the region. Today the Wolf Folk are without a country, wanderers roving the lands doing odd jobs, a bit of tinkering, and getting accused of all sorts of minor crimes. According to the Wolf Folk themselves they have no land of their own, their homes are their wagons and caravans. But, among the other peoples of the lands the Wolf Folk dwell within they do have a home. A great city where the secrets of the old Wolf Folk empire are kept safe. A place where old Wolf Folk go to die, and where Wolf Folk wizards and priests do arcane research and seek the secrets of the ages. Great treasures of gold, gems, magic, and learning rest in great vaults in the legendary Wolf Folk city, waiting for the brave souls who can win their way there and overcome the obstacles set to stymie such attempts.
Where is this great city? Always somewhere else. In the cities south of the Wolf Folk Sea it's hidden in the mountains that border the decadent cities of the north. In the cities that border the northern shores of the Wolf Folk sea it lies in the dark, dismal jungles that hem in the corrupt cities of the south.
On the other hand, the Orcs of the Unicorn Tribes, who dwell upon the Dancing Wyvern Plains, have decided to take the Wolf Folk at their word and tell stories about the gullible peoples of the Wolf Folk Sea.
There you have a small example of the stories told on the world of Ki. What kind of stories are told in your campaign?
Final Note: So we come to the end of this exercise in exposition. I'm off to get more sleep and concoct another tale to regale you with. What will it be about? Good question. Check in tomorrow (later today?) to see. I'll try to get the next Writing Practice in before 8:00 am tomorrow, but don't bet the farm on it. Till then.
Alan
Essay: Today I'll be taking look at the role of story in RPGs. Not at RPGs as story, but stories in the games setting. What sort of stories are told by the people of your campaign setting?
Going back to the Writing Practice of yesterday (Nov. 13th, 2001) I wrote of an article in the Oct. 2001 Scientific American which talked about a possible habitable zone in our galaxy, and of the possible effects on galactic civilization. In today's essay I present this question; what sort of stories would such a civilization have about the core and the rim?
What tales would they tell? Would there be stories of hidden civilizations? A pirate base orbiting some dim, cold red dwarf out on the edge of the galaxy? A highly advanced culture existing in a realm where great blue-white stars spin about a common center of gravity just 10 AU (Astronomical Units, the distance from the Earth to the Sun) apart?
Better believe it.
Man is a story telling creature. He lives for story. Look at all the stories we hear everyday. Tidbits about the neighbors, doings overseas. Every TV show you watch, every song you hear, every book you read is a story, and possibly more than one. This essay is a story. We are a bunch of curious critters who have to know what's going on, and one way we have of learning is by sharing stories.
Every human society that we know of has used story for many things, to educate and entertain. Story is used to impart moral truths, instruct the young, and explain how the world works. Even the most rigorous scientific theory is a story, based upon what we know, the facts we have about a phenomenon. An attempt to explain what's going on based on the best information we currently have.
So, what roles do stories play in your campaign setting? What myths and legends are there? What folk-tales are told in the early evening before the peasants head off to bed? What's the favorite subject of gossip among the chattering classes? What sort of news do people ask for when tinkerers, merchants, or troubadors come to town? What sort of tales do people tell?
Heck, asking your players to write a few stories about their PCs, about the peoples those PCs come from could help to flesh out your campaign. What legends do halflings tell around the supper table? What boasts are shared at a dwarven mead hall? If worst comes to worst you could always use elements of a story in an adventure.
In a comment on my intro essay a reader complained there wasn't enough about Ki to get a handle on it. A fair assesment I must admit. So here I present a tidbit on Ki, and on the campaign setting itself. The Wolf Folk Sea.
The Wolf Folk Sea is named after the people who originally settled the area in days long passed. At one time they had a great empire. An empire of werewolves. Over the course of time the empire declined and eventually fell. New races moved into the area, and came to dominate the region. Today the Wolf Folk are without a country, wanderers roving the lands doing odd jobs, a bit of tinkering, and getting accused of all sorts of minor crimes. According to the Wolf Folk themselves they have no land of their own, their homes are their wagons and caravans. But, among the other peoples of the lands the Wolf Folk dwell within they do have a home. A great city where the secrets of the old Wolf Folk empire are kept safe. A place where old Wolf Folk go to die, and where Wolf Folk wizards and priests do arcane research and seek the secrets of the ages. Great treasures of gold, gems, magic, and learning rest in great vaults in the legendary Wolf Folk city, waiting for the brave souls who can win their way there and overcome the obstacles set to stymie such attempts.
Where is this great city? Always somewhere else. In the cities south of the Wolf Folk Sea it's hidden in the mountains that border the decadent cities of the north. In the cities that border the northern shores of the Wolf Folk sea it lies in the dark, dismal jungles that hem in the corrupt cities of the south.
On the other hand, the Orcs of the Unicorn Tribes, who dwell upon the Dancing Wyvern Plains, have decided to take the Wolf Folk at their word and tell stories about the gullible peoples of the Wolf Folk Sea.
There you have a small example of the stories told on the world of Ki. What kind of stories are told in your campaign?
Final Note: So we come to the end of this exercise in exposition. I'm off to get more sleep and concoct another tale to regale you with. What will it be about? Good question. Check in tomorrow (later today?) to see. I'll try to get the next Writing Practice in before 8:00 am tomorrow, but don't bet the farm on it. Till then.
Alan
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