Spotlight on Chris Field, RPG writer

A little while ago, I picked up Free20: The Troublemaker Template, a short but FREE d20 product by Chris Field. The template is one that basically codifies a character archetype - that of the plucky young female sidekick, insecure but out to prove herself, even if it's not always a good idea.

As I was reading through it, I couldn't help but grin as I read the writing, particularly regarding what sort of character has this template. I own quite a few products by Chris Field, and I have to say, this is a guy who has his own style and doesn't hesitate to put it into his writing. That's something I admire, and I think deserves respect, because it's not something you see everywhere else.

I think the crux of what makes Chris's work different from the vast arena of what's out there for d20/OGL games is that he doesn't duck themes of sexuality in his products. This is more important than it might sound at first, simply because most RPG writers self-censor in regards to sex as a matter of course; I doubt they even realize that they do it anymore. Sure, there'll be a mild description that a female NPC is attractive, and they might order some cheesecake artwork, but that'll be it. Chris, in contrast, treats sexuality as just another topic, no more or less deserving of attention than anything else.

Take the Troublemaker, for example. He's clearly identified the character type that this template is meant to exemplify - that of the young, insecure teenage sidekick who isn't sure of herself, and often overcompensates for her insecurities. Most people would just focus on the personality and combat style of such a character, and leave it at that. Not Chris, though. He's not afraid to point out that "...a youthful, jailbait sexiness is part and parcel..." of this kind of character, which is true; most people, however, would be afraid of pointing that out. The sheer level of honesty Chris brings to his products in this aspect is, I think, very refreshing.

Now, I'm not saying Chris is the next Monte Cook, in regards to his writing. In fact, his style is rather unpolished in a lot of regards. It's not unusual to find typos or grammar errors in his work, his stat blocks usually need a bit of errata, and whenever he makes a new class or prestige class he has a damning tendency to list the class powers alphabetically, rather than in the order they're gained. In fact, the commonality for all of these is the biggest problem of all - at no point does a skillful editor seem to look over Chris's work after he's written it. It seems to go straight from his hands to the publisher, which is always a recipe for letting errors in. Though, to be fair, that's as much the fault of his publishers as it is his.

Despite that, I continue to enjoy the work that Chris puts out. Not only is he still making new material for the d20 market (which is a minor miracle in and of itself, these days), but I appreciate that he isn't ducking the less-accepted issues in what he writes. Sexuality is intrinsic to people, and that's just as true for characters in a game setting as it is in real life; it's not the largest part of a character, nor does it dominate who they are - it's just there, along with everything else. It's nice to see someone recognize that, rather then feel embarrassed by it.

Write on, Chris!