Is RPGing a *literary* endeavour?

uzirath said:

I always focus on that as job #1 for the GM. But I don't know that I provide much specific advice on how to actually do that beyond the basics ( ... avoid TPK ... ).

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Hussar said:

Are you seriously saying that "Hey that looks like the critter from Men in Black" is an in character speech? That your NPC's would "get" the joke and react to it as a joke rather than as the complete gibberish it is from their point of view?

Ok. Now, since you keep insisting on "lots of people" to support your argument, would you argue that completely anachronistic comments being taken as in character role play is commonly accepted? That your DM/GM, upon hearing you state something 100% outside of genre and the game, would automatically assume that you made these comments in character?

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You have a really weird table if so.

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pemerton said:

/snip

I don't think boardgames have protagonism. They just have players.

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Bedrockgames said:

There is definitely slight of hand going on here. And I am not 100% sure where it resides. You are asserting that reducing the dullness, improves quality and therefore improves the literary quality, therefore GMing relies on higher literary quality if you don't want dullness. Something to that effect. The problem is Quality (B) and Literary Quality (C) are not the same thing. This feels like it is operating in the same realm as your argument that all conversations are literary (because literature can contain conversations). Just because literary efforts can be concerned with quality, that doesn't make any improvement of quality literary. It is getting to a pretty dizzying point, but I think there are serious flaws in these arguments.

Either way, rhetoric aside. I don't need to be concerned about narrative techniques, taking inspiration from boxed text or speaking in a way that is prose-style description to not be boring. If I slap you in the face during a conversation, that isn't boring, but it also isn't particularly literary (nor does it add to the literary quality of our discussion).

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Hussar said:

REH is "literary"? Seriously? A minor genre author who wasn't good enough to actually publish a novel and is virtually unheard of outside of genre circles is "literary"? CONAN qualifies as literature?

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literary=high art stuff like Shakespeare or whatnot. Which, fair enough, if that's our definition, certainly RPGing is not a literary endeavour.

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Lanefan said:

Side question: since when exactly is it the GM's job to avoid TPK?

Avoiding TPK is the players' job. It's the GM's job to ensure that every now and then the players have to do this job.

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hawkeyefan said:

What makes evocative language so important to the game? What does it add? When compared to interesting situations, how is it more important?

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hawkeyefan said:

Okay....let’s continue with our one eyed brother killer example. The player made a character whose goal is to find his brother’s killer, the one eyed man.

GM 1 gives that player this bit of narration:
“The Great Northern road has been little more than a muddy trail for the past two days. The rain’s been incessant, varying only between total downpour and deluge. Finally, as night begins to take hold, you see firelight in the distance. You head towards it and are relieved to find it’s an inn and tavern. There’s a sign swinging wildly above the door, it reads ‘The Whispering Eye Inn’.

“You make your way inside. A small bell rings when you open the door. The small common room is packed with travelers seeking shelter. They look up at you with uninterested expressions, before turning back to their drinks. You remove your sodden cloaks, hanging them on a row of pegs along the wall beside the door. Immediately, the warmth from the large fireplace across the room hits you. You’d nearly forgotten what warmth was.

“The tables are all full, so you make your way to the only available seats, a pair of stools by the bar. As you cross the room, a redheaded serving girl emerges from the kitchen with a tray full of bowls, and a delicious smell wafts your way. From behind the bar, a bald man of middling years and a red beard smiles at you and gestures toward the stools. ‘Come in and warm yourselves, friends. What you smelled is my old marm’s beef and apple stew. I’ll have Tansy fetch you each a bowl. It’ll warm your bones.’ He looks at each of you, his eyes taking note of your gear, but he does not react in any way. He nods as you sit and then asks ‘Wine or ale, friends?’

“Soon enough you’ve a drink in hand and a bowl of stew before you, and you think your clothes may actually be less wet than they were. The bell rings, and heads turn to see who’s entering. The tall man removes his wide brimmed hat, revealing long dark hair. He shakes the rain from his hat with a look of contempt. He then eyes the wall pegs reluctantly before finally hanging his hat and cloak on one of the hooks. He moves with an economy of motion that you recognize as that of a fighting man, and indeed, a finely crafted sword hangs at his hip. One hand comes to rest on the pommel as his gaze sweeps across the room. Again, his lip curls dismissively. Wiping rain from his face, he makes his way into the room. You feel like perhaps you know this man, but you can’t say why.“


Now, GM 2 gives that player this bit of narration:
“You’re all seated at the bar of the Whispering Eye Tavern. It’s raining heavily outside. The common room is a bit crowded with folks taking shelter from the rain. The front door swings open, and in walks a man. He’s wearing an eyepatch.”


Which of these do you think will engage the player more?

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Hussar said:

Yup. And an RPG without performance or any sort of eye towards literary notions like pacing, character development, tone, etc, is a board game.

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Hussar said:

Really, you are not concerned about narrative techniques? At all? So, when you create a situation, things like tone, pacing, mood, character development, exposition, and a host of other things are not a concern at all? You create adventures like that random dungeon I posted a few pages back and you're good to go?
.

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Yeah, didn't think so.

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