Do you like stats with your fiction?

[hong]

Story Hour: Yes. A thousand times yes.

Fiction: No.

Cheers, -- N

A story hour isn't fiction?

, -- H

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

If you are going to write fiction that is supposed to be tied to an RPG, then I think you should do your best to follow the rules as much as possible. It should be approached like writing a sonnet.

I certainly have no problem with the occasional step outside the rules. Any good RPG campaign ends up doing that at some point, IMHO. A good sonnet writer can break the rules slightly to great effect. But if the rules are completely ignored, calling it a sonnet only distracts from whatever value the poem might've had. If you don't want to bother to make an effort to stay within the rules most of the time, then don't claim any connection to the game.

The sonnet analogy is a good one. Although, I like to think it's more like a sestina or a villanelle; there's a definite structure to follow, but the poet has a bit more leeway with the meter.

BD

 

[pawsplay]

If I say a character is a 10th-level sorcerer, but then later in the story, I want said character to cast a 6th-level spell, I have a problem.

Your problem is a lack of a working outline. "Magic works however it fits the plot" is generally not an approach I would ever recommend. Even in the absence of roleplaying stats, it should be possible to "stat" characters. Just as an example, I know Nightwing has a higher acrobatic ability than Batman, whereas Batman is a better martial artist (and Lady Shiva is better than him). If I screw with that as a comic book writer, I create bad continuity.

If I do that as a novel writer, I end up with, "Why didn't he just cast wall of ice in chapter three of the first book?" Or, "Why didn't ET just fly a bike back to his spaceship in the first place?"

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Your problem is a lack of a working outline. "Magic works however it fits the plot" is generally not an approach I would ever recommend. Even in the absence of roleplaying stats, it should be possible to "stat" characters. Just as an example, I know Nightwing has a higher acrobatic ability than Batman, whereas Batman is a better martial artist (and Lady Shiva is better than him). If I screw with that as a comic book writer, I create bad continuity.

If I do that as a novel writer, I end up with, "Why didn't he just cast wall of ice in chapter three of the first book?" Or, "Why didn't ET just fly a bike back to his spaceship in the first place?"

I do use a rough outline, but I also like the story to develop organically in some sense. My outline consists of what I generally want to happen in a chapter, but it doesn't cover the blow-by-blow parts of combat, where stat issues are more likely to occur.

Bu as I said, I'm managing with the stat okay. It's still a challenge sometimes, but it forces me to be creative, as I often find myself designing new abilities for characters from whole cloth.

BD

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

I vote option 4: If it's good fiction, the characters don't need stats to reel in readers.

 

[Jhaelen]

Well, I read a lot of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels and I have to say that I like stats for the characters, but I think that the novels shoul remain separate from the game.

IIRC, the Dragonlance novels were written after playing those characters in a D&D campaign. So the character stats were known before the novels were written. This is about the only situation in which I'd be interested in stats.

Otherwise, I'd prefer to see no more than an approximated class/level info.

 

[Nifft]

A story hour isn't fiction?

Nope. Journalism.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Wombat]

If I want to game a story, it is because the story is both interesting enough and fits in a gaming situation.

Most intended "game fiction" reads like someone giving a complete description of a roleplaying session, minus all the out of character asides and calls for more munchies. Thus they are rather dull affairs or unbelievable to my eyes. Want to put stats in that? Fine. You are not hurting the "literature". Go ahead, put it in Salvatore and no one will be the worse for it.

Want to put stats in a real story? No way.

 

[Mallus]

Nope. Journalism.

Not the one based on my game... unless you mean tabloid journalism.

And put me down for "no stats". I want my game-inspired fiction to work as fiction first and foremost. Funny numbers just get in the way.

 

[linnorm]

I like to have stats if possible, but they're not a requirement by any means. If you want to add stats I think the nature of your situation (i.e. writing a trilogy) means you're going to need multiple versions of a character's stats. The best way to do this is simply provide the stats as of a certain point in time. "These are Bob's stats as of the end of book one." or "These are Jane's stats just after her battle with Tootles the Clown." This allows you room to grow the characters during the course of the next book if you need to and then provide updated stats in the next book. Also, write the story first and then pick a point in time in the story to stat the character. Stats should be written to the character not the other way around.

HTH,