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"Exceptional Fluff" - the bane of RPGs (ranty)
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<blockquote data-quote="Foundry of Decay" data-source="post: 4706090" data-attributes="member: 846"><p>I'm not impressed with the need to insult authors who think outside the scope of a number-crunching game. I know several authors, none of them are 'idiots' as far as I'm concerned. And in all honesty if I was given the choice between talking with an author or a game designer, I'd be talking with the author (Bonus points if the author is also a game designer though!)</p><p></p><p>As to the actual rant, there are a few reasons why I'm quite happy that novels don't always follow rules in an RPG. RPG's are about numbers, they are vastly, vastly different than novels. The Dragonlance series would have been far different if it had to follow the rules of second edition. Dalamar certainly wouldn't be casting lightening bolt after lightening bolt.</p><p></p><p>Having to worry about niddly details of game rules would likely drive most authors crazy. Having to keep track of things like: "Did he cast his magic missle for the day? Did they take 4 or 8 hp of damage from that dragon's breath? How many healing spells did the cleric have after healing Rugnar the fighter?" would drive most anyone loopy who wasn't participating in a game.</p><p></p><p>Here's an example, using 2e/3e (4e is new enough that the majority of novels wouldn't be written under its ruleset, but can be substituted with a few changes). You have Bingblat the mage. He's a rising 3rd level mage, as per the rules, but is more magically gifted than brilliant since the author wants to establish that he's not the brightest crayon in the box. He has 2 first level spells, and 1 second.</p><p></p><p>Bingblat is trying to escape a manor he's being held in. Instead of trying to create tension by tricking the guards into opening the door or him being able to steal the key to his cell using quick wits or fingers, he simply casts knock, and walks out.</p><p></p><p>But Bingblat is found! Curses! He only has colour spray and magic missile left in his arsenal, unless he was a fool and stayed in the room an extra 8 hours to regain his second level spell, as per the rules.</p><p></p><p>So, Bingblat blasts the first couple of guards with colour spray, success! While the guards are incapacitated he runs like hell down a hallway, and tries to escape through a ramp leading to the gate, since his climbing skill is miserable. He's stopped at the main gate by the baron and his retinue. The baron sneers, and tells him he'll be paying for what he's done. Sadly Bingblat has the negotiating skills of an orange, fails miserably at it, and just casts magic missile at the Baron.</p><p></p><p>The following page of the novel describes the raging whomping that Bingblat receives and his death after his minuscule pool of hp is drained in 2 hits.</p><p></p><p>This would, for all purposes, be a miserably BAD novel, but it was written as per the rules, for a character made within those boundaries. I'd personally be bored to tears if every other page had the group sitting around recovering spells and hp for a day, telling tales of the months they spent clearing out kobold warrens.</p><p></p><p>Do some novels go to far in changing the landscape? Most likely, but in the same vein, an author can't treat every location on the map with kid gloves because someone, somewhere, will want to run a game there and they don't have the presence of mind to simply ignore what the novel did to the area.</p><p></p><p>Some authors aren't very good, I'll give you that. But to treat the majority of them like 'idiots' because they don't all roll up characters before they start writing about them is an absolutely absurd notion. Having them stay away from every place on the map of the world because they might do something that makes a change in the precious landscape means you'll be left with novels as complicated in writing as 'Friends' was on T.V.</p><p></p><p>That's my toss of the copper, anyway.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Foundry of Decay, post: 4706090, member: 846"] I'm not impressed with the need to insult authors who think outside the scope of a number-crunching game. I know several authors, none of them are 'idiots' as far as I'm concerned. And in all honesty if I was given the choice between talking with an author or a game designer, I'd be talking with the author (Bonus points if the author is also a game designer though!) As to the actual rant, there are a few reasons why I'm quite happy that novels don't always follow rules in an RPG. RPG's are about numbers, they are vastly, vastly different than novels. The Dragonlance series would have been far different if it had to follow the rules of second edition. Dalamar certainly wouldn't be casting lightening bolt after lightening bolt. Having to worry about niddly details of game rules would likely drive most authors crazy. Having to keep track of things like: "Did he cast his magic missle for the day? Did they take 4 or 8 hp of damage from that dragon's breath? How many healing spells did the cleric have after healing Rugnar the fighter?" would drive most anyone loopy who wasn't participating in a game. Here's an example, using 2e/3e (4e is new enough that the majority of novels wouldn't be written under its ruleset, but can be substituted with a few changes). You have Bingblat the mage. He's a rising 3rd level mage, as per the rules, but is more magically gifted than brilliant since the author wants to establish that he's not the brightest crayon in the box. He has 2 first level spells, and 1 second. Bingblat is trying to escape a manor he's being held in. Instead of trying to create tension by tricking the guards into opening the door or him being able to steal the key to his cell using quick wits or fingers, he simply casts knock, and walks out. But Bingblat is found! Curses! He only has colour spray and magic missile left in his arsenal, unless he was a fool and stayed in the room an extra 8 hours to regain his second level spell, as per the rules. So, Bingblat blasts the first couple of guards with colour spray, success! While the guards are incapacitated he runs like hell down a hallway, and tries to escape through a ramp leading to the gate, since his climbing skill is miserable. He's stopped at the main gate by the baron and his retinue. The baron sneers, and tells him he'll be paying for what he's done. Sadly Bingblat has the negotiating skills of an orange, fails miserably at it, and just casts magic missile at the Baron. The following page of the novel describes the raging whomping that Bingblat receives and his death after his minuscule pool of hp is drained in 2 hits. This would, for all purposes, be a miserably BAD novel, but it was written as per the rules, for a character made within those boundaries. I'd personally be bored to tears if every other page had the group sitting around recovering spells and hp for a day, telling tales of the months they spent clearing out kobold warrens. Do some novels go to far in changing the landscape? Most likely, but in the same vein, an author can't treat every location on the map with kid gloves because someone, somewhere, will want to run a game there and they don't have the presence of mind to simply ignore what the novel did to the area. Some authors aren't very good, I'll give you that. But to treat the majority of them like 'idiots' because they don't all roll up characters before they start writing about them is an absolutely absurd notion. Having them stay away from every place on the map of the world because they might do something that makes a change in the precious landscape means you'll be left with novels as complicated in writing as 'Friends' was on T.V. That's my toss of the copper, anyway. [/QUOTE]
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