Narnia d20?

[Capellan]

Good idea? Bad idea? Or just a flimsy excuse for me to play a giant talking badger?

Seems to me that a setting like Narnia might be a good way to introduce younger players to the D&D game, while helping to defuse some of the misconceptions out there about the hobby as a whole.

One obvious 'gimmick' to use is that the players would essentially portray themselves - just themselves as they would appear in Narnia: stronger, faster & braver. That would simplify some of the concepts involved, from a roleplaying perspective, allowing younger players to focus on learning the game mechanics.

Anyone else got an opinion?

 

[tleilaxu]

i seriously doubt the lewis estate would allow a d20 narnia setting to be published. if you want to play it though, go ahead! i doubt it would last for too long. of course, maybe it could be released. after all, ten years ago they had narnia choose your own adventure books.

that raises an interesting question. who owns narnia? what is their attitude towards rpgs?

(personally, i'd never want to play in narnia. my kids will read the books if i have anything to say about it, despite the fact that aslan is a preachy b------

 

[Gallowglass]

Narnia d20

Actually, Aslan is pretty explicitly Jesus Christ (given that "Jack" Lewis was a Christian Writer).

To be honest, I can't see a d20 Narnia working particularly well (let alone being sanctioned by the Lewis estate) unless it's so cut down as to be barely recognisable as d20. A simple roll to beat target mechanic could be used for a simple allegaorical game in the setting, but the usual d20 baggage of classes, levels, combat detail and experience points etc really don't gel with Narnia as far as I can see.

Reminds me of an old fanzine article (in the UK fanzine Aslan, actually...) about the Winnie the Pooh role playing game...

 

[Capellan]

Re: Narnia d20

Actually, Aslan is pretty explicitly Jesus Christ

You know, I never worked that out as a kid. Just took the literal meaning: big lion from over the sea. Of course, re-reading them as an adult, I was all "ooh. anvils."

To be honest, I can't see a d20 Narnia working particularly well (let alone being sanctioned by the Lewis estate)

I was more thinking of it in terms of a personal use thing, than a commercial enterprise.

the usual d20 baggage of classes, levels, combat detail and experience points etc really don't gel with Narnia as far as I can see.

The structure of the Narnia concept - go there, complete a quest, come back - seems to me to sit well with the idea of an introductory RPG. I'm thinking here mostly of running stuff for the kids of my adult players, you see - some of whom are beginning to get interested in gaming.

Advancement for characters would probably have to be more in terms of the recognition and respect they got ("it's the ancient hero returned!") than in a direct XP system. Though Lewis used to make much of the fact that you got stronger the longer you stayed in Narnia, so there is some justification for XP.

As for character classes, I'd say model them off the four archetypes of the Pevensey children. Peter would be bravery - maybe a Paladin or Fighter. Edward is cleverness - possibly Rogue-ish. Lucy and Susan tend toward more of a Bard or Ranger style.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

I always found it funny that Lewis denied any intended allegory in his Narnia books. Oooooooooookay then ...

 

[johnsemlak]

I'd have to say I'd probably give d20 Narnia a pass, though good luck to those who try. I agree a Narnia RPG could be a good one for children.

That said, Narnia has had a vast influence on my D&D career. Most of my early characters were named after Narnia characters (Trumpkin was a starndard name for a dwarf). I also created a half-dwarf class for Basic D&D (where race=class). It was based on the half-dwarf in the Prince Caspian book (the old wise figue--can't remember his name). I dont' remember the stats, but basically I have the half-dwarf a limited wizard spell casting ablility. Remember, he cast a sleep spell somewhere in the book.

 

[mmadsen]

I always found it funny that Lewis denied any intended allegory in his Narnia books. Oooooooooookay then ...

As I understand it, he denied that they were strict allegory, and that instead they were an example of how Christianity might have played out in a fantasy world. Frankly, the Narnia books are great fun until the quasi-Christian bits take over. Those bits are often nonsensical and surreal -- especially to a young kid.

 

[mmadsen]

Good idea? Bad idea? Or just a flimsy excuse for me to play a giant talking badger?

It sounds like a great idea to me, but you don't need an explicitly Narnian game to introduce Awakened Dire Animals.

Seems to me that a setting like Narnia might be a good way to introduce younger players to the D&D game, while helping to defuse some of the misconceptions out there about the hobby as a whole.

I agree that younger players would enjoy it, but I don't see why it would have to focus on younger players. In effect, you'd be playing D&D with a particular monster palette (giants, centaurs, dwarfs/gnomes, talking animals) and probably no PC spellcasters.

One obvious 'gimmick' to use is that the players would essentially portray themselves - just themselves as they would appear in Narnia: stronger, faster & braver. That would simplify some of the concepts involved, from a roleplaying perspective, allowing younger players to focus on learning the game mechanics.

Ah, I guess that aspect of Narnia would focus on younger players.

 

[KDLadage]

Narnia RPG

I have often thought of this as a concept -- never truly sat down to work out the details, but have drawn up the starts of such a campaign more than a couple of times. I can tell you two things that I have learned over the course of my attempts to make this work.

1. Keep it simple: In fact, very simple. The entire Narnia world is a bit free-form in its feel. Thus, I would suggest that what-ever game system you use, it not require much more than FUDGE as an engine. For example, I tend to believe that d20 is a bit much for such a setting, and GURPS (for example) is far too much detail for the tone that such a world would need to maintain.

2. Keep the Christian-overtones: Narnia, some feel, loses itself when the Christian overtones creep in. I happen to disagree. In fact, I tend to think of the stories as Christian fiction with fantasy overtones. When viewed in that persepective, the stories are quite solid and stand well to time.

 

[willpax]

Clarification: allegory

C. S. Lewis' denial that Narnia is an allegory, like that of J. R. R. Tolkien and LotR, should probably be viewd in the context of their background in Medieval literature and history.

In a Medieval context, "allegory" has a very specific meaning--it represents a reading strategy in which every significant detail is mapped quite directly onto another story (in Medieval criticism, usually the story of Christ or the archetypal journey of the soul). Bunyan' s _Pilgrim's Progress_ is probably the most familiar allegory of this type to modern readers.

An allegory would be opposed to a fable, which would also tell a moral story through figures that had highly suggestive symbolic values, but would not exhibit a one-to-one correspondence with some larger text. Animal fables (similar to Aesop) would be an example of this category.

Lewis' denial that Narnia was an allegory was a way of showing that Narnia does not map neatly onto some other Christian narrative. It does not deny the possibility that Aslan is a highly symbolic figure, just that you shouldn't try to find a corresponding action from Christ for each action by Aslan.

As far as the idea of Narnia d20 as an introduction to roleplaying: I think it has some compelling advantages that have been mentioned. You will probably also want to fudge things so the rolls don't get in the way of the story (I don't think a total party kill would be the best introduction to d20)