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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zappo" data-source="post: 2740102" data-attributes="member: 633">World changing events? Hmm... I disagree with the notion that this is the main difference between novels and RPGs.IMO, the main differences are two. The first one is that RPGs are invariably about a party of characters that are roughly equally capable of dealing with challenges (I use this term in its most generic form). Novels, instead, tend to have one protagonist who gets most of the narrator's attention. Those that have multiple protagonists generally don't have them form a party, and/or don't require them to be equally capable of dealing with challenges.The second main difference is that RPGs aren't scripted (not even in the most railroaded campaign). For example, thousands of novels hinge on the protagonist figuring out (or not figuring out) this or that detail from the clues he has, something that cannot be guaranteed either way in an RPG. Others are based on a character's reactions to an event, again a plot device that can't be used in an RPG since a PC's reactions can't be be determined or even reliably predicted.World changing events aren't particularly common in literature in general. It's just the fantasy genre (and SF though not nearly as much) that has become stuck on that, with a few exceptions. In fact, that's exactly why I've stopped reading current fantasy. There is such a thing as too much epic.</blockquote>