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The Origins of ‘Rule Zero’
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<blockquote data-quote="Jaeger" data-source="post: 8178337" data-attributes="member: 27996"><p>Sayings become old saws because they contain Truth!</p><p></p><p>I am a big proponent of this paradigm.</p><p></p><p>If every nation has griffon riding cavalry; griffons are not special or fantastic. They are just a common flying mount.</p><p></p><p>Too often I find most fantasy settings to be just different versions of the Flintstones setting, but with magical a ren-faire veneer.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I like to use the term <em>genre, </em>when establishing the <em>baseline realism</em> of my virtual game world/setting.</p><p></p><p>What makes something Fantastic - is how much it contrasts with the mundane world.</p><p></p><p>I define the degree of 'realism' in my mundane worlds through the <em>genre conventions</em> I establish for a given setting.</p><p></p><p>Am I going for Grimdark? Cinematic action? Pulp fantasy? high fantasy? Some blend?</p><p></p><p>Only once that reality is set, and I have established the genre rules that govern the setting, then I have a solid guide to how much "Fantastic" I can incorporate into the setting without breaking genre or "Jumping the Shark" if you will.</p><p></p><p>If I am going for a more grounded gritty setting where other humans are the most common opponent; then when the party encounters a Werewolf after several game sessions - it is a Big Deal! And several more game sessions may go by before they encounter another fantastical creature.</p><p></p><p>If in the next session I then introduce a group of plane-hopping dragon riders that have come to find the chosen one, and can the PC's please help them on their Realm-spanning quest to free Asgard form the Daemon Horde? - I just broke the established genre of the setting in a big way. We are now playing a very different game. And my players would be well with in their rights to go: "Dude, WTF!?"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jaeger, post: 8178337, member: 27996"] Sayings become old saws because they contain Truth! I am a big proponent of this paradigm. If every nation has griffon riding cavalry; griffons are not special or fantastic. They are just a common flying mount. Too often I find most fantasy settings to be just different versions of the Flintstones setting, but with magical a ren-faire veneer. I like to use the term [I]genre, [/I]when establishing the [I]baseline realism[/I] of my virtual game world/setting. What makes something Fantastic - is how much it contrasts with the mundane world. I define the degree of 'realism' in my mundane worlds through the [I]genre conventions[/I] I establish for a given setting. Am I going for Grimdark? Cinematic action? Pulp fantasy? high fantasy? Some blend? Only once that reality is set, and I have established the genre rules that govern the setting, then I have a solid guide to how much "Fantastic" I can incorporate into the setting without breaking genre or "Jumping the Shark" if you will. If I am going for a more grounded gritty setting where other humans are the most common opponent; then when the party encounters a Werewolf after several game sessions - it is a Big Deal! And several more game sessions may go by before they encounter another fantastical creature. If in the next session I then introduce a group of plane-hopping dragon riders that have come to find the chosen one, and can the PC's please help them on their Realm-spanning quest to free Asgard form the Daemon Horde? - I just broke the established genre of the setting in a big way. We are now playing a very different game. And my players would be well with in their rights to go: "Dude, WTF!?" [/QUOTE]
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