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Yes, You Can Turn Your Campaign Into a Novel
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7825776" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>Anyone who has ever attended a panel on writing novels has likely heard a frequently asked question: Can I turn my role-playing game into a novel? In the past, Dragonlance was frequently cited as an example of how this was possible, but now we have so many examples that fans frequently don't realize their favorite novel's origin began with a tabletop RPG.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]114565[/ATTACH]</p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Dragonlance</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Dragonlance was <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-road-trip-that-changed-a-world.664366" target="_blank">born out of desperation</a> -- Tray and Laura Hickman were so poor they couldn't afford shoes for their children; Margaret Weis had just come off of a bad divorce -- <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-d-d-campaigns-become-franchises.664384" target="_blank">but it was not in fact based off a campaign</a>. Instead, it was a transmedia effort that was seamless enough to feel like the transition between the two was natural, which is an achievement in itself.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Record of Lodoss War</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Ryo Miznuno, game master of a D&D campaign, serialized his campaign in a print magazine known as Comptiq. His players, known as Group SNE (Syntax Error), <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-d-d-campaigns-become-franchises.664384" target="_blank">would help launch everything from novels, comics, nine video games, an anime</a>, and even its own tabletop ruleset, Sword World RPG.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Wild Cards</strong></span></p><p></p><p>George R. R. Martin, author of the enormously successful Game of Thrones series of books and movies,<a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/10-novels-based-on-role-playing-campaigns" target="_blank"> created his Wild Cards from his experience with the tabletop role-playing game, SuperWorlds</a>:</p><p></p><p>Of course, Martin's other works have largely overshadowed that inspiration, <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/geekdom-takes-a-bow.666424/" target="_blank">but it's clear D&D influences are part of the fabric of Game of Thrones</a>.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>The Expanse</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Ty Franck created The Expanse from the seeds of an idea for a massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG). When that fell through, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/the-evolution-of-james-s-a-coreys-space-epic-the-expanse/" target="_blank">they converted it to D20 Modern and played it on a post-to-play gaming forum</a>:</p><p></p><p>Daniel Abraham would later join Franck as part of his role-playing game:</p><p></p><p>From there, The Expanse would evolve beyond its novel roots into a television series and then <a href="https://greenronin.com/blog/2017/08/17/press-release-green-ronin-to-publish-the-expanse-rpg/" target="_blank">back into a role-playing game by Green Ronin Publishing</a>:</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>The Circle Continues</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Tabletop role-playing games have become so influential that they are shaping the genres that inspired them. In the case of Dungeons & Dragons, it originally sought to emulate the adventures of two-fisted heroes from fantasy and sci-fi before settling into its own trope of fantasy without the medieval or sci-fi trappings. Books based on this sort of hybrid fantasy are beginning to emulate the game genre that inspired them...and some are going so far as incorporating those game elements right into the narrative itself, <a href="https://litrpgreads.com/what-is-litrpg" target="_blank">known as LitRPG</a>. For a recent example, <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/whatever-happened-to-acererak.665303/" target="_blank">look no further than Ernest Cline's Ready Player One</a>.</p><p></p><p>As role-playing games become more popular we will likely see more novels, movies, and television shows inspired by them. With the barrier to publishing so low thanks to self-publishing platforms, <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/i-wrote-a-book-starting-over.666451/" target="_blank">I'm sure I won't be the only one turning their campaigns into novels</a>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 7825776, member: 3285"] Anyone who has ever attended a panel on writing novels has likely heard a frequently asked question: Can I turn my role-playing game into a novel? In the past, Dragonlance was frequently cited as an example of how this was possible, but now we have so many examples that fans frequently don't realize their favorite novel's origin began with a tabletop RPG. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="litrpg.jpg"]114565[/ATTACH][/CENTER] [SIZE=5][B]Dragonlance[/B][/SIZE] Dragonlance was [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-road-trip-that-changed-a-world.664366']born out of desperation[/URL] -- Tray and Laura Hickman were so poor they couldn't afford shoes for their children; Margaret Weis had just come off of a bad divorce -- [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-d-d-campaigns-become-franchises.664384']but it was not in fact based off a campaign[/URL]. Instead, it was a transmedia effort that was seamless enough to feel like the transition between the two was natural, which is an achievement in itself. [SIZE=5][B]Record of Lodoss War[/B][/SIZE] Ryo Miznuno, game master of a D&D campaign, serialized his campaign in a print magazine known as Comptiq. His players, known as Group SNE (Syntax Error), [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-d-d-campaigns-become-franchises.664384']would help launch everything from novels, comics, nine video games, an anime[/URL], and even its own tabletop ruleset, Sword World RPG. [SIZE=5][B]Wild Cards[/B][/SIZE] George R. R. Martin, author of the enormously successful Game of Thrones series of books and movies,[URL='https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/10-novels-based-on-role-playing-campaigns'] created his Wild Cards from his experience with the tabletop role-playing game, SuperWorlds[/URL]: Of course, Martin's other works have largely overshadowed that inspiration, [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/geekdom-takes-a-bow.666424/']but it's clear D&D influences are part of the fabric of Game of Thrones[/URL]. [SIZE=5][B]The Expanse[/B][/SIZE] Ty Franck created The Expanse from the seeds of an idea for a massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG). When that fell through, [URL='https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/the-evolution-of-james-s-a-coreys-space-epic-the-expanse/']they converted it to D20 Modern and played it on a post-to-play gaming forum[/URL]: Daniel Abraham would later join Franck as part of his role-playing game: From there, The Expanse would evolve beyond its novel roots into a television series and then [URL='https://greenronin.com/blog/2017/08/17/press-release-green-ronin-to-publish-the-expanse-rpg/']back into a role-playing game by Green Ronin Publishing[/URL]: [SIZE=5][B]The Circle Continues[/B][/SIZE] Tabletop role-playing games have become so influential that they are shaping the genres that inspired them. In the case of Dungeons & Dragons, it originally sought to emulate the adventures of two-fisted heroes from fantasy and sci-fi before settling into its own trope of fantasy without the medieval or sci-fi trappings. Books based on this sort of hybrid fantasy are beginning to emulate the game genre that inspired them...and some are going so far as incorporating those game elements right into the narrative itself, [URL='https://litrpgreads.com/what-is-litrpg']known as LitRPG[/URL]. For a recent example, [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/whatever-happened-to-acererak.665303/']look no further than Ernest Cline's Ready Player One[/URL]. As role-playing games become more popular we will likely see more novels, movies, and television shows inspired by them. With the barrier to publishing so low thanks to self-publishing platforms, [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/i-wrote-a-book-starting-over.666451/']I'm sure I won't be the only one turning their campaigns into novels[/URL]. [/QUOTE]
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