Fun and Games

Now that I’ve spent some time talking about the linked history between role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy fiction (here), and the origins of the game and their connections to sword & sorcery (here), I’m going to veer off on a slight tangent. Specifically, I’m going from analysis to advice.
I know a lot of fantasy readers are also interested in writing–either because you want to try your own hand at it, or just because you’re curious about the process. I know others possess a more general curiosity, in terms of where ideas, stories, or trends originate from. One of the very first pieces of advice I would offer to anyone interested in studying fantasy on a “meta” level, and certainly to anyone who wants to write fantasy, is this:
Play RPGs.

I must immediately, before going any further, offer up two caveats. One, I’m not saying that only fantasy writers who play RPGs are any good. That’s demonstrably untrue; lots of fantastic fantasy writers haven’t played or, in some cases, even heard of them. I’m just saying that, for an up-and-comer, it’s solid advice.
Caveat the second is, I’m talking specifically old-school, pen-and-paper, gather-’round-the-table-with-friends gaming. There’s nothing wrong with online RPGs as a hobby and a fun pastime, but they don’t offer what tabletop games do in terms of lessons learned and skills developed in a writing context.
Okay? Okay.
So, why on Earth would I advise such a thing? Because there’s a lot for the eager young fantasy writer (or just the curious fantasy fan) to learn about the genre and the craft from RPGs. (I do need to specify that the following assumes you’re gaming with a group of relatively cooperative players, and under a Gamemaster/Dungeon Master/Referee who knows what s/he’s doing.)
Examining Influences
As I’ve mentioned before, a lot of fantasy writers have been influenced, either directly or obliquely, by their own experiences in gaming. I talked about some of the more famous writers whose settings/characters were inspired by their RPG experiences from back in the earlier days of gaming. Some other, more recent writers with strong ties between their fiction and their gaming experiences include Keith. R. A. DeCandido (Dragon Precinct) and Bob Salvatore, still known for his work both in and beyond the Forgotten Realms setting.
But not all of gaming’s influence on writing is so direct. I’m currently reading Tom Lloyd’s Twilight Reign series, and while I don’t know Lloyd personally, I would be willing to wager that either he’s a gamer, or he included gamers among his own favorite authors. The trilogy’s use of different varieties of spellcasters, partially human characters/antagonists, and enchanted weapons and armor feels, to me, like the product of gaming’s influence. (This is not, coming from me, a criticism in any way. The trilogy is not only absolutely fantastic, at least so far, but I’d actually love to see a D&D or other RPG setting based off it. I think it’d be a blast to play in.)
Heck, using myself as an example, I’ve gone both ways (so to speak). The Goblin Corps (not due out for some time yet), is heavily influenced by and based on some of my gaming experiences. The Conqueror’s Shadow, however, is not based, even in part, on any of the events or settings from my games. But some of the fantasy tropes used in the book–such as the Kholben Shiar (a very specific type of enchanted weapon) and the object of Corvis Rebaine’s search (I’m being deliberately vague, here, to avoid spoilers)–are based on concepts that, though not created by Dungeons & Dragons, were certainly popularized by it.
(There used to be a tiny element that had been taken from gaming. Specifically, in my original draft of the novel, the pantheon of deities was lifted whole cloth from a D&D setting of mine. I went back and changed that in later drafts. Just a tiny bit of trivia for those of you who care.)
Actually, come to think of it, the use of a pantheon of deities in settings that otherwise resemble Dark Ages or Medieval Europe is a perfect example of one of those tropes that didn’t originate with D&D, but that D&D and other games helped popularize to the point that it’s now considered “standard” in much of fantasy.
Anyway, the point I’m getting to is that the influence of D&D (and, to a lesser extent, other games) is ubiquitous throughout fantasy. Anyone interested in the development and history of fantasy, or in studying the tropes, couldn’t find a better microscope through which to examine them. And believe you me, whether you’re looking to build on those tropes or deliberately avoid them, you’ll want to study them regardless.
(If I may be forgiven a brief digression to return to a previous topic, it turns out that The Conqueror’s Shadow is also a perfect example of what I was saying in my last column, about many fantasy novels having elements that make them “sword & sorcery” tales to some readers, but not others. When I was writing it, I didn’t think of it as S&S; it was just a fantasy novel that I thought/hoped was cool. But I’ve since seen multiple reviews refer to it as S&S. It really is very subjective, which–more than anything else–is why it’s so difficult to define as a sub-genre.)
Trends
For an RPG to be successful–and I don’t just mean “published and sold a few copies,” I mean “successful enough to maintain an ongoing line”–it has to tap into a real market. That market may not be large; in fact, it very likely won’t be. As I mentioned, many RPGs succeed by tapping into a niche audience, and even games with broader appeal can’t be too general; they have to focus their efforts on a given style of fantasy (or horror, sci-fi, or whatever genre they’re dealing with). So no single game, not even the larger ones like D&D, Call of Cthulhu, or the World of Darkness lines, are going to give you an overview of an entire market.
But… They do offer a window into some of what’s popular. By looking into which games are successful, and what direction they’re heading in, you can get some idea of what at least a portion of the market is currently enjoying. Again, it’s only one viewpoint, not representing the entirety of the market–you don’t want to rely on it–and of course, you should write what you want to write, not what’s popular at the moment. But it’s good information with which to arm yourself.
Plotting and Outlining
Here’s where we start getting into what a tabletop game can give you that an online game can’t. When you’re putting together your own adventure to run for your friends in an RPG, you’re actually learning and practicing a lot of the same skills that go into plotting and outlining a novel. (Not every author outlines, and that’s fine; do what works best for you. But for me, I can’t work without an outline, and I strongly recommend that new authors do so until and unless they learn that they work better without one.)
It’s possible to over-plot an RPG adventure, but it’s generally considered bad form, because it forces the players to follow a prescripted, step-by-step course that allows no room for in-character choices or roleplaying. (This phenomenon is called “railroading” in RPG circles.) The best adventures, therefore, take the form of an outline or flowchart–whether it’s a sequence of events or a series of rooms in a dungeon complex–through which the players can find their way, making meaningful choices and decisions. The person running the game has to make this “outline” comprehensive enough to cover all the likely choices and to provide a fun and satisfying experience, but flexible enough to adapt if the players do something unexpected.
It’s the same with a novel outline (or, again, at least it is in my own experience). The perfect outline covers a novel’s major events, and offers the author a roadmap of where the story’s going, so that you’re never stuck wondering where to go next. On the other hand, the perfect outline is also light enough that there’s room for inspiration as you go, allowing you to change/add scenes and even characters as the muse takes you. And of course, you’ll occasionally have an idea halfway through a book that changes everything that follows, taking you in a completely alternate direction to what the outline says, and that’s fine, too. An outline should be a guide, not a straightjacket. But one of the best ways to learn this fine line of flexibility is through the creation of adventures for an RPG, followed by the feedback of those who game with you.
Creative Solutions
When I’m playing an RPG, one of the most fun things for me is finding creative solutions to the problems, puzzles, or challenges that the gamemaster has put in front of us; and when I’m running a game, I really enjoy seeing how the players can surprise me in terms of solving my own plot points.
It’s a mindset that I learned from gaming, but that I enjoy applying to my writing. Very often, when outlining or planning a scene, I’ll note that I have to get my characters into a Bad Situation–but I’ll have no idea how to get them out of it. I wait until I’m actually writing the scene, and then start thinking about escape. “How would I get out of this, if I were them?” Occasionally, I’ll admit, it doesn’t work, and I have to go back and tweak the situation itself to allow room for the story to continue–but far more often than not, I’m able to come up with something. I find that this makes for much more interesting writing, and reading, than if I had the solution planned from the get-go. And it was playing and running RPGs that really helped me learn how to think that way, both by coming up with my own and seeing what my friends came up with.
Gauging Interest
Sometimes, as a writer, I’ll come up with a plot idea, or a character, or a scenario that I like, but I’m not sure if it’ll appeal to anyone else. Obviously, the first solution is talk it over with my wife, my friends, and/or my fellow authors. But it’s also useful, at times, to have a “mini-audience” in my gaming group, to whom I can present that plot or story as an adventure, and see how they react.
This isn’t always feasible, of course. There are a lot of story/plot/character ideas that work in fiction but not in RPGs, and vice-versa. The two media are not automatically interchangeable. (More on that later.) And of course, the fact that a small group of your friends likes something doesn’t mean a whole audience will, or, again, vice-versa. Still, it’s another tool in your arsenal for figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and an author can never have enough of those.
A subset of this has to do with working mysteries into your stories. If you learn how to provide clues and hints that eventually lead the players in your games to figure out who the villain is in a given adventure, then you’re one large step closer to being able to do the same for your readers. Again, it’s not a perfect overlap–your players know you personally, and know what to look for, where your readers don’t. Still, assuming you want your readers to have a chance of figuring out any mystery you include, you need to find the proper balance between making it too hard and too easy–and running a few mystery-oriented games is some of the best practice you could hope for.
(BTW, mysteries are also another reason I strongly recommend outlining. If you know the answer, and when your protagonists are likely to find that answer, you can go back and feed clues through the book accordingly. If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s nigh impossible to drop hints.)
Sparking Ideas.
The simplest and most basic advantage to gaming, for a writer, is also potentially the most important. Simply, it puts you in a position where you and a group of friends are constantly talking about fantasy: stories, characters, concepts, all of it. Nothing sparks ideas or fires the imagination like conversation and interaction, and you’re not only talking fantasy as it pertains to gaming but (almost inevitably, in such a group) books and movies as well. It may seem obvious or even not worth mentioning, but I’ve found it to be far and away the greatest advantage to gaming, in terms of my writing.
————-
It probably goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway (because I’m a writer; that’s what I do). I am not saying that you must be a gamer to be a good writer, and I am not saying that being a gamer, or even making use of all the above points, automatically makes you a good writer. As with everything else–practice, formal training, practice, voracious reading habits, practice, discussion, and more practice–it’s just one of many tools that can, if used properly, help you to understand the genre, and to become a better writer.
As with everything, there’s a flip side to this, things an author should absolutely not take from his or her gaming experiences and apply to writing. I’d planned to talk about them in the same column as the above, but this is already the longest entry I’ve written so far. (Apparently, neither my gaming nor my writing has given me any real ability to estimate word count in advance.) So I guess that’s the topic for next time: Where gaming and fiction differ, and what the writer should leave behind when he or she puts down the dice and sits at the keyboard.