RPG Fanfiction

Omega · July 07, 2017, 02:26:54 AM

Quote from: Voros;973219Never understood this, why not just write your own world and characters? Thankfully it never seemed to catch-on with RPGers, unless you consider shite like Terry Brooks D&D fanfic.

Some people just like to write for a setting. They like some element of it and it inspires them to write. Others are just really horrible at setting and so having a frame to work with is great for them. Others see a lack of fiction for the setting and want to fill that. Others essentially turn their RP logs into a short story. (Its how Record of Lodoss War started. It was the replay logs of their BX sessions.) Tons of reasons to write for a setting rather than make your own.

Omega · July 07, 2017, 02:46:35 AM

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;973702We need some clarity of definition. Is the OP talking about simply writing the campaign chronicle from an in-character point of view, or actual "fan fiction" in the campaign universe about things that didn't happen in the game (like Tyrian Lanister buggering Elminster)?

Personally I prefer the RP logs turned into stories type. Ive never seen one written from the PCs point of view. Would probably read like a diary.

QuoteDear Diary: Today we descended into the depths of the depthless dungeon and Quill the thief found a trap. We had to return to the temple to have him raised. Later we encountered some orcs and they let us pass for some of our rations. Then I was killed by a kobold with a dagger. Being a magic user sucks...

Baulderstone · July 07, 2017, 09:43:25 AM

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;973702We need some clarity of definition. Is the OP talking about simply writing the campaign chronicle from an in-character point of view, or actual "fan fiction" in the campaign universe about things that didn't happen in the game (like Tyrian Lanister buggering Elminster)?

That's worth making a distinction. I remember my freshman year of high school, I began writing up a Palladium game I was running as a story before deciding RPGs didn't really translate that well to fiction. I wouldn't call that fan fiction though, as it all involved characters from our own group. Character journals are not fanfic.

Gronan of Simmerya · July 07, 2017, 01:49:56 PM

Quote from: Omega;973713Some people just like to write for a setting. They like some element of it and it inspires them to write. Others are just really horrible at setting and so having a frame to work with is great for them. Others see a lack of fiction for the setting and want to fill that. Others essentially turn their RP logs into a short story. (Its how Record of Lodoss War started. It was the replay logs of their BX sessions.) Tons of reasons to write for a setting rather than make your own.

Not to mention, why reinvent the wheel? Tony Bath used the Hyborian Age for his late 60s-early 70s wargame campaign because it was a glorious, devil may care mishmash; you can have Vikings and Hundred Years War English and Ptolemaic Egyptians and Picts and Spanish Main buccaneers and Greek hoplites and cavemen and monsters and Zulus and just about any damn thing you want.

I use it for my D&D world for the same reason. After decades of trying to build a world that does the same thing but isn't the Hyborian Age, I just gave up.

AsenRG · July 07, 2017, 05:12:32 PM

Quote from: Voros;973219Never understood this, why not just write your own world and characters? Thankfully it never seemed to catch-on with RPGers, unless you consider shite like Terry Brooks D&D fanfic.

Well, what else would you consider Terry Brooks:D?

Quote from: Omega;973715Personally I prefer the RP logs turned into stories type. Ive never seen one written from the PCs point of view. Would probably read like a diary.

Never seen an Actual Play written in what I consider the default style?
Here you go and hope you like wuxia;).

chirine ba kal · July 07, 2017, 07:26:54 PM

Quote from: Omega;973715Personally I prefer the RP logs turned into stories type. Ive never seen one written from the PCs point of view. Would probably read like a diary.

Agreed, which is why I avoided writing like that and doing it more like that Howard chap. No game mechanics, though, which I've been lambasted for. It's not the kind of thing I'd like to write about, as I do not find game mechanics all that interesting; I'm much more into setting, which I'm told by various readers I've managed to do.

Dumarest · July 07, 2017, 09:26:32 PM

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;973802Not to mention, why reinvent the wheel? Tony Bath used the Hyborian Age for his late 60s-early 70s wargame campaign because it was a glorious, devil may care mishmash; you can have Vikings and Hundred Years War English and Ptolemaic Egyptians and Picts and Spanish Main buccaneers and Greek hoplites and cavemen and monsters and Zulus and just about any damn thing you want.

I use it for my D&D world for the same reason. After decades of trying to build a world that does the same thing but isn't the Hyborian Age, I just gave up.

Fortunately my fellow players are largely savage, ignorant illiterates and have no familiarity with Robert E. Howard beyond the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies using the Conan name, so I can steal willy-nilly and seem creative and original.

Gronan of Simmerya · July 07, 2017, 10:00:09 PM

Quote from: Dumarest;973869Fortunately my fellow players are largely savage, ignorant illiterates and have no familiarity with Robert E. Howard beyond the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies using the Conan name, so I can steal willy-nilly and seem creative and original.

Lucky bastard.

(Actually, about half of my players would recognize, we just don't CARE.)

Shemmy · July 08, 2017, 12:34:34 AM

I've written over 2000 pages of fiction based on one of my Planescape campaigns (it's around 60% finished at this point) and tons of side stories related to various NPCs from said game. I tend to write side stories in parallel to ongoing campaigns that I play in, simply to explore the setting, explore the characters, and just to have something to write if I'm not being paid to write anything at the time. *shrugs*

Spinachcat · July 08, 2017, 03:54:40 AM

Quote from: AsenRG;973829Well, what else would you consider Terry Brooks:D?

Incredibly successful millionaire?

I hope to one day write as badly as Terry.

Quote from: Voros;973712The original slash fiction was Cpt. Kirk and Spock, made pre-internet by mostly female fans.

Was Star Trek the first fanfic?

I remember picking up a book of Star Trek short stories in the late-1970s. Also, a Star Fleet medical guide in the early 80s.

DavetheLost · July 08, 2017, 08:31:20 AM

Aren't the Forgettable Realms books just well marketed fanfic? The few I've picked up certainly read like it. Shudder.

AsenRG · July 08, 2017, 10:06:06 AM

Quote from: Spinachcat;973905Incredibly successful millionaire?

No, that's who Terry Brooks is. His works are another matter, and they're fanfiction:).

QuoteI hope to one day write as badly as Terry.

You probably do already, but that wouldn't translate to the same financial success;).

Nexus · July 08, 2017, 10:21:37 AM

Quote from: Baulderstone;973309Same here. I'm always disappointed when an actual play report on a game I am interested in fails to get into the mechanics and how the GM handled the system. Someone giving a blow-by-blow report of a fight with a bear was what got me to pick up RQ6.

If its an example of play, I like for the mechanics to be mentioned alongside a narrative describing the scene from an in world perspective, maybe in different sections. I like seeing how the mechanics translate into the style and mood of the setting. I like campaign logs, blue books and other types of direct campaign records and compilation to be done more in world and as fiction.

Harlock · July 08, 2017, 10:43:01 PM

Quote from: Omega;973715Personally I prefer the RP logs turned into stories type. I've never seen one written from the PCs point of view. Would probably read like a diary.

That's how my character journal reads: first person descriptions of events as they happened in game.

RPGPundit · July 12, 2017, 06:58:24 PM

Some of my amber players have produced in-campaign fiction for bonus points. It was never very good.