The Second Apocalypse
Miscellaneous Chatter => Literature => Topic started by: What Came Before on May 14, 2013, 09:39:34 pm
-
I didn't know it was a word.
Interesting look at tabletop RPG play (D&D) structure Vs story structure
http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/on-bathos.html
-
Heh. I always hated that 'old school' style of D&D, where the character you've been developing over the past six months gets randomly killed in a silly manner thanks to a couple of unlucky dice rolls. I've never run D&D that way as a DM, yet I and my players have always experienced plenty of genuinely enjoyable bathos. You don't need silly random tables for that, just a DM and players who know when and how to lighten the tone.
IMO: The basic difference between an RPG and a story is not that one is random and the other is narrative. They should both be narrative. The difference is that a story is (generally) created by one individual, while the narrative of an RPG is created cooperatively by the DM and his/her players.
-
I think some of the newer games, like 3:16 (http://gregorhutton.com/boxninja/threesixteen/) have mechanics that help the whole group work together more, to create a story.
I'm inclined to think that the older games like D&D have mechanics so ill suited for group story generation, they aren't for making story, like a wrench isn't for banging in nails, even though you can use it that way. I'm not saying nails have never been banged it - just that it took a fair bit of effort.