Contents
Foreword: Rethinking
Article: Blatant Theft & You!
Afterword: Nothing of Consequence
Welcome to the fourth issue of the Modular Gameworld Newsletter! I’d
like to thank the several people who have joined us recently, and
direct you over to our archive http://modulargameworld.com/archive/ to see our
previous newsletters.
First of all I would like to apologize for the length of time since
our last newsletter. I underestimated the amount of time my retail job
would take up during the holiday season, and the partner I was
counting on to help with the newsletter has dropped off the face of
the earth. After taking a hard look at financing my time I came to a
few decisions.
First of all, I will not be stopping the Modular Gameworld newsletter,
or our blog. I will be slowing down the frequency though, as I feel a
set schedule that I meet every month is far better then trying to
produce something every week and miss my deadlines (disappointing both
my readers and myself). I will be shooting for either a blog post or a
newsletter every other Sunday (so twice a month). Once things have
calmed down more at work I’ll reevaluate and see if I can start
producing content more often again.
I may also be cutting down on the size of the newsletter, but that’s
not a set thing. I have been shooting for 3 articles in each
newsletter, but that was back when I had 2 partners and each of us was
going to be producing a different article for the newsletter. Instead
I’ve decided I will finish as many quality articles as I can for each
newsletter, and send that out whether it’s one, two, or three. Sending
the newsletter out on schedule is more important then making sure each
newsletter has 3 articles, and spending the time polishing one article
until it’s worth reading is worth far more then the second article I
could have written in that time.
I’m also going to do some renovations to the website after the new
year, it never did turn out the way I wanted, and some
passive-aggressive obsessing over changes to it is just what I need to
get the creative juices flowing.
Finally, from December 26th until January 9th I will be out of the
country with my fiancée to Ireland (we just got engaged last week), ). I
am trying to get guest writers in to cover while I am gone. If you
would like to write an article to help out please contact me
(Ronny@PrincipleFactor.com).
For this week’s article we have something near and dear to my DMing
heart, blatant theft and you!
Article: Blatant Theft & You!
By Ronny (ModularGameworld.com)
Everyone gets the urge to grab a plot from your favorite book, or a
character from that movie you just watched. You’re watching, and
suddenly you think about how your players would act in the same
situation, or how great a villain that character could become for your
campaign. It’s a natural urge, but one many people inexplicably
suppress or are embarrassed of. So I will start this article with this
premise: Taking ideas from other sources is not inherently wrong.
…I’ll let that idea sink in for a moment. Everyone wants to write
original scenarios and adventures, or craft entire worlds from
scratch. I certainly do, but sometimes you don’t have the time for
that, or inspiration fails to strike. It happens to everyone. Using a
plot or character you didn’t create to entertain your players isn’t
plagiarism, and despite the term ‘theft’ it’s not wrong. Remember, as a
DM you aren’t getting paid to write the next Oscar winning movie, you
are there to entertain yourself and your players. Sometimes adapting
ideas that inspire you from other sources can make for a fine night of
gaming, and that’s all most players are looking for. Besides, 90% of the
time your players will never even notice, and if they do they’ll
generally just point out the similarities and laugh it off.
Adding an external idea to your campaign world also doesn’t have to be
obvious. With a couple little tweaks your players will never know and
you’ll always have a supply of ideas to draw from on those lonely game
nights when your muse has abandoned you. When adding an idea to your
game world it’s good to keep a couple things in mind.
1.) Camouflage
The simplest and easiest way to keep your players in the dark from
your thieving ways is a little bit of camouflage, converting this
illegal alien in your game world into a citizen. Change names and
appearances to ones more appropriate to your world, involve
established NPCs in the plot, or get the Big Bad involved. Connect the
idea into the world in a way that is intuitive to the players and they
will never question that it came from your mind-grapes.
2.) Build off the Base
Now camouflaging the idea is fine and all, but even better is when you
can turn a theft into an original idea. It sounds strange, but it’s
where many of my best thefts have come from. Take an idea from
somewhere else and run with it until it’s unrecognizable as it’s
original concept.
For example right now I’m adapting the Zentradi (a warlike race of
giants from space) from the anime Macross into an arc in my D&D
campaign. They are Drow, gifted with their size from their dark
goddess Lolth. It’s a little joke of hers, these Drow are crafted for
war and because of their giant bodies they have no choice but to
attack the surface, as there isn’t enough food to scavenge in the
underdark to keep them fed. The armies are attacking the surface, not
simply out of twisted love for their goddess, or hatred of the surface
elves, but for their continued survival. How will the players react to
this dark army, for whom retreat is not an option…
3.) The Magic of the Swipe File.
A swipe file is an idea I have touched on in an earlier article. It is
very simple in it’s premise, and infinitely versatile in it’s
function. When you come across an idea you enjoy you simply write the
idea down, the source, and the page number/URL (if applicable). I use
a simple .txt file and notepad to keep track of mine, but a notebook
would work fine for the less technologically inclined. It can be
organized, or just added to as stream-of-conciousnessconsciousness entries.
Keeping all these in one place, and writing down all the sources makes
trawling for ideas easy. A swipe file has saved me from flying
entirely by the seat of my pants many times, and it can do the same
for you.
Little tip, I keep my swipe file in my google documents. That way I
can access it anytime, anywhere without needing to be at my computer.
So if I decide to break out an awesome spontaneous roleplaying
session at our local coffee ship* I’ll be ready with tons of ideas.
* – Swipe Files are only an awesome spontaneous roleplaying aid in
coffee shops with wifi.
Now, next time inspiration strikes while reading or watching something
and you say ‘damn, that would make a great plot in my game’ hopefully
you’ll remember this article. If it would make a great plot in your
game, USE IT!
Afterword: Nothing of Consequence
Welcome to the afterword!
As you can tell from the Foreword, it’s been hell up here lately. I
won’t rant about it (any more then I already have) but I will be
making a more concerted effort to get Modular Gameworld content out on
time.
I’ll keep the afterword short and sweet this week, it’s always a
pleasure writing for you! See you in the next newsletter!
As always we at The Modular Gameworld feel that the best advertising
is word of mouth from people like you. If you enjoy our newsletter
please share it with your friends or send them to our website
ModularGameworld.com. We promise not to feed them to our laser sharks.
As always please e-mail your content, ideas, or concerns to
Ronny@PrincipleFactor.com. I would love to hear your ideas and we may
feature you in our newsletter!
Well that’s it for the fourth issue of the Modular Gameworld
Newsletter! It’s always a pleasure having you with us, good gaming!
-Ronny