The Kernel Of A Game: Concept, Style, and Focus

After a few days off, we return.

By now, you should have read at least the core rulebooks for whatever you're playing, and probably found a few things that seem quite interesting from them. Now, let's start actually putting your chronicle or campaign (I'm just going to use campaign from now on) together.

The written narrative can be separated into five components --- plot, character, setting, mood, and theme. Dividing roleplaying games into those components is difficult by simple virtue of the fact that they're a game. However, the focus --- what the rest of the campaign is hung off of --- of the roleplaying game can be divided into those components neatly. Let's look at each of them.

Plot: A plot-based campaign focuses on one specific plot, follows that plotline, and ends when that plot is completed. A campaign focusing around one specific storyline, like the rebellion against the evil necromancer lord or the rise to power of the Carthians in a specific city, is plot-based.

Characters: A character-based campaign establishes a solid set of characters, and then follows what happens to them for a length of time. As opposed to a plot-based campaign, character-based campaigns finish when a specific character conclusion is reached, such as the end to their personal story arcs. D&D's most common campaign type is the entire adventuring career of one adventurer party --- this is a character-based campaign, as it revolves around the arc of the characters as opposed to an external plotline. World of Darkness character-based campaigns establish the local sociopolitical region and follow the movements of the coterie, cabal, or other player group throughout that area.

Setting: Setting-based campaigns focus on exploring one specific aspect of the setting, such as the demon lords of the Abyss or the dragon nests of the Ordo Dracul. This aspect is sociopolitical, geographical, historical, temporal, or anything else that isn't character-based --- exploring the secrets of the Bone Lords of Thrun is a setting-based concept, while the campaign against a specific Bone Lord is either plot-based or character-based. One other type of possible-setting based campaign relates to a specific geographical region, such as the story of a specific period in a country's history. However, if this sort of campaign focuses on one specific event, as opposed to the area that event takes place in, or multiple events in that area, it's better classified as a plot-based campaign.

Mood: Mood-based campaigns focus on a specific mood and possibly genre above all others. A "swashbuckling on the high seas" campaign filled with derring-do and romance is a mood-based campaign. Exploring the moods common to American or British mystery or horror would also be a mood-based campaign.

Theme: Theme-based campaigns focus on a specific theme and exemplifying that theme throughout the rest of the campaign. Theme campaigns are very close to plot-based campaigns, except that their main idea is not temporal but thematic. A campaign based around the fall of angels to hell and their subsequent redemption would be plot-based if it sells itself as "the story of angels falling and then redeeming themselves", and would be theme-based if it sells itself as "good outlasts evil" and uses the plotline to illustrate that theme.

The next thing to consider is your narrative level, which is essentially the aim of your campaign. Luckily for us, narrative level can separated into three discreet categories for roleplaying games.

Play An Entertaining Game: This level's pretty comparable to an action movie. The interest is in having fun and just enjoying yourself. Characters are designed to be interesting challenges instead of narrative building blocks. This level is the closest to just a game out of any of the three. D&D natively lends itself to this. It's a level some are happy with, but there's much more possibility (and greater possibilities, at that) for roleplaying games.

Tell An Entertaining Story: This level is where things really start to get interesting. Here, you're looking at creating a great narrative, of whatever your campaign focuses on. Characters matter narratively, and theme and mood really begin to make their presence felt. Compare to science-fiction --- the emphasis is on providing a good story, and possibly using it as a platform to explore issues and ideas. The World of Darkness lends itself to at least this level.

Explore An Issue, Make A Statement: This level is where you're starting to aspire to greater things. You're not just looking at a good story, but you're looking at how you can explore issues and make meaningful statements. At this level, theme drives everything. Characters are thematic symbols and ciphers as opposed to narrative tools --- everything revolves around the lesson or other theme. Think of fables or great literary works. The World of Darkness works towards this type of play.

The Gaming Garden recommends the two higher levels for play in general, and suggests beginner GMs aspire to the second level. As such, the vast majority of the rest of the Kernel Of A Game advice is aimed at that level.

Finally, the next two things you want to consider at this stage are theme and mood. At least for most campaigns (see above), theme and mood are crucial tools. Mood offers a consistent palette to visualize the campaign within, connecting separate aspects and plotlines. Theme, on the other hand, offers a consistent thematic basis. Working off your theme can give you an idea as to how a specific aspect should be portrayed or changed to work in your campaign.

Each game line or specific campaign setting suggests default moods, such as the gothic horror of Vampire: The Requiem or the pulp action of Eberron. Think of a mood that you like and that matches the game line you're working with --- you should be able to summarize it in one statement.

Most game lines also suggest default themes. Mage: The Awakening looks at the corrupting effect power has upon humanity, for example. You may want to leave theme until you complete the next step, that of the campaign concept.

The next thing you want to do is figure out your campaign concept, a one-sentence overview of the campaign as a whole. This campaign concept should be like a movie pitch or a synopsis that you'd tell someone to get them to watch or read something, like "A group of FBI agents investigates mysterious disappearances in a small town." Your campaign concept should also give you an idea of which one of the five narrative components the campaign is based around. Here are five example campaign concepts for D&D and the World of Darkness, one of for each of the narrative elements.

Dungeons & Dragons:

1. The PCs lead a rebellion against the evil giant tyrants of their native land. (Plot)
2. A group of adventurers, gathered under the auspice of the great wizard Argatha, journey across the Fallen Lands in search of fame and fortune. (Character)
3. An operative team from the Covenant of Illuminated Learning investigate the Blood Wave that laid waste to the land of Kheldren some thousand years ago. (Setting)
4. Courtly intrigue is the name of the day for the Dragon Courts of Eltam. (Mood)
5. Humanity will adapt to any challenge, as the Riverlands show when they unite to face invaders from horrific dimensions inimical to human existence. (Theme)

The World of Darkness:

1. The Lancea Sanctum takes back St. Louis from the Circle of Crone. (Plot)
2. A group of tightly-knit friends Awaken one night on their way home from the bar. (Character)
3. One night a local historian comes across a journal of forbidden secrets in the local library, secrets she is driven to verify --- with horrific consequences for her and the friends she enlists to help her. (Setting)
4. The Atlantean mages of Ottawa labour bleakly under the iron fist of an authoritarian Guardian Hierarch. (Mood)
5. Everyone has skeletons in their closet, a statement all too true for the Primogen of Miami when they are confronted with enemies from their past seeking their overthrow. (Theme)

Finally, you may wish to re-examine your theme and mood in the context of your campaign concept, discarding or changing ideas to fit your concept better.

By now, you should have a campaign concept, theme, mood, and narrative level chosen --- the glue and core that holds the campaign together. Next, we'll start doing something with them.

---Arivia

The Kernel Of A Game: Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons is the grandfather of all roleplaying games, and its sociological and artistic impact upon not only roleplaying games but gaming as a whole (we'll get into that further some day) cannot be understated.

Genre: Fantasy. No matter the setting or the campaign, Dungeons and Dragons itself is firmly bound in fantasy, from elves to the dungeons and dragons in its name. The specific type of fantasy differs from campaign to campaign, however --- swords and sorcery, epic fantasy, fantasy so gritty you can feel the blood in every sword strike --- there's room for it in D&D.

Rules: The current edition of D&D (3.5) is built upon the d20 system, which essentially means all major roles are done using twenty-sided dice (referred to as d20s). Generally, D&D's rules are complex, but cover a lot of possibilities and have a lot of room in them. You're expected to bring story, characters, and all the hallmarks of a good game yourself --- the sourcebooks focus on giving you a ruleset to set that in, and materials to work with. Players who like lots of cool abilities and character rules options love D&D.

Options: D&D's main divide in terms of options comes in the form of campaign settings. Unlike most other gaming lines, D&D's main line gives you just rules options, and little setting --- for example, wizards are detailed, and optional rules for special training at specific schools of wizardry are given --- but no actual schools are detailed. Usually. A few supplements are very thematically consistent and suggest settings in and of themselves; some bear references to a whitewashed version of a setting called Greyhawk, which is nominally where the D&D rulebooks are based within. On the other hand, there are two pre-done campaign settings for your use, which I recommend.

The Forgotten Realms: The Forgotten Realms is arguably the most detailed fantasy world ever. It's definitely the most detailed gaming setting ever, and arguably the most influential fantasy setting ever after the Lord of the Rings. The Forgotten Realms is sword-and-sorcery first and foremost, focusing on the efforts of tightly-knit bands of folk (some might call them heroes, some might call them fools) to hold back darkness and evil. Play in the Realms if you're interested in the classic style of fantasy.

Eberron: Eberron is the newer child on the block. It's notable for looking at fantasy through the lens of swashbuckling adventure and early 20th century pulp action --- while still being recognizable as D&D, Eberron's dungeons look ripe for Indiana Jones. It's also notable for the take at magitech, also known as using magic advancements to replace scientific ones, as is evident in such items as the lightning rail, a magical train. Play in Eberron if you're interested in the style of the pulps at their best.

Going It Alone: It's also possible to design your own campaign setting. It's possibly the best time-waster in the history of human existance, but a wonderful creative endeavour. If you go this route, prepare to spend a lot of time creating game elements out of whole cloth --- elements that, in the scope of this article series, may be out of our area of coverage (although we'll note at them.) I don't really recommend it for beginners.

Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Ghostwalk: There have been single supplements produced for other campaign settings, namely Dragonlance, Greyhawk, and Ghostwalk. Greyhawk has supply problems for the current edition, and Ghostwalk isn't for beginners. Dragonlance is the one of note --- if you like epic fantasy, it's the way to go, and the folks at dragonlance.com can help you figure out what you'll need to pick up (I have little to no experience with the setting.)

What You Need: Each player needs a set of dice --- one four-sider, one to four six-siders (preferably four), one eight-sider, one to two ten-siders (preferably two, one with ones digits on it and one with tens digits on it), one twelve-sider, and one twenty-sider. Most gaming stores sell pre-done tubes of these prepped by dice companies, which will likely be missing the fourth six-sider, and which is worth the separate purchase. Wizards of the Coast (D&D's publisher) sells sets, too, but there's no real compelling reason to buy them to the exclusion of others. Pick up the five books listed for whichever campaign setting you go with in order and a pad of graph paper; unlike the World of Darkness, there's a much higher cost of entry for D&D --- you must have all of the mandatory books listed, and the dice. Total cost for all five books and the dice should run you about $260 CAD; if you can't get the paper from somewhere, a pad will be about $3.

The Forgotten Realms:

1. Player's Handbook v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread pages 61--67, Chapters 8, 9, and 10, and the Glossary.)
2. Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapters 1, 2, and 8.)
3. Monster Manual v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapter 7.)
4. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Mandatory; Reread Chapter 3.)
5. Player's Guide To Faerun (Mandatory)
   

Eberron:

1. Player's Handbook v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread pages 61--67, Chapters 8, 9, and 10, and the Glossary.)
2. Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapters 1, 2, and 8.)
3. Monster Manual v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapter 7.)
4. Eberron Campaign Setting (Mandatory; Reread pages 45--46 and pages 129--133.)
5. Player's Guide To Eberron (Reread page 15.)

Going It Alone:

1. Player's Handbook v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread pages 61--67, Chapters 8, 9, and 10, and the Glossary.)
2. Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapters 1, 2, and 8.)
3. Monster Manual v.3.5 (Mandatory; Reread Chapter 7.)
4. Dungeon Master's Guide II (Reread pages 81--108 and Chapter 1.)
5. Player's Handbook II (Reread pages 147--157 and Chapter 5.)
   

The Kernel Of A Game: The World of Darkness

The World of Darkness is a darkened version of our own, a horrific counterpart where corruption lurks in every department, vampires rule the night, and all your worst fears are animate.

Genre: Horror. The World of Darkness is wholly focused upon horror --- all types of it, although it tends to the personal and the psychological, instead of the gory. Different supernatural groups within the World of Darkness (see below) emphasize different types of horror.

Rules: The ruleset that is used for the World of Darkness is called the Storytelling System. It's relatively rules-light, uses one type of die (10-sided, or d10s), and emphasizes story, thematics, and character over anything else. The one problem that some players may have is that character design is based off of personal history and a strong concept, as opposed to a collection of rules options and stereotypes --- not a bad thing at all, but difficult for some players.

The Options: The World of Darkness roleplaying game comes in a few different flavours.

The World of Darkness Line: The core World of Darkness line (all sourcebooks with World of Darkness in their titles) focuses on humans discovering and dealing with the supernatural. In this line, vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers are inhumane horrors to be survived, not known figures to be dealt with. This is the closest to the archetypal view of popular horror, and can be stretched to survival horror and slasher flicks.

Vampire: The Requiem: Vampire: The Requiem focuses on the personal horror of characters turned into vampires (colloquially, Kindred) and their unlives that follow (Requiems, colloquially). Humans are prey and tools; other vampires are uneasy allies and worse enemies; werewolves and sorcerers are the unknown. This is the best option for personally exploring the horror of becoming a monster.

Mage: The Awakening: Mage: The Awakening depicts normal humans who have Awakened to the magical potential within themselves. The horror of Mage comes from setting elements, such as the life-draining Tremere liches, and by using the concept of the Awakening to examine the horrors of the human condition as a whole. Mage has a much higher fantasy quotient then the other lines; it's still horror, but with an arcane twist. It also has the best magic system of any roleplaying game, ever. Play Mage if you're interested in exploring the magic of the modern day and life as a whole.

Werewolf: The Forsaken & Promethean: The Created: These are two other supernatural lines that are available (or will soon be available, in Promethean's case.) I don't have much familiarity with them, and as such don't feel comfortable recommending them.

What You Need: Each player needs ten ten-sided dice. White Wolf sells sets customized for each game line; these are worth their premium price for the thematic effects and highlighted success numbers, which make rolling a breeze. Next, pick up these five rulebooks for whichever line you decide to go with; pick them up in order, as some refer to ones before them. Total cost is about $250 CAD; if need be, you can get by with the dice, and the first one or two rulebooks on the list.

The World of Darkness:

1. The World of Darkness Rulebook (Reread pages 32-39 and Chapters 6, 7, and 8.)
2. World of Darkness Armory (Reread Chapters 1 and 2.)
3. World of Darkness Second Sight (Reread Chapter 1.)
4. World of Darkness Tales From The 13th Precinct (Reread Chapter 2. Note: If you're outside of North America, replace this with World of Darkness Mysterious Places.)
5. World of Darkness Antagonists

Vampire: The Requiem:

1. The World of Darkness Rulebook (Reread pages 32-39 and Chapters 6, 7, and 8.)
2. Vampire: The Requiem (Reread pages 99-100 and Chapter 3.)
3. Requiem Chronicler's Guide
4. Mythologies
5. World of Darkness Armory (Reread Chapters 1 and 2.)
   

Mage: The Awakening

1. The World of Darkness Rulebook (Reread pages 32-39 and Chapters 6, 7, and 8.)
2. Mage: The Awakening (Reread pages 75-80, 110-132, and 268-291.)
3. Sanctum And Sigil
4. Tome of the Watchtowers
5. Secrets of the Ruined Temple (Note: By the time you read this, Tome of the Mysteries may be out, which you should pick up instead.)

The Kernel Of A Game: System

So, you've now chosen to be the GM, the one pulling the strings and directing.

Now, where do you go from here?

Well, you need to begin by building your game. And the first step of that, is to decide what system you're going to use.

Now, roleplaying game systems are unusual things. They're half-setting and half-rules for that setting. Hence, it's important to get an idea of what type of game you're looking for before deciding on a system, and examining what the system brings for you to work with.

The next two posts will contain examinations of the two systems we'll be dealing with throughout the majority of the Kernel Of A Game process: The World of Darkness, and Dungeons & Dragons.

However, before we even get to that step, we need to teach you how to do something else.

Reading roleplaying game books is an interesting experience. On one hand, they have great content in them --- great stuff you'll love having in your game. On the other hand, they are terribly, terribly boring reads, generally --- they're far closer to reference works than anything you'd actually enjoy reading, and at most, the best immediate feeling you'll get out of one is a good hankering for a gaming session or two.

That's why you should follow this general strategy when starting off on a new game: read the rulebook once, cover to cover. Then, make a character following the stated directions in the rulebook, and cross-reference everything. Reread sections that you think will come up often in actual play, such as the systems for combat. (Each review of a gaming system to follow will tell you which sections those are.) Finally, reference endlessly --- out-of-session. (In-session's a different topic we'll get to later.)

Postscript: Why Dungeons & Dragons and The World of Darkness, to the exclusion of all others? Firstly, they're the most popular. In an activity with as little presence as roleplaying games, this matters a lot. Secondly, between them, most any gaming base and desire is covered. Thirdly, the other games the Gaming Garden focuses on are either not appropriate for fresh-out-of-the-gate beginners (Paranoia, which is really best once you've cut your teeth on something else) or are wonderful gems with supply and player problems (Nobilis). If you do pick up Nobilis (highly recommended), it has a lot to do with the World of Darkness. Paranoia Straight GMs should filter the suggestions for the World of Darkness through the lens of Paranoia (Paranoia Flashbacks' "Mediocrity Is Treason" section on pages 2--3 is extremely helpful in this respect.)

---Arivia

The Catalyst: Beyond The Pin

The above link is a small essay I wrote on the role and concept of paraphernalia in roleplaying games, and was the catalyst to start the Garden.

The Kernel Of A Game: You

As with all other things, it's always necessary to have a set of examples to work within, a common reference point for discussion.

And on the other hand, it's also a good idea, when discussing how to do something, to start at the basics and work from there.

Hence, the first project of sorts for the Gaming Garden --- an introductory guide to GMing, which officially begins now.

Why should you GM?

Many different games offer up many different reasons for someone to want to be the GM, the one at the center of it all, who runs the entire game. Let's take a look at a few of them.

...

Actually, none of them do. They all offer the what, the how, the when, and the where, but not the why. So why the why? What elevates the role of the GM above that of the players?

You should GM if you want all the cool toys.

Seriously. What's cooler than having all the power in the game, and getting to play with all the fun stuff in the setting --- dragons, demons, angels, whatever, you get to play with it.

You should GM if you like writing stories.

Come on. If you're the GM, you get to write all the stories the group goes through --- whether it's saving the princess or destroying Frankenstein, you get to write the stories.

You should GM if you like playing all the cool parts.

The knight, the knave, the king --- these are all the cool roles you get to play out as the GM, all roles the players will interact with as their characters.

You should GM if you like making up the world.

When you played make believe as a child, were you the one who said the pile of blankets was the castle and the chair the evil fortress? Are you the type that draws elaborate linguistic systems and dreams of far-off fantasy lands? Well, you can make those fortresses and languages exist in a roleplaying game --- the perfect vehicle to explore them.

In all actuality, these are some okay reasons to GM. They're pretty standard ones for that matter. However, they all discount or exclude one thing:

The players.

No matter how you cut it, the game you play, the style you have, or the wonderful boatloads of rulebooks you bring to the table, the players are your worst enemy, best friends, audience, and critics all in one. You will love them and hate them all in the space of a minute; you will be with them and apart from them in a session.

The fact of the matter is, roleplaying is not just a storytelling medium, but it's a cooperative medium, at that. Despite an obvious allegory to you as the director and the players as the actors, the reality is that the players don't have a script to work on. Instead, you have reams and reams of notes, and they have a canvas to improvise and work their magic within. Let's look at each of the reasons again, this time with a view to player interaction:

You should GM if you like all the cool toys.

You should GM if you like using entertaining concepts as narrative techniques or show pieces. If you like Godzilla, don't think that playing Godzilla is cool --- no, instead, do you have that same sort of fire for exploring what the stories that Godzilla can be used in and create, like a Tokyo-stomping rage of destruction, a family looking to survive, and the challenges they face in rebuilding their lives when a giant lizard tail took out their apartment?

You should GM if you like writing stories.

You should GM if you like exploring a narrative idea. GMing is often quite painful --- you come to the table with a wonderful idea laid out, and just when the players are to be chasing the thief with the red scarf, they follow the woman with the bone charms instead. GMing isn't about a set plan --- instead, it's about co-operative storytelling, where well-defined protagonists explore a situation or plotline; it's about the joys of discovery and invention, where many thoughts make for a story better than just the thoughts of one person.

You should GM if you like playing all the cool parts.

As a GM, part of your role is to play all the non-player characters the players encounter, like the knave, the knight, and the king. And your goal is really to just use these characters narratively and then quietly usher them off-stage. Your non-player characters aren't there to be protagonists --- that's the players' job. Instead, they're there for narrative use, to establish the setting, and to be interesting. The hallmark of a good non-player character is not when they dominate the narrative, but instead when they are narratively significant and memorable, like the foster father the players return to every time they are in Mill Town or the too-slick, sharp lawyer the players never want to see again and curse every time they hear his name.

You should GM if you like making up the world.

You should GM if you like making up the setting, as it is the backdrop upon which all your other actions will be judged by. The most wonderful plot to ever be set to paper is sunk if it occurs in the Land of Pointy Trees, or features Semaj Dnob the superspy. Setting and mood are far more integral in roleplaying games because they are not just a narrative concept --- instead, they're far more relevant and needed due to the improvisational method of gaming. There will be times when your setting, theme, and mood are all you have to work with --- and you'll be damned glad you did them well.

Ultimately, the director and actor example may be the best. Are you the director-type, who wants to explore the story as a whole, as opposed to the actor, who looks for a challenging or new character to explore and enjoy playing? If you're that director, GMing's for you.

--- Arivia

The Mission Statement

The goal of The Gaming Garden is to present essays, advice, and general tips on the art of Game Mastering/Storytelling/The Big Person With All The Power from a narrative and thematic basis, and on the general idea, theory, polity, culture, and zeitgeist of roleplaying games as a whole.

A few points of general order:

1) Everything applies primarily to pen-and-paper roleplaying games, not their computer or console counterparts. Additionally, the main focus is on the GM/ST/DM in those games, not the players they play with.

2) The main systems the Gaming Garden focuses on are: Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, The World of Darkness (including Vampire: The Requiem and Mage: The Awakening), Nobilis, and Paranoia [XP].

3) Generically, the term "Game Master" is used to replace the game-specific terms such as Dungeon Master, Storyteller, or Hollyhock God.

4) Reiteration because it's crucial: The focus and philosophy the Gaming Garden espouses is based around thematics and storytelling, no matter the game --- this is the glue any good game works off of, no matter if it's film noir detectives or orc-slaying adventurers. Don't look for tips on how to optimize a character's combat power --- look for tips on how to maximize their narrative usage and potential.

5) Testament of frequency: I will attempt to post at least one entry, essay, link discussion, or other item of notice at least once a week, most likely on Tuesdays. No guarantees as to frequency yet, as my schedule is undergoing some flux, but that once a week goal is attainable, I feel. (And if nothing else, gives me something to do on Sunday afternoons.)

--- Arivia