tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post7723415047062944511..comments2023-06-08T08:26:07.304-05:00Comments on Advanced Gaming & Theory: 1053 Ravenloft: Realm of Terror Box Set ReviewRipperXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-55191634984557819732016-10-14T21:40:39.677-05:002016-10-14T21:40:39.677-05:00Of course, when dealing with commercially publishe...Of course, when dealing with commercially published modules, we have the added legwork of making the module's narrative fit our own and making it fit into our setting.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-23657172399904896832016-10-13T15:48:50.177-05:002016-10-13T15:48:50.177-05:00I think that what we do, despite our different app...I think that what we do, despite our different approaches, which is good, is take creative control over the stuff that we have. We both view corporate products as highjackers. The funny thing about modules is that sometimes it feels like I'm doing more work using them than just doing my own thing. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-84787685349493091232016-10-12T19:10:57.680-05:002016-10-12T19:10:57.680-05:00Aristotle's Poetica deals primarily with NPC&#...Aristotle's Poetica deals primarily with NPC's. It's a deep text that has a lot of psychology in it. He shows you how to make your players (literally) fall in love with your NPC's, how to horrify players and put them on edge through your NPC's that players will interact with. He shows you how to make your villains truly vile as far as your players go, and how to genuinely break players hearts in the real world through the actions of your evil NPC's in game. Amazing phenomenon! This book offers a lot to a DM who has a rudimentary understanding of his or her players.<br /><br />WOTC sells a different game.<br /><br />I never used modules, when I was young, and today, modules are a time saving crutch for me. I thoroughly gut them and incorporate them into my setting. Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-65010146626216062672016-10-11T15:56:46.215-05:002016-10-11T15:56:46.215-05:00I get you. Module addiction has always been a prob...I get you. Module addiction has always been a problem with both TSR and WotC. It tries to convince the purchaser that it is worth it. Now, granted, you do need a good variety of them to get you started, and I am with you, the early modules were the most helpful. Those contain the most rudimentary elements that allow the game to function at its finest, but at some point it still lays at the feet of the user. There is always that decision that must be made when a module refers you to some product that you don't own, and you must decide, "Should I buy it, or just make it up ourselves." Those who chose to make it up evolve, while those who throw money at it continue on completely unaware of what just happened. <br /><br />At some point, the module will end. Again, it requires the same decision, but at some point the user is going to have to throw the towel and leave the safety of his modules. A good product will have adventure seeds, and from what I've seen, WotC does have them, but the deal is players have to allow a DM to improve. THAT rule has always been active, regardless of rule-sets. Can anybody do it? WotC says yes, and I like that answer. I don't know if it is true, but I like the answer. <br /><br />I don't think that Aristotle can help, not as much as your players can. As far as original writing is concerned, it is the players who have to put up with you that is your target audience, and you've got to be humble enough to listen to their criticisms. <br /><br />I totally feel you on what you are saying though, Ravenloft and Planescape allowed you to be creative in a very safe environment. Would WotC give us this gift? No. I don't think that they would, but I also don't think that their audience has ever really wanted it. I gave my Planescape box away, it was beyond me at the time, and I knew it. I was confused and I hadn't yet made the chose to write my own material, I saw nothing but a huge money grab, but it wasn't. Not at all. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-77362999666751961532016-10-09T18:47:37.215-05:002016-10-09T18:47:37.215-05:00Ripper, you are missing the point here. Writing a ...Ripper, you are missing the point here. Writing a D&D adventure is the same as writing a story, except that you present it through maps, keys, whatever annotations you make, and what and how you narrate to players as a DM, and everything else that you and players do while running the adventure. The Complete Book of Villains supplement is based on dramaturgy (theater stage theory) and LIFTS a decent amount from Aristotle's Poetica. What and how you say as a DM to run your game and keep players involved is covered by the narrative theory in literature, WOTC presents it at a Pre-K level in their for DM's only section, and Mark Twain offers better useful advice. The last writings of the 1st Edition of D&D tried adopting the concepts of literary theory to developing better adventures, before TSR broke away from training DMs how to develop adventures. The Ravenloft and Planescape writers tried introducing non-linear storytelling via hardwiring setting (pocket dimensions in Ravenloft, City of Doors in Planescape, again something discussed in senior level and graduate level Lit classes. Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-30785862097637977502016-10-08T21:17:38.007-05:002016-10-08T21:17:38.007-05:00I really strive not to over write. I am a writer, ...I really strive not to over write. I am a writer, that isn't what I do when I'm gaming. I don't read box text, I describe only as much as I have to so that the players can see the room in their minds. I also describe only what they see, which can be horribly inaccurate. If a DM can't lie to his players, I feel sorry for them! <br /><br />As far a reading goes, I prefer fiction. I find inspiration all around me, but I'm also creative enough to make something out of nothing. When one makes a map of a city, one walks its streets, learns in politics, just sitting down with a notepad and a really good template is a lot of fun for me. Yes, it takes work, and yes hours can fly by while I'm working, but to me, that is what makes this game so much fun. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-2720818515987767522016-10-08T18:54:37.347-05:002016-10-08T18:54:37.347-05:00I got into writing before I got into D&D. Ther...I got into writing before I got into D&D. There is a separate niche market of books about writing for wannabe authors. Most of it is drivel or common sensical notions of outlining and revision, but a few have true magic in them. There is also a related fields of literary theory. Higher quality of ideas but you have to figure out a way to make it practical. And then you have to take another step to make it useful for your D&D game. A few books in the Literary field have magic in them as well, and their stuff is much headier.<br /><br />Role playing games are story-telling games whatever else we do to modulate the outcomes with rules, realism, and player participation. When WOTC bought out the TSR franchise, they went for sales, which meant selling primarily to players, make DM's dependent on publishes adventures, and expand the target audience from grizzled adult wargamers to pre-pubescent teens, who play diablo and read comic books.<br /><br />I would expand the Appendix with a DMs Only supplement. It would include such books as Aristotle's Poetica, Mark Twain's How to Tell a Story, and then for magical theory, try Umberto Eco's Six Walks in the Fictional Forest, and (my favorite) M.M. Bakhtin's Dialogic Imagination. Figure out the Japanese emotional spectrum of Sabe (beauty of nature -trees, flowers, garden), Wabe (beauty of the tools and gear one worls with), Aware (Nostalgia for the lost), and Jughen (Mystery of the Sunset, the forest, the darkness). Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Culture might have a clue in the stories he shares. It[s one of those things - you may find a pearl of the DMing wisdom, or you might not, but you got to go beyond the offerings of the gaming industry.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-4780726620707344552016-10-08T11:10:16.539-05:002016-10-08T11:10:16.539-05:00I fear that you are correct about this style being...I fear that you are correct about this style being retired, Brooser. I have always enjoyed a good element of mystery and playing a thinking man's game. I had a conversation a modern DM who refereed to my style of play as "a perfectionist" and gave tips on how to deal with my style at the table, implying that it is a bad thing. He believed that when I played I was always trying to make the game about me, which is short-sighted and instantly inflamed me. <br /><br />As a DM, our pace is much slower than a modern game. I know this to be true because I converted one of D&D's current products over to 2e and was quickly outpace by other tables who had started it at the same time. <br /><br />I added role-playing elements, and played up the mystery of the thing; and my players still didn't enjoy it because it wasn't challenging enough. There just wasn't enough mystery to work with, everything was just too obvious. There was no immersion, which is a big deal to us. I guess that I'd rather do my own writing anyway. <br /><br />Perhaps that is what keeps the younger people at the table coming back? They say that they really enjoy the depth of the games that we play. I think that D&D did get rid of this aspect of the game. Now it is about level. I read that some DM who plays 5e had already gotten his players to 20th level. That is crazy! I've been playing the game for decades and haven't achieved that. That isn't even our goal! Apparently there is more to AD&D than I was previously aware of. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-74244112246584164602016-10-07T19:21:21.946-05:002016-10-07T19:21:21.946-05:00I think that there is a similarity between the Rav...I think that there is a similarity between the Ravenloft and the Planescape boxed set. In both, the setting moved to a non-linear setting. I think that TSR was trying to adapt modern story-telling techniques to gameplay, a trend introduced with Tracy Hickman's modules, which involved an overarching plot. This development started with the chapter on adventure design in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide and ended, when WOTC released the 3rd Edition of the game.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-88997462463632015492016-10-06T08:33:35.856-05:002016-10-06T08:33:35.856-05:00I must have terrible luck, whenever I check on the...I must have terrible luck, whenever I check on the currant prices for the black box they are all very high. Sentimentality also plays a factor for me as well, I suppose. Perhaps if I was actually in the market to buy the product I could hunt down some deals.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-52194830691440824112016-10-05T21:14:08.703-05:002016-10-05T21:14:08.703-05:00Just picked up a used copy of this last month for ...Just picked up a used copy of this last month for $15.00. It's in pretty decent shape. I actually have not cracked it to read yet...but now I'm interested. :)<br /><br />David S.The Dale Wardenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12864432866927396245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-75996971545339443462016-10-04T10:04:03.469-05:002016-10-04T10:04:03.469-05:00I still have my black box and red box sets. Great ...I still have my black box and red box sets. Great review.David Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05099859123134583389noreply@blogger.com