There is a fear I have seen among a lot of writers out there. In short, it's a desire to make something genuinely new and different the no one has seen before, which is driven by a fear that someone will accuse their work of being derivative, or of simply being too similar to other stories that have been told before. And, for some reason, this fear seems to affect Game Masters (particularly newer Game Masters) to an even greater extent. They worry their players will guess their twists, figure out their inspirations, or that once they get a bit of insight they'll be completely uninterested in the game because it won't be new or fresh anymore.
Now, I don't often turn to the bible in situations like this. Not my faith, not my book. With that said, though, I'd recommend Ecclesiates 1:9 for advice. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
I'll be damned... it's right in the book.
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
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Seriously, Just Embrace It!
There are a lot of Game Masters who likely laughed, shook their heads, or rolled their eyes at the introductory paragraphs. I've lost count of the number of people who are all too happy to list the books, movies, and even other RPG settings they've stolen their ideas from, talking about the various NPCs, locales, and plot arcs they've snagged from other places to make their own Frankenstein creatures to serve up to their players.
And in some cases the GM had wider, deeper, or older tastes than the players, so nobody realized the campaign, world, etc. wasn't spun entirely out of whole cloth. However, most of the time realizing that a Game Master took inspiration from a particular property (or even an entire part of history, for those who know that Game of Thrones is based on the War of The Roses) doesn't ruin the experience for the players... because it's not about being utterly and completely unique in a way that no one has ever done things before. It's about providing your players an experience that's unique to them and which has your signature style on it.
Put another way, think of your campaign as a grilled cheese. Everyone knows what a grilled cheese is, and everyone has probably had them dozens of different ways over their lifetime. Now, you might make yours in a slightly different way that some people (maybe your cheese is spicy, maybe you use mayo instead of butter to ensure the bread is toasty, perhaps you like to put bacon bits in it, whatever it is you do), but others are going to take one bite and it will be instantly familiar to them. That doesn't mean they stop eating the sandwich, especially if you prepared something they like in a way that is fresh, delicious, and which is served up on a platter to them.
I've got plenty of examples in my own catalog where I embraced the inspirations for a particular project. My elevator pitch for The Curse of Sapphire Lake is, "The love child of Beowulf and Friday the 13th," after all. And fans of classic action movies will quickly recognize the inspiration behind my Army Men mission module Assault on Outpost 13, since even the title is an homage to the film Assault on Precinct 13. My Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy RPG setting completely does away with the convoluted multiplanar structure used in Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons, opting for a simpler, more streamlined system of the material world and the Prim, which I explained in Gods of Sundara... and it's going to look very familiar to any fans of the Warp in Warhammer 40K as far as structure goes.
Hell, even my World of Darkness supplement Evil Incorporated just looked at historical atrocities (and modern ones) committed by corporations and billionaires. The introductory fiction even has a veiled call-out to the owners of Hobby Lobby who (at least allegedly) paid a ridiculous amount of money to terrorists in the Middle East to purchase stolen relics which they kept in their own homes.
Now, I'm far from unique in this aspect. Zon-Kuthon, from Pathfinder is clearly heavily inspired by the cenobites of Hellraiser, but not only that, the nation that worships him is steeped in winks and nods to Melnibone, the nation from the Elric novels by Moorcock. The same can be said of the supposedly cursed kingdom of Valyria from Game of Thrones, for the record. There are references all over our games to works by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, to say nothing of Tolkien. And that's before we get into the copious use of world mythology, and great works of fiction like Arthur and his knights of the round table.
So while a particular game might have a different flavor, or a unique twist on things (such as a medieval fantasy game where you have to investigate the Cthulhu Mythos, or recreating the Trojan War as a starfaring space battle using mech combat), the inspirations are going to be present. There is always going to be a story that came before you, or a character someone else has seen, that bears some similarity to what you're doing at your table. More importantly, if you spend all your time focusing on what you don't want your game to be, then you're going to define it by what it isn't, rather than what it is.
I'm not saying you should shamelessly copy someone else's homework and just change a couple of the names around (I'm looking at you, Games Workshop). However, if you're tying yourself into knots worried that your players are going to figure out that your particular order of cavaliers is based on Lancelot, or that they're going to guess the plot twist for the traitorous noble because he's basically Count Dooku with a bastard sword, don't sweat those kinds of things. Instead, focus on the presentation and preparation for your game.
Everyone has had a grilled cheese before. Just make sure the one you serve them is perfectly crispy, melty, and delicious, and everyone will probably enjoy it!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
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As my regular readers know, I've been releasing supplements for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy TTRPG setting for a couple of years now. While interest has gone up and down over that time, and it certainly has a small number of dedicated fans, it's sometimes hard to keep revealing new parts of the map when only a trickle of players and Game Masters seem interested in these new developments.
So it was quite a shock to me when I found out that Sundara now has its own page on TV Tropes!
Which is pretty exciting, honestly.
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
A Nice Little Pick Me Up (Even If It's Incomplete)
While the page for Sundara on TV Tropes definitely hits some of the high notes I've had for the setting as far as tropes I've included and avoided (such as mentioning the purpose was to avoid the trope Here There Were Dragons, while including things like Floating City, along with Weird World, Weird Food), I will be the first to say that it's definitely a little sparse so far. While there's elements of Archbliss and Ironfire on this list, there is so, so much more that I've already included in the setting, and quite a number of things that I plan on putting into it going forward, as well.
Which is why I wanted to take a moment to ask a favor of all the gamers out there who have gotten at least some copies of Sundara's supplements so far. Would you please take a moment to go to the Sundara page, and do your part to expand it?
Because there's been a lot of stuff released over the past couple of years.
From my latest release 100 Effects of a Primquake, all the way back to the Pathfinder and DND 5E versions of Ironfire, there's a lot of material to cover in this setting, and I'm hard at work on even more stuff right now. Though I'm not averse to going back through the lists of inspirations I've taken for shaping this setting, I know that I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the tropes one might find, and I don't want to miss something players might find interesting or important... so if you have the time, just go through, and add one of your own to the list.
I'd love to see this page grow!
Need To Catch Up On Sundara?
Whether this is the first you're hearing about Sundara, or you're one of the folks who picked up the Deal of The Day and are curious about what else you can find in this setting, the older supplements are all listed below! Additionally, I've been putting together episodes of Speaking of Sundara on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should definitely subscribe to) talking about some of the design strategies I've used, breaking down what's in particular supplements, and explaining some of the changes I've made to what folks might expect from a traditional fantasy RPG setting, from how I chopped out alignment, to the uncertain nature of gods, to how technology and magic both lead to unique inventions among the people of Sundara!
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
Organizations of Sundara
Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:
- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.
- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.
- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
If you're a gamer on any social media right now, then you've no doubt seen the firestorms surrounding the Why Orcs Are Problematicpost that's been going around. On one side of the argument you have players shouting, "We know, we've been saying this for years!" and on the other side of it you have players rolling their eyes and shouting back, "Orcs aren't even real, Jesus Christ not everything is racist!"
Artist's depiction of the comments section.
The problem here is that the argument is often couched in black-and-white, binary terms. Either orcs are problematic, or they're not. However, there's a lot going on beneath the surface, and a lot to think about. Not just in gaming in general, but also in terms of the fiction we draw on, the stories we tell, and the attitudes that are often baked-in with the games we consume.
So if you're looking for a deeper dive beyond the two options presented above (or if you're confused and looking for context) hopefully this Monday's post will help you out a bit.
But if that's not really your bag, well, my latest Critical Hits module from TPK just dropped this weekend, so you could go check out The Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh instead!
Seriously, go give it some love!
First Things First, What is an Orc?
Most of us already know the answer, so go ahead and say it with me! Orcs, as a creation of J.R.R. Tolkien were inherently evil humanoid creatures who served the dark lord and made up the ranks of his foot soldiers. They were corrupted, wicked, and they made up the muscle of the threat our heroes had to face.
Check out so far?
In their original incarnation, the orcs were symbolic as much as they were an actual threat to be dealt with. They were also monolithic; the orcs were a hoard, and there was no real, important difference between them. Some might be bigger, some might be meaner, some might be more skilled, but orcs were generally painted with a pretty broad brush. Which, one might argue, was one part of the initial problem.
The Depictions (And Evolution) of Orcs
Elements of this mythology maintained in Dungeons and Dragons' early days. Orcs were repulsive creatures who were brutal, violent, disorganized, and they typically worshiped/were bound to a dark god who demanded slaughter, sacrifice, and debased acts. While I would argue that maintaining a monolithic culture, and not giving orcs a great deal of depth were issues in the writing, the other issues actually came from their art in the early days.
And speaking of problematic art...
As was mentioned in the article, orcs were often depicted bearing weapons and armor inspired by non-European nations of the real world. Now, this was definitely fantasy, and there was no one issue of an orc carrying a kukri or wearing mirror armor that was a problem individually... it was the trend. It was the broad overall pattern that drew the battle lines in purely visual terms. Orcs were universally savage, brutal, and they carried weapons that bore a striking resemblance to India, China, Mongolia, and the Middle East. The heroes were drawing on the aesthetics and inspiration of Western European heroes, and so we have what might literally look like caricatures of East v. West.
Was that intentional? No, probably not. Just as Tolkien didn't state in his books that orcs were supposed to be based on any particular ethnicity or to represent any one group (though he did state in his letters he was drawing on specific ethnicities to make them seem more foreign to his projected European readers), the initial intent was probably not to say Europe good, non-Europe bad. Doesn't mean that's not how it came across, though.
Things got more problematic when orcs stopped just being corrupted evil beings and were given free will and choice. The creation of half-orcs (and eventually of orcs becoming PCs) meant that monsters who had once been entirely used for plot devices now had to become a varied and organic part of the world. But as we saw in Volo's Guide, as mentioned in the original article, there is still a clinging to the idea that all orcs are brutish, savage, and incapable of true empathy and understanding. They're always, at their core, monsters by their very nature. Inhuman. Other.
This becomes really problematic when you look at orcs as a big picture under those circumstances. Because if they can have children with humans, that raises questions of agency, of decisions, and of stereotyping. What was once a generic plot-filler threat is now an entire category made up of individuals who by the lore can be, do, and become what they want the same as any other character. Yet they're still treated as savage, backward, and lesser at the same time. That's frustrating for players who want to be orcs, but it also continues the trend of maintaining that problematic message.
Our Fiction Inherits Baggage (Whether Like It Or Not)
I grew up reading pulp fiction, and there is a breathtaking amount of racism and sexism in those stories. A lot of it was a product of its time, but many among us forget that the stories and tropes of that time didn't just get uprooted and replaced with shiny, new stuff that nixed the problematic descriptions. Many of these elements endured and maintained, until we didn't see them as products of prejudiced attitudes; they were just the way these stories were told.
Bob Chipman explained it particularly well using the trope of The Lost City.
For those who didn't watch it, the trope of The Lost City has its roots deep in European colonialism to Africa. Explorers would find these ancient ruins, and they would be flabbergasted that something like this could be found in Africa. They turned themselves inside out trying to explain it, ignoring the obvious that perhaps they were built by the ancestors of the people who still lived there. Nonsense! Black people could never comprehend the skill or ability it would take to build a castle, ridiculous!
And as Bob points out, that trope kept coming back over the generations. It existed in the time of the pulps, and early adventure fiction, it showed up in Indiana Jones, it was latched onto by games like Tomb Raider and Uncharted... it's a part of so many stories it would take a huge list to lay them all out.
Does that make all the stories who used this trope racist simply because they have their roots in a colonialist view? No, it doesn't. But it is important to hold these stories at arm's length, and ask what part of the original ancestor has survived and thrived in the current example, and how it was able to make it all the way into the modern incarnation. And, perhaps, what to do to fix it so that baggage doesn't weigh on the narrative.
For those looking for a real-world example, The Liberal Redneck Manifesto talks about the battle flag of northern Virginia... what a lot of people immediately think of as the Confederate flag. It was flown in a losing war, and then it was resurrected as a symbol of hate by organizations like the KKK, and by segregationists who wanted to cow and frighten black people. The flag became a symbol of several Southern musicians as well, and it was adopted by many who saw it as a rebel icon... the problem was that it still held all those older, more awful connotations for black people, and other ethnic minorities. So even if someone wears that flag because it's something waved around by a musician they like, or it's something they associate with family and good times at home, it's important to recognize that there's more to its legacy than the parts you've seen and know. You have to look at all of it, and at what message it sends to other people.
Oh, So Now It's Racist To Have Orcs as Bad Guys?
This is probably the dumbest thing I've seen come out of this conversation, so I'm going to address it here. It is not racist to have orcs as bad guys in your game. It's not racist to play an orc character. The issue arises when people ignore the history of how orcs have been depicted (and the real-life cultures often associated with them through their art, cultural trademarks, etc.), and when they don't put in the work of actually developing orcs in their settings.
There is no replacement for hard work.
As an example, I'm going to turn to Paizo's Golarion setting. When most people think of orcs in this world, they tend to think of the orc hold of Belkzen. This nation is a loose confederation of warring tribes who worship harsh and brutal gods, who value strength, and who were the foot soldiers of a powerful lich king who sought to conquer the world a handful of generations ago. They are, in a very real sense, one of the best takes I've seen on Tolkien's orcs as an organic part of a setting.
However, they are one of dozens of different settlements around the world, and each of them has their own unique culture, background, history, and feel in the context of the setting. The settlement of Averaka is a hard-working fishing village on a northern coast. Orcs and half-orcs in the Mwangi Expanse are often valued for their strength and durability, and they often hold important positions in tribes. Orcs in the deserts form their own familial groups, trading and intermarrying with others. Orcs and half-orcs have a wide variety of traits players and DMs can pick to customize them to a given area, but more importantly the lore of the setting makes it clear that attitudes, styles of society, etc. are a product of their history in a given area, rather than some in-born sameness that all orcs share.
That's the level of work it takes to make a sentient race a real, breathing part of a world and setting, and all of that has to carry through to how they're treated in the world as well. If a settlement is being raided by orcs, ask why, and build that into the adventure. Are they a war band who can't find a master, and they would rather take from the farmers than lay down their swords? Are they starving and pushed out to the edge of the badlands, so they have to steal in order to live? Is there a disagreement over the terms of a peace treaty, or are they mercenaries whose services have been bought by a bigger NPC with a hidden agenda? Is this a land-bound group of pirates looking to get back on the river, but they need the resources to repair their ship?
All of those are workable, and they add extra depth and meaning, allowing orcs to stand on their own as characters instead of as caricatures.
Lastly, Consider The Problematic Core of Many Adventures
Now, I know we're talking about orcs here, but this is something that Mark T. Hrisho brought up on his blog and I think it's a point worth adding to the discussion. Because a lot of our fantasy RPGs have another piece of baggage that has colored many of our monstrous races; mainly that if a given area of the map doesn't have people who look like our party living in it, then it doesn't really qualify as settled or explored territory. It is, instead, the edge of the known world, and the last edge of real civilization beyond which lives only darkness, and savagery.
Helmets on, I hear comments coming!
How many adventures have you played in tabletop RPGs, or even in video games, where you took on quests to "clear out" local monster infestations in the area? Caverns full of goblins, hills teeming with kobolds, mountaintop ogres, or the ever-present roving bands of orcs? If you've been in the hobby any length of time, you can probably think of several games that started you off this way.
And I'm not the first one to point out that in these scenarios we're basically barging into these creatures' homes, killing their families, and taking their stuff.
Even if it's not a job to kill a certain number of non-humans, these scenarios are often painted as, "protecting the light from the darkness of the savage lands," or something similar. Which basically states that none of the cultures of the other beings who call this region home, from the lizard men, to the catfolk, to the gnolls, are "real" people. They're just savages. Monsters. Little better than animals, and often not even worth as much XP.
Am I saying that fantasy RPGs who use this framework purposefully set out to be some kind of subliminal argument for the ideas of Manifest Destiny, or declarations in favor of colonialism? No. However, messages exist in fiction whether they're intended or not. Just like how early Disney princesses being damsels in distress wasn't likely intended to send the message to young girls that they had no agency and should wait to be rescued, but it can be argued that message is present regardless of the intention.
"Problematic" isn't a term reserved only for racial slurs and misogynist rants; it means that we need to look at the history of something, the messages within it, and how it came to be what it is. We need to be intellectually curious, honest with the history, and we need to understand that just because someone didn't intend something to send the wrong message, say the wrong thing, or to smuggle in an offensive attitude, that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Because it's only by looking these elements full in the face that we can make the games we love better, deeper, more complex, and in the end, less problematic.
And like I said in It's Okay To Admit There Are Problems in Your Hobby, you can like something problematic without being problematic by association. But we should all seek to be intellectually curious about these issues, and to remember that just because it may not affect us personally, that doesn't mean it's somehow not a real issue.
Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
For those who don't follow my writing blog The Literary Mercenary, I was out at Capricon last month like I am every February. It's a small fantasy and sci-fi con in Chicago where I volunteer to do readings, hold down a signing table, and to get on panels talking about various subjects. This year I was on a panel with Pablo Vazquez, a very chill individual and fellow RPG designer, where we talked about how the Caribbean is more than just pirates... even though that's what everyone (on the paler side of the Western world, anyway) thinks of anytime that part of the map comes up.
It's got more than gleaming beaches and palm trees, too, for those who don't know.
While the conversation on the panel went all over the place, Pablo dropped a term that I'd like to share with all my readers out there. Players and DMs alike, it's something we should all be aware of when it comes to the games we play, and the stories we tell.
The term is Failure of Imagination.
When You Don't Know What You Don't Know
For some context, Pablo was discussing how in fiction (but especially in RPGs), anytime there's an island chain you see the same set of archetypes play out time and time again. There's a pirate colony that looks like Tortuga, there's an island of cannibals, a lost ocean horror being worshiped as a god... and that's really it.
And sure, those things are interesting... but is that really the best our collective imaginations can come up with?
Shots fired, Captain... shots fired!
Now, to be clear, I'm not dissing pirates as a story element. Hell, I wrote 100 Pirates to Encounter precisely because I thought it would be a fun supplement to add a little spice to these games. However, ask yourself how many times you came across a Caribbean-style setting and found something outside this mold. An entire culture of sugarcane-harvesting halflings who replaced their ale with rum and danced on the beaches to bonfires? Pearl diving orcs whose test of manhood is racing up the side of an active volcano? Holdfasts of dwarven surfers covered in clan tattoos with seashells woven into their beards?
This goes beyond the tendency we have to put gangs of sea reavers on archipelagoes, though; it's our tendency to just make assumptions about certain locations, or particular story beats, without stopping to examine them. To pause and ask ourselves, "Is this really all we can do with this? Or can we make it different?"
Because when you start making things different, that's when your imagination really gets room to play.
Barbarians Are Vikings, Bards Are Whiny, And So On...
Nine times out of ten, whenever I run into really fiery arguments about games it's not about the mechanics... it's always about people's assumptions regarding what games are (and in a lot of opinions, what games have to be) from a flavor and story perspective.
And some of the most heated conversations I've seen have been about barbarians and bards, as well as the cultures that produce them. As an example.
For those of you not familiar with Alvin Dragonsborn, he's the crown prince of a matriarchal fantasy queendom. He's had the best teachers since he was born, he knows his courtesies, and he enjoys playing chess along with reading treatises on philosophy. But when he has a sword in his hand, the Rage boils up from within, and that's when the dragon within him wakes.
He is, in many respects, the exact opposite of what many players think of when they think of barbarian characters. Rather than being raised out in the wilds by a tribal society, brutalized from a young age and ignorant to the ways of the civilized world, he is a product of the highest levels of civilization. But does that preclude him from the well of Rage that bubbles within him, or the skill and speed he fights with? Absolutely not... but failure of imagination often leads people to declare that princes can't be barbarians because it is not something they're capable of imagining.
The same goes for bards. When a majority of players picture bards, they think of Jaskier from The Witcher. You're always in fancy performing clothes, a little foppish, constantly trying to get laid, very pretty, and sometimes useful, but outside of being a face you're not a help. However, a bard could just as easily be a bellowing half-orc drill sergeant, howling out war cries and shouting marching tunes to keep his soldiers on-task. I've played such a character, and it took most of the table hours to realize he wasn't a really crafty barbarian with an abnormal number of Knowledge skills.
As I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with going with the expected attributes of a class, or the assumptions that come with a particular type of setting. However, if you want to step outside of the usual, it sometimes pays to lean back, and give your imagination room to breathe. So the next time you think about a setting, or a character concept, push on those boundaries and see what comes out. Does the gleaming society of magic-infused technology exist in the far north, for example, making the stereotype of northmen being that they're learned and scholarly instead of brutish warriors in this setting? Do you only find dragons on volcanic islands, making those of draconic heritage more likely in such areas, driving out pirates that might try to ply their trade there? Are orcs known as traders and merchants, and goblins as tinkerers, while elves are seen as disorganized bands of raiders and gnomes are creatures of spite and malice?
There's no right way... just see which direction your imagination goes in.
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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday.
Hopefully you found this term useful!
For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!
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Most of us know that the general purpose of an adventuring party is to make sure that everyone contributes a different strength to the group. The idea is that if one member can't handle a task (interpreting an ancient text, sneaking past the guards, smashing in the ogre champion's skull), then another member can step up and take point on it. This makes everyone a main character, and equally responsible for moving the story as it unfolds around them.
However, examining the literary trope behind this setup can be quite useful. If you've never come across it before, it's called the Five-Man Band.
The short version is that a balanced party, using this blueprint, consists of the following members according to TV Tropes.
- The Leader (Lead Singer): If the party had a protagonist, it would be this character. Whether it's the charismatic paladin who draws their friends into their adventures or the mastermind who runs the team for the heist, the leader is the one the others tend to defer to when it comes time to speak for the group.
- The Lancer (Lead Guitar): The Lancer is the balance to the Leader. They are, in many ways, the opposite side of the same coin, providing the elements the Leader lacks. If the Leader is clean-cut and noble, the Lancer may be grizzled and pessimistic. If the Leader is an opportunist who's more than a little amoral, the Lancer often acts as their conscience, etc.
- The Smart Guy (Keyboardist): This character is immediately recognizable across genres. The wizard, the hacker, the antiquarian... the Smart Guy is the one who knows things. Often physically weak, they tend to be good friends with the Big Guy... the Loki to their Thor, if you will.
- The Big Guy (Drummer): The bulk of the band, this guy is the tank. Sometimes the Big Guy is reluctant to really bring their strength out, like we see with Colossus in the X-Men, and sometimes they revel in it, like whenever the Hulk is let off the chain. Sometimes the Big Guy is slow on the uptake, sometimes they're mute, but they're the only ones who can literally carry the party.
- The Heart (Vocals): Typically referred to as The Chick in the classic Five-Man Band setup, the Heart is more often than not the only female character in the group (though this is changing as time goes on). The Heart is the one who brings everybody together, and who helps maintain balance while keeping a happy medium. It's argued that if the Heart is male that it's not a Five-Man Band, but for anyone who saw the episode of Captain Planet when Mati wasn't included (and the Captain was a merciless, uncaring force of pure destruction let loose on the world to scour it clean), we can all agree that a Heart is a necessity.
Incidentally, for anyone who wants to make a party that is also an actual band, you might want to take a moment to check out 100 Fantasy Bands for a little inspiration.
Ask Yourself What Your Job in The Band Is
Something I have come across a lot, both as a player and as a dungeon master, are folks who design their PCs in a vacuum. They know, academically, they're going to be part of a group, but they haven't really thought about how that's going to work.
This is why understanding the Five-Man Band, and seeing it in action in fiction, can be quite useful.
Avengers fans are already ahead of the curve on this one.
Even if you know your character's role mechanically (meat shield, fire support, buffer, healer, debuffer, terrain control, the list goes on), it's worth thinking about where they're going to fall into a group in general, and the group you're planning on joining in particular.
It's also worth considering that different characters can sometimes take up different roles when they're placed on different teams. Captain America is basically the Leader no matter what squad he joins up with, but Thor is more often the Big Guy when he's with other Avengers, while he can become the Leader when he's paired with other Asgardians. That makeup of the rest of the team matters, and even if you saw your character in one role, they might fall into another when paired with a different party.
Just as with mechanical roles in the party, it's important to ask if the story role you need has already been filled. Because you may have a similar skill set to another character, but a wildly different story position.
For example, your party's Big Guy might be Helgar Hopswithe, the Silent Knight. A towering figure in black armor, his lance is almost as deadly as his sword, and he stands as the party's muscle. Crayton Bloodacre, the Rager of Render's Deep, might seem to be a very similar character at first glance, because he fills a similar role mechanically. But while the barbarian and the fighter may have similar styles and purposes once initiative is rolled, Crayton is instead the Lancer to Amelie Steadfast, the dwarven cleric who heads up the party. Amelie is noble and determined, and Crayton is the brutish opportunist who tries to get her to be reasonable... even if reasonable for him is amoral to anyone else.
While there's nothing that says a party can't have more than one of these roles (two Big Guys, for example, or two Smart Guys), you can end up stepping on each other's story beats the same way you could get crowded if two of you are basically using the exact same character build.
It's a Template, Not an Absolute
There is nothing saying your party needs to ascribe to this setup. If you want to completely ignore it and do your own thing, or double up on roles, you're free to do that if it makes for a better story that you and your table enjoy.
However, with that said, it's still important to think about story in the meta-context. And for those not used to analyzing a game, this trope is often a very useful place to get started.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday.
Hopefully you found this suggestions useful!
For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
