An RPG with great writing is the subject for Day 5 of the RPGaDAY 2024 Challenge. That’s not surprising considering that yesterday we talked about great art.
While I had a specific example for the great art, I want to talk in general about great writing. I’ve noticed a trend with some RPG publications, especially those based on popular franchises. I’d like to remind all of the writers and publishers of one reason that your customers buy your product.
“Your customers are buying a game book, not a guide to the source material. Let me repeat that. Your customers are buying a game book, not a guide to the source material.”
-Me
I have purchased publications because in the first few pages of the book, it gives me the basic concept of the system that will be used in the game. This helps me explain to my friends how the game is played and why we should play it. When I see an RPG based of a specific IP, I worry that the first 20-80 pages will be “Well let’s tell you about the source material this game is based upon, once upon a time…”. I can read the title. I know what the source material is based on. A fan of the source material already knows this, instead they wonder how they can play the game. A fan of RPGs will be looking for the system, not the source material. Publishers are doing a dis-service to both possible customers by not getting to the point. Yes, there should be some explanation of the source material. But that can be in the later half of the book, not the first half.
Game system first, game universe second.
Now primarily this is for the core rulebooks. Adventures and most supplements tend to get to the point fairly quickly. I’ve started adding “Character creation rules start on page XX” when I write up my mini-reviews for the Character Creation Challenge to show how quickly readers will get into the meat and potatoes of the game. I know it’s not much, but I want to try.
So am I on the right track? Or do you think I’m off-base on this writing point-of-view? Tell me about it. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.