Director's Cut

Last night, obviously, I was not in the best of moods. I'm in a much better mood today. Friday night, the kids and wife are in bed, I made some progress on my work this afternoon. Feeling relaxed.

Thanks to JB for his comment, though, it did help put things in perspective. I like what Alexis has been posting about his Other D&D. I like it a lot. But as JB said, to reach that level of detail and setting knowledge to allow the sort of off the cuff gaming that Alexis is encouraging takes quite a bit of effort and keeping things always running in the background of your mind. And for me, right now, this year at least, that's the problem. These days, the back of my mind is taken up with work and family stuff. We've got a lot to juggle right now. So gaming has to take a hit. And that's fine. When things slow down, I can pick up the gaming steam again. 

And also, JB's comment made me think about the fact that even the cheapest, cheesiest Roger Corman flick must have had a script bible of some sort to help keep characters, settings, and situations sorted out. Every movie and especially TV shows need these. They provide all the background details that allow for meaningful drama to happen. If an actor or director is unsure what the character's motivation in a scene is or should be, they can turn to this and should be able to work out an answer. 

Basically, Alexis's method of Other D&D is telling us to make a script bible for our game world. And then to know it. Or at least the parts that are immediately relevant right now. We don't need to know the name of every villager. But if we know the village, and we know the types of people (culture, socio-economic status, professions) we can invent realistic villagers on the spot when needed. Alexis is telling us to prepare just enough info, and KNOW that info, so we can not only invent NPCs or monster encounters or whatever as needed, we can run them in a way that is both verisimilitudinous with our real world expectations and also in a way that suits the game world and challenges the PCs. 

Yes, it's a lot of work. But as JB pointed out, it can start small. Alexis has been running his game world for 40 years. I've been running my West Marches for only 3 1/2. No need to feel overwhelmed by the scope of Alexis's world building compared to my own. Just keep working at it so I know my setting (I do), and the types of peoples that inhabit it (again, I do), and the sorts of places that could be visited (I do). I know all this stuff. And I run the game as best I can in a way that requires the players to be active participants in the world, rather than reactive ones. In time, I'll get better at it. As I mentioned last post, some things Alexis is encouraging are things I used to do, but stopped doing because like many I was fooled by the people telling us we could get by with just the facade. The cardboard Western town in Blazing Saddles that the bad guys rampage through. 

My campaign is more than that now. Not quite as real as the real world yet. And I may never develop it as highly as Alexis has developed his game. But that's OK. I'll make it as well as I can for now, and just keep plugging away at it. 

It doesn't matter whether it's a Scorsese, Peckinpaw, Brooks, Tarantino, Spielberg, Corman, Lee, the other Lee, Kubrick, Wachowski, Miller, or any other director's movie. Serious or silly, profound or profane, convoluted or laid bare. They all involve script bibles to try and keep things sorted, and in their own ways they're trying to make something real and meaningful.