West Marching, Writing into the Dark, and Emergent Storytelling
An essay on the Venn overlap of Emergent TTRPGs and the "Pantser" style of Writing, and how this interacts with a particular kind of campaign structure made famous by The West Marches campaign.
The explosion in popularity of Twitch Actual Plays and 5E brought me back to Fantasy TTRPGs (Tabletop Role-Playing Games).
But mostly because the sandbox style games never had time in my gaming groups. I was enamored with style made famous (on the internet) by Ben Robbins on his blog, ars ludi. It was called The West Marches, and it was a fascinating throw-back to the old-school gaming that I barely got to do as a kid.
It has a few distinct points in the premise:
There was no regular time: every session was scheduled by the players on the fly.
There was no regular party: each game had different players drawn from a pool of around 10-14 people.
There was no regular plot: The players decided where to go and what to do. It was a sandbox game in the sense that’s now used to describe video games like Grand Theft Auto, minus the missions. There was no mysterious old man sending them on quests. No overarching plot, just an overarching environment.
I wanted to do this from the moment I heard about it (Probably on the Gauntlet Podcast), but it became a fever pitch on the internet because of Matt Colville, circa 2017.
It also captures the kind of ‘Fantasy Adventure Game’ what Tom Moldvay presented in the early 1980’s (Read a Reddit about it here.) It was player driven, focused on a setting chock full of hooks and loot. It was a game driven my opportunity to reclaim what is lost, seek fortune & glory, and naturally fit the dungeon-crawl theme that D&D has always shepherded.
When I started retooling Ar’rin to be an OSR-inspired game, I knew this was what I wanted to run. This was the thematic approach to exploring Ar’rin at the height of the Age of Shadows, when what was lost was sought, new heroes would rise, and evil would be vanquished from the land. It was kismet!
It also fit with my find of jam at the table: Emergent Storytelling.
What is Emergent Storytelling?
Well for starters you can hear me talk about it on the Chaotic Wholesome Presents show over on Youtube. Kay is simply fantastic and David is a very talented and wise soul.
This was 2 years ago, but the core message has not changed for me: Players and Gamemasters alike want to shape and experience a story organically!
Nothing does that like TTRPGs.
But not all systems are designed to encourage, teach, and promote this kind of story at the table. Brennan Lee Mulligan (a GM Luminary) had a very controversial take last year about D&D and what it was about, I.E. not combat, but story. I have felt both for and against this idea for a long time.
However, Brennan is about Emergent Stories at his tables. This is showcased to great effect on Dimension20 and DropoutTV (I don’t watch either of these things, btw.) But, I can understand the explosion of popularity and how a multitude of folks are seeing these things as their gateway into the hobby.
I firmly believe that games that mechanize the RP and assist the table of story-seekers with tools, techniques, and prompts create games unlike anything we can experience on PCs and consoles, Film and TV, or even in books. Because they are personal, shaped by the participants, and unique every single time!
They also (tend to) play faster, engage more effectively, and create shared memories. This is what I want out of 3-4 hours with my friends. Period.
Writing into the Dark
Thanks to Substack,
and Dean Wesley Smith’s book, Writing into the Dark, I learned that my writing style was that of a pantser. Or rather, I write by the seat of my pants and experience the story along with the reader. It is what I am doing right now with this post and essentially everything here on The Wold Of Ar’rin.I write from my heart and soul, shaped by my mind and knowledge. By my understanding of story and driven my my passion.
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