Fantasy Game Writing

@ Jake and Shelby's wedding

BEHIND every great game is a great writer.  This is especially true in writing for games in the fantasy genre.  

IN FRONT OF every great fantasy role-playing game is the dungeon master.  This is the person who manages and play-acts all the characters in the plot, with the exception of the group of adventurers. 

Often, these two roles - writing and dungeon master - are combined.  In these cases, instead of using a ready-made script, the DM chooses to write the script.  

I had the opportunity to interview one such dungeon master, Jacob Collins.  

One of the highlights of my time working at Saint Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor (now called Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital) was getting to know Jake, a nurse who specializes in cardiac intensive care. Over the course of getting to know him, I became fascinated by the elaborate and thorough Dungeons & Dragons fantasy world that Jake had created.  I was inspired by how he was constantly adding to the script and plot, and how excited he was to bring the adventurers through it.   

Recently, Jake got married to Shelby, who is also one of the adventurers in Jake's world.  I missed their wedding, but managed to cajole him into this interview.

For those unfamiliar with tabletop fantasy gaming, it is an entire genre that has steadily grown since the early 1970's.  You may not recognize references to specific games that are mentioned in this interview, but hopefully you can see how Jake put his mind to work on the creative process.    

HOW DID YOU START CREATING YOUR OWN GAMING WORLD?

The Forgotten Realms fantasy multiverse was my starting point for world creation. It was the fantasy setting my dad told me stories from growing up and eventually explored myself when I played the first two Baldur's Gate games. The intricate and vast world that felt lived in was what I aimed to create, and settled on making a continent in the Forgotten Realms instead of an entire world or multiverse.

Other games like Final Fantasy 1 and 2 (US) were heavy influences on map outline and introductory plot structure. Loose inspirations were drawn from all across my gaming experiences and fantasy knowledge. I started with a rough outline of the map in a notebook and added towns, cities, and points of interest that seemed to fit a world that had a history to it. Many places were a loose resemblance how I remembered my inspirations, and my players would eventually relive the spectacles from my past how I saw them.

HOW LONG HAS YOUR GROUP BEEN TOGETHER?

Our first session of this campaign was in April of 2020, so we're just past 6 years and still going much to all of our surprise.

WHICH DO YOU ENJOY MORE, MAKING THE CAMPAIGN, OR RUNNING THE ADVENTURE?

I used to have more fun making the campaign, but it's definitely the latter now. As I've gotten better at storytelling, I script (railroad) less and have fun just seeing how my players deal with whatever I throw at them.

DESCRIBE YOUR GAMING WORLD

My gaming "world" is Briman, a continent on Toril (Forgotten Realm's version of Earth). Compared to the continent of Faerun, it's largely unexplored. A centuries-old spell still freezing in the north, a secret society of watchful quasi-human mages in a barren desert, haunted seas, and lee shores across the west coast set the stage for the campaign. High fantasy intermingled with politics of mortals and divine make the campaign's adventure a whirlwind that's difficult for any of us to walk away from.

HOW DO YOU WRITE A PLOT, WHEN THE ADVENTURE IS UP TO THE PLAYERS?

I keep the plot structure largely immutable, but I always make room for exceptions and keep plot direction more general nowadays to account for player unpredictability. 

Ultimately, the story is a collaboration between players and DM, and writing gets easier when the players and DM built rapport on this principle. 

Every one of my players' characters get their own story-arc, and I ask my players "What do you think would be most fun on this part of the adventure?" or "What would you like to see fleshed out about your character?" I've found that incorporating players into the writing process just enough allows you to satisfy what they want and pleasantly surprise them at the same time.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE BIG BOSS THAT YOU HAVE MADE?

Draconis Spirekeep without question is my favorite big boss. A five headed white angelic winged dragon spirit that exhales force-damaging dragon's breath. Everyone remembers the Spire of Trials ascending to his chamber, and the players' characters barely making it out, leaving with broken limbs, carrying unconscious members, and leaving quickly before the spire collapsed atop of them made for a great end to the introduction of the story's central plot.

A depiction of the party's first boss fight at the end of the campaign's first chapter courtesy of AI

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION IN STORE-BOUGHT CAMPAIGNS?

I love my homebrewed campaign and world, but store-bought campaigns and modules are great. It's a change of pace, and a challenge for everyone to try something new or just unwind on an adventure that doesn't have to be anything more than a one-off zany venture. I also like to see how other writers structure their stories, use plot devices, and account for variance.