Tywyll Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Ok, I'm almost finished with my Magic Monograph. This book is a pure crunch, optional magic system monograph. That being said, I have considered throwing in some fluff text (like at chapter headings and such) to give examples of the system at work. But then on the other hand, because I'm trying to make the system as accessible to any setting a gm could want, how relevant would fluff text be? Would people bother to read it at all, or would it just be wasted space in the way of the stuff that people actually bought the book for? What do people think? do you read the fluff text? Do you care? Is it something you just skip over it and get to the mechanics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonewt Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 (edited) What do people think? do you read the fluff text? Do you care? Is it something you just skip over it and get to the mechanics? I would like to see examples from several different play types and settings. This has the advantage of showing how the system can be used in different settings, working examples of the rules, and provides creative ideas on how you see the rules being used. Do indicate to the reader that this is what you are doing. Giving players ideas to spark the imagination also encourages use of diverse settings and creative implementations, in addition to showing how you intended the framework to be used. The new BRP book has plenty of examples where creativity is encourage and ideas are continually hinted at. The fluff should not be considered fluff, as it provides BODY, direction and ideas for the crunch FRAMEWORK to manifest. This doesn't have to tell the reader how to use the rules; it just provides a hint of possible directions and some examples of what extremes are possible. Similar working examples can be found in the Action! System core rule book (a free download from RPGnow.com). Edited March 15, 2009 by dragonewt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Alexander Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Personally, in a monograph covering different optional systems for magic I wouldn't want much fluff, perhaps just a little describing what settings an option would best fit with and how best it would be included in those settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 A paragraph, or even two, per chapter isn't going to make us complain to much, unless they are really long paragraphs. I like some fluff, but I don't like it when the fluff takes over and fills entire pages. Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Nadazdy Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 It's all about context. If the fluff can help 'mold' how the rules work in the readers mind, it helps move it from being a set of numbers to something that can be given the right feel 'in-game'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifletraxor Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 (edited) Let there be fluff! Can you tell us some more about your monograph? It sound like a blurb on the frontpage is in order! SGL. Edited March 15, 2009 by Trifletraxor Quote Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub! 116/420. High Priest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbowser Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Giving players ideas to spark the imagination also encourages use of diverse settings and creative implementations, in addition to showing how you intended the framework to be used. The new BRP book has plenty of examples where creativity is encourage and ideas are continually hinted at. The fluff should not be considered fluff, as it provides BODY, direction and ideas for the crunch FRAMEWORK to manifest. This doesn't have to tell the reader how to use the rules; it just provides a hint of possible directions and some examples of what extremes are possible. What dragonnewt said. Quote Various RPGs I've worked on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarulf Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 The dragonnewt is indeed wise and on the path to becoming the cosmic dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogspawner Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Fluff is all. I'd probably just change the 'crunch' anyway - but a good story fragment transcends systems and inspires better mechanisms. Quote Britain has been infiltrated by soviet agents to the highest levels. They control the BBC, the main political party leaderships, NHS & local council executives, much of the police, most newspapers and the utility companies. Of course the EU is theirs, through-and-through. And they are among us - a pervasive evil, like Stasi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al. Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Fluff is all. I'd probably just change the 'crunch' anyway - but a good story fragment transcends systems and inspires better mechanisms. Absolutely spot on. My imagination may be fired by clever ideas/setting hints/adventure seeds or I may use them wholesale. Al Quote Rule Zero: Don't be on fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiGhost Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Id like to see a bit on why you made any design decisions you did and what kind of "feel" each type of magic was designed to impart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightshade Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Personally, unless I'm running in a setting-specific game, I usually consider fluff a waste of time--depending on what one means by "fluff". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harshax Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 A paragraph, or even two, per chapter isn't going to make us complain to much, unless they are really long paragraphs. I like some fluff, but I don't like it when the fluff takes over and fills entire pages. I'm not a fan of fluff at the beginning of chapters. I prefer them in boxed text through-out a chapter, eg. Cormac's Saga. Quote And don't forget Realism Rule # 1 "If you can do it in real life you should be able to do it in BRP". - Simon Phipp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickMiddleton Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Ok, I'm almost finished with my Magic Monograph. This book is a pure crunch, optional magic system monograph. That being said, I have considered throwing in some fluff text (like at chapter headings and such) to give examples of the system at work. But then on the other hand, because I'm trying to make the system as accessible to any setting a gm could want, how relevant would fluff text be? Depends on how well written the "fluff text" is, and how intrusive it is... Would people bother to read it at all, or would it just be wasted space in the way of the stuff that people actually bought the book for? Personally, if you stick great gobbets of your (or any else's) attempts at "a fantasy masterwork to rival Tolkien" at the front of the book or even each chapter I won't read it, and it might actually put me off the book as a whole. It's certainly one of the things I most despise about White Wolf books. Small blocks of illustrative fiction can work well however. What do people think? do you read the fluff text? Do you care? Is it something you just skip over it and get to the mechanics? Rurik the Restless, Cormac's Saga, The Travels of Biturian Varosh - specifically tailored bits of text who's sole purpose was illustrating the rules, and thus the world they describe. As Harshax says, side bars - short, concise pieces positioned in the text where they need to be to illustrate the relevant rule are best I feel. Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdavies2720 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'm not a fan of fluff at the beginning of chapters. I prefer them in boxed text through-out a chapter, eg. Cormac's Saga.I have the same preference -- scatter the fluff. And please, please, please do not put a long first fluff chapter in that "sets the tone" before you tell us what the book is and why we should care/buy it. I've put down more RPG books because I couldn't find the one paragraph description that said, "This book is an add-on to BRP 1.0 that presents multiple magic systems that are most appropriate for fantasy and alternate reality games. Included are alternate magic game rules, examples of five different magic systems, one or two npcs for each, and a short introductory adventure that shows the unique points of each magic system." Or something that tells me what I'm getting, whether it's appropriate for me, and how to use it. That could be on the back cover, but often it's buried (if it's there at all) within a long block of text part-way into the book. Quote Bathalians, the newest UberVillians! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalaba Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I would second (or third - I'm losing track) of what Nick said. I will not read someone's fan fiction in an RPG book. But I would love to see examples of how the rules worked couched in a little setting material ala Cormac's Saga. I would also dispense with the paragraph at the beginning of each chapter that says what's in the chapter. I've already looked at the table of contents, and scanned the headings, and deduced that a chapter called 'Magic' contains the rules on how to run magic. Here's the kind of 'fluff' I'd like to see: 1. A paragraph that summarizes what's in the book - preferably on the back cover. 2. A little something in the intro that discusses the topic on a philosophical level - kind of a 'why I chose to write this book and do it in this particular way'. 3. I would also like a little author's bio - really, I'd like to know more about you. 4. Examples of the rules that are couched within a little setting information. 5. If appropriate, I wouldn't mind a little recounting of actual campaign events. For instance, if you are writing a scenario that you actually ran (or was playtested), maybe a sidebox that says "during our own game, this is what happened at this point in the scenario:" 6. Examples of the kind of setting where thie main text material could be used, or plot hooks, etc. Again, if appropriate to the content. Thalaba Quote "Tell me what you found, not what you lost" Mesopotamian proverb __________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Alexander Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 3. I would also like a little author's bio - really, I'd like to know more about you. Really? Because I think a lot of authors (myself included) would avoid that as seeming too self-obsessed. Is this a common feeling? Are their people clamouring to know more about the person(s) who wrote that monograph/book/tome of eldritch horror? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdavies2720 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Really? Because I think a lot of authors (myself included) would avoid that as seeming too self-obsessed. Is this a common feeling? Are their people clamouring to know more about the person(s) who wrote that monograph/book/tome of eldritch horror? I'd not read it, or at least not at first. I don't look at it as self-obsessed as long as it's relatively short and factual (leave out the adjectives). An alternative for some of the stuff is to create a webpage or blog that gives your backgrounds, talks about the process of writing the book, discusses design decisions, philosophy, and other 'background' information. That takes the background out of the book, so it's streamlined for play, but makes some of the richer information available to those who care. The reader can be directed to it with a quick sentence or two and URL. Steve Quote Bathalians, the newest UberVillians! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalaba Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) Really? Because I think a lot of authors (myself included) would avoid that as seeming too self-obsessed. Is this a common feeling? Are their people clamouring to know more about the person(s) who wrote that monograph/book/tome of eldritch horror? Yes, really! The operative word is LITTLE - the kind of thing one often sees at the back on a novel. "Byron Alexander began playing RPGs in the mid 90's. He first began playing BRP games with the Elric! game and never looked back. He has an advanced degree in aircraft maintenance, and he used to enjoy live steel re-enactions until he lost his arm. He now spends his spare time writing RPG books and perfecting his patented one-handed typing technique. He lives in Edinburgh with his three-legged dog." Hey, maybe I'm the only one, but I like to know this stuff! Also, judging by the fact that this is my 39th post, but my profile has been visited 55 times, I'm guessing other people want to know something about you, too. Thalaba Edited March 19, 2009 by Thalaba Quote "Tell me what you found, not what you lost" Mesopotamian proverb __________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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