I've finished a chapter of my cult novel and the next chapter calls for a scene of my MC and friends in the midst of a DnD game. I plan on this being humorous and fun, but I wonder how far I should take it. I'm not a hard core gamer myself, but I know the terminology. Should I write with the non-gamer in mind as sort of satirical? Or should I go ahead and not piss off real gamers? I'm leaning more towards satirical, but I wanted to hear what others thought.
It depends on the tone of the rest of the novel. However, I would write it in "mock epic" form, where it is satirically written like playing the game is a heroic quest in itself. Obviously, you would still have to stick to the rules/facts of the game, but this would appeal to both hard-core gamers and those who have never rolled a single dice in DnD.
"...Should I write with the non-gamer in mind as sort of satirical? Or should I go ahead and not piss off real gamers?..." I think you should just write it as you see it. Then you can nudge it either way during a rewrite. Personally, I'd write it serious, but accessible to non-gamers. -Frank
I agree with Holden. I know DnDers who can appreciate a satire on themselves, but no one likes it when people get their special terminology wrong.
Gamers love to make fun of themselves, but we're highly critical of mistakes being made about the game. For instance, it grated on me that Dungeons and Dragons, in this thread, has been abbreviated DnD, instead of D&D. There was an episode of Futurama in which Bender is playing D&D with the kids. At one point he cast a series of fireballs in response to a red dragon appearing. Nerd that I am, I thought 'what? Red dragons are immune to fire based attacks.' The character who was DMing pointed this out a moment later.
The fact that you know what you want makes all other answers to this question redundant. The author has no business worrying about his readers. The greatest service he can provide is to reliably record his own vision. What others make of it is their business, not the writer's.
That's true...actually this thread has made me switch gears some, because the guys are getting bored of D&D (for you erik ). Rather than start then scene with a D&D game, it starts with them saying they don't want to play another game (Call of Chthulu, which is more cult-like, or at least can be) and that gives them the idea...but I'll still have to study up on the mechanics of that game as well...gotta find a rule book, lol
