Serial Building In A Time of War
Back in 2008 as I worked with Herb on sorting out the upcoming A Time of War role-playing rulebook, a suggestion was made about the short stories that would be peppered throughout. As the stories were a key component within the BattleTech core rules – to better show the richness of the universe – they were also a more subtle way to showcase the various rules within the next section. While this didn’t always match up, it was mostly successful.
With the RPG book, we intended to do the same. However, I pitched a concept that not only would each story highlight the next rules section, but also carry through as a connected serial. This would help illustrate one of the primary motivators for role-playing games in general. After all, RPGs are all about playing a character within the setting. So why not do a subtle take on the typical episodic campaign arc that is commonplace at gaming tables?
You’ll see in my finalized version that went out to the assigned writers how this worked for our character stories for the ATOW book. Each chapter focused on a different character’s POV, as well as advanced our intrepid heroes along the campaign path. You can then compare these final notes with the final product, and see how each writer interpreted them.
I figured this would be a fun little ‘behind the scenes’ bit from my archive, as I start to clean house after my decision last week. I may show a little more in the weeks ahead, so keep your eyes peeled!