[Zero Beat]

Someone asked me in what my story was about and I told them.

Band X goes to rescue prisoner A who is trapped in a crypt as they the forces of evil overthrow the city.

Well there's more to it than that, but it gives you a little insight into my question. The person thought it sounded a bit like Zelda which isn't surprising to me as my early plot basis was picked from a game module of the roleplaying kind. I intend to change it as I want some originality and my own flavour to be added to the mix. So how can I stop my story from sounding like a game module?

I know it can be done as the Dragonlance writers Weiz and Hickman based their books from game modules from Dungeons and Dragons.

[Bluestar]

Well... if you don't want it to feel like a game module, then just don't use a cookie cutter D&D setting and lore. There's no secret way, just use your own ideas, plots and characters, have them in your own situations etc. In short, write your own world.

One thing to start with if you want to distance yourself from the game module feel is to make sure your characters are unique enough. If someone can point to your character and just say oh this one is a Paladin, this one is a Rogue and this one is a Cleric, well don't blame them if they think they're reading the novelized version of a module. Change some things. What culture is the story taking place in? How are these people ruled? Where does magic come from? How is it handled? How do people view religion? Are there many gods? What do they demand of their followers? Do they give powers to their followers and why? If there is more than one source of magic, how do the followers of each sources view each others? These are just basic questions, but they're a start and maybe they'll help you get some original ideas.

[MrBF1V3]

So how can I stop my story from sounding like a game module?


The obvious answer is, don't write stories that sound like game modules. But of course, that could be taken as snide or sarcastic. So let me offer some other ideas.

Develop your characters more. Give them more interaction time. Add major plot twists that couldn't possibly happen in a game. Give the enemies intelligence. Give the enemies a reasonable goal which just happens to be at cross purposes to those of the main characters.

Try some of those.

B5

[Zero Beat]

If someone can point to your character and just say oh this one is a Paladin, this one is a Rogue and this one is a Cleric, well don't blame them if they think they're reading the novelized version of a module.

Seeing as my story is in the fantasyland genre the mages, paladins, gods, clerics and such are iconic to fantasy and to the setting. I think I just have to change a few things like you explained so that I loose the standard types and create my own. I've already started by giving each character some distinct feature or skill that has come from my own imagination.

It doesn't matter if your characters are compared to game characters, I guess I can't avoid that now seeing as the way I took my plot. However, it can be changed and plot twists that weren't expected might go down better than if I'd decided to keep the storyline the same as the module.

[Malik]

Avoid Weiss/Hickman. At all costs.

[Zero Beat]

Avoid Weiss/Hickman. At all costs.

Why? They are fantastic writers and know what they're talking about. Not to mention they've been in the writing game for over 22 years.

[Malik]

Why? They are fantastic writers and know what they're talking about. Not to mention they've been in the writing game for over 22 years.

Yes, and avoiding them will make your work sound less like a game module.

[KatG]

So what do you want your story to sound like? What is it that Weis & Hickman do with their stories, tie-in or non, that seems to you not like just the loose script for a computer game? Break it down, look at how they set it up and create their characters. But mostly, consider why you wanted to write the story in the first place. Did you just want to write about an adventure? Did you particularly want to write about paladins, and if so, why? Was there a character you came up with in your mind who so interested you that you wanted to write about him rescuing somebody else? And if so, why is that character interesting? Why a rescue story? Why are there evil forces? Are they really evil or a mix or misguided? What does their taking over the city mean for the larger world? Are there parallels you see between your creation and the current or past world, or do you want to stay away from such comparisons?

Keep asking yourself questions until your brain coughs up the answers, and you'll probably be alright.