Story

Jon from the 'Tale of the Manticore' (@ManticoreTale) actual-play podcast joins me to talk about creating stories in Dungeons and Dragons. We open by tackling the academic: the seven story archetypes and how to crack the "code" of a compelling narrative. However, this quickly breaks down as the collaborative nature of TTPRGs inherently sets them apart from traditional media; the eternal struggle of story versus agency. There can be pressure on DMs to "tell a good story", but how does this impact player agency? Depending on the players, those two elements can often pull in opposite directions. By reframing the role of the Dungeon Master as a "conflict provider", rather than story teller (or, indeed, narrator), we can start to nudge the immediate gameplay into the sweet spot of agency creating story. Finally, another aspect unique to TTRPGs is that the players have direct control over the actors, which brings with it some exceptional responsibility. With a fully fleshed out character, it's likely you'll have to sacrifice some of that vision and theme to further the story. This is, of course, much easier said than done.

03:51 - Applying Story Archetypes to TTRPGs
22:21 - Creating Tale of the Manticore
25:32 - Story Versus Agency
37:50 - Reactive Versus Proactive Storytelling
42:07 - Sacrificing Character Vision to the Story
52:04 - Producing Tale of the Manticore

Find Jon (@ManticoreTale) on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManticoreTale
PodBean: https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/
Blogspot: https://taleofthemanticore.blogspot.com/

Find me on:

Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThinkCritDnD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_BSgazjwyshzo1jazHeaQ

References:

'Dungeon Craft' by Professor Dungeon Master

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod

Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod

Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod