Fiction in gaming

In full disclosure, what inspired this post was actually a poem by William Blake called, ‘Auguries of Innocence’.

Some are born to sweet delight

Some are born to endless night

These two lines from the poem, but they’re powerful. I was thinking after I’d read the poem about how easy it would be to incorporate this into an actual game. As I work more and more on my own ideas for adventures, I was wondering about re-using existing works in my own. I mean, Tolkien did it. He used an old Saxon poem in his own work. If its good enough for JRR, then its good enough for me right? It’s not like I’m a canonical figure in the world of table-top role-playing games.

I’ve also never published anything, and so I’d be very skeptical of the quality of my own prose.

Which is part of why I’m writing this post.

There is an ocean of exceptional writing out there, and a great deal of it could be of benefit to tabletop gaming. I thoroughly encourage people to pick up on this idea and run with it.

For myself I’ve been wondering about bards citing ancient ballads. Maybe rhyming couplets could be featured on prominent tombstones. Perhaps an NPC is trying to make a name for themselves. All fun ideas, and all could be incorporated into a game.

If you’re worried about plagiarism, then cite your source. Also, don’t forget that there are lots of public domain works. You could have volumes of free to use content at your disposal, and never pay a penny. Just an idea. Have fun!