| From: | Jak Koke jak@****.org |
|---|---|
| Subject: | role of novels in SR universe |
| Date: | Mon, 12 Jul 1999 11:04:51 -0700 |
the fact that the Dragon Heart Saga revealed or touched on the larger plots
in the SR Universe and thus shut out players from participating. So I'd like
to get some feedback since I'm in the process of writing another novel right
now.
Traditionally the novels have focused on a small corner of the SR Universe,
plots and characters which had negligible impact on the larger picture. In
some novels, the big players were involved but the outcome of the novel
could be easily ignored by players and GMs if they so desired. When Burning
Bright came along, that changed somewhat, although that novel set up a
situation (Bug City) and did not resolve it, leaving to PCs to play in it
for a couple of years. The Bug City resolution came in a sourcebook without
a lot of details.
When I wrote Dead Air, I followed the "small-plot" model. I invented
characters and designed a story which would have little impact on the SR
Universe as a whole. However, when FASA decided that it was time for an
event in SR that would jump start the line (which was stagnant and losing
sales), they invited me to participate (in addition to Steve Kenson and Paul
Hume). A series of brainstorming meetings at FASA with the three of us and
about six or eight members of FASA's staff (including Mike Mulvihill and
Jordan Weisman) resulted in the plot for the election of Dunkelzahn and the
assassination at GenCon. It was decided then that players would get a chance
to participate in all of this part by including ballots in sourcebooks and
allowing voting at GenCon, by publishing Super Tuesday and GMing an election
related run as part of the GenCon tournament.
It was also decided that I would write a trilogy of novels which would
eventually reveal how Dunkelzahn was assassinated and why. The trilogy also
needed to correct the trend of tying Shadowrun to Earthdawn too closely,
weeding out the plots involving Horrors, not completely, but enough so that
individual GMs could decide how much of ED to use in their campaigns. The
trilogy was supposed to be high powered and epic in scale (something which
had not been done in SR before). I crafted the novels to fulfill those
objectives, frequently consulting with Mike Mulvihill to make sure that I
didn't contradict anything in the game products. By delaying the release of
the trilogy, FASA hoped that it would give players time to use Dunkelzahn's
Will and the many, many plot hooks there in their campaigns. Stranger Souls
didn't come out until nearly a year after Dunkelzahn's Will and it took six
months for the whole trilogy to be released.
In many ways the Dragon Heart Saga was an experiment, and from most of the
feedback that I've seen (sent to me, to FASA and on the list) the experiment
was successful. However, there are obviously those who don't appreciate the
trilogy <laughing at understatement>.
So my question is, finally, what role do you believe the SR novels should
play in the larger plots of the SR Universe?
Jak Koke
http://www.koke.org/jak/
