I'd been on the project for months, removing things like number of soldiers under certain banners from nation descriptions, and trying to add more distinct flavors to countries that felt really similar in their execution, when I came across a line in the northern kingdoms that said there were airships who had to contend with raids by sky pirates riding frost drakes.
I distinctly recall exclaiming out loud, "There are sky Vikings riding ice dragons raiding airships, and you waited until page 347 to tell me that!?"
Most of what I'd come across in the project up to that point had been fairly standard for a fantasy RPG, and it had front-loaded the blander parts of the gameplay and world building. Once I finally slogged through all of that, though, I found cyborg despots holding their nations in iron fists, contingents of star knights wielding laser lances and riding robot horses, magi-tech thieves running high-speed heists, and dozens of other things that would have immediately drawn my interest. But all of them were buried so deep in the text that by the time you got there you were probably expecting another game entirely.
Speaking of, if you'd like to see a more refined version of the game with many of the leads thoroughly unburied, check out the Legend of Kralis quick start for free!
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| Seriously, if you have sky Vikings, LEAD with that! |
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Don't Bury Your Lead
While this story deals with the particulars of roleplaying games and world building, this is something that I see a lot of writers of all stripes deal with. Because a lot of the time we'll focus on the safer, more normal aspects of our projects and stories, rather than going all-in on the parts that really stand out that are more likely to get an audience's attention.
In short, regardless of what kind of project you're working on, ask yourself what the unique selling point of your story, setting, etc., is. What makes it stand out among the competition?
Is this magical finishing school story about a character who doesn't have any skill with spells, so they have to resort to other means to come out ahead when it comes to magical challenges? Is this high fantasy story about a long-running cultural lie where elven overlords convinced orcs they were savage brutes who committed atrocities that never happened, using false flag operations to justify purging the orcs and taking their land? Or does this game allow you to tame an ice dragon, and then use that creature to raid sky ships so you can steal their cargo, sell the vessel, and live out the rest of your life as a legendary Jarl in the northlands?
People like stuff that's familiar, that's true. But if you have something that's sure to grab attention in your project, don't hope your potential readers care enough to get elbow-deep in the book before they find the good parts. Lead with that. Hell, put it on the cover if you absolutely can!
And while this may feel like it's primarily a marketing concern, it's also important to evaluate your setting, your story, and even your cast of characters while you're working on a project. Because too often we stay committed to only exploring the place where we originally had an idea, when there's something way more interesting shining over the next hill. So every now and again it's a good idea to take a step back, really take a look at what you're making, and asking if where you're focusing is really where the most interesting part of your story is taking place.
Speaking of Not Burying Your Lead...
Figured I'd share one of my older (but still fun) stories that I made for bringing attention to my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age RPG setting. I figured that a city built on a sky island ruled over by a cooperation of 5 dragons, one of whom enjoys sky racing, would be enough to get people to sit up and pay attention!
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That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!
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