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By Root 369 0

However, it is arguable that the feeling of narrative agency remains in players’ minds, even when not fully realized in action. The purpose of the TRPG, as a communicative act, is to foster this sense of agency over narrative. Although technology has not yet been able to provide this same type of agency in a computer mediated environment, this purpose is not necessarily bound to the medium of pen and paper games. The gamers who responded to my survey seem to indicate that the key to creating an environment for agency is the ability for human interaction to shape that environment. Currently they find that some online formats, such as writing to other people via email or blogs, lend themselves to more flexibility in this way even though most CRPGs do not.

What is valuable to take from rhetorical theory is the focus on genres as defined by purpose rather than form or medium. We can thus separate the TRPG from other genres that might maintain many of the same formulaic aspects. Although the TRPG has played an important role as an antecedent genre to many computer games, it should not be considered the same genre because it ultimately fulfills a different purpose for the audience. Furthermore, looking at genres as forms that meet different needs helps us explain why a genre persists. Because TRPGs currently fulfill the need for agency that other interactive texts do not, they are able to maintain popularity despite the emergence of other forms of role-playing. While it lends much to other genres in terms of both style and form, no other genre currently meets the same purpose as the TRPG.

3

A TRANSMEDIA TALE— THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL

“Well, as most of you know ten years ago a blight of evil assailed these parts, a festering sore in the form of a foul temple dedicated to the worship of things dark and elemental.” An uncomfortable murmur rose up, and it was obvious to Shanhaevel that this discussion did not set well with some in the room. “The marshal of Furyondy, Prince Thrommel, raised an army to destroy this temple. Burne, Lanithaine, and I, among others, rode with the prince. At the Battle of Emridy Meadows, we scattered the forces of the temple. Most of their leadership was slain or captured, although a few managed to escape.” Melias paused at this point, obviously troubled by this fact. Clenching both his fists and his jaw, he took a deep breath and continued, “The temple itself was thrown down. The prince’s company, of which we were a part, was there to seal the place. However, recent activity in the area suggests that something may be stirring in or near the temple once again” [Reid, 2001, p. 36].

There is an ancient temple where evil forces were once defeated, and now ... they are on the rise again. Just as The Temple of Elemental Evil continues to rise time and time again, the story by that name also keeps reappearing—it has continually been re-invented in multiple genres and media. In the previous two chapters, I have looked at the tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) as a genre that is unique from but has also influenced other genres of interactive storytelling. A question that I have not yet addressed is the relationship between genre and media, a relationship that has long been problematic for scholars. While the TRPG fits with the concept of a genre as a text that fulfils a particular rhetorical purpose by giving its participants narrative agency, it also exists in a different medium from other role-playing games. A related question that scholars have long debated is the degree to which a certain story can be transported to different media. In this chapter, I explore the connection between genre and media, and look specifically at how one specific TRPG text has been transformed through a variety of media.

Temple is one of the best known Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) adventures. In the edition marking the 30th anniversary of D&D, Dungeon magazine ranked Temple the fourth greatest D&D adventure of all time (Mona & Jacobs, 2004). The original module by Gary Gygax (co-creator of D&D) and Frank Mentzer was published