You Get 100gp and 125xp!

If you get that, you’re old-school.

A few days ago, Kent took one of our dog-walk story development sessions in a slightly different direction. Instead of our usual writerly shop talk, he ran it like a D&D game. We’ve played a variety of RPGs together in the past, so the basic format came pretty naturally even when being sprung without warning.

“You reach the top of the trail and see some mysterious ruins ahead,” Kent said.

Jen synced right up with the bit, exploring the locale of our Ghost Story as if it were all new to her, and interacting with the creatures she met. We didn’t use any maps, character sheets, miniatures, or dice, but it was fun all the same. And it was a neat way to come at the material from a different angle.

A similar trick we’ve used before is to each assume the role of a cast member and go out “on a date” in character. That’s also a form of role-playing. In that mode, we tend to act out an actual scene (in a restaurant!). This latest adventure was looser, and ended up helping us with world-building more than characterization.

A writing partner is someone with whom to make a public spectacle of yourself, unless you make your saving throw.