Committing to Themes

There are many kinds of stories to be told on the tabletop. Each genre represents a unique flavor, from fantasy to science fiction, to historical drama and more. The themes commonly associated with your chosen game are the ones that your players will expect to encounter as they play. And while it is great to occasionally subvert expectations, it is important to remember to maintain the unique flavor of your campaign's setting. 

There is a way to run a game in the wrong genre, for instance. If the answer to the question "Could this story happen in another setting?" is yes, you might be running it in the wrong genre. Take, for instance, a story that involves a space cadet chasing an outlaw through a lawless frontier asteroid colony. If that sums up the main storyline, your tale is really a wild western set in space. While it's fine to mix classic genre elements together, it still needs something uniquely sci-fi to justify its reason for being run as that kind of game.

At some point you have to ask yourself why you want to run a game specifically in the kind of setting you chose. What is it about the setting and story that makes them integral to each other? Because if they don't fit together like hand and glove, something will seem off. Your players might not be able to identify what it is, but something is missing from the narrative. 

If you truly want your campaign to shine, include a medley of elements that could only be found in that particular genre or setting. If you are running science fiction, then advanced forms of science should be integral to the campaign (Like a colony of genetic clones.) If you are running a fantasy game, magic needs to be more than just an alternative to technology (Like a phylactery filled with ghostly spirits.) If you are running a cyberpunk game, a certain amount of dystopian grunge is to be expected. Don't just choose a setting at random when you have an adventure idea. Let them match up properly so that the genre can be explored to its full potential. 

Follow these principles and your games will be all the more poignant and memorable! Don't think of this as a limitation, but instead playing to the strengths of your setting. Embrace the core tenants of the genre and you will get the best results in terms of entertainment and storytelling. In future entries, I will highlight and detail a few of these genres, and what they have to offer for your own tabletop endeavors.

Happy ventures!