This month I'm going to continue along the theme that I established in February, that of supernatural/paranormal elements in modern fantasy/sci-fi games/stories. The previous column was a nice - in my opinion, of course - overview, so if you haven't already read it, you may want to go check it out now. If you've already read it, let's just continue on. I'd like to discuss doing your research in regards to the tropes, lore, and rules of the particular supernatural or paranormal elements that you'll be having in your game or story. Oh yes, and because I'm lazy, I shall henceforth only use the word "supernatural" because it's cool, and "story" because games are a story that you and your players tell together (awwww). Let me just say that few things annoy me more than reading a book which claims to base itself on some sort of myth or lore and then shows that they clearly have no idea what they're talking about. Nora Roberts, I'm looking at YOU! The Morrigan is not a frou-frou happy lovey-dovey goddess. I don't care if you churn out a bajillion books a year and if they're bestsellers and crap. You still need to do your research. Oh, and I'm also looking at you, White Wolf. Fairy comes from a French word, not an Irish word. All ranting aside, accuracy is important. For instance, my stories have a Lovecraftian vibe. When I sat down to do a character background story to get myself ready for it, I started looking up some deities. None quite fit what I wanted, so I decided to make one up. After all, authors were always adding to the Mythos. But then when I wrote my book, I had to make another one up. At that point I decided that rather than either forcing Mythos beings into set roles in my books and annoying purists, I would instead have a Mythos-inspired pantheon and free myself to make up whatever I needed or wanted. You can do this, too, whether it be with deities, faeries, aliens or whatnot. What you shouldn't do is go around taking existing mythological creatures, using their names, and making something completely different. If you're going to be original enough to come up with your own unique being, give it a unique name. This is especially important in the case of deities and religious figures. Don't forget that there are still people who worship or revere the gods that most of us consider mythological. You run a high risk of offending people if you suddenly decide that Zeus is actually a transvestite who loves poodles. If you are going to use a deity in your story, do ample research. No matter what it is that you're researching, I recommend referring to multiple trustworthy sources. Websites and books on the particular subject are a good start. Wikipedia is not always the most reliable place for research, but it does make a good springboard as it often has links to more official sites or a bibliography of books to check out. And of course, you can always visit your local library. That's it for this month. Short and sweet. Happy gaming!

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Copyright © 2007 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.com