I’m having a successful run with my posts on coolness and applying tropes to tabletop RPGs. Today I’d like to start a new series that tackles the actual tropes that generate from Tabletop roleplaying instead of other narrative media. The idea came to me while reading a tabletop RPG debate on the TV Tropes forum.
Once again, a trope can be defined as:
A common pattern or theme within a narrative (Literature, movies, video games, etc). It’s something that triggers recognition in someone who follows the narrative and often generates expectations.
When a trope gets overused and loses it’s novelty, or ellicits a sigh of frustration or disappointment by the media participants , it becomes a cliché.
I believe that tabletop roleplaying games are just another form of narrative entertainment. Like any other such media, it generated its own share of Tropes. Quite a few of these tropes already feature on the TV Tropes Wiki, and I’ll spend some time on them in the following posts before moving on to others not yet there.
The 1st one I want to discuss actually features in this post’s title. I’m sure long time players have noticed: in the 70’s, before the oddly named acronyms of the 80’s and the ‘Game: Subtitle’ structure of 90’s, RPG names often featured the…
Magic Ampersand
Any fictional roleplaying game can be recognized as such, because it will have a title consisting of two alliterative plural nouns suggestive of its genre separated by an ampersand. (Sniped Vampire the Masquerade Joke). Bonus points if the two nouns are a place name and a monster name.
While fictional Roleplaying games almost always fit this trope, the freaking RPG industry created it:
Dungeons & Dragons
Tunnels & Trolls
Castle & Crusades
Mutants & Masterminds
Villains & Vigilantes
Bunnies & Burrows
It seems that the Star Wars/BattleStar (god I never realized how close in name both were) shtick of ripping off successful ideas was rampant in the late seventies, early eighties. Now I’m not saying any of these Alliterative appealing games were unimaginative, I haven’t read much less played any of them (though I hear Mutants and Masterminds is a bitching Super Heroes game). But when it comes to names, they could have done better, like those who named RuneQuest, RoleMaster, Traveller, and other classics of the time I dare forget.
Now I can’t for the life of me give you an example of using this trope in an actual game. (Ve4grm mentions Tavern names in the comment… Good one Ve4!). Unless you are writing your own and really feel like making a statement. (hey Dave! What would you name a RPG system if you’ve ever designed one and had to use an alliteration?)
There is one subverted application of the trope. Old timers can have a look at page 111 of the 1st Edition A D&D Dungeon Masters Guide (or read about it here). In the later sections of this cranky grandaddy of RPG books, he talks about mixing AD&D with the Boot Hill Far West RPG (Sixguns & Sorcery) or with the post apocalyptic Gamma World (Mutants & Magic). Old man Gygax knew how to poke fun at himself!
You know what, I challenge you… Give me the best, PG-13 Magic Ampersand name you can find that could apply to a contemporary RPG.
I’ll go first:
- Shylocks & Slimeballs (Financial RPG in the backstreets of New York)
- Condos and Cashiers (A modern-age Yuppie RPG… bonus points! Wee!)
- Whores & Worries (contains the infamous Evil STD name generator)
Now I can’t for the life of me give you an example of using this trope in an actual game.
Really? Not even…
Tavern names?
By the way, I much prefer not to call it “Game: The Subtitle”, but rather “Noun: The Verbing”. It doesn’t match quite as many (not all have Verbings), but it’s more fun to say.
I can’t use this in a game but I can use it at a video store. Movies might suck if they have titles in these format:
‘Noun: the verbing’
‘The (someone) of (someplace)’
‘Anything II’
‘Accronym: explanation of accronym’
Yeah, well that will teach me to write that late at night 🙂
Added your example to the post Ve4.
Yeah I remember ‘Name: The Verbing’ too…you are right, more fun to say… 😉
Rendition & Revenge
Adventures in the War on Terror!
Oh and the ampersand trope extended to board games also.
Axis & Allies
Boots & Saddles
lol@ political joke Dave… 🙂 Reminds me of d20 Afghanistan…
Good point for the board game names.
@yax:
Shouldn’t that be:
ACRONYM: Absurd Collection (Regularly) Of Nonsensical Yoked Morphemes?
I haven’t had any alliteration or “____ & ____” but my first published game was “Card: The Game” and was followed up later by “Board: The Game”. And then I won a party game by writing down “Film: The Movie” as the most boring movie title possible.
…So I may not be a good person to ask about titling 🙂 It must have skipped a generation, because my dad was pretty darn good at titles.
Tangent: Clever…. 🙂
DtG: Does that explain your Moniker?
Dave: The Game?
Can you imagine if your father had named his 1st novel
‘Book: The Sci-Fi Novel’:)
Your choice of names for games shows what Design generation you’re from 🙂
Incidently DtG, I’ve found a few reference to your father on the TV Tropes Wiki…
People transforming into Large Breasted women? Really? (Runs to the library…)
Haha, I haven’t come across those in TVTropes, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
As for my moniker, you’ve figured out a piece of it, but it comes from a variety of inspirations.
There are so many names like this cause it ain’t hard…
Crypts & Cultists
Tombs & Treasure
Gore, Gold, & Goblins
Zombies & Ziggurats
Graves & Ghosts
Towns & Taxmen(some consider taxes evil and taxmen vile monsters)
Booty & Broadsides (pirates)
Maces & Magic (lost out to sexier sounding Swords&Sorcery)
Boots & Buxom Bikinied Bimbos
Guts & Glory (modern era military)
Gun & Gangs (1920 mobsters)
Aliens & Asteroids (sci-fi)
Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Ahhhhh! A deluge of Alliteration!
Good ones…. now why can’t I shake this 80’s graveyard-themed videogame song from my head… (Which shows you that I vener finished that damn 1st level!)