Picking a New Campaign: Part III- Borrowing the Good Stuff

I am something of a setting thief. Most people are, if they admit it or not.

Running a traditional fantasy world but with your own names for the people and places? You stole that from the masters of such, basically Tolkien but you could toss Howard in there if you want. Or some of the more modern authors- you know, those guys who pick pocketed it from Tolkien before you did.

Running a non-traditional fantasy world, in order to avoid anything that hints of Tolkien? You stole that. From Tolkien. After all, what you're doing is reversing or avoiding what he did- not very original if you think about it. Oh, and a bunch of people beat you to that too.

The truth of the matter is that there isn't really anything original, i.e. a concept that hasn't been done yet. And if there is, it is all but certain (I'll leave in a non-zero lightning bolt chance in there) that it wouldn't be worth doing. For our culture, there are certain concepts that speak to us, and we are well spoken to indeed.

Perhaps if we undergo a massive cultural change, it will bring with it new stuff. Unlikely IMO, because such change is likely to do nothing be return us to previous cultures and their non-original concepts. But it new stuff has happened before, perhaps it will again.

Now the bells and whistles will change. And the old ideas can be done *better* and more suited to certain people or groups just as they can done worse. Forbidden Planet is sci-fi, even if it's also a redo of Shakespeare's Tempest. I like the former and am rather uncaring about the latter, because sci-fi offers me personally a better view on the same underlying concepts.

Because of this reality, I'm rather open in my borrowing. I don't hide it. If I chose to run a Captain America clone in Superhero campaign, I'll run Captain America thank you. I'll just run him *right*, i.e. how I think the character should be- and the comic companies and their every changing writers and takes on the character be damned.

My first and central RPG campaign was based in Middle Earth, and I use same setting as a base for ever other campaign I run. Why? Because it matched my values, offered the type of adventures I desired, and sparked my imagination.

But my campaigns are not copies of the "Lord of the Rings". Never done that period actually. After all, Tolkien detailed that place and time quite well. Rather I've done games set in other periods. What was things like in the middle of the Third Age instead of its end? What about the First? What about the Sixth? Yes, the Sixth- it was part of his overall history you know.

So I borrow, and then extend and expand.

If Middle Earth was lost history, if Eru created the world and the Third Age is lost to time- what changes would that make in a future Age borrowed in part from- oh Shadowrun? It would change everything. Creating that is original enough for me.

Or to pick something I haven't done (yet), what would a Warhammer 40K setting be if everything they believed about history was wrong, but the history of Middle was correct? How do you get from one to the other, and what does options does it open up or close off compared to traditional 40k?

For me, this is in part of a way of saving really cool ideas, ruined by where the original writers took them. The stupid wimpy ending the Shadow War in B5? I can do that better. The fatalism of 40K? I can replace that with a tale of light surviving even the greatest darkness and human failings. Those horrid Star Wars sequels? Anyone could better.

In a nutshell, I borrow concepts, names, background- whatever I want. Then I change it how I want and come up with something mine. Something that for me is better than the original. Much like the old wargaming hobby often sought to develop better ways of fighting historical battles.

In a very real way, this is the core of how I play and part of the why as well.