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Publishing stories that are set in your RPG's universe


Lawman
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Exactly what it says on the tin; just wondering if anyone who's run original RP sites ever published (or considered doing so) more 'traditional' - I.e. novels - stories that are set in their RPG's universe?

Not necessarily has to be in a commercial capacity, of course - I.e. free to read web novels also fit the bill; but the bottom line is creating traditional, non-interactive fiction (I.e. novels, comics, etc.) that take place within one's original RP setting.


So the question to RPG Initiative here would be twofold, namely...
1.) Have you ever published (or considered doing so) stories based on your RP's setting?
2.) Would you ever write on a RP whose admin has published (or intends to) stories based on the site's setting? (Say, imagine rewriting the transcripts of the latest sitewide plot into a web novel which is hosted on off-site blog, like for example, Wattpad)


And also a bonus question...
3.) If you're a site admin and a RPer on your site has been found to be publishing 'fanfics' (or is intending to do so) of your RP, what would you do?
3a.) Do you consider 'traditional' fics based on your RP's setting as part of the site's canon? (I.e. The events of a fic providing the catalyst for the current site plot)

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3 minutes ago, Lawman said:

So the question to RPG Initiative here would be twofold, namely...
1.) Have you ever published (or considered doing so) stories based on your RP's setting?
2.) Would you ever write on a RP whose admin has published (or intends to) stories based on the site's setting? (Say, imagine rewriting the transcripts of the latest sitewide plot into a web novel which is hosted on off-site blog, like for example, Wattpad)


And also a bonus question...
3.) If you're a site admin and a RPer on your site has been found to be publishing 'fanfics' (or is intending to do so) of your RP, what would you do?
3a.) Do you consider 'traditional' fics based on your RP's setting as part of the site's canon? (I.e. The events of a fic providing the catalyst for the current site plot)

 

1. I have a 1x1 RP which was completed in the past. My partner and I have discussed turning the tale into a novel to be submitted for publishing. We've mutually agreed that we're both alright with it - fixing it up suitably is the current issue. But it is a mutual agreement to fix up and publish, and we've got timestamped documentation to keep things in order even if we didn't trust one another. We've even discussed and agreed on how any profits would be split between us. 

2. No. That kind of fine print would drive me off any intent of joining. And I'd pursue any possible legal action if a site admin tried to pull anything of the sort without obtaining express permission, first. 

 

3. Would depend on the setting. If it was a fandom, I'd just leave it alone. An original setting, I'd put pressure on if it were un-permitted publishing. It's one thing to ask permission from involved parties. Just assuming that all involved parties are okay with it, is a different matter. 

3a. Not clear on what this bit is actually asking. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Anonymous said:

 

1. I have a 1x1 RP which was completed in the past. My partner and I have discussed turning the tale into a novel to be submitted for publishing. We've mutually agreed that we're both alright with it - fixing it up suitably is the current issue. But it is a mutual agreement to fix up and publish, and we've got timestamped documentation to keep things in order even if we didn't trust one another. We've even discussed and agreed on how any profits would be split between us. 

2. No. That kind of fine print would drive me off any intent of joining. And I'd pursue any possible legal action if a site admin tried to pull anything of the sort without obtaining express permission, first. 

 

3. Would depend on the setting. If it was a fandom, I'd just leave it alone. An original setting, I'd put pressure on if it were un-permitted publishing. It's one thing to ask permission from involved parties. Just assuming that all involved parties are okay with it, is a different matter. 

3a. Not clear on what this bit is actually asking. 

 

 

Anonymous poster hash: 26f05...38b

 

3a. Refers to the hypothetical event of a RPer writing Non-RP fics set in your site's IC universes, and whether non-RP stories are treated as part of the setting's canonical plotlines. (At least for sites that like to keep track of their canon - I.e. "The Story So Far". Like major events that have been RPed out will be updated into the canon storyline. Which makes me wonder if Non-RP stories based on one's site will ever be treated as part of its storyline? 

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I've never done an original RPG, but I honestly want to so badly. My biggest fear is that I'm an overthinker, so if I ever did this, I'd want to really establish everything on the site and that much information could really scare away a lot of people. I have a couple worlds for novels that I've been working on that I think would really be interesting for an RPG

 

But yeah, haven't done it... But I want to. In whichever order (book first, then RPG. or RPG first, then book.)

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All of my novels are set in different worlds and none of them are set in any RP setting. I have published 3 different novels, all set in different worlds, all made for their own encapsulated universe. I don't really like connecting all my stories, for some reason? I like them all to be compartmentalized in their own little universes, I guess. So this has never been an issue for me.

 

My bff and frequent RP partner HAVE discussed turning some of our RPs into stories but tbh we're both too lazy to go through the old stuff and rewrite it into novel form. Or maybe not lazy but... too busy with other things. We want to keep moving forward with current stories, for one thing. And then there's all the outside crap like her job and my pet problems. 

 

As for the individual questions:

 

1. No. My published works are all based on worlds unique to those books.

2. No. I HATE it when people take my characters and I'm not even giving permission to so... NO.

3. I don't care if people publish fanfics from my RP worlds. Just don't use my characters.

3a. I wouldn't consider their outside work canon to the RP unless they posted it on the site. 

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Wow! Used to love this idea, now, I run screaming like my hair's on fire.

 

1.) Have you ever published (or considered doing so) stories based on your RP's setting?

  • Yes and no. Personally, I have not, but 2 RP friends asked permission to do so. Both were wanting to transcribe them into fan fiction and I was okay with it until....
  1. Situation #1: My RP, at the time, was a fandom. My friend and I wrote a lovely story. She asked about publishing as a fan fic on her website and on fanfiction.net. I agreed. We jointly edited it, she gave me credit for writing Character A and it was published to good reviews.
  2. Situation #2: Same fandom. Another RPer asked me if they could publish one of our plots as a fan fic. They stated that they would not keep the parts written by other members. Instead, they were going to just use the gist of the plot and rewrite our parts. Turns out, they fibbed. Much later, someone read the story and pointed out that far from rewriting anything, the other member had just taken what the rest of us had written and stuck canon character names on it. Battle ensued. In the end, we agreed (all of us) to let it stand as long as a disclaimer was added that some sections were written at XX RPG. I will never allow that again...knowingly anyway.
  3. I am not sure this actually counts, but we used to gather site plots into a PDF and send it out to our members. This was before Timelining was easy to automate.

2.) Would you ever write on a RP whose admin has published (or intends to) stories based on the site's setting? (Say, imagine rewriting the transcripts of the latest sitewide plot into a web novel which is hosted on off-site blog, like for example, Wattpad).

  • If it is simply an easy-to-read version of the site plot, I would have no objections. And this part gets murky. If it was their plot and they used only their characters (i.e. rewrote the bits they did not publish on the RPG originally), then that's their business and more power to them. Using my writing and renaming the characters to theirs or anything else along those lines, then absolutely not. If they are giving full credit to the original writers, not a problem.

3.) If you're a site admin and a RPer on your site has been found to be publishing 'fanfics' (or is intending to do so) of your RP, what would you do?

  • If it is their original plots and stories and nothing that has previously been published on my RP site, I wouldn't do anything. If it was using my work or other members' work (characters and posts) and permission had not been given, I would do everything I legally could to stop them.

3a.) Do you consider 'traditional' fics based on your RP's setting as part of the site's canon? (I.e. The events of a fic providing the catalyst for the current site plot).

  • Once it has been written and published on our RP site, yes...with some caveats. If it was never completed and archived as incomplete, then no, the originator of the plot may do as they wish with it as long as it does not impact other members' characters and posts. However, while we will archive incomplete plots, threads, etc., we will not do deletion requests. That's just too much work to track everything down and delete it. Once writing has started, it affects too many people to try and delete it all. We can and do move them to a non-public archive.

 

 

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I started replying to this and then realised I couldn't words very well so let's try this again.

 

1.) Have you ever published (or considered doing so) stories based on your RP's setting?

  • Many times. One of my S.O.'s and I are actually rewriting a board plot-line that got dropped because it was too much as a fanfiction, but the setting was, to be fair, fandom. I also have a commercially-angled novel based on an original work of mine that was at one time a role-play, though tbf the novel concept existed first and I used RP to flesh out the world. Neither site is still running.

2.) Would you ever write on a RP whose admin has published (or intends to) stories based on the site's setting? (Say, imagine rewriting the transcripts of the latest sitewide plot into a web novel which is hosted on off-site blog, like for example, Wattpad)

  • Probably. They'd also probably only get certain characters of mine, so I'd require to know this first before joining. If it's sprung suddenly and permission isn't asked from the member-base, I just think that's rude. I also really don't recommend writing a book or whatever and writing in the same setting in an RP at the same time. The two are not easy to run side-by-side. It starts getting mixed up and messy pretty quick.

3.) If you're a site admin and a RPer on your site has been found to be publishing 'fanfics' (or is intending to do so) of your RP, what would you do?

  • This depends on what they write, because if they're just writing like characterisation related one-shots or something, posting their own personal character arc stuff, okay. I can't and I won't try to tell them they cannot do this. Otherwise it's sort of, okay one, why is this not on the site, and two, we don't write for other people's characters without permission, because doing so gets so messy. Just don't do it. Most people don't like it. And if I didn't intend for people to write in my original settings, I wouldn't open RPs.

3a.) Do you consider 'traditional' fics based on your RP's setting as part of the site's canon? (I.e. The events of a fic providing the catalyst for the current site plot)

  • Write it on the board or it didn't happen.
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  1. Once. Funny story, actually. It was a 1 on 1 roleplay that lasted a grand total of 3 posts (the first and last being mine). Quite literally, the amount of chat logs planning the roleplay were longer than the actual roleplay. While I was primarily interested in the ideas I had come up with in our back-and-forth (because hey, we like what we like), I asked if she would be comfortable with me writing a novel on similar premises just in case I was notably influenced by hers as well.
  2. As long as proper credit is given due, I don’t see the problem. I did see one roleplay site that tried to claim copywrite on its players’ fanworks, though, and that left a bad taste in my mouth.
  3. Read it if it interested me.
  4. If it’s posted on the site somewhere and doesn’t infringe without consent on other peoples’ arcs, sure.
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On 9/16/2019 at 10:50 PM, Lawman said:

1.) Have you ever published (or considered doing so) stories based on your RP's setting?
2.) Would you ever write on a RP whose admin has published (or intends to) stories based on the site's setting? (Say, imagine rewriting the transcripts of the latest sitewide plot into a web novel which is hosted on off-site blog, like for example, Wattpad)


And also a bonus question...
3.) If you're a site admin and a RPer on your site has been found to be publishing 'fanfics' (or is intending to do so) of your RP, what would you do?
3a.) Do you consider 'traditional' fics based on your RP's setting as part of the site's canon? (I.e. The events of a fic providing the catalyst for the current site plot)

 

1. I have never done so, but I have absolutely considered it. There have been a small handful of roleplays I've written that have inspired in me a desire to turn the story into an actual novel. I'm still considering it for one or two, honestly.

2. I've never considered it, but as long as credit is given to the players' whose works are influencing the story, I think that's fine. Like @Somniac, if a site automatically claims ownership of anyone's writing simply because it's housed on their site, I consider that inappropriate. Writing belongs solely to the individuals who wrote it, so as long as that is understood and respected, we're all good.

3. As long as credit is given and the original source is recognized, I think I'd be okay with that (and perhaps even flattered).

4. Depends. If it is posted outside of the site, it'd be considered non-canon. However, if it is posted on site and works within the frames of the site's plot, it would be a cool thing to incorporate into the site's structure. 

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A lot of pretty interesting opinions and varied insights, thanks. But all of this just affirms my own beliefs - that it's a good thing to always maintain a distinction between pet projects, and materials that I hope to publish one day. Now, it's not to say that I don't have pet projects that I hope to publish, but in the event I want to, chances are is the published version will be significantly altered. 

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1.) Loose yes, but not for my current site. I say loose because I'd just take the general idea and a particular character's plot that I'm dying to write. It's otherwise so different, I don't think it'd be recognizable. I also wouldn't use anyone else's characters or plots.


2.) I have before, I probably would again, depending on the admin and the respect they have for their fellow writers.


And also a bonus question...
3.) Assuming no plagiarism, I wouldn't do a thing.
3a.) No. If it's not on board, it doesn't count (secrets aside).

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  • 1 month later...

1. Yes, I published some short stories based on my characters and RP stories. I intend to write and publish in 2020 or 2021 a novel series titled The price of freedom, with my characters from the Age of Sail RPs. Of course, I won't use any character who doesn't belong to me, and this is why the stories won't be identical with the ones on the site. While there are some similar things (naval battles, storms, a quest for Spanish gold galleons, duels, tavern brawls are to be found in many Age of Sail adventures), they deffinitely won't be identical.


2.) Yes, I would write any time on a site whose administrator wants to publish stories of the site offsite. 

3.) I'd be thrilled that someone wants to publish fanfics of my stories, be they written alone or with others.

 

3a.)  Any traditional fics might be part of the site's canon - or not, depending on each individual story.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For me, it depends a lot on context. The only fandom rp I do is Star Wars, so there’s nothing getting published in any way there, at least formally or commercially. 
 

My boards tend to be original settings. Like one setting is set up and designed to be a collaborative shared world project. People who write in it are aware and we all know going into it. It started as a D&D setting, but had too much potential to stay that way. So it grew into a shared world. Bunch of legality stuff goes into with copyright/Creative Commons that I’m still sorting out. But otherwise, the goal is for myself and others to all publish within that setting. 
 

However, for a normal rp setting not designed for it, I would put a hard no on it,  because it is going to get super messy with character and plot ownership, and it sort of takes advantage of the other writer’s work. That’s not cool. And when I make a world for an RP setting, the point is for a no-stress, no-pressure process. If someone gets inspired, they can go make their own setting and make the ideas their own. That’s good. I don’t own ideas anymore than anyone else does. But the world itself is too much collectively owned for someone to profit off of imtbriigh ethically questionable means. 

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