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The metaplot is meant to "give the players a sense of immersion in a large and complex world as well as an aesthetic appreciation of the story they were witnessing" whenever their characters come into contact with it. The narrative tool of metaplot has been criticised for shifting the focus away from
45:
from one place to another, are part of the metaplot for a game. Metaplot information is usually included within gaming products such as rule books and modules as they are released. Major events in the metaplot are often used to explain changes in the rules in between versions of the games, as was the
239:
Pajączkowski, Olaf. "Artyzm czy robota na zlecenie? Wolność twórcza autorów książek osadzonych w światach RPG (na przykładzie powieści z cyklu
Dragonlance i Forgotten Realms)" [Art or craft? Creative freedom of RPG writers (based on examples of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms series of
83:
Metaplot is often developed not just by the writers, but by teams - multiple writers, editors, publishers, graphic designers and even players. The concept is related to more than just role-playing sourcebooks, as much of the metaplot can come from other media, such as novels (for example,
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Role-playing game designer Jasmin
Neitzel commented that metaplot could facilitate constructive interaction of players with a game setting within and beyond individual gaming groups, but could be a hindrance in getting beyond harmful stereotypes used in past products.
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Olaf Pajączkowski notes that the metaplot constraints reduce the freedom of writers, who have to respect the history and present events in the universe (as many books are set in the present), and they cannot "break the world". Pajączkowski gives an example of
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which was cancelled because the metaplot evolved changing the world (a 100-year jump) making her book 'obsolete', and the publisher decided it's not worth finishing as it was no longer set in the "present" of the evolving
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White, William J.; Arjonata, Jonne; Hitchens, Michael; Peterson, John; Torner, Evan; Walton, Jonathan (2018). "Tabletop role-playing games". In Zagal, José P.; Deterding, Sebastian (eds.).
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Di
Filippo, Laurent (2017). "Les mondes d'Advanced Dungeons and Dragons au spectre du transmédia: l'exemple de Dark Sun". In Collard, Anne-Sophie; Collignon, Stéphane (eds.).
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setting. For campaign settings based on movies, TV shows or other pieces of fiction, the plot of those works usually functions as the metaplot, while for historical settings
41:, also defined as an "evolving history of a given fictional universe". Major official story events that change the world, or simply move important
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This article is about a story connecting multiple works, usually in a setting inspired by a role-playing game. For a story within a story, see
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Snow, Cason (2008). "Dragons in the stacks: an introduction to role-playing games and their value to libraries".
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Forschungsdrang & Rollenspiel. Motivgeschichtliche
Betrachtungen zum Fantasy-Rollenspiel Das Schwarze Auge
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80:. Because of events like this, many gaming groups choose to ignore the metaplot for a game entirely.
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34:) is the overarching storyline that binds together events in the official continuity of a published
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246:(in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Badaczy Popkultury i Edukacji Popkulturowej Trickster. pp. 31–48.
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this was the case only after its inception, while it was part of the design from the start for the
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Tabletop RPG Design in Theory and
Practice at the Forge, 2001–2012 - Designs and Discussions
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a metastory, primarily in the form of a predesigned story world and various plots within it
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Dragon fathers - the history of the role-playing game and the birth of the virtual world
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Joyful Games of
Meaning-Making: Role-playing Games and Postmodern Notions of Literature
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548:, the Horror Steampunk Western". In Miller, Cynthia J.; Van Riper, Bowdoin (eds.).
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Drachenväter - Die
Geschichte des Rollenspiels und die Geburt der virtuellen Welt
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the player characters and making them "marginal rather than central figures".
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Are Angels OK?: The
Parallel Universes of New Zealand writers and scientists
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Ward, Rachel Mizsei (2013). "Genre
Mashing in the Role-Playing Game
344:["A game for everyone". Interview with Jasmin Neitzel].
458:(in French). Presses universitaires de Namur. pp. 54–55.
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novels)]. In Dudziński, Robert; Wróblewska, Anna (eds.).
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First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game
342:""Ein Spiel für alle". Interview mit Jasmin Neitzel"
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Metaplot appears in settings of various genres like
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550:Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming
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520:. Reel Fun Studios. p. 131.
208:. MIT Press. 2004. p. 143.
579:""Donecker, Stefan et al., Hg.
1:
700:Role-playing game terminology
518:On A Roll - Level Up Your RPG
577:Unterhuber, Tobias (2020).
399:] (in German). epubli.
340:Unterhuber, Tobias (2022).
117:itself may fill this role.
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648:White, William J. (2020).
629:Schallegger, René (2012).
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662:10.1007/978-3-030-52819-5
546:Deadlands: The Weird West
503:10.1108/01604950810870218
314:Victoria University Press
516:Faricelli, Ryan (2015).
147:Legend of the Five Rings
99:Dungeons & Dragons
43:non-player characters
426:Simon & Schuster
87:The Legend of Drizzt
72:Wizards of the Coast
637:. pp. 224–225.
491:Collection Building
654:Palgrave Macmillan
583:. Ulisses, 2019.""
282:. pp. 63–86.
16:Form of story-line
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600:10.16995/zff.1942
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527:978-1-312-90744-7
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359:10.16995/zff.9113
323:978-0-86473-514-0
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179:Reclamation
141:Fading Suns
135:Dragonlance
103:). For the
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585:. Review.
471:August 27,
190:References
186:universe.
52:White Wolf
680:226616406
609:213302959
368:251450885
280:Routledge
177:'s novel
160:Reception
153:Shadowrun
129:Deadlands
32:metastory
21:metastory
694:Category
110:Dark Sun
58:and the
28:metaplot
633:(PhD).
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101:fiction
90:or the
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