The Funnel Experience in Appendix N Fiction
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:06 am
Not sure if this thread should rather be in the Appendix sub-forum, but since it also is about possible tweaks with regards to how DCC might be played in different settings, I'll put in in general.
The funnel is something that seems obviously derived from early gaming experience rather than from the inspirational literature. Which is great, but I wonder if there are some examples (or hints) of Funnels in the Appendix N literature - or at the least, examples of zero-level parts of the story.
In Conan, for example, it seems to be implied that Conan certainly has been through his funnel in his times of enslavement (or was that only in the movie? My recollections of the stories are sketchy at best) - but that is largely off-screen. Is there a Conan "funnel story" or something that comes close to it?
In Lankhmar, what seems closest to a "funnel story", among the ones I've read, actually seems to be "Ill-Met in Lankhmar", where Fafhrd's and the Grey Mousers girlfriends die as a consequence of the duo's esapades. I always considered this story to be about cocky adventurer's who think they're untouchable having to learn that if they dive headlong into danger, someone will pay a price, even if it is not them, so that actually kind of rings true with what a funnel is partly about.
But the best example for a zero-level experience I can actually come up with form the appendix might be the first part of The Lord of the Rings, where the Hobbits travel to Rivendell. On their way, they're so in over their head that the only thing that they can do is hide again and again. They are lucky enough to find help from Tom Bombadil and Strider. By the time they reach Rivendell, I feel that they have matured and are probably level 1 - they still can't do much in a fight, but at least, they know how to avoid getting killed ...
Of course, this is not a funnel in the sense of whittling down, but I wonder if something like it could be ported to a DCC level zero adventure, if, for example, you we're aiming for an atmosphere that is a little more Tolkienean. Would it make sense to create a level 0 adventure that is very much about avoiding all fights and getting help when you need it? Let's say every player would start with just two characters, so they would really have an incentive to keep them alive ...
The whole question occured to me because in my head, I was going through the list of appencix N texts that I know and how they might or might not work as DCC settings; and it's hard to imagine running an traditional funnel on Middle-Earth.
The funnel is something that seems obviously derived from early gaming experience rather than from the inspirational literature. Which is great, but I wonder if there are some examples (or hints) of Funnels in the Appendix N literature - or at the least, examples of zero-level parts of the story.
In Conan, for example, it seems to be implied that Conan certainly has been through his funnel in his times of enslavement (or was that only in the movie? My recollections of the stories are sketchy at best) - but that is largely off-screen. Is there a Conan "funnel story" or something that comes close to it?
In Lankhmar, what seems closest to a "funnel story", among the ones I've read, actually seems to be "Ill-Met in Lankhmar", where Fafhrd's and the Grey Mousers girlfriends die as a consequence of the duo's esapades. I always considered this story to be about cocky adventurer's who think they're untouchable having to learn that if they dive headlong into danger, someone will pay a price, even if it is not them, so that actually kind of rings true with what a funnel is partly about.
But the best example for a zero-level experience I can actually come up with form the appendix might be the first part of The Lord of the Rings, where the Hobbits travel to Rivendell. On their way, they're so in over their head that the only thing that they can do is hide again and again. They are lucky enough to find help from Tom Bombadil and Strider. By the time they reach Rivendell, I feel that they have matured and are probably level 1 - they still can't do much in a fight, but at least, they know how to avoid getting killed ...
Of course, this is not a funnel in the sense of whittling down, but I wonder if something like it could be ported to a DCC level zero adventure, if, for example, you we're aiming for an atmosphere that is a little more Tolkienean. Would it make sense to create a level 0 adventure that is very much about avoiding all fights and getting help when you need it? Let's say every player would start with just two characters, so they would really have an incentive to keep them alive ...
The whole question occured to me because in my head, I was going through the list of appencix N texts that I know and how they might or might not work as DCC settings; and it's hard to imagine running an traditional funnel on Middle-Earth.
