Author Skills | Fantasy | Fandom
What is this Mysterious Story-Slash-Roleplaying Game on Medium?
How a group of authors (and, let’s face it, D&D nerds) use Medium to tell stories, do world-building, and play games
In a previous article for this publication, I wrote about how a group of Medium creative writers have collaborated to produce a vast comic-fantasy epic, all written in 100-word drabbles:
Now: on to an even more unusual collaboration!
A group of authors including Sieran Lane, Jay C Wells, Bradan Writes Stories, Jonathon Sawyer, and myself (a.k.a. the editors of Choose Your Own Adventure — Collaboration and The Kraken Lore) have come up with a collaboration that combines elements of:
- A multi-part fantasy story in a brand-new setting,
- A ‘choose your own adventure’ story,
- A 1-person roleplaying game.
It’s called: Medium Adventurers League.
How exactly does it work?
The story starts out in a typical enough fashion for a fantasy story on Medium or elsewhere — a character sets out into the wilderness, ready for adventure:
It might surprise readers to be told to grab a notebook and dice, however, and to keep a note of their inventory!
From that point on, the structure is pretty unusual. Most choose your own/pick your path stories progress through a series of choices from beginning to end. This is a little different. It’s more like a video game (think Skyrim or even Super Mario Galaxy), in that there is a central hub point, and from there, you go on quests, then return to the same point.
Along the way, your character accumulates loot, skills, and levels up in reputation. You can see my own character here:
You could call the story LitRPG (roleplaying game literature) in a way, but LitRPG novels typically refer to stories that include stats and game mechanics, not to active gaming. This actually is a game, played through stories on Medium.
(By the way, if you don’t have your own twenty-sided dice, you can access a free dice-rolling website here!)
What can you play right now?
At the time of writing, you can find a set of nine beginner quests, each launched from the ‘adventurers league headquarters’. Most quests spread over at least 2–3 pages, as you make choices or succeed/fail at tasks. Some focus on levelling up your skills and attributes.
You can also check out a map of the realm, created by Jonathon Sawyer…
…or rest at the inn, thanks to Sieran Lane:
Recently, this part of the story has been bookended by a ‘moving on’ story, launching your adventurer onto new, higher-level quests.
Is it complex?
No! The game works on a very simple set of rules. A big shoutout to Jay C Wells for coming up with them, with suggestions from a few others.
We were all aware that it needed to be kept as simple as possible. Sometimes, the complexity of roleplaying game rules can be off-putting. It does involve some dice rolls, but in my view, Medium Adventurers League is no more complex than the average board game 😅
What next?
Currently I am working on those higher-level sections of the game, each of which will be set in a brand-new fantasy location, and have its own set of more challenging quests.
The other authors are very much still on board, too!
At the end of the day, this is a collaborative project. As with the other ‘choose your own’ stories in the publication, we welcome new authors, if you’d like to get involved!
Either way, I hope you consider giving Medium Adventurers League a try… or recommend it to the gaming nerds in your life!
Here is the link to the starter story again.
Psst… before you go, you can find my articles about blogging here, as well as guidance on creative writing right here. Avoid missing a thing by getting all my posts direct to your inbox! 🧠 And if you are yet to join Medium, considering supporting my work by signing up with my referral link, right here. Thank you so much! 🌟
