GOREAN TROPES
I put this together recently as a bit of fun, and to hand out to people who asked to play in my Tales of Gor RPG on Tavern Keeper, on the occasions when they aren’t necessarily familiar with the common themes of John Norman’s books (for better or worse). A lot of people who roleplay Gor often have only a basic understanding of the writing style and view the setting as simply ‘Conan style’ BDSM. While the BDSM is definitely there, the approach to it is rather unique, so far as other forms of BDSM writing is concerned.
This then is my take on many of the common themes, as they seem to appear to me, in the official books. The tropes are important to me, not just for a pattern to follow to imitate Norman’s writing, but also as a standard to deviate from at times in subversive ways, to approach Gor from a different angle. It’s safe to say that, although I’m a fan of the books, I don’t take them at all seriously, the way Mr Norman does, and many of the hard core fans do. I don’t, for example, view them as a template for some ‘better society’.
The following tropes tell you pretty much what you can expect from both the original novels, and my own stories and games. Be warned - my tongue is firmly in my cheek when it comes to some of the entries… ;)
