Let's Grow Old Together... and Be Eaten by A Wyrm at the Same Time
Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 04:00PM White Lies, anybody?
My ideal game, regardless of system, would involve slow progression lasting real-life months (or even years) where every experience point, magic item, and relationship is earned and (most importantly) evolves as time goes on. I want my characters and critters on all sides of the screen to grow as if they were real. I want tears and elation at my game table within minutes of each other, and I'll probably never be completely satisfied with a given session until I make my players cry.
Not everyone's cup of tea, I know.
I hope you guys like these dice shots as much as I do.
Getting to the Point
We care about others because we've shared experiences with them, but, unfortunately, by the time a given adventurer is rolling his first whiff against an orc he's already expected to have a whole history behind him. Seldom is that really the case (unless you're one of those crazies who writes backstories for your characters, a practice I adore but that has fallen out of common use with my twitch-gamer buddies). Even with a backstory, it's seldom shared, and even less likely does it really count as a shared experience.
So, just how do you build organic relationships and meaningful history into your PCs?
My Idea
A great deal of that delicious, fluffy, verisimilitudinous material can (dare I say, should) be built in as you roll those first dice. Here's my idea.
Session 1
Intellectually, this represents the average character we pit against beholders.
The PC(s) are children. Their days are spent doing more-or-less childish things, but what we're concerned with is the seeds of their future adventurous lives. Perhaps a berry-gathering trip to a nearby glade or the child's first lesson with a sword leaves an indelible mark on that PC. This is the moment we are looking to experience, ideally with their peers who are destined to also grow up alongside him/her.
Session 2
The PC(s) are just shy of puberty, which makes them nearly adults in many cultures (both real and imagined). Their rites of passage into man- and woman-hood are just around the corner, and naturally everyone is out to prove that they're uniquely suited to the rigours of living in a land where it's commonplace for a man to wear a sword longer than he is. (I should add, though, that some men are longer than others.)
Braveheart, anyone?
Anyway, once again our goal is for the PCs to experience those rites and trials and hormones together, and come out of it closer, farther apart, or at least wiser together for it.
Session 3
The PCs are 1st-level heroes with a common experience—their childhood—behind them. Now they're ready to be a part of an epic.
Will it Work?
With the right group, I believe this will work. I'm gearing up to pitch this very idea to a group of brand-new to tabletop RP players, and I want you to tell me how to make it as awesome as possible.
- Adventure ideas for child heroes?
- Concerns?
- Tips?
I want to hear it all. After all, I know I'm not the first DM to want richer roleplaying in a more vibrant world, just a couple of the benefits I believe my game will reap with this.
Please leave a comment, and thanks for stopping by.
child heros, playing your history in DMing, Game Design 
Reader Comments (6)
I had wanted to play in a game like this but we could never get the other players to buy in. However, my wife has run several campaign where the characters having grown up together were part of the background. Most of those worked out pretty well with establish ties between the characters, though the actual relationships mostly developed in play rather than being established before hand.
The Lookouts from Penny Arcade might be a good place to look for inspiration. It might be a litt dark for your purposes, but it could be a start.
Hey Sean. Speaking of no buy-in, last night my new group squashed the idea. I probably didn't sell it well enough, and maybe it's for the best—as new players it might be better to give them a much more run-of-the-mill game they can cut their teeth on.
Actually Aaron, the lookouts did come to mind when I was writing this post. I loved PA's first Lookouts comic, and the idea is still a very strong one for me (but I can't say I liked the art style of the guests who finished off its run). Ah well. Maybe my next group will be more malleable.
Basic D&D had this old adventure, and the name escapes me - where the PC's are 0th level adventurers swept overboard from a slave ship or somesuch, and wash up on a deserted island with a big abandoned manor house.
They do whatever in the hell they want to do, and the DM is supposed to pay attention to what they are doing (did he pick up and use the bardiche? FIGHTER! - did he try to use the wand? MAGE!) it was a pretty cool romp through a haunted house with a ghoul and some orcs with padded armor :)
Consider allowing their actions to dictate their paths. A child who wants to grow up to be a soldier or somesuch may get discouraged when he accidentally injures himself or a companion. Maybe one of them says a prayer at crucial times. Maybe one is a sneaky little shit that is always stealing stuff :)
Make THEM WORK for their classes - or threaten an NPC class if they don't graduate top of class. LOL! "you didn't do anything but sit and watch, you are now a lvl.1 minion. Grats Human Rabble!
Great idea, though for speed's sake, I usually just have them all brainstorm for a session and make a group history.
As nice and idea as it is, I just don't see it working. Most gamers i know want to be thrown right into the action. Think of any good story (movie, video game, book) you've seen/heard/read lately, did they start with a history lesson, or get straight to the punch?? Most of the time i think you'll find it's right to the action, grab your attention, reel you in. They'll fill in the blanks later.
As cool as it would be to have that history and background, you'd need some awfully patient players who would be willing to use up 2-3 sessions just building that back story. Not even sure i could do it.
Good concept. Hard to make it happen.
Bah! Naysayer! ;)
Hi Niel. You aren't wrong, of course, but those early sessions wouldn't be just "life on the farm"... it would be "life on the farm with freaking goblins!" In addition, the characters would get to take some in-game benefits from those sessions, likely in the form of knowledge and crafting ranks (which are generally underused and underappreciated in many games).
So, yes, hard to sell, but not as onerous as you may originally have thought.