I was reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card a while back and after I was about four chapters into the book, I realized something: Harry Potter is Ender! They are two completely different stories but the main characters fit into a similiar role: The Child Hero. Now, I don't know if anyone like Joseph Campbell has ever covered this version of the Hero's Journey, but there was definately a them there and it is a theme hat seems pretty common.
Ender's Game is the story of Ender Wiggins a young boy destined to save the world. Like young Mr. Potter he is marked as different at a young age and his youth is miserable. He has no control over his life and his brother keeps him living in fear. Ender Wiggins may not live in the cupboard but his brother, Peter makes sure that his life is plenty miserable. Like Harry, Ender has no control over his life. The two young heroes are like any young person in this regard and I think that is why these characters quickly become endeared to the reader. We've all been there. We've all been kids. We've all known that feeling of helplessness that we are not yet the masters of our own destiny. However by making this beginning really miserable, the author amplifies this feeling of helplessness to a greater degree and the reader really begins to connect. (Another character in this mold- James from James and the Giant Peach. Do you remember how his story started?)
Then someone or something signals to the young hero that he is special. There is a taste of the magic involved. Harry spoke to a snake. (Of course he did. He is the Slytherin's heir of course.) Whatever happens in this scene it gives the character the first taste of the adventure to come.
And from there on the story becomes a journey of discovery. The character learns of his own special nature and gains power to affect his or her future. The character makes new friends and uses his or her newfound strength (wether magical in nature or merely a new-found confidence) to save their friends and eventually save the world (or something like that).
Of course, in the Harry Potter books, Harry ends up going back to live with his Uncle and Aunt and the whole cycle begins again. Maybe that's part of the charm of the books. Everything starts out bleak for Harry, things get better as he goes back to his friends at Hogwart's until the challenge comes. He faces his challenges, learns more about his special nature and saves the day and we are with him right from the beginning. Right from the beginning we feel his helplessness and connect with him. Most kids have had the dream of having the magical journey, making good friends and being the hero. With the child-hero we live that dream.
So, this got me thinking about roleplaying. A friend I know has a theory about roleplaying that he will share with anyone who listens. He believes that, by playing through a character as a child a player can build a greater connection to the character. He believes it is because the player can play through some of those developmental years and start the character with a clean slate. It's a thought, but I have another. As I stated above, we all know this feeling. We all know what it is like to be a child. We may not know what it is like to be a demon-hunter or an immortal Amberite but if we start the character as a child, there is a time where we truly understand our character and with that beginning we will have a better connection to the character.
This weeks WISH question comes from Meera:
What is your idea of the relationship between GM and player? Is the GM a host, an adversary, an enabler...?
There's been some excellent WISH questions the last couple of weeks and I've been meaning to go back and answer the last couple. However, this one particularly strikes a chord for me.
I've found my standard way of explaining to non-gamers what roleplaying games are and I think it helps describe my thoughts on what the relationship between the GM and the players. "Roleplaying games are a form of cooperative storytelling where people gather together to tell interesting stories. Some players take the roles of certain characters and other players, called gamemasters, take on the job of giving the story structure. The gamemaster gives the player a basic plot, a setting and other characters to interact with. Together, they tell the story."
The GM is a host, an adversary and an enabler. It is the GM's duty to complete the story. The PCs will come with a certain amount of characters, plotlines and theme. They will come to the game with all their stuff in tow, but even with all of the characters and story they bring, the world is far from complete. They may have parents and siblings, friends and enemies but they probably won't come to the game with the firendly shopkeeper who sells love potions down the street or the loyal lackey of their chief adversary who always seems to be a thorn in their side. No, they will bring only a certain amount of the world with them. The rest is up to the GM.
As a host, the GM sets the scene and introduces the players (and characters) to the world that the GM has created. The very presence of the PCs immediately begins to change the world and like a gracious host the GM should accept the fact that these PCs are going to make themselves comfortable and move things around a little. The GM and his or her world should be ready to adapt to these changes rather than fight them and force the PCs to conform to his or her vision. The story is not just about the world. It is about these characters as well and for them to fit into the world, the world must give a little. The GM may help the player design a character that fits in to the "big plot" they have in mind for the game but once the player character has that character, it's all their's. Even when playing a pregenerated character (a character the GM supplies to the player) the GM must be ready to let that player "create" their own version of the character and for that version of your character to somehow change the world.
As an adversary, the GM creates and plays the antagonists of the story. The GM must make them interesting and complete characters. Ideally, the GM gets in to their head a little and understands how they think. Then the GM can have these non-player characters act as real characters making decisions that are consistent and as intelligent as the antagonist would make. The antagonists want to win and they usually want to win as bad as the player's characters do. To that end they must work against the characters, resisting them and generally making their live's difficult.
As the enabler, the GM ensures that the players are able to be succesful. The players should be able to overcome all (or almost all) challenges and come out the victorious heroes (or anti-heroes). The GM also should enable the players and characters to have some influence on the story. Give them tools and abilities to change the face of the world or at least the oucome of the story. Give them oppurtunities to explore the depths of the character and become the fully realized person that great fictional characters are; not just two dimensional plot-devices but characters with hopes, fear, etc.
The GM is as much a player as the players who play the protaganists, the "player characters." The GM just has a much broader part and set of reponsibilities but these responsibilities are much a game as the game the others play. The GM must stretch his or her imagination and throw themselves into the imaginary world. Together with the players, it becomes a story. Together, with the players, the GM should feel free to have fun and remember that, in the end, it's a game. Everyone is playing to have fun. It just becomes a larger part of the GM's duty to make sure that fun happens. Encourage the players to throw themselves into their character's and let loose those creative energies. That, if you want my humble opinion, is the whole point of gaming. I have heard people try to make roleplaying into more than that and it can be. If we walk away knowing something more about the human condition or finding some deep insight in to our own personalities, its a nice bonus. The true magic of gaming comes in the creative flow between players and GM and the willingness to "just create."
When Vampire: The Masquerade came out I was thrilled. I read through the book and loved the theme of personal horror. The system, with the importance placed on Self Control, Conscience and the retaining of one's Humanity did a lot to try and reflect what it would be to become a monster. I played in a game and had one of the best roleplaying experiences I had ever had. To make my character even more tragic, I started with a mortal based on the Mel Gibson character in Lethal Weapon (the first one), an undercover cop with a death-wish. I thought it would be great to play a depressed suicidal guy who has been made immortal. Then, shortly after he was embraced he met the love of his life: another Vampire. She helped him through the horror of self-discovery and made it a little less painful. I was enjoying the game, but something happened.
As the rest of the players were worked in to the plot, the game became about politics and action and the more personal elements were lost. Alisia, my characters girlfriend, faded into the background and the fact that one was a vampire was only remembered when we had to feed (which was played as a quick dice roll) and when we used our "dark gifts." The game also became more political (as most Vampire games are these days) and the GM decided to throw more plot elements in dealing with the Camarilla (the society of Vampires) and the in-fighting.
Something was lost and after playing in a couple of campaigns, I realized that most Vampire GMs and players were forgetting what was, to me, the most important element of teh game. Vampires are monsters! The game was supposed to be a horror game and the horrible part was becoming part of the background.
So, I decided to remind the players I played with. I did a one-shot game (which was actually played over two nights) where I had them make up themselves in the Vampire system. No powers. No clans. Just stats and skills. They had unlimited points to do this with, but they had to be honest with themselves. (Most players ended up with low attributes but a lot of "one-dots" in skills.) The descriptions in the Vampire game for attribute and skills made it pretty easy to create onesself. Then we played.
...and they were embraced.
It was intense.
This scenario came up in conversation at ACN. During Nobilis in a typical gamer-tangent we talked for a few minutes about WoD and I told them my thoughts on Vampire and about this scenario. I had forgotten about it until then but now I am thinking. Amber players are some great roleplayers and some of them would probably be interested in giving this scenario a try. I could run it at an Ambercon (shedding the V:tM trappings and doing my own version of Vampires) and probably get one hell of an intense game. Maybe too intense.
Friday Morning- I ran "Blood and Darkness in the Dreaming City." For the scenario I did something similar to what I had done in the game I ran at ACUS. I split the characters in to two different groups. There were the street kids, a group of homeless kids who look out for eachother, and the demon-hunters, heroic defenders of the city. (The previous game had the street kids and the detectives.) It worked out pretty well as the two groups played off of eachother very well. The street kids were trying to save their friend that had been possessed by a demon while the demonhunters were trying to save the city from an invasion of unseelie fae. Good clean fun.
Friday Evening- I played Anoki in RW's "Here, There and Everywhere." I had fun, but I don't think the character I chose was right for the scenario. Still, it was an interesting game.
Saturday Morning- I ran "Morpheus Calling." It didn't go as smooth as when I ran it before, but everyone had fun. To begin with, I have learned that it is a lot tougher to run something at 9 in the morning then it is in the afternoon. It helps when the GM is awake. Also, I had previously had Carla co-GMing with me and she ran people through some of the beginning scenes. This time I didn't have her help and it took a little longer to get to the big plot. I made some changes to the scenario based on the characters that people selected and I think the changes worked well.
Saturday Evening- I played in Arref's "Bloody Grievance." I took a pregen character and ended up playing the third son of Dworkin, Morgenstern. A little while in to the game I found the character and he was a blast to play, especially with Arref's Dworkin and DJ's Basque (Dworkin's adopted brother). They both did an excellent job with those characters. It was a dark scenario with all of the characters preparing for a hopeless battle. We managed a victory but scarred Amber in the process. The game was a lot of fun with a good mixture of serious scenes and light-heartedness. As slightly amusing note (for those who know Amber)- I humored myself during the game that Morgenstern's horse was named Julian. Unfortunately, Morgenstern never had a reason to say the name of his horse.
Sunday Morning- I ran Nobilis. It went OK. We were all tired from a weekend of gaming and I don't think any of us (including this humble GM) was ready for the serious plot I had planned. Luckilly, one player played Raven (the trickster) and managed to lighten up the group and I changed some NPCs around in the scenario to put more emphasis on the other tricksters, Monkey-king and Coyote. I think the tricksters saved what almost turned into a bunch of sleepy-eyed gamers trudging through the plot. Also we ran in to timing issues as it took us a while to get started. I had to rush the ending (with the help of one player who realized a real quick but unclimactic solution to one of the problems they faced) but in the end I think the players had fun.
"Thinking isn't getting us anywhere!"
-Tidus, Final Fantasy X
Ginger talks about how some people play characters that take every foolhardy action they can, constantly taking unneccesary risks and doing exactly what they were warned they shouldn't do.
As an opposite scenario, I've played in a game where players wouldn't try anything. Everyone was too concerned about what would happen to act. They talked and talked but there was little action. Sometimes you need an impulsive character, a character who doesn't see evrything as a game of chess that you have to predict every reaction before making their move. So, in that game, I took it upon myself to be the impulsive one. If anyone was going to accidently destroy the universe by trying something really foolhardy, it had to be me.
The impulsive characters make sure things are always interesting. A whole group of them would be tough to deal with as a GM, but I'd rather not have a group that didn't have at least one.
Last year, I told LT that I would run the LARP at ACUS 2003. I had this "great" scenario in mind. It had to do with the destruction of everything and what to do when your spirit is floating around in primal chaos. It was a very serious and "deep" plot dealing with the purpose of life, the universe and everything. Characters could be anyone who ever lived, wether they were Amberites, characters from other forms of fiction/gaming or real people and they would have to work together.
Carla told me that it might be a little too serious for the Saturday LARP and I agreed. I dropped the idea but not until after I told LT that I would run the game. No problem. I still want to run it. I just need a new plot.
So, I talked to several people about it and their suggestions were "make it fairly light." Carla was right. She often is.
So here are three scenarios I've been toying with. I need to decide before October so I can start preparing.
"Amberites and the Chaosians That Love Them"
Blurb: Filmed live in the courts, the Garry Flinger show is one of the most popular television shows in all of shadow. Garry Flinger is the show where people come to air their scandals before millions of universes. It is the show of which all other talk shows are but shadows.
The show is fast approaching its one millionth episode and CBN, the Chaosian Broadcasting Network has decided to do a special two hour episode and for an extra-special treat they have convinced several members of the royal family of Amber to be guests. This is going to be good. I hope nothing goes wrong.
Characters: PCs would be needed to play some of the royal family and other characters from the Amber series. The audience, which would be made up of people from anywhere in the multiverse will also be involved with the plot. Everyone will conspire with the GM to come up with scenarios that can come out on the show.
Pros: The scenario would only need two NPCs and I can play them both. The game is bound to be very silly. I have some twists in mind that will take the game well beyond the two hour "filming time" and keep everyone involved for the whole time.
Cons: The game is maybe too silly and may suffer if it doesn't get a lot of players.
Morpheus Rising
Yep, a LARP follow-up to Morpheus Calling
Blurb: I can't share the blurb yet, since the scenario would build off of MC which I will be running MC again at ACN and maybe at U-Con. (MC would be a great scenario to introduce people to Amber who are new to the setting/game.)
Characters: Players can be anyone or anything. They will be built using a variation of the ADRPG. Players who have played in Morpheus Calling will be able to return with their characters from before. Some changes may be made to what their characters experienced in "Morpheus Calling" to tie in characters from different times that MC has been run.
Pros: Several players from ACUS 2002's game have expressed interest in a sequel and the game was run in the Saturday Night slot last year, the same slot as the LARP. Characters can be anything the player wants, so people can dress as any character they decide and still be an Amberites. The background of the game should be pretty simple to explain to all of the people who have not played in MC. Some returning players could be given extra information on the scenario and act a bit as GMs. The scenario would center around one main location, a party. The scenario can be as serious or as light as needed.
Cons: It may be seen as too serious a plot. I don't think it will be. I would have to figure out a way to dress as Morpheus. I can't afford a black leather trench right now and I'm certainly not shaving my head. The game will require a few locations outside the party.
The Magic Murder Mystery (haven't decided on a real title)
Blurb: A storm rips through shadows destroying everything in its path. Several Mages gather at a mansion on the edge of a world to perform a ritual to protect their corner of reality from the storms destructive force. They come from many shadows with retainers and bodyguards. The night before the ritual is to take place, their is a murder, an impossible murder. Now they are all stuck in the mansion together and one of them is a murderer.
Pros: I've run the scenario successfully twice before as a regular roleplaying game, once in GURPS and once in Changeling. It only takes some minor changes to fit into the Amber universe or a LARP. A mystery can always be fun.
Cons: Limits character concepts. Character backgrounds will have to be provided somewhat by the GM. Somebody will have to play the culprit (or culprits).
So, I'd like to know what you think. Please, leave comments below.
Wish: Keeping the Mood
Sometimes in my games, I try to set a mood, only to have a joke or out-of-character chatter/commentary ruin it by going off on a tangent or breaking everyone into laughter, occasionally including me. I have pretty much given up on trying to get my players to be serious all the time - after all, when I'm on the other side of the screen, I'm not always serious either. Plus the game is a social, fun event, and people should not feel forced to be serious or in character all the time. (I'll save that for LARPers)
That said, how do you keep the mood? And once lost, how do you try to bring everyone back? Can you? Is it even possible?
And what do you do with that one player who is always the first one to crack a joke and break up the tension you've built to so carefully, no matter how many times you've asked/warned him/her not to do that?
For example, let's say your characters were going to meet with "Don Capione", the Mafia capo to try and negotiate a peace-fire between the Capione family and the Leon family. They just dealt with a very serious scene of finding out one of the Leons was shot in the back of the head and they had to tell the girlfriend. The players now seem restless and keep going off in bad Mafia impersonations which eventually leads them somehow into Monty Python sketches (a universal favorite of gamers everywhere). You've tried bringing them back, reminding them how important and tense this meeting will be, but you're afraid they won't be "in the scene". Perhaps, as they are driving to the meeting they see a black car shove someone out at a corner butt-naked and it happens to be "Ronnie the Fink", a small-time hood the PCs can't stand. The car drives off and they recognize it as one of Capione's. So, they stop to interview "Ronnie the Fink" and find out what happened. This scene could be plenty of fodder for humor while revealing some of the plot bits. Ronnie's obviously in trouble with the Capiones and may know what's going on with them right now, but he's a little more concerned with modesty right now. Make sure to play Ronnie a little over-the-top and the players will feel OK relaxing and letting their characters be a little silly. (Even super-serious PCs can take part. I play a super-serious quiet-type Samurai in a Champions game that often goes off on silly tangents in game. I have learned that playing the straight man in those scenes can be just as much fun as cracking the jokes with the rest of them. In fact, sometimes the fact that my character is so serious makes the joke.)
Maybe that didn't work. Maybe the PC's didn't get the jokes out of their system or maybe they didn't find much humor in the scene. (Let's face it, the naked scrawny butt of some two-bit hood isn't really going to be that funny.) Then, work in some more light-hearted scenes or....
Increase the drama. You have to be careful with this one, though. It can be heavy-handed and overdone. The games are supposed to be about having fun. If you shove the plot down their throats, where's the fun in that?
Another option a GM can use in some games: Roll Dice. While dice can be distracting at times from roleplaying, it can also act to keep the game focused. If roleplaying isn't really happening anyway, a dice rolled scenario can really keep players involved. I can't tell you how many times I have run campaigns where everyone knew how important things were when I started having them roll dice and when the dice rolled everyone watched. They knew that a "fumbled" roll may not kill the characters but it would greatly complicate an already dangerous or touchy scenario. So, if I occassionally had them roll when things weren't life or death, they felt that things could be and paid closed attention.
When I ran "Vurt", a cyberpunk campaign using the Masterbook RPG, the first session had the players taking a drug called Vurt. When the NPC showed up at the party where they were going to try it he burst in the door, held up a paper back and shouted "Gentleman! Let's broaden our minds!" They took the drug and things got really weird and intense. One character dealt with father issues while another took a wrong turn in a dark corner of his mind called Pirate's Alley and faced his worst fear. When they left the feather dreams of the Vurt and returned to the real world they discovered that they had somehow brought a bit of the trip back with him. A business card a dream-person handed one of them when he took that fateful wrong turn, was still clutched in his hand. Thus, the game was born. For the rest of the campaign, whenever the players got distracted I would say in that one NPC's voice, "Gentleman! Let's broaden our minds!" and they would immediately get back focused. Sometimes there's little catch phrases you can find that the whole group will realize means, "Let's get focused on the game!"
I tried using the phrase again in the next game I ran with that group, a Palladium Fantasy game, but somehow, "Gentleman! Let's bloody our swords!" didn't have the same effect. After Vurt, it became an inside joke, but for that one campaign I had my "attention stick" to hit the players with.
These days, I play in a Champions campaign where we seem to spend half of each game B.S.'ing. We spend more time cracking jokes than fighting supervillians, but I like it that way. We can get "serious" when the situation calls for it and noone detracts from the mood in those times, so I'm happy.
As for "that one player." I haven't run into that player yet. Most players can take a hint.