Ramblings on Character: Quest RPG

The tie between characters and how they fit within their world always fascinated me. What I like about indie games (though by no means it is exclusive to them) is the collaborative nature of world-building and how the choices made at character creation directly impact the overall narrative.  It is no wonder the GM for games like this is called a Guide, or something similar.  Rather than having one person sit on high directing a scene, the entire experience becomes a conversation. I recently spoke to Jay Dragon about the games available at Possum Creek games, and they said something that deeply affected me. “Games are community, and community means everything." To frame this quote appropriately, we discussed the trend (for indie games and Jay’s games specifically) to have an open SRD to allow for creative content. But I think the parallels between that and creative, collaborative conversations at the table are readily apparent. Building your characters and the overall narrative together helps create cohesive and thoughtful stories.  It’s funny, I mentioned in the stream that these bonds that happen organically are often more interesting than what I do on the show but the essence remains. Two, often disparate paradigms begin to shift and blend into something crater than the sum of their parts. 

 “Games Are community, and Community means everything.”

- Jay Dragon

 The cool thing about this is that it makes the job of the ST/GM/Guide etc. infinitely easier. Often, an entire dramatic arch is established with all the moving parts neatly embedded in the character backstories made at the table, without the dreaded seventeen-and-a-half-page short story about the origin of your half-elf ranger and heir to a

fallen empire…

WHAT, I was a kid; it was good. I’ll die on that hill. 

Here are the sheets for Martin and Rowan. Included is also the promised world-building sheet that gives you clues for the overarching narrative of their potential game. Please join us on the discord to tell us your thoughts about the characters, and the game itself!