I tried it with my game of 4 player composed of 1 tactician, 1 storyteller, and 2 casual/buttkicker players. The character went rather well and the trick was not to force it too much on the casual player if they don’t have idea let the blank be there. Encourage your more experienced/driven players to create link with them or provide multiple idea of what they could do. They will either latch on an idea or could spark idea in them…

Yan raised an interesting point, that it’s all well and good to expound what is possible for a campaign setting, but actual application is really down to the preferences of the group. I have a problem kind of in the opposite direction.

I personally love templates like this (I’m using a few from Amagi Games for my new campaign), because as Chatty points out they provide a starting structure which is fertile ground to move in any number of directions. They can really inspire your work. But for character creation sessions in particular, I’m wondering whether they’d be appropriate for my group.

I would like to run a session like this, but I have a lot of trouble convening my group. The commitment to gaming is lackluster at best, so the prospect of getting everyone in one place for what looks like a “homework session” seems difficult. Perhaps I’m wrong, and a session like this would actually be a low-pressure way to get people to sit down and flesh out their ideas (rather than saying “No game until I get your character sheets” leading to… no game)? Or maybe group creation could be integrated into a first mini-adventure? You mentioned running a combat-test with the group after creation, perhaps this could be extended. Or perhaps the sentence-writing could actually be integrated into a mini-adventure in the form of “flashbacks.” Or maybe I just need to find some more enthused players?
.-= Bercilac´s last blog ..Fudge, with bells on it =-.

Interesting indeed, thanks for the thought.

Take Florence or Venice: a community defines its boundaries, defines who is and isn’t a member of it, and decideds what rules and procedures will govern it internally. Either an autocrat is set up over the community or else there is some sort of council (of elders, merchants, representatives, priests, technocrats…) Obviously there are all sorts of chances for internal dynamics in this government. In time, the community realises certain common interests (trade routes, law and order, resources, land for settlement, tribute from other communities) and creates the necessary bodies to attain and hold them. They don’t belong to any individual (unless it’s a principality), but to the community. Empire is born.

This is the direction I would take your setting in. It offers interesting possibilities. As a new government tries to assert its authority, people may resist or infringe on it. Other bodies might infringe on its claims. While you might say that the IDEA of government doesn’t exist in this setting, it might make sense for some people to invent it.

Very helpful article though! In fact, I’m hoping to be in a new local campaign sometime soon, so we’ll see about using some of these ideas & then report back.

.-= AvatarArt´s last blog ..The ENnie Awards & AvatarArt =-.

And yes, I like to mix genres a lot!

Thanks

Thanks

The ‘take water from others’ is from the classic Sci-Fi Dune that occurs on a desert planet.

Happy you like it… stay tuned!