Drama in RPGs
We are play testing Windheim, a new setting for Dragonbane. This will become our going forward Sunday game and we were all keen to create PCs from scratch.
I won't go into the detail of this setting but it's currently in Kickstarter, so check it out and back it if its your thing.
After rolling a halfling hunter and messing around with attributes, skills and equipment, we had Jacob Shadowbolt. Along with Bumble another halfling and the leader of the group plus three dwarves we were ready to go adventuring.
But our cunning GM had other ideas. He introduced the Drama System, I'm aware of this RPG and had been itching to play it, I'd even just signed up for a playtest of First Edition, the Drama System one GM and one player version.
First things first we were asked to define a relationship with another player, I had to do one for one of the dwarves and I decided my character owed them a blood debt as they had saved my life. The debt manifested itself as a tithe to his clan, whom he wishes to build up to legendary status.
With relationships established; I additionally had a working relationship with a dwarf, hiring them for jobs, I gambled and got drunk with the other halfling and used the dwarven scholar to borrow money off of to pay the others back.
We moved on to desires and I established a wish to get out of my bondage of debt and see those who'd put me there suffer. Next were dramatic poles, conflicting elements that can be used to spark dramatic scenes, mine were simply, Freedom vs Revenge. Last was to identify what you want from another PC and then they counter with why you can't have it, so I want to beat Bumble at dice but I can't as he cheats like a bastard!
Overall it was quick and simple and even seemingly straightforward ideas can take on deeper or darker meaning as we go round the players.
The final ask was to define a single sentence for each of us, so… Jacob Shadowbolt, "My story is of an unlucky halfling who escapes the cruel prison of debt his friends have trapped him in."
Looking forward to how Jacob gets on as we start session one.
