So after reading The Between and finding a lot of its elements to be really interesting in regard to the way that flashback scenes work and how that interacts with the other game elements, the next RPG that I read was Heart. It also does some really interesting things with character.
Each PC in the game is a delver....which means they go on expeditions into The Heart, which is a kind of tear in reality. They go exploring in the strange locaitons contained within, and it's a kind of living dungeon. The Heart has a will and it tries to give people what they want, but its understanding of people is really questionable, so it screws up all the time. So this means that each delve into the Heart can be quite an experience, with physical laws and fundamental forces becoming less meaningful the further you delve into the Heart.
Each PC will choose a Calling. There are several to choose from, and each one is the reason that the PC has become a delver. They are: Adventure, Enlightenment, Forced, Heartsong, and Penitent. They remind me a bit of 5e's Backgrounds, but they ultimately do much more as a game element.
Each one grants a Core Ability, has a list of questions for the player to answer, and then a list of Beats. I'll use The Forced as an example.
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Forced
You don't want to be down here, but you don't have any choice. You're a prisoner, an initiate to a cult, or someone's blackmailing you.
Core Ability:
Collateral: You have a knack for getting behind someone else when things kick off. Once per session, allocate Stress to the nearest friendly target (PC or NPC) instead of marking it yourself.
When you create your character, answer these questions:
- Who, or what, are your masters?
- What do your masters want?
- How are your masters maintaining power over you?
- How do your masters contact you?
- Choose another player character. They have history with your masters, too. What's their relationship?
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I really like the feel that this all has. The game has a specific agenda in the sense that the PCs are all delvers. This gives you a strong sense of why. I like the connection created by the last question, and how one player can determine that fact about another player's character. And Calling isn't connected to class, it's a separate thing. The questions create a situation, but leave a lot of the specifics open (this kind of reminds me of The Between and how they do character history through Flashback scenes
@Ovinomancer ).
Where the Calling really shines, I think, is that each one has a list of Beats, divided into Minor, Major, or Zenith Beats. Beats are goals that you set for your PC to achieve in play. You select 2 at the end of any session, or before the first session, letting your GM know what you're working toward and what you're interested in seeing in play. Each Calling has about 20 Minor Beats, about 10 Major Beats, and 2 Zenith Beats. When you hit a Beat, you cross it off; each one can only be hit once. When you hit a Beat, you get an Advance, which is like a new ability or an improvement of an existing one.
The Minor Beats are pretty simple and straightforward, and likely will take only one session to hit, the Major Beats are more involved and may take a couple of sessions, and the Zenith Beats are pretty much the culmination of the PCs story. Zenith Beats grant a Zenith Advance which is like a one time ability of incredible scope, but also serves as an end to the PC's story (they die or retire or vanish or similar).
It's a really interesting way to establish character. It reminded me of the Between in some ways, but also XP Triggers from Blades and other PbtA games.
