Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9022646" data-attributes="member: 7035894">I would be cautious about forcing your version of a hero's journey arc onto the players. A heroic journey isn't really about a character repeatedly living up to their initial values to earn points. It's about confronting their own flaws - its about the tension between wants and needs.A heroic arc can come about more organically if you just ask players to start each character with a clear want that explains why they are an adventurer. This is a concrete goal that can be used to drive the plot.&nbsp; But also have them note what the character might actually need, maybe something that the character themselves aren't yet aware of, and that isn't perfectly aligned with what they want. Their needs come from their flaws. Real flaws. Everyone has them, and you can't be an interesting hero (or person) without them.For example, maybe the character became an adventurer because they want to be a revered hero like in the legends. They want to prove themselves to the world. But maybe what they need is to learn humility - that the world isn't black and white and sometimes virtue comes in shades of grey. So all those things that you are asking them to identify as their arc, right from the start of their character's journey? Those should be wrong! Otherwise, it's not a journey.What they need to do is learn - they need to be tested and they need to fail before they can truly understand their needs, rather than their wants. The hero's journey is about learning. So they shouldn't start with their heroic ethical principles, they should acquire them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Clint_L, post: 9022646, member: 7035894"] I would be cautious about forcing your version of a hero's journey arc onto the players. A heroic journey isn't really about a character repeatedly living up to their initial values to earn points. It's about confronting their own flaws - its about the tension between wants and needs. A heroic arc can come about more organically if you just ask players to start each character with a clear want that explains why they are an adventurer. This is a concrete goal that can be used to drive the plot. But also have them note what the character might actually need, maybe something that the character themselves aren't yet aware of, and that isn't perfectly aligned with what they want. Their needs come from their flaws. Real flaws. Everyone has them, and you can't be an interesting hero (or person) without them. For example, maybe the character became an adventurer because they want to be a revered hero like in the legends. They want to prove themselves to the world. But maybe what they need is to learn humility - that the world isn't black and white and sometimes virtue comes in shades of grey. So all those things that you are asking them to identify as their arc, right from the start of their character's journey? Those should be [I]wrong[/I]! Otherwise, it's not a journey. What they need to do is learn - they need to be tested and they need to fail before they can truly understand their needs, rather than their wants. The hero's journey is about learning. So they shouldn't [I]start[/I] with their heroic ethical principles, they should [I]acquire[/I] them. [/QUOTE]

Verification