Quickleaf
Legend
A couple of months ago I ran a one-shot adventure for two friends, Jarett and Megan. We spent an hour or two making characters the night before, and I asked them to draw the character they'd like to play. I provided a set of colored pencils, and let their imaginations do the work. This is the process that we used...
1) Timed Sketch: I provided them with colored pencils and paper, and gave them between 3-5 minutes to draw up their characters. During this time I drew the adventure's setting. Afterwards we compared pictures.
Jarett sketched a young acne-ridden mage with a magic tattoo on the palm of his hand. Jarett decides his name is Valerian, Megan chimes in that he needs bright red robes. Megan sketched an elvish healer with a magic staff surrounded by butterflies; Megan decides her name is Lilian. My sketch depicted a port city built around three rivers and majestic waterfalls. Both Jarett and Megan wanted to know about the thieves' guild. Hmm...
2) Round Robin: Next, we passed the sketches to the person on the left, and then passed them one more time, so that each of us got to edit the other two people's drawings. The rules were simple: we could add up to two elements of any kind into the drawing. Afterwards, we compared notes.
Jarett adds a silver tiara to Megan's character, and a blue bird perched next to her. When he gets my setting picture, he draws a set of footprints leading to a dark alley with the edge of a cloak disappearing behind a building.
Megan adds a short sword to Jarett's character. When she gets the setting picture she adds a pond surrounded by blue birds.
I add an arrogant noble woman's face to Jarett's character, a sort of hazy phantom floating in the background. To Megan's character I add a waterfall in the background lit by moonlight, and a burning scroll floating in water.
3) Bringing it Together: Our last step was figuring out what all this artwork meant, and this session was heavily focused on the characters.
Jarett decides Valerian is a fledgling mage who fled his old school after being implicated for a crime he did not commit. He is in her mid-teens. When he was found to have the gift he was given over by his parents to the mage school. The mark on his hand resulted from touching a forbidden object during his wizard's test. The red robes are a mark of the wizard school, and the short sword is something he has yet to acquire (during his adventures). The arrogant noblewoman is a helpful, but manipulative and seductive, face he has yet to meet.
Megan decides Lilian is a druid and something of a hermit, more comfortable with animals than with people. After her mentor passed away, Lilian buried her in by a sacred waterfall, which she visits every week to pray. The blue bird is her spirit ally, and such animals serve as watchers and guides for Lilian. She wears a silver tiara of the forgotten elvish traditions that her mentor once wore; this tiara has minor magic. The staff in the picture is a magic object Lilian has yet to acquire. Megan has no clue about the burning scroll, and Jarett chimes in that it represents a time pressure to fulfill or renew a contract.
Collectively, we decide that the shadowy character in the setting is actually two people. One made the footprints and the other is a decoy. I point out this might have to do with a thieves' guild, and both players agree. Megan offers that within the city, her character's power is severely limited, and only works near bodies of water.
After all this, the characters got statted out and I worked on the adventure. We even has a little extra time, and did a really cool brainstorm about the villain (using keywords). Different approach, eh? Has anyone done anything like this? Or willing to give it a shot and let me know how it goes?
1) Timed Sketch: I provided them with colored pencils and paper, and gave them between 3-5 minutes to draw up their characters. During this time I drew the adventure's setting. Afterwards we compared pictures.
Jarett sketched a young acne-ridden mage with a magic tattoo on the palm of his hand. Jarett decides his name is Valerian, Megan chimes in that he needs bright red robes. Megan sketched an elvish healer with a magic staff surrounded by butterflies; Megan decides her name is Lilian. My sketch depicted a port city built around three rivers and majestic waterfalls. Both Jarett and Megan wanted to know about the thieves' guild. Hmm...
2) Round Robin: Next, we passed the sketches to the person on the left, and then passed them one more time, so that each of us got to edit the other two people's drawings. The rules were simple: we could add up to two elements of any kind into the drawing. Afterwards, we compared notes.
Jarett adds a silver tiara to Megan's character, and a blue bird perched next to her. When he gets my setting picture, he draws a set of footprints leading to a dark alley with the edge of a cloak disappearing behind a building.
Megan adds a short sword to Jarett's character. When she gets the setting picture she adds a pond surrounded by blue birds.
I add an arrogant noble woman's face to Jarett's character, a sort of hazy phantom floating in the background. To Megan's character I add a waterfall in the background lit by moonlight, and a burning scroll floating in water.
3) Bringing it Together: Our last step was figuring out what all this artwork meant, and this session was heavily focused on the characters.
Jarett decides Valerian is a fledgling mage who fled his old school after being implicated for a crime he did not commit. He is in her mid-teens. When he was found to have the gift he was given over by his parents to the mage school. The mark on his hand resulted from touching a forbidden object during his wizard's test. The red robes are a mark of the wizard school, and the short sword is something he has yet to acquire (during his adventures). The arrogant noblewoman is a helpful, but manipulative and seductive, face he has yet to meet.
Megan decides Lilian is a druid and something of a hermit, more comfortable with animals than with people. After her mentor passed away, Lilian buried her in by a sacred waterfall, which she visits every week to pray. The blue bird is her spirit ally, and such animals serve as watchers and guides for Lilian. She wears a silver tiara of the forgotten elvish traditions that her mentor once wore; this tiara has minor magic. The staff in the picture is a magic object Lilian has yet to acquire. Megan has no clue about the burning scroll, and Jarett chimes in that it represents a time pressure to fulfill or renew a contract.
Collectively, we decide that the shadowy character in the setting is actually two people. One made the footprints and the other is a decoy. I point out this might have to do with a thieves' guild, and both players agree. Megan offers that within the city, her character's power is severely limited, and only works near bodies of water.
After all this, the characters got statted out and I worked on the adventure. We even has a little extra time, and did a really cool brainstorm about the villain (using keywords). Different approach, eh? Has anyone done anything like this? Or willing to give it a shot and let me know how it goes?
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