What Makes a Good Character?

For a while I've been playing around with really minimalist RPGs like Primeval 2d6, Into the Odd, and Dungeon World, and I'm absolutely loving it. Without the weight of rules, the players are immersed in the fiction continuously, and are rarely pulled out of the game and into mechanics.

 

Basically, I have a lot of thoughts about minimalist RPGs, and I want to write them out, so we're going to do a four part series! It was all originally one big thing, but that got unwieldy and hard to edit, so we'll break it down like this:

1. What Makes a Good Character? - essentially outlining the bare minimum requirements for an RPG character, and how the system needs to support it.

2. Fantastic Mechanics and Where to Find Them - discussing the core mechanic and supplementary mechanics, and what role mechanics should play in the game.

3. Genre Imitation and Laser Swords - crafting an example minimalist RPG from this framework, based on Star Wars generally, but especially Star Wars: Visions.

4. Shrinking - ideas on how to take an existing RPG and "minimize" it, and an example.

 

Now, for the actual post!

 

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Side Note: For the purposes of this series, I'm using a working definition of "RPG" to mean a tabletop roleplaying game with a GM representing the world and multiple players taking the roles of individual characters within the fictional setting. This definition excludes a ton of really amazing TTRPGs like Wanderhome, but I'm using it to make discussion here a little easier.

 

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The biggest issue I have with a lot of really rules-light or minimalist RPGs, and an issue that feels like it generally needs more attention, is bad characters. Specifically, the negligence of characters by the system.

 

RPGs (as per our working definition) tend to split responsibility of the fiction such that the GM is responsible for the setting and the players for the characters. In more minimalist RPGs, the guardrails are taken off for both groups, and the GM is given more freedom and work in arbitrating updates to the fiction, and the players are given more freedom and work in designing and roleplaying their characters.

While this works for a really invested set of players, in my experience it begins to fall apart for more casual games. Players (generally) like systems that provide guidance for the characters. This might limit the freedom of the players to design and run whatever they want, but we know creativity thrives with boundaries, and a couple of guiding tools can really bring out a player's imagination of their character.

In my (personal) opinion, I think that a good character needs system support for the following:

1. Direction. What are the characters' goals? I've seen this represented in a few ways. In Quest, the game asks the players to define the characters' goals. In Into the Odd, the advancement mechanic tells the players in no uncertain terms, that succeeding expeditions and training followers are the goals of the character. My absolute favorite implementation of directed characters (and advancement) is this excellent post by Dreaming Dragonslayer. Open it in a new tab, give it a read after, and then try it in your game.

2. Interactive Tools. While yes, the answer should not be sitting there on your character sheet, I do think characters need tools with which to interact with the fiction. In OSR games these are often literal tools, like buckets, 10 ft. poles, and the like. In D&D 5e, these are spells, abilities, and skills. Whatever you do, your character needs to have tools to prompt interactions with the fiction and setting. Furthermore, I think that these tools must be unique to the character. Unique tools make for more distinct characters, and that's something that players (generally) want.

 

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So, we need our system to support both direction and unique interactive tools. Both of these requirements have numerous implementations, but to see one example of it being done well, let's take a look at Into the Odd.

Direction - As stated earlier, characters in Into the Odd are given clear direction through the game's advancement mechanics. To get cooler titles (and generally be stronger and more likely to survive), one must go on expeditions and eventually train a hireling. Once the character reaches the almighty experience level of Beyond, the game provides further direction, discussing other goals the character might have.

Tools - I like to look at tools in two parts.

 

First, what happens at character creation? In Into the Odd, characters get (more or less) unique ability scores which determine how they might act and fight in the game. They also get (probably) unique sets of literal tools.

 

Second, what other tools can characters acquire? Not only do characters improve their existing tools (raising ability scores), they can also acquire new tools. Some of these new tools are literal. The others include hirelings and arcana. All of these things help guide the character in how they solve problems in the game.

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I never know how to end posts, so consider this the end! If you're interested in this kind of stuff, definitely check out Dreaming Dragonslayer and Bastionland, both blogs discuss minimalism and minimalist RPG design heavily.

Also, at this point we all know I never post on schedule, so maybe follow this blog if you're interested in the series. I'll try to post again next week. No promises.

Lastly, check out this Literary Game Jam by snow! I'm working on my own submission right now, but I encourage you all to try making something for it, or at the very least play through some of the existing submissions. There's tons of great stuff here.