Making Characters

We made characters. No playing, just made the characters and then discussed them.

Lots of back and forth (something that I both love and find a touch frustrating) and a lot of good ideas put out there. It's too bad we didn't get a chance to play because all of our discussion may fall flat once we actually see how the new characters work with the game mechanic.

I am pretty sure that the NPC mechanic is going to be changed. The NPCs have always been a struggle in Rain. It's like I can get the characters in sync with the mechanic very easily, but the NPCs always feel ... awkward, like I'm forcing an American plug into an old European outlet: the purpose is the same, but they just don't fit.

The more I think about the characters as they currently exist, the more I like them. The twists are great in that they provide such wonderful guides to the characters, and they also grant all kinds of opportunities for the players to interject their characters into the game.

Let's say a character has the WAITING (The Hanged Man) twist. To define it further, she has been told by a friend that a letter from her sister is coming that will answer some questions about a missing family heirloom. Unfortunately, the character (Jenny) is on an expedition and can't be in town to open the letter as soon as it arrives.

On the road, camping under the trees as the rain waves back and forth in the wind, the expedition is attacked by elves. Jenny's player decides that in the attack one of the elves drops the letter she is waiting for. Now the fight is for survival AND retrieving what was stolen. Does the letter get snatched up by the elf? Does it fall into a fire? Does Jenny get the letter and open it? And if so, what does that do to the WAITING twist?

The twists also give the GM very clear hooks for each characters. Can't complain about that.