[Idea] Campbell Story Engine

[Mojo]

Greetings All,

Firstly I'd like to thank everyone here for their wonderful posts that have done much to improve my understanding of roleplaying. Love this place :)

Secondly I'd like to present an idea for feedback (apologies for it's roughness)...

Having read here about MLwM I was greatly struck by the idea of a game with a defined story structure.

Would love to play some of this but I GM for a group with a strong preference for sim play in a fantasy setting.

So, this said, I have started to think about breaking down Campbell's hero's journey into a kind of "meta-game mechanic". I'm picturing a set of pages that detail the various components of each stage. This would include things like:

The premise to be explored.
General advice for pacing, mood etc.
Components of the setting, situation and character(s) that need to be resolved.
Things to look for in the player(s) (ie development of hero type, preference for path etc).
How to identify when to move on to the next stage.
Where to go from here (valid next stages).

So my questions are:

Does this interest anyone?
Is this better as a GM tool or expanded to build a narrativist game?
What am I missing?

Yours in anticipation, Mo

[Tobias]

My first reflex was to look at it as a GM's tool.

My second thought, on trying to make it into a game, was to combine your steps with a setting where they'd make sense - and what popped into my mind was some kind of theater, where you play any one of the countless minions (yes, I'm reading MLwM) scuttering about the stage, lights, onstage, and backstage.

You could, for instance, play the leading character(s) onstage, following the development of the pages, while around the stage, during the play, the 'mystery' (murder, mayhem, whatever) unfolds.

You'd be set with both the Campbell's structure as well as a faily strictly defined story to tell. If one evening's play strikes you as too little, you could always have a weekend.

If you prefer supernatural, or mysterious things, you could even give it that spin... imagine a haunted travelling theater group, the characters doomed to play out the same play over and over again, while in every destination they enter, something starts going wrong... many actors don't have any regret, they are stuck in 'we're the horror mode', but the protagonist tries to make amends... in the short time (s)he has, before they're forced to move on again...

Hope that helps.

[Mojo]

Thanks for your thoughts Tobias,

I was seeing setting as something in the "needs to be defined before" box of an opening stage.

Stages could detail how the setting would be impacted, for example "The Call to Adventure" could note that the hero(s) should be shown a way to the otherworld.

With regards to a complete game I can see how this would work with mechanics that connect player characters to story (such as the end game trigger in MLwM).

If used as as a GM tool perhaps it would serve well as a "plugin" for something like TRoS, with ideas for SA's and how they would change from stage to stage.

Perhaps this could be used as a way of writing adventure modules for a game like TRoS or Sorcerer. Different variants of the journey in a set of supplements...

Just riffing...

[Tobias]

As long as we're just riffing...

As a GM tool, setting would (obviously?) depend on the base system/setting the group has already chosen.

As a game, I'm now leaning more and more to the importance of setting and color. While I'm enthusiastic about aspects of the system I am creating in YGAD, I think system alone won't sell (unless really innovative and action-provoking). Which is why I suggested a fairly descriptive and specific setting. Creating the setting in a 'step one' won't appeal to people holding the book in their hands (seeing the .pdf) as much as something evocative.

I may be wrong, though. I'm a n00b. :)

[Mojo]

Tobias,

Many of the games here don't include a specific setting, just details of elements the setting should include. MLwM for example has setting creation as part of the game, but suggests (or possibly mandates) two locations, the masters world and the village.

Sorcerer is another example, as is Universalis.

My motivations here are 3 fold.

On a personal level exploring this idea will hopefully improve my understanding of story, an area I feel I am weak at as as a GM.

On a project level I think this idea may address problems people have with developing adventure modules for games such as TRoS.

On a community level I feel that the idea of games designed to tell specific kinds of stories may be about the coolest thing to happen in RPG's since the start of the whole thing.

Will try and follow this up with a specific example of a "stage" later today.

Thanks for helping me get this clear in my head :)

[Mojo]

A sample stage....

The Call to Adventure

Aim:
To lure or force the hero(s) out the Ordinary World on a journey into the Other World. This impetus should be strong enough to motivate the hero(s) for the entire story.

Setting:
Two distinct settings should be developed before or during play, the Ordinary World (if not developed in an earlier stage) and the Other World.
The Ordinary World is the day to day setting of the hero(s); it should come under some kind of threat during the play of this stage. This threat must be something that can be resolved by the hero(s) return at the end of their journey. The exploration of a relationship map is recommended to firmly connect the hero(s) to this setting.
The Other World should be distinctly different from the Ordinary World; it should be a perilous place.

Situation:
The Ordinary World must be threatened in some way; no solution to the threat should be available in the Ordinary World.
A herald or precursor should appear that lights the way to the Other World. The Other World should be shown to contain a solution to the threat.

Character:
The focus of the hero(s) should initially be turned inward or towards the Ordinary World. As the stage is played this focus should start to turn outward, towards the Other World or a foreshadowed solution to the presented threat.

Notes:
This stage may require several iterations to motive stubborn heros. Observe the actions of the hero(s) as they may show a leaning to particular type of hero here and this can inform later stages of the story.


Thoughts on usage to follow later today...

[Tobias]

Mojo,

A few bits:

Seems like your comment on project level and community level is similar to the difference between GM-supportdoc and full-blown RPG (or full-blown campaign)... was that intentional?

On the staging thing - it does make things more clear. While I recognize that classical development of the hero in your steps, I would be careful of not making the players feel railroaded. If the player expects an old-skool RPG of the type 'i decide which door to open', (s)he might feel really railroaded at being forced into the otherworld. If the player doesn't mind the linearity of the longer story, but would like to focus on character's emotions and reactions to being railroaded, the railroading would actually be a good thing.

Then again, some players might just shrug off the railroading as "let's get this getting to the otherworld business taken care of, so we can finally open up that can of whoopass on the dungeon."

You've already mentioned you'd like sim play. Since I'm no expert on GNS or game design focussing on one of the letters, I can only tell you to be wary - or at least explicit in your text about some of the pitfalls. :)

[dalek_of_god]

On the subject of railroading: since the Otherworld provides a means of solving a pressing problem in the Ordinary world, the reverse should also be true. By this I mean that players should be able to choose to stay in the Ordinary world a little longer to gain some in-game advantage when they finally go into the Otherworld. There should be some corresponding increase in the risk to the Ordinary world by delaying. This allows for eager and reluctant heroes, depending on a player's strategy.