Hi, everyone!  Recently I was waxing eloquent about the aborted Pendragon campaign that I was in with my wife and Ralph Mazza (Ralph doing GM duties).  One of the aspects that I really enjoyed was the ability to pass down the effects of your accomplishments to your heir (well, at least in theory).  In fact, this was one of the things that really captured my imagination about Pendragon.

Then it hit me.  If I really enjoyed those parts of the game, why not design my own RPG that focused on those elements?

So, I'm starting preliminary design work.  The tentative title is Dynasties, but that will probably change as time goes on.

I don't have any mechanics in place yet that I'm willing to expose to the harsh light of day*, but I am currently looking for other RPGs that incorporated a similar element.  Specifically, what RPGs out there have attempted to address the possibility of raising up an heir as a future playable character?  You can interpret this as broadly as you want.  I'd also like to know, from actual play experience, what the positive features were of these systems, as well as any pitfalls that you may have experienced.

I'm already somewhat familiar with Pendragon, and I believe that Ars Magica would fall into this category.  Riddle of Steel's Insight is a borderline case.

Remember, the goal of this thread is to provide me with research material to inform my current design project.  Keep your comments focused towards that end.  Thanks!

*Ralph and Keith, you're the exceptions.  If you're interested, ask me the next time we see each other.

the example that gets brought up every time long in-game time periods is mentioned would be Aria, specifically the Roleplaying book rather than the Worlds book. Aria was intended to be played multigenerationally, as episodes in the life of a culture, and had detailed lineage-creation rules.

this doesn't mean that Aria is the best game to study, however, because I don't know how *playable* it is. I have the books and never played it; I have never spoken to anyone who has tried to play it. I think most people bought it to use in other games.

I know that somewhere in the back issues of Dragon magazine, there were rules for character inheritance in Dungeons & Dragons beyond the simple "deduct 10% from estate value as tax" (which, along with some half-breed rules, is all that The Fantasy Trip attempted on the subject.)

Weapons of the Gods handles various familial relations in a cursory fashion.

Notably, whenever you perform a "Deed", you recieve two awards: a short-term effectiveness resource, Joss, and a long-term character improvement resource, Destiny. Using a special kung fu, you can shunt your Destiny gain onto your existing or future child.

Children have a similar technique that transfers Destiny to their parents, while also soothing tension in their relationships.

I haven't had a chance to see how these work in play, though.

Hey Seth,

Exalted: the Dragon-Blooded has a section on running an intergenerational campaign, along with some sidebar rules for family reputation, notorious relations, and breeding.  More setting-based than it is embedded in system, but interesting notes nonetheless that you might use as fodder for a more focused game.

Best,

Blake

AD&D 1e Oriental Adventures incorporated rules to allow heirs of characters to add one stat pont for every ten points of family honor. I never saw it used in play though, as our characters basically never used the honor rules. There was lot of oter material about family play int he honor rules though.