The Play's the Thing, Part III

Originally published June 11, 2014

In this series, I discuss The Play's the Thing, a player advice column by Robin D. Laws that ran in Dragon Magazine from 2001 to 2003. That column provided advice for players for improving your characters and making your gaming experience better. Rather than focus on what not to do (which if you are reading this you don't need), I'll be showing you things that can actually help you and your group as well as sharing my own experiences with the ideas presented.

Foiled, No Curses

Issue 284, June 2001

One of the strongest ways to define your character is in relation to another player character (PC). Collaborating with your fellow players on links and interactions between your characters not only makes your game master's job easier, it can also enhance your own fun. This week we will look at establishing your character as a foil to another (and vice versa). This method adds depth to both characters and helps enmesh you in the campaign's setting.

A rivalry is one possible relationship. Like Gimli and Legolas this can be a fun struggle to one up each other as you compete in a shared skill. Alternatively your characters could be struggling over a common goal, like winning the heart of a potential romantic partner or securing the same prestigious promotion.

Rivalries come up most often between those with similar backgrounds whether it is a profession or personality type. In the case of Lord of the Rings, the elf and dwarf both are skilled warriors and thus seek to show that they are "better" than the other. In my own games I have seen this kind of warrior rivalry come up whenever two skilled combat focused character are in the same group. Played correctly it can add an element of light-hearted fun to the game.

An important thing to keep in mind is that though your characters are somewhat opposed, this tension plays out as a competition and not in violence (at least against each other). You also want to make sure not matter how the rivalry goes that no hard feelings leak into your relationship with the other player. The characters might dislike each other but that shouldn't reflect in real life.

Another classic foil connection is philosophical opposites. This could be the rationalist verses the believer, like Scully and Mulder, or logic verses emotion like Spock and McCoy. Any pair of opposing abstract concepts could serve as the basis for this kind of connection. Each character either supports or embodies that concept, leading to a natural conflict. In this case the fun comes from the philosophical debates that play out between the two.

In my Hunter: the Vigil game I had the wonderful combination of the seemingly rational but deeply paranoid Dr. Sorenson and the fringe researcher yet rationalist Dr. Ilyes. This relationship combines both a professional rivalry and a deep philosophical conflict. The debates were epic, helped by the mirroring between the two characters. Sorenson was a well to do psychologist who quietly believed in alien experimentation and corporate conspiracies (which technically was at least somewhat true) while Ilyes lost his job trying to expose the truth and was meticulous in proving his findings. Later in that same game, Mill, the academic detective, had a similar connection as his ambivalence over killing monsters conflicted with other characters' cold heartedness.

Another possible connection between characters is as romantic partners. This could be unrealized or they could be dating, even married. I generally don't see this sort of relationship much of this in my games, though we had a nice series of such connections in our space based Apocalypse World game. I suspect these would much more common in a game that focused more on interpersonal relationships like Hillfolk.

A final set of connections that can serve to bind your character are the oldest ones of all: the bond of siblings, of parent to child, and of mentor to student. This sort of background means your characters have a history, a shared past which helps to define both of them. At the same time it fosters a tension between the characters whether it be the rebellion of a child against the expectations of the parent, simple sibling rivalry or the desire of one to protect the other. These pull the characters apart and push them together at the same time, leading to a dynamic relationship.

I've got to experience this a great deal in my Changeling: the Lost game, The Price. Two characters were brothers while the other two were brother and sister. The rivalry from the brother/sister combo was fun and both sets of siblings were quite protective of the other. It added a nice dimension to the game, especially as some characters wanted to leave others to their fate but couldn't due to their familial ties.

All in all I find establishing interesting relationships between your characters is an enjoyable project and helps to create more fun for yourself and your fellow players. As a gamemaster having two PCs bounce off each others as they debate over a philosophical point or struggle with their feelings of obligation is not only fun to watch but serves as a breather for you to collect your wits and plot the next step challenge in the game. What interesting relationships between your characters have you used?