Role Playing 101 #15: Story Gaming in your Dungeon

Last issue I discussed how you can see a Story game as a particular kind of Dungeon. Of course, you can also see the dungeon as a particular kind of story. Even better, you can combine the two different game types - sparking one of the other.

You might already be doing this of course, putting story elements in your dungeon, or perhaps little dungeons in your story. Even if you do, doing this consciously can make it much easier running your game.

Quests: a Story in your Dungeon

If you are more comfortable with dungeon, endless corridors with dangerous denizens, and fiendish subterranean complexes, you'll probably want to start there. Your party would explore a mythic under-earth place, perhaps with some sort of overall goal in mind - perhaps not. Often, you'll just delve toward the deepest level like in a game of "Dungeon Hack" or its modern variant "Diablo".

Stories typically enter such a setting as little "quests". In a room you may chance upon a patron asking your services, or on a dying creature with a treasure map, or even an enemy demanding something special before you may pass. Each of these encounters may spark off little stories, or puzzles, depending on how you use them. These are quests.

Quests only become stories once you also insert scenes. Computer games do this all the time, as "cut scenes" between the action. But these are seldom giving any choice to the heroes, or their players. What you want in a game is some freedom of choice, and choices that matter.

Scenes are a kind of Encounter

Your quests will be small stories, with a beginning and an end, and some developments in between. Each development is a scene - and each scene, is a kind of encounter taking place somewhere. A story can take different paths, and you might want to think up new scenes as you go along - but they can all take place in your dungeon. You just need enough space to have your story in.

Suppose your heroes encounter a band of orcs, who have a prisoner. That's your opening scene for the quest - a encounter with the orcs. Once the heroes freed the prisoner, and either killed, captured or chased away the orcs, the prisoner is very thankful and reveals he was searching a treasure here. He had a map, but he had to hide it while the orcs were chasing him - that's scene two. The heroes may now navigate to where the map may be or first do other things. But once the heroes get to the point where the map is, you can trigger scene three: it's now guarded by a horrible wandering monster, or perhaps it has fallen down a treacherous chute. Once the heroes have the map, they will be able to study it, and this might be scene four. It could be for example, that the heroes now recognize the area of the map, and realize it is a very dangerous area they have run away from before. This may spark of an interesting discussion of whether they want to go there at all.

And so you could spin your little story on further, while in between your scenes the heroes explore the dungeon and have their regular encounters. You may find that your players live up every time a new piece of the story appears, and that it gives new direction to your adventures.

Scenes are Challenges

Each new story element should pose some sort of choice, or challenge. Perhaps the heroes find that the prisoner they freed was part of a team he betrayed, and that that team is also out looking for the treasure. Suppose they now encounter that other team - whose side will they choose?

Also, each scene could end differently, and the story could bend in many ways. The map could end up damaged, or stolen, the prisoner wounded mortally, the orcs might return later in greater force. You don't have to tie down the storyline beforehand (better not!), and you don't have to be strict about where things should take place either. You can also insert a new development of a quest whenever you feel the game slows down, or the players need some change of pace.

An Overall Storyline

Once you are comfortable with quests, or perhaps before, you may want to have an overall storyline to your dungeon too. This may be a main quest, that drew the heroes into your dungeon in the first place. Perhaps they look for a long lost treasure, a long lost race, or a prisoner that was taken in deep. Perhaps they want to defeat an ancient evil that hides on a deep level, and now sends out it's minions to terrorize the world above - this is naturally the classic dungeon theme.

An overall storyline would have at least one opening scene - but you might have one for each new session you start, just to remind your players why they are there. An opening could be an encounter with the minions of the evil mastermind - an assault, a surprise attack, or even a negotiator, or a victim.

During the game, you would have developments. The heroes might beat an important minion, or lose a good friend. They might find a special weapon to fight their enemy, or discover a map proving a new route to his lair. They might befriend new allies in their quest, or free prisoners with new information. Each of such scenes will not only add spice to your dungeon, it will give direction to your game and your players. Most importantly it will enrich your game and make it more fun.

Role Play 101 #14: Story Telling for Dungeon Builders

At times it may seem there are two kinds of role players, the dungeon-type gamers, and the story-gamers. Two styles of play that are worlds apart. Dungeoneers may feel lost in a story type game, story gamers feel underestimated in a dungeon. But the styles may have more in common than it may seem, and in fact you could write a story as if it were a "dungeon".

The Difference: Story vs Dungeon

Dungeon gamers generally love Dungeons & Dragons in one form or another, Story gamers often don't - and instead prefer more "open" games where character and story are more important. The first group likes to just get into the action, and let any stories unfold as they do, if at all. The second group likes to get into their roles, and want to feel their heroes lives unfold in a story resembling an exciting movie or book - something with a plot, or at least something with some real depth and if possible a beginning and an end.

Often there is no dungeon whatsoever in a story game, just like there may be no story in a dungeon game. So what do these game have in common? Well, they're both games - role playing games. They just have different frames of reference. One has rooms for building blocks, the other uses scenes.


The Similarity: Scenes are a kind of Room

When you frame your game either as a dungeon or as a story, you are very much deciding how your game world is delineated. Are you moving from room to room, or moving from scene to scene? Rooms or scenes are your borders, your frame of reference in which you can move around. Sure, you can break down walls and make new rooms in a dungeon, but basically each new room is a new game situation. In a way, each new room is a special sort of scene.

In the same way, scenes are building blocks of a story. Sure again, one scene may flow over into another, but each scene is a separate, limited game situation. And just like every room has walls, exits, and stuff or even creatures or people in it, so every scene takes place somewhere, with someone, at sometime, with some central action and theme. You can almost think of a scene as an "encounter" with someone, or something. A scene is a sort of challenge, in a way. It can be a fight, a chase, a briefing, sneaking past the guard, breaking into a house, and so on.

A scene is limited - almost like a room. And like a room has exits, a scene has different "story exits", or leads, to other possible scenes in the story.

Connecting Scene "Rooms" into a Story

A role playing story is formed during play, and not during preparation. The choices of the players are just as important in how a story develops as what the game master may have thought up beforehand.

Dungeoneers often complain that they feel railroaded in a story game, much the same way all gamers would feel railroaded if they were in a dungeon with just one route to take - and no going back. Nobody would like that - and yet that's what many earlier modules looked like - and may still look like.

So the trick in any story game is to provide enough choices. Somewhat like a dungeon with many routes. Every scene should have several "story exits" to choose from, each leading to another scene. Thus you could have a map, or a flow chart of scenes - much like an abstract sort of "dungeon". But you can also just have a list of potential scenes, on a sheet or index cards maybe, and think of possible links on the spot, while you're game mastering.

Thinking in such scene exits may sound a bit more difficult than just drawing a new corridor or door on your map, but it doesn't need to be.

Scene Exits

So, what would a scene "exit" look like? Some typical exits could be:

- follow the villain - tracking him down, or chasing him,
- follow a clue or lead to a new location or contact (typical for mysteries),
- run away from danger,
- travel to a new location on route to a quest goal,
- rest and prepare for the next day or scene,
- follow an invitation from a patron or friend,
- get captured by enemies or the guard,
- go and shop for necessary supplies or special gear,
- go do research about the adventure goal, or about the antagonist,
- go get help from friends or authorities,
- and so on...

Whenever you are in a scene, it makes sense to think ahead to which new scenes the players may want to move. If there are no obvious choices, you should provide some. If they didn't find the clues you wanted them to find? Make a new scene exit for them, and throw in some new clues pointing in a useful direction. Are your players going another way than you expected? Either go with the flow, or throw in a "random" encounter  that becomes a new scene with new choice exits. Are your players bogged down, and not sure which way to go? Throw in a new friend, enemy or patron to give them new options. Also don't be afraid to just skip time, and say: "ok, you spend about three days in town, and then the next thing happens…".

Story Entrance and Climax Chamber

No innuendo intended. Just like a dungeon has some sort of main entrance - or multiple entrances - so your story should have a starting scene, with enough options to continue. Opening with a raid by the villains minions is classic, and so is a dying man's delivery of an important message. But there are many other options - you could even start with the "ending" of a never played adventure, much like the openings of Indiana Jones movies.

The ending of the story or session should also be special. As a dungeon may have a special treasure room, or the master bedroom of the villain, a story also needs climaxes. One often used in video games is the "boss level", but you need not make it so corny. A major confrontation with the villain would make a good end scene, as would a major rescue, or a break neck escape from danger.

As you may see, dungeons and stories have more in common than it looks at first glance. Perhaps, if you are a hard core dungeon gamer, thinking of a story as just "a sort of dungeon", will make playing a story game sound more attractive. And the other way around too - both styles can show new worlds to each other.

Role Playing 101 #13: Between Sandbox and Railroad, or Going Pick-Your-Path

Sometimes you may feel uncomfortable with true sandboxing. But you don't want to do a linear plot either. Perhaps you want to give some choice to the players, but you're not sure how to do so without losing control of the story. If so, you might experiment with semi-non-linear stories.

Many computer adventures, and pick-your-path-to-adventure books are built this way. They are actually connected scenes (or rooms), which branch out into other scenes, and sometimes branch back to a main story line. The diagram below should give an idea how that works.

       ------\   ---E--\

      /       \ /       \

     A--->B--->C--->D--->F

           \        /

            -------/

Scene A will either lead to scene B or C, scene B will lead to scene C or D, scene C will lead to scene D or E, and scene D and E will both lead to F. So depending on what the players do, their adventures will look different, but they'll start out at A, and end up at F. Scene A could be the escape of a criminal at the scaffold, scene B their chase after his rescuers, scene C the discovery that the criminal will try to kill the king, scene D the break in in the criminal's hideout, scene E the warning of the king and building his security, and scene F the confrontation with the criminal as he tries to take out the king.

What's Good about Pick your Path

The good thing about this way of story building is that you actually guarantee that there is a story, while you explore some possible choices the heroes should, or can make. You may actually get more grip on what you'll be doing at the game table. If you make a diagram before you start play, you'll actually be forced to think about what the players might want to do, and what that will lead to.

In addition, if they indeed take one of the paths you thought up beforehand, you'll be more prepared. And if your players are at a loss which way to go, it may be easier to present choices or leads to them, for the direct actions they can take. So, it can help you to be a more focused game master.

Still, Don't get Stuck in your own Diagram

Exactly where its strength lies, there also lies its weakness. You start out at A, and you end up at F no matter what you do. If the game master did not plan for X, Y or Z, that's a hard place to get to. Or at least you'll drop out of the prepared adventure if you force your way to X, Y or Z. A pick your path is still very limited in its choices, even if it's not entirely linear anymore. Sure, you could make an adventure that can end up either at F, G or H. But ending up in a place the GM didn't think of before is not a possibility you can build in.

The thing to watch for then, is that you don't get tempted to push players through your preordained diagram, when they don't want to be pushed. Be prepared to think on your toes, and ready to draw entirely new routes and scenes. Or be prepared to think of new hooks to draw them into the scenes you thought of. Either way, still beware of railroading, semi-linear or not.

A Special Case of Semi-Linear: The Dungeon

A very classic example of this way of making an adventure is the Dungeon. A group of interconnected rooms, branching different ways, and reconnecting elsewhere. Each room can be a scene, however short or simple. It can be a fight, a trap, a rest and recovery, or a role playing encounter. A dungeon with multiple paths to its core treasure room, or the room with the big boss is very much a pick your path to adventure. That's exactly what this is about.

And the Dungeon has the similar advantages and pitfalls. Mapping out a Dungeon will make sure there is some focus on where to go next. And a limitation on where to go next. You either go in deeper, whichever way is open, or perhaps you can pull out back to the surface, but that's it.

Adversely, the Dungeon may be to hard for the party to tackle. Perhaps you put in a trap that is too deadly, or a group of adversaries that is to hot to handle. Then what? You can get quite stuck. Here too, you may have to improvise, and open new avenues to make the adventure last. Maybe the heroes get unexpected help from another group of NPC delvers. Maybe a renegade monster opens new opportunity as it triggers a trap barring the way. Maybe you let the heroes discover a secret passage that wasn't there yet when you first drew the dungeon – or you let them dig one of their own.

With Dungeons too, you don't have to be stifled by your own pre-set semi-linearity. Either way, whether you use a story diagram or a have a straight dungeon, feel free to improvise when stuck, and you have a great tool to run adventures.

Pick #78: Why I love Spirit of the Century

A few days ago UPS finally delivered the hardcover of Spirit of the Century to my door. On 3rd try... despite that I told them I wouldn't be there; so much for communication with UPS. Spirit is a hefty 7"x9" book, well over 400 pages long, printed by Lulu, produced by Evil Hat Productions, written by Robert Donoghue, Fred Hicks and Leonard Balsera.

And I guess it just earned its spot near Talislanta, the 1E DMG, CoC, Traveller and Stars Without Number. Which means it's in my top five of RPGs (not counting my own DD2). Why?

Because this implementation of FATE (a FUDGE variant) inspires me to revise the way I look at role playing. The pick up game (a game session where you don't have all your regular players, and need to improvise outside a regular campaign) is actually made into a strength, instead of a weakness. The use of Fate points and Aspects gives the players more influence on changing the story, without making it totally free form. And it's chock full of good GM advice on running your story driven game. And I mean really good advice - despite my 30+  years of game mastering experience I found enough to make me smile.

Maybe the Pulp Hero game setting itself is not directly suited to your group's style - being a mix of Top Secret, Indiana Jones and Marvel Superheroes. But I found the book is definitely worth reading, and the game very probably worth playing. The PDF is currently only $5, so you don't have to plunder your pocket book to get it - unless of course you go for the hardcover, like I did...

Role Playing 101 #12: Why it's Good if your Players are Smarter than You

Did you ever think of a problem for your players, and they came up with a solution you would never have thought of? One that blew away your well prepared evils in a whoosh, and struck you right off balance? How did that feel?

Sometimes your players are damn (excusez-le-mot) well smarter than you. And you have to face it. The worst thing you can do then is to say their plan won't work. It will stifle their creativity, their sense of accomplishment, and their motivation to play with you. You don't want to do that.

So what do you do?

You have a couple of choices when your players are smarter. The first is to just act as if your nose bleeds, and let their plan work. It's a smart plan, isn't it? So let it work. Then think on your toes what happens next. Don't be tempted to undo the players' moment of triumph straight away, but instead show how effective their plan was. Describe the effects of the success lavishly. The players will enjoy it, and it will give you time to think about the next challenge to throw at your players.

The second option is to also be honest about it. Just say “wow, you really caught me off guard there!”, and compliment them on their plan. Maybe give them five or ten minutes of a break. For them to grab some pretzels, and for you to get your notes and wits together and make a new plan.

The third is to actually rejoice. Your players are smarter! That doesn't mean they wrecked your careful plans and think your game is worthless. They wrecked your plans alright, but they are also so well into the game that they manage to cook up a terrific counter-plan of their own. You did well. You are no longer alone in shaping the story, your players are actively shaping it in ways you had not foreseen!

Of course, you can also do all three of the above. In any case – let the plan of the heroes work, and go with the flow!

Random RPG Thoughts #10: Reincarnation in Role Playing

 Just read a nice practical piece on using Reincarnation in 4E by DMG 42. It's pretty good. Here the players actually cooked up a set of rules and convinced their game master to pre-roll their new characters they would eventually reincarnate into if they would die.
Nice twist.

About a year ago I did a series about how to use Reincarnation in your games for the Blog Carnival on Death, and I think it's still a beautiful area of exploration for your games - whether you remember past lives for yourself, or not. And whether you liked Battle Star Galactica with reincarnating Cylons or not.

So I figured I'd call your attention again to the series.

The Joys of Reincarnation deals with the more practical sides of working with reincarnation of (player) characters in your everyday campaigns. How do you go about it?

The Shock of Reincarnation deals with the role playing aspects. How does it feel to remember - and do you inherit the skills and memories of your previous incarnation? 

And The Secret of Reincarnation deals with integrating the concept in your campaign universe - how commonplace is the knowledge, are there brotherhoods or sisterhoods protecting the secret, does everyone reincarnate - or is it a freak magick thing?

Art: by me - the grand Duchess wakes with a shock from a Reincarnation bath

PS Rob Schwalb seems to have a nice post on this too, but I can't check that right now, as his site does not respond. Maybe by the time you read this, you can.

Role Playing 101 #11: How Embedding makes your Players better Role Players

Know this situation? Your heroes enter a new town you spent all week detailing. You thought about the innkeeper, the lord, the abbot and his secret wife, the beggars, the insane jealousy of the baker toward his daughters, and the murder mystery you want to involve your player heroes in. But you never get to sharing the details.

Because the first thing one of the heroes does is blow up the lord with a fireball.

Why did he do that? Out of sheer boredom perhaps. But even bored real people wouldn't just blow up random others. Only psychopaths might. And they wouldn't live long if they acted like that. So why do players do that? Usually just because they can.

It's not just that there is little consequence for doing these things. Sometimes there may be, but usually these consequences resemble the police helicopters in Grand Theft Auto. You'd wonder why the police goes after you and not after the enemy goblins. The point is that most heroes are hardly part of the game world. They are built as loners, often without living family, no social station (they're beginning heroes, aren't they?), nobody who knows them, and usually nothing to lose.

Embedding the Heroes makes them Count

I found that embedding the player characters in the game world is a very useful technique to counter this. It helps make characters more real, more easy to identify with, perhaps more careful, and certainly more interesting to play. Embedded characters are more part of the game world than makeshift ones.

To embed a character, the game master needs to sit down with the player, and together write a little player history. Where usually the player makes up a background on his or her own, if any, referee and player now cooperate. The hero needs parents, siblings, former jobs and positions within the game world, people he or she has befriended or have become enemies, and perhaps a traumatic experience or two. Important is that all these things have a real place in the game world.

Give the Player Heroes Responsibility

The second thing that's very important for embedding is to give the hero a social position. If you dare, give the hero a place in society that counts. Like being an advisor to the local lord, or perhaps the heir of that same lord, a secret agent of the papal inquisition, officer in the city guard, or first candidate to become abbess of a mighty cloister.

These positions give the player character assets. These could be income, a knowledge base, land, or people who work for them. Henchmen, bodyguards, servants, employees, militia, clerics, apprentices, spouses, children and so on. But apart from the assets, there are also responsibilities, both to their superiors and to the people they protect or employ. Suddenly as a player you don't just rescue a villager and bring him to safety, but you also provide a roof for the villager and organize a community. You might even have to command the army to protect the village. Or send out punishing expeditions to enemy brigands.

Embedding opens new Venues of Adventure

And then there are debts and costs. What if your father the Lord left the estate you inherited in disarray, and with large debts? How do you solve that? What if you find out your father was pressured into these debts by corrupt officials? What if the winter is so cold that your peoples supplies run out? What if you find someone is introducing false coin into your realm?

Villagers and fellows are worthwhile too. They might pay the ransom when you were captured and get you free. Or they might help you out of other tight spots. If you do well, your reputation may rise throughout the country and people may come from afar to live in your province.

Player characters work hard for fame and fortune. Players may do the same. So, why not give it to them, instead of postponing it until they reach umpteenth level? Fame and fortune surely have their own problems, and are fun too. Try it. I did, and found a much more interesting game.

Role Playing 101 #10: How the Patron moves your Adventure

Last issue I touched upon story hooks – and player motivation. The simplest story hook you can think of is actually an employer, or as some call it – a patron. And if the patron is right, he or she can motivate all or most of your team.

If the heroes work for Star Fleet, then an officer higher in the chain of command may be all you need. If the heroes are constantly short of money because their Firefly is out of fuel, anyone with an attractive business deal can hire them and send them into adventure. Are the heroes the epitome of goodness, or they are like the A-team? Then any underdog in need or damsel in distress may call upon their aid.

More Than One Patron for The Same Party

But you may also have a more complex team. Maybe the warriors in the group are hired by the city council. But the priest is just there to keep an eye on things for the church, as a kind of Inquisitor. The mage in the group is there because she expects to recover a lost magick item the others have no knowledge of, and she just forces herself into the group as “an advisor”. A half-elven noble may be part of the team too, because he believes in the cause of the city council. And so on.

Patrons don't have to be regular employers or clients. They can also be the damsel in distress, a dead man with a will, or even in some cases the enemy. In a way, if an enemy kidnaps your friends, and you want them back – he's almost a patron. But if he kidnaps your friends and only wants to return them alive if you work for him, he is certainly a patron.

Or have a Player Character as Patron

Also, one or more of the player characters may be a patron for themselves. If the team leader is the Schutzfrau (Lady Protectress) of Soest, and Soest is to be defended, then the Schutzfrau is the patron. If one of the players wants to rob an interstellar bank, and builds his team, he's the patron. And when the heroes want to empty the Tomb of Horrors from it's treasures, they're almost their own patron. Together with the demilich sorceror waiting for them inside.

The nice thing about patrons as story hooks is, that they are generally thinking people. If one way to move the player characters forward does not work, they may try to think of another one. Some patrons may even join the party to make sure what they want happens. In a way they help steer the group the way you'd like them to go. They're a tool to make game mastering easier. And even if the group does not listen to a patron, you'll still have some interesting interaction!

Role Playing 101 #9: Use Story Hooks!

No matter how you structure your storyline, and no matter if it's linear or completely free, you have no game if your heroes do not participate. For some game masters I've met this may not seem a problem. In their adventures the heroes are no more than spectators anyway. Their players may watch, but not touch.

How to Draw Players IN? 

But I hope a no touch no go adventure is not what you are looking for. The heroes should participate. They should be able to act and to change things. To steer events. And naturally they should also be able to fail. Or succeed. And they should want to succeed, change and steer.

So how do you get your heroes to participate? You need something to draw them in. Something to make them care. You need story hooks.

A story hook somehow makes the story personal for the hero, and hopefully also personal for the player. Perhaps the stakes of the adventure are personal, because they are a family member, a family treasure, a home village, or a close friend. Perhaps a friend is in need, or a big reward is promised – and the hero badly needs money. Perhaps the hero has a particularly strong sense of justice, and a great injustice is done. Perhaps the employer of the hero wants him (or her) there. Or maybe it's just something strange and mysterious that draws the attention of the heroes.

Be Pragmatic with your Hooks

Whatever hooks you use, always make sure that they indeed work. See if your players indeed bite, and are entertained. If you find that the players are not drawn into your intended story, then maybe you need some other hooks. Think of a few new ones before you ditch your story, and see if you can find the right angle. If necessary, ask your players for help what might work. And reward them by using the suggestions.

Different players may need different hooks. And different characters in the same team may also need different hooks. You might even want to provide each player with their own reason – or story hook – to participate. Because in essence, a hook is part of the overall motivation of your characters – and players. And motivation is what you need.

And if you are a player reading this, remember that your character motivation is also very much your own responsibility. Don't try to be one of those guys who sits behind the telly during the game all the time complaining that there is no reason to join the adventure. And at the same time ignore each hook that is thrown at you. Be a bit cooperative too, or leave the room if you find you cannot manage.

Role Playing 101 #8: NPC Interests Behind the Scenes

Last time we considered how you can use a framework, or a sandbox as a starting point for adventures. Such a framework outlines the most important non-player characters, locations, and possible enemies and stakes from which adventures may arise. Also, it gives a lot of freedom for the players to determine what and how the adventure will be. That's nice. But once you have the framework, how do you proceed?

What Do the Other People Do?

Personally, I like to look at the main non-player characters, or non-player interest groups. Main npc's can be the local king, baron or warlord. Or a powerful wizard, tradesman, bishop or even a monster – preferably an intelligent species. Interest groups can be the trade guild, a gang of slavers, the city guard, the kings guard, a mercenary war band, an organised crime group, the church, town hall, an industrial cartel, a hidden organisation of priestesses, a band of cultists, the secret police, and so on.

Whenever players act (or don't act), I try to think: what will the npc's and interest groups do? Will they notice the player characters? What will they do about them? Will they contact them, be pleased and go at their own business, be angered, annoyed, shocked? Will they send in assassins, or instead send a head hunter to hire them, or seek an alliance?

Take It One Group at a Time

Try to start out with just a few npcs and interest groups, and move them about on the imaginary playing board of your world. Make sure that at least a few will at some time turn out as enemies, or allies to the player characters. Make them have conflicting interests, also with eachother. And figure what the players might see, hear and notice of the ongoing conflicts, dealings and secret alliances.

Maybe the players will witness how a slaver band captures the daughter of the innkeeper (actually a mistake). Then they see how the city guard stands idly by (they have a conflict with the innkeeper, and one city guard works with the slavers). The heroes may protest with the mayor about the guard, and the mayor may then reprimand the guards. Next the heroes are hired by the innkeeper to rescue his daughter. The one city guard in league with the slavers sneaks out at night to meet with his fellows (and might be followed by a hero). The slavers meanwhile realize their mistake, and make plans to get rid of the daughter (the heroes may be witness, or they may learn later). And so on.

What if You Forgot Someone?

Sometimes you'll find that you forgot about an npc or interest group. Players may ask you why they didn't do anything. In that case, you may do several things – besides frankly admitting that you forgot. One is to say that they were too occupied to intervene or act, or that they had missed what happened – npcs can surely make mistakes too. Another is to smile enigmatically, and think of a cooler reason why the interest group didn't turn up. Maybe they have a secret friendship, an ulterior motive, or maybe they are scared of something or someone that was present. Maybe they care less than they seemingly did. Or maybe the players received help from a third party, who intervened and stopped the missing npc or group. But I didn't have to say so, did I? Because you already thought that up beforehand, and that's why they were not there... That's what the players will find out next time. That's the secret of the Game Master.

Role Playing 101 #7: Game Mastering with The Framework

Many game masters start out running linear games. You start at a beginning scene, proceed scene after scene in a predetermined order, and end with the predetermined finale. Maybe the outcomes of each scene - or room, or sublevel, or level, or subquest – are not entirely clearcut, but you either win or lose, or win some and lose some. It's a one way ticket. Or a railroading game.

Railroading or Sandboxing?

That's not necessarily bad. But the lack of choice may annoy some players. And they may rightfully feel that they could just as well play a computer adventure instead of showing up at the game table.

So, there is the other extreme, which is often called a Sandbox game. I'm not sure if that's because it's like kids playing in a sandbox. But it does involve giving the players power to decide what the adventure is about. You want to go down the Tomb of Horrors? Cool. You want to wreck the town nearby? Fine. You want to explore the seven seas and smuggle green skinned aliens? Fine. You want to save the world economy with a diplomatic campaign among the nobility and their bankers? Great.

Sandboxing can be Scary

But running a sandbox game may scare most game masters. Because you either have to know and understand the world in detail, or you must be able to make it up as you go. And be consistent. For most of us, who may have trouble understanding the real world already, that's quite a feat you're asking.

So how do you pull it off? Scetching adventure worlds until you're ready? That may take decades. And be sure that the first thing your players will do is to jump on a space ship and travel to another world.

One solution I use is to scetch a rough framework of the game world, and fill in the details as I go along. And while I game master I make notes, so I may remember what I thought up later. In between sessions I try to guess where my players will want to go next, and do some research. Or instead, I decide for the players where they will go next, and do the same preparation.

So Where to Begin?

For example, I could decide that the first adventure session will take place around the town of Soest. So, if possible I'll have a rough idea of what the town looks like (I took a map of the real town Soest in Germany). Or at least what's special about the town (many buildings are made from green stone). I'll decide what kind of fellow the mayor is (tall and skinny, and a sneaky thief, named Herr Weymarck). Where the town inn is located (across the town square next to the church). Who the innkeeper and his daughter are (an amiable old Jew, with a somewhat naive daughter who talks with dead people – while she doesn't realize they're dead). What the main church looks like (a huge church and abbey of St. Patroklos, mostly in green stone, with a huge crypt under it, which is sealed because there are undead down there). Who the abbot is (a tall viking like fellow named Harald, who is smart but blends in the background). And what the general area looks like (mostly forests with a moon shaped lake in the south, between the low hills, maybe infested with monsters). What are the neighbouring towns (Paderborn, Dortmund and Koln – always easy to pick a real map). What is the country like (medieval Germany – but with orcs, vampyres and dragons).

Since there is a big church of saint Patroklos, I also look up the saint in Wikipedia, to jog my imagination a bit more. I notice the man was hunted in France, and there was a connection with dragons. As a twist I figure it would be cool if St. Patroklos was a dragon himself, and that's why he was hunted. Maybe that's why his bones are special too, and made a relic.

Fleshing Out the Framework

With this background, I can easily provide a few alleys for adventure. The heroes could be asked to clean out the undead in the crypt of St. Patroklos church. Or one of the heroes could become Schutzfrau of the town as an inheritance, and find out that the mayor robbed the town treasury. Which in turn might lead to him trying to kill the heroes off with a hired assassin. And why are building stones green? Are they poisonous perhaps? Maybe there is a problem with vampires, or with a roaming army of orcs. If so, I'll have to make up who hired this army. Wouldn't it be a cool twist if that was the Kaiser of Germany himself? Then there would be human mercenaries in the army that might point out that fact (let's call their leader Hagen, a ruthless plate clad tactician). The army might stage a full scale attack, and we get a siege adventure where the heroes have to defend the town. Maybe they also have a spy in the town. The boyfriend of the mayor's daughter perhaps. And so on.

As you may see, I don't fill in most of the details until I need them. I could, just for fun, fill them in before play. But I don't have to.

The framework provides a backdrop where my players can choose to do their own thing. And if I want, I can also run a normal adventure, with start, ending, enemy and stakes – on top of the background. In that way the backdrop and the straight adventure are intertwined. The one provides color for the other.

Next time: How NPC's and PC's can change the game world. Continually.

Role Playing 101 #6: Game Mastering in Scenes

Last issues we looked at quick and dirty adventures. But what if you have a little more time, or want to be more specific and structured in what you're doing? Then you can game master in scenes.

Any adventure can be broken into scenes. Each scene is characterised by a kind of action, and each scene in a role play adventure is bound to an encounter (not necessarily with something living or undead), and a location. An average session has somewhere between three and ten scenes, each lasting somewhere between 20 minutes and an hour.

A Scene: Action, Encounter, Location

So, you can have action scenes, combat scenes, chasing scenes, travelling scenes, problem-solving scenes, diplomatic scenes, spying scenes, horror scenes, role playing scenes, or even love scenes if your players dare. Actually any action you can think of could be the basis of a scene.

And then you can combine actions with encounters and locations. Like a chase scene on dragon mounts fleeing a horde of angry wyverns. Or a combat scene with a hostile city guard on the city walls. Or a horror scene with ghosts in a haunted house. Or a diplomatic negotiation with a gang of Uruks on top of a cliff. And so on.

Thinking in what kind of scene you are doing, or needing next, can help you structure your game. Are you in a slow scene? Maybe you need a fast paced action or combat scene next to keep your players awake. Have the idea your players are out of breath combat scene after combat scene, and they can't figure out your plot? Give them some breathing space with a friendly encounter in a role playing scene.

Scripting your Game in Scenes or No?

Some game masters even prefer to map out their entire game beforehand. They write out each scene before the adventure starts, at least in encounter, location, and what is to happen. With my group however that's not very useful. Typically they try to have their own agenda, and steer the adventure where they want it to go. If I try to force my set of scenes on them they just go renegade or end up frustrated – and then frustrating me.

What I often do however, is prepare a rough set of scenes – or encounters – that I can use in the adventure. Which scenes I end up using then depends on the moment, and the actions of the players. Often, the real adventure turns out quite different from what I prepared. That's part of the fun and the surprise.

Try thinking in scenes next time you run a game, while keeping start, end, enemy and stakes in mind. And see if it helps you keep grips and have more fun!

Role Playing 101 #5: Quick and Dirty Adventure Building, part II

Have you had a chance to wing a quick and dirty adventure yet? Yes? How did it go? No? No matter, you will have many opportunities. And, with the three extra ingredients in this post, your quick and dirty adventure may be even better.

Last time we talked about the four main ingredients: beginning, what's at stake, the enemy, and the ending. This time we deal with colour, ally and twist.

Colour

Anything that adds a special taste to your adventure is colour. It may be the special setting, that you describe in detail. Or a special setting that players may recognize from a book, movie or holiday. It may be the funny actions of non player characters, or the funny voices you give them. It may be the typical actions of the enemy, the signature he always leaves, the strange costumes he wears, the inexplicable hatred he has of one of the heroes. It may be the music you play in the background – be it symphonic rock or moody film score. Or it may be the map you quickly scribbled on a piece of paper, or the pictures you quickly grabbed from internet to evoke the right mood.

Ally

Especially in a longer adventure, the heroes will need help. They will need an ally, or multiple allies. The best allies are worked out like player characters, like the master enemies. Typical allies may be friendly heroes, city guard, nobles, mercenaries, fairy godmothers, vague wizards, and so on. They can even be a character you play when you are playing instead of game mastering. Allies may show up as a patron – someone who hires the heroes – or they may trot along with the group, at least some of the way. Allies are also an excellent way to keep the players on track in the adventure, and steer them a bit in the right direction. Or the wrong direction, if you feel they go to fast or become complacent.

Twist

No true exciting story goes without a surprise. And that's what the twist is. Any surprise may do. But the best surprises are those which change the premises of the story. An ally can turn out to be an enemy, or the enemy can turn out to be an ally. That what is at stake may be trumped up, or change – like when you find out that the treasure is actually a lethal dragon. Or when you find out that while you were rescuing the princess, the enemy now is attacking your home city with an army. Or allies may turn out to be temporary enemies, like when the law is chasing you for crimes you did not commit. Or maybe you did commit the crimes, but they made sense because they were against the enemy. Study stories and movies for the many twists that are possible. And have at least one in your adventure. Maybe more.

There, this should make your Q&D adventure a lot more special already. Now, for good measure, let's try an example.

The heroes meet in a roadside inn on their way back from last adventure (beginning). Here they witness the kidnapping of the innkeepers daughter (stakes) by incredibly strong orcs. These orcs are led by a wizard who calls himself Orcus (enemy). As the adventure unfolds, the game master plays the music score from Lord of the Rings (colour), and the heroes traverse a forest full of spooky creatures (colour). The other daughter of the innkeeper joins the heroes on their quest, and it turns out she can fight and steal exceptionally well (ally). However, before the heroes reach the tower where Orcus has his army, they interrogate a wounded orc, who explains that the two sisters stole a magick orb from his master (twist). Orcus now tries to get the orb back by threatening the kidnapped daughter. While the heroes will make up their mind who they will help, they enter the tower for a final showdown with Orcus (ending).

Role Playing 101 #4: Quick and Dirty Adventure Building, part I

Have you ever been stuck, minutes before starting a game session? No ideas where to start? No idea how to do it? Or have you ever wanted to master an adventure, but found yourself procrastinating endlessly? Here are some things I do to get myself into an adventure, sometimes even after play has started.

Making the Instant Adventure

To do an evening – or afternoon – of adventure, you need to have a few things. You need a beginning, a sense of what's at stake, an enemy, and an ending. At the very least you need these four. And if you wish to do a little better, you also need colour, an ally, and a twist. All you need is an idea of each of these things, and you can make up the rest on the spot. Just be consistent.

Beginning

For the beginning it is important that you get the player characters together. To work together, to basically like or at least tolerate each other, and if possible to stay physically in the same group – most of the time. One way to do this is to let them be invited by someone who asks their favour – a patron. He or she can explain what's at stake – or what the mission is, and propell the adventure forward. The patron may also be one of the player characters. In practice that can work quite well, because you have a player who will help you keep the group aligned.

Another good way to begin is to throw the characters into the action. They are in the mission already, or they are drawn in because the stakes unfold before their eyes. A princess may be kidnapped in front of them, or you may tell them that they are guarding a caravan, or on the way to convince an enemy Duke not to attack their home country – and now his troops try to capture them. Action has the advantage of drawing the attention of the players, and thus you gain momentum in your game.

What's at Stake

You must know what the adventure is about. Is it about honour of the clan, the lost treasure of an ancient king, saving the lives of friends or fellow citizens, or what? This is what the players have to fight for to “win” the adventure. Make it as concrete as possible. And if you can try to hook the stakes to the personal history of each of the player characters.

Enemy

The enemy is the person, entity, force of nature, army or monster – or any combination thereof – that tries to take that what's at stake away from the adventurers. These are the creatures and forces that will provide combat encounters, nasty face downs, dangerous situations, treacherous conversations and dazzling chases. The master enemy should have statistics and quirks like a player character. Make them up on the spot if you have no time. Or if you're lazy, pick an old enemy. These often even work better.

Ending

Every session needs an ending. Not just every adventure, but every session – a good ending is often a reason to come back the next time. A typical ending involves a showdown with the enemy. Or a chase after the enemy. Or a running away from the enemy, or the forces of nature, while trying to save what's at stake. An ending is a climax in a way. And if you can, stage it in a special location, such as on a cliff, in a throne room, or a dragons lair. Make sure you start the ending scene (or scenes) about an hour before you have to wrap up the session. And if your heroes aren't even close to ending the adventure by then, make an intermediate ending, with a cliffhanger. One where an enemy escapes, for example.

So, now you have the main four ingredients, give it a try. Wing it! Next time I'll deal with the other three: colour, ally and twist.

Role Playing 101 #3: Do You Dungeon Bash or Do you Tell Stories?

 When you play old style Dungeons & Dragons, or Tunnels & Trolls, the main story line is usually something like this:  Long ago, an evil wizard named Whatshallwecallit built a complex of tunnels under the city – or under the Harz mountains. He filled it up with monsters, evil creatures, and deadly traps. He hid a secret treasure away too and locked himself up on top of it. And now his evil threatens to take over your nondescript home town with pleasant peasants and fancy fairies. Your task, as the heroes, will be to go into his underground realm and beat the unlife out of him and his minions, meanwhile collecting enough treasure to cause hyperinflation in the local economy.    

Sounds familiar? Even though such a storyline doesn't necessarily make much sense, many players including myself revelled in it. It provides just enough rationale for testing your wits and having plain fun while tabletopping with your friends and throwing a lot of dice. You can play a grumpy dwarf, a brooding ranger, or a haughty elf making snide remarks to your fellow characters, and bash away your weeks frustrations while you bash away at the skulls of your virtual designated evil enemies.  

This kind of game is not supposed to be too real. Its a hack and slay, search and destroy mission.

The Next Step is Story Telling  

But after a while, some players at least may find that their heroes develop backgrounds. Backgrounds above ground. Backgrounds that have very little to do with sprawling mazes underground or neurotic necromancers locking themselves up to wreak havoc on the world. And that's where the root of a totally different sort of adventure lies. Adventure maybe without necessarily bashing your enemies, without going underground, without collecting treasure even. Adventure with other rewards.   

But saving the kingdom – perhaps your own – or your family, or your family's honor, or maybe world peace, are all things that may become goals. Tasks may be to identify a killer in a metropolitan city or at a feast in a remote mansion. To guard an envoy on a diplomatic mission, or even to do the diplomatic mission yourself, and meanwhile find out who is trying to thwart a peace deal, or what's really rotten in the state of Denmark. It might be to conduct war, and to do battle on the battlefield. It might be to travel through the wilderlands to save your true love, or keep her from marrying Prince Pumpernickel. No treasure needs be involved, no monsters, no combat. It's the story that becomes important, and the development of character perhaps.   

Role playing games outside the fantasy setting more often follow this pattern. Like sci-fi games, horror games, games based on movies or books. Maybe because a trap and monster laden dungeon makes little sense in such a setting, or maybe because these settings allow a different way of playing. But fantasy usually falls back to the dungeon. The Dark Dungeon game is an exception in this for a fantasy role playing game – one not specifically based on a book or movie. It is less fit for a straight dungeon bash, although you can use it for that purpose. No, Dark Dungeon is a fantasy game made for playing stories.   

Leaving the dungeon and entering the realm of stories gives a lot of freedom. Possibilities. New realms to explore, and other ways of having fun, and experiencing surprise. But where do you begin? Freedom also gives choices, and how to make these choices so that you actually have an exciting adventure? That question I hope to answer at least partly in following posts.

Role Playing 101 #2: What's Your Play Style?

Maybe it's just one game, but you can play it many different ways. See if you can recognize your own play style(s) in the ones below.

The power player

These play the game to “win”. To become powerful. To be the mightiest. The best. The one with most magic items and treasure. Sometimes they want to play fair, sometimes they don't care. Most players start out this way, because in general games tend to be competitive. So you're supposed to win, right? Well, no. Role playing games are not really about winning or losing. The're much more about cooperating – with the exception of player killing online games maybe, but would you call that role play? So, most gamers evolve further, to new goals.

The puzzle player

Plots, intricate intrigue, politics and diplomacy, cloak and dagger, murder mysteries, complicated storylines with lots of twists – or just plain riddles and puzzles to solve. All of these can motivate the puzzle player. And to be honest, most role players are smart enough to like this style. It's just very much dependent on the Game Master whether it's possible. He or she will have to provide the brain crunch.

The playground player

For this style of play the game is mostly an excuse to be together with friends and have a good time. The game world is mostly a playground to do silly things, prank, make jokes, dream up cute pets, and test zany magic items. Story shouldn't be too heavy handed, nor should winning be a goal, except maybe as part of a vengeful prank. Few gamers survive on this style alone. But especially as a change from everyday heavy handedness, some prefer it.

The simulationist

To recreate as it was is the main motive here. This can be a historic simulation, like in portraying knightly or Christian virtues as they maybe were. Or maybe political or economic, or tactical combat situations. Detail often becomes very important, as do (long) descriptions. Only if the game master also is running a simulation game, this style is possible. So it tends to be rare.

The role player

The true role player insists that it is stepping in the shoes of someone else that is the goal of the game. Some role players like the experience of being someone else – and feeling how they feel, with all the thrills and spills if possible. Some like to portray someone else, and see the game as a form of theatre. Role playing tends to be easier in games where the story is central, and when there are many social encounters. I suspect that most gamers are in fact attracted to the game for exactly this aspect of play. The game doesn't derive its name from nowhere, you know.

The team player

Misused as the term team player may be, having someone with this style in your group is gold. Team players try to make the game work for all involved, if need be at the cost of their own play experience. They try to make the group a whole, drawing other players into the game by giving them special attention. And often team players follow the plot and the Game Master plans when they can guess what they are. The downfall of many team players is that they may not be recognized if they do their necessary work too smoothly. Cheer a team player if you recognize one.

Talking about recognizing, did you see your own style or styles here? Have you moved from one style to another? Can you see what the styles of your fellow players are? Which do you like, and why? Questions, questions. But fun to think about.

Role Playing 101 #1: Roll Playing vs Role Playing

Ages ago, I think it was in the 80-ies of last century, one of my best friends wrote a role playing manifesto. We weren't supposed to just roll the dice, he said, but we ought become our characters. We ought to feel how they felt, and actually play their roles. At least for the duration of the game.

Rolling Dice and Just Having Fun

We were playing a variation of the Dungeons & Dragons game then, and for most of us it took some time to understand what he meant. Weren't we supposed to just go into a dungeon, roll some dice, and slay some hapless monsters? Collect some treasure, roll some dice, and meanwhile imagine that we actually were Aragorn, or Gandalf? Was it wrong what we were doing?

Not necessarily. Basically it's a difference in play style. There are more possible play styles, sure, but my friend made a very important distinction. You either shove your persona around the board, and roll some dice, or – to an extent – you become the persona. Most people start out doing the first, as it is less scary. It's also easier to say: hey, that's just a puppet, it's not me. My character does this or that. My character now attacks your character because he failed his sanity roll. Haha. No offence meant.

Or Being Someone Else a Bit

But it's – I for one think so – much more interesting to crawl into another skin. Slip into a role, and be able to say – I hit the dragon with my sword! I am the one whose parents were slain by the evil Imperial troops, and now I am out for revenge. Or if you dare: “dear princess Arwena, I love you”. Scarier, for sure, but also more rewarding.

The more you try it, the more you may be surprised how it really is to be in someone else's shoes. I still am, especially when playing evil non player characters, often finding out and feeling on the spot why they act as they do. In that way, role playing may actually prove to be better social training than you'd expect after seeing another nerdy portrayal of our hobby.

Where are you at your own games? Do you prefer roll playing or role playing? Or is it a mix of both? When do you use which method? Do you fall back on dice to avoid intimacy, conflict, something else that's scary? Or do you just use it to condense time, and seek role playing out in other situations?

It's an old distinction, but it's fun to make it explicit for yourself.

RPG BLOG Carnival: Mixing Sci Fi into Fantasy

Almost forgot about this month's blogcarnival, hosted by the Dump Stat. It's all about mixing genres in role playing games. My point to make today is that fantasy is best fit for mixing with... anything. You might figure otherwise, but I've seen successful examples of: time travel with Dr. Who like time lords, gun slinging like in the wild west or more like in swashbuckler movies, Indiana Jones like treasure hunts with Arthurian knights on the side, exploding Death Stars...

Well, actually I must admit that mixing Sci Fi and Fantasy is a rather iffy subject. It doesn't always work, and if it does, it doesn't work for everyone. That also goes for the Sci Fi elements of time travel. I think that's because of two things.

Sci Fi Presumes Many Worlds

Science Fiction implies travel between many worlds, and once a Bird of Prey is hanging above your fantasy city, that also means there is a universe of Klingons out there, or a United Federation of Planets ready to phaser and torpedo your evil hordes out of existence. Any great conflict suddenly becomes very small and silly then. And playing a brooding fantasy hero who wants to save his small world is rather petty in this perspective. So, if you introduce Sci Fi into your fantasy campaign, make sure that the Sci Fi element is weaker than the fantasy element. If there is a bird of prey, make it hopelessly lost, with long range communicators failing, and weapons dependent oon some magick mineral. Or even dependent on magick users fixing the machinery. Make it obvious that even if there is a whole universe out there, no way that it's going to get in to your fantasy world. Except maybe the poor few fellows who were lost in time and space.

Sci Fi presumes Magick does not work

This one is not always true, but it does play a role I think. In Science Fiction science is paramount. Nothing defeats ultimate science, not even psionics. Psionics, like the “Force” can be very, very strong, but even then they stand no chance against a Death Star.

If you want to mix Science Fiction into your Fantasy world, you will have to resist this notion. Magick (and the Gods, Angels, Demons, and so on) will always be stronger than science. That is what makes fantasy fantasy. So again, if you introduce warp drives, gunpowder steampunk ships, force walls, robots... make them either useless compared to magick, or better still, treat them as magick.

This way a warp drive becomes a Magickal Ether Transportation Device, and a robot a Magickal Golem. Try it this way, and see how much you can pull off. Your players may even enjoy recognizing the stuff.

Have a good mixing and matching your genres into fantasy!

Pick #49: Writers could help Gamers

Have you ever wondered if George Lucas first role played Star Wars before he wrote the movie? I did. I'm sure there must be moviemakers and writers out there who use role playing as a source of inspiration. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman of the Dragonlance Chronicles certainly did.

And there's logic to that, as writing, moviemaking and role playing are related. They are all forms of storytelling. I noticed that some of you out there have the same notion, with writer's blogs on your blog rolls. Writers can give useful tips to role players and vice versa.

Like these from K.M. Weiland, about why the Devil is a boring bad guy, for example. She explains that if your evil is thoroughly evil and dark, your good guys (read: your player characters) may automatically become one-dimensional "good". And one-dimensional good guys are pretty boring, bad role-playing opportunity too. So, turning that argument around... a more grey, not all evil antagonist might give your players more room for better role playing. I'd say, fellow Game Masters, let's give it a try.

Have a look, and see what else we could learn from writers.



With thanks to Sean Holland from Sea of Stars for spotting Weiland in the first place.

RPG Blog Carnival: The Secret of Reincarnation

Last two issues for the RPG Blog Carnival I wrote on how to reincarnate player characters in your campaign. Or at least how you could go about it. This time I'll touch upon what happens to you society, if people would start to remember that they were here before. And what you could do with that in your campaign setting.

What happens all depends on three things. One is whether people reincarnate, and how commonplace it is. The second is how many people believe or rather know that reincarnation takes place. And the third is in how far you can influence where and how you reincarnate. Think these over before you decide how you incorporate past lives into your fantasy society.

Just Freak Memories

You could decide that being born into a new body happens only in very special cases. That's it's a freak accident. Or just for certain souls who are bound to this world. That only the son or daughter of a god can be born again. Or one touched by the spell of a powerful wizard. In that case, it's little more than a gimmick for your campaign. Maybe people have an opinion, maybe the church calls it witchcraft, but that's basically it.

We all are One

Or you could decide that we all reincarnate, all the time. That we travel from body to body, life to life, and experience to experience. If the people realize that this is so, they might also want to take better care of their world. And better care of their fellow man. Because you personally might be born anywhere, and you are stuck in this world, so you'd better make sure it's as close to heaven as you can make it. And as ecologically sound as you can make it. Because if you blow up your world or poison it, you'll be back to reap the bitter fruits too. Actually, most Christian values (or other religious or humanist ones) would come rather naturally. They wouldn't just be moral, but actually practical necessity! Because then we all are one.

But All was Forgotten...

Yet if we all reincarnate, then we don't have to remember. Or at least not directly. And then remembering may become dependent on whether we take fleeting recognitions and vague memories of past lives for truth. Suppose the religious dogma does not recognize reincarnation. The church might state that we cannot be reincarnated while in actuality we are. Or the dogma might state that most of us are not supposed to remember, because we were sinful in our past lives, and now we have started with a clean slate. So we could remember but it were wrong to do so. Heroes and others who would have memories would have to be careful with what they told others about it. It would be a secret. Like it would be in our own society, even if the religion in our case would be exchanged for a scientific dogma. But if the heroes could share their memories, with fellow heroes, or with secret organisations of people who know... then there would be many alleys for adventure.

The Secret Order of the Continuous Resurrection

Because if you would not only be able to remember your past lives, but also make sure where you would be borne next, this would give virtual immortal powers. Suppose such a group exists in your fantasy world. A group of wizards, akin to such secretive organisations as the Freemasons. Or a group of mother priestesses, like the Artemisian cults, or even an order of the Mother, the holy Soul and the Borne Childe. Suppose such a group would bring back heroes, powerful people, either for good or bad, back in to this world – but remembering their past powers, knowledge and lives. Or maybe there are various of such temples of reincarnation, fighting one another in a secret (or open) feud. Such a feud would continue over ages and might spark whole wars. Wars only those who remembered would understand. Or think to understand.

Enough possibilities. Dream on them. And use what you will in your coming games.