RPGnet Columns
02-26-2004, 03:46 PM
Post originally by Karro at 2004-02-26 14:46:06
Converted from Phorums BB System
Having also been on both sides of the prophecy fence, I can honestly say that this was a pretty good article. If I may be so bold as to offer some tidbits from my own experience (warning... I'm a prolific rambler).
In the game I played where prophecy was used extensively, they generally referred to a group of heroes called "the companions", a term suitably vague enough to encompass our constantly changing group. Mostly, the prophecies didn't indicate what we ~would~ do, but what had to be done in order to achieve our objective--the typical save-the-world-from-evil. Generally, the prophecies were vague and used strange symbols in place of clarity, and as players we did our best to interpret them and use them as clues for what we had to do, where we had to go, etc. These prophecies were usually found after prolonged study of very old texts.
For the past year-and-a-half, I've been running my own campaign, in which I also use prophecy extensively. In the game I run there are two types of prophets, which can neutrally be described as either "passive" or "active". Passive prophets have no control over their prophetic power--they are visited with prophetic visions at the whim of some diety or extraterrestrial power, and afterwards feel compelled to express those prophecies in some manner (either through writing them down, or through an artistic medium). Active prophets are able to actively seek out prophecies by undertaking a dangerous subconscious journey to a spiritual plane. I think giving these two options--a prophet can only be of one type, and the player must choose when taking the ability--adequately balances some of the power. For the first option, I as the GM have some discretion on when I offer a prophecy. Again, I have to deliver periodically, or the players would snipe me. The second option makes delivery of a prophecy an undertaking for the player with potential pitfalls.
I have one player with the prophecy ability in my game, who chose the first style. What I do is, in anticipation of major game events, I run something like a mini-session with that player (usually apart from the normal sessions, often via e-mail corrspondance or chat) where that player is visited in her sleep by beings with prophetic messages. The message usually consists of a series of images, often laden with a symbology I've developed to represent certain things in the game world, accompanied by a verbally delivered portion. During the sequence, the character sometimes has the opportunity to react to the things being presented, though no real power to directly alter the scene. One time, the character was so concerned with another, unrelated issue, that I actually had the visitors change their message to address this issue, since they realized she wouldn't be able to handle the original message. They later returned with the intended prophetic message.
As I mentioned, I've developed a consistent symbology that I use to represent certain items and events in the course of the history of the world, past and present, that I use in prophecies. I also find that prophecy can be useful not only for prediction of future events, but the revelation of a past that has been forgotten or misrepresented. Symbols are an important part of "real-world" prophecies (whether you believe them or not), from what little I know of Nostradamus to the biblical prophecies of those such as Isaiah or John to pop-culture horoscopes and fortune-telling (the signs of the zodiac and images on tarot cards are themselves symbols). I know even less about other cultures, like Aztecs, Mayans, Egyptians, or Oriental nations, but I assume the same holds true. I do craft prophecies that relate to specific characters at times, but I try to revolve these around player choices. For instance, I may present each of the characters with a choice, given in a dream or some other such forum, between several items or images. Their choice will determine some aspect of their "prophetic destiny". There are usually clues to which destiny is linked to which choice, so the players can make partially conscious decisions without me giving away the plot too soon. I also use the tactic learned in the prior game I played of using prophecies as clues to answer the question I'm always getting from my players: "Well... whadawedonext?" (very mysteriously) "If you vish to prewent the rising dark child from choking the child of de sun, you must..." (which translates: you wanna stop the bad guy from killing some key npc, go do 'x')...
Well... that's it for my rambling...
Again, good article, which I realized covered most of these points, but thought I'd provide a few more real-game-world examples.
Karro
Converted from Phorums BB System
Having also been on both sides of the prophecy fence, I can honestly say that this was a pretty good article. If I may be so bold as to offer some tidbits from my own experience (warning... I'm a prolific rambler).
In the game I played where prophecy was used extensively, they generally referred to a group of heroes called "the companions", a term suitably vague enough to encompass our constantly changing group. Mostly, the prophecies didn't indicate what we ~would~ do, but what had to be done in order to achieve our objective--the typical save-the-world-from-evil. Generally, the prophecies were vague and used strange symbols in place of clarity, and as players we did our best to interpret them and use them as clues for what we had to do, where we had to go, etc. These prophecies were usually found after prolonged study of very old texts.
For the past year-and-a-half, I've been running my own campaign, in which I also use prophecy extensively. In the game I run there are two types of prophets, which can neutrally be described as either "passive" or "active". Passive prophets have no control over their prophetic power--they are visited with prophetic visions at the whim of some diety or extraterrestrial power, and afterwards feel compelled to express those prophecies in some manner (either through writing them down, or through an artistic medium). Active prophets are able to actively seek out prophecies by undertaking a dangerous subconscious journey to a spiritual plane. I think giving these two options--a prophet can only be of one type, and the player must choose when taking the ability--adequately balances some of the power. For the first option, I as the GM have some discretion on when I offer a prophecy. Again, I have to deliver periodically, or the players would snipe me. The second option makes delivery of a prophecy an undertaking for the player with potential pitfalls.
I have one player with the prophecy ability in my game, who chose the first style. What I do is, in anticipation of major game events, I run something like a mini-session with that player (usually apart from the normal sessions, often via e-mail corrspondance or chat) where that player is visited in her sleep by beings with prophetic messages. The message usually consists of a series of images, often laden with a symbology I've developed to represent certain things in the game world, accompanied by a verbally delivered portion. During the sequence, the character sometimes has the opportunity to react to the things being presented, though no real power to directly alter the scene. One time, the character was so concerned with another, unrelated issue, that I actually had the visitors change their message to address this issue, since they realized she wouldn't be able to handle the original message. They later returned with the intended prophetic message.
As I mentioned, I've developed a consistent symbology that I use to represent certain items and events in the course of the history of the world, past and present, that I use in prophecies. I also find that prophecy can be useful not only for prediction of future events, but the revelation of a past that has been forgotten or misrepresented. Symbols are an important part of "real-world" prophecies (whether you believe them or not), from what little I know of Nostradamus to the biblical prophecies of those such as Isaiah or John to pop-culture horoscopes and fortune-telling (the signs of the zodiac and images on tarot cards are themselves symbols). I know even less about other cultures, like Aztecs, Mayans, Egyptians, or Oriental nations, but I assume the same holds true. I do craft prophecies that relate to specific characters at times, but I try to revolve these around player choices. For instance, I may present each of the characters with a choice, given in a dream or some other such forum, between several items or images. Their choice will determine some aspect of their "prophetic destiny". There are usually clues to which destiny is linked to which choice, so the players can make partially conscious decisions without me giving away the plot too soon. I also use the tactic learned in the prior game I played of using prophecies as clues to answer the question I'm always getting from my players: "Well... whadawedonext?" (very mysteriously) "If you vish to prewent the rising dark child from choking the child of de sun, you must..." (which translates: you wanna stop the bad guy from killing some key npc, go do 'x')...
Well... that's it for my rambling...
Again, good article, which I realized covered most of these points, but thought I'd provide a few more real-game-world examples.
Karro