The Road Widens

Once the party discovers what happened to Castillion (a mystery that technically matters directly to only two present characters -- Gregory and Ian), the group will be at an interesting crux: What Next?

The party is now international in membership, and global (and beyond) in awareness of The World. The mysteries and challenges that have been placed on the table are definitely different from how the story began.

This may be frustrating to some, and I understand the desire for simplicity (Let's Just Get The Ring to Mount Doom), but it was always my intention to create a broad, organic world within which various characters could pursue adventure and glory. I had done the Single Through-Line campaign before; I was interested in trying something with fewer (if any) boundaries.

The catch, though, is that the game began with certain set archetypes, if you will -- various Local Yokels and a couple of Wild Cards who set out to figure something out -- and those archetypes may, very reasonably, strain a bit at the edges as they move beyond the comfort zone of what they originally intended and expected to do.

Which is kind of my point -- what do the players feel about their characters' comfort zones? Of the current party, Fennie and Connor are the most likely to pursue adventure for its own sake. Rhanellus has a personal journey to take that seems, at the moment, to be connected to the Big Picture in some unknown way. Adan has a spiritual calling to Right What Has Been Changed, and it is natural for him to roam the world on that quest. Luc, like Rhanellus, has a personal journey that seems linked somehow to the events of the world -- specifically, the often-mentioned return of the Demon Kings.

But then, there are other issues: Connor would probably like to find the other two thirds of the Codex one day; Fennie would like to put this map to the Dragon's Graveyard to use before she dies; Luc would like to know who made her a "key," and can it be undone; and Rhanellus wants to go wherever clues lead him to his own self-knowledge. Each of these goals is, unlike the World In Crisis situation, not only individual and unique, but geographically diverse -- to the point: Candlekeep, the Citadel of the Raven, the mountains on the other side of the Dalelands, Cormyr, Zhentil Keep, and the distant land of Thay. Talk about an Indiana Jones red line map crawl.

And then: What of Gregory? Does he feel a pull to move beyond his comfort zone, or is it a natural evolution for him to remain in the Central Heartlands of Faerun, patrolling the darkness that lurks therein? Likewise, what of Ian? Should he return to the monastery and report what he has learned, or is he a free agent?

I'm not declaring anything here -- just sharing some observations from this side of the screen. What we have now is the result of something I have personally always wanted to do, but never tried -- a game world that spans centuries, nations, and even continents and oceans. There is room for everyone, and for every player in the saga, Glory Awaits. But what Glory will that be? The Local Hero? The Regional Hero? The Hero of the Land? The Hero of a World? Or the Hero of the Multiverse?

Certainly questions worth thinking about. As I mentioned in the previous post, all characters are welcome to follow their path to Glory from the point where they started. Likewise, players are free to create new heroes should their characters evolve onto a path unique to themselves. Unless a character dies, everyone who has been in the world will still be an active and prominent participant in the world, even if they are not represented in a game session. Boris Borovich and Burne Trinson are out there even now, making choices that matter. The same could be said of any character that chose to veer off on his or her own.

Personally, I like all the characters. I enjoy their choices and their actions, both their desires and the things they don't really give a flying fig about.

All are welcome to do as they please, as they follow their own Road to Glory.