Sculpt your characters journey while still letting it surprise you.
Character arcs can be a dangerous topic in tabletop gaming. There's always the concern that if you are following an arc you could be railroading the story too much, and it can seem difficult to pull off with so many other characters and plots around. Well, we see it a little differently. Having a path you are on doesn't mean you can't make a new one at any time, and it's way more fun than hacking away at the forest without going anywhere. There's also room for a million surprises along the way, and a good character arc always leaves us in suspense until the end. It doesn't even have to be that complicated, so join us as we figure out arcs.
In the Strategy Stateroom we get into the first type of character arc we're going to take a look at: the status arc. This deals with a character's status within some kind of outside group, whether it be society, a club, or even just their pals. Under the status arc umbrella we look at the different trajectories your character could take, and how you can put it into practice in your next game: rise, strive, fall and recover. These ideas are modified from The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne.
Then we head to Tymora's Tavern where we apply these concepts to Aragorn's character arc, seeing how it would play out in another world. Some good ideas, some that butcher something beautiful. Sorry about that.
As always, huge thanks to the support these folks give us on our Patreon.
Chris F., ISeeSpidersWhereThereAreNone, The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R, Aldrost, Leprecan, and Will H-P.