Character Creation: The Long Road Home

Roads go ever, ever on, doncha know.

The Game: The Long Road Home
The Publisher: Plane Sailing Games
Degree of Familiarity: None 
Books Required: Just the one

This game is basically covering the same ground as Back From the Broken Land, in that it's telling the story of the Fellowship going home after the destruction of the One Ring. But where BftBL hits the mark, TLRH kinda falls short.

Why? Well, for a few reasons. One is that while neither game is actually about The Lord of the Rings, both use those books/movies as their inspiration for a very particular kind of story. To wit, the "main quest" isn't the action, it's the homecoming and dealing with the aftermath that's the focus. Except that while BftBL does that very nicely, TLRH actually focuses on the main quest. You're telling the story of the quest, you're just framing it as a flashback and drawing a single card to explain your character's experiences within a given scene (in very general terms). Both games have you establish the particulars of the quest, the bad guy, the MacGuffin you needed to obtain, and so on, right up front, but then TLRH just has you go through the quest in linear, start-to-finish sequence and describe it. It just has you say "Do you remember when" first. 

The other thing I didn't like was that the running example through the book was literally Lord of the Rings. A bunch of other properties are mentioned, but every mechanic and section is told to us in terms of Frodo and his hobbity pals. Meanwhile, BftBL gives us the tools to tell a similar story and clearly takes inspiration, but moves beyond it.

I think it would have worked better if the game took us through the same steps but in reverse order? Like, start with how we defeated the evil Big Bad, and then work backwards until the quest starts. Trickier to pull off, but it would have been so much more interesting.

Anyway, it's got a green dot so it's got chargen, so here we go!

First thing we really need is a setting, and since all of the setting elements random-able and one the sheet, I'm gonna do that. 

Genre: Our options are Child-Friendly, Young Adult, Heroic, Grim, and Horror, and since it's Halloween this week I'm gonna go with horror.

Realm: Our options are Sylvan, Fey, Faded, or Dark. Dark would be the obvious choice, but I think I'll draw for it. Let's say clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, respectively. Spades gives me dark, apparently the cards are feeling obvious. That means that the world is under the thumb of the Evil Bad Guy, and things generally suck. 

Enemy: Speaking of which. The basic categories are Tyrant, Dragon, Undead, and Otherworldly. Well, let's draw, same arrangement as before. Spades again. Our enemy is something from beyond human understanding. The book notes that this means it could be divine or demonic in origin. Let's draw a couple of threats to get a sense of what it might be. Two and a 7 (both diamonds, but suit doesn't matter here) gives us demonic fiend and possessed innocents as our threats.

You know, what if the Enemy is something like Sil in Species? Like, something that can combine with humanity, but has its own (horrific) form. So since this game assumes a fantasy setting, we'll say that the Red Moss (yes, I did just rewatch Fear Street) started off on the shores of the Still Lake. When it grows near people as they sleep, it worms its way in and possesses them, but the very first thing it possessed was a crane that came to the lake to fish. That bird has become the Moss' main vector, and it's mutated into something truly awful. 

OK, so with all that, I think we have enough to make a character. Let's decide on a background (which would apply to the characters as a whole). I like "retired" - these are characters who had illustrious (or at least notable) careers and have been called into service for One Last Adventure. My character's name is Pollus. 

I need a trope; this is something I'd want to see highlighted in the game. I could pick, I would rather draw. A 3 gives me "corrupting knowledge", I'm good with that. That implies that knowing too much about the Moss can be dangerous. Maybe it's got a "Colour out of Space" kind of vibe to it.

Now, on to character questions. Really these are basic things to consider about a character (appearance, vibe, strengths, weaknesses) plus a touchstone, which is a person or object that's important to Pollus.

Well, let's say Pollus was a Lakeman. The Lakemen row around the Still Lake using small, two-man craft. They monitor fishing, make sure no one's throwing anything into the lake that they shouldn't, and appease the lake-spirits (that one's a holdover from more superstitious times). Pollus was a Lakeman for most of his life, and finally retired. He never got to have kids of his own, but his niece Byn is his pride and joy (his sister's kid, she reminds him of her). 

Pollus is big, hearty, and strong. Broad chest from rowing, but his back is hunched a bit. Strong swimmer and can hold his breath for a long time. On the weakness side of things, Pollus has steadily lost his eyesight over the years, and especially his night vision is crap. 

And then the other bit is to establish the group, but it's just me, so I'm done!