So, I've been GMing for almost 25 years and most of my gaming group has been playing for 15+; but none of us have ever played ourselves - truly ourselves - in a game before. I don't mean "Imagine what you'd be in this setting and make yourself", but actually run a session in which the group of us - while meeting one night for a game - are swept up by the mists and dropped into Ravenloft. We have our own knowledge and skills, but several of these would be useless in the timeframe of the setting, though a few would still possess some value. (I have a friend who is a compounding pharmacist and knows what some drugs are made up of - so with some training in local herbs, could make himself quite useful)
The horror would initially arise from finding yourself in a world which was not your own - worse still, Ravenloft, which I ran campaigns in for ten years before moving on to other settings, so there would be a lot I'd know and a lot I'd be struggling very hard to remember. Once we, as characters, got a bit over the initial shock, then I'd have Ravenloft start forcing them into adventures they couldn't avoid unless they really really tried - not railroading them, merely having the Domain play with them the same way it does any PCs. (So, the nurse would be bound to run into ghosts or undead; someone would be bound to be attacked my a madman, or a ghoul, or some other terror in the streets; someone would experience strange and unusual nightmares which seemed to suggest unspeakable horrors were following them, and so on and so forth ...)
My question is: Has anyone tried this? And if so, how did it work out? For the rest of you, what pitfalls do you foresee? What are people's opinions on the idea?
I like to get my players trying things they've never done before, challenge their ability to rp well, and make things as interesting as possible for them in games and I'm hoping this would do just that.
Playing your real selves
- Jack of Tears
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Playing your real selves
Last edited by Jack of Tears on Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Playing your real selves
I think it's a neat spin.
Problems I can see would be assigning classes, levels, and ability scores.
Obviously the class system of Dungeons and Dragons would not apply to our world for the most part. Maybe a few levels in fighter for those with a military background, rogue for those who grew up "streetsmart", but the rest are, I imagine, largely defunct. I believe Call of Cthulhu, the d20 version, had a class system that played outside of this obstacle by providing base save/base attack bonuses options from either an offence or defence point of view, but unless something like this was used it could be a good long sit down to determine a solution.
Unless you have people that are truly fair to themselves (and dedicated to the roleplaying aspect of the game and/or story aspect), then ability scores could be an issue as well. Most people, it seems to me, think more highly of themselves than truth dictates. A few will cut themselves short. It might be wise to have other people assign ability scores to the other players. This would work great if the table really knows each other outside of gaming, but would obviously be more difficult if they were a new group or online.
Levels aren't so much an issue, if the DM can determine some sort of level breakdown that's outside of the descriptor provided in the core books. For the most part, older people would have higher levels than younger, but not always. Life experience needs to somehow be calculated into game terms.
All in all, these "problems", aren't really that big of a deal, and the idea itself (of playing ourselves) could, should, and would work if the group were so inclined.
I like the idea. And I'm interested in what others have to say about it, as I've never done it before in my almost thirty years of RPG experience...
Problems I can see would be assigning classes, levels, and ability scores.
Obviously the class system of Dungeons and Dragons would not apply to our world for the most part. Maybe a few levels in fighter for those with a military background, rogue for those who grew up "streetsmart", but the rest are, I imagine, largely defunct. I believe Call of Cthulhu, the d20 version, had a class system that played outside of this obstacle by providing base save/base attack bonuses options from either an offence or defence point of view, but unless something like this was used it could be a good long sit down to determine a solution.
Unless you have people that are truly fair to themselves (and dedicated to the roleplaying aspect of the game and/or story aspect), then ability scores could be an issue as well. Most people, it seems to me, think more highly of themselves than truth dictates. A few will cut themselves short. It might be wise to have other people assign ability scores to the other players. This would work great if the table really knows each other outside of gaming, but would obviously be more difficult if they were a new group or online.
Levels aren't so much an issue, if the DM can determine some sort of level breakdown that's outside of the descriptor provided in the core books. For the most part, older people would have higher levels than younger, but not always. Life experience needs to somehow be calculated into game terms.
All in all, these "problems", aren't really that big of a deal, and the idea itself (of playing ourselves) could, should, and would work if the group were so inclined.
I like the idea. And I'm interested in what others have to say about it, as I've never done it before in my almost thirty years of RPG experience...
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."
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- Jean Pierre Sarrasin, "The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville"
- Dark Angel
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Re: Playing your real selves
Have I tried this specifically? No. Have I been a part of something like it? Yes. For years I would run a Ravenloft adventure one off around Halloween OR a modern game (Twilight: 2000/Dark Conspiracy Hybrid) zombie game with an All Flesh Must Be Eaten vibe (the zombies had different styles of attacks, weaknesses, etc). A friend, player, and fellow GM ran a modern zombie game. The twist was we all played ourselves (over 30 adults with various skill sets and abilities) in the rising apocalypse. I was this close to showing up in the actual outfit 'my character' would be wearing in game, but felt others would not feel to comfortable with be being armed (knives, a hatchet, and a club) and the GM is a cop. We ran it for one session, no player died, and my friend and I were the only ones who encounter (and defeated) any zombies (without knowing exactly what 'kind' of zombie we are dealing with). The worst part was having 'family' members put into harm's way. I have kids and I said that my In-laws had them in Tahiti (I live in America) and the outbreak never reached there. The GM let that slide. But my brother (who is bigger and stronger than I) and my father (who has army training and is a great shot) always stayed behind because they were not the players. Knights of the Dinner Table (a published gamers comic book) did something like the above with the players showing up for their Halloween game in their costumes and playing the night session as if they really walked into a horror adventure (obviously modern). I can give you specific issues of KODT if you would like them.
Now with Ravenloft as the setting with modern people, that's different. It hits farther from home (close family and other friends are not in danger) and it may be taken as a joke (you're probably old enough to have seen Army of Darkness). Now we all used a very different game system more suited to modern skills and abilities, but the DM and the player can acknowledge an adult in their 20s or 30s won't be 10th level anything. I used a website (http://www.easydamus.com/character.html, which is still available for use) to have my fellow game members and myself (and my wife) convert their skills, strengths and weaknesses, and experiences into classes, hit dice, alignment, and physical statistics (see mine below). It is a longer series of questions (about 150-160 multiple choice, about ten minutes to take), but may be useful for what you are trying to set up. Once the classes are established and the stats set (assuming your players play ball), the other details fall into place well (unless the player and the DM come to some consensus for a change).
Dark Angel (circa 2008) is a True Neutral Human Monk/Sorcerer (2nd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores: Strength- 14 Dexterity- 13 Constitution- 13 Intelligence- 16 Wisdom- 15 Charisma- 13
The only other foreseeable issue I would have with running my actual players through Ravenloft is their in-game knowledge (many are familiar with a setting I have been running for about 15 years, on and off) and they can actually use in game knowledge without penalty. If your players are new to the setting, that's not a problem and could make it more entertaining ("Strahd von Zarovich? A vampire? Hardly, good sir! You have heard too many bedtime tales as a child!").
Hopefully this all helps you out in some capacity.
Now with Ravenloft as the setting with modern people, that's different. It hits farther from home (close family and other friends are not in danger) and it may be taken as a joke (you're probably old enough to have seen Army of Darkness). Now we all used a very different game system more suited to modern skills and abilities, but the DM and the player can acknowledge an adult in their 20s or 30s won't be 10th level anything. I used a website (http://www.easydamus.com/character.html, which is still available for use) to have my fellow game members and myself (and my wife) convert their skills, strengths and weaknesses, and experiences into classes, hit dice, alignment, and physical statistics (see mine below). It is a longer series of questions (about 150-160 multiple choice, about ten minutes to take), but may be useful for what you are trying to set up. Once the classes are established and the stats set (assuming your players play ball), the other details fall into place well (unless the player and the DM come to some consensus for a change).
Dark Angel (circa 2008) is a True Neutral Human Monk/Sorcerer (2nd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores: Strength- 14 Dexterity- 13 Constitution- 13 Intelligence- 16 Wisdom- 15 Charisma- 13
The only other foreseeable issue I would have with running my actual players through Ravenloft is their in-game knowledge (many are familiar with a setting I have been running for about 15 years, on and off) and they can actually use in game knowledge without penalty. If your players are new to the setting, that's not a problem and could make it more entertaining ("Strahd von Zarovich? A vampire? Hardly, good sir! You have heard too many bedtime tales as a child!").
Hopefully this all helps you out in some capacity.
"One does not stop playing when they get old, they grow old when they stop playing" George Bernard Shaw
"If you could be either God’s worst enemy or nothing, which would you choose?" Chuck Palahniuk
"If you could be either God’s worst enemy or nothing, which would you choose?" Chuck Palahniuk
- The Lesser Evil
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Re: Playing your real selves
I've done this, though not with Ravenloft. The biggest issue I found was that the players weren't really up for doing heroic things because that's not what they do in the situation. There's too much of a divide between what a normal, real person does in the real world vs. what even an every-man in a fantasy world is expected to do.
In Ravenloft, I would feel, if we tried to do anything, would try to find a way to escape before everything else. Barring that, trying to eke out a meager existence. If suddenly a bunch of really unavoidably crazy things happened, then that would logically cause mental collapse and/or strain the feeling that common people in Ravenloft don't for the most part witness unusual things or fall victim to the horrors of the land (as sketchy as that premise is already.)
In Ravenloft, I would feel, if we tried to do anything, would try to find a way to escape before everything else. Barring that, trying to eke out a meager existence. If suddenly a bunch of really unavoidably crazy things happened, then that would logically cause mental collapse and/or strain the feeling that common people in Ravenloft don't for the most part witness unusual things or fall victim to the horrors of the land (as sketchy as that premise is already.)
- Resonant Curse
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Re: Playing your real selves
Between the various settings, d20 modern, and perhaps some 3rd party (pathfinder, etc) options you should be able to come up with some decent class options. Laborer or politician from the Pathfinder Guide to Inns and Taverns, Master from Dragonlance, etc.
There are enough feats that are non-combat or magic to build up like Educated, etc.
Depending on how you view it I'd generally give 2-3 levels per decade of life.
There are enough feats that are non-combat or magic to build up like Educated, etc.
Depending on how you view it I'd generally give 2-3 levels per decade of life.