I am back to struggling with the Savage Avatar setting. But this time it is less about the setting, and more about the players. I just think that a Savage Worlds (or really any similar type of system) game is beyond most of this group.
I am talking about the concept of thinking your character is more than just a collection of weapons and spells. I think that Jimmy gets that, and does try to think beyond that, both with his actions and what he does. But I really think the rest of the group fails to really grasp what is involved.
When I gave two of them a ride on Sunday after the game I mentioned that it was time for them to start thinking about what they want their character to be. Are they big, or small? Bloodthirsty or pacifist? Greedy or spendthrift? Just little thoughts like that, that are natural to me, but I want them to think more in those terms.
And the blank stares I got when I asked them that kind of gave me an answer. I am going to try and get more definitive answers through other avenues. But I think it is possible they are not quite ready to think beyond the basics. Which is fine, they are 13 & 14 year old boys after all.
And then I read another fascinating article from the @AngryGM. And it got me thinking about D&D again. And more specifically it got me thinking that I might do a better job with D&D a second time around. I will be honest, when I was running the game starting last fall, with their own characters, I made some errors. I didn’t plumb the depths of the system properly. And then by making the jump to Pathfinder I may have compounded that initial error.
And if I rush them into another, somewhat more sophisticated, system I could be doing irrevocable harm. I could very easily crush their interest in role playing by pushing them. Again, I think Jimmy could handle it, but just because he is my son does not mean he should get special treatment or final decision making authority.
I will wait for the feedback from the others before I make a final irrevocable decision. But I also think that they do need something new, I think the current campaign has pretty much run it’s course. And it is time for something new.
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