Post by ArcoJedi on May 14, 2006 23:49:47 GMT -5
I think everyone has perhaps seen this movie...
The Last Unicorn
The question I pose is what sort of fantasy adventure inspiration can be drawn from this film. Some of the characters in the film map their powers and characteristics pretty well onto role-playing archetypes.
Schmendrick (male human/low-level wizard/NG)
This wizard's magic and heart put him central to the plot of this film. His magic is most times tragically failed, but when it counts it is spectacularly powerful. Perhaps a wild mage?
Mommy Fortuna (female human/mid-level wizard/CE)
This witch runs a business of a travelling sideshow zoo of animals with illusions cast on them to make them appear as magical creatures in a world of rare (extinct) magical creatures. Two of the creatures in her travelling zoo are really mystical, but the illusions still help people to see truth that would normally be hidden.
King Haggard (male human/high or mid-level warrior/LE)
Mysterious, old, cranky, crazy. Haggard does not seem like a very likely antagonist. He loves, covets and despises Unicorns. Basically, the foul old man used a magical creature under his control --the Red Bull-- to capture and drive Unicorns into the sea at the edge of his kingdom, where they are kept trapped for his own pleasure.
Prince Lir (male human/mid or low-level warrior/NG)
A more single-dimensional hero you will never find outside of Lir. He does what he does because he is a 'Hero' and as his self-appointed role as 'Hero' he does nothing outside what he is called to do as 'Hero' --including slaying dragons, writing sonnets for his love, and self-sacrifice.
Unicorn/Amalthea (female unicorn/magical creature/N)
And finally, we come to the real hero and namesake of the story. The Last Unicorn is tranformed magically by Schmendrick into a human woman so she can escape the Red Bull, but this is both good and bad, as the longer she retains human form, the less chance she will have of returning to Unicorn.
A common side theme in the movie is a man's deep desire --or a woman's in the case of Mommy Fortuna-- for a kind of immortality. True immortality being impossible, these characters seek to find a way to live forever as a memory in the mind of a creature that does live forever. Examples include the tree that Schmendrick is tied to that comes to life when a spell goes wrong. She (the tree) states something about true immortality being loved in the mind and heart of a tree.
Besides the Unicorn, the only other true immortal creature that Mommy Fortuna keeps for a time in her managerie is an evil and powerful Harpie. The Unicorn predicts (correctly) for that the Harpie will cause Fortuna's death very soon. But the old witch is not concerned and truly seems to welcome death. The Harpie may kill her, but it will also remember her. For all time, it will remember Fortuna as the one witch that kept her captive.
King Haggard sought to capture all the Unicorns for his own benefit. It's never clearly explained why (besides the fact that he's crazy mad), but it could be similar to Fortuna. Or perhaps he wished to kill them all, gaining immortality in his own infamy.
What about importing this theme into the game? How would the role-playing of the PC's desire for immortality in the memory of their loved ones and/or magical creatures play out in their adventures? Should experience points or other rewards be given for this sort of story?
The Last Unicorn
The question I pose is what sort of fantasy adventure inspiration can be drawn from this film. Some of the characters in the film map their powers and characteristics pretty well onto role-playing archetypes.
Schmendrick (male human/low-level wizard/NG)
This wizard's magic and heart put him central to the plot of this film. His magic is most times tragically failed, but when it counts it is spectacularly powerful. Perhaps a wild mage?
Mommy Fortuna (female human/mid-level wizard/CE)
This witch runs a business of a travelling sideshow zoo of animals with illusions cast on them to make them appear as magical creatures in a world of rare (extinct) magical creatures. Two of the creatures in her travelling zoo are really mystical, but the illusions still help people to see truth that would normally be hidden.
King Haggard (male human/high or mid-level warrior/LE)
Mysterious, old, cranky, crazy. Haggard does not seem like a very likely antagonist. He loves, covets and despises Unicorns. Basically, the foul old man used a magical creature under his control --the Red Bull-- to capture and drive Unicorns into the sea at the edge of his kingdom, where they are kept trapped for his own pleasure.
Prince Lir (male human/mid or low-level warrior/NG)
A more single-dimensional hero you will never find outside of Lir. He does what he does because he is a 'Hero' and as his self-appointed role as 'Hero' he does nothing outside what he is called to do as 'Hero' --including slaying dragons, writing sonnets for his love, and self-sacrifice.
Unicorn/Amalthea (female unicorn/magical creature/N)
And finally, we come to the real hero and namesake of the story. The Last Unicorn is tranformed magically by Schmendrick into a human woman so she can escape the Red Bull, but this is both good and bad, as the longer she retains human form, the less chance she will have of returning to Unicorn.
A common side theme in the movie is a man's deep desire --or a woman's in the case of Mommy Fortuna-- for a kind of immortality. True immortality being impossible, these characters seek to find a way to live forever as a memory in the mind of a creature that does live forever. Examples include the tree that Schmendrick is tied to that comes to life when a spell goes wrong. She (the tree) states something about true immortality being loved in the mind and heart of a tree.
Besides the Unicorn, the only other true immortal creature that Mommy Fortuna keeps for a time in her managerie is an evil and powerful Harpie. The Unicorn predicts (correctly) for that the Harpie will cause Fortuna's death very soon. But the old witch is not concerned and truly seems to welcome death. The Harpie may kill her, but it will also remember her. For all time, it will remember Fortuna as the one witch that kept her captive.
King Haggard sought to capture all the Unicorns for his own benefit. It's never clearly explained why (besides the fact that he's crazy mad), but it could be similar to Fortuna. Or perhaps he wished to kill them all, gaining immortality in his own infamy.
What about importing this theme into the game? How would the role-playing of the PC's desire for immortality in the memory of their loved ones and/or magical creatures play out in their adventures? Should experience points or other rewards be given for this sort of story?
