Worldbuilding
Character - Midge
As the first writer on The Oathsworn team, a lot of skeletal building of characters and details of places fell into my lap. Early on, we really had no idea just how long players would comfortably sit, reading from the book or listening to the audiobook, before wanting to take some action. We called a segment from action to action, choice to choice, a Plate. We knew at the start, there would be a ton of world lore we would have to feed to the players, and that the first chapter might end up being exposition heavy. While expected in this sort of format, it’s not always the best way to do things.
For my style of writing, I never really care about the action beats so much as the character moments. The world is the people, not the trees. Mostly because all of the trees in Oathsworn are pretty damn nasty. So I needed a way to bring the characters into the world, get them into their first city, and get them to hit the ground running without some voiceover starting with “In a world…”
My immediate thought was the players need to bond to their locale. Bastone. Well, it’s pretty hard to bond to a hunched and crumbling city surrounded by cracking walls. It’s easier to bond with people, and what is a city if not the people? Who do we drop in to get the characters to not want to kill or ignore them? Just because the Captain of the Guard wants to give you a guide book and a map, it doesn’t mean you’ll take them or want to follow him.
So I needed something that the players would be compelled to go along with. Or rather someone.
I needed someone who represented the oppressed Bastone, surrounded by the threatening Deepwood, able to make a stand. Compared to the Deepwood, man is small and alone. Much like an orphan child. But man is clever and tenacious.
The first character description from a few years back in outline was:
Midge
Orphan of Bastone, tutor and guide. A lovable pickpocket. 12.
That’s it. The name immediately conjures an image of something small. Orphan, alone, like the Oathsworn themselves. Tutor and guide, well, self imposed mayor, maybe. But that allows our exposition to come from his mouth, not the narrator, which means we are immediately also building upon his personality. We see Bastone through his eyes. It’s the only home he’s known.
Then there’s the old “What if you hate kids”… Yeah, OK. So we have to make Midge earn that respect. How does a tiny kid earn respect from a bunch of battle hardened warriors who would eat Dwayne Johnson for breakfast? Not by strength. Pluck and dexterity.
We need to first present what a street kid thinks when he meets a bunch of brawlers who just finished bench pressing Dave Bautista. He will want to get on their good side, and we want to immediately note strength is not his strong suit. First line for Midge:
“A fair grim squad you be,” Midge notes as he walks fully around you, deftly dodging puddles in the packed dirt road.
Well, we’ve established he’s brave, small, dexterous, at home in the streets, and has a quirk in the way he speaks already. Oh, it’s also apparently been raining. What else does he have to say?
“You look be more home in the green than here, right?”
We don’t need to have a translation book to know he means you’re from the Deepwood and you look like you can handle yourselves. We just established a little city slang right there. Probably making you feel like right mighty heroes already. But…
“That is where I offer my service. After all, having not picked your purses already, we are practically friends. “
Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid. What? You’re offering YOUR services? And did you just threaten us?
“We work out fair wage for information and guidance around this town, which I know as well as the very sole of my shoe, including of course, consideration for services that have already been rendered, namely, the not robbing of you.”
All right, that’s a pretty good hustle, kid. Trying to practically sell us back our own money. He hasn’t asked for a job, he just assumes he has it. Like humans, camping in the cities of the Deepwood. This is ours. No questions. And he uses some big words for a street rat.
“It is clear you've no more need of muscle, but I've another skill. I can read.”
Waitaminit – did he just call us stupid? All while complimenting us? This world is a bit cutthroat even in the cities. Hmmmmmm…
“That's right. I stand before you as scout, guide, scholar and sage rather than the ever so skilled bandit I may have first appeared.”
Then we learn, WOW, can this kid close a deal, and yeah, maybe he does have some uses:
Midge pushes his way between you to block your way to the center of town. “This is my terrain, not yours. These streets have their own secrets and monsters, right? Maybe not like the Deepwood, but we've our own. And I can right fix this place for you to make your life easier.” He grins and shows a spread of four ingots in his hand, as if he were playing cards. “One from each your pockets, fair company.” He holds out the money back to you. “Again, I said I'd not steal from you, and I stand by my word, right? Take it back. I've not earned this proper. But I hope a lesson you have learned. Follow me.”
Do you want to follow Midge?
