Player/Character Mindswap

[Michael Hopcroft]

This is a campaign idea I posited for another system, and I was wondering how people would see it adapring to HERO:

 

Among the players of the MMORPG Hidden Tales, legend tells of a character, Gordo the Clever, who has been phenomenally successful. Eeveryone who had heard the ctories of his valor wants to meet his player.

 

His player is a seemingly ordianry student, perhaps a little smarter than most, but certainly not an imposing personality. That is why he finds Gordo such a useful escape.

 

Then, one fateful night, an electrical storm of unusual power strikes the player's city. Setting aside the warnings, he boots up Hidden Lands on a quest he had promised his Guild he would make. Then lightning strikes his house, he blacks out --

 

And wakes up in the Hidden Lands. In Gordo's body, which is REAL.

 

And Gordo has just come to in HIS world and HIS body.

 

Now Gordo and his player are each, in their own ways, trying to figure out how this happened and how to reverse the switch. But, in the meanwhile, the player must deal first-hand with the terrors of the Hidden lands while Gordo the Clever tries to understand and survive the incredibly bizarre realm of 21st Century America....

[Guest daeudi_454]

Re: Player/Character Mindswap

 

And what kind psychlogical trauma will Gordo endure:

Discovering he is fictional.

Discovering that "the gods" are actually the "geeks".

etc.

 

Will he come to resent his player? his existence?

Will he become disenchanted with adventuring, with his purpose in life?

Will he want to stay real? Attempt to spread 'the Truth' to other characters once he gets home?

 

I have a character who is the amalgamation of many characters that I have played through the years, particularly ones similiar to me. He became aware of truth of his own existence, and went through a great deal of psych upheaval.

 

Playing that right could be very intersting for Gordo/Player/Group.

[Erkenfresh]

Re: Player/Character Mindswap

 

Would Gordo's spirit continue playing the game and controlling Gordo's body or does the player's spirit have free will? Along those lines, does Gordo's spirit do anything unless it's told to or does he learn free will in the real world?

[Markdoc]

Re: Player/Character Mindswap

 

L. Sprague de Camp wrote a story along these lines, but using the hero of a series of pulp novels rather than a game - after a period of franticallly trying to get back to their proper world, both characters decided they would rather stay where they were.

 

The ex-barbarian liked flush toilets, central heating, and planes, and not being in continual danger of death - he became a cut-throat businessmen. The nerdy reader loved his new, huge muscular body and the wild adventure of the fantasy world. He became a barbarian adventurer (duh.)

 

cheers, Mark

[Kortay Mirlor]

Re: Player/Character Mindswap

 

This is a campaign idea I posited for another system, and I was wondering how people would see it adapring to HERO:

 

Among the players of the MMORPG Hidden Tales, legend tells of a character, Gordo the Clever, who has been phenomenally successful. Eeveryone who had heard the ctories of his valor wants to meet his player.

 

His player is a seemingly ordianry student, perhaps a little smarter than most, but certainly not an imposing personality. That is why he finds Gordo such a useful escape.

 

Then, one fateful night, an electrical storm of unusual power strikes the player's city. Setting aside the warnings, he boots up Hidden Lands on a quest he had promised his Guild he would make. Then lightning strikes his house, he blacks out --

 

And wakes up in the Hidden Lands. In Gordo's body, which is REAL.

 

And Gordo has just come to in HIS world and HIS body.

 

Now Gordo and his player are each, in their own ways, trying to figure out how this happened and how to reverse the switch. But, in the meanwhile, the player must deal first-hand with the terrors of the Hidden lands while Gordo the Clever tries to understand and survive the incredibly bizarre realm of 21st Century America....

 

Have fun getting your players to agree you've statted 'em out right.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Player/Character Mindswap

 

L. Sprague de Camp wrote a story along these lines, but using the hero of a series of pulp novels rather than a game - after a period of franticallly trying to get back to their proper world, both characters decided they would rather stay where they were.

 

The ex-barbarian liked flush toilets, central heating, and planes, and not being in continual danger of death - he became a cut-throat businessmen. The nerdy reader loved his new, huge muscular body and the wild adventure of the fantasy world. He became a barbarian adventurer (duh.)

 

cheers, Mark

Either you're thinking of Poul Anderson, or there are two very similar stories floating around out there.

 

Ah here it is. It's called "A Logical Conclusion".