Glorious Burden: Child of Destiny

Glorious Burden: Child of Destiny

(Totally inspired by the comic book series Saga, which is essentially just the Planarch Codex in space)

Some jobs aren’t tasks that you perform and then are done with. Take, for example, parenthood. By some means — whether of your own doing, the mechanations of others, or a happenstance of fate — you have come into possession of a (the?) child of destiny. Or, really, they have come into possession of you.

Their Destiny Awaits: Create a countdown! For a one-shot it probably has three boxes. For a campaign or long arc it might have 5 or 6 to start. Whenever the child demonstrates their specialness, fulfills some minor prophecy, or manifests strange powers, mark a box in their countdown. When all their boxes are full, their true destiny manifests, in whole or in part. If you continue to play afterwards, keep creating new countdowns until the child’s destiny has fully come into being. (Maybe the child also ages 1 year every time they complete a countdown? See if that makes sense in your fiction, but they should slowly grow up. Or consider skipping ahead a few years every once in a while.)

I Won’t Allow That to Happen: Anyone — you, other people in your group, total strangers, enemies — can, at any time, no matter the situation, choose to place themselves in protection of the child. In such an instance, say what harm or circumstances you want to prevent the child from suffering, and the GM makes a move against you or those around you instead. Consequently, while the child may bring misfortune and difficulties, it is rarely in any true danger. Such simple suffering is not the fate that destiny has in store for it.

The Child is the Key: There are many forces after the child that wish to use or manipulate it for their own purposes. Heck, maybe you should be counted among them. To determine the others, the GM can just roll jobs as normal, but always have the child be the target. Unlike normal jobs, the GM doesn’t necessarily have to ask if you accept the forces arrayed against you (unless you’re totally squicked out by some of them, in which case, the GM should just roll up some different ones, since it’s super simple). You’ve kind of accepted a load of trouble when you got involved with the child of destiny. From now on, you don’t really have to go looking for trouble; trouble will find you. Good luck!