Faery's Tale Deluxe - Etud

Tales of the Fey
Creating Adventures
As the Narrator, it’s your job to come up with
the adventures on which the heroic faeries
of the players will embark. Fortunately, you
don’t have to map out every twist and turn in
advance. In fact, it’s better if you don’t, since
the players will inevitably do things you never
expected that take the story in whole new
directions. Focus on the
broad outline of the plot,
particularly the starting
point, and on what the
antagonists are going to
be doing. Don’t spend
too much time trying
to anticipate the actions
of the players, and never
devise a plot that hinges
on a single action or a particular clue.
If you’re uncertain about your storytelling
abilities, start off by adapting favorite faery
tales, such as the Jack and the Beanstalk
Come play with me,
I’ll tell you of the moon,
And of the stars that shine and glitter.
I’ll speak to you of fairy worlds,
Of happiness and splendor.
For Kids
— 64 —
adventure in this chapter. Change the original
story just enough to make the faeries controlled
by the players the center of attention. Often,
this will involve having them rescue or help
the original protagonist of the faery tale, such
as saving Jack from the giant or Hansel and
Gretel from the hag.
But coming up with
your own ideas for
stories can be even more
rewarding, especially
—Sir J.M. Barrie
since you can tailor
them to the talents,
interests, and desires of
the players. Just think
of the faeries as comicbook
superheroes—
unbeknownst to most people, they have
amazing powers which they use to right
wrongs, rescue others from danger, and, once
in a while, save the world.
Children at various ages have specific developmental issues that it’s useful for
Narrators to keep in mind. Individual children go through these stages at different
ages (and some stages are skipped entirely), so these are only rough guidelines of things
Narrators should look out for.
Children younger than 6 years old often have trouble remembering and following
rules consistently.
Moral issues are likely to confuse or bore children younger than 8.
By age 9, kids can handle looser enforcement of the rules of a game without running
rampant. They also are strong at conceptualization with language, making this a good
starting age for interactive storytelling games featuring simple concepts like, “Defeat an
evil dragon, then go look for another to defeat.”
From ages 10 to 12, social skills become important, and literary influences begin to
really ramp up. The children become more interested in their roles within a group, as
opposed to just what the group does and the story of the game.
The concept of “personal epic,” where actual success or failure is less important than
how the faeries deal with the situation, kicks in around age 11.
Children of different ages (or adults of different tastes) will often have desires for
gameplay that differ, and a Narrator should take care to emphasize the aspects that are
appropriate and that appeal to each player.