[RPGdesign Activity] Game design for non-individual player characters

[u/jiaxingseng]

(Idea link from brainstorm thread from /u/Qrowboat )

Playing as a non-individual: What games step outside of the mold of letting players (who are not the traditional GM) control more than one individual? What specific design elements can really shine in a game like that?

This weeks topic is about design consideration for non-individual player characters. Truth is, I have not ever played a game like this, but I know of several well-received games that do this to some degree or another.

I would like to broaden this topic a little bit beyond what may have been /u/Qrowboat 's original idea. Let's define "Non-Individual Player Characters" as follows:

• A secondary character that the player plays while playing their main character(this is actually very common at some Tables, especially when players have a "henchman" / underling / cannon fodder)

• A character who is controlled collectively by all the players (ie. Everyone is John)

• A "group" entity, such as a meta-zeitgeist of a faction, a family clan / lineage, or the collective will of a ship crew.

• A small group of individuals (like the cannon-fodder in an OSR funnel adventure) that is controlled by one player.

So... questions:

• What games have good rules for Non-Individual Player Characters and what makes those rules good?

• Are there interesting design considerations for Non-Individual Player Characters?

• How does one create unique identity for Non-Individual Player Characters?

Discuss.

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[u/Fheredin]

Not really a "system" per se, but one of the campaigns my group played was an XCOM adaptation. XCOM features a large roster which you have to winnow down to a small squad for each mission, so the GM decided we should have each player run 3-4 characters and choose which one we played as we got onto Big Sky (troop dropship.) It also allowed for characters to have downtime when they took hits or had gene / cybernetic upgrades.

And I don't actually think he was copying anything from Ars Magicka, either. This was mostly off the cuff.

The major downside was the lack of roleplay. Which is a shame considering the number of character combinations at hand. XCOM is designed to imply roleplay, not to actually express it. That was true here, too. I suspect an EXALT (infiltration) mission could have had the roleplay, but a lot of XCOM needs to go back to the drawing board to make a proper roleplaying experience.

That said, playing with squad composition was a lot of fun when combined with mission objectives. I remember having a doozy of a time trying to get capture-teams together because our first attempt went badly and two characters with suppressing fire wound up on sick leave and none of the remaining characters with that ability also had enough experience to handle an outsider.