Destined Wielder

A series of prompts to describe a hero and the legendary weapon they’re destined to wield, along with several suggestions for 2-player mini-games that use these prompts.

All of the provided mini-games revolve around players answering prompts that define the other players’ character. They challenge us to assemble characters out of one another’s prompts rather than our own choices.

Hero

What will The Weapon look and feel like?

  1. Enormous, heavy, and blunt
  2. Lithe, elegant, and precise
  3. Concealable, disguised, or unassuming
  4. Balanced, sturdy, and adaptable
  5. Imbued with potent magic
  6. Mechanical, elaborate, and ingenious

Where will I find The Weapon?

  1. Sequestered in a quiet glade
  2. Perched atop a treacherous peak
  3. Buried deep in ancient ruins
  4. Guarded by clandestine keepers
  5. Hidden in plain sight in a town or city
  6. At the edge of the world

How will The Weapon uniquely aid me?

  1. It will destroy the indestructible
  2. It will open doors now closed to me
  3. It will prove the worthiness of my cause
  4. It will instill fear in my enemies
  5. It will reveal ancient secrets
  6. It will protect me from a great evil

What will The Weapon become for me?

  1. A distasteful necessity
  2. A symbol of virtue or valor
  3. A reliable tool
  4. A guide towards justice
  5. A loyal companion
  6. A font of knowledge and wisdom

What will The Weapon never be able to do?

  1. Mend instead of destroy
  2. Protect me from myself
  3. Contain its power, even if ill-used
  4. Light my path or guide my way
  5. Enact true justice
  6. Change my destiny

Will The Weapon love me?

Weapon

Where does The Hero come from?

  1. A quiet bucolic life
  2. A perilous criminal underworld
  3. An illustrious noble family
  4. An undiscovered heroic heritage
  5. A life spent training for this moment
  6. Another world or another time

What sort of person will The Hero be?

  1. Kind, generous, and warm
  2. Brave, spirited, and daring
  3. Magnetic and commanding
  4. Quiet, cautious, and clever
  5. Passionate, fierce, and reckless
  6. Enigmatic and dangerous

What great destiny awaits The Hero?

  1. An ancestral throne
  2. A role to play in the dawn of a new era
  3. A noble deed that mends the world
  4. A heroic sacrifice
  5. A hard-won victory over a terrible evil
  6. An inevitable fall from grace

How will The Hero treat me?

  1. With great care and reverence
  2. As a trusted confidant
  3. With cold indifference
  4. With doubt and wariness
  5. As a valuable and unique artifact
  6. As a badge of authority

How has The Hero proven themself worthy?

  1. Feats of strength or prowess
  2. A true and courageous heart
  3. Promises kept and debts repaid
  4. Remarkable cunning or wit
  5. The favor of someone powerful
  6. Prophecies or portentous omens

Will The Hero love me?

Games

Each of these three mini-games uses a basic framework of prompt exchanges. First, players decide together who will portray The Hero and who will portray The Weapon. While you’re at it, decide who will go first however you’d like to settle it.

Then, you’ll take turns, following these steps on your turn:

  1. Choose a question from the list for your role
  2. Roll or choose a response option
  3. Present that option to the other player and briefly elaborate upon it. Get more specific than the provided response options, but leave the other player plenty of room to interpret further.

The combination of question + answer + elaboration constitutes a Question Prompt and is referred to as such below.

Each game below provides different ways to interpret and build upon Question Prompts. In all of these games, the game ends after either player chooses the final prompt (about love) and the other player has a chance to render their interpretation in response. The game always ends before the question can be reciprocated.

Self-Portraits

This game may work best in an asynchronous/epistolary format.

When presented with a Question Prompt, the player who received it should spend some time rendering their interpretation of the provided answer: draw a portion of a scene, sketch a panel of a comic, write a paragraph or two of description, record a monologue, or whatever other format you prefer. Once finished, begin your own turn and generate a Question Prompt to pass back to the other player.

Legend in the Making

The Hero journeys now to find The Weapon, and must conquer trials in their path to do so. Meanwhile, the weapon stirs from its long slumber, feeling an electrifying lightness that presages the arrival of the one who will finally lift and wield it.

Each player will use a blank sheet of paper to chronicle their story. Set it up as follows: