It’s a traditional Hero path. Yes you stand up to the darkness, but sometimes that darkness is too much for mere folk like you.

Starting core characters are regular peeps. They may have unusual backgrounds that make them unique, but the “only” thing heroic about them is that they were willing to leave home, join with others and act, while their families stayed home and took care of their own.

The game assumes a traditional zero to hero arc, where one day you’ll be worthy of standing before the Wise and unlocking your word hoard. But initially you’re just Jenny from the Block who decided to do something more than wait for someone else to do something.

The spaces where Paul Beakley​ will want to play are right there on the character sheet (and the rules that address the stuff on the character sheets). You have backgrounds that are full of character hooks. But most importantly, you have Callings.

If “go on adventures in Middle Earth” isn’t enough of a hook, Callings are what you’re looking for. They are the arrow that points to “what do you do” “why did my character leave home.”

Brilliantly they tie into madness via your Shadow Weakness. That thing that motivated you to hit the road and head toward danger is also the thing that can destroy you.

For my group “we get to have adventures in Middle Earth? Sweet” was as much as they needed.

For you high brow types, here’s what you do:

1) ignore everything else to start.

2) Look up every section that deals with: Calling, Shadow, Shadow Weakness, Hope, Misery, Fellowship Focus, Madness, Misdeeds, and Flaws. (Easiest if you can search a PDF).

That’s alot of game terms, but really it’s just a single subsystem. The central “why are we playing this game” subsystem.

If you can’t figure out what to do from there your name isn’t Paul Beakley​ .

Don’t get lost in the traditional trappings. It may not be quite as avant garde as motobushido, but it has all those little squirrelly character parts to spring board off of.