Heroism in Your Low Fantasy Setting

 Some may argue that Low Fantasy settings are not defined by heroism, but by gritty realism. And while this can certainly be the case, it leaves little room between self-serving mercenaries and epic heroes of saga. In his Quick Primer for Old School Gaming, Matthew Finch (co-creator of OSRIC) writes "Old school gaming is about the triumph of the little guy into an epic hero". And again, while this can be true, Old School gaming is more accurately about the evolution of the little guy into a powerful guy.

Heroism is not a function of power, but rather a function of action. Even the little guy can be a hero, as evidenced in the tale The Brave Little Tailor. The question at hand is how do you communicate to your players that you are running a heroic campaign, rather than a merely gritty one. Moreover, how do you incentivize heroic play style?

Incentives can be incorporated into the meta-game aspect of the system. Experience points, leveling, scaling up in power. But I find it much easier to deal with incentives within the framework of the campaign world itself. If your world treats your players as heroes, they will tend to act as heroes.

To create this framework, I make the NPCs of my world generally kind-hearted, appreciative, but not in the least brave. They are always looking for someone else to solve their problems. They are a superstitious lot, more-or-less afraid of their own shadows, to say nothing of things that go bump-in-the-night.

From their very first adventure - the very first problem your party solves - the world should respond accordingly. Rather than (or in addition to) rewards for heroism being experience points or other game mechanic oriented incentives, have the characters of your world appreciate the help the party has provided. Have them respond with hospitality, friendship, and gratitude.

By allowing your players to build trusted alliances as they adventure and gain in levels, they will reap benefits of safe harbor, reliable informants, gifts, and more. In the meantime, it gives you the DM a host of friendly recurring NPCs that can be used to leverage storylines that the players care about.

Heroism is not antithetical to an Old School style of gaming. But it is a play style that needs to be communicated and cultivated.

N.C. Wyteth