Creating Destinies
Destinies are small story arcs that are unique to one or a few Player Characters (PCs) and take place alongside your main plot. They represent a way for you to incorporate a particular PC's background and interests into your story, allowing each character to have their own personal connection with the narrative. Each destiny typically involves the completion of small personal goals unique to the character(s) involved with that destiny.
Anatomy of a Destiny
A Destiny is comprised of a main theme or goal that describes what the destiny is about. It is usually a concept that can be described in a few words and constitutes some sort of personal quest or goal for the PC, such as "Uncover the secrets of the ancients" or "Discover a long-lost sibling." For each Destiny, the PC will encounter several opportunities that provides progress towards the goal of the Destiny, gaining information or overcoming and obstacle. In each of these scenes, the PC gets ultimate power over what occurs in their story: which comrades get to know the information, how the obstacle is overcome, if the opponent is killed or spared. The other PCs involved in the scene may make suggestions, but the owner of the Destiny gets ultimate control over the decisions made in these scenes. When the scene is complete, the PC gains one Destiny Point.
Ideally, you want PCs to receive Destiny Points at about the same rate, so to have each Destiny give the same amount of Destiny Points (though not necessarily the same amount of scenes, as not every scene needs to give a Destiny Point). The number of points each Destiny should give is dependent on the length of the adventure, as you should plan to give at least one Destiny Point per two character levels. For particularly long campaigns, you may want characters to start with one Destiny, than receive a new one after they've completed the first. Below is an example of an outline for a 3-Point Destiny.
Premise: As a child you were fascinated by tales of the Lost Tomb of Meranthis.
Scene 1: Hidden in a dusty library, you find a record of the ancient king and his tomb. It is said that the entrance is marked by twin statues of mythical beasts, but no reference to their exact location exists.
Scene 2: The song of a traveling minstrel catches your ear. It tells the tale of the stone griffins that dance through the desert, one the blackest obsidian, the other the whitest marble. The tale triggers a buried memory, and you question its origin. He says he wrote it about a pair of statues he saw once, and he can give you general directions.
Scene 3: With the minstrel's guidance you find the two statues, standing seemingly alone in the desert sands. You remember something from the stories of your childhood. Only if you speak the king's name will the entrance fappear. You stand before the statues and speak the name "Meranthis." When you do, the Statues animate and give you a riddle to puzzle out and prove that you are worthy of entrance. If the riddle is solved successfully, a magical archway appears between the two griffins, leading into the ancient tomb, found at last.Methods of Destiny Creation
When developing your adventure, there are several methods you can use to develop individual destinies for your characters. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, but the key is to determine which works best for you and your Gamemaster style.
Create Predetermined Destinies that Fit your Storyline
This first method works well for Gamemasters who have a pre-planned plot, and already know where their story is going and how it ends. For this method, create 7-10 destiny options for your players to choose from, presenting them with a general theme and short description of the destiny. For example, "Revenge: Your loved one was murdered by a mysterious stranger." The destiny could then include information about that relative's murderer, and provide an opportunity for the PC to track them down and confront them. This destiny can easily be worked into your story if the Villain's main henchmen (who the PCs are intended to confront anyway), is this "mysterious stranger." Throughout the adventure, the PC would have a few scenes where they learn pieces of information about their loved one's killer, collecting clues to the stranger's identity, with each major piece of information granting the PC a Destiny Point. This destiny would culminate with the confrontation of that killer, in which the PC would ultimately get to decide the best course of action.
The benefit of this method is that the Destinies you create are independent of a character's background, and therefore can be created and planned long before the Character Creation process. It is also likely the easiest method, as you design the destinies to fit your story (instead of designing destinies to fit the characters and then trying to add them to your story). The potential downside is that players may not feel like their destiny fits their character and may not be quite as invested as they would with a more personal method. Despite the drawback, it is a simple and effective form of Destiny creation and all QoD modules come with a predetermined set of Destinies for players to choose from.
Create Destinies from Character Backgrounds
This method employs examining each PC's background and creating a destiny that ties to it. This method works well for Gamemasters with a bit more of an open storytelling style who can easily weave in new plots as the story progresses. For this method, have each player write a semi-detailed description of their character's history and interests, then determine a piece of their background that you can work into your story. For example, if the PC was orphaned and never knew his parents, the PC's destiny could involve learning about his extremely powerful sorceress mother and how they came to be separated (and perhaps reunited within the story). Each scene would give clues to his heritage, with the culminating event or goal of the destiny be the unveiling of the mother's identity and perhaps a meeting between them.
The benefit of this method is that the Destinies you create are more intimately tied to the player's character concept, and therefore feel more personal. The downside is that creating an individual destiny for each character and trying to fit it into an already established story can be tough. Since you don't usually have character backgrounds until shortly before an adventure begins, it leaves little time for the Gamemaster to make adjustments to the plot. This is why this method is recommended for Gamemasters who are starting with a more loosely prepared plot and are willing to make significant changes to fit the character's needs.
Creating Destiny Seeds and Looking for PC interest
This last method is best for Gamemasters who like to ad lib or create the story as they go. In this method, the Gamemaster creates an interesting Destiny Seed (similar to an Adventure Hook, but for Destinies) for a side-plot that can serve as a PC's destiny. If one or more PCs seem interested in the hook, it becomes a Destiny for that character that the GM will then flush out as the story progresses. For example, the PCs could find reference to a strange talisman that is said to have mind-controlling powers. If one of the PCs seems interested in that talisman, the "Mystery of the Talisman" becomes a destiny for him. Through the story the GM will then provide opportunities for the PC to learn information about the talisman, potentially manifesting in finding the talisman itself.
The benefit of this method is that the GM can lay out numerous destiny opportunities and only develop those that the PCs find interesting. The downside is that these Destinies tend to be somewhat disconnected from each other and may not be closely tied to the overall adventure plot. This can make it difficult to balance Destiny Points between PCs, with too many side plots and each PC wanting to follow their own. This can be ok if PCs are willing to take turns working on each other's Destinies, but some players may start to feel left out if their Destiny is too far removed from the plot and therefore not seen as a priority.