Like many Territories, the North has its own distinctive feel. Here players take on more than just a character, they take on a specific role within the game. Sometimes this only affects the most common role, the GM, but it inevitably spreads as you venture further North.

At its peak, players are defined by their roles first. The exclusivity of the roles gives structure to the games here, at its best helping everyone work together in harmony and at its worse confining and limiting the players. This exclusivity could extend beyond a single game, requiring players to prove their aptitude or qualifications before taking on a specific types of roles.

On the Map

Some parts of the Northern territory has been mapped, the first excursions occurred some time ago, as part of exploring the role of the GM. Strict and well-defined GMing finds itself on the Northern frontier. One such place is the Paranoia Complex, with it's powerful GM, controlling the game information and encouraged to use this power as a farce of authoritarian control.

Also on that Northern frontier are the Specialist Companies, said to be formed as soon at the moment one player offered to do the talking and another to handle the combats. The Specialists have broken things down to roles among the players, usually each company with their own division of duties. Disparate as they are, it shows you that players can design their games as much as the game designers and GMs do.

Further North, near the Larp peaks are a series of enclaves which split the role of the GM. Like the Specialists the Co-Gming Enclaves each have their own way of doing things. Sometimes it's a good cop / bad cop routine where each GM has their own relationship with the players. Other times things are broken up by areas of expertise, one GM handles the normal people, another handles magic, and a third handles the rules.

One last place on the map, is near the Ice Caverns of Polaris. Here the roles rotate among four players: as one plays the protagonist, another plays the Mistaken as an antagonist, while on either side are the Moons, who guide the supporting characters. Exploring from here has shown other ways of rotating simple roles, such as the *Tagonists of Shock: Social Science Fiction.

Rumoured Lands

Beyond the charted territories there are places of rumor, based on tales and glimpses. One such is the Three Generals, a game for three players which divides the task of describing warfare into three roles. The General of the Mind generates strategies based on the situations made by the General of the Body. The General of the Heart fleshes out the reactions of the people based on the moral and ethical ramifications of those strategies. And those reactions give the General of the Body the context where they predict new situations. In some versions there is a fourth general, the General of the Eye, whose sole role in the game is to ask questions, to any of the other generals.

Another place, perhaps real, perhaps illusion, is Missing Voices. Here in each scene all but one player is scripted, based on the role of their character (some assigned, sometimes random) in the scene. The remaining player must react to that script, causing conditions to occur and important pre-determined shifts in those scripts. The book of Missing Voices is a playbook, each section for a different selection of fixed roles.

Hazards on the Way

The North is not without difficulties. Exploring even the more charted areas can be hazardous. One risk is the Forgotten, the duties and needs of the game left behind when the roles are laid out. Fear of the Forgotten often leads to catch-all roles which handle anything else that comes up. Of course sometime we leave things out for a reason, especially as we venture Westward.

Another danger in exploring the use of roles in RPGs is the Great Hierarchy. By defining and controlling what players do, there becomes little room left for creativity or flexibility. This is especially problematic when authority is layered, as players in charge can assert too much control on their subordinates. The way out of the Great Hierarchy is to seek escape valves, ways to shake or subvert the roles and their authority.

Sheer Speculation

The North holds much potential, many things may yet be found in exploring it. Perhaps games that help encourage certain skills outside of game play. A game with an accompanist who provides and hones her musical skills during play. Or a game with a portrait artist, who produces a drawing each session, driving the next.

Its possible some Northern games will take roles very seriously, requiring personality tests, practical tests, applications, and even references to fulfill certain important roles. On the other side, there could be games which produce something more than the enjoyment of play. These productive games could use their organization and skills to make art, enact social changes, or even make a profit for the players.

Next Month: Territories: The South