Raw Dog

Sometimes you carefully craft NPCs, give them histories and stats and all that jazz. And then other times you go, ‘It’d make sense if there was a homeless guy at the bunker, I’ll have them encounter him and then if they decide they actually want to interact with him I’ll just improv stuff, no biggie.’

Such was the way with Raw Dog. I didn’t expect him to be more than a silly one-off at best… I mean, I had him sleeping in a urine stench, for Pete’s sake! His name came off of the top of my head; I hadn’t bothered to prepare one. His personality was just what I’ve experienced with some of the houseless camping folk I’ve met, that sort of boisterous friendliness.

But that encounter was so polarizing—everybody either loved or hated Raw Dog very enthusiastically—that it couldn’t remain a one-off thing, it just couldn’t. I had to bring him back, had to have him connected to the bigger picture somehow. And as it happened I had a role in the plot that needed filling, so Raw Dog became something more than a random encounter with a homeless guy.

And I love that about the way the creative process works when you’re doing a collaborative work like an RPG. Because Lantern Cove is more fun and memorable with Raw Dog in it, and if it were just me creating it, that would never have happened. It’s a good reminder for me that ‘Yes, and’ can lead to some wonderful places.

Sera