One of the games I’m actively designing now has a lot to do with duality, so I might use this idea there. But then again, maybe not, so I’m gonna write it out here anyway.
The idea is to ask the players to create characters that go in pairs. Can be any kind of pair: best friends, siblings, lovers, teacher-student, senpai-kohai, master-weapon, etc. The back stories must be intertwined, the abilities linked, the relations consistent, and it must be a good fit overall.
This seems tiny and insignificant, but I believe it will give a boost to my games in some points where I want it, involving the players in collaboration during their prep already, forcing team building and setting integration, and giving the opportunity to create original character design. I hope it will work out especially well in play-by-post games played on an internet forum.
