The Wedding Couplet - Draft Playsets for Follow

I've been wanting to put something together on the theme of travelling and on big family dinners. I initially wanted to write a standalone system for each of those ideas and adapt the "what I want from you but you won't give me" relationships from Follow but realised as I doodled around with them that they could just work as Quests for Follow (which is a great game by Ben Robbins, and you can find out more about that here).

I intend to playtest them and see if they need a bit more hacking and the suggested roles/challenges definitely need more work, but I'm hopeful there's something here. I still want to explore "GM as tour guide"  a bit more at some point though.

If you do end up using these, please let me know how it went and what you changed.

Travelling to a big dinner or party brings to mind trips home and abroad for weddings, so I'm bundling these two playsets together as 2 parts of a wedding:

Part 1: The Road Trip

Summary: The journey is as important as the destination. Your fellowship needs to make their way to a destination, get some tasks done along the way and hopefully home safely.

The Goal: Get everyone to the destination safely.

Customizing the Quest:

1. Where are we going? What other places doe we need to go to along the way?
2. Why are we travelling together? Are we united in purpose?
3. Why are the destinations important? What are we setting out to do?

What Makes Our Quest Difficult?:

1. There are barriers to travel making it difficult, costly or dangerous.
2. There are many distractions.
3. One or more of us are weary, infirm or ill-prepared.
4. We don't know where exactly we need to go or why.
5. There are external actors intent on stopping us from finishing the trip.
6. Time is short and the trip needs to be completed within strict constraints.

Character Concepts:

1. Experienced guide.
2. Adventurous guide.
3. Strict guide.
4. Prepared traveller.
5. Rookie traveller.
6. Reluctant traveller.
7. Pious pilgrim.
8. Hedonistic explorer.
9. Impatient sponsor.
10. Generous sponsor.
11. Weakened passenger.
12. Naive passenger.

What I Want From the Quest:

1. Pleasure. Indulge my senses.
2. Duty. Fulfil an obligation.
3. Closure. Find a satisfying end; prove yourself.
4. Escape. Avoid my troubles.
5. Aid. Help others.
6. Enrichment. Gain wealth or a valuable experience for myself.

What I Want From You, But You Won't Give Me:

1. Love. Return my affections (or forget about me).
2. Forgiveness. For belittling you, for not having your back, for having to make this trip.
3. Support. My place in the fellowship, my aspirations for this trip.
4. Revenge. For hurting me, for having to make this trip.
5. Respect. My commitment, my authority, my contributions.
6. Trust. Rely on me. Tell me your plans.

Alternate Settings:

A pilgrimage, a family vacation, a patrol, a reunion tour, a mapping expedition, searching for a hidden location, finding a habitable planet, circumnavigate the globe.

Challenges:

1. Finish preparations for the trip.
2. Get the fellowship together and leave on time.
3. Agree on a destination, or alternative(s).
4. Make it in time to a connection.
5. Evade/confront people who are out to stop us.
6. Endure bad weather.
7. Fix or recover lost resources (e.g. money, fuel, food, mode of transport).
8. Recover a missing or trailing member.
9. Raise morale.
10. Endure sickness.
11. Reunite the fellowship.
12. Reach the final destination.
13. Fulfill the purpose of the trip.
14. Agree whether to go home.
15. Reach home safely.

Part 2: The Banquet

Summary: Celebrate a major event together and make it to the end of it with dignity.

The Goal: Make it to the end of the event with dignity

Customizing the Quest:

1. What is the reason for the banquet? What or who is being celebrated?
2. Why have you been invited? Why is it important that you attend?
3. Why is this fellowship banding together?

What Makes Our Quest Difficult?:

1. The customs are strict and strange and it's important to navigate them properly.
2. Someone here is hostile towards the fellowship.
3. There is a distinct class or power differential with the rest of the attendees.
4. There is another goal the fellowship is trying to achieve that may cause a disturbance.
5. There are external factors (lack of preparation/weather) that could disrupt the event.
6. There is a secret that threatens to derail the event.

Character Concepts:

1. Distant cousin.
2. Close relative.
3. Unfamiliar relative.
4. Old friend.
5. Estranged friend.
6. Boisterous friend.
7. Respected colleague.
8. Mischievous colleague.
9. Former lover.
10. Secret lover.
11. Frazzled waiter.
12. Commanding planner.

What I Want From the Quest:

1. Quiet. Don't cause a scene.
2. Duty. Fulfill an obligation.
3. Attention. Steal the spotlight, make a memorable impression.
4. Tradition. Make sure the traditions and customs are upheld.
5. Fun. Have a great time and enjoy myself as much as possible.
6. Appreciation. Show my appreciation and honor the people or event being celebrated.

What I Want From You, But You Won't Give Me:

1. Love. Return my affections (or forget about me).
2. Forgiveness. For belittling you, for not having your back, for what happened at the last banquet.
3. Support. My relationship, life path, or major decisions.
4. Revenge. For belittling you, for not having your back, for what happened at the last banquet
5. Respect. My knowledge, status, or authority.
6. Friendship. Be my friend (or leave me alone).

Alternate Settings:

A dinner, a wedding, a gala, a dance, a coronation, a consecration, a ritual, a funeral, a festival.

Challenges:

1. Get to the venue safely and on time.
2. Figure out the correct seats your fellowship needs to be at for the banquet.
3. Figure out the correct customs you need to follow.
4. Stop another guest from disrupting the event.
5. Achieve your other goal without disrupting the event.
6. Prevent an unwanted guest from disrupting the event.
7. Stop a big secret from being revealed.
8. Stop a fight from erupting.
9. Reconcile a damaged relationship.
10. Prevent bad weather or planning from disrupting the event.
11. Rally and unite the guests.
12. Right an old wrong.
13. Defend someone from attack.
14. End it with a flourish.
15. Keep everyone's spirits up.