Plots for a four-year-old...

[Archangel Beth]

"Mommy, mommy, can we play In Nomine?"

"Ummmm..."

I can come up with plots for all kinds of characters, I can figure out reasonable excuses for mixed parties, I can throw cute relievers at grown celestials...

But for some reason, it is beyond me to figure out exactly what sort of thing a four-year-old wants -- besides to take over the GM role when she feels like it. Happily, reminding her who the GM is (Game Mommy?) suffices to curb that version. (She "GMs" when she plays with her toys, so I don't feel like I'm stifling her free spirit.)

She does do very good in-character talking, though. And lots of run-around-the-room for moving from one place to another... (Ofanite suits her.)

Anyone got Very Simple plot ideas for "Flower, Ofanite of Flowers"? (With a human vessel, and a kitten vessel, and a deer vessel. I don't know why the deer, I really don't.)

Some Windys filched some jewelry of hers, and she went to get it back, and found jewelry for other people, and returned all of it. And her dad's done something with her that had her meowing -- Soldier recruitment, I think.

Maybe I should send her after lost animals on joint Jordi missions. But there should be talking-to-people stuff, too... I suppose I could give her a Jordi Choir Attunement...

[scimon]

Ummm.... you could try spending some time in the Marches. Defending childrens dreams could be good.

[Jennifer]

Valentine's Day flower delivery?
It's very Ofanite-of-Flowers, involves talking to people, and pay no mind to the fact that the very last bouquet is going to someone in Shal-Mari...

[tylrlsaa]

You don't ask for much, do you? :)

I'd suggest that the game be run in a comical, cartoon style. If you or your friends have any cartoon collections on DVD, run through them for story ideas. Couldn't hurt. Superfriends and He-Man have to be of some use.

Even then, some Superiors probably need to be toned _way_ down, or even ignored ("Mommy, why doesn't David wear pants?" "Mommy, what's lust?").

Over the top bad guys like Haagenti, Vapula or Beleth would be okay. Kronos would work if you ran him like a '60s Bond villian.

Same goes for the Archangels. Trying to run Gabriel without scaring the kid would be hard. Or you could say she's really, really busy, and Soldekei handles all interaction with the characters. Laurence would be a good Superior as is. Jordi could work if you gave him a fluffy bunny approach instead of 'nature, red in tooth and claw' approach.

[DryaUnda]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

[P]ay no mind to the fact that the very last bouquet is going to someone in Shal-Mari...

Originally Posted by tylrlsaa

"Mommy, what's lust?"

How would you modify Andrealphus for a four-year old? Tickling fetishists?

Originally Posted by tylrlsaa

Jordi could work if you gave him a fluffy bunny approach instead of 'nature, red in tooth and claw' approach.

From what I've been told about Iolanthe, I don't think the latter would scare her...

As for personal suggestions? Hmm...

How about some Hellsworn of Factions (and their dupes) totally convinced that the flowers being delivered are going to kill Monarch Butterfly larva with their pollen?

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by tylrlsaa

You don't ask for much, do you? :)

Details, details.

Originally Posted by tylrlsaa

I'd suggest that the game be run in a comical, cartoon style. If you or your friends have any cartoon collections on DVD, run through them for story ideas. Couldn't hurt. Superfriends and He-Man have to be of some use.

Despite having Mythic Babysitting and IOU under my belt, so to speak, I'm not sure I can do kid humor. Giving her simple plots, and running them "straight," seems like it works. (And she does get amazingly into character, addressing thin air pretend people and not confusing Mommy with Mommy pretending to be someone.)

And the cartoon she likes most is Cyberchase. I'd have to go into the Halls of Progress for that one.

Which is a thought.

But I'll make her daddy run it. *sneaky look*

Even then, some Superiors probably need to be toned _way_ down, or even ignored ("Mommy, why doesn't David wear pants?" "Mommy, what's lust?").

Stone's nudist tendencies are no problem. I mean, given her preferences, she wouldn't wear pants. Lust... I think I can go a long, long time without Lust plots. It is, mind, remarkably easy to ignore inconvenient Words.

And since she's Flowers, I can ignore most demonic plots (except "seeking redemption") entirely because her notion of handling potential violence is drawn from Mommy and Daddy playing EverCrack. Absent weapons or Shock of Frost nuke spells, she'd call Mama Novalis.

(I'm not worried about doing Gaby, if she turned up. Gaby comes in many different flavors of crazy, and if I do a bit of out-of-character explanation that Gabriel is not right in the head, I could probably do Weird Prophet Gabriel with no problems. And since Jordi and Flowers get along, the grouchy side of Jordi isn't a problem; I think she could handle some of the darker stuff. The cats occasionally find a hapless mouse in the house, and she's seen me rescuing the living "toys," and she knows (though she didn't see it) that they killed one.

The Princes, I think I'd leave out entirely if at all possible. Or make sure she had time to call her Archangel.)

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

The Princes, I think I'd leave out entirely if at all possible. Or make sure she had time to call her Archangel.)

Aww, but she did such an interesting Beleth! And Malphas just wants to be her bestest friend...

On a more serious note, Nybbas might work.

[Archangel Beth]

Okay, point, point...

If Princes show up, especially Nybbas, I think I Mary Sue her character a little. She's four (okay, four and 3/4), and that's a fine age for MS.

[William]

A Reliever has gone missing. He is very young, not old enough to know better than to wander away or to make sure that people don't know he's an angel. He was very curious about Earth, so he went down a Tether and is probably out somewhere wandering the city. Flower, please help us look for him. (If Iolanthe tries to learn about him, he likes paintings, so that would help her find where to look. Otherwise, anyone who has met our Reliever may mention that he was looking for galleries and museums.) And if you find anyone who is talking about seeing an angel, try to quietly find out who they are and bring their names back to us later. We want to make sure they haven't been hurt by seeing something they weren't supposed to.

-----

This is Rudy, a ninth grader at a local high school. Rudy may be a great painter some day and make many people feel good with his paintings -- he has made some pretty still-lifes of flowers, with lots of bright colors -- but right now he's painting angry, sad paintings. (Hook with previous adventure?) It seems he's having trouble with his father, who is away a lot as a long-haul truck driver and thinks Rudy ought to get a real job like his. Can you help Rudy feel better, and figure out how to help him get along with his father? (Maybe a bit too psychologically complex. One answer to the riddle would be to hold a showing of Rudy's work, if she could convince him to show some in the school library or in one of those galleries or local museums she visited last adventure, and convince the owners of the space to go along. When his dad comes in and sees how much people like his work, things get better.)

-----

Flower is assigned help out a farm that sells different fruits and vegetables to local people who buy shares of the crop. (This is called "community-supported agriculture", and is a popular eco-friendly thing to do right now among activists; I'm sure Novalis would like to see it expand.) The farmers are new at it and having some problems: birds are eating the berries, deer are munching on the corn (and lots of other stuff), and some children from the neighborhood are stealing fruit and nuts. Please stop all the trouble without actually hurting anyone or anything. (Lots of solutions: the cat vessel will scare birds away some times; a scarecrow will do better. Her deer vessel might help her deal with deer, especially if she can talk to them. Better fences (higher, particularly) will also help. If piling these on would be a bit too much, just trying to stop the neighborhood kids from taking produce they shouldn't would be a fair bite.)

[tylrlsaa]

Here's one for the holidays.

A Saint has lost his holiday spirit. In fact, he's lost any positive opinion about people. The angel's mission is to help the saint re-discover his own humanity, and enjoy the holidays. Yes, just like a Christmas special.

The saint hasn't actually fallen into evil, but he is cynic, irritable, and peevish. Think Ebenezer Scrooge, before the spirits showed up.

"I've lost my holiday spirit."
"Where were you when you had it last?"
"New York City, I think."
"Okay, that narrows it down a little."
"In 1889."
"Oh-kay..."

To make things a bit more interesting, a Servitor of Hell is in town recruiting. Which Prince colors the story. Nybbas or Kobal would be good to keep it light. Kronos or Malphas would be darker and grimmer.

"We've secretly replaced this saint's Christmas Spirit with Kool-whip. Let's see if he notices the difference..."