Some characters are made. Others are called.
In fantasy RPGs, we often talk about adventure as something that happens to the characters. A job they take. A dungeon they stumble into. A series of increasingly bad decisions with increasingly sharp consequences.
But sometimes… the story’s already waiting for them.
That’s destiny.
It’s the feeling that a character wasn’t just born to swing a sword or cast a spell, they were born to change the world. Or maybe to save it. Or break it.
And whether you believe in fate or not, it makes for a hell of a story.
The classic model, of course, is the Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. The call to adventure. Refusal. Supernatural aid. Descent. Return. Transformation. It’s clean. It’s powerful. It’s the scaffolding behind everything from The Lord of the Rings to Star Wars to the better arcs in your home campaign.
But witches rarely walk the Hero’s Path.
They dance on it.
Their model isn’t a straight line; it’s a spiral.
A path that doubles back. That deepens. That re-enters old places with new eyes. It’s the Witch’s Spiral Dance, a sacred return. A reweaving of self. Not a quest for glory, but a journey inward and downward, until the truth is uncovered in the dark.
And that, too, is destiny.
In my games, I love to ask:
- Does this character believe they have a destiny?
- If not, what happens when they’re told they do?
- What happens if they refuse it?
- And what happens if they chase it too far?
Not every character needs a prophesied fate. Some are just trying to survive. But destiny has a strange way of catching up. That cursed sword didn’t find them by accident. That sigil birthmark? That wasn’t just cosmetic.
Even when you're winging it as a player, the story has a gravity. It pulls. It whispers. It tempts you with the idea that maybe… this moment was meant to happen.
And when you step into it? When the character finally sees themselves in the myth?
That’s magic.
That’s the moment when dice and drama and destiny line up. When a witch completes her spiral. When a hero returns home, changed. When the dungeon wasn’t just a hole in the ground, it was the crucible of the soul.
So sure, roll with the chaos. Make it up as you go.
But when the time comes? When the stars are right, and the door opens?
Step into destiny.
Questions
Why. Excited. Accessory.
Why am I excited about BLANK Accessory? For me it is an online visual character generator. Why, but I can create characters to use in my games without needing to hire an artist every time. I'll save that for things I want to publish.
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