How do you guys feel about a "chosen one" plot?

[TheCrowing1432]

its a trope as old as fantasy, theres a special someone who is destined to save the world. Harry Potter, Rand Al'thor, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc, etc.

And yet, in my 10+ years of gaming, ive never yet seen this trope play out. Probably because of the multiplayer aspect of DND. Most parties just tend to be lucky mercenaries or hapless jackasses that happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the world, if for no other reason then because they live in the world and it has all their stuff in it, pragmatism has its place after all.

Im putting together a campaign and was thinking of using this trope, selecting one of my players as the chosen one, destined to....do the thing.

What do you guys think of this idea? I dont intend to give the chosen one any new powers (though if I do, ill make sure to make it up to the rest of the party) but rather use them as a walking plot hook as the wheel of time weaves around them.

(No its not a wheel of time game, ive just been reading the books lmao)

[gkathellar]

Permanently elevating one PC to a position of importance above the rest of the party is almost always a bad idea.

[Sorinth]

I've seen it done as a one off quest where the chosen one was an NPC, and the party basically have to bring the NPC to a certain location by a certain time for him to perform his chosen duties. In this case the NPC should be relatively weak so PCs are still the heroes trying to keep this otherwise useless person alive.

If you want it as something that runs throughout a whole campaign then I would be tempted to keep who the chosen one is a secret. Some vague prophecies are basically the only clues, and possibly even some red herrings. This would probably work best if the campaign villain(s) also don't know who the identity of the chosen one, they might suspect the PCs are somehow involved but can't be certain who exactly it is.

[Sigreid]

I've always hated it

[Grey Watcher]

It can be done, but is definitely tricky to pull off without the Not the One players feeling like they've been treated unfairly (yes, even if being Chosen confers no mechanical benefit).

If you want to play with this trope, go with chosen ones, plural. The prophecy states that when the world is in darkness, four warriors will come, that sort of thing.

[rel]

Be upfront with your players. explain in detail what you plan to do, the games tone and so forth as part of the pitch. Make sure everyone is on board with the idea and that everyone is on the same page.

If you do that, it *could* be fun. If everyone signed up for it, knew what they were getting into and were happy to participate.
Like playing a published adventure; You know it will be railroady, kind of dumb and horribly cliche but if you commit to that going in you can have fun with it.

Just don't drop it on the players without warning. Ultimately, you don't see prophesy and fate much in RPG's for good reason; a lot of people don't want to play in that kind of world.
And signing up for a game only to have elements you don't like appear without warning isn't any fun.

[Mr. Crowbar]

I think it would be very easy for the non-chosen players to feel resentful of the chosen one.

Maybe I can see it working if the chosen otherwise doesnt have any background hooks and/or the prophecy is more mundane and/or the prophecy has some serious drawbacks. Like they’re the one chosen to end the world or will die saving it. Like being chosen is something to be opposed.

I second that chosen ones, plural, would be easier to do and keep everyone happy.

[Pex]

Make it the Chosen Few - the PCs. Their specialness can be one thing they all share or unique to the individual, but they're all Important to what needs to be done.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Make it the Chosen Few - the PCs. Their specialness can be one thing they all share or unique to the individual, but they're all Important to what needs to be done.

Divinity Original Sin 2 did this, all of the player characters were Godwoken, chosen vessels for dying gods in hopes to elevate themselves to the position of Divine.

There could only be one Divine though :amused:

[da newt]

In the movie the Golden Child, Eddie Murphy is the main character / hero, but he's not the chosen one ... It's perfectly doable to create a great epic adventure about a prophecy, but make sure everyone has a vital roll. Frodo doesn't have a chance without Sam, etc.

But done poorly it could cause problems.

[Anymage]

There's what everybody else is saying about how easy it is to upset the non chosen ones. You pretty much guarantee that one guy gets all the spotlight time, which will cause friction in almost all parties and the few exceptions you'll really want explicit sign-in for.

There's also the question of what happens when the chosen one eats an unlucky crit or rolls a one on a key save. Either you're too blatant about the plot armor and the players lose all sense of tension, or there's a fair chance that Harry Potter gets gibbed 70% of the way into the first book.

Finally, a slight tangent off my last point. Chosen one plots tend to require a very heavy hand at the narrative wheel. An author can always rewrite a scene if it winds up not going the way they want to, but real PCs will often blow up any plan they walk into. You either railroad everybody hard, or watch your carefully constructed plot go belly up.

[Sigreid]

Finally, a slight tangent off my last point. Chosen one plots tend to require a very heavy hand at the narrative wheel. An author can always rewrite a scene if it winds up not going the way they want to, but real PCs will often blow up any plan they walk into. You either railroad everybody hard, or watch your carefully constructed plot go belly up.

This sums up nicely why I hate them.

[Temperjoke]

You could do a situation where technically any of the PCs could be the chosen one, thanks to vague translations of the ancient texts, loose conditions that identify the chosen one, and deities involved just hedging their bets in hopes of getting the job done.

[opaopajr]

Favoritism Invites Resentment. (Even if it is implied or accepted as a campaign conceit.) :smallcool:

Players have a hard enough time working together as it is, some with socialization issues to work through. This idea requires mature players who already work well together. It's sort of like trying to run a High Concept Campaign cold... expect gnashing of teeth and tears. :smalltongue:

[pming]

Hiya!


its a trope as old as fantasy, theres a special someone who is destined to save the world. Harry Potter, Rand Al'thor, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc, etc.

And yet, in my 10+ years of gaming, ive never yet seen this trope play out. Probably because of the multiplayer aspect of DND. Most parties just tend to be lucky mercenaries or hapless jackasses that happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the world, if for no other reason then because they live in the world and it has all their stuff in it, pragmatism has its place after all.

Im putting together a campaign and was thinking of using this trope, selecting one of my players as the chosen one, destined to....do the thing.

What do you guys think of this idea? I dont intend to give the chosen one any new powers (though if I do, ill make sure to make it up to the rest of the party) but rather use them as a walking plot hook as the wheel of time weaves around them.

(No its not a wheel of time game, ive just been reading the books lmao)

I've only seen it be successful with mature players. Ones who can have just as much fun playing the torchbearer, the two town guards, the cook, as the can playing the Golden Knight, Chosen of the Traldara, destined to destroy the Eater of Souls!

Alas, IN MY EXPERIENCE, newer players to the game...ones that cut their teeth on 3e or later...tend to have the mindset of "me, Me, ME!" and honestly just can NOT enjoy the game if they aren't just as 'special' as everyone else. I think it has something to do with how kids are treated in schools nowadays, where in some schools they don't give out actual %'age grades for work handed in to the teacher, or even keep score in sports...somehow thinking that it will harm a kids self-esteem or some other BS. Anyway, they grow up being told "you are special" and "you're always a winner"...and this translates into the perception of how a game should be played; where everyone is "equal" and nobody is better than anyone else.

Anyway....my suggestion is first look at your group and just toss the idea out at them. If any of them giggle or laugh at the idea of playing the "supporting cast", then forget it. They aren't...well, it's not going to work. There is just no way around that. But if they say "Ooohh...hey, that sounds fun! I want to be a stable boy who sort of get caught up in the adventuring life!", or "Yeah...yeah...I can see that. I got an idea for a serving maid who is actually a sorcerer, but she hides it because her family is very religious and thinks all sorcerers are being courted by demons!"...well, if that's the case, then have at it! My experience with a 'chosen one' campaign has been quite positive (but I was blessed with mature players who were interested in playing a character and seeing what they 'grew into'...more than being interested in playing heroes from the get-go).

The biggest tip I can give: Have things where the "non-heroes" can show their invaluable use. For example, the stable boy might know ALL about horses and can choose the best horses out of the stable, giving them at least average or better HP and maybe 1 AC better...or the serving maid might be able to spot thieves in a second or maybe tell what a persons station or profession is by just a quick glance. You know, "mundane" things that come up every now and then. The Chosen One may be able to heal the sick and raise himself from the dead once per day...but he couldn't tell a nag from a charger or a beggar from a rich merchant. ;)

[LudicSavant]

Like many tropes it's all down to execution.

Some people mentioned the "chosen few" but I can think of a few examples of stories with a chosen one where the chosen one doesn't steal the show, or isn't even the main character. For example, in Final Fantasy X the main character and the rest of the party are all escorting one of the party members, Yuna, on her pilgrimage to Do The Thing.

[Teaguethebean]

Here's a question for you. What if "the chosen" one dies? What do you do, the answer is campaign over which makes the chosen one either feel like they can't take risks or that they are immortal.

[LudicSavant]

Here's a question for you. What if "the chosen" one dies? What do you do, the answer is campaign over which makes the chosen one either feel like they can't take risks or that they are immortal.

Why would the answer have to be "campaign over"? I can think of tons of other ways it could go.

[Temperjoke]

Here's a question for you. What if "the chosen" one dies? What do you do, the answer is campaign over which makes the chosen one either feel like they can't take risks or that they are immortal.

"Well clearly they couldn't have been the chosen one if they died."

[The Glyphstone]

Here's a question for you. What if "the chosen" one dies? What do you do, the answer is campaign over which makes the chosen one either feel like they can't take risks or that they are immortal.

If they died, clearly they weren't the true 'chosen one' but a case of mistaken identity. Must be someone else, and you better find them before the bad guys do!

[Anderlith]

So something people have sort of me tion but I want to go deeper into is that you can very much have a “Chosen Few” without being narratively stunted.

Ta’veren from you’re own example of Wheel of Time. Don’t make it about Rand, make it about Rand, Perrin & Mat, making Rand’s role lesser than literal cosmic martyr.

Final Fantasy does this as well, though they have moved beyond it lately. Their first few stories had The Warriors of Light. Four (sometimes more) people who were destined to stop the Darkness in the World.

Also, no one likes one sides prophecies. Just have it say that the Chosen will fight the bad stuff but leave it very much open to the idea that they could fail

[Anderlith]

Here's a question for you. What if "the chosen" one dies? What do you do, the answer is campaign over which makes the chosen one either feel like they can't take risks or that they are immortal.

You would then move the time table up by a few hundred years at least & play Midnight

[Arkhios]

Why not make the Chosen One a sidekick the PC's must find and protect, as well as act as moral guides and mentors, so they can better fulfill their destiny.

I'm not suggesting a DMPC, however. Just an NPC that follows the group, takes part of the action, and eventually, "does the thing" with the invaluable help of the PC's.

Whenever there would be meaningful decisions to be made, the choice falls to the players. In and out of combat, and especially in social situations.

[Zhorn]

Just like in any other media, I'm not fond of 'legitimate' chosen ones. Making a character have the fate of the story revolve around them can be infuriating, both as a player or an observer.

But a 'false chosen one', as either a fake out (the prophecy was a lie, or the legend was made up) or a misidentified character, that can be fun.

[Segev]

"There is a Chosen One. You will know him by these signs:"

Then have a subset of the signs apply to each of the players' characters, with some overlap, and nothing preventing the unfulfilled signs from eventually being fulfilled by them. They're candidates to be the Chosen One. Sure, the Chosen One was Chosen long ago, but nobody knows who it is, so a huge part of the campaign is figuring out who it is.

If a PC dies, and isn't brought back, clearly he wasn't the Chosen One, after all.

The Chosen One need not be revealed before the climax or even the last moments of the Destined Time. The Chosen One's player thus only gets to be The Chosen One for sure for a session or so, but at the same time, by then the other players will have their own roles, and won't feel left out as long as getting the Chosen One to his Destiny is a team effort.

[LudicSavant]

If it were me DMing and using the Chosen One trope, I would probably actually NOT go for the "they can't determine which of the PCs is the chosen one, it's vague and could be anyone" thing. I'd jump right into the deep end and commit. I'd have them think that someone is definitely totally the Chosen One. And have it be totally correct, something important really does hinge on them. And when the Chosen One dies, Yuna fails to complete her pilgrimage or whatever, suddenly the campaign takes a turn towards the dark timeline. Like how The Legend of Zelda series has an entire timeline based on Link being killed by Ganon. Or you don't stop Kefka from taking over / destroying most of the world. Or Thanos successfully snaps his fingers. Or "you were supposed to be the Chosen One!" but you actually turn into lich Darth Vader. And the story doesn't end there; far from it! The party has to pick up the pieces and scramble to find a way to deal with the unleashed age of darkness or what-have-you.

Alternatively, I might have the prophecy be wrong. Not that it was just vague or whatever, but just straight up wrong. The hero dies and the rug is pulled out from everyone who put their faith in the words of an ancient soothsayer. Yet another possibility is that the prophecy seems clear and unambiguous about who the chosen one is, but there's some nuance to its meaning that people have misconstrued, or was lost in translation. Going to find and decipher the original scrolls of destiny when you realize some linguist @#$%ed up could even be an adventure unto itself.

You do want to make sure that the Chosen One isn't getting all the spotlight though. And that's entirely possible (gave the example of FFX earlier). It's all a matter of execution.

[Kalashak]

I did it once and it was fine. I talked to all the players about it before hand, and there were plenty of opportunities for the other players to shine. Sadly the chosen one abandoned the game.

[LudicSavant]

There are lots of ways to approach it, but I think there are a few "don'ts" to keep in mind.

- Make sure the other PCs get the spotlight too. Chosen One stories don't always have to be all about the Chosen One.
- Don't assume a particular outcome; have a contingency for different eventualities that can arise in game, such as the Chosen One dying.

[Asensur]

It could be funnier if you use a NPC (which scales with the group) for that role, and make your players his/her babysitters (so all are treated equal). Also, give them control over the NPC so they all can determine how he will mature over time, if he dies they lose.

[DevilMcam]

Dnd beeing à multiverse with many gods and powerfull beeing, the Chosen one trope I actually failrly simple to use without overshadowing the party.

I like when in a campaign every PC has his own personnal arc.
It could be as simple as "helm chose you de vanquish this powerfull mummy lord". So it could be the main plot of Let's say lvl 7 to 9.
The the main plot shift to another PC backstory

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I personally like it.
Probably because I like to play the loyal servant.

It works great for me in a duo games(because most of my friends don't think like me).

[Raxxius]

"Well clearly they couldn't have been the chosen one if they died."

Bad choice...

Ah well gods are timeless, just go again in a 100 odd years.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

its a trope as old as fantasy, theres a special someone who is destined to save the world. Harry Potter, Rand Al'thor, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc, etc.

And yet, in my 10+ years of gaming, ive never yet seen this trope play out. Probably because of the multiplayer aspect of DND. Most parties just tend to be lucky mercenaries or hapless jackasses that happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the world, if for no other reason then because they live in the world and it has all their stuff in it, pragmatism has its place after all.

Im putting together a campaign and was thinking of using this trope, selecting one of my players as the chosen one, destined to....do the thing.

What do you guys think of this idea? I dont intend to give the chosen one any new powers (though if I do, ill make sure to make it up to the rest of the party) but rather use them as a walking plot hook as the wheel of time weaves around them.

(No its not a wheel of time game, ive just been reading the books lmao)

I'm 100% sure Chosen One's plot hooks are, in story, just a placebo effect.

If that's legit, then the story loses it's meaning and nothing really matters as fate and all that is gonna make stuff happen.

Don't do this in D&D unless its the whole party or an NPC that ia being supported by the PCs behind the scene and their job is to prop up the NPC in some way.

[Aussiehams]

As mentioned, speak to the players first.
I would try and run it as the group are all "potentials" who have been collected by a church/cult/king whatever.
That way they are all possibly part of the prophecy, and it even explains why they are together as a group. Whichever of them gets the killing blow on the final BBEG is the chosen one, but its not determined until then.
Just make sure that if your doing it this way, you are honest about it, and don't play favourites with who want to be the chosen.

[ShinyRocks]

It can work, I think. Or at least, a variety of it.

I'm sort of the Chosen One in my current campaign. I chose the 'visions of doom' Background hook, basically at random, just thinking it was a vague thing, but my DM decided to make it very specifically tied into his world that he'd built. (Artefacts from the planes have manifested into the world and are messing things up, we need to return them.) Because I'm a Cleric, we worked it out that I was having these visions over and over, prayed for guidance and my god sent me to the town where I first met the rest of the party.

We've all got reasons for stopping these things, but I'm on a literal mission from god. But other than my character being a bit more familiar with the things that were happening (and it was literally just 'I saw that in my vision', not 'I saw that in my vision and therefore I know what it is and what to do and we should go here'), I haven't been especially stand-out or more prominent in the story.

There was a bit where I was playing as being racked with doubt, lots of NPCs had died, am I doing this right, etc? We did a nice little RP bit where I went to the shrine and prayed and I got this glowing reassuring warmth, 'you know you're on the right path' thing. But it's never been 'Only you can stab the dragon in its eyeball, anyone else and it will just live on!'

It helps that I'm both tank and healer in a party of squishies. Not an ideal party combination but we make it work. But I'm leaning very heavily into the 'I am here to protect these people as we do the thing' rather than 'I am sent by God to do the thing and these guys are also here!' You have to avoid letting whoever you choose become the Star Of The Campaign.

It also helps that my DM is very good at balancing the spotlight. We all have, or will have, unique items built for our characters. We're all getting dedicated 'episodes' where our backstories come up. It's decidedly not just my story.

TL;DR: from my experience, make Chosen One a background feature and their reason for being on the mission/with the party, and it can work really well. But I wouldn't make a literal Chosen One who is the only one who can defeat the big bad, etc. That will probably breed resentment and a sense of unfairness.

[MrStabby]

I would hate it. Not a plot for me.

Destiny sucks. Prophesy sucks.

I could have a laugh if there were a bunch of prophetic elements including this and all the others turned out to be wrong and the whole thing was a mistranslated Chicken Soup recipe.

I could also get behind it if the Chosen One was the antagonist and the party had to identify them, find them and stop them.

Otherwise, no.

[Glorthindel]

I have always despised it - I prefer my character to be great because of what he does and the choices he made, not because some nameless all-powerful decided he was off-screen. It takes away the characters agency to be great or not on his own merit, as he is just a puppet of destiny.

[JellyPooga]

So here's the thing about Chosen One's...they don't have to have all the plot revolve around them, any more than in a regular game.

I don't hear players complaining about following plot-lines based on a regular PC's backgrounds or goals. Plot is plot, whether it's generic adventuring, getting a letter from Dave the Paladins dad, Roguish Jim getting kidnapped by his old Thieves Guild rivals, Bob McWarlock having a crazy vision about the end of the world being prevented by some MacGuffin...or Shirly the Chosen One having some prophecy told about her. These could all very well be plot lines/adventure hooks in the same campaign.

Sure a Chosen One plot could feel a bit like playing favourites, but so long as everyone is involved equally with regard to character backstory and development, then "Chosen One" is just another background or hook.

Besides, just because one character is the Chosen One, doesn't mean they're necessarily the main protagonist. An argument could be put forth, for example, that while Aragorn is the "Chosen One" of LotR, but Frodo is the main protagonist. Or that while Frodo is the main protagonist, but without Sam the unsung hero, he would never have succeeded. Or perhaps Frodo is the Chosen One as the ring bearer, but that doesn't mean Frodo got the "best ending" or best adventure experience; that laurel instead going to Pippin, because he got to help mobilise a nation or two (three if you count the Ents), ride a rocket-horse, fight in a war, became a knight and eventually ruler of his people. Sweet. While all Frodo got was a lot of boring walking, a couple of scuffles with some ratty goblin NPC, lost a fight against a giant spider and got a whole load of "sucks to be you" willpower tests that he eventually failed just when it counted. All just to be mayor for a bit, suffer from depression and PTSD, before retiring to some old-folks home. What a crappy ride. Or perhaps Sam got the best ending because he got the girl, had a bajillion kids and lived happily ever after.

...Or perhaps one character supposedly being the "main character", whether that means being the Chosen One, the Ring Bearer, or Dave the Paladins dads' Son, because Dave the Paladins dad is the quest giver for this adventure, doesn't make a blind bit of difference to how exciting or enjoyable the campaign is for players other than Dave, so long as everyone is getting involved, has equal participation and are having a good time.

Being the Chosen One does not mean everything is gravy all the time, nor that the entire plot revolves around you, nor that you get the best ending...sometimes quite the opposite is true. D&D, or roleplaying in general, is not necessarily a game about plots and storylines...it's a game about characters. It's about developing those characters through their relationships with other PCs and NPCs alike, through their trials and tribulations, the adventures they go on and so forth.

If one of the other players character is supposed to be some sort of Chosen One, so be it...that doesn't have to take away from my characters development. It might even serve to enhance it; what does my character think about the prophecy? How does that affect my characters atttitude toward them? Does it make me want to protect them, help them, influence them or control them? Do I even care, given my own problems or the troubles going on in the world?

[Chaos Jackal]

Chosen One plots do have their issues for both sides of the business. Not only can it make the non-chosen players feel resentful, it can kill the mood in other ways too.

What happens if the Chosen One isn't a very effective character? You started the game and picked Kraylen the Mighty as the Chosen One of the world, but later on Kraylen made some pretty terrible multiclassing choices, or has selected a flavorful but nearly useless build, or is just so unlucky he can never roll above 5 on any important fight. The Chosen One fails to measure up where it matters, and ends up being carried worse than Frodo ever was. Not that great for the game's tension or the Chosen One's player.

It's also possible for the Chosen One to be resentful. The party might be content with playing second fiddle, but the Chosen One isn't fond of being recognized all the time, or being targeted for murder by half the assassin guilds in existence, or being poached and seduced by every gold digger alive.

The Chosen Few, as others have mentioned, is a better option if you wanna play out the trope. But not One. Book characters can fawn over the guy whom the world revolves around all they want, but actual people want some orbiting done around them as well. If you do go with One, make sure that it's not all about him. He might be the one destined to take down the Dread King, but before that his companions can do some city saving, dragon slaying and army smashing.

Now, personally, I really dislike the concept of prophecies and unavoidable paths and inescapable fate, and my characters tend to share that trait. I really like prophecy busting on the other hand. "Turns out it was all a bunch of BS, who would've thought that the mushroom-addled oracle was actually spewing nonsense the entire time" is something I'm rooting for.

[SpikeFightwicky]

I ran a game in 3.5 where there was a "Chosen One" side that the PCs had to keep safe for about a week while they traveled, and because "of course they did", they ran afoul of the side plot's BBEG, practically hand delivering them. They started a fight that went south very fast (the PCs SEVERELY underestimated the BBEG), the paladin handed over the chosen one to end the fight just before a few PCs were about to die. The paladin fell (he fully expected that), ended the fight, saved the party, but lost the Chosen One, who was promptly killed "off-screen" by the side plot's BBEG. The campaign took a bit of a dark turn after that :smallyuk: The results of the side plot's conclusion trivialized the main adventure, but it was great since the party ended up working with the original BBEG to take down the side plot BBEG, who had gained enough power to become the main BBEG. The paladin who fell went all Blackguard, eventually redeeming themselves way later on.

[ezekielraiden]

It can work just fine if you have one of these two situations:
1. One player is especially invested and the others are much more casual. In that kind of group, making the invested player the chosen one can work as it may feel "earned" while the others are, knowingly, along for the ride. Care must be taken not to make too much of it.

2. Everyone knows and is on board. Not everyone wants to be the center of attention. It can especially work if one character is particularly high-Cha (Paladin is especially good, melding "face," "leader," and "tank"/"front-row" all in one package.)

Of course there may be other situations. But I'd definitely think about talking it over with the players. Maybe don't tell them specifically who will be chosen, just that you're considering this kind of plot. If it helps, consider referencing something like Avatar: the Last Airbender. That is 100% a Chosen One plot, where Aang is quite literally the Chosen One destined to save the world (or fail, and let it fall into ruin). But he's surrounded by highly capable people: Katara is probably the finest waterbender in the world, Toph certainly is the best earthbender, Sokka is a genuine strategic genius and emotional center for the group, and later on Prince Zuko is an incredibly accomplished martial artist, infiltrator, and (eventually) firebender. All of them are able to go toe-to-toe with people who are explicitly masters of their arts, who have decades of experience over these mere teenagers, and yet the teens often come out on top. Aang just happens to be extra special, but he's still in a company of heroes.

You can also reference (for example) FFXIV, where the Warrior of Light may be the Eikon-Slayer, the chosen one of Hydaelyn, but she or he is ABSOLUTELY in a company of heroes (Y'shtola, Urianger, the twins, Thancred, Krile, heck even many of the "b-list" Scions are genuine bad-donkeys in their own right, fighting fires that were once a big deal to you but are now small popatoes compared to the current threats.)

I'd say that's really the crux of making such a game work. Each character really is a hero, really is genuinely amazing--and if they were adventuring alone, they could easily be the Chosen One of their own story. But they're all woven together into a greater story still, and one of them happens to be the Chosen One for that ultimate story. That Chosen One cannot stand alone, and both depends on and supports his or her allies in the journey.

TL;DR:
It can work if the group dynamic is right, and/or everyone agrees in advance. Use example narratives where everyone is amazing (if not strictly "Chosen" per se), but one is narratively a cut above, to help keep the dynamic working.

Also, remember that being the Chosen One doesn't equal "everything is about them always." Some villains don't actually care about The Prophecy, others do a lot, some in-between.

[SirGraystone]

A chosen one plot can be good or bad depending on how its done.

My last campaign had a prophecy about "protecting the seed", part of their adventures other then protecting the barony from mercenaries and monster threat was learning was learning more about that prophecy. It in the end they learned that the first empress of the empire was the the daughter of the Prince of Thorn a fey lord, and the "seed" was the lost heir which happened to be our half-elf bard (Thorn leads to flower and seed in the prophecy).

It worked well for us I believe for use for a few reasons, the first half of the campaign the group didnt know the bard was the heir or seed, other character had their story arc too, the barbarian whose tribe was enslave by a white dragon who killed his grandfather did leads the group to the north to kill it, how warlock drow had an arc with her drow family and mind flayers, etc...

The prophecy which grow as they learned more was vague enough to let me keep the story from becoming too railroaded and let they choose their own fate.

Our Bard did dies causing a problem but by then he was married to the baron's daugher and had a child, this young girl became the seed and was the focus of more story, by being kidnap. Which forced the group to go save their lost friend child.

[TripleD]

Weirdly enough the D&D cartoon suggested a solution that a few people here put forward: have the prophecy equally apply to more than one character, and to give both selfish and altruistic reasons to see it through.

In the episode “Child of the Stargazer”, the heroes find out about a teen named Kossar who is supposed to bring about the end of Demon Queen’s reign if he stands in a certain temple during a meteor shower. They try to get him to the temple but (spoilers for a nearly 40 year old cartoon) he gets badly injured on the way there. Diana (a main character) then realizes that the prophecy also applies to her. She leaps to the temple podium, basically becomes a god, and kills the queen before ripping a hole in the universe itself to allow the group to return home (sadly they have to give it up in order to save Kossar’s life).

The key element here is caring about the prophecy.

Kossar was a likeable character. He and Diana even had a budding romance. The group wanted to help him succeed even if they didn’t know much about the kingdom they were saving
Fulfilling the prophecy would get the heroes something they wanted. Dungeon Master (their guide/kidnapper) suggested that fulfilling the prophecy may give them a chance to return home. Even if they don’t care about the kingdom or Kossar, that’s still incentive to do the quest.


It’s the three basic elements of how to make a “chosen one” plot work. Have the prophecy apply to multiple people so no one feels left out, give them a tangible reason to care about the prophecy being fulfilled (the carrot), and a reason to feel bad about it failing (the stick).

[Imbalance]

"Each event is preceded by Prophecy. But without the hero, there is no Event."

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Hero

This is one of the things Elder Scrolls does best. Granted, these are mostly single player games, but as cited in a number of examples above, I like the idea of vague prophecies with overlapping possibilities as to which party member best appears to meet the signs. Morrowind really went in depth on this "maybe you are, maybe you aren't the chosen one" trope complete with the sage ala Matrix' Oracle saying you're probably not the One, but we won't know for sure until you pull off The Thing that The One is supposed to do. Bonus points for a cult that constantly tries to quash false Ones ultimately going, "huh. Guess it was you all along. Glad we didn't manage to kill you."

Oblivion had you playing second fiddle to The One right out of the gate (heh), at points in direct service to him, but you are no less important to the prophecy. Like Morpheus, you are the one who finds The One. Skyrim pits you against the BBEG as THE ONE of Ones.

Whether or not any of these approaches are practical for a tabletop campaign, I can't answer, but I'd like to imagine that it's possible.

[pragma]

D&D players acting normally are very likely to subvert chosen one plots in hilarious ways. If the chosen one happens to act like a barely restrained sociopath and the rest of the party has to constantly cover for him, that's a pretty fun deconstruction of the trope. Yo might be able to run with that.

[Sparky McDibben]

This can be a good idea for 1:1 games. Otherwise, I'd recommend splitting the "chosen one-ness" up between the members of the party. "It is only together you can defeat the Dark Lord..." etc. Each one is destined to fulfill some specific duty. Read the Belgariad for a great example of this sort of thing, although an imperfect implementation of trope in this regard.

[Man_Over_Game]

its a trope as old as fantasy, theres a special someone who is destined to save the world. Harry Potter, Rand Al'thor, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc, etc.

And yet, in my 10+ years of gaming, ive never yet seen this trope play out. Probably because of the multiplayer aspect of DND. Most parties just tend to be lucky mercenaries or hapless jackasses that happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the world, if for no other reason then because they live in the world and it has all their stuff in it, pragmatism has its place after all.

Im putting together a campaign and was thinking of using this trope, selecting one of my players as the chosen one, destined to....do the thing.

What do you guys think of this idea? I dont intend to give the chosen one any new powers (though if I do, ill make sure to make it up to the rest of the party) but rather use them as a walking plot hook as the wheel of time weaves around them.

(No its not a wheel of time game, ive just been reading the books lmao)

Props for the Wheel of Time love.

Sadly, something like this wouldn't function properly if one of the characters was the equivalent of Rand.

Make Rand an NPC that shows up irregularly, and the rest of the party his friends, and that could work out just fine. A good example of this could be Jace, "the Living Guildpact", and his apprentices. While Jace is fighting whatever eldritch horrors are elsewhere at the time, the players make due by keeping the Guilds from killing one another in his absence.

One scenario I used was where a Divination Wizard used dreams to communicate with people who are necessary to save the world in the future. He calls these people to him. Occasionally, they die, but they "fulfilled" their contribution towards saving the world regardless. The newest player character had been receiving these weird dreams about how they're destined to save the world from some irate wizard, and replaces the party's lost ally. It effectively allowed for a constantly cycling of "Chosen Ones".

[Grey Watcher]

Making the Chosen one an NPC is not without its pitfalls either. True, it sidesteps the problem of the PCs feeling unequal in the eyes of hte DM, but it also commits you to the DMPC tightrope.

You could make the Chosen One too good (even by a small margin, possibly even just down to sheer luck) and end up overshadowing your own players, who are left feeling like they're just sitting and watching you tell yourself a story about your own character.

If the character comes out too bad, he becomes a lodestone that the party is constantly having to prop up, drag around, and otherwise handhold. Sure an escort mission here and there can be fun, but a whole campaign of it would get tiresome.

And in either version, heck even if you balance it perfectly, the players are probably going to develop some resentment towards the Chosen One for getting all the credit and praise and such. (Yeah, it's imaginary, but the whole setting is imaginary.) Doing a lot of hard work to beat back the Forces of DarknessTM only to have everyone ooh and ah over that other guy is going to rankle most people.

Reminds me of a thought I had a few weeks ago:
why is that everyone in the wizarding world credits Harry Potter as The Boy Who Lived and not Lily Potter as The Woman Who Killed Voldemort?
She did the deed (at the cost of her own life, no less) he gets all the credit for some reason.

[Clistenes]

Well, do your players even like the Chosen trope?

I, personally, hate it... it implies that people can't control their own destiny, that they depend on external forces to come and save them, and reminds us that some people have it better without regards to the efforts and hard work of the rest...

I very much prefer stories in which bravery, willpower, hard work and wisdom trump "fate".

[TheCrowing1432]

Why not make the Chosen One a sidekick the PC's must find and protect, as well as act as moral guides and mentors, so they can better fulfill their destiny.

I'm not suggesting a DMPC, however. Just an NPC that follows the group, takes part of the action, and eventually, "does the thing" with the invaluable help of the PC's.

Whenever there would be meaningful decisions to be made, the choice falls to the players. In and out of combat, and especially in social situations.

I think this is the idea im going to end up using.

The Chosen One being an NPC that shadows the PC's.

[Teaguethebean]

I think this is the idea im going to end up using.

The Chosen One being an NPC that shadows the PC's.

For some good examples the most popular story in fiction, Journey to the West did this perfectly.

[Bosh]

As people have said upthread a standard chosen one plotline doesn't work well in D&D without heavy handed railroading and heavy handed railroading sucks.

To get some of the same flavor introduce a whole slew of prophesies (bit by bit of course) into the campaign that are all conditional. What I mean is that the prophesies don't say "X will happen" they say "if X happens then Y will happen." Since they're prophesies they should of course be written in a confusing way with the conditions obscured. So you get all the fun of puzzling out prophesies but nothing is set in stone and the PCs can figure out how to manipulate them to their advantage.

[moonfly7]

its a trope as old as fantasy, theres a special someone who is destined to save the world. Harry Potter, Rand Al'thor, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc, etc.

And yet, in my 10+ years of gaming, ive never yet seen this trope play out. Probably because of the multiplayer aspect of DND. Most parties just tend to be lucky mercenaries or hapless jackasses that happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the world, if for no other reason then because they live in the world and it has all their stuff in it, pragmatism has its place after all.

Im putting together a campaign and was thinking of using this trope, selecting one of my players as the chosen one, destined to....do the thing.

What do you guys think of this idea? I dont intend to give the chosen one any new powers (though if I do, ill make sure to make it up to the rest of the party) but rather use them as a walking plot hook as the wheel of time weaves around them.

(No its not a wheel of time game, ive just been reading the books lmao)


Make it the Chosen Few - the PCs. Their specialness can be one thing they all share or unique to the individual, but they're all Important to what needs to be done.

So, I actually accidentally did this, and it worked out great. That said, it's tricky and it is easy to accidentally create a "main" character.
In my game, I had a player who asked me if, every time his character died, he could reincarnate. Not like the spell, but if his character died, he wanted to roll up another character exactly like normal, but in mind and memories be the original character. It had great plot hook potential so I ok'ed it since it gave no actual mechanical benefit. But I'm a fair DM so I explained what was happening to the others(with the reincarnaters consent) and told them that each of their characters could also have an equally special thing to start off.
This ended up making every character have more personality than they would have before.
The dwarf cleric life of a water goddess became divinely hydro kinetic and suddenly felt very special.
The tiefling divine soul warlock became glowing white and replaced helping rebuke with a radiant damage "divine reprimand".
And our luck build halfling got the ability to spend luck points on his friends, and other people besides just himself.
Suddenly, each character felt special and got a kick butt moment where everyone commented on how cool that person's character was. And boom, suddenly the party bonded like that.
The reincarnating character ended up having a beef with a goddess for something she did in his past, and the party ended up derailing the campaign to kill her in their friends name.
So, my advice to you is to make one character the "Chosen one" and give him something special, but then help the others to create a balanced something special they have as well, so they aren't the chosen ones, but they're unique and just as powerful and important.
If everyone's equally special for different reasons, they're generally content.

[Tanarii]

How about: ask for volunteers to play the Chosen One character.

The catch? They gain XP at half the normal rate.

The second catch? If the Chosen One permanently dies, the campaign skips to a cut scene where all their characters die honorably but horribly, and the world is overrun by tentacled outer-dimensional BBEGs.*

Cue new post-apocalyptic campaign, where characters start playing the heroic resistance, trying to fix the screw up.

(*They don't necessarily have to know this part in advance, but it might help prevent accusations of railroading when it inevitably happens.)

[Quietus]

Reminds me of a thought I had a few weeks ago:
why is that everyone in the wizarding world credits Harry Potter as The Boy Who Lived and not Lily Potter as The Woman Who Killed Voldemort?
She did the deed (at the cost of her own life, no less) he gets all the credit for some reason.

Probably because, dying to Voldemort is something everyone does. Surviving him, not so much. Outside of that, though, you're completely right.

For a take on the Chosen One storyline that works really well, IMO, look at Legend of Dragoon on the original Playstation. Each of the characters has something special about them, some are more important than others, but for the most part you can understand how most of them play an important part in the events of the game.

Shana is the Moon Child, the literal reincarnated soul of the God of Destruction - and is the party's white mage. The bad guys want her, and if they can get her to the right place, it's game over.
Dart is your main character, the guy with red armor and a sword, and is the son of one of the heroes from a war 10,000 years ago.
Haschel has the least direct connection to the plot, but he is the last master of a powerful martial art.
Lavitz - Prince Albert's most trusted guard and mentor, no direct connection to the main plot aside from loyalty and duty. Dies to make room for...
Prince Albert - Prince of a kingdom, and has one of the literal keys holding back the physical body of the God of Destruction magically implanted in his body. Each of the royal families posesses one.
Kongol - Last of a race called the Gigantos, used by the enemy and turns to your side.
Meru - secretly a Wingly, a race of magically powerful flying people who instigated the war 10,000 years ago.
Rose - One of the heroes from the war 10,000 years ago, made immortal by Wingly magic. She's been hunting the Moon Child ever since, killing the moon child and everyone around them and creating a legend about the "Black Monster", knowing that if she ever fails in this duty, the entire world will be destroyed.