My Harrowing, Horrifying, Narrow, and Ultimately Delightful and Thrilling Escape (An Addendum)

One interesting thing that sometimes happens after engaging with a work of fiction (or even a nonfiction work or a firsthand personal experience) is that, as you reminisce about the story, you will sometimes experience a revelation or a moment of clarity. You may suddenly be struck by something after the fact that didn’t occur to you in the heat of the moment or in the immediate aftermath. In the case of a fictional tale of survival, you might just experience a sense of relief and even euphoria as you celebrate yourself and/or another surviving the experience. But then your mind starts filling in the pieces as you relive and recount the events of the story. Things can get interesting.

As I reflected upon my recent experience with the Call of Cthulhu solo scenario, “Alone Against the Flames” (https://www.apirateontheprairie.com/post/my-harrowing-horrifying-narrow-and-ultimately-delightful-an), it dawned on me that the sympathetic non-player character (NPC) that facilitated private investigator Max Hudson’s escape from the horrifying situation in which he found himself, likely perished along with many or all of his captors and would-be executioners. I found that strangely unsettling. I actually felt a moment of concern and sadness for this fictional character in this fictional setting. However, that is hardly surprising or unprecedented. After all, good fiction often entices us into identifying with and feeling some connection with the fictional characters that we encounter. We root for the “good guys” and we cheer when the “bad guys” get what is coming to them.

Max will, as he recovers from his injuries, almost certainly relate his story to the authorities and implore them to investigate further and to rescue his benefactor if that person happened to survive the events of that evening. Were I to continue to play in further adventures with Max, I would probably feel compelled to get some sense of closure regarding the events of that horrifying night and to understand what was behind it all. And were Max’s NPC benefactor to have survived, he would almost certainly feel an obligation or debt to repay for saving his life. Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) really do provide one with an untapped world in which to create and explore. This has the potential to be a lot of fun and I am down for it.