“Immortality isn’t living forever. Immortality is having a tavern song about you that is still being sung when your grandkids are paying the tab.”
     —Anonymous

Role-playing games allow us to explore archetypes we might be too timid to touch in reality. But the best rewards aren’t always on the character sheet. The concept of “glory” goes beyond a mechanical advantage. Glory is found in that moment when a child NPC walks up to you and thanks you for saving his lost puppy from the plague-ridden rats.

You will know as a Game Master when you have optimally rewarded your players. Their eyes will light up with excitement and their tone will quicken as they share stories regaling each other, because in their minds they are back in that moment and reliving the reward. This is the greatest reward for a Game Master that drives the hobby, despite the pouring in of extra hours each session.

Below are two examples of ways glory can manifest in a game.

Glory isn’t Always Good: The Consequences of Infamy

Infamous (read: evil) campaigns can be some of the most challenging to run as a GM as players often have very different levels of comfort exploring these darker themes. They can also be some of the most rewarding for players. Pop culture is filled with anti-heroes and villains that the audience can’t help but cheer. Once players decide to pursue this form of character arc, it should forever leave a mark on the type of interactions the players have with their world.

Repossession of cybernetics is a hell of a lucrative business for the Repo Revenants. This week alone the team has collected a thousand credits worth of merchandise and in just another week will be able to afford upgrades to the latest OS. The problem is, the bank heist isn’t going to wait a week. The Revenants need a quick buck.

After scouring a few boards online, a shady offer for twice the credits needed is posted. There is a call for the latest optical enhancement, but the only person who has one in this part of Deckard Street is the local physician. It’s an easy grab for their needed stacks, and the Revenants pull it off without a hitch… leaving the doctor near blind.

Weeks later, after the players complete the heist, they find themselves injured and barely able to escape. They sprint to the closest physician only to find them missing. After the Revenants’ successful heist against the doctor of Deckard, other doctors began getting ambushed for their enhancements as well. Those who weren’t killed or incapacitated have run. All except the doctor on Deckard, who continues to try and hold to his vow to serve those in need. The doctor has such poor eyesight that any care is questionable at best.

With the decreased ability to find aid, in the coming weeks crime begins to dissipate as the fear of permanent injury lingers in everyone’s mind. Electronic crimes and theft escalate, but the physical altercations are all but gone. Word travels of the Revenants’ crime against the doctor, and healers across the city refuse service to the Revenants for fear of exposing themselves.

The players can make dark choices that injure the innocent but may have auxiliary or even net positive effects from their actions. In this case, their criminality has inadvertently rid their society of violent crime while also increasing illness and injury. Another flavor of GM adaptation could include a few injured people that are begging on the street corner, cursing the Revenants’ name for their misfortune.

Glory Beyond Death: Building a Legacy that Outlives the Character

It is often the little things that stick with players the most. When a character’s acts of heroism are brought back to the forefront in a subtle way, that often cuts the deepest. For some this indicates that their character made a realistic impact within the world and turned the story for the better. For others, it is as simple as receiving acknowledgement from the Game Master that the player’s choices matter to the person running the game.

Snow slowly drifted down from the sky but in sheets so heavy the surrounding forest was stricken from the child’s view as they peered out the window. Four travelers burst through the door of the inn for the evening as the biting cold dropped to dangerous levels. They were all stuck here for the night until the storm passed. Little did they know the horrors that would torment them as the night went on.

Over the course of the evening the players found there was a feral beast feasting on the guests. One of the players sought to protect the child, and gave him a small toy horse with which to occupy his mind while the players hunted the monster. Over the course of the night the players were all slain by the beast, though they were able to dispatch the monster with a desperate, final blow.

The players felt disappointed that their characters had all fallen. The evening was spent strategizing on what they could have done differently to win. Eventually, the conversation shifted to excitement again as they prepared for their next campaign.

Weeks later in the next game, the players came across a middle-aged man carrying a rifle on him as well as a small toy horse in his bag. The players had forgotten what happened in their previous game and asked why he was carrying the horse. The man then recalled a brief story about how as a child he was trapped in an inn and complete strangers came to his rescue and saved his life. They were heroes, and he made it his mission to find more monsters and save others like they had done for him.

In this case, defeat was not the end for our players’ stories. A character’s death provides opportunities to drive other characters (either player characters or NPCs) in a new and inspiring direction.

The players did not have to die in order for this scenario to play out. Providing the players with a level of continuity from one story to the other drives home the question for the players as to which type of legacy they want to leave. Sometimes, this leads to heroic sacrifices. Other times, it can press them to commit horrid atrocities in the name of becoming someone else’s villain. Either way, it keeps the players coming back for more as they continue to build a world together with the GM.

Positive Glory

The above examples are, frankly, a couple of downers. Here’s a short list of a few uplifting ways to provide players with glory.

Negative Glory

In case you didn’t get enough negative examples earlier, here are some additional straightforward examples you can use.