Session 0: Game Creation

I only know the Harry Potter books. I have not watched (more than two of) the movies or played the video games. I have run a few RPGs in Hogwarts, and used the fandom wiki to help with that, but, as mentioned above, the setting has holes, so official source material is often best ignored in an RPG.

I don't know what 'Wizarding World' is outside of the books. But that is fine.

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I did find that, in Hogwarts, setting the game at any time that did not have Dumbledoor as the authority figure made it make very little sense. It was only Dumbledoor's crazy plan to save the word that made any of the events or situations work in the books. The school would be way too dangerous a place otherwise. :)

Why are our kids 'in peril'? Are there so few wizards out here that we can expect students to need to deal with 'problems'? Are we just 'being silly' and not getting the adults to fix the problems?

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With regard to the date: A large part of the appeal of Harry Potter is the juxtaposition of the out-of-date in setting wizarding world and the outside world ("what is the purpose of a rubber duck?", and yes, Arthur, plugs are amazing! :). I found that setting it at earlier periods lost a lot of that charm and whimsy, but that is not a deal-breaker. I am happy to play in any period, and if not 'current' (to the books or to now) --which is a slight preference-- I don't really mind when we set it. I will have to bone up on my American history anyway.

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Travelling to different places is cool, and can help us if we get into trouble with the locals. It does detract a bit for the aspect of forming a bond with the surrounding community, but that is not a large part of the theme.

The time-periods seem a bit early for 'travelling carnivals', but we could have a 'circus' type cover to explain any freakish events or behaviors? Maybe we are known as tinkers and healers?

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A portkey (or set of porkeys) in the wagon could send us to these areas. Maybe there are old caves inside these mountains that have been used for magic in the past? Maybe they are very far away?

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I worry a bit about cultural appropriation. If we are setting this in tribal lands how will we handled their existing magical heritage and practice? Are we all assumed to be European invaderscolonists settlers?

Are we newly arrived at the school at the start of play? Or have we all been here for a year or so?

Are we all in the same year (this can ease a lot of difficulties) or are some of us older (which can open up opportunities)?

I have the same concern. I love the idea of the existing magic in the area being from the indigenous people of America and Mexico, but don't know enough about it.

We can do the research and approach it with sensitivity, then we will know a bit more about it. :)

Playing characters that are different to ourselves is a good excuse to do that research. I will probably want to tackle something 'different' if the group is open to that. Maybe a 'native' --now that that has come up-- may neurodivergent or disabled?

How does the group feel about that?

Thanks for having me! I think that if we want to do the 1700s we would want to be further east than Oregon as there was ...nothing really there then. I mean the whole point is that the school is hidden...maybe an island on one of the great lakes?

I agree with WW without going Hogwarts itself.

Kids on Brooms doesn't really have "a world" other than the one which is created by the players.
How do wizards and muggles/mundanes/normies/commoners/regulars live together? What do they call each other?

I don't see using the Wizarding World as a way to replicate books movies or plots from the source material. For yes, it has holes (don't get me started about Goblet of Fire... :) ).

I do see the Wizarding World as a basic template we can use. Which already allows us to assume certain things an ease the world building.
- We know there are other schools of magic
- We know that wizards and witches call themselves wizards and witches and hide from people they call muggles
- We know at least a good selection of spells which exists and how they work
- We know of certain items such as wands, portkeys, brooms
- We know of certain monsters
- We know they fly on brooms
- We know there is a thing called quidditch (speaking of holes, how about bad game design?), which might or might not be a thing

Stealing these basics helps in worldbuilding, so we can focus on the actual school.
This is something that might come up during the world building and the rumors making.
If not, I think it's a GM's job to toss in the strings to get the players into the story.
I feel there are people who like to play younger or older. I leave that to the players.

It is possible to have a big school Hogwarts style with hundreds of students who are packed in classes according to age.

It is also possible, especially with the travelling school, that it is just a handful of teachers teaching a dozen or so students. That way ages mix up more easily.
Same here. I don't know too much about the time period or about cultural traditions. But there is always the possibility to research. And I personally don't mind if it is not 100% historically accurate.
Feel free to play whatever you'd like, I'd say :)

Multiple ideas for schools have come up.

Let's see how everyone feels about them.

Indeed. A small school could mean we skip having 'houses' and instead have that main divide be based on age-group.

I am happy to play a young one, or an older one or whatever in-between, as the group needs. We can see what turns up when the time comes.
Sure. Especially within the wizarding world we might not have the same prejudices. The rest of the world can continue to be as it was, but we can be more inclusive.

Does anyone want to tackle some of the more weighty issues in our story?
Does anyone not want them to appear at all?
This poll is not 'multi' so we can't select more than one.

I would vote for 'A horse drawn wagon' that contains transport (portals, portkeys, teachers to aparate us?) to 'An area of mesas. The school could be inside the landforms.'

We're set on Magic users hiding from non-magic users correct?

I think if we're going for pseudo-wizarding world that's part of the theme. Personally I'm fine either way

Is it, though? Or is it just an 'at that time, European' trend?

Given that we don't have 'in the open' magic in our world, and that it is much easier to play in a world that is mostly like our own, maybe magic should not be too open, but I don't know that we need to hide it as much as they did in Harry Potter.

By having a traveling school, going west through New England, we could be much more out in the open as we would be far from normal muggles. The few we would encounter could be memory wiped
One class could be mental magic
Another one could be something along the line of Magical Fauna (beats and plants)
New England trail
Benjamin Scotchdale. Ambitious, charismatic, but not politically savvy. Has been kicked out of Hogwarts because of reasons. Started this project of the travelling school as a part of a wagon train going west. All other families in the wagon train are also witches/wizards and properly the parents of us kids.
Broom raises, summoners court (precision summoning).
A sort of scaled down battleground where each student pilots a small magical avatar (the size of a cola can)

@runekyndig: Note that this game has been retired, and the GM has left GP [ref]. :(

WHAT?! I hope that it was'nt us that made @Svande leave

Unfortunately that is always a concern, plays to all our insecurities. I don't see anything in here that I would expect to be the cause, so I am choosing to believe it was not us? It would be nice to know, but we can't expect that.