The Godfather Death, and the Fairy Godmother - Fairy Tales, and Role Playing Games with Godparents

In the world of fairy tales it is not uncommon for the protagonist to have an interesting godfather or godmother. The best known of these is the fairy godmother variant, a creature of great power the godmother would provide her godchild with great gifts as they needed it in life. Lesser known but for the purposes of RPG's perhaps more important are the godparents from "The God Father" and " The Godfather Death," for in these two stories the godparents are the devil and death himself (respectively). In both these stories the father resolves to ask the first person he meets on the street to be the child's godfather. "The Godfather Death" is in many ways the more interesting of these two stories, first because it develops the relationship between Death and his godson more then most any other fairy tale, and second because although the father has resolved to ask the first one he sees to be godfather he passes over god and the devil for he believes that both of these discriminate against the poor. Upon meeting death however he is happy for death treats all people equally, taking them as it is their turn to die.

Within role playing games we can take from this the idea that a person could indeed on rare occasions choose a godparent for their child, no matter what the parents normal disadvantages. It would be interesting to play a character with a godparent who provided them with some great gift, but who in return made demands that would be difficult to keep. In the case of the Godfather Death, the person knew how to stop Death from taking someone, but was told never to do this if Death stood at the persons head. However realizing that Death loved him the godson chose to ignore this, for he loved those who where dying. In role playing games this may not be as much of a challenge for the players for although their characters might be attached to someone the player may not be. Unless the player is able to more honestly play their character. And then what is it death might demand in return for the sparing of someone's life.

To take this idea a step further the godfather in an RPG could be an evil god, who waits until long after the character is good to provide him with his gift. Imagine the conflict of being caught between a godfather one has grown to love and the ideology and beliefs that the character holds dear. Again such conflicts require a good role player; however there is real value in such stories, for it is such conflicts that make fantasy so interesting. For within fantasy the conflict is itself invented and so is able to question much more deeply the reality in which we live just as fairy tales are.

Tired of Trusting Your Relationship Chemistry to the Fairy Godmother?

I remember trying to get relationship chemistry going, when I was a kid.

My best resource was Playboy magazine, which I used to sneak peeks at the drug store, since I am pre-internet and pre-explicit movies, etc... And I did not have the market savvy to know that Hugh Hefner was trying to sell me lots of stuff, rather than help me understand relationship chemistry.

Luckily for folks these days, Helen Fisher, Ph.D, has done some very interesting work on relationship chemistry. She has used a tool that Hugh Hefner and 99% of dating coaches, gurus, mavens, and counselors could only dream about back in the day, called fMRI or functional magnetic resonance images, to look at in-love brains.

Fisher is putting a scientific face on relationship chemistry and the process we humans go through as we work to establish relationship chemistry. One might think that science would take the mystery and poetry out of love, but I do not think that is the case.

I think that folks can be a little more practical if they understand what the feelings in the their bodies are trying to get them to do, and direct the process effectively.

Fisher's fMRI examinations have identifies three brain systems that are active in the relationship chemistry process, and it appears that each of the three has a hormone or neurotransmitter associated with it, and the presence of that neurotransmitter, for example, can be encouraged by engaging in certain activities.

(There is where the strategy of a relationship coach could come in handy).

Fisher's research also says that there are four basic personality types, and that we should make some effort to find a compatible type to have relationship chemistry with.

Contrast that to the Hefner model, which says folks should have relationship chemistry randomly, or the Prince Charming/Cinderella model which says relationship chemistry will happen after the intervention of the Fairy Godmother.

Personally, I will take advantage of the chemistry at Helen Fisher's site, Chemistry.com. I prefer not to waste time.

The Four Types and Their Relationship Chemistry

Professor Fisher says that based on her studies of genetics and neuroscience she believes that people fall into four broad personality types—each influenced by a different brain chemical. She calls her types the the Explorer, Builder, Director, and Negotiator.

Professor Fisher designed a survey for the Oprah show to see which types had married each other and stayed together, and how the mix was playing out in their relationships. She got 500 results and was astounded at the data.

Now, with additional information, she offers scientific guidance about dating depending on which personality you are—especially if you're looking for a relationship chemistry that lasts.

So which love type are you?

Type: The ExplorerTraits: Highly curious, creative, energetic, spontaneous.
Type: The BuilderTraits: Calm, social, popular, and good at managing people, networking, and building family and community.
Type: The DirectorTraits: Analytical and logical, straightforward, decisive, tough minded, and focused.
Type: The NegotiatorTraits: Imaginative, intuitive, empathetic, and emotionally expressive, and have good verbal and social skills.

Fisher says that not only are their personality types, but there are brain systems designed to get us moving down the relationship chemistry path.

The systems are lust, love, and trust systems, each ruled by a different hormone or neurotransmitter.

Those brain systems are what get us moving in the relationship arena, and if we find a compatible personality type, we can move rapidly ahead in affairs of the heart, with less risk of broken hearts and unrequited love.

And my apologies to the Fairy Godmother and the Mr. Hefner. You should have thought of this.