Intrigue: Character Diaries

[Note: This was originally published as Unassigned, but it turns out unassigned mechanics are going to bug me until I add to them making a more complete skeleton, so this was changed to a game called Intrigue. The text however will remain unmodified and possibly slightly confusing. Hopefully reading other Intrigue posts will create context and clarity.]

Back when I played Amber, the Leads, between sessions, would write up character diaries that retold the events of the session from their character's viewpoint.

They were great for helping the players get a feel for their character's voice, but they were mostly just fluff afterwards with little, if any, impact on the overall fiction created at the table. This tends to feel like busy work to me, and not something I really want in my activities (or, for that matter, in my life).

What I'm seeing now is a character diary, not focused on the play, but rather focused on other aspects of the characters lives.

Like, after the session, look at one of the characters relationships that have changed as a result of the events from the session, then write up an entry from before with the two characters in question highlighting how the relationship used to be, and one after showing how it is now. Most likely between the two entries there would be some kind of mechanic whereby you codify the change.

This kind of thing would still help get a feel for the character's voice, but would also show how the world changes as a result of the events that take place on screen, and would still yield an artefact for others to look at.

Hopefully, a much shorter one.