The following is a list of questions to help generate a creature and its people through the imaginations of your child and you. Please go through each question and record the number associated with your selection on the white board or paper provided to you.

If you have questions, feel free to ask the tavern keep.

Questions for your Child

What is your favorite mythological creature?

This is a template for the general body shape of this creature. You simply need to write on the line an animal or creature that embodies the archetype of this creature, putting it into one of four categories:

1. Humanoid
2. Half-human
3. Animal
4. Ghost

What is your favorite thing to eat?

This is to help determine the ecological effect this creature has on the world around it. It also provides you with ideas of simple incentives one could use for future “quests” (more explanation on this later).

But for this game, please put your child’s response into one of these four categories:

1. A sweet item
2. A savory item
3. A herby or bitter item
4. A meaty item

What is your favorite color?

Your child’s favorite color will be incorporated in the design of their clothing, insignias, and symbols. However, I would like for you to put it into one of these four categories. Write down the actual color in addition to your selected category.

1. A bold color
2. A beautiful color
3. A strong color
4. A pleasing color

Every color has a negative side. What is the negative association with this color?

1. It is a cruel color
2. It is a vain color
3. It is a common color
4. It is a silly color

What is your least favorite color?

This will be a color that will be used upon the banners of both the lesser foes and greater foes of your home adventure. This will be the color of their banners, symbols, and tapestries. Write the actual color in addition to the number associated with your selection. How would you describe the negative attributes of this color:

1. It’s a color associated with fear or weakness
2. It’s a color associated with foolishness and depravity
3. It’s a color associated with hatred and contempt
4. It’s a color associated with immorality

How would you describe the positive attributes of this color:

1. Kindness and compassion
2. Love and nurture
3. Brightness, power or brilliance
4. Resilience, resolve, and excitement

In the following section, do your best to match a child’s responses to one of the available options. You don’t need to worry if it doesn’t match perfectly. Try your best to line up your child’s meaning with one of these options.

Why do you like the color red?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s the color of power
2. It’s the color of excitement
3. It’s the color of majesty
4. It’s the color of love

Why do you like the color blue?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s the color of majesty
2. It’s the color of beauty
3. It’s the color of freedom
4. It’s the color of water and life

Why do you like the color purple?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s a beautiful color
2. It’s a royal color
3. It’s a crazy color, as in disorderly positive
4. It’s a cute color

Why do you like the color green?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s the color of life
2. It’s the color of resilience
3. It’s the color of growth
4. It’s the color of care and compassion

Why do you like white?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s the color of majesty or holiness
2. It’s the color of purity or innocence
3. It’s the color of glory or ability
4. It’s the color of beauty and tenderness

Why do you like black?

Sort this into the best answer:

1. It’s the color of strength and absolution
2. It’s the color of mystery
3. It’s the color of secrecy and honesty
4. It’s the color of beauty

Section 2

What is it that you like about the mythological creature you selected?

Select the best summary of your child’s response. 

1. The creature is powerful and strong.
2. The creature is noble and protective
3. The creature is wise and knowledgeable
4. The creature is beautiful and majestic

The following are to be drawn first by the child, then the parent is to draw them to help the illustrators have some context for what would look good. You don’t need to have great skill. Additionally, if your child’s drawing appears to be an adult depiction, if you can draw in addition to the replication of your child’s drawing, a juvenile depiction and a child depiction that would be very helpful. 

Drawing 1: If this Animal had Horns, Can You Draw Them for Me?

For your information, horns within this game are a representation of power and majesty. They are not nefarious symbols. The horns will be emulated and added to the game. 

Drawing 2: If this Animal had Ears, What Would They Look Like? Can You Draw It for Me?

Drawing 3: If this Animal had Eyes, What Would They Look Like? Can You Draw Them for Me?

Drawing 4: If This Animal had a Nose, What Would It Look Like? Can You Draw It for Me?

What Does this Animal like to do with its Family?

1. It enjoys playing games or competing in sport events
2. It enjoys making things and developing its skills such as coloring, painting, yard work, etc.
3. It enjoys eating, exploring, or traveling together
4. It enjoys talking, singing, or listening to stories together; spending time together

What does this Animal like to do with its Friends?

1. It enjoys playing games or competing in sport events
2. It enjoys making things and developing its skills such as coloring, painting, yard work, etc.
3. It enjoys eating, exploring, or traveling together
4. It enjoys talking, singing, or listening to stories together; spending time together

What does this Animal like to do when it's Scared?

1. It prefers to be alone to avoid embarrassment
2. It enjoys recovering with a familiar object or place to reground itself
3. It enjoys physical contact with others such as hugs, comforting words, etc.
4. Instead of seeking out comfort for themselves, they seek to provide comfort for others.

What is Another Creature that this Animal is Scared of? 

Select a mythological form that embodies what was described by the child.

1. Humanoid
2. Half-human
3. Animal
4. Ghost

Why is it scared of that creature?

You are encouraged to write down the primary fear and a secondary fear, if there is a secondary fear.

1. Fear of bodily harm
2. Fear of ridicule or harsh criticism
3. Fear of laughter or humiliation
4. Fear of losing friends; a fear of conflicting ideology

What does your creature do to make the scary creature go away? Or does it leave instead?

If make it go away is the answer:

1. To brutalize the physical body of the enemy
2. To shame them in a debate or ideological fight
3. To outsmart or outwit the opponent
4. Neither. It is to make the enemy a friend, or even combine ideologies. (Very rare)

If they flee:

1. I run as fast as I can
2. I run and hide
3. I play dead or seek to allude their senses
4. I run to where I am fortified 

What would this Creature do with the Scary Creature if They were Friends?

1. They would trade goods or services together, defending each other’s domains and lands if needed; entering into a physical alliance
2. They would learn from each other, gaining the best of both worlds, putting histories and technologies to good use
3. They would fabricate a coexistence within each other’s communities, relying on each other’s cultural strengths and adaptabilities to bolster each other. 
4. They would seek to become one people in complete compatibility, seeking to remove their weaker points while adopting stronger ones. This represents a full and complete physical change of the creatures.

What is your Favorite Treat? Because it will be very similar to what your creature will like. 

1. A consumable good
2. A book
3. A movie
4. Time with friends 

(It is ok to literally ask your child these questions as clarification)

What Kind of Music do you like to Listen to, because your creature will like listening to that Music as well?

1. Music with high energy
2. Music of advanced skill to perform
3. Music that soothes the senses
4. Music that brings people together

What is your favorite memory with your Dad? Because that will be your creature’s favorite thing to do with its Dad.

1. A time when he saw me succeed at an activity or conquer an opponent or obstacle
2. A time when he helped me learn something new that was important to him
3. Going to a fun, enjoyable activity where we experienced a good time
4. An event that is either classified as a religious experience or being included in a decision-making process

What is the number 1 thing if you had your eyes closed that you would recognize your father’s face from other people’s faces?

1. His nose
2. His hair
3. His facial hair
4. His breath
5. Any other thing listed is acceptable

Tavern Keep's Questions for the Parent

What is an important lesson every single member of this magical race needs to learn before they turn 8?

1. How to learn responsibility and to take initiative
2. How to follow procedure and make good habits
3. How to discern good activities from bad activities; things that lead to growth and things that lead to harm.
4. How to be more kind, caring, and compassionate

How do parents of this race reward their children for getting closer to that thing?

1. They provide greater opportunities and responsibilities based upon effort
2. They provide more opportunities to gain further knowledge and understanding in order to increase skills
3. They will reward with new opportunities and experiences to develop growth and exposure
4. They will reward them with a greater praise and honor among members of that society

If creatures of this race don’t do that thing, what is something that the fathers do to help their children grow?

1. Revoke exterior responsibilities that matter less than the desired responsibilities that the adult wishes to invoke in the child
2. A taking away of opportunities to learn or grow until that particular request is accomplished
3. A revoking of positive stimuli and isolation until a task is complete
4. Familial approvement and shame

Lastly, what is a common enemy that both children and parents of this race must face or fight?

Each scenario that is presented is actually selecting an in-universe trial that will beset the world. By bringing this trial into the world, as your children succeed in their tasks on their individual quests, this will help aid and further the world’s abating of this external unifying force. Actions taken in opposite measure will aid this external force. This force is a representation of slow accumulation of many tasks left undone. It will bring small problems when left unattended, but will bring about far larger problems the more quests go unanswered for the child. The point of all of these activities are to help forge a civilization and society within the world itself that you and your child will be placed over.

Your child will act as a creature known as a Sprite. Sprites possess power and abilities to heavily influence the success of that race or their demise. They are incentivized every time you give them a quest to accomplish in the house, meaning you will say something to the effect of ‘I have a quest for you to accomplish. I need you to see how fast you can change your clothes or I need you to help your brother with the dishes.’

Every time a quest is accomplished, you are entrusted with keeping a tally of mission successes, quest partial successes, quest partial losses, and quest incompletes. In general, if your child does an outstanding job, I need you to simply record the number 4. If they do an alright job appropriate for their age and experience, this can be a 3. If they did a poor job yet aspects of it were still accomplished, this can be a 2. If it was not accomplished at all, this is a 1.

The point of these activities are for you and the child to succeed. There will also be points that child can earn within the game as their mythological race fights against the forces of darkness.

There will also be another score that you should account for at the end of every week. It is called the Harmony Score. Harmony score is also rated from 1-4. A 4 means that your child’s behavior was rather exceptional. They chose to use their words instead of fighting. Their behavior was particularly orderly and harmonious within the home. In order to get this particular score, both parents must agree that the behavior was harmonious.

More gameplay will be developed in this particular game but it has a lot to do with the creation of order within the home. However, if this game is to be played in its entirety, it requires the maternal member in the home to fill out the answers, not the patriarch.

Finally, here are the 4 conflicts:

1. Goblin Wars. The forces of your child’s anthesis race or the second mythological creature formed has declared war upon your child’s race.
2. To Catch a Boggart. Your child must help their respective race learn good and bad behavior. This involves far more instances of simple reasoning and conflict resolution.
3. Howl of the Banshee. Your people need help adapting to shifting changes in the environment. These activities provide entertaining opportunities to problem solve to help these creatures grow.
4. The Call of the Wendigo. Your child must figure out a way to help hunters find food for their people in a particularly difficult time of year without succumbing to the elements.

These adventures will be a mixture of video games and real-world exploration that will be coming in a month or two. But in the meantime, by earning rewards your child can gain experience that it can then spend on powers and abilities it can use within the realm of the race it's created. For now, all results of each need to be reported to the Grey Tavern directly. Every week for most accurate organic growth of concepts or every other week if real-time doesn’t matter as much to you or the child.

What are we going to be doing now? We are going to be taking all of these answers and submitting them into our system to help populate this organically growing world. We will keep you posted on updates and when it will be ready for your child to be able to engage inside the game itself.

To help us reach these goals, don’t forget to donate to the Grey Tavern, a non-profit trying to bring families and community together through spirituality, psychology, and healthy family practices.