I was just thinking... perhaps some of the players in a  Grimm game might be natives to the Grimm Lands, sort of like guides like in Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Please let me know what you think...

You can make up a new Origin Talent for that ("Native of the Grimmlands"). This might work for you, but I personally find the idea troublesome. The whole point of the game is that kids from the real world use their powers of imagination that only exist in the real world to try and find a way to the real world. It all becomes kind of pointless if players are natives.

All that means is you have to adjust the focus of the game some.  Instead of playing children attempting to escape the horrors of the Grimm lands, you portray natives trying to overcome those horrors and create a better life for themselves ... or on some personal mission of discovery.

I once ran a game wherein the players portrayed members of Cpt. Hook's crew; their mission being the final eradication of that nuisance Peter Pan.  Because this is a darker take on the stories, I actually allowed them the chance for success.  They managed to kill most of the lost boys, then fed their hands to the crocodile so he'd gain a taste for boy.  They instigated a war between the indians and the canibals, so the two would be busy and unable to help Pan when the time came, then prepared against a faerie onslaught by practicing changing "I don't believe in fairies" in unison. 

Unfortunately it was only meant as a one shot game and we didn't get to the final battle ... too bad, as they were coming up with some interesting techniques to counter Pan's flying ability.

Any ideas for archetypes for this we could come up with? Y'know, analogues for the Bully, the Jock, the Nerd, the Dreamer, the Normal Kid, the Popular Kid, etc.?

Also, we could come up with examples of these archetypes?

Kids who were born and raised in the Grimmlands do not live in the same society western 21th century Real World kids live in even remotely.

They don't have concepts like Bully or Nerd.

Well, what concepts WOULD they have (and I'm not necessarily just talking about kids, by the way)?

Markovia said:

I could also be talking about new recruits for the Ferret's Nest, rogue cards from the Queen of Hearts' army, talking and upright animals from the Land of the Willows (from Wind in the Willows), etc.

Markovia said:

Heck, I could even be talking about descendants of famous literary characters, (ie: Arthur Gale, Elphaba Wicked, Nate Chopper, etc.)!

Markovia said:

And, yes, those descendants can be kids...

Markovia said:

They won't have any. The people of the Grimmlands are not truly people. They are semi people, flat imitations defined entirely by their role in the story. It could be argued if they even have a true personality.

The Alchemist said:

Ah, but it is a Faerie Tale land, which means there will arise heroes from the chaff.  That just means that anyone not an integral character to the story will be entirely one dimensional ... shopkeepers keep shop, they do not have complex relationships or secret dreams; sheep herders herd sheep, and if they do "look at the sky and dream" it is only those dreams they are scripted to have, always the same, and never achievable or even pursued.

As such, the complexity of heroes and villains should stand out and make them - not only remarkable - but unfathomable to the populace at large. (which is why mistersingers will write ballads about them and they will attract attention wherever they go)

Thinking about it, that would be a very interesting diversion from DH, wherein every character has a complex personality and motivations ... I shall need to think about doing this sometime in the none-too-distant future.

Jack of Tears said:

Amen.

Here's a potential character I thought of (partially):

May Hare: Supposedly the younger (by two months) sister of the March Hare.

I can't think of much else at the moment.

Can anyone think of potential characters that are more than one-dimensional?

I think I just killed this topic...

Again...