UNIVERSAL HERO

INTRODUCTION
Conversational game based on the ideas of Joseph Campbell.
In his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” Campbell describes a 
pathway of steps common to the adventures of all heroes in all cultures:

Stage I: Departure
1. The Hero in the everyday world is called to adventure.
2. The Hero may at first refuse, but he eventually goes.
3. The Hero meets a protector & guide who offers supernatural aid.
4. The Hero encounters the first threshold to a new (magical) world.
5. The Hero may fight a guardian opposing him at the threshold.
6. The Hero plunges fully into the new world.

Stage II: Initiation
7. The Hero follows a road of trials.
8. The Hero may receive aid from companions & unseen forces.
9. The Hero is abducted, or must take a journey by night or sea.
10. The Hero fights a symbolic dragon
11. The Hero may suffer ritual death or dismemberment.
12. The Hero is recognized or reunited with his father (family, fiends). 
13. The Hero becomes nearly divine, conquering ignorance & fear.
14. The Hero receives ‘the ultimate boon’ (damsel, elixir of life, etc.).

Stage III: Return
15. The Hero takes a ‘magical flight’ back to his original world.
16. The Hero must readjust to his original life.
17. The Hero becomes master of two worlds (material & inner self).
18. The Hero has conquered the fears that keep him from living fully. 

SETUP
Players pick a book or story or movie that all players are familiar with.
Randomly determine player turn order.

TURN SEQUENCE
Play is divided into rounds.
Within a round, each player gets a turn.
(Each round starts with a different player – rotate clockwise)
Each game has 18 rounds, corresponding to the 18 steps listed in the introduction.
On your turn you must explain how the story relates 
(or does not relate) to the particular Step you are on. 
Other players judge and reward you for your response (at the end of the round):
* Complete (best) answer – Earn 2 tokens
* Partial answer – Earn 1 token
* Pass or bad answer or nothing else to add – Earn 0 tokens
Note: Only the first player to go in the round can get a 2 token ‘complete answer’ unless
the first player(s) pass or earn zero points.
The player with the most tokens at the end of the game wins.

SUGGESTED TALES
King Arthur, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Greek Myths, etc.