Game Master Guidance: Creating a Mentor

The mentor, the older and wiser teacher that guides the protagonist along their path, is one of the most enduring figures in storytelling. It’s easier to list stories that don’t incorporate that element, one way or the other. A mentor can be indispensable for a science fiction and fantasy narrative, as they can be used to establish the rules and nature of the world in an organic way. Additionally, a student’s interactions with their teacher gives the story to show the former’s growth and development in a meaningful, tangible way. Like many archetypes, the mentor requires some work to fit in the context of an RPG but can nonetheless serve a vital role.

A mentor’s relationship with their student, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, should always be personal. As RPGs are an inherently social form of storytelling, it’s hard to find a place for such interactions. The mix of character types make it even harder. Someone who can expand a wizard’s magical prowess isn’t going to be much help to a bounty hunter or knight. Writing a mentor that can educate the entire group has its own problems. It can push the suspension of disbelief or force the involvement of players who have little interest in such an arrangement. Most importantly, having the mentor dispensing their services for the whole group undermines the close master-learner bond by spreading it thin.

Ideally, the mentor works best with smaller parties and with game masters that can handle splitting up the group. Basically, make sure you give the rest of the group something to do when the mentor is instructing one of their members. Of course, other player characters can sit in on the lesson, if they wish. In Star Wars, Luke’s blind duel against the training remote isn’t just memorable for Obi-Wan’s wisdom.
It also gives Han Solo a chance to express his doubt in the Force and his disdain for its worshipers. Chewbacca and C-3PO’s game of dejarik and it's memorable resolution also occurs in the same scene. Just because the rest of the group aren’t the ones being taught doesn’t mean they can’t be a part of it.

A mentor's instruction can be used as an in-game representation of the mechanical advances a character might take. Learning a powerful spell or a complex trick shot between sessions is a little absurd and too video game-esque at times. It’s more believable if the character has someone capable of these feats guiding them. However, a good mentor shouldn’t just be a repository for wisdom. They’re a part of the world, just like everyone else in the campaign. They should interact with other characters and even adversaries. Essentially, they should be treated like a normal, if somewhat more important character, as opposed to being something akin to a GMPC. Additionally, something should stop the mentor from overshadowing the student. Some obstacle, whether it be physical or mental, internal or external, holds them back. It can even be societal, such as how throughout the Harry Potter series, the increasingly corrupt Ministry of Magic progressively limits Dumbledore’s capacity to help those at Hogwarts.

So many mentor figures are elderly not just because it makes them seem “older and wiser.” It means they may be past their physical peak. They might not even be long for this world. Their years of experience don't mean much if they are losing the means to make use of it. Now the student’s role takes on more importance, as they are in a position to fully harness the mentor’s vast knowledge. However, your mentor doesn’t necessarily need to be old, it’s just an easier way to write that archetype. Regardless of their age and other physical qualities, something is preventing the mentor from properly using their wisdom. This is especially important to do in an RPG, as it gives the players agency and stops your own character from hogging it.

The way a mentor acts outside of the proverbial classroom is going to impact their lessons. If they can barely function outside of favorable contexts, it can be source of comedy or even contemplation. If the mentor can’t even live up to their own teachings, it can cause the student to question whatever they learned from them. A great recent example is Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. That Spider-Man’s long, accomplished tenured is undermined by his own personal failings. He has plenty of lessons to impart to his younger counterparts. But it they haven’t seem to have done him much good. In the context of an RPG, it also gives the rest of the players a chance to interact with the mentor.

A mentor should also have some kind of glaring flaw. Even loving, guardian figures should have a major problem or two, specifically in the context of that student-teacher relationship. Some mentors want nothing to do with their future students, perhaps due to a past failure. If they are eager to take on an apprentice or are the one to approach them, there’s a catch. There’s something crucial the mentor isn’t forthcoming about. Even if they genuinely care for the student, they have no qualms about using them in their own unknown agendas. Mentors are often characterized as secretive and even if they have a good reason, a student might see this as a break in their bond. A GM can have the mentor abandon their student if the two’s ideals and ethics become incompatible. This might even lead to the mentor becoming an adversary in extreme cases. Alternatively, the mentor just might be abrasive.

Of course, it’s perfectly fine for a mentor to remain on good terms with their student. However, there needs to come a time when the former can no longer help the latter. This can range from the player character surpassing their teacher to something as extreme as the death of the mentor. The latter should ideally carry a lot of emotional weight, no matter the disposition or quality of the mentor. The player character has had more than just a source of knowledge taken from their lives but someone who had considerable influence on them. However, don’t feel like you have to kill the mentor if it’s not necessary to the actual narrative of your campaign. In The Hobbit, Gandalf is forced to leave Bilbo and the dwarfs to complete the quest on their own, as he must battle the resurrected Sauron. This accomplishes the same function without having to kill him.

Whatever form it takes, this needs to happen in some way. The mentor can no longer help the player character, at least not in a meaningful or active way. It is up to the player characer to prove that they have learned something from their ordeal. Of course, the mentor can still play a role in the story. Obi-Wan assists Luke from beyond the grave, though in a far more limited capacity. The mentor can return to offer help or comfort but preferably after their student has shown some meaningful growth. The player character needs a chance to step out of their guardian’s shadow, like in any other story. If the mentor didn’t teach their student enough for them to make it on their own, what’s the point of even having a mentor?