Basic Information
A family is a social unit bound together by bonds of blood relation, marriage, or adoption.
For much of human history family has taken precedence over the individual and people have related to one another as parts of families rather than in isolation - the asocial wanderer with no family ties1 was a dangerous unknown and not to be trusted in societies that assessed someone with questions like "who was his father?" and "who was his father?".
The family is also traditionally a bulwark against the intrusion of the state, which is why totalitarian organisations seek to undermine it, either by undermining the loyalty of children to their parents as part of the schooling process2 or by ensuring that those in positions of power have no family life3.
See Also
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Families can be a huge source of intrigue and drama, and attacking one member of a family (physically, socially, or otherwise) is often seen as an attack on the rest - unless it's done by another family member, in which case it can trigger a huge intra-family feud. As a result, whenever you want to complicate the life of the PCs, make them deal with a huge family.
- This goes doubly if the family they have to deal with is their own. Orphaned PCs are to be discouraged.
- Family can also be a large part of a character's backstory.
- "I am an adventurer, as was my father, and his father before him…"
- "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."