What RPGs are out there for 1. telling fables/magical realist vignettes together? OR, 2. systems with player characters that rarely meet?
Hi folks, perhaps a tall order here...
I've had an idea bouncing around my head for a minute about a one-shot or mini-campaign I might want to run, and want to know what kinds of systems or settings might touch on the themes I'd like so I know where to start hacking.
I'm interested in inventing a fable or parable at the table, with the eerieness/mystery/spirituality that hopefully might entail, or something with a magical realist flair (a la Kentucky Route Zero or Marquez, not in the sense of urban fantasy). Touchstones for me here would be Mushishi, Earthsea, KRZ as mentioned, and the contrived similes of the aliens from Embassytown. Ideally the characters of the players would be wandering or traveling between surreal encounter and self-contained fable-like episode, like the episodes of Mushishi or the scenes in Kentucky Route Zero.
The other half of the question is: what systems best support "parties" that might not physically be present together if at all? I'm wondering about parallel narratives that might be linked karmically/narratively/cosmically, stories that rhyme in parallel but might be separated by miles and years. Perhaps systems in which there's only an in-universe correspondence between characters, or that follow characters specifically only when they encounter each other on their journeys?
I know this is quite specific! Please let me know what's out there in either space, suggestions really don't have to be perfect at all. Thank you!