Anvil wives & camp followers

Burning Empires Burning Empires Character Burner
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EDIT: The stats in this thread are working drafts. Please see the final versions on the Burning Empires Wiki.

I’m really just about finished adding lifepaths – to the Anvil setting, at least – but I couldn’t resist these. I’m particularly proud of the implicit social hierarchy I’ve learned from various comments on these boards to work into wises and prerequisites:

Camp Follower
(Anvil setting)
Time: 3 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 4 pts: Drunk soldier-wise (Per), Conspicuous (Wil), Seduction (Wil), Cantonment-wise (Per)
Traits: 2 pts: Party Animal, Charming, Broken, Hurt
Requirements: If this is the character’s second life path, she (or he) MUST take the “Hurt” trait.

Soldier’s Woman
(Anvil setting)
Time: 3 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 0
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 4 pts: Inadequate salary-wise (Per), Inconspicuous (Wil), Begging (Wil), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr)
Traits: 2 pts: Frazzled, Burned, Drunk, Well Travelled
Requirements: Born on the Anvil, Born to Freeman, or Camp Follower

Sergeant’s Wife
(Anvil setting)
Time: 4 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 4 pts: Soldiers’ wives-wise (Per), Child rearing (Wil), Anvil-wise (Per), Persuasion (Wil)
Traits: 2 pts: Practical, Friendly Face, No Nonsense, Shrewd
Requirements: Born on the Anvil, Born to Freeman, Born to the League, or Soldier’s Wife

Officer’s Wife
(Anvil setting)
Time: 7 yrs
Resources: 1
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 4 pts: Etiquette (Wil/Per), Conspicuous (Wil), Soothing Platitudes (Wil), Sergeants’ wives-wise (Per)
Traits: 2 pts: White Gloves, Charismatic, Imperious Demeanor, Under Pressure
Requirements: Born on the Anvil, Born to Rule, or Sergeant’s Wife
NOTE: Officer’s Wife allows “Lady” from the Nobility setting.

War Widow
(Anvil setting)
Time: 5 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 0
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 4 pts: Inadequate pension-wise (Per), Bureaucracy (Wil/Per), Begging (Wil), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr)
Traits: 2 pts: Lonely, Hurt, Undeterred, The Story
Requirements: Soldier’s Woman, Sergeant’s Wife, or Officer’s Wife

Note that there probably would NOT be Hammer equivalents: Chris Moeller and Luke Crane have both stated that Hammer crews are relatively small, which means that their dependents don’t constitute a social class unto themselves. It’d probably be best to represent “hereditary Hammer” personnel by using “Son of a Gun” and other lifepaths the Spacefarer setting.

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I dunno man, while your wises are great, I feel like these are strongly represented in the other lifepaths and settings in the book – Camp Followers are Outcasts and the “wives” are all of the other lifepaths out there! Every one in the Iron Empires should have the opportunity to be a war widow. While I understand that it’s better to make it explicit than implicit, but you may have noticed that I “degendered” most of the BE lifepaths. Aside from a handful – Matchstick Girl, Mandarin, Lady and a few others – gender’s not important. I felt that the new relationship rules took care of the wives and husbands aspect of the culture.

Just my .02 Mundus Humanitas-backed credits,
-L

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Yes, this is a lot, and there are probably ways to consolidate these without losing too much flavor. I do think at least one “Anvil Wife” lifepath would be a nice thing to have. Suggestions welcome from everyone.

4

I will admit that I know allot of Army and Navy Wives that don’t have other jobs other than to wait for “their Man” to get home. and while he is gone, they spend his money. Allot. They like to sit by the pool in bikinis on hot days; some of them also seem to have allot of late night visitors.

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But for every one like that, there’s another dozen struggling to raise three kids as de facto single parents while worrying about their spouse being in a war zone. Traditionally, there’s a whole hierarchical subculture where officers’ wives organize bake sales and charity drives, sergeants’ wives do most of the actual work, and regular soldiers’ wives get most of the help – but with more women working and far more US troops married than in the draft era, that system is breaking down. I imagine the Iron Empires would look much more traditional, hence traits like “White Gloves.”

Check out the National Military Family Association or this collection of interviews with military wives, entitled ‘Invisible Women’.

6

Read any of the “Sharpe” novels by Bernard Cornwell for some great camp-follower scenes. Glad I live now-a-days.

>Just my .02 Mundus Humanitas-backed credits

I assume you come from the Void, luke, with your “credits”. Canon stipulates that you convert your .02 into Standards (or an equivilent value in silver plate) before you can submit them in any of the Empires.

-Canon Police

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Luke’s right; camp follower is adequately represented by Prostitute, Servant, Beggar, Matchstick Girl, and Confidence Man, especially if you spend a general skill point on “Anvil-wise” or “Drunk Soldier-wise.” And the Anvil Wives can all be consolidated into a single lifepath to layer on to existing ones to represent specific experiences, just as “Parent” (under Freeman) doesn’t necessarily mean you drop everything else for eight years and just raise kids. So:

Anvil Wife
(Anvil setting)
Time: 6 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 5 pts: Drunk soldier-wise (Per), Cantonment-wise (Per), Inconspicous (Wil), Begging (Wil), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr)
Traits: 2 pts: Lonely, Under Pressure, Burned, No Nonsense, Shrewd
Requirements: Born on the Anvil, Born to Rule, or Born to Freeman
Note: Anvil Wife allows Companion or Lady.

And in view of this high-minded principle:

Every one in the Iron Empires should have the opportunity to be a war widow…

Pensioner
(Outcast & Outlaw setting)
Time: 6 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 0
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 3 pts: Inadequate pension-wise (Per), Bureaucracy (Wil/Per), Begging (Wil)
Traits: 2 pts: Hurt, Broken, Mangled, Undeterred, The Story
Requirements: Any Anvil or Hammer lifepath. Character must be older than 30 upon beginning this path.

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Revised version now on the Wiki.