So this half elf has 4 lifepaths (Born Etharch, Attendant, Citadel Wanderer, Wilder Wanderer). Because of his back story / lineage I wanted to give him Etharchal, Fea, Aman, and Half Elf (along with his required Lonesome and Calm Demeanor) traits.
This character would be the son of Albious Harper (John Smith/Christopher Columbus/Louis and Clark rolled into one), the human that founded Harper’s Landing and “discovered” Albion (the king even named it after him.) and Valenea, a Soother (healer) and daughter of Aramil the High Etharch of her people.
Is this breaking some rule (half -elf/etharch/fea/aman) or does the circumstances behind the characters birth give leeway if there is a rule?
Note: I am writing the Albion campaign in hopes of generating more intrest in burning wheel game play at my local bookstore (40th. Aniversity comming up soon!) and so, I do not want to go too far afield. I also want it to have a story line that will have more to it than the sword or rift with charactets written into the background and interlocking bits as I anticipate a learning/convention style of play with experienced, non burnig wheel gamers. Also any suggestions for runnig such a group (beyond what’s in the books) is GREATLY APPRECIATED!
For a demo game, don’t do weird things that aren’t really what BW is about. Half-elves are a weird thing like that; they’re pretty much against what BW explicitly says about the idea (basically, don’t). The Half-Elf trait, whatever it is, also puts you over your trait point allotment unless it’s a worth a single point, which it shouldn’t be as a Dt.
There are no rules about the Half-Elf trait, of course; you’re making it up yourself. Whether they are excluded from the ranks of the nobility and royalty is entirely up to you.
Who are the other characters in this game? What’s the plot? And how are you emphasizing the more freewheeling nature of BW and the way beliefs drive things if you’ve got the plot planned out?
Um… the half-elf thing and the exact way he has done it is explicitly mentioned on pg. 160 (end of elvish stock chapter). Hope I don’t sound dismissive, but he is quite literally doing things by the book and I would say that making up some cool background stuff and then taking a trait to represent it is part of what BWG is about.
I do not think that there is any rule about half-elf excluding other traits. Just think of Eldrond - he is elven nobility and the descendant of a half-elf (or there’s some human blood in there at least). If you have chosen your elven side, then as far as other elves are concerned you are an elf. Also, it is just a character-trait. I would say you normally have to pay for that trait, but it’s the sort of trait I might hand out for free.
That said the half-elf should definitely have a belief related to him being a half-elf. IMO of course, but put in it directly in so that the player can see that one generally only chooses to spend a trait point on being a half-elf if it matters somehow. Maybe he is a aman, but there is another elf that believes he is unworthy of this because of his heritage (the exact opposite of what I wrote above, but that is just the general implied setting, not the specific stuff). Maybe a belief about his human family, which are now 3-4 generations past him. If him being a half-elf isn’t going to matter somehow it might be worth ditching. Though from the sound of it it is also going to color some relationships.
You mention a campaign. Is this for a one-shot scenarior or a short campaign? What is the format?
The Albion campaign will hopefully run long term. We are trying to set up the baseline for the magic system, as well as pre game history of the land.
The basic idea behind Albion is what happens when a well established Empire discovers a land both rich in resources as well as the homeland of all the races and creatures they thought never really existed, mythical beings of legends and lore.
I hope to use this setting as the game world where different characters get to set their own stories as Albion changes and grows from settlement to settlement, Alliance to Alliance. It is a vast continent with much to explore and many things could exist within its shores.