I like the LP system, but sometimes it is a little hard to create the role you have in mind.
I considered making a 3LP young noble girl who at some point misbehaved and was put in a cloister by her parents. But then I would need to take Noble born 8y - young lady 10y - switch setting 1y - cloistered nun 10y. I wanted her to be max 20 years. I guess I could have asked my GM to only use two lifepaths, but that would make her just 8 years when she misbehaved.
Have anyone tried to cut a life pathâs length in half (half skillpoints etc)?
Or would you in this case choose different life paths and just state that âright now sheâs a cloistered nunâ without taking that LP?
Also, how come a cloistered nun has symbology, research and history, but not read and write? I could make an abbess that in addition has accounting and administration, but still not read and write. Are these examples of skills that you are âsupposedâ or even required to take with your general skill points when they are not listed?
I ended up going for a different concept for this character, and I am happy with it, I would just like to know what other people do in situations like this.
She could have learned symbology and history by oral tradition (illeterate nuns were quite common). Research is a bit more difficult to justify, she could be just very good at gathering (verbal) data and putting things together, but yeah I think it would be much better for you to buy at least Read with your general skill points. You could even just open the skill and let her develop it (and maybe learn how to write) in game.
Iskander, that could be very fun. The downside would be that the character had not yet earned either circles or reputation in the cloister, nor would she know anything about the nunsâ secret activities. I think it would be a challenge for the GM to try to bring the gaming group together as well, if the concept is to stay in the cloister and learn about it, not to find the means to leave. But still, it sounds like a fun angle, maybe I will try it some day.
Arioch, youâre right of course. Itâs not hard to get by these skills. I still feel they belong in the nun LP, but that may because the âarchetype medieval nunâ in my mind is the very talented Hildegard von Bingen - a writer and philosopher. The creators of the game probably had something else in mind.
Well, eventually your PC might get there, but remember that sheâs just a 3lp character, meaning sheâs still young and inexperienced, you canât expect her to be in the same league with someone like Hildegard VonBingen.
It should be noted that most medieval Nuns went through a noviceship lasting around 4 years or so before they took their final vows; If you wanted, you could cut some years off by going Born Noble/Young Lady/Religious Acolyte, leaving you at 23 â not quite twenty, but closer than the 29 you would have been at. Such a build would also get you Read and Write.
Vanadis, sometimes a character concept doesnât work because it doesnât fit with Lifepaths or the age the player had in mind. Thatâs often because what they had in mind is⌠a bit of a stretch. I encourage players to beware playing out the interesting part of a character in creation and LP selection, and to have something theyâre working towards. Hildegard von Bingen is what happens when you play the hell out of a character: remember that the really interesting part of a characterâs life starts at the table (otherwise, what are you doing there?)
Taelor - Yes, thatâs exactly the kind of LP I was looking for. So that is allowed?
Iskander and Arioch - Donât get me wrong, Iâm not looking to create Hildegard von Bingen with three life paths. Her read and write would be at least grey scale anyway, and she would have several other skills as well, like philosophy for one.
Iâm only gently insinuating that in my medieval fantasy setting mind, read and write would belong in a cloistered nunâs skill set. But it does not trouble me that it does not, since there are general skill points to fall back on, and the possibility to open skills in the game.
I do disagree though that a woman in the medieval ages was young and inexperienced at 29. She would probably be half way through her life by then, and she would probably be quite competent at what she did. Hence the desire to create a character in that setting that is younger, and yes, less powerful too.
Iâve always considered a Lifepath to be the thing you just finished doing, rather than the thing youâre currently doing. To me, it sounds like the character youâre describing is a 2 LP character: Born Noble, Young Lady. Sheâs just been sent to the nunnery, yeah? If sheâs been there a little while, use the general skills to represent that.
There is no such restriction - not unless it is a restriction that only characters with the Young Lady lifepath can be considered âyoung ladiesâ.
What I was trying to achieve was:
3 lifepaths (although I suppose the GM would have accepted two)
The character is a noble girl who joined the convent when she was ca 15, now she is (preferrably) max 20.
Born noble + cloistered nun = 8 + 1 + 10 years. So if I can select those two lifepaths, but for the storyâs sake let my character have been 15 when she joined the cloister, then I have my character.
Well, it sounds like you are all set then. If you do not mind adding a year or three, you could perhaps swing by Kid, or similar, lifepath in the city setting. Not only does this increase available settings for circles, it would add some nice naughty girl skills to you character
Perhaps she was at a religious school for women, rather than being a nun proper, she dropped out before taking vows. Noble-Student, a short lifepath that includes Doctrine and read/write etc might be worth looking at to suit the fiction.
I donât have my books with me, but arenât there a couple of Pilgrim paths that are only 1 or 2 years? Youâd be at the 22-24-ish age range, but youâd have a 3rd LP, a little more Traits and an extra skill point or two. Itâd open up some extra Circles options as well.
My quick build⌠Noble -> Student -> Religious Acolyte.
Age 17
Wil 5, Per 4,
Mark of Privilege, Tonsured, Faithful, Impulsive [Or other Char trait]
2 x Free 1D Affiliations from Mark of Privelage and Tonsured.
35 RP to spend.
skills: [GP spend to simulate Young Lady & Cloistered Nun paths]
Apothecary B2, Bureaucracy B3, Doctrine B3, Etiquette B3, Field Dressing B2, History B2, Monastic Ritual B2, Oratory B4, Read B3, Research B2, Rule of Law B2, Write B3
She looks like your girl to me, according to the fiction.
In the gold edition, Kid is 4 years. 6 years when leads are included.
Pilgrim might work.
But Durand Durandâs suggestion is perfect. A religious acolyte could be a novice nun. Iâm also considering the city dweller student. She could be 18 or 19, depending which temple acolyte to pick, and she would get interesting skills like philosophy, astrology and history. But she would get the trait âRabble Rouserâ⌠Iâm not even sure what that is?
Rabble Rouser is one of my favourite Character traits.
A Rabble Rouser is an anti-establishment trouble maker.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rabble-rouser
Noun
rabble-rouser (plural rabble-rousers)
A person who tries to stir up masses of people for political action by appealing to their emotions rather than their reason. A demagogue.
