Using Family - Secret-Wise on a Noble family.
Player first narrates something about the Noble Family. For example “Duke Barrington has hidden away in the country a bastard older half-brother, with claim on the title”
The GM assigns an obstacle, based on the the obstacles from page 309 of the BWG book. There is a GM call here, and I think it important that the wise CANNOT contradict someone’s fact in a previous successful Wise test (It’s a dick move, and robs someone of a successful test), and it really shouldn’t contradict GM notes on a subject (but it’s really the GM’s call on this).
Ob 1 - Common knowledge of the Subject
Hidden away indicates that most people wouldn’t know this. If the Duke had a half brother but publicly denounced him, then that’d be common knowledge just by the nature of the public act.
Ob 2 - An interesting Fact
Though interesting, efforts were made to conceal this fact. If the wise was about the publicly denounced Half Brother having a passion for horses, that’d be an interesting Fact.
Ob 3 - Details
Again, not quite what I’d give the difficulty. Again, the details are kind of hidden. If the wise was about the publicly denounced Half Brother having a passion for horses, and a favourite horse in particular, A Rouncy named Snowflake, that’d be some really specific details.
Ob 4 - Uncommon Knowledge
This sounds about right! The duke is taking pains to hide this figure, so it would be more difficult to make a fact like this.
Ob 5 - Rare Goods
If the wise was to determine that the bastard was the rightful duke, and the Ruling Duke was secretly the bastard, I’d set this difficulty.
Ob 7 - Bizarre or Obscure
If the wise was to determine that the publicly denounced bastard was actually an identical twin, I’d set this obstacle.
Ob 8 - Freaky details or specifics
If the wise was “A magical accident created two Dukes, and one was hidden away, because they are both identical in every way (physically and mentally), and impossible to tell apart. Even if one was scarred, there’s no way to determine which was the original.” That’d be up there at obstacle 8.
Other GM calls would differ, I imagine, but that’s how I’d adjudicate it.