New Lifepaths - Gosford Park in Space

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.

Don’t worry, Luke, I think this is it for me.

ALL these lifepaths add to the Servitude & Serfdom setting: They go along with the Nobility setting to create the English Country House from Hell. A few of them flesh out the bottom rungs of misery, but most actually are at least equal to the highest-status S&S lifepath in the book, Taskmaster.

For game purposes, the obvious use for these folks is Circles tests – either to have appropriate minions yourself or to subborn traitors in someone else’s household. But it would be damned interesting to do an “ordinary folks” BE game in which all the characters were “downstairs” while the fate of the planet was being decided “upstairs.”

Cook’s Boy
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8
Resources: 1
Circles: 0
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 5 pts: Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr), Inconspicuous (Wil), Burn and Scald-wise (Per), Field Dressing (Per/Agi), Scavenging (Per/Agi)
Trait points: 1 pts: Hungry, Drunk, Broken, Mangled
Requirements: Born Slave or Born to Freeman. The first time this lifepath is taken must be the character’s second lifepath.

Housemaid
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 5 pts: Inconspicuous (Wil), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr), Cleaning-wise (Per), Body Service (Wil/Agi), Mending (Per/Agi)
Trait points: 1 pts: Demure, Obedient, Broken, Ruined
Requirements: Born Slave or Born to Freeman. The first time this lifepath is taken must be the character’s second lifepath.

House Cook
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 1
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 3 pts: Kitchen-wise (Per), Cooking (Per), Ugly Truth (Wil)
Trait points: 2 pts: Appreciative of Good Food, Fat, Friendly Face
Requirements: Cook’s Boy or Cook (Hammer setting)

Valet
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 1
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 7 pts: Noble-wise (Per), Inconspicuous (Wil), Etiquette (Wil/Per), Soothing Platitudes (Wil), Persuasion (Wil), Falsehood (Wil), Family Secrets-wise (Per)
Trait points: 2 pts: Useful, Discreet, Almost Like Family, Calm Demeanor, Loyal
Requirements: Companion, Court Coeptir, Bodyguard, Stentor, or Servant plus Bondsman

Chef de cuisine
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 2
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 5 pts: Banquet-wise (Per) Intimidation (Wil), Bargaining (Wil), Conspicuous (Wil), Poison-wise (Per)
Trait points: 2 pts: Surrounded by idiots, Under Pressure, Casually Violent, Discreetly Corrupt
Requirements: Companion, Court Coeptir, or House Cook

Housekeeper
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 1
Circles: 2
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 5 pts: Servant-wise (Per), Etiquette (Wil/Per), Intimidation (Wil), Scavenging (Per/Agi), Family Secrets-wise (Per)
Trait points: 2 pts: More proper than thou, Hard Hearted, Scheming, Discreetly Corrupt
Requirements: Companion, Court Coeptir, or Servant

Estate Manager
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 2
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 5 pts: Serf-wise (Per), Estate Management (Per), Bargaining (Wil), Accounting (Per), Taskmaster-wise (Per)
Trait points: 2 pts: Not made of money, Hard Nosed, Penny-wise, Discreetly Corrupt
Requirements: Companion, Court Coeptir, or Taskmaster

Steward
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6
Resources: 2
Circles: 2
Stat bonus: none
Skill points: 3 pts: Great House-wise (Per), Heraldry (Per), Administration (Per); 1 pt General
Trait points: 2 pts: Terribly Superior, Privileged Position, Adumbrate Veil, Imperious Demeanor, Disciplined
Requirements: Hammer Master, Anvil Captain, Chef de Cuisine, Housekeeper, Estate Manager, or Valet

NOTES:
Steward allows Treasurer

New trait:

Ruined (Dt) 5 pts
This character has conceived a child out of wedlock without having the power or status to hide the scandal.
This trait grants a 1D infamous reputation with all respectable people. It also grants a free complicated relationship, who must be either the illegitimate child itself, the bastard’s father (or, more rarely, mother), or one of the bastard’s irate grandparents.

The “Almost Like Family” trait is being worked overin this thread.

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Contemplating why the higher-echelon LPs here should be in “Servitude and Serfdom” rather than “Nobility,” I came up with this trait to add to Valet, Housekeeper, Chef de Cuisine, Estate Manager, and Steward:

Favored Slave (Dt)
This character has risen to a position of great trust and no little power, yet remains a slave. He is the master of others’ fates and yet utterly at the disposal of his own master.
This trait grants a 1D reputation as a favored slave among all characters with the Destined for Slavery trait, and a 1D reputation as a mere slave with everyone else.
Restrictions: Requires the Destined for Slavery trait or the Captured trait.

3

Alright Sydney, since you asked… it’s a long post…

I’ve been thinking about lifepaths quite a bit recently, having finished my Horse Nomad setting a little while ago. I like making them, too, and I’ve been mulling over some basic issues, so I guess I’ll get to them here…

Cook’s Boy, Housemaid, and House Cook - what do these do that’s not covered by Slave Labor, Migrant Labor, Servant, or even Bondsman? Even “Appreciative of Good Food” is a bit bland. Do you need slaves with more varying skills? That’s what general points are for.

Valet, Chef de Cuisine, Housekeeper, Estate Manager, and Steward - several things wrong here, the main one being - these are ranking servants, they have skills and dignity. You can get skills from Bondsman. As for the rank and dignity…

For one, I’ve seen Gosford Park a few times. Liked it a lot. The servants aren’t dehumanized, but there is a damn clear line between the classes. Even the two women who run the servants - former factory girls. Yeah, one’s got Servant-wise, the other’s got Kitchen-wise and Cooking, but otherwise? Back-Breaking Labor. I wouldn’t even give them Inconspicuous - they don’t do any sneaking around. And just 'cause they run the servants doesn’t mean they can’t be shitcanned by the boss - he gave the boot to the one he was screwing!

In the Ottoman Empire, a slave could achieve high rank. To be a slave of the sultan was a higher rank than most free men could aspire to. There was plenty of opportunity for advancement if you were clever. But not in England!

Which brings me to the Iron Empires - we’re looking at a noble class supporting itself on the backs of slave labor for thousands - thousands! - of years. How does this happen? We’re looking at seriously technological cultures, and yet we still have teeming masses of slaves. You have to keep the classes seperate - once you get educated slaves, the nobles will stop seeing them as animals, and start to think of them as “human”. Disaster! So you have to keep the people uneducated, unskilled except as absolutely necessary, and that way they will not appear to be real human beings, and you can continue to exploit them. The Servitude LPs in BE illustrate this pretty well - ie they suck! Slave character = shite character! The Freemen are better, but still not great, but then, they aren’t abused by the nobility personaly, just exploited like poor people of the modern world, through economic disadvantage, lack of educational opportunities, etc.

So it’s neither faithful to Gosford Park, or to the Iron Empires.

And now I’ve arrived at Concept and Theme. These LPs could work in certain contexts - they look more like Burning Wheel LPs, really. Look at the Serpent Sun LPs - because of the source material, those LPs are filled with personality and character. If you’re not a fan of At The Gates, a lot of it gets lost, but if you are, you’ll hear Tomas screaming the lyrics as you read them, and all the obscure names of the Questions make you hear the riffs. Character and personality!

So, if you’re inspired by Gosford Park - then do Gosford Park! The Footman LP has the traits Poker Face and something like Dark Secret or Thirst For Vengeance. The Hollywood Actor can get the “Bad Fake Accent” trait. But there’s no point in making more-specified LPs if they don’t have a specific character. The Matchstick Girl, for example - why not just Beggar? Because it’s a familiar image. Like your Watchman LP - at first, it’s kinda ho-hum, but as soon as you say “Clarice Starling’s dad” the light goes on! Ahhhh! I see it now! All because I’ve read the books, I know the story.

We could start a new thread about general advice on lifepath creation - Luke’s new priest LPs have given me a better perspective - but here’s something for these specific ones:

Figure out what they are supposed to be saying to the reader - who is the Chef de Cuisine? You don’t want people to think “wow, a cook, whaever”. So, who is it? The Swedish Chef? Susur Lee? Martha Stewart? Find that quintessential image and cater to it - write the skills and traits around it. Cook’s Boy, for instance - there is no character there! So he has Hungry, blah. If he is so much more Hungry than most people that he has it as a trait, why does he have a Resource point?

Also, what are these LPs for? That needs to go into the design philosophy as well. When you sit down to play BE, you might end up creating a really weird world - some sort of Commune world where everybody has to be a servant in their youth before they can go on to become a politician. In that case, you have prime material here to present to the other players! If they see things that resonate (the chef has “Singed Eyebrows” from too much cognac in the pan), they’ll be more likely to latch on to the new LPs (and you’ve already got it started with “Not Made of Money” and “Terribly Superior”). But if you’re playing a Noble Fief with no Freeman setting, it’s a police state with totally dehumanized slave labor, and these LPs are totally inappropriate.

And really, Sydney, it’s never going to end. These aren’t your last LPs. I know it, you know it. There’s always more, and that’s not such a bad thing.

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That’s EXACTLY the kind of critique I needed. Thanks, Johnstone. (I’m still curious about your real name for the credits line in the wiki, by the way). The giant project that’s had me working nights and weekends lately is in its final throes (kind of like the Iraqi insurgency two years ago?), but when I get loose later today, I’ll post some revisions.

Everyone, please, pile on. I’d much rather have people be critical than be silent.

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Johnstone, that was a huge help. As with the “Anvil Wife” LPs I posted a while back, I’d gotten too obsessed with the world-building details and overlooked the real purpose of making something for Actual Play. (Which I haven’t done yet, so, no wonder. Soon, soon, my precioussss).

Most important, I think I now have a clear vibe that makes sense for Iron Empires. I’ve rethought these as less “Gosford Park” and more “Fairy Tale Kingdom” – not as in Disney, but as in “don’t go into the forest,” “…and then the wicked stepmother ate the children,” “…and her father said, ‘you look so like your mother, I must marry you,’ and she donned a donkeyskin and fled…’” The result is much darker and more medieval, albeit with flashes of anachronism.

I’ve also consolidated redundant LPs and firmly positioned the survivors in the world of Servitude, getting rid of the social mobility Johnstone objected to – except for Valet, which is now purely a Nobility LP for a “gentleman’s personal gentleman” and doesn’t lead into any of the “Great House” servitude LPs.

So:

{Ranks just below Footman:}
Housemaid/Houseboy
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 5 pts: Pecking Order-wise (Per), Cleaning-wise (Per), Beatings and Burns-wise (Per), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr), Inconspicuous (Wil)
Traits: 2 pts: Years of misery, Resentful, Obedient, Broken, Ruined, Cinderella
Requirements: The first time this lifepath is taken must be the character’s second lifepath. If Born to Rule, must take the Cinderella trait.

{Ranks just above Servant:}
Upper Servant
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8 yrs
Resources: 1
Circles: 2
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 7 pts: Gossip-wise (Per), Instruction (Wil), Intimidation (Wil), Scavenging (Per/Agi), Cooking (Per), Mending (Per/Agi), Body Service (Wil/Agi)
Traits: 2 pts: Terribly Superior, Under Pressure, Hard Hearted, No Nonsense, Scheming, Almost Like Family
Requirements: Housemaid/Houseboy plus Servant. May NOT be Born to Rule.

{Ranks just above Taskmaster:}
Estate Manager
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 6 yrs
Resources: 2
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 6 pts: Taskmaster-wise (Per), Serf-wise (Per) Embezzlement-wise (Per), Estate Management (Per), Bargaining (Wil), Accounting (Per)
Traits: 1 pts: Not made of money, Under Pressure, Hard Nosed, Discreetly Corrupt, Casually Violent
Requirements: Taskmaster, Upper Servant, Sergeant, Quartermaster, Master-at-Arms, Discipline Officer, or Hammer Master. May NOT be Born to Rule.

{Ranks just above Estate Manager:}
Butler
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8 yrs
Resources: 2
Circles: 2
Stat bonus: +1 M
Skills: 5 pts: Servant-wise (Per), Noble Master-wise (Per), Heraldry (Per), Etiquette (Wil/Per), Administration (Per); 1 pt General
Traits: 2 pts: There is no world beyond these walls, Privileged Position, Adumbrate Veil, Imperious Demeanor, Disciplined, Favored Slave
Requirements: two Upper Servant lifepaths, or Upper Servant plus Bondsman, or Upper Servant plus Estate Manager

{Belongs to a totally different setting altogether, ranking just above Companion}:
Valet
Setting: Nobility
Time: 8 yrs
Resources: 1
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: +1 M
Skills: 8 pts: Noble Master-wise (Per), Court-wise (Per), Etiquette (Wil/Per), Soothing Platitudes (Wil), Scavenging (Per/Agi), Persuasion (Wil), Falsehood (Wil), Family Secrets-wise (Per)
Traits: 2 pts: Useful, Discreet, Loyal, Almost Like Family
Requirements: Companion, Stentor, or any Coeptir (Nobility, Court, or Hammer). Must NOT have noble rank (Your Lordship etc.)

New Traits:

Almost Like Family (Dt) 6 pts
The character has been in service to some powerful noble house so long that they treat him or her like one of the family… except when they don’t.
This trait grants a 1D affiliation with the family’s entire household – from the head of family to the youngest heir, from the chief of security to the lowest handmaiden – as long as the player names the family, specifies the location of their home estate/palace/fortress on the planet, and buys a relationship with at least one family member.
The trait also grants a 1D reputation of the player’s choice within the household. If this trait is ever voted off or otherwise lost, this reputation immediately becomes an infamous one.
The GM should consider granting a persona point if the character provokes a Duel of Wits with a member of the family who then resorts to saying that the character does not really belong and should know his or her place.

Cinderella (Dt) 3 pts
This character was born to privilege and yet somehow fell into servitude.
When the Cinderella trait is taken, the player must divide the character’s Resources into two pools: The character does not have access to Resources from the setting of his or her Born lifepath until the Cinderella trait is voted off (as with Outlaw, pg. 269).
The player must write the character’s dreams of being restored to his or her true station, and the obstacles he or she must overcome, into one of the character’s Beliefs. Each person who changes a Belief to fall into line with this dream – whether to help realize it (e.g. a Prince Charming) or to act as an obstacle (e.g. a Wicked Step-Sister) – earns the character one Persona point.
Restrictions: The character must be Born to Rule and then take his or her last lifepath in the Servitude & Serfdom setting.

Favored Slave (Dt)
This character has risen to a position of great trust and no little power, yet remains human property. He is the master of others and yet is totally at the mercy of his own master.
This trait grants a 1D reputation as a favored slave among all characters with the Destined for Slavery trait, and a 1D infamous reputation with everyone else as a mere slave, after all.
Restrictions: Requires the Destined for Slavery trait or the Captured trait.

There is no world beyond these walls (Dt) 2 pts
This character has served in a great household of the nobility since childhood. He knows his masters better than his parents and the back corridors of the great house better than the house where he was born. He knows a universe exists beyond the estate, but it is vague and unimportant compared to the constant intrigues among his fellow servants.
This trait grants a 1D affiliation with the character’s fellow servants (but not with the family itself), as long as the player names the family they serve and specifies the location of its estate.
This trait also grants a +1 Ob penalty to any social skill roll when the character is outside the estate and dealing with people not part of his master’s household.
Restrictions: Upper Servant lifepath only

Ruined (Dt) 5 pts
This character has conceived a child out of wedlock without having the power or status to hide the scandal.
This trait grants a 1D infamous reputation with all respectable people. It also grants a free complicated relationship, who must be either the illegitimate child itself, the bastard’s father (or, more rarely, mother), or one of the bastard’s irate grandparents.

6

Yes, much better. Two things though:

Don’t restrict Born to Rule from these LPs. You can make a character that’s Born to Rule - Slave Jockey - Forged Lord - Sentenced Criminal - Hive Thug if you really, really want to. It’s more common sense and character concept that’s stopping you. I’d ease up on some of the restrictions, too - Upper Servant reqs Housemaid/boy OR Servant (maybe or Footman/Bondsman, too). Make Butler req only one of the listed LPs, and give him Soothing Platitudes.

Valet’s good with no noble rank (like Stentor). Maybe cut off a skill point, so he’s gotta choose which of those skills are more important.

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Don’t restrict Born to Rule from these LPs.

Yeah, good one. “May not have Noble Rank (Your Lordship, etc.)” instead?

I like the Born Whatever -> Housemaid/Houseboy -> Servant -> Upper Servant -> Butler pathway, especially for the hierarchy and the cramped-ness of experience it conveys; plus, as you said, these are Servitude LPs – it should take 5-6 LPs to get anywhere good. But you’re right, and I will loosen up the restrictions a little: Upper Servant requires Servant plus Housemaid/Houseboy OR Footman or Bondsman; Butler requires Upper Servant or Estate Manager (rather than both).

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Same issue. Being a Lord in name doesn’t really matter if you’re not in a position to exercise that rank.

9

Got it. I’d muddled my way towards the same conclusion on the subway back from the White House today. I might even drop “may not have noble rank” for Valet: After all, in the Middle Ages, it was a great honor for one lord to wait upon another at table; I believe the Black Prince, son of Edward III of England, famously waited at table for the captured French king.

I’ve also thought up some refinements to Houseboy/Housemaid:

Housemaid/Houseboy
Setting: Servitude & Serfdom
Time: 8 yrs
Resources: 0
Circles: 1
Stat bonus: none
Skills: 5 pts: Pecking Order-wise (Per), Cleaning-wise (Per), Beatings and Burns-wise (Per), Back-Breaking Labor (Pwr), Inconspicuous (Wil)
Traits: 2 pts: Accustomed to Suffering, Obedient, Broken, Ruined, Uppity, Born Downstairs, Fresh from the Fields, Cinderella
Requirements: The first time this lifepath is taken must be the character’s second or third lifepath. If Born to Rule, must take the Cinderella trait.

And since this set of LPs is all about hierarchy and not being able to escape your past, three new reputaiton Traits:

Uppity
This character was not born to a life of servitude and has a reputation – possibly undeserved – among his fellow servants for not knowing his place. This trait grants a 1D positive reputation with other characters with the Uppity trait and a 1D infamous reputation with all other members of any noble household.
Restrictions: Must not be Born Slave. The character must take at least one Servitude & Serfdom lifepath.

Born Downstairs
This character’s parents were servants in a noble household, and he has followed in their footsteps – possibly quite literally down the same dark back corridors in the same great house on the same estate. This trait grants a 1D infamous reputation with characters who have the Uppity or Fresh from the Fields traits, and a 1D positive reputation with all other members of any noble household.
Restrictions: Must be Born Slave. The character must take at least one Servitude & Serfdom lifepath.

Fresh from the Fields
This character started out as a farm hand with black dirt under his fingernails and thick calluses on his hands. No matter how sophisticated he becomes, he always carried the reputation (possibly deserved) as a rube still smelling of alfalfa. This trait grants a 1D positive reputation with any other characters who have the Fresh from the Field trait, and a 1D infamous reputation with all other members of any noble household.
Restrictions: The character must be Born Slave or have previously taken a Slave Labor, Migrant Labor, or Tenant Farmer lifepath.

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Oh, right, I forgot to mention the Cinderella trait - I don’t think you need to say Born Noble MUST take Cinderella - if you want Born Noble - Houseboy, then you probably want that trait - and if you DON’T, there’s probably a reason (like if you go back to Noble LPs). Although I suppose they could just take Servant instead…

also:
Restrictions: Must be Born Slave. The character must take at least one Servitude & Serfdom lifepath.

Actually “Born Slave” IS a Servitude & Serfdom lifepath, should read ANOTHER or ONE MORE.

New traits are good stuff.

11

Agreed on all. Thanks! I’ll probably post these tomorrow – my home computer refuses to let me log in to the wiki, for some reason.