So, after reading through things and developing several different belief options, I’ve settled on one that fits my character’s background. But I’m having trouble understanding how it will work in game.
The belief is: “Only those who give you plenty of reason to do so can be trusted.” – Basically, my character believes that people need to prove their worthy of trust before he’s willing to give it to them.
Is this a workable belief? And, if so, how might it play out in-game?
If it’s not a workable belief, how could I change it?
I would think that not trusting someone you just met during play would count as playing off your belief. Of course, just saying “I don’t trust this guy” probably wouldn’t be enough. You have to actually make a decision based on that mistrust, like turn down help or refuse to help someone because you believe it’s a trap.
That sort of idea usually is better served as an Instinct: “Never trust anyone until they prove otherwise.”
Beliefs usually work best if you can proactively pursue them. Not always! It’s not a requirement. But if you want to someday earn Persona off your Belief, a to-do is a valuable way to focus. The other way to earn Persona is to write a Belief that contradicts another B, I or T and then rewrite the Belief if you dramatically work through the contradiction.
Beliefs play a particular spot in the cycle of the game. You pick a Belief that the GM can challenge. The GM challenges that Belief by putting obstacles in its path. You either get beaten back or beat back the obstacles, depending on how willing you are to cling to that Belief. The character either changes or advances. If they change, then you rewrite the Belief and redo the cycle. If they advance, then the GM provides a bigger opposition next time.
So yeah–in game, the party might face a situation where you have to put your trust in someone who hasn’t proven themselves, because the pressure’s on, and you don’t have the time or the ability to find someone you know. If you drive them away, or insist on babysitting them throughout the entire time that they’re helping you, that acts for your Belief.
Carpe. Perfect. That’s exactly what I was looking for. The Torchbearer system is amazing, but sometimes understanding the text for mechanics as it is in the pdf is pretty difficult. I look forward to seeing what my GM does with this belief!
Torchbearer beliefs are a bit different though. Torchbearer takes Burning Wheel’s beliefs and breaks them into two separate components: the belief and the goal. You don’t want your beliefs in Torchbearer to be goal-oriented.