I’ve read the examples in the Scholar’s Guide and it seems harder to earn artha for a character’s CREED than other aspects (beliefs, goals, etc.) Is that the intention? Wondering if people have advice about writing a Creed for your character and playing to the creed in gaming sessions?
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Hello and welcome!
Because you can’t pick a Creed until 3rd level (or respite) at the earliest, you have some time to figure out who your character is.
All TB characters are a bit of a cutout to start because we don’t know if they will survive or who they really are. We play to find out and discover the character through their deeds and actions.
So by the time you need to pick, it should be clear and come naturally.
You should look back and understand:
Are they brave?
Selfish?
Devout and religious?
Do they keep their vows and honor their boasts?
What is their relationship with the civilized world?
What is it that they would die for?
What is their higher purpose?
But you are right that opportunities for Creed rewards are rarer, but when those moments hit, they hit hard because you are getting to the core of your character.
To brainstorm, I like to look at the class and the dominant trait that the character uses.
For example, a curious Magician might seek knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Or maybe they view magic as a powerful or dangerous weapon.
An ambitious thief might take everything that is even nailed down. They view fortune as something owed to them.
It is more than just revealing your character though, it is about asking if your character will fight to change the world (that is the crisis).
So, I think it is mostly about figuring out what the player and the character wants to explore.
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Thank you! I actually have a 3rd level Dwarf and since writing the creed, I have played a couple of sessions. I like the creed I wrote, but I also know it will be hard to earn Artha. The Creed centers around the Dwarf’s struggle with the idea of taking revenge…he’s been burned badly and isn’t sure that revenge is always the best course of action. It is true to the character’s experience and his evolution as a person, but in play, I think this will only emerge in big moments, which will be rare. Sounds like is probably how things should go for earning artha in relation to a character’s creed. Thanks for your response.
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You raise a couple of interesting points.
- A Creed should be actionable. It needs to be challenged and defended.
- Some concepts are harder to play than others.
The concept of revenge is a good one, especially for a dwarf. That is very cool. But you can take it one level higher and ask, “Why does this character care about revenge?”
It needs to be about something more than just the self. It could be about clan honor, tradition, legacy, etc.
Some examples that incorporate revenge but also create tough decisions in play:
- A wrong against my kin is a debt that must be repaid in blood.
- Enemies shall have their names carved into the stone of my forge, so all know the price of betrayal.
- The old ways must not be forgotten—those who defile them shall know dwarven steel.
- Only a fool ignores a crack in the stonework, for a grudge unsettled leads to a crumbling mountain.
These might be a little more general and applicable to different situations.
Creed evolved from the 1e embodiment reward, so if you are familiar with that, it may help to contextualize how it should come into play. Now the reward for crisis is more structured and guided, and your Creed is the means to access that.
Did you want to share your Creed and workshop that at all?
I can share the creed below…but first, some context…
My character was on a quest for revenge after members of his family were killed. In carrying out a piece of that revenge, he failed (was defeated in battle) and his good friend killed. His now blames and questions his single minded vision for vengeance…
CREED: “Vengeance offers the promise of justice but exacts a heavy toll. I must wield my choices with wisdom, and put my faith in Bjorngrim that Justice will be served.”
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That all sounds very cool.
I like how you have it anchored in Bjorngrim. That is a nice touch and has a lot of lore to draw upon.
Just some random thoughts that come to mind that may help…
- Try writing it without using “I” or making it a personal statement. Focus on the principle or the greater truth that the statement evokes.
- Make it so the challenge is baked into the Creed. You state this is something, but someone else states it is something else. There is a fine line between what some call justice and what others call vengeance. You state that justice must be measured, which is very dwarfy and cool.
- Frame it as a truth that invites argument. Your enemies should beg to differ. You are using Bjorngrim as a moral guide, which is cool, but others view him as a failure, an embarrassment, or tragically violent.
With that in mind, what do you think about something like this:
Let the deeds of Bjorngrim stand as a guide for how justice must be measured, lest vengeance claim more than it restores.
I’ll often ask my players for examples of conflicts or example situations that they would foresee or want to explore. Ultimately, all that really matters is the GM understands what you are going for and you are aligned with what constitutes a challenge to it.
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Thank you for these suggestions and for your example. The varying perspectives (failure, embarrassment, tragic violence) are part of what make this perfect for my character…I’m going to do some re-reading of the Bjornrgim lore to see how my character’s actions could mirror Bjorngrim’s in a more tangible way.
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Lots of good stuff here. Creed is meant to drive a character all the time, but only reach Crisis (thus earning a reward) in punctuated moments. In my current game, my character has a Crisis roughly every 3-5 sessions.
Here are some examples from my game:
For most this character’s career, I had the Creed:
- The light burns away corruption.
Most often this manifested in the character refusing to lie or even obfuscate the facts no matter what and counseling his comrades to be forthright even when a lie or omission would win them a reward or prevent trouble.
A recent crisis occurred when we were negotiating with a magician who had been hunting us for another party. We wanted her to join us instead. She demanded a magical gem we had found some sessions earlier. My comrade had another, identical but non-magical gem and brought it out to trick her into accepting that gem instead.
As a player, I stopped for a moment and told the other players that my Creed was in play and asked them if they would be upset if I ruined the trick. They were fine with it, so my character grimaced, shook his head at the others, and said something along the lines of: “If we are to be partners in this, our relationship cannot be built on a foundation of lies.” He then produced the gem that the magician wanted from his pocket and pressed it into her hands.
Sometimes, I played the Creed more toware the corruption angle. The last crisis I earned on it was when the party confronted an Immortal that was warping the entire region we were adventuring in due to a uncontrollable spiritual thirst she could not contain. Many sessions before, we had found a magical drinking horn that transformed any liquid placed in it into mead. We loved that item. It was the most useful thing we had won in more than a year of playing this campaign. We all knew that sacrificing the horn to the Immortal would free it of its spiritual thirst, but didn’t want to face it until my character spoke up and convinced the others we had to.
My current creed is:
- True folk fix that which they have broken.
This came about because in our very first adventure of the campaign, we accidentally released an undead horror that was far too powerful for us to confront. We ran away and didn’t think about it again. Many adventures later, we discovered that the thing we released has been overrunning the north. it has created an army of undead from those it has killed.
My character adopted his new creed after he was confronted with the truth of what had happened. At that moment, he came to the realization that people need to take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions. Back in that first adventure, he couldn’t have stopped that undead horror, but many people have paid the price because of it. I earned the first crisis reward on that creed when my character cast aside his own ambitions and pledged to stop the undead army or die in the attempt.
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Thank you for this response and for the detailed examples. It is helpful to see the creeds in action and the evolution of your character as time has gone on…you’ve given me lots to think about…
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