Wow, was game 4(?) amazing! Thrills, swashbuckling, playing off Beliefs - it was everything BW is meant to be!
On topic, though - we talked last night about burning up David's brother, Francis Lancaster. So let's do this thing (light this candle!). Let's use the blog here to establish Francis's BITs and his basic backstory. I'll post a proposed lifepath set probably tomorrow - I just wanted to get this up now.
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Oh, you overachiever, you! :P I'm going to post something about game #4 myself tomorrow.
As far as Francis goes, I'm not sure what to say. He definitely needs some instincts like, "If someone challenges my authority, I insult him" or "Always agree with Prince Gerard." Maybe something slightly more general, "Always agree with those above my station."
As for beliefs? Well, definitely some slimy stuff, there. One tying in with Gerard (is that a trend for this game or what?) Maybe, like, "Prince Gerard is the undeniable future of this country; I will ally with him to assure myself a place of power." I don't really like how that's worded, though. It doesn't reflect Francis' obsequious relationship with the Prince.
He probably needs a belief that explores how superior he feels to everyone else. Maybe something like, "Those beneath me in station will never forget that fact." or "Those beneath me are beneath my notice." A belief like that would make his dealings with his brother particularly strained, since his brother is just a count.
And I think he needs one that really drives home how slimy he has the potential for being. Something like, "My noble birth has put me within reach of all earthly pleasures; it would be a shame to allow any of these to go unsampled." I dunno, just throwing stuff out there.
As for backstory, well... If Francis and Tristam's parents had the chutzpah to stand up to Gerard, I can almost imagine that they would be very upright and passionate in their beliefs about honor and the duties of the nobility. In such a climate I can imagine that Francis would grow up resentful of his parents' stringent expectations, especially since he had always been drawn to the sweeter things that noble life could offer. I imagine that he may even have been relieved when his parents left the picture, although then he had to address his family's dishonor.
What his backstory means for his lifepaths, well... I imagine him having a lot of noble lifepaths that don't net him really too many skill points... he might need a lot of trait points just so he can be appropriately caricatured. Still, though, I can see him with 2 or 3 of one lifepath, because he's really not supposed to be an impressive guy mechanically, except maybe for his resource points. XD
But this isn't just my game; what does everyone else think Francis ought to be?
Come to think of it, though, none of those really underscore Francis' relationship with his brother. And, his brother, after all, is the only reason he's there. So, maybe something like, "I will not let anyone hamper my political advancement, not even my own flesh and blood."
Ooh, I like that one.
For the lifepaths I was thinking something along the lines of:
Born Noble -> Page -> Student -> Lord -> Courtier
Interestingly enough, there is no lifepath for Marquis in the character burner, but I figure he's not really doing any Marquis-ing so much as he's hanging around Prince Gerard's court trying to kiss ass.
I included Page in there because I thought: "Francis is firstborn - why didn't he become a Knight, since it's required for all the high-ranking noble lifepaths?"
The answer I came up with is that Francis had planned on becoming a knight, but was injured during his time as a page and subsequently could not continue that training. That Dave became a knight must make him no small amount of bitter, and certainly would engender no love between the brothers.
Mechanically, it's also nice that it adds an extra trait point.
If we decide not to use this bit of backstory, we can always have him take Lord twice.
Oh, no, it's brilliant! Someone like Gerard has got to equate combat prowess and military rank with an individual's basic worth, making Francis' bowing and scraping even more desperate and pathetic. Not only is he not a knight, but he tried and it beat him. This is good stuff. Is there a 'bitter' trait?
Also, yeah, I get that impression too. Probably the reason he's hiring some kind of renowned estate manager, so he can putz around trying to catch Gerard's scraps and leave the busywork of his land to someone else.
"Bitter" is an existing character trait, I believe. It shows up in the Bastard lifepath. So he could definitely have that. Another plus for Courtier - he has to take the "Rapier Wit" trait.
So I'll go about making sure he's older than Dave in a bit. If he's not we might have to bump him up to 6 lifepaths and make him take lord twice or something.
Yeah, I don't want to make him 'overpowered,' really, as I stated before. So, if he has to, taking Lord twice sounds good - probably better than taking courtier twice. If he had been a courtier that long, you'd think he'd be better at it. :P
Makes me wonder how that Duel of Wits would have turned out if we had burned up Francis beforehand? I wonder if he'll live to see another Duel of Wits?
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