Well, everyone, I really thought that the last post about burning up Francis prompted some really good discussion about his beliefs. But, he kicked it! And no one is more broken up than I. However, I so enjoy working up Beliefs that we're just gonna go ahead and serve up the next feller.
Jester Tom is the Little John to Jack O' Bedlam's Robin, the man who is the most prominent bandit next to the leader. We know that he wears a cloak reminiscent of a Jester's habit, that he has the Louis Wu trait, and that he's the son of a tailor. But, the rest of him is a mystery! As it appears he'll be an important side character, let's open the floor for his beliefs. Who knows, maybe he'll start earning Artha and turn into a badass?
The next guy in the list might be the villainous agent of Prince Gerard sent to oversee tax collection. Will he be nefarious enough to warrant a thorough burning?
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To start, I'm not too sure about Jester Tom. I don't have a very well=established image of him in my head. This is a guy who was conscripted into war and was imprisoned unjustly along with Jack, so he'll probably have some kind of belief that reflects his disgust with corrupt authority and the arrogant rule of the upper class. I can also see him having a belief that ties him to his lost dream of quietly owning a tailor shop. But, on the other hand, I could also see him as the kind of guy who would throw up his hands about that stuff and say, "Well, that's life, isn't it?" At least one belief I'm sure he should have is one that highlights the camaraderie he has with the Green Men. Maybe something like, "The Green Men are my brothers; I will fight with them and die with them."
In preparation for coming up with Tom's BITs, let's define a bit of his backstory - first off, his lifepaths are Village born, Tailor, Conscript, Scout and Bandit.
This means we were wrong last game when we intimated he'd been Jack's unit in the military - Scout and Bandit are both 3 year lifepaths, so he couldn't have been put in at the same time. It's entirely possible he got let out at the same time.
Allright! Excellent bit of sleuthing, there. Still, I think it sounds better for Jack's trusted cohort to have been with him in the clink. So, he wasn't in the army with Jack, that's fine. Gerard could have sent him to jail for any number of reasons, then, but he probably wouldn't have bothered unless Tom had done something that personally angered him, like Jack did.
Of course, he would have to have been in jail with with Jack. I'm not sure what he would have done to end up there, but I'm sure we'll think of something.
I think your second impression of Tom fits more with mine, so maybe something about life being a joke and tom's intent to be the punchline.
The one about the Green Men fits pretty well as is, so I'm not sure if we need to massage that any more.
Well, then, super, there's one of his Beliefs. I do like the sound of "Life is a joke and I'm going to be the punchline," but that like it is isn't a very clear Belief. I could see something like, "Life is a joke; why am I only one laughing?"
We could let the other ones percolate a little while we tackle his Instincts, I think.
Sure. The immediately obvious one is something along the lines of "always wear my patchwork cloak", but I feel that's covered pretty well by the "frippery" trait. So maybe something like "Always work carefully and patiently when sewing" or "always be holding a weapon."
For instincts, maybe something like, "Always get my protein pills and put my helmet on." Or, "If facing certain doom, tell my wife I love her."
Am I still thinking of the right Tom?
Hardy-har-har
Maybe, "Never fail to see the humor of a given situation."
Okay, here's what we have so far:
Beliefs
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1)The Green Men are my brothers; I will fight with them and die with them.
2)Someday I'll get to run that tailoring shop - sew every chance I get so I'll stay in practice.
3)??
Instincts
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1)Never fail to see the humor in a situation.
2)Always work patiently and carefully when sewing.
3)??
So we've got a total of one Belief and one Instinct left to come up with. Not to bad so far. Any ideas?
I think his last instinct should be 'always be stealthy' unless we come up with something better in the meantime.
As for his last belief, he's got a long-term goal and something of a short-term goal: just to stay by the Green Men's side. So the last one could be anything. I think we've established that he's religious, so maybe his last belief would be something more altruistic? I dunno, I don't see him or Jack as being 'good guys' per se.
It's true the neither him or Jack are good guys in the classical sense, but Tom's more flip about it. He's definitely something of a rake.
Maybe his belief should be something like, "We all come into the world naked and screaming - treat others how I'd want to be treated."
The Golden Rule, ha! Allright, I think that totally fits Tom.
Great, then the last thing we have to come up with is an instinct.
Perhaps something a little superstitious, or at least passingly religiously reverent, like, "Never step on a grave."
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