This game needs a defined cast.
The idea is to have courtly intrigue – people scheming, plotting and even killing for the throne, essentially. I’m assuming at the moment that all the players in the game, however lowly their initial position, will be competing to secure the throne for themselves.
A proper royal court has a diverse cast of people with different powers and positions. It’s this interface of differing abilities and weaknesses which is going to give this game much of the necessary diplomatic juice – for negotiation to occur, people have to possess something unique that the other party wants.
It’s also a great initial buy-in to the game – giving someone a somewhat defined character they can reach for, saying “I want to be THAT”. Vincent’s currently in playtest /Apocalypse World/ is my model here – he has these little playbooks, each of which contains all the rules for playing that type of character. And each character has a set of unique special abilities.
A court needs a king/queen/emperor/emir/whatever, of course. Not just to act as a target, either – I think the ruler could make a suitable PC, so long as they’re constrained by rules too.
A good role for this game will be:
* placed at a definite point in a palace hierarchy
* be based, if only loosely, on genuine types of court officers in history
* have unique powers, privileges or access that other roles will want
* have unique weaknesses, associated with their position
Certain roles suggest themselves:
* Treasurer – power over funds, can bribe other characters?
* Consort and/or Concubine – as the ruler’s chosen, has access to the ruler that no-one else can match
* Captain of the Guard – obvious violent power at their disposal
* Archbishop/other religious leader – word trusted above all others
* (my favourite) Head of household staff/majordomo/butler – starts in a lowly position, sure, but has the ear of all the servants, is easily forgotten about and has access to all the food and drink…
But what other kinds of roles might be juicy? I open up this Crying Wolfman comments thread for possible suggestions. What kinds of palace-court roles would appeal to you to play?
My next post will go into some early examples of roles and powers they might have, combining the insights from the previous two posts.
Tags: crying wolfman
September 3, 2009 at 12:05 am |
Foreign but related prince (think France/England)
)
Advisor to the Court (is this just a concubine/archbishop hybrid?
Hero of the People (the court has to deal with him even if they don’t wanna, also he’s kind of rural)
Hm… Master Architect? Someone who will know every single secret passage in the palace no matter what might be good to throw in for intriguey purposes.
September 3, 2009 at 4:52 pm |
I really like the master architect – I will strongly consider that one as I develop my thoughts about how the palace map and movement around it will work.
September 3, 2009 at 2:40 am |
Conjurer or Astronomer – can fortell the future, or deceive others with supernatural tales and curses. Can be controlled by others in the guise of ghosts.
Court Jester – disarms others, gets them to tell secrets. Not taken seriously, likely injured or malformed and an object of contempt.
Queen Mum – Influence over the court through the power of past deeds and favors. Not part of the daily running of the court.
Vizier – Inside track on what everyone is doing, a secret web of spies. Feared by all, loved by none.
Master Architect is great–especially if you are going to have different places have different effects. That will be fun to make up–the audience room gives you access to the people’s backing, or having access to the kitchens allows you to poison others more easily… Everyone could have a home spot where they get bonuses. Fun!
September 3, 2009 at 5:01 pm |
The jester is a fabulous idea! Really liking that one.
A vizier or other close adviser is also a strong candidate. I like the idea that his weakness is that it’s really easy to persuade people that he’s treacherous.
I’m definitely doing something similar as you suggest with locations – kitchen’s throne room, king’s bedchamber and so forth. THe audience chamber is also a strong idea – I hadn’t previously considered that characters might rouse rabble to achieve their goals, but now it sounds extremely compelling. I HAD planned on doing something like the palace guards, but being able to foster a full-on revolution sounds especially appealing.