Goal

Vice and Virtue Ideals aren't inherently good or bad. Every ideal can be negative when pushed to extremes. Cultures and organizations associate with ideals just like characters do. If you have the same values then you're perceived as virtuous, otherwise you may be perceived as a sinister outsider. Look for organizations or subcultures with your ideals if you want to find a place to belong...or be the bold eccentric who stands in contrast to the rest of your peers. Someone loyal to Liberty and Mischief could be a psychopathic villain or a fun loving non-conformist. At the extreme ends of behavior it can be difficult to tell the difference. Where it gets interesting is when ideals come into conflict. When the written Law allows something you consider wrong do you break the law to do what you think is right or do you obey it and work for change? Just how wrong does a law have to be before you will break it? When your loyalty is tested that's what you should find out. What happens when your duty to the Law conflicts with your duty to your Family, or your believe in Liberty or Progress? The system rewards you for staying true to your ideals, but that doesn't mean you must or even should. The referee will try to find the boundaries of your loyalty and introduce dilemmas and doubts to test those boundaries. Sometimes the choice that rewards you mechanically will not feel right for your character. This temptation is by design, and gives teeth to the decisions you face. You may be sacrificing something tangible to do the 'right' thing or allowing some form of moral decay for a tangible reward. When you let your loyalty shift in response to your decisions the character tends to feel more morally centered, and if you let your loyalty rewards choose for you then the character tends to feel more corrupt. Either approach is valid.

Choose two competing loyalties from a list of ideals provided. Sometimes you will be forced to prioritize and choose between your own loyalties or the loyalties of the rest of your band. Each loyalty is a track from one to three, and you start with no circles filled in. You may gain circles in play from accomplishments, or lose circles during play for violations against the ideal. As you gain loyalty circles your reputation grows and becomes linked to your ideals. You gain assets and become a paragon to others who share your ideals. You can care about more than two things, but you must prioritize two above all the rest.

Asset

When you select a loyalty ideal you tie a specific asset to each circle. If you gain that circle, you get access to the asset by your next respite. If you lose the circle through a violation then you also lose the asset by your next respite. You may not choose the same asset twice, but you may choose upgrades, and you may select lower tier assets for higher circles. If you choose an item for an asset, choose a specific item.
__________________ (tier 1 asset)
__________________ (tier 2 asset)
__________________ (tier 3 asset)

Reputation

Having any circles in a loyalty grants you a reputation. The reputation is tagged with the specific loyalty or loyalties you have circles in, and associated to your impression. Your loyalty to an ideal also ties you to others with the same ideal. You will gain a reaction bonus (+2) on social checks against denizens who have the same loyalty but at lower circles, and the individual with the most applicable circles counts as the authority during a dispute. Once you have all 3 circles in a loyalty you are considered a paragon, and you will be sought out by like-minded denizens for advice or help.

Accomplishment and Violation

An accomplishment is a notable deed or sacrifice to your ideal. Each ideal lists a general accomplishment, but you aren't limited to that. When in doubt, if performing the deed would cost you a circle from a different loyalty then it is probably an accomplishment. Accomplishments escalate, so you have to make larger gestures affecting more people or with deeper consequences to get the second and third circle. A dilemma will usually count as an accomplishment, and special missions may offer accomplishments as a reward. A violation is the opposite of an accomplishment. Violations don't escalate, so minor infractions can cost you circles that were difficult to earn. The referee must always signal that a particular deed (or failure to attempt a deed) will be a violation, so a violation should always be a choice rather than a surprise. When you gain or lose a circle of loyalty you gain or lose the associated asset during your next respite.

Conversion

You may change your ideals during play. If you have no circles in an ideal and would gain a circle in another you may choose to switch eliminate the old loyalty and add the new loyalty in its place. You select new bubble effects but you do not get the circle you just earned, that is instead the cost of switching. Note that you are never forced to switch, but if you face this decision more than once your character is probably telling you something.

Ideals

• Decorum: You believe in courtesy, style, and ritual above all else. Extreme decorum can lead to intolerance and repression. Denying temptation is a accomplishment and causing a social scandal is a violation.
• Family: You believe in blood, friendship, and kinship above all else. Extreme family can lead to discrimination and favoritism. Putting other's needs above your own is an accomplishment and putting your own needs above others is a violation.
• Justice: You believe in absolutes, integrity, and vengeance above all else. Extreme justice can lead to inflexibility and violence. Breaking the law to address a wrong is an accomplishment and trusting the system above your own instincts is a violation.
• Law: You believe in duty, impartiality, and structure above all else. Extremes law can lead to tyranny and subservience. Trusting the system above your own instincts is an accomplishment and breaking the law to address a wrong is a violation.
• Liberty: You believe in freedom, independence, and self-interest above all else. Extreme liberty can lead to greed and self-absorption. Putting your own needs above others is an accomplishment and putting other's needs above your own is a violation.
• Mischief: You believe in fun, humor, and trouble above all else. Extreme mischief can lead to immaturity and outright malevolence. Causing a disturbance is an accomplishment and proving your supremacy is a violation.
• Passion: You believe in love, lust, and romance above all else. Extreme passion can lead to promiscuity and a volatile temper. Causing a social scandal is an accomplishment and denying temptation is a violation.
• Piety: You believe in harmony, serenity, and spirituality above all else. Extreme piety can lead to fanaticism and paralysis. Accepting adversity on faith is an accomplishment and innovating change beyond your current understanding is a violation.
• Progress: You believe in enlightenment, intelligence, and science above all else. Extreme progress can lead to corruption and heartless pragmatism. Innovating change beyond your current understanding is an accomplishment and accepting adversity on faith is a violation.
• Prowess: You believe in discipline, excellence, and professionalism above all else. Extreme prowess can lead to boasting and merciless cruelty. Proving your supremacy is an accomplishment and causing a disturbance is a violation.

See Also

• Character Creation
• Character Sheet
• Ability
• Concept
• Facet
• Fault
• Mastery
• Skill
• Asset

Version 2.5.1
©2014 Frameworks Games

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