Building an Epic

[KuiperDragon]

So I'm about to start building an Epic. It's been a long time since I've run FS (we last used 1e), and I've gotten the FSR books along with some old supplements for 1e/2e that I was missing.

I am wanting to start a Questing Knight campaign, with the epic's ultimate villain in disguise, and close to the characters' hearts-the actual Questing Knight of the group's close and "benevolent" uncle being a member of the Invisible Path.

I'll be posting more questions and thoughts here while building the epic. The first major one I've got, though, is how one might handle the disguise of stigmata and psychic abilities so as not to give everything away too soon? Any suggestions on a good method?

Also I'd like to start the group as familiar with one another having met elsewhere long before joining up as a group of Knight and Cohorts. What do you think would be the best way to approach that using the Lifepath method of character generation? Should I require them to take certain skills or pathways during generation? The character creation will be done as a group.

I was thinking perhaps having them all meet in the past as students at Academy Interrats on Leagueheim or hailing from the same world originally. Not sure yet. Thoughts?

[KuiperDragon]

Another thought: I can't ever seem to get this group to play a priest (in any game let alone FS). Except Brother Battle. Any thoughts on positioning an Orthodox or Eskatonic as a character concept to a player?

[Angelman]

Hi KuiperDragon,

For the cadre with a shared past, my default is the Emperor Wars - give them a common battle/engagement that they took part in, preferably something that can relate to the plot later on. As for the LifePath, you don't need to tweak anything really. As long as the backstories fit (i.e. let everyone dedicate one Extra Stage to something they shared in the past), the LifePath should fit too.

Hiding stigmatas: This depends greatly upon the type of stigmata, I would say. If the effect is very vulgar, it will be harder to conceal, but if something trivial (like a unibrow), you wouldn't need to conceal it at all really.

Priests: Some groups just loath religious folk. I don't get it myself, as I think the really invested approach that FS takes to religion is very interesting. One way to look at priests in FS is that they are professional politicans, but instead of fronting party politics they front their faith - most may be corrupt (in both cases). Priests can also be the greatest scholars of course, and (especially for Eskatonics) the greatest mystics/wizards. To make priests shine, however, the GM needs to play into their strength, and in a very combat heavy epic priests can quickly become down-time secretaries and healers for the rest, which is bad. Also, the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun is the biggest institution in the unvierse (that we know of), with even more agents and offices than the Phoenix Empire (probably), and the only way for a cadre to tap into the enormoush ally potential and wealth of the Universal Church is to either patronage themselves to a Bishop or to have a priest in their group. All that said, if your players aren't interested in playing priests, then there is little you can do really. The truth is that priests IS the hardest characters to play, in that they have the greatest hierarchy on their back, and really 'getting' priests require more effort on the part of the player (i.e. s/he needs to read up on some religion stuff).

[KuiperDragon]

Another question comes to mind...Humans and their attendant genotypes. Were they more or less homogenized throughout the Known Worlds? I have a player who wants to play an Asian character, but I am not really thinking it matters so much what House the character would come from even though Li Halan is probably more traditionally Asian in outlook and perhaps appearance.

I like the shared Emperor Wars experiences idea, but I will have to reconcile the Noble Questing Knight player's chosen house with the sides chosen and lines drawn during the Wars if I go with that one. Not sure if she is wanting to go Decados or Li Halan, but the choice of Li Halan will certainly make a Questing Knight and allegiance with a former Hawkwood Emperor much easier to set up.

I like the idea of an easily-hidden stigmata like a unibrow but I was also thinking about something that might be very easily explained away as a birth defect like a club foot or some such. I was thinking I might make the Uncle less mobile under his own means and more reliant upon some sort of mechanical assistance, which would be great if Decados is the Questing Knight's house but I don't recall the stance on that sort of tech Li Halan holds. I am guessing it's not good since they are tied to the church.

I am sure I can manage making a priest shine during game play I am just not sure how to position how having a priest should be essential to the group. I think what you've added here is helpful in that regard, Angelman, and gives me a little better idea of how to pursue it when pitching the game to them. I already have two interested, and I am certain the rest will be as well just not sure what they are going to see as the character type they want.

Any other suggestions on the setup or how to get a priest in, anyone?

[Angelman]

There is no homogeneousness in FS. We have African Hawkwoods, South-east Asian al-Maliks, and Caucasian Li Halans in canon (and that's only the ones I remember), and Prince Flavius of House Li Halan is himself half Hazat. I oftentimes use ethnic stereotyping as a way to convey some flavor and culture or whatever, but I just as often break the stereotypical illusion for... um... dramatic effect, or whatever. There is absolutely no reason why your character cannot play an Asian Decados, or even very ethnically homogeneous Chinese Decados if you want to. Go for it! (It is worth remembering the vast variety and inter-mixing of ethnicities and cultures on our own planet, and then remember that the Royal Houses dominate 5 planets each - homogeneousness in this respect would be rather silly.

The Order of Questing Knights accept people from any noble house, and there are plenty Decados QKs in canon. We have had several discussions here over past years of how a QK's relations with their original house and family are, but it is really up to the GM. My take however, is that many families would love to have one of their scions be a sycophant to the Emperor, while some may cut all ties with their "traitor" turncoats. Both can be fun to play

If you want to have a cool stigmata that hints to the uncle's corruption, you could go with something like porfhyria (making him "my good old vampire uncle"). A club foot or similar disability could also work well. If you want to do someting a bit more crazy, you could go for the uncle having a parasitic twin.

As for playing a priest, it is a demanding role, but also the one with the most roleplaying/interaction potential. +they have spells

[Leviathan of Maddoc]

For suggestions for your epic I'd suggest a few interludes that paint a contrast between psychic cults and penitents who aim to use their gifts to better mankind. Demonstrate how harmful groups who put themselves before the rest of humanity are to common people.

Dear uncle's Stigma doesn't have to manifest until he unveils his psychic powers. It could be a dynamic reveal when he suddenly fires up his Soma and the halo of black fire flares to life around his brow.

For familiar I'd suggest you look for the common thread in the characters and try to tie their origins to the same planet to increase the feasibility of them being acquainted. Others have mentioned classmates and war-buddies, don't feel that all of the players need the same relationship. The RP in the group may work out better if only some of the characters share a history and the players will surely appreciate the freedom. They could certainly be distant family who's kept in touch through correspondence. They might be ex-lovers. They could have shared a dungeon cell. They may have worked for the same bastard employer.

To get my players to play priests I use bribes. It's just difficult to get people to explore outside of their comfort zone, so I offer blatant in-game perks to players if they'll play a priest, usually in the form of extra points.

Most likely your character is less interested in playing someone of Asian heritage that lives in a Norwegian-styled culture. Chances are when they say "Asian", they mean samurai movies or Anime or the like. Find out specifically what your player wants and figure out how they're best accommodated in the theme.

[Madmage]

[Angelman]

I disagree with this, but you do illustrate how hard it is to play a priest. I feel that if one reduces the priest role to be an ordained dickhead with a compulsion to preach, then one isn't embracing the potentials of that 'class' of role. We would find it annoying if a noble character convert everybody into embracing their house's philosophical ethos all the time, or a guilder preaching republican propaganda at every waking hour. Much more interesting would be if the characters engage in real philosophical discussions, rather than singleminded indoctrination, and better still if a priestly player can manage to use the Universal Faith to make meaningful contributions to his/her comrades by comforting them or inspiring them or whatever. This of course requires deep insight into the setting, which is where I think the greatest challenge for priest players lie. But forgetting theology for a moment, there are much more to priests than metaphysics and rituals, and particularly in FS priests have a very special political roll. The interstellar civilization of the Known Worlds is quite divided and compartamentalized, so if you're a Li Halan count, you'll have little power and influence outside of Li Halan territories. Priests however, have jurisdiction EVERYWHERE, and are therefore politically relevant wherever they go, AND they hold sway over the hearts and minds of the 95% (or whatever the serf fraction is). Only the Questing Knights have the same leeways as priests. My argument is that the strength of priests lie not (only) in spells and godbothering, but in socialization and social mobility (as in where they can travel, not how they can advance in the social strata).

[Bogie]

[Madmage]