Burning France: Initial Character Beliefs.

In the last post about the Burning France campaign, I described the progress of our Session 0. Back then, we didn’t have the Beliefs worked out yet but fortunately now we have everything set up. Without further ado, here are the sets of beliefs for each character:

The Bastard

1. Meting out justice is what’s required, but no-one said I couldn’t get paid in the process.
2. My companions obviously look to me for leadership and Guidance; I will set an example and put them on the path of righteousness.
3. (Direct goal-orientated Belief to be decided at the start of Session 1)
4. (Zealot Belief) Nobilé lurk around every corner; under every peasant lurks a budding, ambitious freeloader that must be stopped.

This is a good solid spread of Beliefs. The first is an ethical stance, the second is a party-orientated belief, the third will be a direct goal to achieve, and the fourth is a clear invitation for me to present obstacles and ties is quite well with the theme we’d set out in Session 0. Here we have a character with a clear direction: the insurrection has cleared the power structure, a new leader is needed, and The Bastard will be that leader for the group; yet anybody else who wants to pop up needs to get pushed back down.

The Bawdyhouse Operator

1. Always look out for number one.
2. Power cannot be trusted no matter what mask it wears.
3. (Direct goal-orientated Belief to be decided at the start of Session 1)

A solid pair of Beliefs, though I would have enjoyed seeing a party-orientated one here as well. However, I suspect that the goal-orientated Belief may end up being a comment on the party as well once we get to it. The first Belief may risk being antagonistic towards the party and invite some backstabbing, which isn’t particularly the type of game I had in mind, but the player intends for it to mean that her character will just save her own ass before helping others. That second Belief is again a nice one because it ties in well with our theme.

The Farmer

1. Now that everyone is equal, we should all be able to shape our lives according to our own vision.
2. My companions have shaped their lives according to their own vision, so they are well suited to dispense advice to others to do the same. I must trust their judgement.
3. (Direct goal-orientated Belief to be decided at the start of Session 1)

Another good set of Beliefs to work from. The first one is a good ethical Belief fitting to our theme. The second is a nice party-orientated belief that helps me see what role The Farmer will have to play in the story. While initially these Beliefs may be passive, as they’re all somewhat wait-and-see approaches (Burning Wheel is about passionate stances), I suspect that these are the starting point for Beliefs that are sure to end up changing and growing throughout the game.

Overall

What immediately jumps out to me is that each character seems to have a different view of what the new classless political structure is to be. The Bastard feels no one should be a leader yet also that he should lead (contradictory Beliefs are such a goldmine!), the Bawdyhouse Operator believes that all power is dangerous, and the Farmer feels that everybody’s view should be respected. Those three Beliefs will surely clash once the rubber hits the road. We’re off to a good start!