Church Lifepaths
Despite these differences that exist among Hârn's faiths, the Lifepaths of Man section of Burning Wheel Gold contains lifepaths that are appropriate for members of all ten of Hârn's churches.
Generally applicable lifepaths include Acolyte, Religious Acolyte, Temple Acolyte, Priest, Village Priest, Temple Priest, Itinerant Priest, Chaplain, Archivist, Theologian, and most of the lifepaths in the Religious Sub-Setting.
Some other lifepaths are appropriate for specific churches. The Augur lifepath (from the Peasant seting) may be appropriate for a priest of Siem, while the Ship's Chaplain lifepath may be fitting for Sarajinian priests. The Cultist lifepath would fit well for Navehan or Morgathian priests. The Professional Assassin lifepath (from the Burning Wheel Wiki) may also be appropriate for Navehan Temple Assassins.
Customizing Skills for Individual Churches
To reflect differences among churches, Hârnic priest characters may use their Specific Skill points to open the following skills.
Agrik: Armor Training, Mace, Shield Training, Torture
Halea: Conspicuous, Haggling, Seduction, Wealth-wise
Ilvir: Folklore, Illumination, Ivashu Husbandry, Ivashu-wise
Larani: Armor Training, Rule of Law, Shield Training, Sword
Morgath: Death-wise, Intimidation, Ugly Truth, Shadow of Bukrai-wise
Naveh: Assassination-wise, Inconspicuous, Knives, Stealthy
Peoni: Animal Husbandry, Apothecary, Farming, Physician
Sarajin: Axe, Ivinian History, Ljarl-wise, Wind-and-Wave-wise
Save-K'nor: Falsehood, Obscure History, Rhetoric, Symbology
Siem: Astrology, Aura Reading, Dream-wise, Taur-Im-Aina-wise
At GM/group discretion, giving priest characters an additional 2-3 Specific Skill points to be spent on those skills may also be appropriate.
An Alternate Approach: Church-Specific Lifepaths
Although it is possible to use the existing BW lifepaths with only a few modifications (such as are outlined above) to create Hârnic priests, it would also be possible to create a set of new, unique lifepaths for each of Hârn's churches.
For instance, Toppi Makkonen (Skiorht) posted the following ideas for Morgathian church lifepaths on the Hârnforum:
Lifepath | Time | Res | Stat | Leads |
---|---|---|---|---|
Longai (Acolyte) | 5 yrs | 5 | +1 M | Outcast |
Skills: 6
pts: Doctrine, Read, Write, Cooking,
Temple-Wise, Corpse-Wise |
||||
Traits: 2
pts: Obedient, Hooded1, Faithful, Broken |
Lifepath | Time | Res | Stat | Leads |
---|---|---|---|---|
Khala (Priest)2 | 5 yrs | 18 | +1 M | Outcast |
Skills: 6
pts: Ritual, Oratory, Suasion, Burial Rites, Anatomy, Ancient Language
(Ormauk), Morvrin-Wise |
||||
Traits: 2
pts. Masked3, Cold-Blooded, Spooky |
Lifepath | Time | Res | Stat | Leads |
---|---|---|---|---|
Khidarmur (High Priest)4 | 7yrs | 45 | +1 M | Outcast, Noble Court |
Skills: 6
pts: Intimidation, Administration, Equiquette, Religious History, Church-Wise,
Politics-Wise, Bukrai-Wise; 1 pt.: General |
||||
Traits: 2
pts.: Paranoid, Domineering Presdence, Aura of Malevolence, Batshit |
Lifepath | Time | Res | Stat | Leads |
---|---|---|---|---|
Torkenta-Matan (Pontifical Agent)5 | 6yrs | 20 | +1 M/P | Outcast |
Skills: 7
pts:Inconspiculous, Interrogation, Forgery, Knife, Torture, Heresy-Wise |
||||
Traits: 2
pts.: Cool-headed, Fearless, Fanatic |
NOTES:
1: Hooded is the Morgathian
version of the Tonsured trait. 2: Requires
Longai. 3: Masked is
the Morgathian version of the Vested trait. 4: Requires
Khala. 5: Requires Khala and two Outcast lifepaths.