Hakima

Introduction

If life was just about manipulating magic it would be easier by far

Alam Proverb

The most powerful and organised magicians in Alam society, the Hakima are the guardians of magical lore in the Alam tribes. They trace their role back to the three founders who were each powerful ritualists with their own style and emphasis. A group of Hakima recruits the most promising individuals from every family that is part of the same tribe and gives it's loyalty to the tribe as a whole, rather than any individual family. By drawing together a group of ritualists from all the families, the Hakima ensure they have sufficient ability to cast powerful rituals, something that would be difficult for a single family to achieve by itself.

The Hakima play an important political role in Alam life, acting as neutral arbiters between the families and serving as the glue that holds Alam society together. The traditional role of the Hakima is as guides to the families, providing advice and direction. While there are fools in any position, the position of Hakima is well respected by most Alam who appreciate that they represent something of a higher calling. The best Hakima use this respect to direct the Alam families in the best interests of all, the worst try to browbeat families into doing as they ask.

The Hakima have no formal power, but their neutrality gives them an important social role in helping to settle disputes and their magical skills mean that their support for individual families is invaluable, something they can translate into additional political influence. Members of Hakima groups should try to make sure they are present when all important business is being decided by the Alam families of their tribe, to ensure that the right decisions are made.

Playing Hakima

The Hakima are intended to allow players to play a group of Alam ritualists who also have a significant role in the politics of the Alam nation, if they choose to do so. Players can choose to create a Hakima group rather that play a traditional Alam family. The Hakima are drawn from a single tribe, so the group should still pick which of the three tribes they are from. It is worth taking account of the magical traditions of the three tribes when making this choice; you're not obliged to use the magical tradition of the tribe, but if your group is interested in using one of these approaches to do magic, it helps to make the appropriate choice when creating the group. It's also well worth checking if any other groups are playing or planning to play Hakima in that tribe, since it will be easier to have fun if you join a tribe that isn't already well served by existing Hakima groups.

Individual Hakima characters are recruited from every Alam family in a tribe, so you can still define your Alam family as part of your background. If you want to be from an existing Alam family, one played by current players, then it's worth contacting the group just to check they are happy with you doing that. Balancing the loyalties to your tribe with old ties to a family can be part of the fun of playing a Hakima. Otherwise you can define a small NPC family that your character is from.

It's perfectly acceptable to have characters in the group who aren't playing Hakima. Members who want to play warriors should take a look at the Kohan character role, who are often found with the Hakima. There is no reason why a group of Hakima wouldn't associate with a Sutanir or a merchant, but if your group doesn't include these sorts of characters you are likely to be dependent on the other Alam family groups for help, a situation which will make the events much more enjoyable for everyone in your group. You will have to roleplay with the Alam families to obtain what you need, which is a lot more fun than just being able to sort it out without any roleplaying required.

Focusing your group on magic, will make it more enjoyable for everyone in the group but it will also bolster your groups reputation and ability to perform powerful rituals. The Hakima's position is derived from the magical support they render to the other families in their tribe, the more focused on magic your group is, the more important you will be to all the other family groups.

You can play a Hakima character who is part of an Alam family group. The Hakima do not consider themselves part of a family, but your character might be associating with the family, or working with them to achieve some long term goals. Ultimately though the respect the families are supposed to have for the Hakima is based on their neutrality, on the fact that the Hakima are loyal to the tribe rather than any individual family. You can't expect other players to treat you as a Hakima if you are very obviously just a ritualist who is part of an Alam family group. If you want to play a ritualist who is part of a family group, it may be better to play that idea to the hilt, perhaps even a character who has rejected the role of the Hakima in favour of remaining loyal to their family.

You can play a lone Hakima, it's hard to be powerful as an individual ritualist but your character may be able to make themselves essential by performing weak but important rituals.

The political role of the Hakima is meant to be a subtle one. Part of their influence comes from the way they place the good of the tribe above the families, so the more unbiased you can be, the more power you are likely to wield. The magic rituals you can offer are vital to the other groups, so don't be afraid to use that to get what you want from them, but the more subtle you can be about it, the better. If you try to throw your weight around and expect other players to do what you say because "the brief says the Alam respect the Hakima" you are going to get nowhere. The Hakima are supposed to be shrewd and wise in their dealings with the families, you have to play that part of the Alam brief to get other players to play theirs!