Roleplaying effects

Overview

Roleplaying effects are a core part of the rule system for Empire and may affect your character at any time. All roleplaying effects, have a number of features in common regardless of their source.

Supernatural Effects

• You may experience supernatural effects that influence your roleplaying
• You decide how your character responds to any roleplaying effects
• You cannot ignore roleplaying effects

You may be the target of a power or ability that includes direction marked “roleplaying effects”. This states an influence on your character’s personality and mood. It is common for religious characters to be able to produce positive effects, for instance the sermon of a priest may infuse your character with a feeling of courage and confidence. Although your character cannot ignore the effects it is up to you choose how your character responds to the feelings they are experiencing.

For example, a priest wishes to encourage you and half a dozen of your friends to risk death to retrieve a rare artefact from a large group of orc raiders. Just before the expedition departs the priest imparts a blessing of Courage to everyone making them feel confident, bold and fearless. You decide that your character responds to their new found courage by leaving the group and instead going to publicly confront the Cardinal of Prosperity for taking bribes.

It is also common to encounter malign auras and influences that will produce negative effects such as feelings of fear or anger. Your character must respond to these effects but it is up to you to determine the manner with which your character responds. In some circumstances you may be able to resist or overcome roleplaying effects - but even then it should be clear that your character has been affected by the roleplaying effects, but has found the strength to overcome them.

Overcoming Roleplaying Effects

File:Wraiths.jpg

Some horrific creatures exude a malign spiritual aura.]

• All Imperial player characters are assumed to be brave heros
• Roleplaying effects are supernatural - you need a supernatural source of strength to resist them
• Unique elements of characterisation may allow you to overcome a roleplaying effect

When the rules direct that your character is affected by roleplaying effects, the influences that your character is experiencing are fundamentally supernatural in nature. All Imperial PCs are assumed to be bold heroes; the supernatural aura of dread and fear that surrounds a wraith cannot be resisted or overcome simply because your characterisation is that you are uncommonly brave. If you want to resist or overcome these effects then your character must have a source of personal strength that is supernatural in nature or have some part of your characterisation that makes them uniquely ably to react that way.

Four common sources of supernatural strength are:

• Lineage - some lineages are able to respond differently to some roleplaying effects
• Blessings - Imperial priests can create blessings which may give characters the strength to overcome malign auras
• Rituals - a handful of rituals provide the recipient with the option to respond differently to a specific roleplaying effect
• Magic items - you may be bonded to a magical item that changes the way you can respond to roleplaying effects

In these cases, either you lineage should be physically obvious to everyone present (it is acceptable to be concealed, but would be obvious if the concealment were removed), or else you will have a card or ability that indicates what sort of roleplaying effects you can respond to and what options you have.

Unique Characterisation

• Your character or group may have a unique reason to resist a roleplaying effect
• The unique reason should be unique to your character or group

Most characters in Empire are brave heroes of one kind or another, but truly notable deeds like sworn oaths, bonds of love or fealty might also be the justification a character needs to endure an effect they desire to confront. The basis for being able to resist or overcome a roleplaying effect should be unique to your character or group - it should be something that makes the entire situation unique to them and goes to the heart of your characterisation.

For example, a group of characters encounters a glade filled with an overwhelming aura of fear and dread. One of the characters is a changeling who can always choose to respond to such effects with a dreadful wrath, she gives an angry snarl and strides into the glade. The changeling’s bodyguard has sworn a great oath to protect his liege at any cost - driven by the strength of his oath he grits his teeth and huddles close to his liege attempting to cover them both with his shield. The remainder of the group lurk around the edge, hoping to find the motivation to overcome the dark pall.

In this situation the basis of the bodyguard's character is his role as a bodyguard and the oath that he has sworn - it's central to what make his character different to the other characters around him and is a good basis for resist a roleplaying effect.

It is possible but rare that a group might encounter a roleplaying effect where the conditions are unique to them. In this case their shared characterisation make the group different to other groups around them. A Varushkan coven that has sworn to defeat a particular Volodny might find the strength to resist the aura of fear that surrounds the animated corpse of one of their members who has been slain by the Volodny and raised to do battle against them. It is clear that these conditions are unique to that group - they don't apply to everyone.

Common conditions that affect many characters are not sufficient to resist a supernatural roleplaying effect. All League bravos are bold, all Wintermark warriors are heroic, all Dawnish knights are glorious, all Marcher Yeoman are stubborn. These qualities are common to every character in the game, they don't mark your character or your group as unique.

For example, the Navarr nation is preparing for battle with a Vallorn force that is known to be surrounded by a miasma of sickening humours that incapacitates you with wretching spasms if you come to close. The entire Navarr nation are driven to destroy the Vallorn, their oaths and vows to destroy the Vallorn are generic, they apply to every Navarr and every Vallorn. There is nothing unique about them so they are not sufficient to allow the Navarr thorns to overcome the miasma."

Types of Roleplaying Effects

There are three different types of roleplaying effect, auras which affect an area or the area near a creature, influences which are linked to items and personal which affects characters.

Area Effects (Auras)

Auras are roleplaying effects that affect any character who enters the area. Auras are indicated with an A5 area effect aura card which will state the nature of the aura and indicate what roleplaying effects it causes. If you are within approximately 15 feet of this card then you experience the effect. If you notice an A5 area effect aura card then you should discreetly move to read the card when the first opportunity to do so without disrupting your roleplaying presents itself and take the effects from then on.

The card will note the strength of the aura for the purposes of replacement or exorcism. On occasion, auras may be applied by a referee with instructions for uncommon or location-specific, effects.

Auras stop at natural boundaries; if a tent that is 5-feet across is under an aurea, then the aura does not spill out ten feet to either side. If an aura covers a tent or structure that is larger than 15 feet across then it will have an aura card every 20feet or so to indicate this.

Some supernatural creatures cause auras in the area around them. If this happens on a battlefield then a referee will shout a brief roleplaying effect to any character who comes near. These auras are permanent - the ref will not keep repeating the roleplaying instructions but the aura does not stop until the monster is slain.

Item Effects

Some magical items, particularly items that have been hallowed, may cause roleplaying affects to any character that is bonded to them. You do not experience the influence simply by carrying or using the item, only if you are bonded to it. The referee will inform you of any item effects that you experience when you bond to an item or when an item you are bonded to is hallowed.

Personal Effects

Your character may be directly affected by a roleplaying effect. This usually happens because your character has been annointed, but some rituals and all potions cause personal roleplaying effects. Personal roleplaying effects affect your character for the stated duration.

When you use a potion, you rip open the potion card to read the roleplaying and mechanical effects which are written inside the card. Personal roleplaying effects from potions last for an hour or for the duration of the potion effect, whichever is longer.

Sources

Roleplaying effects may be spiritual, alchemical, or magical in nature. This has no effect on the rules that determine how your character reacts and responds.

Spiritual

Spiritual roleplaying effects are directly related to the soul. They may be caused by priests of the Way of Virtue, but they can occur naturally and some of the enemies of the Empire create blasphemous or corrupt auras and influences.

Alchemical

All potions have roleplaying effects which you experience when you are affected by the potion.

Magical

Powerful eternals are often surrounded by auras that cause roleplaying effects, and regio and some rituals and magic items are associated with roleplaying effects.