Cloak and Sword: Oaf

The recent revival of the old Cloak and Sword bandwagon has been so great, I decided to revisit it.

Chivalric qualities are measured against those that decidedly do not possess them- peasants, louts, oafs, nosy servants, and other decidedly less than honourable types.

They are the beloved squires of the Mistimed Quixotes and the hated underlings of a Noble's Man.

Class: Oaf

Starting Equipment: dirty and worn clothing befitting your specific servile role, one tool or implement befitting that role as well

Servile: Pick a member of the party that is of a higher station then you- a noble, a noble's servant, etc. You report to them and act as their servant. While following orders issued by them, you are guaranteed to fail in a comedic but not overly disastrous way. In turn: any character of a higher birthright- whom is stronger, smarter, faster, and more chivalrous than you- earns Esprit from onlookers if they succeed on that same task.

Resiliency: Your character can sleep off any injury short of drawn blood. A concussion, broken bones, etc. all turn out to actually just be minor injuries and your character is just a whiner.

Martyr: If your character dies in a horrible and demeaning way at the hands of a villain or rival of your master, your master gets a +1 bonus on any rolls related to exposing their general deviousness (not specifically personal revenge though; you ultimately matter very little to your master). You also can roll up a new character with one additional starting template compared to normal.

Suited for Labor: Your character can perform the manual labor of two men, however they must bitch and moan about it the entire time. If they are ever unobserved by their master or another one of their's masters servants, your character must instead slack off.

Lacking Virtue: As long as your character is in at least a rural pocket of civilisation, they can find some local den of vice. Upon visiting this den, roll 1d6. On a 6 or higher, your character encounters a villain or rival of your master frequenting the den. They will not remember you or your face after this encounter until the worst possible moment.

Knave: When your character violates the law, chivalry, honour, etc.: the punishment for being caught is never quite as bad as the full sentence should be. At worst: they may be starved, lashed, or beaten, but never killed.

Love's Labors: If your character ever tries to meddle in true love, for good or for ill, their efforts always fail in an immediate and comedic way that ultimately help guarantee true love finds a way. (Eh this is weak but ehhhh this is a quickie).

Oops: If your character is ever entrusted with a baby of noble lineage for more than 12 hours, they will automatically lose it. That baby will grow up under odd conditions (e.g. raised by wolves, taken in by a wizard, etc) but will be safe from any rivals of their lineage and grow up to be an auspicious and powerful individual in some way. Mechanically: roll up a more powerful character that can be played by someone in a future game in the setting / after a time skip / etc.

Perspective: If you make a mistake while in service of a noble and chivalrous master, they will be viewed as charitable and kind to all onlookers for tolerating you without a punishment. If you make one in service of a cruel or dastardly master, others will view them as more menacing and fearsome.

Braggart: Your character can not normally earn Esprit. They can however: lie and brag about false great deeds which they have done. Any onlookers whom are children, fools, peasants, etc. will believe them and hold Esprit for your character until presented evidence otherwise, or after about an hour in the presence of your character and witnessing their behaviour acts as evidence else wise.

This is getting out of hand, now theres two of them: Your character gets a buddy- another oafish lout with traits perfectly in contrast to their own (e.g. if your character is short, fat, and easy-going, their fellow oaf will be tall, thin, and highstrung). Both oafs aren't any more productive, can never be apart from each other, and share any relevant character resources. However any sort of injuries or statuses are not shared between them. If one dies, the other can continue on as a solo Oaf with all the same templates aside from this one.

Witness: If your master were to die, you become a slightly better and more chivalrous person to honour their martyrdom. Your character loses all Oaf templates, and can take up something slightly more respectable instead.