One reason why I haven’t done well with the options for interpersonal relationships is that I haven’t established a fully-formed image of each character. I started writing the character descriptions about a year ago, but I was distracted by other considerations and never returned to the task. I’m going to complete it here and now. I’ll be using some ancient images from an earlier attempt at an Arthurian game in the 1990s. These images were made by Aaron Urbina and do NOT represent the final images; they are only to serve as suggestions for the final artwork (IF I decide to include
Bors
Bors was born in the small province of Tandun. The area had been a backwater during Roman times. Tandun was a minor town and didn’t even merit a Roman castra (a fort for a detachment of Roman soldiers). None of the Roman military roads passed through the area, and there wasn’t much trade with other areas. Mountains dominated the terrain, with a few small valleys supporting some scraggy farms.
Bors had loving parents but life was never easy, even for the the ruling family. Their abode was too small to accommodate a group meal; they had just two servants. On the plus side, the poverty of their domain discouraged any predatory interest; even the Irish pirates never bothered attacking them. With no need for defenses, their home was sited on a small river on a well-worn trail following the river valley.
Bors is acutely aware that he is the poorest and weakest of the kinglets with the smallest domain. Nobody else holds his poverty against him, but Bors is nonetheless shamed by his low status. He brings his small group of men to border duty as often as he can, with the result that, despite their crummy equipment, they are some of the best-trained soldiers in the army.
Bors is quite smart and learns quickly, but he speaks before thinking and often blurts out stupid remarks. He is not steady in combat. He will break easily in a hard battle. His personality trait values are:
Bad_Good: 0.3
Bumbling_Competent: -0.2
Timid_Dominant: -0.4
AccordBad_Good: 0.1
AccordBumbling_Competent: 0.4
AccordTimid_Dominant: 0.5
Vain: -0.5
Soldiers: 25
Leadership: -0.4
Yes, this personality model is considerably larger than the standard personality model for SpeareShake. I am experimenting and expect to learn from my efforts.
Galahad
Galahad is 39 years old; he is a great fighter who performed brilliantly at Mount Badon. His men would follow him right into the fires of hell, confident of his ability to lead them to victory against even the Devil.
He’s certainly a model leader. He eats abstemiously; he takes no luxuries that his men don’t enjoy and suffers all the discomforts that they suffer. His unflagging energy keeps him in top shape.
Although he’s a brilliant military leader, Galahad is a poor administrator of his domain. Granted, it’s some of the poorest land in the realm, consisting mostly of rocky hills and steep terrain. There isn’t much good farmland, but his lands hold the richest veins of tin, and the mines yield a bounty that attracts merchants from far away. To his credit, Galahad recognizes his incompetence in such matters and delegates all these administrative powers to two advisors; one handles all agricultural issues and the other controls the mines.
Although he sets a magnificent example for his men, Galahad cannot see into their souls. He cannot understand why others cannot maintain the high standards he sets for himself, but is too magnanimous to resent his men for their failure to mimic his behavior. He is notably unable to empathize with his men. He never has a bad word for anybody.
Bad_Good: 0.5
Bumbling_Competent: 0.5
Timid_Dominant: -0.2
AccordBad_Good: 0.3
AccordBumbling_Competent: 0.2
AccordTimid_Dominant: 0.2
Vain: -0.5
Soldiers: 50
Leadership: 0.2
Gawaine
Gawaine was the third sub-king to join with you, after Kaye and Lancelot. He has fought a hundred battles with Arthur and has saved Arthur's life in battle at least three times; Arthur saved his even more. He’s slowed down a bit now that he has grown older. He has turned most of his attentions to increasing the output of the tin mines in his domain, which are the basis of your trade with Europe, primarily through The Greek.
Gawaine is steady in battle, but is perhaps a little over-eager. He tells long, bad jokes, and has quite a temper.
Bad_Good: 0.1
Bumbling_Competent: 0.4
Timid_Dominant: 0.2
AccordBad_Good: 0.2
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.2
AccordTimid_Dominant: 0.1
Vain: -0.3
Soldiers: 50
Leadership: 0.3
Kaye
Kaye is Arthur’s older brother. Kaye has never been much of a soldier; he just doesn’t have the killing spirit. He prefers a life of peace and indolence. He’s grown fat over the years and would prefer to be left alone by Saxons and Britons alike. He greatly admires Arthur and is absolutely loyal to him; he carries out his military duties only because he admires Arthur so much. Kaye talks a lot but says little.
Bad_Good: 0.4
Bumbling_Competent: 0.6
Timid_Dominant: -0.3
AccordBad_Good: -0.2
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.2
AccordTimid_Dominant: 0.3
Vain: 0.2
Soldiers: 40
Leadership: 0.0
Lancelot
Lancelot is just as old as Arthur’s. He is the consummate professional soldier; he began soldiering as a teenager and has been attracted to wars like a moth to flame. He has fought for the Eastern Roman Empire in its endless conflicts with Germanic peoples in the Balkans, as well as revolts against the Empire. He has seen combat in Italy and France; before coming to Britain, he fought for Syagrius against the Franks. But with the defeat of Syagrius, he made his way to Britain and joined Arthur. Lancelot has been fighting Germans of different sorts almost his entire life, and he relishes the opportunity to fight them in Britain. He has scars all over his body, his hair is beginning to gray, and he has slowed down, but he remains the best fighter in Arthur’s army.
Lancelot is imperturbable; no matter how bad the situation, he never panics. Indeed, he seldom so much as grimaces while fighting. His loyalty to Arthur is beyond question. Definitely a man of few words, although he guffaws loudly at others’ jokes.
Bad_Good: 0.4
Bumbling_Competent: 0.5
Timid_Dominant: 0.6
AccordBad_Good: -0.3
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.5
AccordTimid_Dominant: -0.3
Vain: 0.3
Soldiers: 50
Leadership: 0.4
Mordred
Mordred is Arthur’s illegitimate son. In fact, his paternity is in some doubt. His mother insists that Arthur is the father, but Arthur honestly does not recall impregnating the mother. Arthur’s great mistake was his failure to deny the mother’s claims while Mordred was a boy. Guenevere was unable to conceive a child and Arthur thought it politic to leave open the possibility that Mordred truly was his son, just in case Guenevere never bore him a child — which in fact is what eventuated. That is why Arthur granted Mordred a dominion to rule. Now, however, Mordred has turned out to be a wretched human being, an angry and selfish kinglet whose lust for Arthur’s position is obvious to all.
Ironically, his personality flaws do not extend to his abilities in battle. He is a master tactician and his men are loyal to him. He’s calculating and measures his words carefully. He has absolutely no sense of humor.
Bad_Good: -0.5
Bumbling_Competent: 0.4
Timid_Dominant: 0.3
AccordBad_Good: -0.3
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.3
AccordTimid_Dominant: -0.3
Vain: 0.6
Soldiers: 50
Leadership: 0.3
Sagramore
Sagramore is one of the old hands, having fought with Arthur at Mount Badon. Sagramore was the son of a carpenter but he ran away from home while still a boy and he joined a gang of ruffians who provided muscle to paying clients in those troubled times. They also engaged in occasional highway robberies, but were careful not to kill anybody or attack any particularly wealthy victims. When Ambrosious Aurelianus began collecting his army to fight the Saxons, their captain decided to elude the price of his many crimes by joining the army. Sagramore proved to be a good fighter and a clever aide, so when the captain was killed in action, Sagramore was elected by the men to be the new captain. He participated in lots of fighting and fought courageously at Mount Badon, suffering a nasty leg wound. In gratitude for his courage, Arthur awarded him the domain of a kinglet who had died in the battle.
Sagramore is still a ruffian at heart. He has no loyalty to anybody but himself. He isn’t evil or sadistic, and in good times he can be a genuinely good-hearted fellow. But he has a nasty temper and a mean streak that occasionally bursts forth. He is well-known for telling long jokes that make no sense. He’s loud and boisterous.
Bad_Good: -0.3
Bumbling_Competent: -0.4
Timid_Dominant: 0.3
AccordBad_Good: -0.3
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.3
AccordTimid_Dominant: -0.3
Vain: 0.6
Soldiers: 60
Leadership: 0.1
Tristram
Tristram is the youngest of the kinglets. His father Mark died only a few years ago and Tristram is still learning the responsibilities of a kinglet. He has been too busy with domestic responsibilities to learn any military skills. He is eager to learn, good-hearted, generous, and happy. He’s generally quiet in the presence of the other kinglets.
Bad_Good: -0.3
Bumbling_Competent: -0.4
Timid_Dominant: 0.3
AccordBad_Good: -0.3
AccordBumbling_Competent: -0.3
AccordTimid_Dominant: -0.3
Vain: 0.6
Soldiers: 50
Leadership: 0.0
Here’s the map of the domains. This map will NEVER appear in the game nor will it ever be referred to. It is for my own design purposes only.
