Heorot Inheritance Traditions

A recent question by a player made me realize how far we've come... the question was about inheritance traditions in Heorot culture, and how it works.  I found this interesting, because the original political premise of the game was based on inheritance, so I knew exactly how it works.

First, there's one rule to remember with Heorot culture: there are no rules.  There's no rule of law, there's a tradition of Honor, which essentially amounts to "say what you do, and do what you say." (Okay, it's more complicated than that, but check out older entries on the blog for more).  That said, there's three very strongly held traditions of inheritance...

1. The parents' oldest son gets everything (and if there are no sons, then it would pass to the daughters).

2. A woman retains her property, but it is managed by her husband.

3. A woman cannot be an Earl, but may make her husband an Earl as long as they are married.

The first rule is interesting, because if I get remarried after having a son from a previous marriage, that son is entitled to everything from that marriage, but nothing from my current one.  That's because my marriage is a partnership... the dowery still belongs to my current wife, and anything we gained together is ours, not mine.  Further, if I marry an Earl's daughter, I might be an Earl... but only as long as we remain married.  

This can give rise to a number of gray areas, and those areas are very gray and undefined.  For example, Castus was King of the Heorots prior to his marriage to Jenevra, Queen of the Aels.  Through that marriage, he became King of all people of Lloegyr. His son, Draught, was entitled to his Heorot title, but not the title of all of Lloegyr, as Aelia was undisputably Ala's.  Hilarity ensues.

Killing or Murder?

There is no real prohibition against killing in the North.  There are, however, plenty of ways to sully one's honor while killing someone.  While it's relatively easy to avoid "murder," (that is to say, dishonorable killing), the finality of death means that certain issues of honor become much more pertinent in such matters.

There's really only two ways to violate one's honor directly by killing another person.  One is to attack through stealth or ambush, without giving the other person a chance to defend against the attack.  To a lesser degree, attacking without giving fair warning is also an Honor violation... the distinction is whether you possess an unfair advantage, or if resistance is impossible.  The other is to attempt to conceal your crime... that is to say making the death look accidental or from natural causes (this would deny your victim's family the opportunity for revenge).  Generally, if the other person knows one intends to attack violently, these are not issues.  The most common practice of dueling is not to strike until the other person's weapon is bared (this is not a necessity, but if the other person has their sword ready, it's hard to say they're not aware they're about to be in a fight).

This is not to say that killing another person is not a risky proposition to one's Honor.  This is because there are several prohibitions against violence... some stronger than others.  For example, attacking family or striking one's betters are considered sins against Honor.  Most notably, those with Unstained honor (Honor 5, 6, or 7) must consider the following:

• Are they about to do violence to another individual sworn to their liege or a priest or priestess of their religion?  Doing so would be disrespect to their liege or religion
• Are they about to do violence to another of higher status?  Doing so would be a refusal to acknowledge status.
• Are they about to attack a guest?  Doing so might violate the guest rite.

To avoid such pitfalls, there are a number of formal conventions to follow when issuing a challenge of violence.  

To avoid these pitfalls, there is a tradition of the Long Walk... a formal duel.

(Continued in The Long Walk)

The Long Walk

A duel doesn't need to be a formal affair... one person issues some sort of challenge, the other person bares steel, and they fight to the death.  However, when nobles and priestesses fight, there are more complex issues... issues that can stain one's honor if not heeded.  To avoid these issues, the tradition of the Long Walk has developed.

The Long Walk is not a necessity, but rather a precaution.  Observing the steps of the Long Walk ensure that an attacker doesn't suffer any damage to his or her reputation (if properly observed, the Long Walk ensures that a character does not commit an Honor violation).  The drawback?  It's named for the amount of walking around and waiting an individual must endure before seeing their quarrel resolved.

The Long Walk starts with declaring your intentions... to your liege.  One then goes to get a blessing from one's priest or priestess.  These two actions are vital... a liege must give his or her permission, and the religious leader ensures the action will not result in violence against the faith.

The next step is to issue the challenge... to clearly state a grievance (which can be nearly anything), a means of redress (which doesn't have to be reasonable), and a consequence (which is almost always death or injury).  It is important to realize that one may duel based upon a grievance such as "I don't like  your nose," and the redress could be "cut it off."  A common address when one merely wants to kill someone is "Your birth offends me, leap over the moon or I shall end you."  ("Leap over the moon" is a common metaphor for the impossible).

The individual challenged must address this, or be displaying cowardice in the face of danger (a level 5 violation).  Further, if the challenger does not address the challenge, they imply consent to any sort of danger you might impose on them, at any time (that is to say, any violence you do against them does not cause an honor violation).  However, they need not be in a particular rush... as long as they respond in a reasonable amount of time (generally thought to be about a day, plus the amount of time it takes the messenger to travel) the Long Walk continues.  The challenger can either fulfill the redress, or offer terms.

Terms are traditionally very specific.  They include the size and location of the fighting ground, whether armor or shields are to be used, and time of day.  Note that terms such as "first blood" do not apply... the fight continues until it stops.  However, if the individual challenged is of higher shared status than the challenger, he might name a champion (note that if two individuals don't share status, the challenger doesn't have to accept a champion).  

After the terms are accepted, the duel can happen.  There are generally no issues or limitations, and violence can occur without concern for honor.   At any time, the challenger can simply attack... and hope that their recklessness does not cost them Honor.

Honor Scenarios

Often, players confuse modern legal situations for honor, and start arguing "right and wrong" with the storyteller.  While appropriate to their character's reasoning, they do not define the society of the North. Instead, Honorable is essentially defined as "living in a manner open to the repercussions of their actions"while dishonor is attempting avoid the consequences.  Lying is wrong, not because it can hurt someone else, but because it hides one's intentions and prevents others from acting against you.  The Neizjet defines appropriate interactions, not because it guarantees that people behave, but rather because it describes what an individual is due.

In order to demonstrate that... consider these scenarios...

Burgred has a coin purse.  Oswulf wants it, goes up to Burgred, tells him that he's going to take it, then kills Burgred in front of his family and takes his purse.

In this case, Oswulf has done absolutely nothing dishonorable.  He neither hid his action (allowing Burgred's kin to track him down and kill him) nor denied Burgred the opportunity to defend himself.  This is not an honor violation.

Burgred drops his coin purse.  Oswulf finds it, picks it up and takes it.

This is an Honor 8 violation.  Oswulf knows those aren't his coins... he's neither given his submission nor geld for them, and he did not earn it.  While it is not a grievous violation, he cannot be trusted to protect another's property in a consequence free environment.

Burgred has a coin purse.  Oswulf wants it, goes up to Burgred on an abandoned street, then kills Burgred and takes his purse.

This is an Honor 6 violation.  Why?  Because he is hiding his crime and minimizing the consequences. This is more dangerous than the actual crime, because there's no way to punish it.  Still, Burgred has a fighting chance, meaning it's not quite a craven act.

Burgred has a coin purse.  Oswulf walks up, threatens his life, and demands the purse... which Burgred hands over.

Burgred has committed an Honor 5 violation... he didn't defend his property... therefore he cannot be trusted to have any.  His actions mark him as someone who will cause others to do violence for him, and that he values his life more than his honor.

Burgred has a coin purse.  Oswulf wants it, creeps up on Burgred in his sleep, kills him, and steals it.

The reason this is an Honor 4 violation is because Burgred was never given the chance to defend himself.  It's not wrong to take Burgred's life... it's wrong to deprive him the opportunity of killing you.

Thoughts on Honor

A recent game saw "shit get Lloegyr," and with that, came a spat of Honor violations.  After several discussions, I realized that many players have limited understanding of how Honor works in the society of the North, and why I focus so heavily on a relatively unpopular rule.  Given that your intrepid storyteller generally tries to respond to his player's wishes, some more exploration of honor will help establish how important the concept is to Lloegyr.

The important thing to realize is that honor is indicative, and the only punishment for breaking norms and mores is enforced individually by the various characters in Lloegyr.  There is no such thing as "law" within Heorot or Kraki society, and it is indistinguishable from religion in Aelic culture.  Instead, behavior is controlled by individuals taking matters into their own hands, avenging wrongs against them and their family.  Because violence is both difficult and risky, it is the threat of violence that keeps individuals in check.  Honor is really a system of indicating who behaves, and accepts the indirect link between one's actions and the potential for violence.

At its most basic level, honor indicates who is deserving of violence... there are paragons who are so honorable, violence against them is unthinkable, and cravens, who will likely need some violence to keep them in line.  Abominations have no place in society, and ought be dealt with violently before they can transgress against whoever they encounter.  What's important to remember is that one doesn't deserve violence because one has low honor... one just gets to low honor by doing things that have to be dealt with violently.

The entire concept of "justice" as modern Americans know it is foreign to the Heorots and the Kraki and the Aels... instead, it's a matter of righting wrongs done to you.  Authority is the ability to right wrongs done against others... an Earl's authority comes from his ability to bring order to his Earldom, and a King's authority comes from his ability to control his Earls.  When someone asks "what does the law say," the answer is "ask the Earl" (or priestess, or captain, etc).  If someone asks "who does this belong to" in regards to stolen property, the answer is "ask the Earl."  This concept is independent of honor; "justice" is what the individuals capable of enforcing it say it is.  Instead, honor indicates whether or not violence is going to be necessary to enforce it.

The Warrior's Code

The topic of Honor (as opposed to morality or chivalry) begs the question: what is expected?  What is a fair fight?  What is expected of a liege towards his vassal, and what is a vassal due his liege?  What about lying or giving your word?  How does Hospitality factor into this?  These answers are important, and as such, this post will try to address them.

First, while Honor represents "A Warrior's Code" it applies to virtually all characters of the North.  Even though values and mores differ significantly between cultures, all of them accept some common notions as honorable.  As such, every individual is held to the same standards.

Second, much of Honor is entwined with the concept of hospitality.  The Neizjet is the basis for social interaction in this society, and is essentially a formal exchange of good will that establishes a hierarchy... the giver of a gift offers sanctuary with the receiver offering obedience.  This goodwill can be avoided through the use of geld, but generally, this exchange is the basis for Honor... Honor relies on powerful warlords having the ability to have social interactions based on respect and honesty, and that they keep their words once offered.  This is the core of Honor as defined in Ubi Sunt.

As part of this code of ethics, there are certain expectations, particularly as acts of violence are concerned.  First, there is a concept of fighting dishonorably (which is a level 4 honor violation).  Violence is expected to be contained, so that the other individual knows that it is about to occur (allowing the opportunity to seek hospitality or offer some sort of submission).  Further, there are some expectations of fairness: warriors fight other warriors, for example, allowing Earls to name champions on their behalf.  A champion directly attacking an elderly noble, for example, is considered an unfair advantage.  However, once in the thick of the fight, there isn't much need for concern: one does what one needs to to win.  Violence can cross social stations or be done to "innocent" people... it's not considered unjust to kill a man who has done nothing wrong, as long as he or she is a worthy opponent and prepared for the fight.  One does not need to wait for a prone opponent to get up, rearm a disarmed foe, or hold off a killing blow who fell in the fight.

The concept of lords and vassals are somewhat different.  While a lord can expect the submission of his vassals, this submission is voluntary, and can be renounced at any time (but must be renounced before the vassal takes any steps against his or her lord.  Note that this isn't to say a lord's power over his or her vassals is without security; if a vassal renounces a lord, that lord is quickly able to turn upon the disloyal servant without any worry of hospitality... the vassal essentially states that he or she has no fear of the lord.  The lord is also expected to be generous, and realize that a vassal's property is his or her own.  An exception is land, which is (in Heorot lands) held by the King, and gifted to his Earls.

These are just some examples that clarify honor.   More questions?  That's what comments are for... 

Right Versus Honorable

Of all the mechanics in the Storyteller System, Morality is arguably the most important and most problematic.  Every template (included Lloegyr's heroic template) changes the morality system, as characters are judged by different ethic criteria than your typical human being.

Importantly, Honor sets the Fated hero of Lloegyr apart from mere mortals.  The Heroes of Lloegyr aren't held to a standard of right or wrong, but rather how well an individual adheres to his or her culture's moral code.  While they might seem similar, and often are, there is an important difference - in Lloegyr, your Honor depends on what everyone else expects of you, as opposed to what your heart or conscience tell you.

It's best to think of Honor as an overarching sense of integrity: above all else, you must keep your word... even if you didn't have a say in your original promise.  Just being born into a particular culture comes with responsibilities: you have particular gods to worship, kings to obey, and parents to honor, and you don't necessary get a say in the matter.  Add on top of that obligations one actually takes upon him or herself, and you a hero will have a number of actions they must undertake and avoid.

It is one thing to kill a person, or to take his or her things, but it is another to rob them, or ambush them, for in doing so, one attacks the social order that keeps the cultures of North functioning.  This is why it is such a bad thing to be known as craven... it means you have a disregard for the social order that supports every one's way of life.  There are times when a person must do an evil act... but that evil act is a stain upon the hero's own conscience.  There are others when a person must do a dishonorable act, and that act is a crime against a hero's own people.

This sense of "wrong" versus "dishonorable" is at the heart of the setting, and exploring it is very important to the themes of the story.  To a modern American, raised on rugged individualism, we might admire the craven who follows his or her own principles while suffering the condemnation of an entire culture.  However, as a storyteller, I have to demonstrate the consequences of these decisions, and make clear that being an individualist and following one's heart can be a dishonorable act.  And if it is a dishonorable act, I have to make sure there are negative repercussions.

One recurring theme of Ubi Sunt is "nothing in this world is free."  Players will hear it over and over, and Honor is part of what enforces theme.  In Lloegyr, everything has a price, even (perhaps especially) doing the right thing.