Age of Dragons: Ambassador-Courtier

Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Age Of Dragons: Lifepaths -> Ambassador-Courtier

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Overview

Words cut deeper than claws

It had been an interesting month for the Solar Ambassador-Courtier called Voice-of-Reason. He'd convinced a belligerent Argent Dragon to lend his armies to defend the borders of a neighbouring Pure Dragon, and convinced that same self righteous Pure Dragon to accept that help. In doing so, he'd had to convince both that they were doing him a personal favour, which he in turn would repay by persuading a visiting Ashen Dragon scholar to share the scrolls of lore that he had researched. Of course, this meant giving the Ashen Dragon what he wanted, which was help in getting a pack of Hunter Dragons to lay off harrying his cities. This would be achieved, of course, when the Hunters saw a mass of Argent War Dragons setting up a wayfort on the edge of their sky tribe's territory. Of course, once the Ascendancy threat was dealt with, the Solar could earn a favour off the Hunters by "arranging" for the Argents to go home.

Everyone would benefit, and the only reward for Voice-of-Reason would be the general goodwill of all parties, and the satisfaction of coordinating the war against the Ascendancy. That, of course, and the small measure of wealth that the Solar could earn by having his merchants supply the moving Argent army, the sale of the fort building materials he'd been assidiously stockpiling and the opportunity to converse formally with the Ashen Dragon, and plant some seeds of ideas there to be used and abused in a decade or two once they had time to germinate.

Most importantly, the Argent response would lead to the assured abd violent death of Hungry-for-Battle, the Ascendancy general in charge of the assault. That Blood Dragon had duelled with Voice of Reason no less than one hundred and fifty years ago, and left a nasty claw-scar on the Solar's left cheek. It had taken a lot of work to see the Blood Dragon moved up the list of generals to lead this raid, to assure that the Ascendancy force would be inadequate for the job, and to position the surrounding factions so that the Ascendancy would be cut off from retreat after this attack.

Negotiation, persuasion and the art of manipulation - these were the tools and weapons of this Ambassador-Courtier, and as Hungry-Claw would soon discover, words could cut far deeper than claws.

The Ambassador-Courtier Lifepath

Dragons are socially adept creatures, with even the most brutish of dragons able to play games of intrigue and manipulation at a level far beyond those of mortals.

Whereas a human might be pleased to persuade an adversary to adopt a certain course of action for the next year, or to socially outmanoeuvre someone in court, Dragons play out their social conflicts on far greater levels. With words in the right places, a dragon can cause kingdoms to topple or enemies to be ostracised from society. They can smear the most loved hero as a traitor, or bring the most unlikely allies into the fold. Likewise, a Dragon will happily work over much larger timescales to achieve his goals, recognising that a major victory that takes one hundred and fifty years is likely worth a lot more than one hundred and fifty trivial victories that take a year each.

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Milestones

Lifepath Sphere Variations

• Adept at Socialisation (20 XP)

If you have taken this Milestone you gain +1 dice to all social dice rolls relating to face to face interactions, such as conversation, squared-up intimidation or lying to someone's face. Essentially, any task of social interaction involving direct opposed social interaction is enhanced by this Milestone. In Social Conflicts, this Milestone enhances Direct Attacks only.

• Charismatic Orator (20 XP)

If you have taken this Milestone you gain +1 dice to all social dice rolls relating to addressing passive targets (i.e. those that are just listening to you rather than arguing back). In Social Conflicts, this Milestone enhances attacks against Passive targets only.

• Puppetmaster (20 XP)

If you have taken this Milestone you gain +1 dice to all social dice rolls relating to indirect communication, such as letter writing, working through proxies, propaganda campaigning and the like. Essentially, any task of social interaction involving indirect effect is enhanced by this Milestone. In Social Conflicts, this Milestone enhances Indirect Attacks only.

Talents

• Idea-Seeding Technique (5 XP)

On a successful persuasion attempt you can seed an idea into someone's mind rather than directly persuading them. This idea will take time to develop, and when it arrives will be considered by the target to be his own idea. A passing thought or consideration takes a few days to appear, a motivated plan takes a decade or so to manifest, and a deeply held belief or agenda takes a century to germinate. This is not a magical effect, but rather achieved through careful neurolinguistic programming, so is limited to the sort of things you could normally achieve through persuasion.

• Impassioned Posturing (5 XP)

In Social Conflict situations you can adopt two new Battle Stances in addition to the default ones. Impassioned Aggression gives you -2 TN to attack, but +2 TN to defence. Impassioned Defence gives you +2 TN to attack, but -2 TN to defence.

• Phrase of Fascination (5 XP)

You can subtly weight a single phrase within your arguments, so others will remember it above all others. This phrase has no inherent power in itself, and is not a command as such, but rather a sticky meme that listeners cannot shake and will persistently come to mind for them in years to come. For example, you could weight the phrase "we are all brothers, after all", and for years afterwards the listener will consider these words, perhaps slightly inclining him towards negotiation rather than war, or perhaps making him more vengeful when a comrade is wronged. This is a subtle, subconscious and non-magical effect.

• Social Resilience (20 XP)

Through a carefully cultivated persona of untouchability you are harder than normal to effect with social attacks. In social conflicts, you are at -1 TN to all Resist Injury checks.

• Stature of Commanded Attention (5 XP)

With this Milestone you have learnt how to capture and command the notice of listeners as such that they cannot help but give you their attention, and that they are inclined not to interrupt. Any character seeking to either interrupt you while you are talking or walk out on you mid-conversation must first pass a Sophis test, at TN 4+, with a difficulty equal to your Pneuma score minus one. This is not a magical effect, so only extends to reasonable circumstance. For example, it doesn't work if someone needs to leave to escape physical threat, or has a truly vital appointment to keep, or if you are persistently interrupting them first.

Arcane Lore

• Claim of Hospitality (3 XP)

To cast this spell, the Dragon must be invited into the home, lair or domain of another Dragon, and freely offered something to eat. The Ambassador-Courtier then speaks the words "I accept hospitality." After this spell is cast, the Ambassador-Courtier cannot offer violence to his host, or vice versa. Similarly, those who are under the host's command, or in the Ambassador's retinue cannot harm each other, or be harmed by each other. Any physical violence of any sort immediately curses the offending party, marking him with glowing runes of treachery, that burn into his flesh permanently scarring him and Critically Injuring him, but immediately ending the spell's effect (thus freeing the mystic binding of others, allowing them to engage in violence as they will).

• Oath of Brotherhood (3 XP)

To cast this spell, the Dragon must breath into the mouth of another Dragon, then inhale their breath afterwards. Both must then speak the words "I swear you are as my kin." After this spell is cast, the Ambassador-Courtier cannot offer violence to his sworn brother, or vice versa. Any physical violence of any sort immediately curses the offending party, marking him with glowing runes of treachery, that burn into his flesh permanently scarring him and Critically Injuring him, but immediately ending the spell's effect (thus freeing the other to engage in violence as they will). The spell is ineffective on anyone who has slain an immediate member of their family (i.e. brother, sister, child or parent), and simply will not work in those circumstances. Similarly, if a dragon bound by the Oath of Brotherhood kills an immediate member of his family, the Oath's effects end, and an instant pang of emotional pain is felt by both of the Oathbound.

• Wind Whisper (3 XP)

To cast this spell, the Dragon must know the target's birth-name and be outdoors in a strong wind. The target must be somewhere within one thousand miles, and there must be a continuous path through the air to the target (though through the crachs of closed doors and the like is sufficient). The Dragon simply speaks a single sentence, and then makes a Pneuma check at TN4+, difficulty 1. If successful, the Dragon's words are carried to the ears of the target, travelling as fast as the wind is currently blowing. For every success scored above the difficulty, the speed of the message is doubled.

• Sanctum (3 XP)

To cast this spell, the Dragon must select a Sanctum object that is inscribed with mystic runes (this could be a skull, a gem, a rock, or whatever). The Dragon then breathes on it, whispering the words "I swear that I submit to the Sanctum, and I will draw no blood." Any other Dragons in the vicinity can then do the same, and the Sanctum object will glow slightly with each utterance. For twenty four hours afterwards, none of the Dragons who participated in the ritual may draw blood from any of the other Dragons who were part of the ritual, so long as they are within a ten mile radius of the Sanctum object. Destroying the Sanctum object negates the effect, so Ambassador-Courtiers who wish their Sanctum to have any meaning pick suitably resilience objects. Any Dragon bound by the ritual who does draw blood is immediately Critically Injured by the magics of the ritual.

Lifepath-specific Milestones

• Tradewind Rider (5XP)

You have spent time learning the geography of the sky across the Realm, through a mix of personal experience and hard research. The travel time for any skyborne journey of five hundred miles or more that you make is reduced by 20%. You can pass this bonus onto any others who travel with you, as they can follow your navigation lead. In some circumstances (such as especially unfamiliar locales, or dangerous journeys), the GM may disallow this ability.

Lifepath Resources

• Spies and Messengers

A Dragon who has spent at least 25 years as an Ambassador-Courtier will have acquired a small entourage of spies and messengers, who he can dispatch to carry out his will. This Lifepath Resource is usually a minimum requirement for making indirect social attacks when there is any sort of geographic distance. The exact nature of the spies and messengers will vary according to the dragon's breed and style, but will be the equivalent in effectiveness and utility to six well trained human spies, and two dozen competent human diplomats.

• Network of Contacts

A Dragon who has spent at least 50 years as an Ambassador-Courtier is presumed to have established a network of contacts, both mortal and draconic. When arriving in a new locale, or when trying to contact a particular social group or organisation, he can make a Pneuma check (typically TN 4+, with difficulty 1 to 4) to see if he knows anyone as a prior contact.

• Web of Favours

A Dragon who has spent at least 100 years as an Ambassador-Courtier is almost certainly owed favours by a multitude of dragons and mortals, having spent a lot of his downtime weaving webs of intrigue and obligation. When he encounters a contact or other known individual for the first time after gaining this Lifepath Resource, he can make a Pneuma check (typically TN 4+, with difficulty equal to the targets Sophis, plus additional difficulty according to how resistant the target is to be indebted to an Ambassador-Courtier of his breed and station) to see if a favour is owed. This favour might not necessarily be honoured, and might be somewhat indirect, but it is there to be mentioned and called on.

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