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[Iituem]

Your father died in a debtor's prison, alone and forgotten.  You received notice when the bailiff came to your door, told you and then evicted you from your miserable hovel, claiming it in part payment for the debt.  He told you that he'd be back in a month for the rest, or you'd head to prison yourself to make up the difference.

Your mother was long gone, your father had barely tried to raise you.  The last you saw of him was a year ago, dragged out of a pool of cheap stale wine and cheaper, staler vomit by the bailiffs and into the wagon.  They never told you where he went, and you just tried to get your life together again.

Funny how the old prick can still hurt you, even from beyond the grave.

You fled your no-name village, hustled along the roads and byways to the city, the city your father had always dreamed of going back to; Shearport.  Not a penny to your name, nothing but the stinking, wretched clothes on your back and whatever you could forage or steal.  When he was deep in his cups, your father always spoke of the shining city in tears.  How once he had beheld the glory of court, danced with duchesses and treated with kings.  He ever imagined returning to the great West Gate of the city, with its proud arch and high walls.

You weren't even let within five hundred paces of the shining West Gate before the guards shunted you back.  You joined a crowd of other, equally wretched folk and stumbled through one of the cramped North Gates, dodging payment of the toll with quick feet.

Even so, you are in the city now.  Your father always said that this was the only way for a man to truly make it, to be something.  To make a real difference in this world, a man needed to be part of Court.  Only courtiers could truly rise in this world, and every day your father cursed you and his dalliance with your mother for forcing him to abandon that life.

You will not end up like him; weak, broken, forgotten.  You will be great.  You will be powerful.  You will change the world.

But the Court is a long way from the gutter, and right now you are penniless and wanted.  First you'll need to acquire power in your own right, enough to be worth notice in the court.  You certainly aren't going back to the farm to get it - you don't even have a farm any more, and there's no future in that life.

First things first, though.  What's your name and what do you look like?


So this one has a similar basis to Maldevious' game Lordship.  I won't be using hard mechanics or numbers throughout this one, focusing instead on narrative and roleplay.  Also like Lordship, this is a 'long' game, aimed at passing at least a month at a time.  Unlike Lordship, you start with less than nothing - you're heavily debt and wanted by the bailiffs.  The setting is medieval, analagous to Earth.  Is it the same setting as Lordship?  Who knows.

Spoiler: Personal (click to show/hide)

Dirty Rags (worn)
Illiterate

Spoiler: Treasury, Lands and Holdings (click to show/hide)

Debt: Serious (small basic debt, plus serious fine for evading debt collection)

Spoiler: Legal Status (click to show/hide)

Wanted for Debt Evasion.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Name: Garntice Hestaceson
This studious guy has beady brown eyes that are like two tiger-eye gems. His filthy, straight, brown hair is very short and is worn in a dignified, utilitarian style. He is very short and has a broad-shouldered build. His skin is tanned and burnt. He has a low forehead and large feet. His wardrobe is professional and simple, formerly with a mostly white color scheme.

[Scelly9]

Name: Garntice Hestaceson
This studious guy has beady brown eyes that are like two tiger-eye gems. His filthy, straight, brown hair is very short and is worn in a dignified, utilitarian style. He is very short and has a broad-shouldered build. His skin is tanned and burnt. He has a low forehead and large feet. His wardrobe is professional and simple, formerly with a mostly white color scheme.

+1

[Iituem]

You were born to the unwieldy name of Garntice Hestaceson, your first name being one of the few things your mother left you.  Your father, Hestace, never revealed his birth surname, but did at least do your mother the courtesy of marrying her before her death, sparing you the mark of bastard.  You tended to go by Garn in the village, a nickname that regrettably suited your attributes.

You are far from comely.  Your forehead juts low, you have the eyes of a rat and you practically trip over your clumsy feet at every given opportunity.  You prefer white in your clothes and try to keep your hair cropped as neatly as you can, but travel has stained your last tunic muck brown and you can do little to hide your homeliness.  Years of farm work have browned your skin unfashionably, to boot.  Just one more thing against you, you suppose.

You need a leg up if you're ever to reach court, and that means money, power or influence.  Your best bet would be to commit yourself to a profession of some sort.  Most are risky, some downright life-threatening.  There is also the matter of your complete lack of useful skills...

• The army.  Shearport has a rare standing army of professional soldiers, often deployed to protect its many naval interests.  The city-state generally does not use a levy system, preferring instead to hire on mercenaries when extra force is needed.  Dull, repetitive work during peacetime, and low pay at most ranks.  Promotion is likely during wartime, but so is death.  Even so, a noted war hero would have political influence and perhaps the loyalty of his men.
  
• A mercenary company.  There are a few freebooters based out of Shearport, mostly involving themselves in small foreign wars an disputes.  Pay is non-existent when there isn't a war on somewhere, but pretty good when there is - and looting is always a plus.  Mercenaries are notoriously lawless and unruly but a charismatic and dangerous man could rise quickly, with the power of a band of armed men at his command.
  
• Trade.  Shearport is one of the trading hubs of the world, bringing in goods from all across the Serpent Sea and beyond.  Competition is rife and the great mercantile companies control much of the trade, but an enterprising man could still find wealth here.  You don't have any money or assets, though, so you'd need to think up a way to initially get started.  At the very worst you could join onto an existing company as a labourer and try to learn the ropes from there, but there's probably a more entrepeneurial route.
  
• A craft.  Having a profession would mean a stable source of income, if a bugger to achieve.  Great craftsman are notably prestigious and masters in one of the guilds are well positioned to influence the markets and politics of the city.  You don't have any skills, though, and no money to pay for an apprenticeship.  You'll need to figure out a way to get your foot in the door.
  
• The civil service.  The greater nobility of Shearport were brought to heel a generation ago, when the king moved away from traditional levies in favour of the standing army.  The day-to-day affairs of the state are now handled by a bureaucracy of civil servants, the most influential of which can become governors of lands and estates on behalf of the king.  Although many of the more powerful civil servants are nobility, major or minor, all that is required is a sharp, literate mind, a clear knowledge of the law and cunning.  Unfortunately you are not literate.  You would need to find a way to correct that, but lessons are expensive.
  
• Crime.  Crime pays well to those who don't get caught.  You could make your own work as a thief, an enforcer or a smuggler within the city-state, though you have little experience in any of the three.  It means a life of always looking over your shoulder, but a skilled and dangerous man could go far and the most successful have been rumoured to successfully retire into legitimate, powerful lives.
  
• The church.  The church is potentially a minefield of political corruption and intrigue, but its power and influence cannot be denied.  As an illiterate peasant your best initial hope would be to find a way of becoming a lay priest or some sort of assistant to the invested clergy, then try to rise from within.  A bishop or abbot can hold lands and power in their own right, to say nothing of their connection to the Mother Church.  On the other hand, celibacy does mean saying goodbye to ever having a legitimate heir.
  
  What appeals to you most, Garn?
  
  
  Spoiler: Garntice Hestaceson (click to show/hide)

  Age: 15
  
  Dirty Rags (worn)
  
  Illiterate
  
  Spoiler: Treasury, Lands and Holdings (click to show/hide)

  Debt: Serious (small basic debt, plus serious fine for evading debt collection)
  
  Spoiler: Legal Status (click to show/hide)

  Wanted for Debt Evasion.
  

[kingfisher1112]

Go looking for some mercenaries to sign up with.

[Crabnumber]

I'd say try for the church. Its the most likely way you'll end up ever getting past illiteracy and in the medieval ages, the church and religion had a central position in most sections of society.

Plus all the political backstabbery we'd likely run into in the organisation would make for a good story.

[Gervassen]

Wow. This one is hard mode.

Go looking for some mercenaries to sign up with.

+1 for now. Or crime. We really have nothing to lean on but our raw ambition.

[a1s]

Find out if being in the army gets debt collectors off our back. If not, sign up to be a mercenary. Crime, ironically, is best suited for people with no criminal history (or at least a lack of convictions).

[GreatWyrmGold]

I'd prefer being in the military over being in a mercenary group iff (if and only if) the time and place are pretty peaceful. If so, I'd go with military for the little pay during peace; if not, mercenary.

[Maldevious]

My only concern about being a mercenary would be that it will take us outside Shearport to "foreign wars," not a great way to gain prestige and fame locally. I would put my vote in to finding a craftsman, perhaps a blacksmith, and offering to sweep up for him and run errands in exchange for food and a roof over our heads.

Just to clarify, the debt is from our father? Or did we make our own debt?

[Gervassen]

The local law seems to not make a strong distinction there. So maybe a foreign war is an added bonus as a way to lie low till we can pay..

[InZane]

My only concern about being a mercenary would be that it will take us outside Shearport to "foreign wars," not a great way to gain prestige and fame locally. I would put my vote in to finding a craftsman, perhaps a blacksmith, and offering to sweep up for him and run errands in exchange for food and a roof over our heads.

Just to clarify, the debt is from our father? Or did we make our own debt?

I like the blacksmith errand idea(1+)

[scapheap]

I'm going for the trading choice.

[Scelly9]

I'd say try for the church. Its the most likely way you'll end up ever getting past illiteracy and in the medieval ages, the church and religion had a central position in most sections of society.

Plus all the political backstabbery we'd likely run into in the organisation would make for a good story.

+1

[Gotdamnmiracle]

The local law seems to not make a strong distinction there. So maybe a foreign war is an added bonus as a way to lie low till we can pay..

I like this. Let's go to Arabia.