HoNK Rules! Temperaments

 So I talked a bit about Temperaments as part of the character setup for HoNK a while ago: here is something of an elucidation of what they are, and a couple of examples.

Temperaments

 

Each character is deeply linked to one of the Eleven Elements that make up all of existence. The Elements are Air, Beast, Bough, Death, Earth, Fire, Life, Moon, Spirit, Sun and Water.  Every Element is expressed as a Temperament, as shown on the table below:

 

Element	Temperament
Air	Sanguine
Beast	Primordial
Bough	Verbenal
Death	Inmitic
Earth	Melancholy
Fire	Choleric
Life	Vivific
Moon	Lunar
Spirit	Aetheric
Sun	Solar
Water	Phlegmatic

The Temperaments

 

Each Temperament draws upon the metaphysical essence of its associated element: Choleric individuals are generally ‘fiery’, Phlegmatic folk tend to be flexible and easygoing, Inmitic people are often grim and stern, and so on. However, no individual is completely bound by their elemental essence: a Choleric character does not always lose their temper, attempt to take command of every situation and rush headlong into danger. Intelligence, training and experience can and do temper the expression of one’s elemental essence. In the following section, the generalities of each Temperament are outlined, along with their effect on Attribute scores, a stereotypical example of an individual possessing the Temperament and several, more complex examples illustrating the roleplaying and narrative potential of Temperament considered alongside Aptitude. 

Aetheric

 

One of the hardest Temperaments to pin down, the Aetheric individual is most closely linked with the element of Spirit - that nebulous force that powers the mind and binds and unifies magical effects. Aetheric types are generally very cerebral in their approach to life, often finding patterns that others do not (or that do not exist at all - the Aetheric individual must take care not to overthink). They treat others as types, due to their rather taxonomic view of people and things. They have a great respect for facts and a fear of the overly emotional - although this bias does not mean the Aetheric character has a mind any stronger than other types. In general terms, they are rather distant and hard to know (and often don’t care) and tend to overlook the health of their own bodies.

 

Modifiers: Characters with the Aetheric Temperament add +1 to Arcana and Lore checks, and +1 to Resistance checks against Spirit magic. They subtract 1 from their Fellowship score but add 1 to their Knowledge score.

 

Stereotypical Example: a smelly, slovenly, unhealthy sage, pursuing an arcane - and possibly pointless - interest with a passion that seems almost crazed.

 

Elaborations by Aptitude: 

Bravo - an alderwoman known for her mastery of legal procedure and efficient bookkeeping skills, but with a reputation as one not to be crossed: when not trouncing her targets with harsh rhetoric, she likes to bury her opponents in extremely abstruse legal claims, which she pursues with brutal persistence, accepting nothing but complete surrender.

Companion - a military surgeon attached to one of the better mercenary companies, whose rigorous approach to the healing arts has made him very effective. His bedside manner is somewhat awkward and aloof, although he is highly valued for his rather dispassionate approach to advice in matters of policy and strategy.

Priest - a temple historian with a passion for studying old heresies and a preference for the company of books over people. His patient researches - in addition to giving him a permanent cough due to excess inhalation of dust and reading mouldy scrolls - have deluded him with the belief that there is an underlying pattern to historical heresies that reveals the greatness of a hitherto undiscovered God, and that this God speaks to him in dreams (in reality he is the object of a Dream Demon’s attentions).

Technician - a minor daughter of a noble house, refusing to accept her designated future as drawing-room decoration and closeted broodmare, becoming a high-society poisoner with a sideline in demonology. She knows the names of several of the Epigones, and, thanks to her efficacious research techniques, is closing in on the true name of an Infernal Power.

Inmitic

 

Burdened (or liberated) by one of the most misunderstood of the Temperaments, the Inmitic individual is attuned to - and influenced by the essence of the most feared Element, Death (or, as might better describe it: Negation). Although these folk are typified as grim and pessimistic, this is not always, or even mostly so. Many folk use their understanding of, and feel for, the mortality of all things in an empowering way, whether to free themselves of undue attachments to transient things or to serve others in the face of the ultimate end. Some do not even consider Death as an enemy, viewing it instead as a necessary philosophical counterpart of Life and Being. Easily stereotyped, but often complex and compassionate, Inmitic folk are marked out by a general air of reserve, but whether this veils a spirit of malevolence or goodwill is by their own choice, not an inevitable consequence of their elemental nature. 

 

Modifiers: Characters with the Inmitic Temperament add 1 to Detection and Religion skill checks and Resistance checks against Death magic. They subtract 1 from their Appearance score and add 1 to their Piety score.

 

Stereotype: a gaunt and pale necromancer in an isolated tower, surrounded by grisly abominations of their own creation.

 

Elaborations by Aptitude: 

Adventurer - a daredevil acrobat and tightrope artist, constantly drawn to the greatest and most challenging risks, seeking an ever-closer embrace with death - yet also driven to affirm to all onlookers that with skill, calm and confidence, death can be successfully stared down, if only for a while. 

Companion - a young Novice of Adesh, born into a plague-ravaged region, who has turned her fear of death and disease to a positive end by providing quiet counsel and comfort to the grieving and the dying.

Rogue - a serf’s son in Lhanai, who has seen too many folk crushed under the brutal yoke of the decadent and brutal aristocracy there. Now, he stalks the chateaux of the nobility, delivering a painful end to those who thrive on oppression and exploitation. 

Stalwart – a Tiavesthan oracle, driven to near-madness by horrific communications from those poor souls tormented, slain and then raised as Undead by the Necromancers of Trukko, who now patrols the borders of that ill-omened land defending the scattered farmers and herders from the Undead that plague the region.

 

Lunar

 

The elemental essence known to most as “Moon” - due to that luminary’s association with the forces at work - is one of change and mutability. It is associated with lycanthropy and faerie, and those who bear this Temperament often show the whimsical and wild nature of both. Lunar folk are unpredictable, emotional, self-indulgent and insightful, often showing a high degree of talent in artistic endeavours. They nonetheless represent a dynamic force in the world, as their ability to express themselves and strive against dangerous patterns of custom can lead to healthy progress - or chaotic revolt and collapse. Sometimes, both.

 

Modifiers: Characters with the Lunar Temperament add 1 to Deception and Expression checks and +1 to Resistance checks against Moon magic. They subtract 1 from their Concentration score and add 1 to their Receptivity score.

 

Stereotype: a wild-hearted animistic dancer, sporting and cavorting with wild Fey in moonlit forest glades.

 

Elaborations by Aptitude: 

Bravo - an Arinyaka magi, steeped in the ancient contemplative lore of the woods-folk but driven by inner, unaccountable voices to take on bestial powers and rage through the forest on moonless nights, striking down those who desecrate the wilds and using the blood so gathered to mend the blighted spirit of the damaged land.

Dandy - an Avronakiyan aesthete, born to a decadent merchant family of Old Throners, this somewhat enfeebled young man pursues a career as a poet, writing tormented and cryptic verse about the corrupt and cruel ruling class. Although he believes that his poetry is revelatory and, in some sense, rebellious (by holding a mirror to high society), it is actually magically contagious, deepening and nurturing any evil in those who read - and hear it.

Knave - a backstreet quacksalver, who happily fleeces the better-off people of her crumbling city, selling useless love potions, toxic cosmetics and soul-wracking drugs, using the money she makes to fund struggling musicians and artists, and blackmailing some of her high-class addicts to grant her proteges access to the clique-dominated aristocratic arts scene. 

Warrior - a Fighting-Monk sworn to Siakhara, this aged woman teaches dance to the miserable peasantry of the County of Kull, travelling the back ways where the Count’s representatives are seldom seen. As part of her teaching, her students learn basic martial techniques in unarmed combat, and her most promising pupils learn some of the ritual techniques that adepts of the Silver Dancer use to heal themselves and inspire others. She hopes that one day, when the time is right, her students will lead a revolt to remove the Count - a petty, if mostly ineffectual, tyrant - from rule.

Melancholy

 

Burdened by the weight and sobriety of the element of Earth, those who share in this elemental essence are often regarded as prone to despair at worst, cynical and pessimistic conservativism at best. Like all generalisations, this belief hides more than it reveals. Those of the Melancholy Temperament are among society’s most acute and effective critics, with an eye for finding flaws that few others even suspect. Even those who are the most correct and observant of norms and laws in their behaviour remain restless examiners of the world around them, constantly measuring the world they find against the world as it ought to be.

 

Modifiers: Characters with the Melancholy Temperament add 1 to Discipline and Interaction checks and +1 to Resistance checks against Earth magic. They subtract 1 from their Presence score but add 1 to their Perception score.

 

Stereotype: a sour old soldier, full of mistrust and engloomed by the memory of the shadow of war.

 

Elaborations by Aptitude: 

Adventurer - a doleful minstrel, disillusioned with endless tales of chivalry and romance, wandering the world skewering the higher orders with merciless wit, and carrying messages for the Conclave Against Thrones.

Mendicant - tired of witnessing the torments of the poor, this young nobleman has retreated into the wilds, where he cultivates stillness of mind and communion with nature, only to find himself defending the trees and beasts from the encroachments of civilisation.

Rogue - a Ferromancer who is ruthless in his search for the best means to enchant the weapons he makes so that they may be used effectively against the minions of the Hegemon of Thwarted Light that enslave so many of his people. 

Scholar – this studious lampwright’s daughter spends her days working with her father making fine lamps for the gentry and her nights researching magic that might reverse blindness.