The New Breed: Player of Games

"L", A Player of Games

Hmm. He did just as I expected, manuevering himself right into our trap. Zarri, that ring I gave you? I’m going to need that back right now…I know it was a gift, Zarri, but it also contains the enchantment we’re going to need to catch this felon. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk it being found on me if we were caught, and I couldn’t tell you because someone might have read it on your face. I’m sorry Zarri, but you’re a horrible liar.

Thotham, if this is going to work, you need to let our assassin spot you. It could….hurt. But it’s the only way. But we have Andira around to heal you if things turn too ugly.

You’re asking my part in this? It’s simple — I’m going to be the assassin’s next target.

OK, I’ve got the rest of the plan set up. No, there’s no time to explain it all –I’ve already spent too much time talking as is. Everyone knows their relevant roles. Let’s move.

Races

• Human
• Hal-elf
• Deva

Classes

• Wizard
• Warlord (Bravura or Tactical)
• Invoker

In Combat: Nothing is as important to you as winning. You’ve found the secret formula to winning way more than you’ll ever lose: Attack the enemy at it’s strongest point first. Lesser strategists flee from their foe’s strong point. Great strategists dismantle an opponent where he is powerful. Destroy the enemy at its core and there is nothing to fall back on. Moral disintegrates and your manuever himself right into your strengths. Destroy a foe’s strength and you destroy his heart.

It’s not easy, but what’s easy or not is less important than winning. You’ll lose an arm or even your own life for critical moments. Victories rarely come without sacrifice, and no one will sacrifice more than you.

You are a daring strategist, leading from the front with plans that entail great risk while offering great rewards. You’ll take the brunt of the risks yourself, but you expect your companions to sacrifice as well. They will, because your plans are so insane that they always work, but they’ll be complaining the whole way through.

Let them. More important matters concern you –like victory.

In Play: Conflicts to you are games. This does not mean they are trivial. Indeed, the games you play are always in service to some higher concept or power. You might seek to uphold the forces of law, or to attain perfection in battle. The concept or power you serve provides you with the motivation to risk everything and anything for it. Even your friends. You’ll ask them to risk less than you risk, but since you’ll risk your life…

You are a noble person. Your friends admire your generous spirit and ability to plot moves ten steps ahead of your enemies. The only complaint? They’d really like you to keep them up to date with your plans. While you will always be up front regarding anything that puts your companions in danger, you often gloss over small details or step in the plan that, while it won’t necessarily kill someone, would be nice to know ahead of time. But you don’t have time for those small details! You’re a tactical visionary and if you wasted your time talking over your plans with everyone, they’d not only not get it, but they might object to the path you’ve set…the path to victory. Each victory propels you forward further towards your goals. You refuse to lose sight of this.

Your friends sometimes feel like pawns in the game you play. Of course this isn’t true –if they were unworthy of friendship or trust, you wouldn’t ask anything of them. You don’t mean to manipulate your allies, but when you move so far ahead of the game and don’t keep people informed, that’s how they’re going to feel at the end of the day. It’s regrettable they fail to understand. It’s just another sacrifice you make in the name of victory and your higher cause.

Opportunities for Growth

• Normally you strategies are without peer. But you, like everyone else, have a fatal flaw. The concept or power you serve gives you strength, but it’s also the weak point of your game. You do your best to obscure this fact, but it remains true that you will sacrifice everything needed but the power you serve. Any enemy who realize your true goals can exploit this.If you serve the forces of Law, for example, you’ll do everything and anything up to and excluding, actually breaking the Law. Law is sacred to you. Your nemesis, however has no problems with violating the law at all, and can put you at severe disadvantages by going the places you can’t.How does your character adapt to this? The only ways around this strategy are to either violate your own principles or elevate and move to an even higher principle, leaving you above your previous limitations. Which path do you choose?
• You’re not often wrong, but when you are, it’s a disaster. You devise a plan from erroneous information or fail to account for all an opponent’s options…and innocents die. This is a blow to your confidence. How do you conquer this crisis of faith in yourself? How do you atone for your error?

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