Black Knight

[elgorade]

Well, I wanted to send a knight into the arena. Not only with a horse,
but with a bit of arcane might to back himself up with. In the end I
doubt I'll arena him, but he came out pretty good in any case. He's
meant to be tough, so he's got 5 lifepaths.


A scheming knight with a touch of the arcane about him.
Not the most powerful combatent, uses fast spells to
make up for it.

Born to a proud noble line of reduced means. Made his
way in the world in the service of his lord. After a
war, returned to his ancestral lands. Met a scheming
sorcerer who trained him in the arts and some history of
his family. Inherited his lands, and got them extended as
well based on his friendship with the lord. Wants more.

Born Noble, to Soldier, Cavalryman, to Court, Knight,
to Noble, Apprentice, Lord (36 years old)

Per 4 Wll 5 Agl 6 Spd 3 Pow 3 Frt 3
Rfl 4 Hes 5 Hlt 4 MW 9 Stl 7

skills (31/9 points)
Lance 5 (3)
Sword 5 (3)
Hammer 5 (3)
Conspicuous 4 (3)
Intimidation 4 (3)
Riding 5 (3/1)
Hunting 2 (1)
Sorcery 4 (3)
Research 2 (1)
Read 2 (1)
Calligraphy 2 (1)
Animal Husbandry 4 (/3)
Etiquette 3 (/2)
Command 3 (/2)
Ancient History 2 (/1)
Armor Training (2)
Shield Training (2)
Mounted Combat Training (2)

traits
sucking up
skulking
the gift
round in the belly
scheming

resources
noble affiliation (32pt after rebate)
chainmail and heater shield (10pt)
destrier (20pt)
lance, flail, sabre (5pt)
clothes, traveling gear, shoes (3pt)

spells (30pts total)
cat's eye (4pt)
the fear (4pt)
thunderclap (4pt)
shards (8pt)
persuasion (10pt)

contacts (24pt)
Local Count (powerful 10pt)
Black Wizard ((powerful 10pt)
Sister (important, family, 4pt)


beliefs
A mounted man is superior and a superior man is mounted
Only a fool shows all his cards
Good breeding always shows though

instincts
Tend to my horse
Charge to start combat
Keep quiet about arcane powers

[elgorade]

Being a knight, he needed a horse. Like him, the horse isn't about
power. Skill is better.

A fast, sleek black horse, though getting on in years.
Not as big as some warhorses, but very skilled.

Destrier, war training, stud, campaign, riding (9 years old)

Per 3 Wil 3 Agl 6 Spd 6 Pow 7 Frt 5
Rfl 5 Hlt 4 Hes 4 MW 12 Stl 7

skills
rider training,
mounted combat training,
formation fighting training
armor training
brawling 5
intimidation 6
mating 2
foraging 2

traits
muscular
aggresive
loyal
determined
fearless
willful
obedient
proud
sleek
ornery

[elgorade]

This build reminded me of a question. Do all sorcerers in your games
take The Fear as a spell? It is cheap and fast. And it seems like most
opponents, even most orcs will hesitate for at least an action if they
have to make a steel test.

Related to that, once it does start becoming popular with sorcerers (and
I have to assume it is), how do you judge who is looking at the caster?
In the Black Knight's case, I assume he'll occasionally script an action
to use Conspicuous forking in Command (or would it be the other way
around) right before he scripts The Fear. But in general, how do people
run it? And as a side note, would the BK be able to shield block, avoid
or otherwise defend himself while using C&C as above?

Elgorade

[Drozdal]

This horse is a pure killing machine! Steel B7 Hesitation B4 - that baby was on many campaigns! Black Knight is really lucky to posess steed like this one.

[elgorade]

It isn't much of a stretch from the mount burner. The 'standard'
destrier example has hesitation 5 and 7 steel. This example is slightly better 'cause he spend a year as a stud and picked up +1m for it so
his hesitation is lower.

Though actually looking at the mount burner again, I only count 6
steel unless I add one for 3+ will and seriously injured in the past.
Given he is the horse of a scheming black knight, that isn't too much of
an assumption. But you could got down to 6 steel.

elgorade

[luke]

Mee thinks the Black Knight had better keep to his horse and keep to his scheming and Persuading.

One failed Forte test and he's out. Night, Night. Not to mention his porcelain jaw.

I think you're hurting him with the B6 Agility more than helping him.

-L

[Thor Olavsrud]

I think you're hurting him with the B6 Agility more than helping him.

Absolutely. And let's not forget the low Power, Incidentals probably won't even scratch your opponents. And with a Forte that low, you can pretty much forget about actually casting spells. You'll pass out every time you do.

On the whole, Burning Wheel requires you to focus. It's possible to be good at multiple things, of course, but if you try to throw in too much, you won't be happy with the results. The Knight wants good, well-rounded physical stats, and good Perception to keep that Reflexes high. He wants good Will too if he's going to lead or rule, but that's probably secondary for players that want to spend a lot of time on the battlefield. On the other hand, the Sorcerer requires good Will, great Forte, and doesn't want to skimp on Perception either, as that is his Sorcery Root and his Aptitude for learning spells.

If I may, here's a lifepath set that will give you a lot of what you want, but may work better for you:

Born Noble, Page, Squire, Apprentice

You come out 26 years old, with 9 Mental and 17 Physical. You get 30 skill points, 55 Resource points, and just enough Trait points to buy The Gift.

You can get arms, chain, horse, clothes and shoes for about 30 RPs, leaving you 25 for spells. You might even forget about the chain and just take Turn Aside the Blade. Otherwise, keep the spells simple (as you can't afford many).

The Fear and Persuasion would be a very good set. Though as a sorcerer you'll probably want The Sense and Eldritch Shield. The more you stick to non-'up' spells (in other words, those that don't have a "^" in their Obstacles), the more you'll likely be able to afford. Try to keep your focus tight. You can always learn more spells through play.