Oathmaking: Beyond the Three Oaths in Mythic Bastionland
In my current, sort of weird "one shot" of Mythic Bastionland, I situated the Three Oaths as the central tension within the limited setting. All the major characters exhibit or foil or make demands of an Oath, and this puts the players' Knights in conflicts with the other two of them. Even when I ran Mythic Bastionland longer form, I found each Knight's relationship with the Three Oaths (how they interpreted them, how they weighed their importance, if the order they were sworn mattered, if being a Knight meant anything more than them alone) to be the most interesting source of drama. And it, so far, has worked really really well. Mythic Bastionland is already a fantastic game for randomly getting a character and discovering who they are; I think this has just given a really good reference point to support it. So that's been great.
What I did not expect, though, is everyone would start making new Oaths all over the place.
I think at an average of once per session, one of the Knights has made some kind of commitment to do something or adhere to something. And not just one individual, but every single of one of them has done so at least once. Perhaps it's just the group. It's possible Knight-maxxing just does that to you. But maybe it's been this central focus on Oaths that makes a Knight just want to declare something meaningful (or foolish) and uphold it. Or try to get around it. It feels like a source of power, a point of pride, and also a weakness.
Maybe it's better that there are no rules for this, and that each circumstance is unique and different. After all, I feel like the greatest strength of Mythic Bastionland is that 90% of its rules are poetry that make you fill in the gaps with character. The players started doing this on their own unprompted, after all. But when players start engaging with something, I really like to reward them. And having at least a little scaffolding to build off of helps me do that. All that being said, what follows are the rules built on that inspiration. They come with the warning that I haven't gotten to leverage them directly: they're built more on how I might resolve/resolved some things, but have yet to be formalized.
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Knights swear the Three Oaths to the Seer that knights them, but this only explicitly grants them their station and only implies to give them their equipment and abilities. But having already done so, it is the natural disposition of a Knight to swear more. When doing so, they generally fall into these four categories. Each comes with different restrictions, benefits, and consequences.
Additional Oathmaking
Geasa
Sometimes Knights undertake additional, ongoing Oaths, beyond the three all must swear to be Knighted. These are permanent vows, called Geasa (singular: Geis), that enforce or prohibit certain behaviors from that point forward. By willing taking on this taboo, sometimes Knights gain strange and powerful abilities. Rarely, they might instead be made until a certain condition is fulfilled, though such a Geis would grant less power and be temporary in nature.
Oaths such as these can only be made to Seers or to the self. Even if made at the urging of another, these are the only beings that can enforce the consequences of such an Oath. Geasa made to any other but not truly undertaken are just Promises, and ones poorly made at that.
An accessible example of a Geis made to the self would be a vow of celibacy. Alone, this vow might not be enough to constitute a Geis (after all, what if you do not care for the pleasures of the flesh, or have no ambition for dynasty or lineage). Here are some ways of making this vow that might constitute a Geis:
A temporary version of this Geis could be to hold to this until you achieve vengeance for the death of your family, of which you are the last surviving member of your line.
A more powerful but still somewhat temporary version might be to hold to this until someone seeking your hand in marriage defeats you in single combat, who then you would be bound to marry.
Geis made at the demand of a Seer usually have specific benefits based on that Seer. Geis made to the self have a much wider range of effects.
Some examples of geasa for seers and the abilities granted might be:
- The Jawbone Seer - never eating an animal's meat - command over that kind of animal
- The Serpent Seer -telling exactly 3 lies a day - producing a special venom
- The Rotted Seer - spit in any food or drink before giving it to another - immune to the symptoms of disease
Simple abilities that could result from swearing other Geis might be:
- Always benefitting from 1 Armor, or gaining 1 extra
- Adding an additional d8 (or greater) to Attacks
- An immunity to some obvious danger (axes, poison, heartbreak)
- Rolling two dice and taking the lowest when Saving after performing a specific Feat.
For a more specific, less restrictive Geis, these benefits could apply instead only in specific cases (such as gaining Armor and/or bonus dice against the target of your vengeance).
At your discretion, you might grant more powerful abilities, particularly for more restrictive Geasa. Some examples might include:
- Setting a Virtue or GD to a specific value (including 18)
- Piercing certain materials (wood, stone, steel)
- A specific magical ability: breathing fire, throwing spears superhuman distances, a bewitching appearance. These should be appropriate to the Geis itself.
Beyond loss of social standing AND whatever benefits the Geis normally grants, failure to uphold a Geis should be detrimental, including to the point of being certainly fatal. Here are some simple examples that could befall an oath-breaker:
- Having at least 1 Virtue reduced to 0, permanently or with it unable to be recovered by normal means
- Armor offering no protection
- Loss of the use of the 3 Feats
- All Attacks made against the Knight are not rolled, but treated as the highest result
Additionally, they might suffer an inversion of their benefit. A boon to sustain yourself on a single roll of bread and drink only a cup of water each day might render the oath-breaker endlessly hungry and thirsty instead.
Pacts
Pacts are Oaths backed by magical binding. Unlike a Geis, which only creates a taboo that a Knight has to actively observe, the conditions of a Pact cannot be overcome willingly or accidentally. A Geis to not draw steel requires a Knight to willingly choose to leave their sword sheathed. A Pact fully prevents a Knight from unsheathing it at all.
Generally, a Pact is made with a Seer or another supernatural entity, or made in a place of sufficient power or meaning. Additionally, a Pact is usually made knowing the terms, but agreement without knowing them or fully understanding them does not prevent them from functioning.
Some examples of Pact conditions could be giving your firstborn to a witch or faerie, never stepping foot on dry land, or casting aside steel. Examples of benefits could be a favor done, a spell cast, or access to an important place or piece of information.
Because the terms of the Pact are upheld by the Pact itself, and not the active adherence of the Knight, there are no additional direct benefits to a Knight binding themselves to a Pact. Whatever the Knight gets in exchange for agreeing to the Pact is the extent of their reward, even if that reward is unsatisfying.
Extra: Curses
Non-Pact Oaths made to Seers and then broken might result in a Curse as a consequences. A Curse is, in effect, a one-sided Pact, and the restrictions imposed on the bearer are the same. However, there is no dishonor in seeking a way for the Seer to free them from the Curse, usually by fulfilling their original Oath or undertaking a new one.
Oaths sworn to Seers that result in Pacts or Geasa made in bravado or by means of trickery do not share this quirk: a Knight's word is sacred, even if given unwisely.
In extremely rare cases, otherwise normal people can also place a Curse on a Knight, but this requires extenuating circumstances. This is usually sealed with the invoker's final breath. Such an event could be an Omen unto itself.
Boasts
Oaths sworn to peers or stately authority to see through the completion of a task is a quest, and a normal part of being a Knight. However, swearing to accomplish them in particularly challenging ways are Boasts. This can include declaring that you will be the one who single-handedly defeats a dangerous foe, that you will complete a difficult task before someone or someones else, or to complete a journey and solve a problem without ever drawing steel.
To make a Boast, you must declare that you will do something and how you will challenge yourself while you do it. You must do this to peers (the fellow Knights of your Company count, but so do other Knights of similar station) or to a stately authority you serve (such as the Knight who rules a Holding or the Seat of Power). Non-knights who serve similar roles or have some sort of relevant influence over your station, such as a vassal who rules a holding or the maiden you are courting whose parent is of sufficiently high station.
For peers, you must wager a minimum of 1 Glory, which you will lose if you fail to complete the Boast. When you succeed, you you may increase your GD by d6 if it's 6 or less, or instead Gain 1 Glory.
When making such a Boast, any of sufficient station who hear your Boast can take up the challenge, either meeting it or upstaging it. If met, they wager the same Glory, with the same risks and rewards. If they upstage it, they must accept your challenge but either add an additional twist to increase the difficulty or wager more Glory or both. If you fail to meet or upstage it in turn, you cannot make the Boast but retain your Glory, but they must now undertake the challenge themselves, alone. The completion of an upstaged challenge increases your GD by d6 if it's 12 or less instead.
If Boasting to an authority, the minimum Glory wagered is 2. Upon completion of such a Boast, you may instead increase a single one of your Virtues by d6, so long as it is 12 or less. You may only increase each Virtue this way once per Age. You may not increase Vigor after Old Age has begun to rob you of it.
In either case, for every additional Glory wagered beyond the minimum (including raised stakes), you may roll an additional d6 and take the highest result. You do not gain additional Glory if you choose that as your reward instead, though others may find taking such risks to be valorous or foolhardy (and sometimes both).
Optionally, a completed Boast could allow for a different kind of reward. An authority could state such a reward, and any Knight could compete with qualifying Boasts; the first to complete their Boast and return receives what is offered Examples include:
- a new Gambit.
- mastery of a specific Gambit, being performed by discarding an Attack die 1 lower than normal for Gambits or Strong Gambits.
- a rare or unique item, vassal, or steed
- a position of authority (control of a Warband, honored seat at the Circle, rulership of a Dwelling or Holding)
Members of the same Company can declare different Boasts in undertaking the same task (or even meet or upstage each other on the same one) but cannot share in the reward. Companies cannot make a single Boast together either: each Knight must make their own Boast, wager their own Glory, and lose out if another member of the Company fulfills the requirements of the Boast. A Boast made carefully, that makes allowances and has contingencies, or allows for an entire Company's support is done so by a coward. The Boast is made and failed, and all Glory wagered is lost, as well as their reputation in the hearts and minds of all those with the misfortune of hearing it.
Boasts sworn to Seers wager no Glory, grant no reward, and risk a Curse. Still, Knights are proud creatures, and may choose to do so anyway.
Boasts sworn to anyone else offer no reward, but reveal arrogance or insecurity. Still, for some, this is enough.
Promises
Sometimes the swearing of an oath has no magical power associated with it. Sometimes it's just a promise, and the breaking of it only carries the consequences and accountability of normal social relationships. Yet for the very reason that there is no benefit to swearing these oaths, that there is no magic to enforce them, that all you have to lose is the value of your word, makes them the most powerful and dangerous. Failing to uphold a Geis can cost you dearly or even kill you, failing to fulfil a boast can shame you, but fail to keep a promise and you might lose the only thing that really matters: trust.
The Three Oaths
The Three Oaths of a Knight (Seek the Myths, Honor the Seers, Protect the Realm) do not fit neatly into any of these four categories. Each Knight must find for themselves the importance of each, the relevance of their order, and whether the consequences of choosing one over the other extends beyond personal failing and social shame.
Oathmaking Advice
Birthright Geasa
In folklore, geasa and their equivalents are often delivered at birth. For a very mythic game, in which Knights are destined for Knighthood, you could allow players to declare or receive one or more Geasa (from a Seer or parent is traditional). This could allow for allow for improvements during character creation. For example, allowing a player to start with a character that has 12 + d6 in a Virtue, but with some weakness that will rob them of it (like Samson and his hair being cut).
Meaningful Oaths
Oaths made that relate to things outside the scope of the game should provide minimal reward, similar to those that don't intersect with the desires of the character. For example, in a game where death and murder are off the table, an oath to never kill is not particularly meaningful. If it's an oath that any player character would have no trouble taking and upholding, it shouldn't grant any benefit. In fact, it might be beneficial to have that oath be a grounding reason why death never happens.
Contradictory Oaths
Oathmaking, whether done carefully or flippantly, will inevitably lead to a point in which two Oaths contradict each other. In fact, this will likely come up frequently with The Three Oaths. Despite the unfairness of such a situation, Knights must be held to a higher standard, and receive no leniency for breaking one Oath to fulfill another. They suffer all consequences associated with breaking such contradictory Oaths, as normal.
Loopholes
As with all contracts, sometimes the clever can find loopholes. If a Knight finds a loophole within an Oath they have made, they are welcome to cleverly exploit it without magical consequence -- It's your honor, lad.
Oaths for non-Knights
Nothing about these rules are truly restrictive to Knights alone (except for, perhaps, Boasts). Of course, someone would have to care enough to hold the swearer to the Oaths they've made, and they'd have to trust the word of the person enough to follow through. So long as the conditions are met, anyone can qualify and benefit from any of these preceding Oaths. For a squire, this might very well help them qualify for Knighthood (in fact, something akin to a Boast would be a great way to earn their final Virtue increases). For those not on the path to Knighthood, perhaps it could still lend itself to a path to a different kind of social status or power. And they might be all the more willing to exploit any loopholes...
In fact, one might wonder where Seer's get their own abilities from.
An Omen, A Warning
Stories about oaths like these are often about a single individual, and their being caught in a net of contradictory oaths is a warning to the audience. Part of what makes this interesting, to me, at least, is also what Oath is upheld when one must be broken. However, the stories we are making when we are playing games like these rarely feature a lone hero. While it might be fun to agonize over which of your own Oaths you choose to uphold, there is a social difficulty when upholding your Oath comes at the cost of someone else's. Be aware that players might not enjoy the conflict that comes from such a case, but such a situation likely will (and probably should) arise from Oathmaking.
A Second Omen
When using these rules, something is at risk of being lost: as Knights get bound up in Geis and Pacts and Boasts, the value of a Promise might start to feel less important. The same could be true for The Three Oaths, if they maintain the same level of restriction as Promises. Strictly speaking, this could not be further from the truth; but what matters in such cases is perception. When Knights choose to forgo these Oaths, particularly in pursuit of other ones, it's important to showcase how this failing reflects on them. How does the Realm feel about a Knight that chooses their own powers and wellbeing before honoring their word? No Oath should be made lightly, and that's twice as true as the GM. The characters must be held to the consequences of their Promises, shown the cost of breaking them, or else they quickly lose all meaning. Using these rules binds you to that just as much as them.
Further Reading
These rules were largely inspired by the following sources, and may be beneficial in finding inspiration when using these rules
- Celtic mythology, particularly the Ulster Cycle, where geis protect and trap heroes (they also appear in Scottish and Welsh mythology)
- The webtoon The Ember Knight, and its depiction of imperial geas
- Jujutsu Kaisen's binding vows (when they're actually relevant)
- Wolves Upon the Coast, which uses Boasts for advancement
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