Burning Wheel Gold: Interest?

This was the option I was talking about not expecting. I'm not going to persecute you for being a spirit binder, I'm just going to make sure the seemingly substantial rewards weren't without risk.

np, first you feel comfortable.

Also, um, having looked into this now from the perspective of building a character, I feel more comfortable GMing for some spirit binders in my home game... :D

For reference, the spirit binding and Sorcery bonus dice comparisons look like this:
FoRKs: Both get Astrology, Spirit Binding gets -wises, Sorcery gets Symbology and Aura Reading.
Resources: spirit binding pays 7/25/45 for a geographically limited +1/2/3D and may make an offering for +1D, Sorcery pays 15 for a universal +1D that comes with one-arm armor, and has option to pay 10-20 for (or test to buy during play) certain other spell enhancements including +1D to resist tax.
Bonus dice: Spirit Binding gets Circination for a speculative +0D..+3D and can Carefully for +1D if time is limited (but limited time also gives +1 Ob). Sorcery gets Carefully for +0D..+6D limited by spell obstacle. Both depend on how long you want to take and how good you are.
Resisting Tax: Spirit Binding gets to put any extra successes into resisting Retribution, and/or gets to try drawing a Fortress circle. Sorcery gets their Forte ability.

All in all, total bonuses to Spirit Binding and Sorcery look fairly similar to me.

Actually I already have an alternative character without Spirit Binding that I am liking the sound of, so no need to go where you aren't prepared to go just for me. Basically a double agent, a thief that conned the City Guard into thinking he went legit and then joined them while feeding information back to the guild. Good place to be if the Oligarchs want back channel communication with the Guild.

Epigone: While all of that is true, I wanted to create a character that was thief first and Spirit Binder secondarily. As you showed, I can get the trait points and the skills if I game the system and take lifepaths like City Student but then I have to tack onto the end of the four lifepaths, "and then he joined the Thieves Guild for some reason not adequately explained". If I'm going to play a thief, I want at least some of the lifepaths to be thiefy. :)

I wasn't aware of these options (What's this one-arm armor thing?). But I thought Sorcery could only FoRK w/ Astrology.

It still seems like the Spirit Binding bonuses are very low-hanging fruit. Domain? We're playing in a pretty geographically constrained campaign - no risk in choosing City Domain, and going in on it hard, here. Perhaps it could be broken up into "Slums" and "Docks" and things, but still we know where we're gonna be. Offering? An in-game, RP thing. Circination? A couple skill points. That's a base +3-5 for very little mechanical-resource investment.

Anyway, if it turns out to be unworkable using the Core we can talk about other options. But your initial breakdown seemed like it was viable. Limited choices to get there, but doable.

OK, so looking back I see shughr is going the corrupt guard route and I presume that epigone is going to go spirit binder of some stripe, so I am going to go with the more social/skill rogue build. City Born, Pickpocket, Apprentice Artisan, Fence. Apprentice Artisan let's me pick up Locksmith, so I'm the boxman. You either bring me onsite to handle the locks for you, or bring me the locked box you swiped so I can open it and fence the goods for you while I'm at it.

All right, here's my spirit binder, capped at sorcerous skill of B5 due to not all characters starting with magic. m^2 let me know if you think these domains are too broad. I thought about what a City domain would do, and interestingly it has a major downside - a failure where you choose the long-term constant Retribution is very problematic in a broad domain.

Name and concept: Nulgha, born with the uncanny red eyes of an orc, failed sorcerer, eventually found her calling as a spirit binder on a Greyhawk smuggling ship. She is attracted to outcasts and those with power and that means the Thieves Guild.

tl;dr character sheet: Spirit Binding B5, Circination B4, 1D Affiliation with the Thieves Guild of Greyhawk, Fey Blood: Lynx-Eyed, Like Burning Coals, Aura of Fear

Beliefs (to be modified in response to others' beliefs and situation updates):
- This war is our chance to prove our worth, I'll bring back the largest shipment of Blood Blossoms this city has ever seen!
- Power is always desirable, I'll convince our Elder Planner I should be acting Guildmaster by bringing the defectors back under our wing
- Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile. I'll scare Lord Heimart into dropping his proposal to audit and tax the Guild.

Instincts:
- Always hide my friends from notice when a job's ongoing.
- When I meet someone new, find out their superstitions.
- When they bring up my eyes, insult them.

Full character sheet: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwYx-fx5mJcaOW85Z3VNcTg2N2s
(http://charred.herokuapp.com/#/)

This is going to be great! I'll get some finalized beliefs and instincts together today.

Verrain, do you have an idea of what your characters relation to the situation will be? I'm imagining that your rogue and my guard have worked together in the past in some capacity.

Also, I'm sure that Nulgha's involvement will be of much interest to the Wizard's College...

Not sure yet. If Nulgha is angling for acting Guildmaster, then I think I'll have a belief about being a loyalist to the Guildmaster and backing his second to keep leading us. I am thinking of putting myself at odds with your third belief. If you are cracking down on the Low Quarter, then I will be trying to protect someone from the sweep. I agree that the guard and fence have had mutally profitable interactions in the past. I'm not sure where I stand on the Blood Blossom caper mainly because I don't know what a Blood Blossom is or what we'd have to go through to get them. But if it is the big score on the horizon, my guy would want in.

So I'm thinking for the immediate main conflict (around which you should structure a Belief), you three are either among seven (or so) of the Guildmasters "lieutenants" - or are the top 3 members of 1 gang out of 5 central gangs making up the Guild.

The Guildmaster (s/he?) has recently disappeared. And with the disappearance, the alliances that have held the Guild together for decades are falling apart. The Lieutenants have called a meeting of the heads of the "gangs" (families, or whatever) to discuss how to proceed. This is where the game will start.

We can structure the intrigues (RE: the war, the guild, and the Institutions of the city) around that?

A couple gangs want to end the Old Alliance and fragment the Guild, some want to salvage it, maybe some want to form new alliances with old institutions, some want to take the opportunity of the War to essentially pillage the city, some want to try to help it, and so on... Does this sound like a workable starting point? Is the conflict direct enough so that we can build Beliefs around it and know where we can go with it?

[edit: and obviously you've already started down this direction, but just wanted to state it as the big picture, and bounce the starting scene off you all]

Sounds like a good starting point for me. I'm fine with being the representative of the Fences at the Thieves Guild council.

Tweaked my character concept a bit to be a counterfeiter and smelter as well as a fence. Let me know what you think. Beliefs to come later.

Gord Male Human Age 33

Life Paths: Born City, Apprentice Artisan, Coin Clipper, Lead to Outcast, Fence

Stats: Will B4, Perception B4, Power B4, Forte B4, Agility B4, Speed B4
Health B4, Steel B4, Hesitation 6, Reflexes B4, Mortal Wound B10, Circles B2, Resources B2

Affiliation: Thieves Guild 1D

Skills:

Appraisal B3
Artisan-wise B2
Brawling B3
Counterfeiting B2
Falsehood B2
Guard-wise B3
Haggling B4
Inconspicuous B4
Locksmith B4
Persuasion B3
Streetwise B3
Whitesmith B2

Traits: Shrewd, Light Sleeper, Ear for Voices

Relationships: Roger, cousin in the City Guard; minor, family, hateful
Dulak, Engineer in the Grayhawk Mint; minor, forbidden

Gear, Possessions, Property:
Clothes, Traveling Gear, Shoes, Lockpick toolkit, Workshop, Armor, Gambeson, Run Of The Mill Quality

Social skills seem a little low for a social/fence? Though you do have B4 Haggling.

BTW, my choice of the name "Nulgha" was deliberately orcish.

Next beliefs iteration:
- This war is our chance to prove the Guild's worth to Greyhawk, I'll bring back the largest haul of Blood Blossoms this city has ever seen!
- Power is always desirable, I'll convince Gord to back my play for acting Guildmaster by discrediting Nicastro.
- Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile. I'll scare Lord Heimart into dropping his proposal to audit and tax the Guild.

I'll put up the Game tonight with some basic starter threads, and send out invites.
And find yourselves some Avatars if you've not yet :)

Here is my first pass at beliefs.

- Word on the street is Nulgha is looking for Blood Blossoms. I will use my contacts to find the best source.
- The Old Alliance has kept this guild together since before living memory. I'll back Nicastro's play to keep the guild together.
- I've heard rumors of increased guard sweeps in the low city. I need to convince the guard to sweep away from my workshop.

Instincts:

Always Appraise anything I'm buying carefully and patiently.
Always have a lockpick on me.
When in public, move Inconspicuously.

Thinking more about how I want the game to go, I don't have a good picture for the whole Blood Blossoms haul thing. It's outside the city, roden-y rather than dwarfy or orcy, and sounds a lot more merchant-y than thief-y. (I'm assuming the war is mostly orcs biting everyone else still? And that there are dwarves?) But I do want a belief about a job, I think.

What about
- If the Guild can supply Greyhawk's taverns with good Dwarven Nog we'll be irreplaceable. I'll steal the Host's supply as they're leaving.

Part of the Dwarven Host, a roving patrol maybe of decent size, is currently camped outside the city but planning to move on. What do you think?

Your Blood Blossom Belief just says you'll bring back a big haul. Doesn't say anything about acquiring them legally. :)

I think the whole "Get thing City needs." will work in one of two scenarios. We try and corner the market on something important so that when the siege really starts, we're the only supplier, or we assume a trade blockade is already up and only we smugglers are brave/crazy enough to try and break it.

Ooh, okay, so the war's hot but Greyhawk's not under siege, right? And there's a nice river down to an inland sea with people to trade with? But no one ever said they're not under siege. So yeah, how about the brewers of Dwarven Nog (the ones actually willing to sell to humans) are in a city blockaded by orcs and their mercenaries, and like you said, only we smugglers are brave/crazy enough to try and break it.

- If the Guild can supply Greyhawk's taverns with good Dwarven Nog we'll be irreplaceable. I'll break the blockade of Chondite Keep and bring back the first shipment we've seen in seasons.

I'm into the idea of a blockade running situation. Niclas (my Guard) might be recruited to--or bully his way into--help bring that amount of goods through the canals without notice or without incurring punitive taxes.

Beliefs:

- Nulgha's got something big coming in from Chondite Keep. I need to get in on the action and will make Nulgha an offer (she? he?) can't refuse.

- The natives in the Low City are getting restless. Time to take out the boys for a little Law and Order.

- Ever since I broke his sweetheart's jaw, that two-bit sneak thief Garry has had it out for me. If his uncle Nicastro gains control of the Guild, I could be in big trouble. I've got to take care of him...discreetly.

Instincts:

- If things get touchy, hit first and hit hard.

- Never let anyone talk down to me or my boys.

- When meeting in private, always have an escape route ready.

shughr, I have some suggestions on your instincts to link them to Burning Wheel mechanics.

For your first, an instinct can't let you attack first but there is a way to hit hard. Always start fights in Aggressive stance. Of course, that assumes we use the Fight mechanics. Not sure how to do that in Hub and Spokes.

I tried a similar instinct to your third and the feedback I got was that you can't create an escape route that isn't there with an instinct, but you can make it automatic that you are looking for one. When meeting in private, always Assess for an escape route.

One simple way would be allowing a Speed versus test linked to whatever the fight roll was. Succeed and you get the drop on 'em for +1D, fail and your hastiness wrecks your form for +1 Ob.
I'm surprised at that feedback. I'd expect the instinct to be fine, but if the GM has already determined there is no escape route then there is not. If the GM hasn't, go ahead and test an appropriate -wise. Hopefully you have one or you're going to be Beginner's Lucking your way into an even scarier situation. :D Oh, and the Ob's higher if you want to know where the escape route is and how to use it rather than just "yep there's definitely a back alley somewhere up ahead I can duck into if, you know, I find it".