Bastard of the Chieftain

Big Picture Belief: The Horse Queen is a false monarch and a heretic. She must be stopped, damn the consequences.
[b]Starting Situation Belief[b]: Despite being the chieftain's son, I am a bastard, and will most likely never see the throne. I will do what I must to protect my clan.

Nice, alright...

RE: Big Picture Belief:
First part is good to go. But the "action item" needs to be more defined. What specifically must you do to stop her? What's your first step toward that goal? Electing a Chief who is opposed to her, maybe?

RE: Starting Situation Belief:
This doesn't actually involve your PC in the Starting Situation very much. We came up with the complex succession premise so that everyone will have something to act on, immediately when we start the game, right? As written this is too broad of an idea, and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Succession picture.

What is the Bastard's stake in succession? And from there what does he need to achieve to see that his stake is secured, or protected, or whatever?

To go with your initial line of thought; if it's protection your Clan, which candidate is a threat, and why/how?

He would normally have no chance of succession, even if the leader was ill lick the clan chieftain was before he died. I am thinking he would protect them from anyone claiming to be the true leader of the clan, whether through force or diplomacy. HIs stake is that he is the eldest child of the chieftain, although being a bastard means he has lost that legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

Ok, all of what I said above still applies.

Embroil your PC in the Starting Situation somehow, use specifics. Create in-game realities. Set a specific goal.

oh, alright. I was thinking his other illegitimate brother would be the head of the military forces of the clan, and so his goal would be to kill his brother or incapacitate him to keep him from trying to gain support

Then this is what needs to be written in your Belief.

"My brother will lead us to nothing but war and death. I must kill him so that he doesn't become Chief."

See the difference?

All the stuff that you had in your head needs to be on paper, so that you, the GM, and literally every other player knows what's at stake, and what's going on.

BW is very much played open handed. Everyone knows everyone's cards. Secrets have no power in BW, no ability to become meaningful or rewarding, in a mechanical sense.

I'll talk about why this is, in the Character Burning thread some...

Oh! Alright.