(i so should’ve played someone capable of advancing any conversation)
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“Arete, that’s not clearer”
You can kind of, sort of treat a patron/client relationship as basically being a more intense, less equal, harder to terminate version of a boss/employee relationship. The client/lower status individual provides services (specific details depending on the person), loyalty, information (in some cases), and political support (details depending on the status of the client) to the patron/higher status individual, and in exchange receives not only payment, but also other forms of protection and support (especially career support + connections to their other clients + miscellaneous favors more easily achievable with their resources). For example, if you got into legal trouble within your patron’s barony, they would most likely lean on the magistrate to let you off leniently unless you had done something really fucked up that would be absolutely devastating to be associated with (in which case they might still aim for “leniency” in the form of e.g. a more dignified execution, not that that does you very much good when you’re dead); if you got into legal trouble in another Issian barony, and that baron cared about not making your patron mad, they might also lean on the magistrate. In the case of adventurers, patronage can also partially look like lending you some ~legitimacy — like, adventurers commonly solve problems with violence, and having a patron can help to make sure no one mistakes you for a bandit.
There are some careers where it’s basically impossible to advance in them without having some kind of patron. Patronage also isn’t a strictly binary “you’re either a patron or a client” sort of deal — you might have A who is B’s patron, and then B who is C’s patron, although in that case B would obviously be expected not to e.g. use C to do things that are against A’s interests.
Historically, Rostlandic patronage networks have tended to be more kin-based (i.e. associated with specific families) than Issian patronage networks, although this is not a 100% hard rule. The Rostlandic method has tended to be rough on people with a bad relationship with their family, or who are from a family without important connections, but it does have some benefits (e.g. it is more likely for Rostlandic patrons to ensure that the relatives of clients who die are provided for, although Issian patrons might still do it sometimes).
A client betraying their patron would be perceived as very shocking, and would likely make it much harder for them to find patronage in the future — it’s perfectly acceptable to simply not have someone specific as your patron, or to work against someone who you have no particular relationship with (although obviously they might be annoyed), but if you take on a patron, and then betray them to their enemies, that would be shocking and scandalous (to be clear, you can still do that if you want! Just, it would be harmful to your reputation). There could be very narrow exceptions if your patron is doing something truly egregious (e.g. secretly sacrificing people to demons or something), but ordinary corruption and the like would not be enough on its own.
Part of why the baron’s (not this baron, the baron of the barony Granite Hill is in) actions with regards to dismissing several magistrates (including Lionel, as well as Martyn Kaver) were so shocking was the fact that it violates normal patron/client assumptions (slightly mitigated by the fact that you were brought on by his father, rather than by him personally, but not very much mitigated) — even if he wanted to remove you from your posts, the normal thing to do would be to arrange for you to have some nice cushy job (possibly a kind of fake job) that pays well enough to maintain your previous lifestyle, rather than leaving you out to dry. (Since he treated Lionel so shockingly, it would not be scandalous for Lionel to work against him — that would be regarded as the baron’s fault for betraying the relationship first.)
People in Brevoy mostly don’t conceptualize patronage networks as being fucked up but to be clear they absolutely frequently are in a large multitude of ways. Like, if you’re reading this explanation and thinking “wow, that sounds fucked up?”, that is completely valid and reasonable.
Also, to be absolutely clear, even if he does decide to offer to take you on as clients, you don’t have to accept (and it would not necessarily be rude to decline, as long as you presented it as having some kind of higher conflicting obligation).
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yes, the word “client” is kind of confusing here. it doesn’t mean “person who is paying for a service” in this context.
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I’m tired so probably not going to shoot first
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Technically, Drakor did look at the light too fast in order to induce the sneeze, but that was very much intentional
Day 3 of “I slept through 100+ posts worth of content; what did I miss this time?”
(I have yet to read the main thread.)
What if I read the explanation and think that everything is not fucked up and instead normal?
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then clearly I need to put in some situations where we see them being really dysfunctional,
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(I’ll be here for another 30m or so if you want any PC interaction)
(I’ll just be writing out a story for Drakor to tell)
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If there is a system that lasts for at least one generation, then it is clearly a functional system. I am not saying it is a “good” system, but it is “functioning”. I am not a historian, but I’ve read enough dark fantasy to be desensitized by the fucked up parts of human history.
(The question is whether this information is carried over to Arius by means of “he was a soldier, so he has seen some of these fucked up shits as well”.)
Bud. I ain’t catching up 140+ posts in 30 minutes. Just go to bed. You need to rest as well.
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@Arete, for clarification: Did the party leave to (and arrive at) the western barony on the same day the grimples were killed?
yes!
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as a very rough timeline that might be off by a couple hours, think of it as something like this:
6 AM - sunrise
7 AM - 12 PM: the party members who had gone to capture Kamilla return to Granite Hill
12 PM - 12:30 PM: gathering people up in Granite Hill
12:30 PM - 5:30 PM: the party travels west
(I realize I said ‘around 5 PM’ earlier, but 5:30 is around 5,)
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(I sleep)
(have fun zone)
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It’s Russia.
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I’m seethingly jealous of you guys getting to play etiquette games at a fancy dinner
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im at 26 HP 
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As the player who controls Arius, I don’t think this is necessarily an enviable position.
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Doesnt seem like youre excited to play etiquette games at a fancy dinner
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Doesnt seem like youre excited to play etiquette games at a fancy dinner
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