Design Blog and News - The Attendant Path

Ian Sturrock is one of the players intending to play at the first Odyssey event. We have reproduced this with his permission from a post made on the rule7 forums talking about the role of attendants in the game.

So -- there is no "character advancement". Yet there is still character progression, of sorts -- as in a story.

Imagine the great Strategos whose troops are wiped out because of a failure of hers. If she doesn’t fall on her own sword -- perhaps she wants to, but still has responsibilities, somewhere, an oath to the Gods, or something -- what is more perfect than that she become an attendant, for an event or two? Atonement -- she becomes an attendant to the High Priest of Athena so as to right her wrongs as best she can, in the eyes of the Gods, and hopefully to learn the wisdom and *cautious* use of strategy that she has failed to show.

Two years later, the High Priest is killed. Greece once more has an army, has recovered somewhat from the losses of earlier. The people demand that the former Strategos, now Attendant, become the new Priest of Athena. She’s spent so long learning from the former High Priest, it’s time she put that sharp mind and those honed skills to work.

A year down the line, there’s a need for a new Strategos, and our High Priest is begged to come out of retirement to command one last phalanx...

Attendants are perfect for all kinds of characters. Personally, I wouldn’t play one at the start of the game, but I could see why some people might want to, and I could also see why I might end up becoming one at some point.

Ian Sturrock