A Byzantine web of words: Pledges and the Tower

Following on from the statting session you are probably all starting to come up with your motley pledges, and eyeing up that free blag :p , so for this post I thought I would talk about the importance of pledges and the local social conventions surrounding pledge making.
Pledges 101
Pledges are broken down into three different types

Vows: The most common pledges, these are simply a formal agreement to accomplish a task. A changeling can have their Wyrd+3 vows active at any time.
Oaths: More formalised pledges sworn on the name of an individual. Changelings can have up to three oaths (one on their own name, one on the name of their keeper and one invested in a higher power)
Corporeal: Similar to Oaths except they are investing an aspect of the Changeling. Changelings can up to five corporeal pledges (One attached to their seeming, one attached to their court, one attached to their entitlement [if they are in one], one on a mortal association they are a member of and one sworn on another who will act as their punisher should they break that pledge).

All pledges which your character has sworn must be submitted to me at norwich.lost.lst@islesofdarkness.com including the pledge wording and a mechanical breakdown for you to gain the mechanical benefits.


Oaths of allegiance
Although the ruling monarch has de jure absolute power, the size and complexity of administering a freehold (not to mention the reservations changelings naturally have towards people having power over them) has created a byzantine bureaucracy or various offices and titles that mark the various levels of power and status within the city. Upon entering office, including the lowliest of ranks- simple citizenship of the city, a Changeling is expected to make a formal oath of allegiance which outlines their duties and responsibilities. This always takes the form of an Oath or corporeal pledge as this limits the concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals, especially as not all offices expire alongside the changing of the crown.


Moreover all oaths of allegiance are sworn in Old English. This is because Changelings would rather used tried and tested pledges to hold their officials to account and fear that updating an oath into the modern tongue might inadvertently create loopholes: Received wisdom states that anyone who seeks power over their fellows is only a matter of steps removed from the Gentry and with the evolution of language words can take on different meanings in the eyes of the Wyrd to those intended by the signatories.
For those unable to speak the old tongue younger changelings have created the 'Speakers Pledge' to get round an archaic formality...


The Speakers Pledge
Okay, lets do this
no lies: we use the true tongue this day
Deal...
Vow
Task: Forbiddance (Medial)- do not tell a lie; the speakers pledge is used for deal making so its just common courtesy (-2)
Boon: Blessing- Language: Old English (+1)
Duration: Day- pledge should not last longer than is necessary (+1)

Freehold Pledge: The Citizens Pledge

Upon broken chains I swear this oath. ‘Till (rains of summer/ frost of winter) abide in both; I pledge my service to the Watchtower-Over-the Water. Within its walls shall I be stayed from slaughter and before the monarchs decrees shall I not falter. To its defence I swear my arm upon Sigil and on its walls I maintain my vigil. Upon these tasks may my clear eyes see and upon failure retribution seek for me.

Oath: The Name of the Keeper- increased risk of being taken back if pledge broken
Task: Forbiddance (Lesser) - do not kill another changeling within the city walls; though this is generally only assumed to apply within the walls of the hedge city a cautious fae would steer clear of doing their murdering within the walls of the mortal city as well (-1)
Task: Alliance (greater) - be vigilant, report or deal with threats to your city and your fellow citizens and obey the city bye laws   (-3)
Boon: Vassalage- the freehold is more than bricks and mortar, the freehold is more than a vow, it is a community. Members of the Freehold pledge receive a +1 to all clarity checks they are required to make (+3)
Boon: Adroitness- Signatories gain a greater insight into the use of weaponry for defending the city walls. (+1)
Sanction: Violence - though not explicit the penalty for betrayal is exile into the mortal world, enforced by the glare of their former peers and the knives at their backs. Those who choose to stay within the city walls may only use mundane armour to defend against attacks by members of the freehold. (-2)
Duration: Season- Though the ‘season’ is derived from the two conflicting seasons of the local hedge. The nature of the wyrd means that the pledge must be re-sworn every 89 days- ironically along the lines of the traditional four season of the mundane world (+2)

Monarchical Decrees of the Freehold:

1. Those who forsake their oaths shall not be afforded citizenship of the city.
2. Scouring for glamour with the city or otherwise defacing the city walls is forbidden.
3. Those who knowingly bargain with the enemies of the city will be withdrawn the city’s protection.
4. The following are listed as enemies of the city:
   1. The Gentry
   2. Loyalists
   3. Privateers
   4. Bridge burners
5. Those whose minds are deemed irrevocably unsound by the committee of freedom and stability, appointed from amongst the Bishopric of the city, will be withdrawn the city’s protection.
6. It is an offence to influence an official of the city in the enacting of their duties through means of violent or magical coercion.