The Bodyguard Maidservant

Your wine, my lady.

Many important and vital jobs are done by insignificant mundanes, who go unnoticed before the eyes of magi, lords, and clergy alike. These unsung heroes rarely win a place in history. However, a conniving master can put this virtual invisibility to much use. This bland and demure maidservant can fill many roles.

This female grog has never felt at home in the rigid roles of gender and feudal hierarchy of mundane society. From an early age, she has yearned for danger, adventure, and most of all independence and freedom. But for a lowborn girl, all this is most often an impossible dream. Before she was mature enough for her family or village to seal her fate, and force her to marry and follow a peasant's life, she fled. She spent some time actively seeking out people different enough, and places sufficiently strange, to offer her the needed break from society. And in the end, Mythic Europe offers only one real place like this — an Hermetic covenant.

Swallowing her pride for a time, she had to suffer manual work and the indignities of being a common woman, but it was still a lot better than life in your average farming village. Eventually, she had found enough training and practiced enough for the magi to notice her special skills. To outside observers, she is still a mere maidservant, assistant, scribe, or other insignificant minion. But she really serves as a bodyguard in disguise for a magus, as well as a set of invisible eyes and ears. Among the mundanes, a maga can benefit greatly from being able to bring her protection into feminine circles, where male guards get left outside. A magus may find he has access to these female circles, using his maidservant as intermediary.

Lacking the brawn and toughness of most shield grogs, she really doesn't cut it for front line fights. Instead, she manages by being more clever, alert, and opportunistic than the rest, and by being inconspicuous to the very last instant. The secretive nature of her work means that some events blow her cover. This forces her to change position, apparent vocation, and appearance once in a while. But these challenges are what drives her, her skills developing in the independence granted her at the covenant.

Here are outlined suggestions, recommendations, and tips for creation of a Bodyguard Maidservant character.

The following story seeds could involve a Bodyguard Maidservant.

During an extended journey, the magi and retainers come across a merchant with a caravan of substantial size, followed by the unavoidable pilgrims and beggars. Deciding to combine safety in numbers with a little comfort, the magi accept the invitation of the merchant. During the night, a young girl sneaks into the midst of the characters. She claims she is the daughter of a nobleman being held captive, but that she managed to sneak out for a short time. If they don't wish to help her escape the merchant, she slips away, or is a very quiet captive. If helped, she reveals that she is really a servant who changed places with her mistress, so she could escape.

But the mistress obviously failed to get safely away and obtain help, so now the servant is in trouble. As the mistress is the daughter of a robber baron, a rival to the caravan master, great rewards could be had. Meanwhile, the caravan master is going to pieces over losing his captive, because holding her as hostage was the only thing keeping local bandits from attacking, since they refer to the robber baron. Now the characters must keep the servant girl safe and unnoticed so she can help them find the baron's daughter, while at the same time being under attack by local bandits.

A magus cannot for any reason call off a meeting he has with an important nobleman or clergyman, not even when he knows one of his rivals has hired a highly qualified assassin. Nervous to the point of paranoia, he and his female bodyguard – who is disguised as a scribe – attend the meetings. Meanwhile, specialists and discreet magi from his covenant try to get to the bottom of the case. Who wants the magus dead? Who is the assassin, and how will he make the hit? The entire time, the magus and the bodyguard sit at the edges of their chairs, eyes darting around to each and every face or corner in the room, as discreetly as it can be done.

The following Virtues may apply to a Bodyguard Maidservant character: Keen Vision, Sharp Ears, Lightning Reflexes, Puissant Awareness, Puissant Guile, Forgettable Face*

If the concept calls for a bodyguard or assassin with larger weaponry than daggers, you need a Virtue to be allowed to purchase Martial Abilities. Warrior is a good choice; Custos might make you too high-profile, which would defeat the purpose. Educated or Arcane Lore might fit a mature or older character, to represent the fact that the magi allow her to become literate and learn Latin and various mystical abilities.

The Bodyguard Maidservant may suffer from some of these Flaws: Small Frame, Oversensitive (chauvinism), Mistaken Identity, Weak Personality*, Compulsive Lying*, Uninspirational*

* See Chapter 6, New Virtues and Flaws

Covenfolk is recommended, and although the single magus you work for might hold you in high regard, appointing you to Custos is detrimental to you staying incognito. The same goes for most other Social Status Virtues.

Appropriate Abilities are: Awareness, Athletics, Guile, Legerdemain, Brawl, Profession (various)

Training packages include: Social, Exploring, or Mischievous Childhood. Courtier, Conman, Harlot, Tumbler, or Servant. Charmer or Covenfolk, combined depending on the concept.

YOUNG BODYGUARD (AGE 15): Athletics 3 (dodging), Awareness 4 (alertness), Brawl 3 (dagger), Folk Ken 2 (magi), Guile 3 (10) (identity change), Native Language 5 (being subservient), Profession: Maidservant 3 (tidying up)

MATURE BODYGUARD (AGE 25): Athletics 3 (dodging), Awareness 5 (alertness), Brawl 3 (dagger), Etiquette 2 (hermetic), Folk Ken 3 (anticipating attack), Guile 5 (20) (identity change), Legerdemain 3 (holdout), Native Language 5 (being subservient), Profession: Maidservant 3 (tidying up)

With the skills required to go for long periods of time with a changed identity, in disguise and playing a part, this character could easily pull off other jobs than bodyguarding. She could serve well as an assassin, by focusing more on a Martial Ability, Stealth, and perhaps Profession: Poisoner, Herbalism, or Alchemy for concocting poison. Or she could serve as a spy or saboteur with little change, although being literate can be a huge boon. Visitors usually pay little heed to an anonymous servant, so a person with sharp ears can pick up many useful things. She could even be sent to other covenants or castles, to spy or to gather arcane connections.

As a character in the companion slot, she has enough extra Virtues to become an expert in her field. Using Puissance and Affinities and perhaps

Learn (Ability) From Mistakes or Careful with (Ability), a highly skilled bodyguard or spy can be created. Improved or Great Characteristics may also stack the odds in her favor. Special skills can be added to the concept with a multitude of Supernatural Virtues or Abilities; Entrancement, Magic Sensitivity, Premonitions, Second Sight, Piercing Gaze, Skinchanger, or Shapeshifter are useful examples. An Educated character and one with Arcane Lore can be a great boon to the magi.

The role of such a companion can have a much larger scope than the grog. Being more than a simple servant, the maid most likely plays a larger part in decision-making and planning. The work and assignments can be more elaborate or long-term, and by adding a Story Flaw the whole affair can be woven into stories, integrating with personal issues. The maid and the magus could take advantage of Enemies, Mistaken Identity, Blackmail, or Close Family Ties as openings for plots or missions.

As a companion, this character could also easily run missions with a staff and accomplices, providing seeds for using other companions and grogs in the story, which would again create stories for the entire troupe.