Secret
From Harath Rules
| Cost: | Variable. See table below for specifics. |
| Description: | A Secret is some aspect of your past that you must keep hidden. Were it made public, the information could harm your reputation, ruin your career, wreck your friendships, or even threaten your life. |
| Gameplay: | You must do all you can to keep you secret from getting out. |
CP value of your Secret:
| CP | Repercussions if Revealed |
|---|---|
| 5 | Serious Embarrassment. If this information gets around, you will lose the respect of those in decent, law-abiding society. |
| 10 | Utter Rejection. If your Secret is discovered, your whole life will be changed. You will likely be shunned by all who know it. |
| 20 | Imprisonment or Exile. If the authorities ever find out, you'll face a long prison term, excommunication, or similar punishment. |
| 30 | Possible Death. Your Secret is so terrible that you would likely be swiftly executed by the authorities or lynched by a mob. |
Notes about Secrets:
- When someone learns your Secret, they may not immediately make it public. You may become the target of blackmail or extortion, and you can, of course decide whether to give in to the extortion, recover or destroy the evidence against you, or try to eliminate the blackmailer. In most cases, this solution will only be a temporary respite. The Secret will appear again and again until you both use CP to buy off the Disadvantage and perform some act to ensure the Secret is either well and truly safe, such as a public admission and act of contrition, destruction of all possible evidence, death of everyone who knows, etc.
- If your secret becomes widely known, you lose the secret and acquire new, permanent disadvantages worth the CP value of the original Secret. The new disadvantages must be appropriate to the Secret, and could include such things as gaining new Enemies, losing Rank, losing Wealth, etc. Work with the GM to determine appropriate disadvantages.
Example: As a young Constable, Chalky once accepted a bribe to let a beautiful young lady pay an unannounced visit to the local Count. Unfortunately, she turned out to be an assassin, who killed the Count and his wife. Today, Chalky is the town's Captain of the Guard. In this situation, the GM judges that he's not likely to be killed for his illegal act, but because revelation of his deed would certainly cost him a demotion and a hefty fine, it meets the criteria for a 20-CP Secret.