♠ House Composition -

There are four Players in each team, representing the four most powerful family members in that noble House’s lineage. This power, however, comes with responsibility and each Player will be assigned a sphere of influence where they must pay their attention during each round of play. In each House there is a leader, this is the nature of primogeniture after all, and one member of the Player team will be assigned a briefing with the role of Governor. The Governor is head of a House (team) and manages the territorial holdings for their bloodline. The Governor Player has the technical authority to distribute lands and honours to their House as they see fit.

It is important to note that for the purposes of the game; Players will receive their own brief and starting lands are given to them as a part of that. Some Players will be placed in more powerful roles at the outset, but will in turn suffer greater scrutiny because of that power. No head of House Player can choose to subordinate another Player, before the start of the game by withholding these resources. Any attempt to do so, by any Player, will be ignored by Control when considering outcomes. It is a different story once the game has commenced, however, as the narrative will assume that the Governor of any one House is in command and that actions against their will are considered treasonous. Players should not take this as a mandate to acquiesce, indeed; If a Player has the resources and feels the need – treason is merely a matter of perspective, when it comes down to it.

Primogeniture -

To determine primogeniture, and each Player's position in their House; Before the game starts, Player teams will be sent a segment of a family tree with several empty spots, one for each Player. They will need to discuss amongst themselves who will represent which gap in the family tree. These family trees will be different for each house, and fit into a larger aristocratic family tree which will be initially kept opaque to the Players. It is important that Players only fill out the corresponding slots and don’t attempt to change any other branches of their family tree, as each corresponds to other game information and doing so would only put their own team at a disadvantage. The true heir is rumoured to walk amongst the current aristocracy and any living noble could have been the descendent, secreted away by the Babayaga, years before.

Each House family tree will have a space for the head of the house, this person will be given some additional responsibilities and will be treated as the leader at the start of the game, but it does not make them the supreme dictator of any Player’s personal actions during the game. It is advised that any Player placed in the head of the house position be more comfortable with ambiguity within the game, as they are likely to be under greater scrutiny and/or threat.

One House member must also be chosen to apprentice the Babayaga. This person will spend more time away from their other team members during the day and it is advised that each House select someone who may be more comfortable working independently.

Only once a House’s family tree is returned to the game organisers, will they receive their Player Briefings, so make sure to communicate with the Control team ahead of the game, if you expect to have trouble completing this task.

If a House’s family tree is not submitted by the listed deadline, Control will assign positions at random and send out the Player packs. These cannot be shifted or swapped once deployed, unless under particularly dire circumstances, so submitting early is recommended. The Player given the position of head of their House will be send a pack that names them Governor and they will have the responsibility to parse out other domains to their team mates as they become relevant, see more later in the handbook;

Character Death and Endowment -

In Babayaga, a player is never killed, only their character. If a Player Character suffers an ‘in narrative death,’ following the rules for death and assassination, the lands and resources held by the deceased Player stay with that Player even if their new Player Character is not a direct descendant of their previous one. Inheritance can be strange sometimes. This is non-negotiable and means that a Player can only ever lose their regions through targeted guile or conflict. A Player’s team cannot just take lands from them, even if their character has died between rounds. There is no rule, however, preventing a House betrayal where a Player’s assets are seized through conflict or Gambit.