A✦
AbidingAuthority
Held byThe Prince · The Hand of the Prince
Passive
Award Courageous, Defender, Honorable, or Loyal. A person can only hold one Authority-granted trait per grantor at a time.
Spent
Issue or remove Warned or Forsaken.
The rules of standing
Status
The Status system governs your place within Ashkeep's Court. It determines what you can do, say, and demand of others, based on the rank you hold and the reputation you have built.
This is not a points system or an automatic progression. Status is earned, lost, and manipulated. It reflects your social position at a given moment.
Abiding traits
Abiding traits are permanent. They are tied to your rank or office within the Court, and disappear if you lose that position. They define what you can do structurally: issue orders, grant traits to others, hand down official sanctions. Each Abiding trait has a passive effect (always active) and a spent effect (usable once, then reset at the next session).
C✦
AbidingCommander
Held byThe Prince
Passive
Give orders to anyone without Authority. If they disobey, then for the rest of that week and the next week, their Fleeting traits are ignored and they can't gain more. Award Enforcer to up to three people for the rest of the week.
Spent
Award Courageous or Loyal to up to three people. They need not receive the same trait.
E✦
AbidingEnforcer
Held byLord Commander of the Ashguards · Castellan
Passive
Carry weapons to any gathering, including inside the Keep. Award Defender to up to two people for the rest of the week.
Spent
Issue Warned to someone you legitimately believe has broken the law.
E✦
AbidingEstablished
Held byLord
Passive
Anyone who clearly insults, threatens, or attacks you in the presence of another becomes Warned, unless they have Authority, Commander, or Triumphant.
Spent
Award Favored.
P✦
AbidingProminent
Held byMaster of Whisperers
Passive
Award Courteous or Honorable. A person can only hold one Prominent-granted trait per grantor at a time.
Spent
Order someone to leave a non-combat scene. If they don't, they become Disgraced.
C✦
AbidingConfirmed
Held byLord · Notable
Passive
May approach officers without formal introduction and without social penalty.
Spent
Order a servant of the Court, unless it directly contradicts their superior's orders.
G✦
AbidingGuardian
Held byMaster of Whisperers · Castellan · Whisperer (in absence)
Passive
Issue Warned to anyone who behaves inappropriately within your jurisdiction or does not respect the authority of your proclamations.
Spent
Issue Disgraced.
N✦
AbidingNoble
Held byThe Hand · Master of Whisperers · Councillor · Whip (in absence)
Passive
Award Loyal or Acclaimed. A person can only hold one Noble-granted trait per grantor at a time.
Spent
Issue Vulgar to someone who caused significant offense.
P✦
AbidingPrivileged
Held byLord Commander of the Ashguards · Lord
Passive
Others can't openly accuse you of lying unless they have Authority, Commander, Privileged, or Triumphant.
Spent
Issue Vulgar.
S✦
AbidingSovereign
Held byThe Prince
Passive
Award Enforcer, Courteous, or Loyal. A person can only hold one Sovereign-granted trait per grantor at a time. Others can't openly contradict you unless they have Authority or Privileged.
Spent
Award Sanctioned, or declare someone Forsaken within Ashkeep for as long as you retain your position.
Fleeting traits
Fleeting traits are temporary. They are granted by other characters who hold the corresponding Abiding traits, or earned through in-game actions. They represent your reputation in the moment, and can be removed as quickly as they were given. Like Abiding traits, they have a passive effect and a spent effect.
C✦
FleetingCourteous
Granted by: Prominent
Passive
May formally introduce another character at Court. For that scene, they may approach an officer without needing a separate introduction.
Spent
Apologize for a political or etiquette gaffe made within the past five minutes. It still happened, but it cannot be used as grounds for negative Status.
C✦
FleetingCourageous
Granted by: Authority or Commander
Passive
When carrying out a sanctioned order from someone with Authority or Commander, you may access Ashkeep's standard weapons, armor, mounts, or other military supplies for the task.
Spent
Extend that privilege to yourself or one other character for a single sanctioned action, provided it does not break Ashkeep's law.
D✦
FleetingDefender
Granted by: Authority or Enforcer
Passive
May carry weapons at any gathering, including inside the castle or during Court.
Spent
During an immediate threat to Ashkeep, temporarily take command of available guards and access restricted defensive resources until someone with Enforcer, Commander, or Authority takes over.
F✦
FleetingFavored
Granted by: Established
Passive
Anyone who openly attacks you within Ashkeep can be issued Warned, unless they have Authority, Commander, or Triumphant.
Spent
Negate a negative trait before it's applied. That person can't issue you negative traits for the rest of the week.
H✦
FleetingHonorable
Granted by: Authority or Prominent
Passive
Anyone who formally accuses you of lying must spend one positive Status of any type to make the accusation. The spent Status gives no benefit.
Spent
Ignore any order to leave the current scene. You may remain until the scene ends.
L✦
FleetingLoyal
Granted by: Authority, Commander, or Noble
Passive
If you would become Warned, lose Loyal instead.
Spent
Obtain one standard piece of equipment or one simple piece of information through Ashkeep's servants, guards, or other low-level retainers, as long as it is reasonably available to them.
T✦
FleetingTriumphant
Earned by: Personally defeating or killing someone formally declared Forsaken
Passive
Receive priority treatment from Ashkeep: bypass normal introductions and waiting, and request direct access to an officer when available.
Spent
Ignore all negative Status affecting you or one other character for the rest of the scene. The Status is not removed, only temporarily suspended.
V✦
FleetingVictorious
Earned by: Winning a Symbel
Passive
For the rest of the week, anyone able to award you positive Status may do so without spending their own Status.
Spent
Remove Warned from yourself.
A✦
FleetingAcclaimed
Granted by: Noble
Passive
Choose one positive Status you currently hold. One other character may benefit from its passive effect for one hour.
Spent
Request a formal audience with any Court officer, including the Prince.
S✦
FleetingSanctioned
Granted by: Sovereign
Passive
None.
Spent
You are formally permitted by the authority of Ashkeep to break one specific law without punishment. The exception must be clearly defined when Sanctioned is granted.
Negative traits
Some traits work in reverse: Warned, Disgraced, Forsaken. They publicly signal that a character has failed — through conduct, through violation of Ashkeep's law, or by decision of the Prince. A character marked Warned is on notice. Disgraced, their Status is ignored. Forsaken, they have no protection from the Court.
W✦
NegativeWarned
A character marked Warned is on notice.
A public signal of failed conduct or breach of Ashkeep's law.
D✦
NegativeDisgraced
Their Status is ignored.
Standing no longer answers for them at Court.
F✦
NegativeForsaken
They have no protection from the Court.
Beyond the Court's shield — by law, or by the Prince.
How it works in practice
Most social interactions at Court run through this system. When someone grants you a trait, you are informed. When you spend a spent effect, it is visible and can be challenged.
Every grant, sanction, and spent action is logged in the Registry — a public record anyone can read.
Nothing is anonymous. That is the point.