We’ve talked about Injury. Now, let’s talk about Insult.
Ven dueling ritual is precise and exacting. Every movement means something. Of course, for the ven, there is always a right way to do anything.
That includes throwing insults.
The ven treat verbal duels with the same dignity and respect. There is a right way to do these things. Doing it the wrong way brings disgrace and shame to your family. Doing it the right way brings disgrace and shame to someone else’s family. Let’s take a look at the fine art of the ven insult.
Insult always begins with insinuation, never with outright accusation. A sideways compliment or a bit of sarcasm. The uncouth beast who steps up to a Baron or Duke and blabbers, “You’re fat!” does not understand nuance or style. Any ven so assaulted with such a vulgar misunderstanding of the proper manner these things is carried out is obliged to ignore it. Such an insult is considered vulgar (the ven say, vaga) and leaves a stain on the reputation of the one who uttered it.
However, if the insult is fair (the ven say, altrua), the challenged party is obliged to accept or deny the insult. Now, this is tricky. For the ven, accepting the insult means you want to fight about it. Denying the insult, on the other hand, means that you deny the opportunity to dispute it. It’s a little confusing, but that’s the way the ven language works sometimes: saying the exact opposite of what they mean.
Casting an insult (the same word the ven use for “casting a fishing line”) uses Beauty + Manners. The risk is 10. You cannot wager at this time. It’s a straight roll: did you cast the insult in such a subtle way that you captured the attention of your target and the audience around you. If you make the roll, your target is obliged to either accept or deny it. If you did not make the roll, you gain a rank 1 Insult on your sheet. We’ll talk about how that works in a moment, but first, denying and accepting Insults.
Denying the Insult
This is easier, so we’ll do it first.
If you have been insulted and you deny the opportunity to defend yourself, it means the insult sticks. You don’t want to fight about it and you’re willing to let it fall on your head. You gain a rank 1 Insult on your sheet with a short description of the insult. Again, we’ll talk about how that works in a second.
Accepting the Insult
If you accept the insult, it’s time to throw down. The duel uses Beauty + Manners. Each contestant in the duel begins a battle of cruel witticisms, the banter going back and forth until someone either falters or concedes.
Let’s start with you. You were just insulted and you’ve accepted it. You must throw back an insult of your own. This time, it does not have to be so subtle. With each progressive insult, the stakes increase. The insults become less subtle and more forthright. Roll your Beauty + Manners, except you must make one wager. The risk is still 10.
If you succeed your risk, the contest continues and your opponent must make another Beauty + Manners roll, making two wagers. Then, back to you, and you have to make the risk… with three wagers.
This goes back and forth until one of two things happens. First thing: one of the contestants concedes. He receives an Insult equal to the last wager made. If the last wager he made was three dice, he receives a rank 3 Insult. Second thing: one of the contestants fails the roll. If this happens, he blunders, makes a fool of himself, and loses the contest. He gains an Insult equal to the last wager made plus one. If the last wager made was three dice, he receives a rank 4 Insult.
Tagging Insults
As you may have suspected, Insults on your sheet can be tagged like aspects. (In fact, they’re just a very specific kind of aspect.) You can tag an Insult to gain a number of dice equal to the Insult. If you’re fighting an enemy in a duel, tag his Insult to remind him of his shame. You get dice equal to the Insult on your next risk.
Getting Rid of Insult
Shame is a hard thing to live with… it’s even harder to get rid of.
The only way to get rid of Insult is to take actions–public actions–that directly contradict the nature of the Insult. If you’ve got a Cuckold Insult (look it up, kids), you’ve got to find ways to prove the Insult wrong. Of course, that will probably involve your wife in some way, which means you’ll have to depend on her good will and generosity.
Oh, damn. You have to socially interact with NPCs to get a penalty off your sheet. Don’t you hate it when that happens?