Honour
The first foundation of Empire is honour. Honour is the force that unites a hundred worlds and countless lives towards a common end. The first tenet of the honourable life is service to the Empire. From the Emperor himself down to the humblest farmer, every member of the Empire is expected to do their part for the good of all.
For the majority of citizens in the Empire, they can hold their heads high and enjoy the respect of their peers so long as they work dutifully for their superiors and stay within the law. For members of the Noble Houses and servants of the Imperial Court (That is to say the PCs and most people you’ll be dealing with) the constraints of honour are rather tighter; the price of being at the top of the pile is that everyone else looks up to you, and that means that every attendee of the Court is expected to strive to represent the pinnacle of honour.
Amongst the galactic elite a man’s honour rests upon his Word; to offer someone your Word is to announce that you would relinquish all honour and standing should you play them false. Any sizable social gathering will be attended by a scribe, whose sole duty is to record given Words, and legitimate commerce cannot occur without a scribe’s presence. Even when not giving one’s Word in an official manner, members of the Court are expected to be honest in their dealings with each other. There is no shame in refusing to discuss a matter, but to lie outright is to court dishonour. Members of the Court are further expected to behave with courtesy at all times while in dealings with each other; insults have no place in honourable behaviour and to attempt violence upon another outside of an agreed upon bout would likely result in expulsion from the Court and potentially from one’s House.
Honourable Trials - Duelling
There are occasions when two people’s words are at odds, and there is insufficient evidence to rule between them. Rather than allow a stain of dishonour to hang both parties it has been custom amongst the Houses that a duel (or formally a ‘trial’) may determine the matter. An Arbitrator from the Imperial Magistrate is appointed to decide the terms of a trial; typically misdemeanours are to first blood, while more serious matters of honour are to submission. In the case of a capital crime then the duel will end in a death, with only the Chief Arbitrator able to sanction such a duel. Trials are conducted with blades, typically rapiers, although it varies across the Empire.
Whilst many in the Court have some training at arms, the importance of a Trial is such that most will choose to have an Advocate represent them. Advocates are skilled legal professionals and sportsmen, who, reasonably enough given the dangerous nature of their work, charge rates well beyond the means of most inhabitants of the Empire. The Houses all maintain a number of Advocates, and many children in the Empire dream of one day serving in such a glamorous role. Duels to the death require both the duellists and their Advocates to forswear Preservation, and in the event of their Advocate losing, a duellist is expected to take their own life as soon as their affairs are in order.
The Imperial Advocate is known as the Emperor’s Man and to be asked to serve as such is an unrivalled honour for any duellist. The current Emperor’s Man is Rene Machello Lystra who has served in the role for a near unprecedented decade. Rumour has it that her hand has slowed in recent years and that the Emperor is simply waiting to find a suitable replacement.
Contests of Acquisition
Theft is, of course, an entirely dishonourable activity and no member of the Imperial Court would ever dirty their hands with such a sordid business. Contests of Acquisition however, are entirely proper, encourage friendly rivalry between the Houses and promote the security of the Empire. The fact that such Contests often involve breaking into someone else’s property, beating up their guards and making off with a valuable belonging is quite beside the point.
So what distinguishes the common burglar from a noble Contestant? Well first of all a burglar is not obliged to give advance warning of his crime; a Contestant is expected to make known their intentions before the end of a Court Meeting, and if they do not succeed in acquiring the item before the next Meeting then they have lost the contest and may not challenge for the item again. Secondly a burglar may kill whoever has the misfortune to cross their path; Contestants are absolutely forbidden from doing permanent harm during the Contest. Security is permitted to use whatever force they desire in defence of the item- it is assumed that all Contestants will be Preserved.
Contestants traditionally announce themselves under pseudonyms and those names gain honour as word of their exploits spread. Conversely the House that unmasks a famous Contestant earns itself considerable prestige. The most renowned Contestant yet to retire is known as ‘Golden Glove ’, the Glove has been a society fixture for the past fifty years as specialises in acquiring unique artworks.
House Feuds
When tensions between the Great Houses rise to such levels that open conflict is desired, then a House leader may seek out the Chief Arbitrator of the Imperial Magistrate to declare a grievance.
When a grievance is called then the House leaders meet and discuss the stakes of the conflict. There is rarely dishonour in a House’s leadership simply giving in to the demands of another, rather than risking the ruin of open war. If the parties cannot reach an agreement then the Arbitrator will declare that those Houses are officially Feuding. From that point all involved Houses have six months to martial their forces and then the remainder of the year to conduct the Feud.
A Feud is essentially open war between the involved Houses with a few provisos; firstly the Noble Houses are required to hold out of the conflict any forces that are deemed necessary for the protection of the Empire. Secondly only military targets can be honourably attacked; the Arbitrator will not tolerate assaults upon a House’s civilian populace. Once the year of Feuding ends the Arbitrator will judge who is victorious in the conflict. The ‘vanquished’ House is then required to provide the appropriate recompense as agreement on at the outset of the Feud.