Time-displaced class design. I’m going to start using Esprit more.
Class: Noble’s Man
Not a Nobleman (or even, probably, a noble man).
You are the servant of an NPC. He is a perfect nobleman, one who possesses every attribute that people favour in an aristocratic gentleman. We shall call him the Ariston, for he deserves the title. He is handsome, courteous, generous, honest, 3HD, two attacks a round, wise, straightforward and only justly proud. Naturally, you hold immense Esprit for him.
Next to him, you are as a raincloud to the Sun. Your devotion to the Ariston is certainly professional, certainly unhealthy, and not
Begin with command over 2d6 lesser servants. They are bumbling zanni and can only be trusted with unimportant tasks. You also begin with fine servant’s garb, 100 silver coins in saved wages, a garrotte, a concealed weapon, and a pressed rose petal in a locket.
Devils and Angels: For each lesser servant in his employ, the Ariston has another foe in local society, for jealous men scheming to destroy him and unchaste women scheming to marry him are everywhere.
When the Ariston gains a new ally, he gains a new enemy of equal rank. The reverse is also true.
Oh Modest Mouse: Other nobles who do not hate the Ariston hold Esprit for you, and wish fervently they had such a devoted servant. Other nobles who do hate the Ariston view you with fear and vague discomfort, and try to avoid you.
Oliphant: While the Ariston is doing something heroic, you are, for all intents and purposes, invisible. Even angels will be distracted. The same does not apply to the bumbling lesser servants, only to you, the Noble’s Man. The Ariston will be furious, oh, furious with you, if you interrupt a duel by shooting his opponent in the back of the head.
Master of my Psyche, I Am He: You can repress any feeling to better fulfil your duties. In essence, you are immune to fear, charm, psychic damage, and if anything possesses you they find out the interior of your mind is like so many roses and so much broken glass.
Estate’s General: You get to look at the overall maps of noble estates, deer parks, hunting grounds and similar. You also get to look at the indoor maps of great houses, courthouses, palaces, gentleman’s clubs, and similar places (or at least, you can navigate flawlessly as if you had the map, if the DM doesn’t have one ready). You can locate hidden stashes, pantries and cupboards of supplies in any building unerringly, even one you’ve just entered for the first time.
Domesday: If the Ariston becomes King, you become his Cupbearer. All officers of government are now his lesser servants, and (as a natural consequence of whatever stroke of fate made him suddenly King) he gains the enmity of an entire kingdom and its ruler. You are now a feared auditor of state, and any ambitious person or politician holds Esprit for you, due to your supposed influence over the King.
Yvain: When the Ariston is angry with you, the game of life seems frivolous. -2AC, +2 damage on all attacks, +1 initiative.
Association: Wit, curiosity and suspicion are not gentleman’s virtues, and thus, the Ariston does not possess them. You, however, have them in excess. You can sense when someone is insulted, even if they’re hiding it terribly well. You have a habit of eavesdropping on just the right part of conversations and walking into rooms at just the right time. You can consider two pieces of information in your mind to receive a clue as to how they might be related. X-in-6 chance of coming down with a splitting migraine when you use the latter ability, where X is the number of times you’ve used it today.
Oh, Flowers of Youth: When the Ariston marries, for it is inevitable, he will make a truly terrible foe, one who is as close to his heart as his new bride, or who is outright supernatural. Perhaps it will be his estranged brother, a sorcerer, an old comrade in war, the Devil, a past flame, some fairy queen intent on spiriting him or her away - or even you, if you don’t like the newly triangular formation of spring evenings. That’s a bit of humour - you’d never be so unprofessional. Now, to the matter of how one kills the Devil with only household supplies and cricket gear…
In Shadows, Now: If the Ariston dies, or dismisses you from his service, only three things can happen:
1. You wither away and die within the year, probably of consumption.
2. You become an assassin, occultist, werewolf or lawyer.
3. An angel comes down to save you. This last one will almost never happen, and certainly never when this template triggers because the Ariston dismissed you.