Quote from: SpikeC'mon guys is it that fucking hard to tell us what a Coeptir does?

Part of that is style and part of that is the source material.  Iron Empires doesn't take time to explain the honorifics, the races, or technology either.  I was confused by that when I first read Burning Empires.  Much of that becomes flavor to explore the characters and setting conflict.  

On the other hand, Luke enjoys using the Lifepaths and Traits to place inside jokes or "cookies".  If it really bothers you, just head to the Burning Wheel/Empires forums or wikipedia and much of that is explained.  

Quote from: SpikeI am reasonably certain that if I picked up BW and looked for elf setting lifepaths, I'd find options named in elvish with no elaboration of what the fuck it is... BE does it, and so does burning sands...

BW lifepaths are actually pretty general and aren't like that at all (armorer, clothier, fisherman, etc...) and those are Elvish LPs.  Some of the character traits (flavor) can be hard to figure out.  Peg Boy was an eye opener but the general rule of thumb is that if it isn't listed in the Trait list, it's a character trait.  If it isn't self explanatory you could most likely define it yourself.

I hope that helps and I can't say enough about what a resource the BW/BE forums are.  If your question isn't already there, Luke (abzu) and the gang do an excellent job of responding to questions quickly.

Call me crazy, Gunslinger, but I tend to think game designers should be trying to communicate with me through the product. If it's only complete with guesswork, making shit up as I go, and online forum discussions with the creators...

it's incomplete. The Graphic novel/comic's format might get a pass. A lot can be explained in context, and if it isn't obvious it might not be important to the plot at hand.

If a player wants to be a coeptir (or have been one...) the game needs to make sure everyone knows at least at a minumum what it is, as we don't have the option, at that point, to make it unimportant to the plot at hand...

That's a fair enough critique Spike.  To be fair I had to look to see what a coeptir was after you mentioned it.  You're right.  I had to puzzle it out from the traits, wises, and lifepath tree.

Quote from: GunslingerThat's a fair enough critique Spike.  To be fair I had to look to see what a coeptir was after you mentioned it.  You're right.  I had to puzzle it out from the traits, wises, and lifepath tree.

Eh. I had to go to the god damn wiki, and even there it was a search. For the record... for those who have been vaguely tracking:

Coeptir: Pages, maybe even squires (pages is the term used in the wiki), young nobles serving older nobles as general gophers and dogsbodies.

Stentors: An Iron Lords personal Armsman, the guy that straps him in his armor at the beginning of the work day, and puts it back together after rough fights.