Firstly, hello KAP forums! This is my first post and I'm hoping folks can help me work through an issue in my campaign. I should say that I'm not running the GPC, but my game is very much inspired by the ideals of Arthurian chivalry and romance... which probably has lead to my current problem.

My game has been going for a while now, but I have a new player. Because we were in the middle of events, he got thrown in the deep end. I guess I didn't explain things enough because his misunderstandings of the setting have put me in a sticky situation. On the one hand, I don't want to punish him for not being familiar with the setting but OTOH, I want to be true to the setting and characters.

Here's the situation: The Lady Aurelie (a player character) is a young heiress. Her family is negotiating to marry her off to the violent and cruel Lord Ranulf and, naturally, she is trying to get out of it. Enter Sir Christophe, our new knight from across the sea without position, lands or family locally. At a local tournament, in which the principles are all present, Sir Christophe asks Lady Aurelie for her favor, which she gives him. Lord Ranulf, annoyed, challenges Sir Christophe for the lady's favor. Our young knight accepts, then before all the assembled knights and ladies of the shire, proceeds to loudly declare his love for Lady Aurelie. Christophe then proceeds to make a mockery of the challenge, running around what could best be called a Jack-Sparrow impersonation and generally trying to anger Lord Ranulf... at least until such time as Ranulf knocks him unconscious, takes the favor and stalks off.

The problems as I see them (and please correct me about any and all of these): Firstly, publicly declaring his amour is inappropriate and perhaps even scandalous (especially since, as far as I can tell, it's an out and out lie). Second, acting like an idiot during the challenge makes Christophe, not Ranulf, look bad. Third, the players intent (explained afterward) was that Aurelie's family wouldn't press the marriage because of Christophe's declaring of love "because it would make them look like jerks" ... when in fact it wouldn't do anything to deter them. Fourth, the players other intent was to make Ranulf look like a cruel and violent man and so shame him in front of the assembled nobles... but since he is well known to be a cruel and violent man it really doesn't change anyone view of him. Finally, the tournament was supposed to be, among other things, an opportunity for Sir Christophe to become a house knight of the local court with the other player characters... all he had to do was not screw up. Now, however, he has offended two powerful lords (Aurelie's uncle and Lord Ranulf) while making himself look like an idiot, which I can't help but think will make it difficult for the local lord to want to take him into his household.

At the same time, he rolled fantastically well, succeeding at every task he attempted. it's just that what he was attempted didn't lead to a success in his overall goal because he didn't understand the implications of his actions... and I didn't understand his goals well enough to warn him that he was heading down the wrong road until the session was over.

As I said at the outset, I don't want to punish the player for what is essentially a failure by a new person to understand the setting, but I want to be true to the setting. If you've read this far, I thank you and I appreciate any input you might care to offer.

I don't think that the situation is too bad. Since Sir Ranulf is a cruel and violent man he may have made himself one or two enemies. One of them may be another (less powerful) lord who could take on Sir Christophe as his household knight and explain to him - in a quiet moment - the local customs and how to react if challenged by a fellow knight.

Sir Ranulf may not be shamed by Sir Christophes display of foolishness, but he still may be enraged and could become a mortal enemy for many adventures to come. And while the marriage is still on track there could be other ways to stop it.

But on the other hand ... the whole saga of Tristram and Isolde lives of the fact, that Isolde had to marry the wrong man. Let Lady Aurelie be married to Sir Ranulf and then pursue her love affair in secret and present to Sir Christophe his options - some of them shameful and unworthy for a knight. He could love her in a chaste way like Lancelot did Guinever, he could have a secret affair like Tristram and Isolde, he could wait for Sir Ranulf to die or he could try to bring about his death.

Many possibilities for future conflict here...

I suggest that you allow him to blame it all on his foreign origin.
Impose a small penalty of, oh 1 point of Honor lost
Give him all his checks (including Deceitful if he was lying)
Have the other characters or some sympathetic stranger take him aside and explain what was incorrect
make sure the player understands

He can then be temporarily attached as a mercenary or "Freelancer" to the household
after he proves himself he can be invited into the household

Others have already given some options to basically keep the campaign going on its planned way. Other things that could happen, assuming that Lady Aurelie's player doesn't relish the idea of getting married to Lord Ranulf...

1. Lord Ranulf screws up: Angry at the public spectacle, and perhaps with some rumors floating around about how he will be cuckolded in the future if his bride-to-be already has (handsome) young knights pledging their love to her, he either backs away from the betrothal or even insults the Lady and her uncle by demanding explanations. Perhaps even physically abusing the Lady by slapping her down, which of course is a husband's right, but they are not married yet. In any case, this causes the betrothal to be dissolved, allowing Lady Aurelie some breathing space.

2. Lady Aurelie makes a run for it: Charmed by the (handsome) Sir Christophe, she elopes with the young knight. They sail away back to Sir Christophe's home, where he introduces his new bride-to-be and the campaign happens there. More work for the GM, to be sure, but one solution if it works.

3. Long engagements were not that uncommon. Good reason for the two to try and get Sir Christophe to gather glory to make up for his behavior in the duel, and for Lady Aurelie to marshal some courtly intrigue to try and make Sir Ranulf fall in the uncle's favor (political embarrassment, new enemies, something. Sir Ranulf is a cruel and violent man, how hard can it be to get him to lash out against someone who has some powerful backing of his/her own? (Yes, I know that historically, 'cruel and violent' were almost required values from a knight.) This is a bit similar with 1 in above, but with some more build-up and intrigue required. Also, why is the uncle so set in marrying her off to Sir Ranulf? Is Sir Ranulf such a political/wealthy catch? Could try arranging some even wealthier heiress to catch his eye. Or, find some wealthier, better knight to step in as a rival. After all, heiresses are hot stuff. Also, who is the liege lord here? He is actually the one who decides who she marries (your campaign might vary, or the uncle might be the one).

I'd start by talking to the players, as you seem to have done at least in part, and try to find out what they wish from the campaign. Do they wish to play, as suggested, Tristram and Isolde? Do they want to play out the angst of Lady Aurelie being married to that violent and cruel husband? If they wish to find a way to stop that marriage, I would, as the GM, try to work in a storyline to allow them to accomplish it, after some challenges to be overcome.

Perhaps Cristophe has experienced love at first sight and his declaration is truthful but one sided, Greg suggestion is a good one, but it sounds like your player at least is trying to roleplay and make interesting things happen so dont punish him to harsh. Just gently urge him in the appropriate manner as suggested is your best bet. So -1 honor and either love passion or deceitful check should be enough as he is learning the game.

Thanks folks.

I definitely think I will go with "That may be how you do things where you're from boy, but that's sort of behavior isn't appropriate here" (along with explaining a little more carefully to the player why and what appropriate behavior would be). He's certainly earned an enemy in Sir Ranulf, but I needed a new recurring adversary anyway. Sir Ranulf was already in the running for the role.

I think a long engagement is in order. In fact, I had the idea that Sir Ranulf might be intrigued by the idea of having a challenger for Lady Aurelie's affections. He's just the sort of fellow to want something more if he has to fight for it. Aurelie's family might quietly encourage her to use the forms of Courtly Love to set both Sir Ranulf and Sir Christophe against some of their rivals ("Good Sir, if you would show your love for me go and best Sir Adam, my beloved uncles hated rival, in the tournament"). Indeed, the family might be willing to put the actual marriage off indefinitely (why waste a perfectly good heiress) if they can get what they want from the courtship.

As for whether or not the romance between Christophe and Aurelie is genuine or simply an ill-conceived sham... I'll talk to the players and see which direction they would enjoy (and be comfortable with) taking it.

Sounds like you have things well in hand. :) Good luck with your campaign!

EDIT: Also, on a re-read, I noticed that the betrothal of Lady Aurelie to Sir Ranulf was only in the negotiations phase. Means that there is plenty of chance for the uncle dragging his feet in hopes for a better match while trying to get all the benefits of a marriage alliance from Sir Ranulf without actually losing his precious pawn... I mean niece.