Ever fawning, ever in the Master’s trust and confidence, but never truly loyal.

A leader needs followers who can be trusted, and this makes a leader vulnerable to betrayal. The Faithless Servant exploits this trust, serving a leader in name while betraying the leader in deed.

A Faithless Servant’s life depends on the good will of his leader, and a Faithless Servant is tremendously capable of manipulating the leader and keeping her trust. Servitude, to an Avatar of the Faithless Servant, is an opportunity to burrow into a structure and crumble it from the inside. Embezzlers, whistleblowers, and informants all take part in this archetype.

Not all Faithless Servants are villains; literature and history are full of stories of an agent of wrongdoing recanting his ways and turning on his master to assist the side of right at the last moment.

Typically, a Faithless Servant acts against his master on a constant basis, building up to a great, final betrayal which ruins the master. The exact path to this can vary; some Faithless Servants take a lazy road to this betrayal, always disloyal in potential, while never truly acting on their inclinations. Others ambitiously seek to destroy their superiors.

This archetype is closely related to the archetype of the Necessary Servant, and Faithless Servants often work to portray themselves as loyal servants. Some of those who are in the know about archetypes claim to be an Avatar of a less harmful Archetype, such as “The Sycophant” or “The Toady.” Such claims are not necessarily smokescreens to create an opportunity for betrayal; a Faithless Servant can remain a toadying sycophant indefinitely without weakening the archetype. Some low-level Avatars never betray their masters, spending their time fawning and sniveling.

Attributes: The Faithless Servant is more concerned with their status in the eyes of their master than in the master’s actual welfare or the duties of their position. A Faithless Servant typically behaves just short of being suspicious until the final moment of betrayal, while often making empty gestures of loyalty. The Faithless Servant is almost always a source of praise and fawning, giving empty comforting advice and telling the master what he wishes to hear.

Taboo: The Faithless Servant must be in the active employ of a superior of great stature. The exact nature of the master’s power can vary, but the superior must somehow be powerful or important. Leaving the employ of a superior weakens the archetype, as does the decline of your master’s stature. There is one exception to this: if your betrayal causes your master’s downfall, you can switch to a new master without any weakening of your connection to the archetype.

Symbols: Daggers, especially stuck through the back. Hunched-over posture. False praise. Whispering tones. Simple but clean peasant’s clothing. Anything related to secretive communication: signet rings, wax seals, or encrypted emails. Standing behind or beside a throne.

Suspected Avatars in History: Judas Iscariot, whose name is synonymous with betrayal. Benedict Arnold, who betrayed the United States to the British. From the Bible, Potiphar’s wife, who slept with Joseph and many others behind Potiphar’s back. Brutus, who slew his adopted father Julius Caesar for the good of the Roman Republic. Qin Hui, who put the Chinese hero Yue Fei to death on false charges. The tragedies of Shakespeare are filled with Faithless Servants, including King MacBeth and, perhaps a literary favorite of betrayal, Iago.

Masks: The most common mask is Lucifer (Christian), who was the most favorite servant of Jehovah before the uprising, but others exist.

Channels

01-50% You can influence the mood of your superior. With a successful Avatar: The Faithless Servant skill roll and a brief conversation, you can make your master feel happy or sad, angry or afraid, confused or content, threatened or safe. This only influences general feelings, not specific situations or personality. If used within ten minutes of the superior gaining a Failed notch from a failed Stress check, you can convert it into a Hardened notch on the same Madness Meter.

51-70% You can influence the mind of your boss further, by directing your superior’s hostility to a scapegoat of your choice. This also requires a brief conversation with your superior and a successful Avatar: the Faithless Servant skill roll. This can only be used when something has gone wrong, and it can definitely be used to move blame away from you.

71-90% You project a veil of innocence around yourself. With a brief conversation and a roll against Avatar: the Faithless Servant, you can convince anyone (not just your master) of your innocence and trustworthiness. They will believe nothing negative about you for the next hour, but will instead see you as honest and trustworthy. After the hour is over, how the subject views you will depend on your behavior, but they will not automatically feel hostility toward you.

91-98% At this level, your capability for betrayal and avoidance of consequences reaches truly supernatural levels. Any time something bad happens to you, you can, with a successful Avatar: the Faithless Servant roll, pass that misfortune along to your superior instead. While this will often take the form of a coincidence, it can take very blatant form if necessary. This definitely can include injuries, as well as harm from your superior. Powerful Faithless Servants become nearly invincible.