Several of the Origin Path selections give a character Enemy. Is this inteded to be a stand-alone -10 penalty, or does it include Rival with it for a -20 package. I have noted that Enemy does not appear to have Rival as a prerequisite (unlike Peer for Good Reputation), so I guess it's certainly possible to be an Enemy without being a Rival (or a Rival without being an Enemy), but I was just wondering if Enemy is inteded to be an 'upgrade' to Rival.

And while we're talking about it, does anyone allow for substitutions for Enemy categories granted by the Origin Path? What I mean is, if I have an Explorator with Tainted - Deviant Philosophy would it be acceptable to take Enemy (Adeptus Mechanicus) in place of Enemy (Ecclesiarcy)? Likewise, could a Renegade House Navigator with Tainted - Deviant Philosophy switch out Enemy (Navis Nobilite) for Enemy (Ecclesiarchy)? How about a character that wants to play a political pariah and takes Criminal - Hunted by a Crime Baron and would like to take enemy (Government) or Enemy (Nobility) instead of Enemy (Underworld)?

HappyDaze said:

It's different with Enemy and Rival.

A rival need to compete with you and wouldn't help you unless persuaded by some extremely good arguments.

An Enemy hates your guts and would probably kill you if given the chance.

A Rival AND Enemy does not only compete with you, but wouldn't hesitate to kill or seriously injure you regardless of the competition between you.

So there's the possibility of being someones enemy yet not being their rival, and being someones rival yet not being their enemy ("friendly competition" does exist even in the harsh 41st millenium). Hence the lack of prerequisites for Enemy.

A rival need to compete with you and wouldn't help you unless persuaded by some extremely good arguments.

An Enemy hates your guts and would probably kill you if given the chance.

Yet for some reason, both are the same; a -10 to Interaction Tests with the named group. A -10 doesn't seem appropriate for a group that wants to kill you. Somehow I have trouble seeing two Rival Rogue Trader groups having the same animosity towards one another as the Ecclesiarchy would towards a Deviant Philosophy heretic with Enemy (Ecclesiarchy). The -10 seems to fit Rival, but it seems way too mild for Enemy. That said, the fluff for Enemy seems way too drastic of a negative for what you generally gain from the Origin Paths that grant it.

I really wish Enemy had just been called Bad Reputation - it would have made much more sense for a -10 penalty than Enemy (which implies that they want to kill/destroy/do something nasty to you as often as possible).

Lastly, any thoughts on allowing players to switch the Enemy group to something that better fits the character concept?

If a player wants to switch their enemy to something that fits their backstory better, then I'd say by all means let them. Wanting to get Enemy (Adeptus Mechanicus) instead of Enemy (Ecclesiarchy) isn't going to break anything, and it's probably a good sign that they're getting deep into character. As long as it's a group that the character will have some dealings with, it'll work fine.