Adventuring Nobles

[Zeful]

I'm doing some prepwork into a real-life game and have hit a stumbling block. What benefits/penalties would an adventuring noble have?

For those that need more information: The humans are a monarchy similar to England in the medieval era. A king/queen, their immediate family (the former king and queen, children and siblings) and their extended family (grandparents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins). And a complicated line of succession. Human PCs could be part of the aristocracy, but would have large, double-digit numbers in front of "in line for the throne". But I'm not entirely sure how I want to handle it, or in what ways should a noble be different from the common man (besides class (at least, for now)).

[Asheram]

The frontmost things would be contacts, wealth and followers in my book.
Either procured by the adventurer or his noble family.

[XiaoTie]

They could have other aristocracy members plotting against some of them to take their lands.

[Coidzor]

I'm doing some prepwork into a real-life game and have hit a stumbling block. What benefits/penalties would an adventuring noble have?

For those that need more information: The humans are a monarchy similar to England in the medieval era. A king/queen, their immediate family (the former king and queen, children and siblings) and their extended family (grandparents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins). And a complicated line of succession. Human PCs could be part of the aristocracy, but would have large, double-digit numbers in front of "in line for the throne". But I'm not entirely sure how I want to handle it, or in what ways should a noble be different from the common man (besides class (at least, for now)).

Not all nobles are in line for the throne, either. Second sons and the like that don't go into the military or clergy or mageocracy would probably be naturally drawn to adventures/adventuring of various sorts/focuses. Or heck, even those that do could be tied into adventures...

Hell, just being a city-noble/courtier in the capital has its own realm of adventures....

hmm. Let 'em count as an additional WBL rank for purposes of choosing starting gear? Maybe have them draw from a stipend/automatically take the leadership and landlord feats when they reach an appropriate level for additional wealth/character power?

Nobles in such a society would have an obligation to at least try to drop what they're doing and answer the call to arms if war breaks out or the kingdom requests them for a specific mission. And often if they couldn't, well, there'd be bad reprecussions for that.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

If a player wants to be a noble, he needs to spend in-character resources on it(skill points on things like Diplomacy, maybe spend a feat on Leadership, decide when you see his sheet if it's reasonable for a noble to have). This should be necessary for any background, but double-check in this case. Then they get contacts. They know people who can get them supplies, intelligence, favors, that sort of thing. They can use their nobility as a circumstance bonus to certain interaction-based checks. The downside, of course, is that their contacts occasionally call in a favor from them, essentially giving you plothooks.

[Zeful]

Not all nobles are in line for the throne, either. Second sons and the like that don't go into the military or clergy or mageocracy would probably be naturally drawn to adventures/adventuring of various sorts/focuses. Or heck, even those that do could be tied into adventures... But they would still be in line for the throne, heir and the spare and all that, if everyone up the succession chart dies/vanishes, then they take their place as the king/queen of the realm.


hmm. Let 'em count as an additional WBL rank for purposes of choosing starting gear? Maybe have them draw from a stipend/automatically take the leadership and landlord feats when they reach an appropriate level for additional wealth/character power? Starting at the level 2 pay scale when everyone else only has the starting level of gear isn't a good idea.

What's the Landlord feat?


If a player wants to be a noble, he needs to spend in-character resources on it(skill points on things like Diplomacy, maybe spend a feat on Leadership, decide when you see his sheet if it's reasonable for a noble to have). This should be necessary for any background, but double-check in this case. Then they get contacts. They know people who can get them supplies, intelligence, favors, that sort of thing. They can use their nobility as a circumstance bonus to certain interaction-based checks. The downside, of course, is that their contacts occasionally call in a favor from them, essentially giving you plothooks.So give them nothing mechanical? Just roleplaying stuff?

[Asheram]

Decide quite soon if he's going to come from a minor or a major house.
Minor houses doesn't get that much to go with, but major houses can have a lot of people that is very upset with them.
Also remember that the reputation of his house is the very same as his own, he should know that he can't be too much of an "#%hole.

[Kylarra]

Have them take levels in the aristocrat (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/npcClasses/aristocrat.htm) class, the drawbacks of having levels in that should outweigh the benefits of having Status (http://agc.deskslave.org/comic_viewer.html?goNumber=66).

[Mr.Moron]

It should be something minor, if anything. Not every piece of a background needs to have mechanical representation. Nothing is wrong with nobility a staying purely RP aspect of the character/game.

If you do want something minor it should probably be something like.

+4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of the nobility allied with your family/faction.
-4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of nobility rivals with your family/faction.


Forcing huge canges characters such making them take specific feats or classes, is far too heavy handy and control-crazy. Making it either a huge advantage or disadvantage in too many situations is likewise troublesome.

[Coidzor]

But they would still be in line for the throne, heir and the spare and all that, if everyone up the succession chart dies/vanishes, then they take their place as the king/queen of the realm.

Starting at the level 2 pay scale when everyone else only has the starting level of gear isn't a good idea.

What's the Landlord feat?

So give them nothing mechanical? Just roleplaying stuff?

Landlord: basically, whatever holdings you have actually give you GP for 'em, but mostly just for reinvesting to get actual money-making businesses/agricultural stuff. Trying to remember source.

Well, there's always giving them a trait. http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/shackledcityzero/wikis/shackled-city-traits That has an idea for a noble adventurer's starting package.

Hmm, there's always homebrewing up the Nobility ACF with leadership and landlord feats replacing certain class features at the appropriate levels...

Could just point them in the direction of these feats and be done with it.

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Landless_Nobility,all

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Landlord,all

[Zeful]

It should be something minor, if anything. Not every piece of a background needs to have mechanical representation. Nothing is wrong with nobility staying purely an RP aspect of the character/game.

If you do want something minor it should probably be something like.

+4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of the nobility allied with your family/faction.
-4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of nobility rivals with your family/faction.


Forcing huge canges characters such making them take specific feats or classes, is far too heavy handy and control-crazy. Making it either a huge advantage or disadvantage in too many situations is likewise troublesome.

That's a good point.

[Lord Loss]

A -1 Gazillion penalty on bluff checks (unless disguised). +1 Gazillion to lawful good people who respect the king in nearby lands.

Cult Leader: Hey, what are you doing?

Princess Miki the Rogue: Me? I'm the new recruit!

Cult Leader: Your the daughter of the King we're trying to assasinate. We've sworn to eradicate his family.

Princess Miki: No, I just look like her I'm telling you It's just be-

(Thrown into the Flaming Pit of Bullfrogs and Cheese)

[kamikasei]

A -1 Gazillion penalty on bluff checks (unless disguised).

You know, I'm pretty sure that nobility have historically been fairly competent at lying.

[Mr.Moron]

A -1 Gazillion penalty on bluff checks (unless disguised). +1 Gazillion to lawful good people who respect the king in nearby lands.

Cult Leader: Hey, what are you doing?

Princess Miki the Rogue: Me? I'm the new recruit!

Cult Leader: Your the daughter of the King we're trying to assasinate. We've sworn to eradicate his family.

Princess Miki: No, I just look like her I'm telling you It's just be-

(Thrown into the Flaming Pit of Bullfrogs and Cheese)

This would be an example of penalty that is far too heavy-handed and unfun.

[Zeful]

A -1 Gazillion penalty on bluff checks (unless disguised). +1 Gazillion to lawful good people who respect the king in nearby lands.

The children of the ruling family are first and second in line for the throne. The PCs would to start twenty-fifth in line for the throne, and go down from there.

[Kylarra]

It should be something minor, if anything. Not every piece of a background needs to have mechanical representation. Nothing is wrong with nobility a staying purely RP aspect of the character/game.

If you do want something minor it should probably be something like.

+4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of the nobility allied with your family/faction.
-4 Diplomacy Checks with nobility & servants of nobility rivals with your family/faction.


Forcing huge canges characters such making them take specific feats or classes, is far too heavy handy and control-crazy. Making it either a huge advantage or disadvantage in too many situations is likewise troublesome.I'm presuming the advantages granted by such status would be commensurate to the drawbacks taken, so one who only invested say writing a detailed background might get something minor like your +4/-4 diplomacy checks that effectively null or perhaps a regional background feat like mercantile to represent their wealthy backgrounds. One who was more heavily invested in their aristocratic side, would naturally have increased benefits, perhaps not mechanically written out, but that was the general idea I was getting at.

Actually, just giving all of them the mercantile background feat would probably work.

[Coidzor]

You know, I'm pretty sure that nobility have historically been fairly competent at lying.

Bluff, the number one class skill of all rulers! Well, other than orcs who have to take might makes right to have a leadership score.

[Satyr]

Historically speaking, nobles are ideal adventurers - in most noble families, only the eldest son inherited, the rest was emergency backup or worse; meaingn you have a standardised stock of people who are better trained and educated than the vast majority of the population, used to certain social and economic standards and having none of it on their own but have to earn it somehow once the generation change hits.

And for a very long time, nobles also formed a cultural and social elite due to the tradiion of wetnursing - in commoner families it was absolutely common that crying infants were tranquilized with alcohol, with the obvious results for their mental development, while in families who could afford it, nurses were responsible for the children and they were not effectively poisoned on a regular base.

Besides, in a feudal society, people expect clear leader roles, and when they met a small band of mercenaries/adventurers they expect a clear hierarchy - and for this, you need someone who can fulfil a social leader role - such as an aristocrat.

[Gralamin]

If the noble is favored in court, it should have an adapted version of this feat (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Favored_In_House,all)

[Riffington]

One decision you have to make is whether to keep the medieval society D&D is based upon, or to accept the ramifications of the level system.

If you take the level system seriously, then an adventurer is can be as powerful as a small army - and if you take WBL seriously, that adventurer may have more disposable wealth than a Duke. This is going to have a huge impact on the class system: if a King normally upholds the aristocracy of birth because it supplies him with money and armies, he now does better simply courting the favor of powerful adventurers. If many of these adventurers are from common backgrounds, the aristocracy of birth is replaced in short order by the modern notion of an aristocracy of merit.

If you want to keep the medieval social structures, you sort of have to do one of two things. A: just ignore it, or B: include powerful adventurers in the nobility. That means that an adventurer with noticeable power eventually gets the advantages that a noble-born would get. The feats (or class levels in aristocrat, or ECL) would then be primarily useful at low-mid levels, and increasingly subsumed into the general "Respect for power" that all high-level characters get. But when that starts happening you can just allow the player to retrain or upgrading the title.

[Rhiannon87]

I'm actually currently in a game where my character is nobility. Exiled and thought dead until recently, but nobility nonetheless. My DM is basically dealing with some of these issues like this:

- I get an estate to live in when I'm in my home city (and my friends can live there too, if they get kicked out of their places), which means free place to sleep and security (I've got armed guards); but I'm going to be traveling quite a bit as a member of the ruler's personal adventuring party
- Any money that I would have as a member of the nobility is strictly for roleplay purposes, paying taxes and servants and maybe bribes; if I want to buy a new suit of armor, I've gotta save up adventuring gold
- I get contacts and name recognition, which is both a blessing and a curse. I've built some of the contacts, my DM has built others, but it basically means lots of people know who I am and often want me to do things for them (huzzah plothooks!). Of course, this does mean that I can get information and favors from them as well.

All this provides the feel and flavor of playing nobility without actually getting any mechanical benefits. Unless you give everyone bonuses for their chosen background, you're gonna end up with a party of would-be princes and it'll be boring.

[Prime32]

I suggest the Mercantile Background (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Mercantile_Background_(FR),all) feat, so you can be RICH BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS.

If you really want to make your DM cry, play an artificer with that feat and make everything at 28% the amount it would cost to buy or less. :smalltongue:

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Yeah adventuring nobles would have been very common in those days. Anybody heard of the 1st crusade? It was the crusade of all the 2nd and 3rd sons of barons. The Normans were good at this too. Guy by the name of Roger goes and conquers Italy and Sicily, and makes a name of himself. Another thing they would do is join orders, like the Knights of St John, the Teutonics, etc.

And then, of course, you have stories like King Arthur's knights.