What are the upsides and DOWNSIDES of a noble background?

[Cyclops08]

Nobles in their own country have it pretty good, but the campaign will never stay in a safe, familiar country.

In their country there is a good chance for a noble to be recognized by other nobles at the very least. This could mean free lodging...or it could mean an assassin...noble houses are not always one big happy family. There is a lot of rivalry and intrigue as each house jostles for power. In fact that may be why your noble went adventuring...just to get away from the drama and back stabbing.

Rivals can be annoying or deadly. In some counties dueling is legal.
There may be questions why you are staying at an inn instead of the nearby lord's house. Even without a rivalry this could be seen as a slight and a way to start trouble. Certainly a local lord will not allow adventuring ruffians in his house full of breakable art.

A knight of the realm wears the family heraldry on his shield. That could be a death sentence if adventure calls you into a country that lost a war to yours just 5 years ago. Will he paint over his shield? will he cover it in a leather wrap? Now the enemy nobles will want to know what this man is hiding behind that wrap! How would get out of this?

Having a noble background may be more complicated than players might expect.

Spies might be sent to determine what this foreign noble is doing here. And they might focus on the other players thinking (rightly so) they have loose tongues.

and the noble ladies might be looking for a husband...especially those who need to offer vast tracts of land just to entice a marriage in the first place.

There might be a lot more to RP a noble than some players might think.
You never know if the DM has been binge watching Game of Thrones just before the session...

[Jophiel]

Seems like you could be an attractive target for everything from pickpocketing ("That Lord must have money") to kidnapping & ransom.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Even in an area where your title isn't recognized (ie dungeons :smalltongue:), the attitudes and behaviors incident to a noble upbringing make a difference. How depends on the details, but, for example, a pampered son of a wealthy noble house should react very differently to a mob of filthy peasants than, for example, a Folk Hero of a common background. Conversely, even in a foreign land, knowing how to dress and act properly opens a lot of doors. Knowing at an instinctive level the refined speech patterns common to nobility lets you pull off schemes that someone else may struggle with. Or it might get you beaten/forcibly ejected from taverns for being too posh.

[Laserlight]

I've been playing a noblewoman in Curse of Strahd, and my DM and I decided that my House was at war with Barovia when it disappeared.
So every time I get introduced, I'm wondering if they're going to recognize my House (several have) and how they're going to respond (one sycophant, one "okay, if you're one of them you're probably...not trustworthy but at least reliably anti-Strahd", one assassin, plus some noncommittal). I'm obligated to hobnob with the upper crust, including people I don't want to. I get charged high prices because I am obviously rich.
Since I have authority for high justice, I have also judged and executed a couple of murderers.
And there are the intra party relationships. I feel obligated to be the party leader, give direction, and never show fear or otherwise weaken our morale.
It's great for RP but it's not all roses and cream.

[fbelanger]

A DM can bug a players with any background.
Don’t be paranoiac!

[Pex]

It depends on how the DM wants to play it. It can be used as a facilitator in having a party leader Important NPCs can refer to. When the party needs to warn the Duke about the marauding orcs they can get an audience. Perhaps at higher levels it's part of the campaign when the PCs are the Important People in the world. The Noble can be the Baron or Duke, regardless of class. Meanwhile the Cleric is the equivalent of Bishop or Cardinal, the Wizard runs the Mage Guild, the Rogue is the godfather, the Bard is Frank Sinatra or Elvis, etc.

Maybe it's part of campaign plot the PC has no power because his House was framed and he needs to clear his name. Being a noble gets him help from NPCs who know the truth or believe the House innocent and rightful rulers while being targeted by the Usurpers. The PC could be from another land. He can get into places the rich and snobbish go, but he has no political power.

[HappyDaze]

Petty nobility, particularly non-inheriting offspring, are simply not all that important in a world like D&D where strict feudalism isn't enforced. Sure, a DM can play it up, but the default for many D&D worlds is that almost everyone is cosmopolitan, egalitarian, and educated. In such a world, the advantages of noble birth are much less than what might appear in an authentically medieval setting.