[2nd edn] Nobility

[Ingolfr_V]

I know that the warden kit, out of the Ranger's HB, gets a bonus to his/her reaction adjustment as a representative of his lord, so logically, it would seem the lord himself would have a (likely greater) bonus adjustment of some sort as well. However, I cannot find any rules for the nobility in the second edition texts to which I have immediate access.

[hamlet]

There are no hard and fast rules for nobility in 2nd edition, really.

The bonus that the warden gets is not a matter of nobility, but by virtue of the fact that he is in service to said noble and thus enjoys a good working relationship with him.

The closest thing to nobility rules that I ever really saw came out of the Tales of the Lance boxed set which had a table one could roll on to determine social station at character creation.

[Matthew]

Pretty much what Hamlet says. I think Oriental Adventures contains a full blown honour and social status system, which might be a useful analogue, but reaction dice are just a random variable most of the time.

[LibraryOgre]

And, to add on top of them, you might also look at the first four "Complete" books... all three had, IIRC, "Patrician" kits to represent folks from the upper levels of society who happened to be wizards, fighters, or clerics. IIRC, most of it boiled down to "You have more money, and social benefits. You also, however, have to spend more money and have some social detriments.

[hamlet]

The short of it is, then, that if you want special rules to govern nobility and social station, write them.

[The Big Dice]

The short of it is, then, that if you want special rules to govern nobility and social station, write them.

Or download Dark Dungeons, which has adaptations of the old Companion Set rules for Dominions. Porting them over to other D&D editions would be no trouble at all.

[LibraryOgre]

The short of it is, then, that if you want special rules to govern nobility and social station, write them.

Not quite (and I add this later, 'cause I just thought of them). You can also start stealing Domain rules from Birthright, or some of the social rules from OA (as Matthew mentioned) or from the various Historical supplements. I've actually suggested combining OA and Birthright, generating a scion's initial bloodline score based on the absolute value of what they roll on the family chart in OA (so an infamous criminal means you have a +15 to bloodline, instead of a -15 to honor).

[hamlet]

I wouldn't use those rules, personally. Never truly cared for the Birthright special rules.