Noble Gift

[The Greater Good]

Thinking of using one of these. I know mechanically it just gives silver palm and some NPC interactions, but what does it entail for RP? Does it have any rank restrictions, or methods of showing it?

As in, could my character be a duke, a baron, a descendant of a pharaoh, a princess?

[Braid]

I ran into a few toons with the Noble gift and they've had all sorts of titles from a prince to the son of an orc chief to a lord.

[Subutai]

I think this topic could actually be expanded upon a little. What sort of nobility does Noble Gift bestow up to? PCs couldn't create the King of Cormyr, or anything, but would a prince be too high? A duke? An earl?

I think this gift could really be expanded upon with some broader guidelines as to what it can/does entail.

[Mr_Rieper]

I think the limit is what you can believably RP. Ultimately it doesn't matter what "rank" or title you choose, as long as you can RP it believably.

For example if you went around calling yourself a prince or king, characters WILL ask you why you decided to leave your home country. Or why they should care about it on Arelith. If the reason is half-baked or cliche, people will think that they are lying. Which is a perfectly reasonable conclusion to arrive at. Princes or princesses wouldn't leave their home countries unless it was under extraordinary circumstances - and you may be asked to explain these circumstances. Even a prince that is 23rd in line for the throne may just enjoy a prestigious job or officer commission in his own country, and wouldn't want to leave.

Your best bet is to pick a rank that a landless noble could reasonably be. The 2nd or 3rd child of a duke or baron who won't inherit anything, so they left. Or perhaps a duke that has been sent into exile. Bear in mind, there ARE source books out there that list every single high ranking nobleman in particular countries. For example, the 2nd edition sourcebook on Tethyr lists the names and details of all 8 duchies and their respective dukes or duchesses. If you claim that your character is the 9th duke of Tethyr, most people won't question you on it. But the one person that does call you out on it IC may just frame you to be a liar and ruin your reputation. Make your background believable, especially if you are using a noble gift.

For this reason, it's easier to go with a less prestigious background. The more prestigious you make your character, the more likely it would be that characters would know of them, and the less believable it is when they are not recognised. Remember, WYSIWYG, even with the noble gift. You are just some guy claiming to be a noble until people believe otherwise. Nobody is required to pay respect to an unknown foreigner who claims to be important.

The question is: If you talk the talk, can you walk the walk?

[Gobbo Champion Inc]

Adventuring is surprisingly common for nobles, powerful, wealthy and high ranking or not, because it offers an escape from a boring or pre planned life. FR lore is full of examples. Queen Alusair and her band of adventuring nobles back in her wild princess days for example. King Azoun in his earlier days. Waterdavian nobles do it regularily as well.

[Mr_Rieper]

Adventuring is surprisingly common for nobles, powerful, wealthy and high ranking or not, because it offers an escape from a boring or pre planned life. FR lore is full of examples. Queen Alusair and her band of adventuring nobles back in her wild princess days for example. King Azoun in his earlier days. Waterdavian nobles do it regularily as well.

You are right, this has happened before in lore, and is a common fantasy trope in D&D. Having the crown prince or princess, or even the kings and queens of countries with adventuring backgrounds or interests as the main hero of the story. The sole focus of the story, we should say. Sometimes on a dangerous quest to save their homelands, and sometimes just killing time adventuring with their buds because their royal blood gives them amazing plot armor and they like to flex on some peasants. There are some great books out there, where the only important or relevant characters are all royals or high ranking nobility. They're relatable, down-to-earth characters who can't stand those old stuck-up nobles and their silly ideas, and just wanted to be normal but unfortunately were born as heirs to the kingdom. They also hate it when they are mistreated or disrespected because they are secretly better than everyone. They are also the Chosen One or the subject of an ancient prophecy.

Now the above paragraph contains some incredible sarcasm and I would just like to state, I did not aim this at you in particular. I intentionally exaggerated up there, I'm fairly sure that everybody is familiar with these tropes. They are in all forms of media. They come across as a bit trite or cliche. Somebody who was extremely determined could probably make it work on Arelith, but the characters who are written like that tend to not do so well when the spotlight isn't centered on them at all times. Arelith is not a single player game, characters who do well on the server tend to be more realistic and intriguing.

Statistically speaking (and this is just a wild guess), you'd probably have more chance of finding an aasimar or tiefling (5% rewards) than you would finding a king or queen arriving on an island in the middle of the Trackless Sea for an adventure with no equipment, money or experience. And this individual in question would have a hard time convincing people that they were in fact, a queen or king. Though, being a Waterdhavian noble sounds like a good concept to use, I'll agree there.

I'm definitely not an expert on nobility, it's a huge and complex topic that people can probably get doctorates in, but I find the "Hollywood" idea of nobility to be overplayed. It was, at some point, a very big part of a functional and stable governing system. Nobles had responsibilities. That's what I think people should envision when taking the gift of nobility and letting that shine through your RP.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

As a brief aside, I'd be interested to know what level of nobility actually exists on Arelith.

A hundred in-game years ago, nobility was very prevalent with the monarchies of Myon and Brogendenstein, the echoes of nobility in Cordor, and the presence of Light Keep.

What is it now?