"Those who wish to be obeyed must first know how to command."

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Overview

It takes a keen mind to build a fortune, a strong arm to win land. But wealth and land does not make a noble. A noble is born of hereditary position, of generations of service to a monarch under feudal contract. A kingdom's peerage, consisting of peers, is a collection of all the title-holding members of that kingdom. Their families, though still considered noble, are not members of the peerage themselves. To be a peer is to have privilege, it is true, but it is also to have responsibility. Peers are a warrior caste, and are expected to train levies, provide troops, and ultimately fight for their monarch.

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To be noble, then, one must be connected to a peer. The spouse, children, and grand-children of a peer are considered nobility, with further generations in the direct line of succession also given that honor. 

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Titles

All nobles are entitled to be addressed by "my lord" or "my lady". Peers will typically have one of the following titles (or a non-European equivalent):

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• Baron, Thane, Boyar, Primar, Gate Warden

  • The lowest member of the peerage, typically in charge of a small settlement plus a number of outlying villages.

• Viscount, Castellan, Burgave, Landgrave​

  • Typically given a castle and nearby lands, with a small number of barons under their control.​

• Count, Earl, Jarl, Graf, Marquess, Margrave, Marcher Lord​

  • Governs a county or similar large area of land, typically with a large settlement and several Viscounts under them. Marquess, Margrave, and Marcher Lord indicates those roles but in border territories that require a larger military presence.​

• Duke, Herzog​

  • A step from royalty, these ranks govern a significant portion of a kingdom, with several major settlements and many counts beneath them. There is typically no more than a small handful of these ranks in a kingdom, and they are the height of non-royal nobility.​

• King, Grand Duke, Archduke, Emperor, High King​

  • The monarch in charge of ​a kingdom, styled differently depending on the culture found within. These characters are not playable. 

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Notes​

• Any character in Orcrest may be a noble-born bastard, an inconsequential courtier, a knight, legally disinherited, or any other non-hereditary and non-inheriting member of the gentry without being a noble and needing to apply to this role. When doing so, players will not get story team consideration for their familial ties, and those ties should be distant, weak, non-legal, or otherwise separated from the actual title holder by at least two total degrees down or across (ex. A non-inheriting grandchild or niece/nephew).

• Any character in Orcrest may lie about being a noble without needing to apply to this role. Characters may not have forgeries of proof (letters patent, signet rings, letters of endorsement, etc) without a story ticket.

• This role may be applied to with an existing character, to have them become part of the nobility of a kingdom. This will fully change that character to a Limited Availability Character, with all the requirements and limitations therein.

• Noble characters may not be sovereign. There must be someone above them in the feudal hierarchy at all times. 

• All noble characters must be from a specific kingdom within the lore.

• Noble characters can theoretically be of any race, but the story must fit the lore. 

• Noble characters have a legal right to beat commoners in the kingdom they are a noble of, if the commoner offers sufficient insult. What counts as "sufficient insult" is up to the noble in question.

• By tradition, nobility in the region of Orcrest are entitled to a Trial by Combat instead of a typical trial. In a trial by combat, nobles are entitled to nominate a champion, and though yielding during combat is acceptable, the penalty for failing a trial by combat is typically death - even if the initial crime did not warrant a death sentence. This can be changed should the victor decide mercy is better suited, typically with the condition of an oath of respect or fealty.

• Because of the predominance of elven influence in the region of Orcrest during recent centuries, inheritance typically does not favor one gender over the other. This is not a universal truth, however.

• Noble characters do not have to be of European style, fashion, or title. The titles offered here are guidelines, but players are free to select equivalents from non-European cultures. 

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Mechanics

• Noble characters start with 150 silver and either a family heirloom fine weapon/armor or a horse mount. The starting silver may be used to add a rune to the heirloom if so desired. 

• Noble characters will have a greater ability to get story team support.

• This story team support is directly related to the noble aspects - for example, a character who is the son of a duke might be able to use the story team to write to his father and get a slew of local goods sent to them for a public festival.