Once the heir to your family's fortunes you may have run away to avoid your responsibilities or protect yourself or your family. Maybe the pressure of being the head of the family too much? Or you are engaged to a grade A Jerk? Maybe a relative is plotting to murder you and steal your fortune? Or unrest in the common classes led you to question your family's entitlement to power.
Without the wealth, power and privilege of your noble upbringing, you have probably struggled to adapt to life in the lower classes. You have left with just the clothes on your back and the coins you can carrying your pocket. To avoid attention from nobility and earn some extra gold you have sold your fine clothes. You likely have a range of skills that you developed during your time in nobility, are you able to make them marketable?
Work with your DM to come up with an appropriate title and determine how much authority that title carries. Is your family old and established, or was your title only recently bestowed? How much influence do they wield, and over what area? What kind of reputation does your family have among the other aristocrats of the region? How do the common people regard them? How has losing your title affected you? Do you still feel yourself above the commoners? Do you have family ideals, traditions or religions you still adhere to? Do you have a family crest, sigil or color you continue to wear?
These details help establish your family and your title as features of the world of the campaign.
- Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion, Stealth
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of traveler's clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp
The social graces you learnt through your noble upbringing help you while dealing with other people and give you the ability to easily adapt to the customs and graces of other people and cultures. You still have a good understanding of the inner workings of noble society, including how to act around nobility and all the main calendar events of the noble year (balls, masquerades, trade meetings). Depending on how the common people regard your family some may look up to you and go out of their way to help you while others will shun you for the deeds of your family. You know all of the local lords and ladies, this can aid you in your quest but can also make it hard to escape anyone that is looking for you
Suggested Characteristics
Nobles are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. A noble title comes with a plethora of bonds—responsibilities to family, to other nobles (including the sovereign), to the people entrusted to the family’s care, or even to the title itself. But this responsibility is often a good way to undermine a noble.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most wonderful and important person in the world. |
| 2 | No one could doubt by looking at my regal bearing that I am a cut above the unwashed masses. |
| 3 | I still take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions. |
| 4 | I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I won’t be caught dead in unsuitable accommodations. |
| 5 | Despite my noble birth, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood. |
| 6 | My favor, once lost, is lost forever. |
| 7 | If you do me an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and salt your fields. |
| 8 | The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity. (Good) |
| 2 | Responsibility. It is my duty to respect the authority of those above me, just as those below me must respect mine. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Independence. I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. If I can attain more power, no one will tell me what to do. (Evil) |
| 5 | Family. Blood runs thicker than water. (Any) |
| 6 | Noble Obligation. It is my duty to protect the people who are under my family's rule. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will face any challenge to win the approval of my family. |
| 2 | I must expose a conspiracy against me/my family. |
| 3 | I have left to avoid disgracing my family with a scandal I was involved in. |
| 4 | I have been been framed for a crime or scandal and must clear my name before I can return home. |
| 5 | I have responsibilities waiting for me that I must face. |
| 6 | I wish to settle down amongst the common folk but something from my past is stopping me. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me. |
| 2 | I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever. |
| 3 | I too often hear veiled insults and threats in every word addressed to me, and I’m quick to anger. |
| 4 | I have an insatiable desire for carnal pleasures. |
| 5 | In fact, the world does revolve around me. |
| 6 | By my words and actions, I often bring shame to my family. |
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