You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a royal title, and your family rules the lands of your birth. All the taxes clink into the treasury, all the nobles offer homage, and no one wields more power. Every whim was indulged, every wish a command, but even the least of your servants enjoyed more personal freedom. You lived in a gilded cage. You are, however, acutely aware of how valuable you are to the nation and to other nations.
Work with your DM to come up with a kingdom and how the people view the royal family. Is your character an only child, heir to the throne, or a pawn in a game of alliances and marriage? Is your family old and established, or was your kingdom recently won? How much influence do they wield with neighboring nations? Which nations are their enemies? What kind of reputation does your family have among the aristocrats of their court? How do the common people regard them?
How do you feel about that responsibility? Or are you so far down the line of inheritance that no one cares what you do, as long as you don’t embarrass the family? How does the head of your family feel about your adventuring career? Are you in your family’s good graces, or shunned by the rest of your family?
What is the royal coat of arms? An insignia you might wear on a signet ring? Particular colors you wear all the time? An animal you regard as a symbol of your line or even a spiritual member of the family?
These details help establish your family and your title as features of the world of the campaign.
- Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp
Thanks to your royal birth, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.
Suggested Characteristics
Princesses are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. A royal 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 | The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity. |
| 3 | No one could doubt by looking at my regal bearing that I am a cut above the unwashed masses. |
| 4 | I take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions. |
| 5 | I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I won’t be caught dead in unsuitable accommodations. |
| 6 | Despite my noble birth, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood. |
| 7 | My favor, once lost, is lost forever. |
| 8 | If you do me an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and salt your fields. |
| 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 and care for the people beneath me. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will face any challenge to win the approval of my family. |
| 2 | My house’s alliance with another noble family must be sustained at all costs. |
| 3 | Nothing is more important than the other members of my family. |
| 4 | I am in love with the heir of a family that my family despises. |
| 5 | My loyalty to my sovereign is unwavering. |
| 6 | The common folk must see me as a hero of the people. |
| 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. |
A warrior princess is a maiden that eschews the trappings of her birth and has taken up the sword and the vagabond's path. She attracts followers. If you wish to be a warrior princess, choose the Followers feature (see the sidebar) instead of the Position of Privilege feature. One of your commoner retainers is replaced by a minstrel who records your adventures, aiding you in exchange for fortune and fame. Your two remaining followers might include a starstruck peasant who does your bidding (but does not fight) and a friend who tries to convince you to go back home.
If your character has a royal background, you may select this background feature instead of Position of Privilege.
You have the service of three followers loyal to your family. These retainers can be attendants or messengers, and one might be a majordomo. Your retainers are commoners who can perform mundane tasks for you, but they do not fight for you, will not follow you into obviously dangerous areas (such as dungeons), and will leave if they are frequently endangered or abused
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Posted Jul 8, 2020Almost exactly the kind of slight alterations to the Noble background that I was looking for. It slightly bothered me that there's no official Royal background, especially since I really wanted to make a character I recently put together a princess of a small kingdom. I'd been using the Noble background as a placeholder, but it's amazing how satisfying that slight change in the wording of the background is. Some people might be bothered by the fact that the exact name of the background restricts the character to being female, but it would only take some minor search-and-replace word changes to make it apply to any gender; changing "Royal Princess" to "Royal", "Warrior Princess" to "Warrior Royal", "maiden" to "royal", and switching any "she", "her", and "hers" for "they", "their" and "theirs", along with some occasional additional changes to keep the grammar correct when switching the pronouns. Overall, a good background. Nothing as ambitious as making a new background from scratch, but those subtle changes to existing backgrounds (which I honestly think should be variants of those existing backgrounds anyways) can be really under appreciated. It's one of those "You don't need it often, but when you do need it, you REALLY need it" things. Niche, but you'll be glad to have it if you ever find yourself in that rare situation where the official background is worded in such a way where if someone looks at it and goes "Oh, this is your background?" you have to say "Well yes, but actually no." ....I think I'm just kinda starting to repeat myself here. I dunno. I feel like I'm bad at explaining my point, so I'm using every analogy I can think of. Major thanks to the person that took the time to edit the Noble background. Slight edits to existing background can make a huge difference in the overall character. Now If you'll excuse me, I have a Kalashtar Druid Noble to change to a Kalashtar Druid Royal!
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Posted Jul 9, 2020Thank you for taking the time to respond. I greatly appreciate it. I acknowledge that the background is specific to female or female identifying characters but I was aiming for a specific sort of archetype. In time, I may get around to an edit that would as address the disparity but, as you correctly pointed out, it would just be some minor edits.
Happy gaming!