You are familiar with wealth and status. You once carried a noble title, and your family still owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. Something in your past caused you to run from your family. Be it a banishment, voluntary exile to protect your family, or another reason, you no longer reap the rewards of your family's name. If your family still holds status and your relationship with them is still favorable, perhaps they send you gifts in hopes that you return safely. Alternatively, perhaps you were forced into exile and your family has stripped everything from you, including your name and rank.
Work with your DM to come up with an appropriate title and determine how much authority that title carries or carried. A noble title doesn’t stand on its own—it’s connected to an entire family, and whatever title you hold, you will pass it down to your own children. Not only do you need to determine your noble title, but you should also work with the DM to describe your family and their influence on you. Also, work out the details of your reason for running away, and the impact that may have on your family, your house, your country, or even the world itself.
Is your exile one that is barely spoken of and whispered only in rumors? Was your running away the talk of the town for weeks, fueling the gossip in taverns and inns? Was your banishment handled by the sovereign or by the head of your house? When you ran away, what state did you leave your house in? Is your family on the verge of collapse? Or are they even better off without you around?
What was your position in the family? Are you the heir to the head of the family? Have you already inherited the title? How do you feel about that responsibility? To what lengths will you go to restore your position? How does the head of your family feel about your absence?
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?
Does your family have a 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? If so, do you still wear them or shun your house and blame them for your predicament? How does your family feel about your use of their coat of arms, colors, or insignia? Are their punishments for using your family's name and status without the proper authority?
These details help establish your family and your title as features of the world of the campaign.
- Skill Proficiencies: History or Arcana, Persuasion or Intimidation, Athletics or Acrobatics
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of traveler’s clothes or common clothes, an old set of fine clothes and a signet ring from your family, and a purse with 25 GP
For whatever reason, you had to leave. You may have angered your family, fallen in with a bad crown, disobeyed your sovereign, or even simply loved the wrong person. In the end, you left.
| d8 | Reason for Running Away |
|---|---|
| 1 | My family was disgraced and lost everything. I am on a quest to redeem their name and help them rise to prominence once more. |
| 2 | I felt as if I lived in a golden cage, but I wanted to determine my own course in life. So, I left behind the comfortable wealthy life, along with my title and family, and set out on my own. |
| 3 | I had to leave to protect my house. An outside force threatened or blackmailed me to leave or else my house would suffer the consequences. |
| 4 | I fell in with a bad crowd and absconded with a portion of my family's wealth. Returning home could mean imprisonment or death. |
| 5 | I found out a dark secret. Now my conscience won't let me stay. I must decide whether to protect or expose my house. |
| 6 | My family has harsh coming-of-age expectations. I was expected to face a near-impossible task and chose to run away instead. My shame haunts me and my family. |
| 7 | I fell in love with a member of a rival family and was ostracized for it. I hope to one day restore peace between our families with a marriage of our houses. |
| 8 | My sovereign ordered me to dismantle or destroy my house. I became a fugitive to protect them from myself and my vows. |
Due to your past and your break away from the family, you try and keep your real self hidden. Because of that, you have over time learned to act as one of the common folk and know how to gain their trust, as well as how to listen to rumors they might spread about nobles in the area. Your upbringing gives you the means to understand the inner workings of noble society and even still act as a noble if you have to, allowing you to get invitations to court or secure an audience with a local noble, but doing so can increase the chances of revealing too much of yourself or even being recognized.
Suggested Characteristics
Nobles are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. However, choosing or being forced to abandon that lifestyle can have a lasting effect, for good or ill. Your personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws should reflect the struggle you went through when leaving your family.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I often talk wistfully about my house and how I long to return some day. |
| 2 | As soon as I left, I hardened myself to the realities of the world, becoming cold and bitter. |
| 3 | I still carry myself with dignity and poise, reminding everyone around me that I am still of noble birth. |
| 4 | I constantly write home to a few family members that still desire to keep in contact with me. |
| 5 | I have come to expect a certain level of decorum around me and will chastise those who are impolite or rude. |
| 6 | I do not hold myself any higher than others, regardless of where I come from. We are all equal. |
| 7 | If you hurt me or mine, I will not stop hunting you until you are dead or worse. |
| 8 | I have lost my friends and family, and this sadness follows me wherever I go |
| d10 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. Respect is still due to me because of my birthright, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity. (Good) |
| 2 | Responsibility. One day I will return home to face my family, whether I return victorious or in chains. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Independence. I will do everything in my power to remain free of the bondage of my house. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Peace. I do not care for the ties I broke off anymore. My past has stopped bothering me. (Neutral) |
| 5 | Power. I will crush my family into dust and from their ashes I will raise a new, stronger house. (Evil) |
| 6 | Family. Nothing is more important than helping my family in any way I can. (Any) |
| 7 | Freedom. Without the confines of my family, I am no longer bound by the expectations placed on me. (Any) |
| 8 | Noble Reclamation. For the good of my family, the realm, or even the world, I must restore my family's good name. (Good) |
| 9 | Justice. I want to do what is right, no matter my social status. (Lawful) |
| 10 | Solitude. I want to live the life I build for myself in peace. (Any) |
| d10 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will face any test to win back the approval of my family. |
| 2 | I keep the things bearing the symbol of my family close, to never forget where I came from - maybe wishing to return one day. |
| 3 | My house’s alliance with another noble family must be rebuilt at all costs. |
| 4 | I love my family more than anything, and I have sacrificed my lifestyle to protect them. |
| 5 | I had a romantic tryst with the heir of a family that my family despises. I love them still, and am constantly torn between them and my family. |
| 6 | I am loyal to those that have shown to deserve this loyalty. |
| 7 | Despite my circumstances, my loyalty to my sovereign is unwavering, and I will serve with or without my house. |
| 8 | With my fall from my house, I have become an icon of the common people. |
| 9 | I wish to merge the life I have and the one I had at one point. |
| 10 | I value the relationships I made after leaving my family more than the ones I had before. |
| d8 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I still believe that everyone of the common folk is far beneath me. |
| 2 | I have lost everything and my broken pride makes me hesitant to accept help. |
| 3 | I ran away in secret and would rather die than face those I left behind. |
| 4 | I will leap to defend my family's name, with often violent results. |
| 5 | I cannot control certain urges that have earned me my family's ire. |
| 6 | I am oblivious to anything that does not involve me |
| 7 | I keep people at a distance to not be recognized. |
| 8 | I have brought shame to my family, and I continue to do so with nearly every word I say. |
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