You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You used carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. You may of been a pampered aristocrat unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a former merchant just elevated to the nobility, or a disinherited scoundrel with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. Or you could of been an honest, hard-working landowner who cares deeply about the people who live and work on your land, keenly aware of your responsibility to them.
Work with your DM to describe your family and their influence on you.
Is your abandonment of your family far in the past or was your title only recently lost? 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?
What was your position in the family? What position were you in the family? Did you already inherit a title? Or were you so far down the line of inheritance that no one cares about your disappearance, as long as you don’t embarrass the family? How does the head of your family feel about your rejection of your noble status? Are you in your family’s good graces, or shunned by the rest of your family?
Does your family have a coat of arms? An insignia you might of worn or have marked on your skin? Particular colors they wear all the time? An animal that is regarded as a symbol of your line or even a spiritual member of the family?
These details help establish your family and your relationship with them 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 300 gp
Thanks to your abandonment of your noble birth, people are inclined to think have mixed feelings of you. You are unwelcome in high society, The common folk may make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, (their hospitality may differ depending on their relationship with your family ). You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.
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. However a minority of nobles decide to leave this life for several reasons
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m unused to manual labor and the hardships of life |
| 2 | I see myself as above even nobles and monarchs |
| 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 | I value my friends over all else |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. 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 | Friends. Blood from the coven runs thicker than water from the womb. (Any) |
| 6 | Ever-present Noble Obligation. I feel an obligation to protect and care for the people beneath me. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My family and me have a strained opinions of each other |
| 2 | My house’s wants to hunt me down to create an alliance another noble family. |
| 3 | Nothing is more important than my friends. |
| 4 | I am in love with the heir of a family that my family despises. |
| 5 | The common folk must see me as an equal. |
| 6 | I seek freedom from my family's influence |
| 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. |
Instead of simply abandoning your family and noble house, you have opted to join a rival or enemy house (discuss with your DM abort the relationship between the houses). Because of your alignment with another house, you are still accepted into most high society, your needs are catered to by common folk and you may keep your title.
If your character has a noble background, you may select this background feature instead of Position of Privilege.
You have the service of three retainers 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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