You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. You might be a pampered court darling unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a scion of a merchaht family just elevated to the nobility, or a scandalous hoyden with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. Or you could be an honest, hard-working chatelaine 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 come up with an appropriate title and determine how much authority that title carries. 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.A princess is often expected to make a marriage match for alliance and the family good. 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.
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?
What’s your position in the family? Are you a valuable marriage prospect for the family to gain influence? Have you already been betrothed or promised to a court position? How do you feel about that responsibility? Or do you have so little social cachet/beauty 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?
Does your family have a coat of arms? A specifically recognizable piece of inherited jewelry? Particular colors you wear all the time? A fashionable or aggressively unfashionable sense of style? 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: Performance, Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One musical instrument
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of fine clothes, fine jewelry, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp
Thanks to your noble 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 protection from a local noble if you need to.
Suggested Characteristics
You may have climbed up from nothing or you may get your ambition from your family's social climbing. If you've done this yourself, you may need to be very careful about your laundered background. It it is your family, you have all of their pressure to succeed and likely a long line of relatives looking to profit from you.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions. |
| 2 | If you do me an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and see to it you will never be received in society again. |
| 3 | I feel bound by the expectations of my rank. |
| 4 | My education has been through stories and I see everything through a veil of romance. |
| 5 | I collect every piece of gossip, news, or slander that passes my way and take great pleasure in being the center of the rumor mill. |
| 6 | I enjoy being the center of attention and will gather a little court around me wherever I go. |
| 7 | I like to make people underestimate me by pretending to be vapid and silly. |
| 8 | I cannot bear to be seen disheveled or off-balance. |
| 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. |
You have the money and manners, but not the noble title. It's your job to move that last step up in the world.
You may not have the title to be welcome in high society, but you have the money to pass. You know the right palms to grease to make it look like you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you either to ride your coat-tails or avoid the vengeance you can buy. You can pry protection from most noble houses either by the promise of family money or knowledge of certain deals they've made to keep their position.