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 | Obedience: I must maintain the role required of me, regardless of my personal preferences. (lawful) |
| 2 | Charity: A princess must be generous and open handed to the needy. (good) |
| 3 | Independence. I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family. (chaotic) |
| 4 | Privilege: The common folk exist to serve their betters, and will be made to show respect. (evil) |
| 5 | Strategy: Society can be a minefield for the unprepared. It is my job to navigate it. (any) |
| 6 | Kindness: By my example and charm, I raise the spirits of the people. (good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | It is difficult to get anyone to take me seriously. |
| 2 | My family sees me as a pawn first, and a person last, if at all. |
| 3 | I dare not appear to be anything but perfect, or it will reflect badly on me and my family. |
| 4 | Only the knowledge that I would be dragged back keeps me from running away and changing my identity entirely. |
| 5 | I am a target of intrigues and manipulation and must always second guess everyone’s motives. |
| 6 | I am rarely allowed to achieve my full potential. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I do not realize how sheltered I am and trust far too freely. |
| 2 | I take the rules of etiquette as law and harshly judge anyone who makes a faux pas. |
| 3 | In fact, the world does revolve around me. |
| 4 | I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me. |
| 5 | I have been trained to be helpless my whole life and sometimes I slip back into bad habits. |
| 6 | If I am not the center of attention, I will make myself the center of attention. |
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.