Hi everyone, glad to be here. I have never played Dungeons & Dragons before but have always wanted to. We're starting a game in a little over a week, set in the Korrin Archipelago (Moonshae Isles). So, I wanted to be a human paladin. It's just kind of the type of character I usually play in computer RPGs.
Our DM pointed out that I would need to have money in order to buy armor. Makes sense. So I was going to go for a noble background.
However, I realized that there might not even be nobles in the Korinn archipelago, as each island is independent and there's no king as far as I can tell.
In the background the "noble-adventurer" Viledel built a maritime empire, and I assume he ennobled some fellow adventurers. So, if I do go noble, I could be the grandson or great-grandson of that person who sailed/conquered with Viledel.
But that doesn't explain why I would still have a noble background for my character. I guess the family would have had to make some deal with the pirates who overthrew Viledel's empire, perhaps some kind of tribute. But why would the islanders just continue to respect this noble family's authority to levy taxes, when the empire they were part of no longer exists? By the way, my character will be from Ventris.
I sort of like this idea of person with noble ancestry of a fallen nation. But, would it make more sense to just have some kind of merchant background? The noble thing could be in my backstory, but not my actual background.
Or do the islands have current nobility? Can't find anything about the form of government of Ventris...any petty kingdoms?
The biggest Moonshae island, Alaron, has a Queen and several noble families. You could be from one of them and have the background, even if you wanted to have grown up in the Korinn Archipelago.
This is not going to sound all that helpful, but it is probably the best advice anyone can give you--when it comes to questions about the island's governance, ask your Dungeon Master those questions. Official lore in D&D is more like a guideline than a hard and fast rule, and lots of DMs like to make their own modifications (including sweeping changes) to better fit their vision. This particular region is not super fleshed out in official content, so your DM is going to have a lot of leeway in how they set up their society.
I would recommend you come up with a general outline for a story you like and approach your DM about it. "I have this idea, but I wanted to make sure we could work on making sure it meshed with your world." Any DM worth their salt will work with you and have some give-and-take, adjusting your character and the world itself to make something everyone is happy with.
Since you like the idea of noble ancestry from a fallen nation, you could use a number of different metrics to make that work. Maybe one of your ancestors betrayed the nation and has a high place in the current society because of that. Perhaps there was a Cymbeline situation where your ancestor was kidnapped from the noble family and raised by the islanders, only discovering their nobility and claiming some of their ancestral power (using their existing friendship with the islanders as well). Perhaps your family was in exile living in the Sword Coast, and your Paladin just crossed over to the Archipelago to try and reclaim their birthright.
Plenty of different things you can do--and that's the magic of D&D. You are not constrained by anything but your own imagination, and, whatever you think up, you can work with your DM to try and bring into reality.
I agree with "ask your DM" - but coming prepared with suggestions, especially ones that show you've done your homework ("hey, I'm not sure if this island I want to be from has nobility on it, but this one next door looks it does, can I be from there?") is going to show that you're interested in the world and the story they're about to tell. And who knows, maybe you'll even give them a cool idea in the process!
Thanks guys! Yeah just talked to DM on the phone, we established that my character's grandfather or great-grandfather sailed with Viledel and was given some land on Ventris.
I'll stop being so obsessive and just settle with that haha. I think it's fine, that the empire fell but some of the institutions remained. However I would say the family probably has lost a lot of its prestige.
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Hi everyone, glad to be here. I have never played Dungeons & Dragons before but have always wanted to. We're starting a game in a little over a week, set in the Korrin Archipelago (Moonshae Isles). So, I wanted to be a human paladin. It's just kind of the type of character I usually play in computer RPGs.
Our DM pointed out that I would need to have money in order to buy armor. Makes sense. So I was going to go for a noble background.
However, I realized that there might not even be nobles in the Korinn archipelago, as each island is independent and there's no king as far as I can tell.
In the background the "noble-adventurer" Viledel built a maritime empire, and I assume he ennobled some fellow adventurers. So, if I do go noble, I could be the grandson or great-grandson of that person who sailed/conquered with Viledel.
But that doesn't explain why I would still have a noble background for my character. I guess the family would have had to make some deal with the pirates who overthrew Viledel's empire, perhaps some kind of tribute. But why would the islanders just continue to respect this noble family's authority to levy taxes, when the empire they were part of no longer exists? By the way, my character will be from Ventris.
I sort of like this idea of person with noble ancestry of a fallen nation. But, would it make more sense to just have some kind of merchant background? The noble thing could be in my backstory, but not my actual background.
Or do the islands have current nobility? Can't find anything about the form of government of Ventris...any petty kingdoms?
Thanks for any input. :)
The biggest Moonshae island, Alaron, has a Queen and several noble families. You could be from one of them and have the background, even if you wanted to have grown up in the Korinn Archipelago.
First off, welcome to D&D!
This is not going to sound all that helpful, but it is probably the best advice anyone can give you--when it comes to questions about the island's governance, ask your Dungeon Master those questions. Official lore in D&D is more like a guideline than a hard and fast rule, and lots of DMs like to make their own modifications (including sweeping changes) to better fit their vision. This particular region is not super fleshed out in official content, so your DM is going to have a lot of leeway in how they set up their society.
I would recommend you come up with a general outline for a story you like and approach your DM about it. "I have this idea, but I wanted to make sure we could work on making sure it meshed with your world." Any DM worth their salt will work with you and have some give-and-take, adjusting your character and the world itself to make something everyone is happy with.
Since you like the idea of noble ancestry from a fallen nation, you could use a number of different metrics to make that work. Maybe one of your ancestors betrayed the nation and has a high place in the current society because of that. Perhaps there was a Cymbeline situation where your ancestor was kidnapped from the noble family and raised by the islanders, only discovering their nobility and claiming some of their ancestral power (using their existing friendship with the islanders as well). Perhaps your family was in exile living in the Sword Coast, and your Paladin just crossed over to the Archipelago to try and reclaim their birthright.
Plenty of different things you can do--and that's the magic of D&D. You are not constrained by anything but your own imagination, and, whatever you think up, you can work with your DM to try and bring into reality.
I agree with "ask your DM" - but coming prepared with suggestions, especially ones that show you've done your homework ("hey, I'm not sure if this island I want to be from has nobility on it, but this one next door looks it does, can I be from there?") is going to show that you're interested in the world and the story they're about to tell. And who knows, maybe you'll even give them a cool idea in the process!
Thanks guys! Yeah just talked to DM on the phone, we established that my character's grandfather or great-grandfather sailed with Viledel and was given some land on Ventris.
I'll stop being so obsessive and just settle with that haha. I think it's fine, that the empire fell but some of the institutions remained. However I would say the family probably has lost a lot of its prestige.