It’s fitting that the Noble is a social build.

and to history

Why do I want to make an encounter centred around a group of these, who were travelling to somewhere like Waterdeep, and then for some reason or another, got thrown out in to the wilderness and slowly became wild animals living in a cave, with all sorts of ripped and tattered outfits. I just think it sounds cool.

I have to agree with you 

Quote from AckrinStanlort >>

Why do I want to make an encounter centred around a group of these, who were travelling to somewhere like Waterdeep, and then for some reason or another, got thrown out in to the wilderness and slowly became wild animals living in a cave, with all sorts of ripped and tattered outfits. I just think it sounds cool.

 Sounds great.  Maybe give some of them the Berserker’s Reckless Attack trait, to emphasize how they’ve really lost it.

The way I read Parry it sounds like it can only be used once per encounter. The Defensive Dueler feat, for example, can be used any time you have a Reaction available.

Do you think it might be too powerful if they're able to do it every turn? It certainly is more powerful.

Any thoughts?

Edit: I realize now it is a Reaction given it's under the Reaction section.

It never says once per encounter, I reckon it's once per turn as it still costs a reaction. I mean I think it's because he could be getting hit by 4 PCs and can only block one attack.

Oh I see! It's under the Reaction banner. I was looking for the wording in the text. Totally agree with you.

Which is more dangerous: a noble or a red dragon? I've heard the question asked elsewhere, but I enjoy the thought experiment, and I'm hoping to hear some thoughts on the topic because a player has given me a rival noble as villain, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with them yet...

Nobles are dangerous due their positions of privilege, financial backing, social connections and legal ramifications. Player characters can be nobles, complete with most (if not all) of the above on top of being generally awesomer than NPCs. Towns and villages often have at least one, and big cities often have quite a few.

Red dragons are more like tyrannical rulers. They make the rules, roast almost everyone with objections and take whatever catches their fancy. They also have the raw power to deal with most adventures on their own; doubly so if they have kobolds and cultists to wear them down first.

Which is more dangerous? I'd say the former, as many new adventurers will encounter them early in their careers.

So does this also count as a King's stat block?  Though a King is usually trained for battle...right?  

I assume this stat block is for a generic nobleman, of which there are probably dozens if not hundreds in any given kingdom. Naturally most of them wouldn't be trained fighters on a level with adventurers, but I could easily imagine exceptions. The Knight stat block would probably be more appropriate for many, or even more powerful than that if a certain duke or king is a warrior of renown. 

Thanks

And the award to 2nd most generic character next to commener ever goes to, the noble

Quote from AckrinStanlort >>

Why do I want to make an encounter centred around a group of these, who were travelling to somewhere like Waterdeep, and then for some reason or another, got thrown out in to the wilderness and slowly became wild animals living in a cave, with all sorts of ripped and tattered outfits. I just think it sounds cool.

 Lords of the Flies...

Quote from eapiv >>

Which is more dangerous: a noble or a red dragon? I've heard the question asked elsewhere, but I enjoy the thought experiment, and I'm hoping to hear some thoughts on the topic because a player has given me a rival noble as villain, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with them yet...

Noble: CR 1/8

Ancient Red Dragon: CR 24

hard to say...

Quote from ThyFemaleProjenitor >>

Quote from eapiv >>

Which is more dangerous: a noble or a red dragon? I've heard the question asked elsewhere, but I enjoy the thought experiment, and I'm hoping to hear some thoughts on the topic because a player has given me a rival noble as villain, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with them yet...

Noble: CR 1/8

Ancient Red Dragon: CR 24

hard to say...

Challenge rating has nothing to do with influence or reach. The ancient red dragon has raw power and years of experience on its side, but the noble can use their wealth to hire high-level adventurers to take out the red dragon.

Elegant.

Fair warning: despite the 1/8 CR, 8 of these guys will definitely end in a TPK for a lvl 1 party; hell, 4 of them would. You'd naturally never end up in a situation where 8 Nobles would fight off against a party, I'd hope, but just keep in mind that you'll wanna keep the support pretty lax when Nobles are involved.

Quote from AckrinStanlort >>

Why do I want to make an encounter centred around a group of these, who were travelling to somewhere like Waterdeep, and then for some reason or another, got thrown out in to the wilderness and slowly became wild animals living in a cave, with all sorts of ripped and tattered outfits. I just think it sounds cool.

 I was thinking I might send a group of them on a ridiculously expensive underwater expedition never to be heard from again...