Quote from: estar;625575One thing right off the bat is that nobility is a social network as much as formal legal rights and responsibilities. In some ways in a medieval society it operates no different than inner city gang warfare.

If you are playing a campaign where one or more PCs are nobles you need to establish who they know. Who should be consider their patron and who should be consider their clients.

The social differences from the commoners are largely just superficial, similar to a secret handshake a fraternal society would use.

That's not just superficial. And its not the secret handshake, its everything else. The "secret handshake" is a trick; because it in fact is the part you could look up or learn or be taught illegally (like say, how to dress like a noble, style your hair like a noble, and forms of address); but there's a whole set of OTHER social rules, much more subtle ones of language and common experience which means that a faker will inevitably get found out.

Unless of course he gets so absolutely great at faking it that he basically ends up being part of the secret society anyways.

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Quote from: Spinachcat;625755As for roleplaying advice, I suggest approaching nobles individually as any other NPC taking into account their background, but all nobles share one thing in common - they aren't commoners.

Even a poor noble is treated differently because they exist on a higher social strata and thus never have the experience of being a non-noble. They are used to a world where they are on top and others do what they say upon command.

Exactly! But its more than just a world where others do as they command; its a world where they have a certain sense of significance.
In renaissance Poland there was a term for what was called a "boot noble", that is to say a hrabia (Count) who owned nothing but the boots on his feet.  And while in a certain sense this term was derogatory, its still meant he was part of this noble tradition, he still had a shield and a clan and a motto, and most importantly he had duties and expectations, of how he had to act and how he could or could not allow others to act toward him.  He couldn't just wallow in vulgarity or impropriety the way his equally poor neighbour could.
These days the vast majority of Poland's nobility are "boot nobles" and they still feel this way.

This is a big part of things that a lot people, especially in north america I think but even in countries that should know better (like those in commonwealth countries that talk about how awful the Queen is or how the royals get "an easy life off the public teat") utterly fail to get about Aristocracy: for the people who actually live in it, its mostly not about what you get, or what you have, or what you're entitled to, but about what you must do.

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Quote from: RPGPundit;626343but about what you must do.

Hahaha! One Baron I know divorced his wife and knocked the walls between the spare bedrooms making them into a disco to attract the local girls, and him well past sixty. Seriously, you must know some different aristocrats.

Shower of wasters (almost) to a man.

Quote from: Blackhand;625582My players sometimes select nobility as a background, and most carry themselves with higher amounts of grace and etiquette than the other characters.  Often they become the de facto spokesperson, even if their Charisma is Low to Average.

I don't like to put a lot of perks in there unless it's part of the kit or package.  One background doesn't innately give you an advantage over another, but they will dictate how you roleplay, think and feel during play.

Yes, this is a sticky wicket, since in our world being a noble had objective advantages over everyone else. Some players take umbrage at having to treat a fellow PC as a superior - these are crappy roleplayers.

Elsewise you're spot on Blackhand.

I listened to the mercury theatre production of Around the world in 80 days, whilst drawing, a couple of days ago; anyway, the main character Phinous Fogg is a gentlemen, which I took to be some kind of minor nobility or other.
Whatever, when at the end of the story it appears that he has been financially ruined, he is pretty much obliged to commit suicide. Things work out for him, but still, I think that is an interesting take on things.
 Further, I imagine the fabulously wealthy and idle aristocracy would look down a bit on the impoverished adventuring nobles. Unless they are some kind of crazy manic visionary dude, anyway.

Quote from: jeff37923;626158Wow. This is so dependant on setting it isn't even funny.

A Classic Traveller Third Imperium noble may range from a starship captain who has been honorably knighted due to distinguished service to a marquis of a world who was granted the title because his great-grandfather was the one who first agreed to bring that world into the Third Imperium.

A Dark Sun noble would most likely be a city-state Templar and not only have all sorts of ties to their Dragon King as well as the pseudo-religious outlook of that individual city-state.

Could you whittle down the possibilities here for me?

As usual around these parts, when no other specification has been made, assume we're talking Western European Fantasy.

Quote from: The Traveller;626356Hahaha! One Baron I know divorced his wife and knocked the walls between the spare bedrooms making them into a disco to attract the local girls, and him well past sixty. Seriously, you must know some different aristocrats.

Shower of wasters (almost) to a man.

Just how old a baron is he? And I don't mean his age, I mean the "barony"?
I presume you're talking about England here?

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Quote from: RPGPundit;626409Just how old a baron is he? And I don't mean his age, I mean the "barony"?
I presume you're talking about England here?

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No, Ireland. There are still a few of them creaking around in places like Cork. I've no idea how far back the title went, I'd guess probably to the time of the Plantations, since that's when a lot of these lads appeared - 17th century? A dissolute bunch, cravats, veiny noses, harrumphing and pooh-poohing past their impressive moustaches, the works. Really, they said pooh-pooh. In a conversation.

Quote from: RPGPundit;625570How do you make a point of roleplaying the members of the nobility in your games? What tips would you have to other GMs about how to effectively portray them, their attitudes, the way they'd talk, things they'd say, or other details of their difference from the common mass of humanity?

They tend to be better educated and are more likely to be well-travelled.

They exhibit an air of superiority; they know exactly who their peers are, and are not.

They are generally more competitive, particularly with respect to social station. Commoners spend their lives being told to keep their place; they internalise it, and it manifests as both deference and constrained ambition. Aristocrats, on the other hand, are forever jockeying for position, through offices, titles, succession planning, and clientage/patronage; they dream bigger.

Beyond that, they can be kind or cruel, venal or generous, devout or impious, witty or dull - basically anything any other person can be.

Quote from: The Traveller;626412No, Ireland. There are still a few of them creaking around in places like Cork. I've no idea how far back the title went, I'd guess probably to the time of the Plantations, since that's when a lot of these lads appeared - 17th century? A dissolute bunch, cravats, veiny noses, harrumphing and pooh-poohing past their impressive moustaches, the works. Really, they said pooh-pooh. In a conversation.

Well, geez, what do you want? Its Ireland, we're talking about a very different historical dynamic with the aristocracy there than in almost any other european country.

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Quote from: RPGPundit;626989Well, geez, what do you want? Its Ireland, we're talking about a very different historical dynamic with the aristocracy there than in almost any other european country.

Maybe so, but then again the nobility in most countries weren't exactly good citizens, ever. The whole "ransom the nobles and hang the commoners" deal was single handedly responsible for centuries of war throughout Europe. There's a very good reason for the mass beheadings in France.

Quote from: The Traveller;626992The whole "ransom the nobles and hang the commoners" deal was single handedly responsible for centuries of war throughout Europe.

I was just reading something about that the other day: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124091540.htm

Quote from: RPGPundit;626406As usual around these parts, when no other specification has been made, assume we're talking Western European Fantasy.

But that still leaves everything wide open. For example, you might have a nobility made up of newcomers who had only recently taken over by force or were only recently deeded the land, like when Rolf Ganger and other vikings took over what became Normandy. Manners, customs and etiquette for these nobles could simply boil down to "Give them what they want and don't piss them off".

For later in the Middle Ages, just look at the Plantagenets. Henry II dressed plainly, spoke plainly, and didn't care if peasants mocked him -in fact he often joined in the fun. It's hard to imagine his sons tolerating that sort of thing -and his sons were as different from one another as they were from him.

Quote from: One Horse Town;625776The proper way to play a Noble is not to change a thing from how you'd normally play the character if he wasn't a Noble. If he's rude, he's rude, if he is caring, he's caring. You might have a touch of entitlement, or even naivety though.

In most fantasy games, the time period we're talking about (middle ages) would mean that the non-Noble characters would act differently towards the Noble character. Its ingrained and the way the world works.

Exactly.

A DM could use alignment as a guide: Lawful characters will stick to custom, rules and etiquette as much as possible while Chaotic ones will only care that they get the respect they think they deserve, and will only stick to custom as much as they think they have to. Good and evil can show how they go about applying their rights and duties.
 
However, the personality traits on page 101 of the 1E DMG (if all else fails, roll) are much more informative. It's not wise to insult an NPC who is proud and unforgiving, whether they're Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil or anywhere inbetween. Even more so if they are a noble or in some other position of power and influence. Like Lynne Cheney, payback is a bitch.

Nobles as characters? Sure. They're the ones without any shit all over them.

Quote from: Spinachcat;625733They're the guys not covered in shit.

From our last game:  GAZ1 has background tables, "titled nobility" is one of the possibilities.  One player got this on his roll - and it's definitely the newest player with the most propensity for silly/socially unacceptable characters.

So now we have young Master Steakfist, son of Lord Steakfist, flouncing about the campaign.  He's used it to good effect at least once (in gaining admittance to a snooty inn to meet a contact), but he'll also have to deal with his actions having a reflection on the family (and possible rebukes from home should they relect poorly).  So far it's just been a source of fun, though.  I'll clamp down on it if it becomes problematic.