Allanak Nobles

Please note: If your character is -not- a noble or templar, they will not know things to this extent. They might be aware, if they're a citizen of Allanak, of the names of the Houses and vaguely be aware of what they do, but generally speaking, everything in this document is intended purely for people running nobility or templars.

Having said that....

Currently, there are nine noble Houses in Allanak, four of which are accepting player characters and are marked with to indicate this. They are:

The Noble Mindset

In running a noble, you might want to keep the following in mind. Your character has occupied a position of power and privilege all of her or his life. She or he is well educated, and unaccustomed to questioning the class system which has created the niche they occupy, believing deep in their heart of hearts that the reason they occupy such a position is because they -are- better than other people. Nobles will generally have been raised with tutors in matters such as art, music and matters of etiquette. While they may choose not to respond to a breach of manners, they will most certainly notice it. Some characters will be very conscious of their House's position, and work towards advancing it through various political schemes, while others may choose to go the decadent fop route. Marriages are generally prompted by political considerations, rather than sentiment. Nobles will be very conscious of social class, which means hobnobbing with mulish ex-slaves or elementalists (please to remember elementalists are generally feared and hated by the vast majority of the common folk) may well be perceived by various powers-that-be as being more than a little out of character.

Legal Issues

Nobles are, to a certain extent, above the laws of Allanak, due to their standing. This is not, I'll note, license to go out and kill peasants freely, but a noble who gets involved in a fight will probably not get hauled off to jail. The templarate prefers to handle things more discreetly, and a noble breaking the law might find fines levied on his or her House, unless it's something like treason, attempting to assassinate another noble or templar, etc.

While a noble can expect to have his or her wishes obeyed by a commoner, they do not have the power to enslave people. To do this, they must go through the templarate. Borsail and Kasix, as the slaving houses, garner a steady stream of enslaved criminals via this means.

Roleplay

Subtlety of play is expected from a noble. They are political creatures, given to scheming and machinations in order to increase their House status, and overt actions are viewed as unsubtle and, worse yet, tacky. While constant strife between Houses exists, it plays out as schemes to discredit and undermine each other, never outright attacks.

While nobles are certainly wealthier than anyone else, these funds are usually still limited, and large expenditures will need to be approved by House Elders, who will want some justification as to how the expenditure will enhance the House's status.

Marital alliances sometimes occur between Houses. Generally, these are arranged, rather than a result of infatuation, and accompanied by formal contracts setting out dowry and agreements between the Houses. One partner is assumed to have been subsumed by the other's House, and loses all legal and financial ties to their former House. Nobles will never marry commoners, which would result in a loss of social standing, although they may take them as lovers.

Relations with Templars, and that sort of thing

The nobility is the ruling class of Allanak. Once each year, the heads of every noble house gather together within the senate, and they hammer out provisions, vote on law, reach agreements on foreign policies, etc. What is decided and ratified at these senate meetings goes on to become the laws that the templarate enforce.

This is what every citizen of Allanak hears, and every noble and templar wishes the commoners to believe. The truth is that the Templarate often make "suggestions" to the voting nobles, and the stipend paid regularly to the noble houses by the city-state clearly reflects how the house votes.

Of course, the nobility have long since noted that even the Templarate can't agree on how many votes should go, which has caused many squabbles, more than a few public executions, and numerous templar disappearances, assassinations, and assassination attempts.

The Templars need the Nobility, and the Nobility know it. The commoners are far more accepting of a wealthy but normal ruling class than they are of Tektolnes and his mystic minions, who tend to terrify, and not comfort them. Thus, the Noble Houses, who are rarely happy with each other, use the Templars, who are known to quietly be in constant competition with each other, as pawns in their status struggles, voting to please a templar that is being particularly harsh on a disliked peer, or against the wishes of a templar whom they wish to see discredited.

In public, however, everyone recognizes the importance of the appearance that the Nobility are polite to one another, if not friendly, and that the Nobility and Templarate work as an effective team. Nobles address one another as "Lord" and "Lady", followed by their given name and their house. Ie, "Lord Thomas of Oash" is a formal introduction, and "Lord Thomas" would be an informal usage. Nobles address templars as "Lord Templar" and "Lady Templar" followed by their given name, or as "Lord" and "Lady" followed by their given name and rank. I.e., "Lady Templar Elaira" or "Lord Garrick of The Red" would both be formal introductions, while "Lord Garrick" would be an informal usage. Nobles are exempt from all laws of Allanak, with the exception of rioting or massing forces against the city-state. Thus, if a noble wishes to bear arms, or proceed to kill a commoner, then that is their perogative, as long as it is not against a member of the militia.

Nobles may ask favors of a templar, and in most cases, expect it to be granted. The politics driving the requests can influence the results, and it's not unheard of for a templar to outright refuse a noble with whom she or he is irritated. Generally, the Templarate are good about their duties to the nobility, though the lower-ranked templars are far more easily manipulated than those of high rank. Most templars come originally from noble houses, but most will disregard such ties, feeling their primary allegiance is, of course, to Tektolnes.

A templar may ask a noble to perform a favor or task for her or him. The noble is then obligated to follow the same rules as if the reverse had happened. In this way the nobility and templarate maintain the appearance of strength and unity, which are beneficial for all concerned. Should a single Templar go too far in failing to give proper respect to the nobility, or too frequently fail to do his job properly... accidents happen. And vice versa.