Freelance Traveller

Privilege and Power: Using Nobility in Your World-Building and Plots

by Johnn Four (with Timothy Collinson)

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared at https://www.roleplayingtips.com/npcs-roleplaying/privilege-power-using-nobility-in-your-world-building-and-plots/. The edits, by Mr Collinson, are primarily  to make the material more relevant to Traveller. It appeared in this form in the January/February 2025 issue of Freelance Traveller.

The idea of nobility comes up often in our campaigns. Villains, character backgrounds, NPC classes, settlements, and intrigue and politics, for example, can make nobility important in your milieu.

Noble NPCs are special because they have special privileges and responsibilities most others in your world do not.

For example, perhaps in your setting nobles cannot be charged with — or even accused of — a crime by those without noble blood. With this detail, we can create many interesting roleplay and plot possibilities just by giving certain NPCs some setting-based mechanics. Good stuff!

When designing interactions with nobles, or when figuring out how nobility might affect your game, a fantastic step to take is to decide what rights and privileges nobles receive.

We get a few boons from this prep:

Class Warfare. By giving certain people benefits other do not, we can sew deep seeds of conflict into our setting that can drive quests, missions, and adventures.

Plot Hooks Galore. Each privilege on its own can also be a source of adventures and encounters. For example, a land rights dispute, a controversial exercise of justice, or the abuse of noble power. Victims, villains, or both might try to recruit the PCs to champion their cause.

Character Development. We need to ensure good game balance when players have PCs with noble backgrounds. By understanding the noble PC’s rights and benefits, we can design challenging conflicts and put measures and burdens in place to prevent player characters from wielding too much power early on.

Social and Faction Dynamics. By knowing what nobles can and cannot do, we can roleplay interesting social interactions and hierarchies. This knowledge can help players roleplay social situations, inspire challenging social conflicts, and create chances for diplomacy, honour challenges, and reputation management, and other aspects you might not get to play out often.

Consistent Rulings. Noble advantages might be coveted, feel punitive, or offer critical plot logic for certain adventures. Clearly defining noble perks helps us keep the game consistent and enhance player immersion.

d20 Noble Perks

Here’s a list of 20 noble privilege ideas you might pick and choose from when world-building or crafting such NPCs:

In a gritty setting, where power struggles and harsh realities are rampant, the rights and privileges of nobility can add a compelling layer of conflict and roleplay.

Here’s a list of ideas on rights, privileges, and benefits that nobles in your setting might receive:

1. Right of Justice. Authority to administer justice within their own fief, including the power to judge and punish crimes.
2. Private Armies. The privilege to raise and maintain private armies or militias for protection or to assert their will, often leading to power plays and border skirmishes.
3. Tax Exemption. Nobles might not need to pay certain taxes. They might also be entitled to levy their own taxes on people who dwell within their domains.
4. Hunting and Fishing Rights. Exclusive rights to hunt, fish, or harvest natural resources within their territories or royal/state-protected lands, a significant privilege in a resource-scarce world.
5. Patronage. The power to grant patronage, which can include appointing positions within their own lands or recommending individuals for positions of power in the fief or region.
6. Sanctuary. The right offer sanctuary to certain groups, such as those fleeing from the law, ambassadors, or other nobles, creating a network of allegiances and owed favours.
7. Diplomatic Immunity. The NPCs cannot be prosecuted when on diplomatic missions or other scenarios, allowing them to do what others might be arrested and punished for.
8. Succession Rights. Explicit rights concerning the inheritance of titles and lands, which might include the ability to designate heirs outside of traditional blood lines, a significant tool in political manoeuvring.
9. Exemption from Laws. Nobles might be exempt from certain laws that apply to the common folk, such as restrictions on weapons or magic use.
10. Right of Parley. The privilege to demand a parley, ensuring safe passage to discuss grievances or negotiate terms with enemies or rival factions.
11. Legal Duelling. The sanctioned ability to resolve disputes through duelling, a right not typically granted to commoners.
12. Land Grants. The authority to bestow lands and titles upon followers, reinforcing loyalty to the noble and expanding their influence.
13. Sumptuary Laws. The exclusive right to wear certain fabrics or colours, or to carry specific symbols of status.
14. Right of First Purchase. The benefit of having the first option to purchase land, goods, livestock, Ancient artefacts discovered, or other opportunities before they are offered to the general public.
15. Hereditary Offices. Certain positions or roles that get passed down through a noble family, such as a hereditary judge or a military commander of a prestigious unit.
16. Right of Censure. The ability to formally reprimand or impose sanctions on lower-ranking nobles or commoners who fail to meet obligations or show disrespect.
17. Exclusive Guild Membership. Access to high-status or powerful guilds and factions not open to commoners, including those related to Ancient research, psionics, or master craftsmanship.
18. Right to Mint Currency. Permission to mint their own coinage or credit chits. A rare privilege that can be a significant economic tool.
19. Right to Hold Fairs. Permission to hold fairs, tournaments, and festivals. These can be a source of major expenses or profits depending on how things are run. They are also a significant source of influence, and a means of controlling local culture and entertainment.
20. Secret Knowledge. Access to secret or arcane knowledge preserved for the family or nobility in general, including historical records, Imperial secrets, psionic studies, secret rituals, or strategic information.

These privileges not only help define the lifestyle and power of nobility, but they also set the stage for conflict, alliances, faction intrigue, and the intricate dance of politics in your milieu.

d20 Noble Obligations

A fantastic way to balance out some of the powers nobles receive is to also add responsibilities, burdens, and obligations for being of high station in society.

These restrictions also offer great spawn points for plots, adventures, and encounters.

1. Fealty Oaths. Owing loyalty to a higher lord or the Emperor, including military support, resource bequeathments, and counsel.
2. Levy Taxes. Responsible for collecting taxes from their lands and people, and ensuring the crown or state receives its due share.
3. Maintain Peace. Ensuring local peace and stability, including suppressing banditry and clan feuds, posting and paying bounties, and settling disputes.
4. Knights. The noble must provide trained and provisioned knights and soldiers for the ruler’s wars and campaigns.
5. Court Attendance. They must attend Imperial court and state functions during specific seasons or events, a duty that often involves significant expense and time.
6. Patronage of the Arts. Supporting artists, musicians, and poets, both to beautify their estates and to increase their prestige.
7. Maintain Infrastructure. Keeping Jump routes open, ensuring ports keep operating, and supporting public works within their domain.
8. Hospitality. Providing lodging and protection to travellers, particularly those bearing the Emperor’s warrant, ambassadors, or other nobles.
9. Paying Ransoms. The noble must orchestrate the safe return of any kin or nobles who’ve sworn fealty if captured in warfare.
10. Judicial Duties. Serving on juries, presiding over trials, and rendering fair judgments in noble courts.
11. Charitable Works. Establishing and maintaining almshouses, orphanages, and other charitable institutions.
12. Education. The noble is expected to establish and fund schools, scholarships, and other forms of patronage to educate those in their region.
13. Sponsor Feasts and Tournaments. Hosting and funding expensive events like fairs, festivals, feasts, and tournaments, which can improve status and morale.
14. Marriage Alliances. Arranging marriages, or having one arranged for them, to strengthen alliances and secure property, peace, or mutual interests.
15. Succession Planning. Ensuring the family lineage is secure through legitimate heirs and managing the complexities of inheritance.
16. Military Fortification. Building and maintaining bases, ports or habitats to defend the realm.
17. Ceremonial Duties. Leading or participating in important ceremonial functions, which may involve religious, cultural, or Imperial traditions.
18. Record Keeping. Bureaucracy! Maintaining accurate records of land holdings, births, deaths, and marriages, and other information crucial for taxation and administration.
19. Psionic Regulation. Regardless of whether psionic is feared or revered, nobles may be regulating its use, possibly by enlisting powerful yet loyal psions to oversee and enforce psionic use within the domain.
20. Defend the Realm. Being ready to defend the realm against invasions or rebellions, including border patrols, is a significant burden that may require risking their own life and resources.

These obligations make the lives of nobles not just about privilege but also about responsibilities, each with potential consequences and effects in your campaign. I hope you find the ideas useful!