Respect
Often is the case I find a distasteful lack of respect towards nobility, and upperclassmen from populace who do not have in my opinion earned the right for such crassness. Often this is from the adventurer class of populace, who generally speaking are little better than opportunists with little to no honour. This is not always the case, as I have had the pleasure and honour of fighting beside some of the bravest, and craziest people I have ever met, and they most certainly belonged to the ‘adventurer’ class of populace. In some cases, certain familiarity is understandable, and appreciated. Being able to have an audience with your Lord, or Lady, and speak to them as you would a peer, is a treat to both parties involved, as the adventurer/peasant/tradesman, is able to speak to someone who has much in the way of power as an equal, and a treat to the said nobleman to interact with another living being, without the pretence of courtly manners. However this should not be abused, and in some cases referring to someone familiarly in the open can be dangerous. One, this shows a drop in protocol and in front of peoples whom are not aware of your relationship then they assume that they too can get away with breaches in protocol, and while not a high crime in and of itself, peoples can become lazy, and in a moment where protocol is needed it is tragically ignored. Example would be in front of agents of a rival kingdom, or something. Referring to your lord in the Familiar could represent weakness of your leader, but also it exposes you as someone that your lord may value, and puts both of you at risk, should they attempt to exploit you to get to your Lord. Should all relations of lower class be ignored? Most likely not, but all parties must use discretion, lest they create more problems than they solve.
Likewise speaking ill of your Lord can be, and is in most lands considered Treason, and punishable by death. Most adventurers do not fully grasp the gravity of the situation as they primarily dwell in frontier lands, where their lifestyles combine with the need for free thinking solutions. In most cities, only guards, knights, and men-at-arms are allowed to bear weapons of war. Now, most people are allowed to carry daggers, knives, in some kingdoms shortswords, and small arms, but not longblades, war bows, and heavy armour. In some kingdoms these will get you stared at, fined, and in other places arrested and thrown in the dungeon. And in all the kingdoms I have been in but a tiny handful, only knights, or peers are allowed to bear arms in the presence of the crown. The reasons are obvious, the crown is more than just a leader, but they are a symbol to the populace over which they rule, and striking at them, or striking them down can deal a crushing blow to the morale of an army, or a civilization as a whole. Most adventurers wander about their lives, fully armed, and armoured expecting trouble at any minute, those that do not, can quickly find themselves perished. These people much like a soldier returning from a bloody campaign have difficulty adjusting to a civilized environment. Some wise generals I have spoken to, keep their men in the field for many months after the campaign itself is over, until the soldiers have managed to unwind, and the threat of attack at any moment has dwindled. Once the soldiers have gotten accustomed to not being on the hair’s edge of readiness they are then slowly discharged back to their homes.
This is probably the wisest strategy that I have encountered in dealing with the aftermath of a campaign, this ‘cooldown’ period, combined with a pension, and some time to collect spoils keeps not only the soldiers morale up, but also their families as they have their loved one back, more or less in one piece, and not some sort of crazed lunatic who jumps at every shadow, and now away from his shield mates has no way to heal the scars on his mind, and spirit.
Respect is a two-way street, a wide unpaved road upon which much traffic can flow, but like an unkempt street it can become choked with offal if people trod foolishly upon it.
An adventurer who wanders about slaying lesser creatures for bounty, and whatnot, while not necessarily a hero or legend, is certainly someone who provides a certain sense of security, and risks life and limb to go out into the wilds, alone or in groups to slay creatures that otherwise would inflict harm upon the populace. There are of course grey areas to this example, but for the purposes of argument, let us say that in the area there are marauding Orks, and goblins who do not make any pretence about peaceful alliance, and exist only to pillage and steal. This adventurer goes out day after day, and slays these creatures for a meagre bounty, which may seem like a lot of money for little work, but let us examine this. This person has to feed, clothe, and water oneself, feed, and stable a horse if they can afford one. Plus replace, and repair armour and weapons unless somehow they have magically enhanced tools, unlikely, but possible. This person goes out, and finally manages after much hardship, to slay the Orks to a point where they no longer come back and the town, village is now freed of this blight to their lives. Often as I have seen there is a great amount of celebration, and drinking, promises of friendship, songs, and other rewards. Sometimes removal of one threat opens the gate for the entrance of another threat, and as I have seen with my own eyes, those same people who heralded said person as a hero sour quickly like milk in sun, and now that adventurers laurels count for nothing.
Some adventurers rest too heavily upon their laurels walking about with a swagger that while romanticized in some tales, can be deceptive, or outright laughable. Slaying a few goblins, then laying about expecting the populace you have aided to bow to your every whim is barely above the thinking of the goblins you have so recently slain. Laughable to say the least, but continuing to protect the town, out of a sense of duty, honour, or even just following the letters of a signed contract hold to a higher idea, other than one of might makes right, is a more respectable goal.
Now most adventurers quickly grow tired of peasant farmers trying to marry off their daughters, or sons, and can quickly tire of the entire aftermath experience, and plus the money will dry up rather rapidly. So most move onto the next town, village or city and start all over again. Also as I have seen often times the peasantry especially in remote, communities are often afraid of, or even hateful of outsiders whether or not the outsider is there to aid them or not. This may seem like a reprehensible attitude, and in some cases it is, but from that communities perspective you are just as much a threat to them as the bandits, goblins, or orks.
I have heard of groups of scam artists that will plague a community, until the community hires some ‘mercenaries’ to protect the village, then the ‘bandits’ and ‘mercenaries’ stage a few fights, and the ‘bandits’ are driven off. The ‘mercenaries’ collect their reward, and they move on to the next mark. This does not work in inner kingdoms, or busy provinces where respectable Lords would patrol the lands with their own men, and thusly spare their populace from such deception. But in remote territories, or in the lands of those who do not pay enough attention this sort of thing could easily happen.
Often is the case I find a distasteful lack of respect towards nobility, and upperclassmen from populace who do not have in my opinion earned the right for such crassness. Often this is from the adventurer class of populace, who generally speaking are little better than opportunists with little to no honour. This is not always the case, as I have had the pleasure and honour of fighting beside some of the bravest, and craziest people I have ever met, and they most certainly belonged to the ‘adventurer’ class of populace. In some cases, certain familiarity is understandable, and appreciated. Being able to have an audience with your Lord, or Lady, and speak to them as you would a peer, is a treat to both parties involved, as the adventurer/peasant/tradesman, is able to speak to someone who has much in the way of power as an equal, and a treat to the said nobleman to interact with another living being, without the pretence of courtly manners. However this should not be abused, and in some cases referring to someone familiarly in the open can be dangerous. One, this shows a drop in protocol and in front of peoples whom are not aware of your relationship then they assume that they too can get away with breaches in protocol, and while not a high crime in and of itself, peoples can become lazy, and in a moment where protocol is needed it is tragically ignored. Example would be in front of agents of a rival kingdom, or something. Referring to your lord in the Familiar could represent weakness of your leader, but also it exposes you as someone that your lord may value, and puts both of you at risk, should they attempt to exploit you to get to your Lord. Should all relations of lower class be ignored? Most likely not, but all parties must use discretion, lest they create more problems than they solve.
Likewise speaking ill of your Lord can be, and is in most lands considered Treason, and punishable by death. Most adventurers do not fully grasp the gravity of the situation as they primarily dwell in frontier lands, where their lifestyles combine with the need for free thinking solutions. In most cities, only guards, knights, and men-at-arms are allowed to bear weapons of war. Now, most people are allowed to carry daggers, knives, in some kingdoms shortswords, and small arms, but not longblades, war bows, and heavy armour. In some kingdoms these will get you stared at, fined, and in other places arrested and thrown in the dungeon. And in all the kingdoms I have been in but a tiny handful, only knights, or peers are allowed to bear arms in the presence of the crown. The reasons are obvious, the crown is more than just a leader, but they are a symbol to the populace over which they rule, and striking at them, or striking them down can deal a crushing blow to the morale of an army, or a civilization as a whole. Most adventurers wander about their lives, fully armed, and armoured expecting trouble at any minute, those that do not, can quickly find themselves perished. These people much like a soldier returning from a bloody campaign have difficulty adjusting to a civilized environment. Some wise generals I have spoken to, keep their men in the field for many months after the campaign itself is over, until the soldiers have managed to unwind, and the threat of attack at any moment has dwindled. Once the soldiers have gotten accustomed to not being on the hair’s edge of readiness they are then slowly discharged back to their homes.
This is probably the wisest strategy that I have encountered in dealing with the aftermath of a campaign, this ‘cooldown’ period, combined with a pension, and some time to collect spoils keeps not only the soldiers morale up, but also their families as they have their loved one back, more or less in one piece, and not some sort of crazed lunatic who jumps at every shadow, and now away from his shield mates has no way to heal the scars on his mind, and spirit.
Respect is a two-way street, a wide unpaved road upon which much traffic can flow, but like an unkempt street it can become choked with offal if people trod foolishly upon it.
An adventurer who wanders about slaying lesser creatures for bounty, and whatnot, while not necessarily a hero or legend, is certainly someone who provides a certain sense of security, and risks life and limb to go out into the wilds, alone or in groups to slay creatures that otherwise would inflict harm upon the populace. There are of course grey areas to this example, but for the purposes of argument, let us say that in the area there are marauding Orks, and goblins who do not make any pretence about peaceful alliance, and exist only to pillage and steal. This adventurer goes out day after day, and slays these creatures for a meagre bounty, which may seem like a lot of money for little work, but let us examine this. This person has to feed, clothe, and water oneself, feed, and stable a horse if they can afford one. Plus replace, and repair armour and weapons unless somehow they have magically enhanced tools, unlikely, but possible. This person goes out, and finally manages after much hardship, to slay the Orks to a point where they no longer come back and the town, village is now freed of this blight to their lives. Often as I have seen there is a great amount of celebration, and drinking, promises of friendship, songs, and other rewards. Sometimes removal of one threat opens the gate for the entrance of another threat, and as I have seen with my own eyes, those same people who heralded said person as a hero sour quickly like milk in sun, and now that adventurers laurels count for nothing.
Some adventurers rest too heavily upon their laurels walking about with a swagger that while romanticized in some tales, can be deceptive, or outright laughable. Slaying a few goblins, then laying about expecting the populace you have aided to bow to your every whim is barely above the thinking of the goblins you have so recently slain. Laughable to say the least, but continuing to protect the town, out of a sense of duty, honour, or even just following the letters of a signed contract hold to a higher idea, other than one of might makes right, is a more respectable goal.
Now most adventurers quickly grow tired of peasant farmers trying to marry off their daughters, or sons, and can quickly tire of the entire aftermath experience, and plus the money will dry up rather rapidly. So most move onto the next town, village or city and start all over again. Also as I have seen often times the peasantry especially in remote, communities are often afraid of, or even hateful of outsiders whether or not the outsider is there to aid them or not. This may seem like a reprehensible attitude, and in some cases it is, but from that communities perspective you are just as much a threat to them as the bandits, goblins, or orks.
I have heard of groups of scam artists that will plague a community, until the community hires some ‘mercenaries’ to protect the village, then the ‘bandits’ and ‘mercenaries’ stage a few fights, and the ‘bandits’ are driven off. The ‘mercenaries’ collect their reward, and they move on to the next mark. This does not work in inner kingdoms, or busy provinces where respectable Lords would patrol the lands with their own men, and thusly spare their populace from such deception. But in remote territories, or in the lands of those who do not pay enough attention this sort of thing could easily happen.