What nobility wears - aka who doesn't have *#&# all over

markusdark

Knight
Something that has bugged me a bit in this and other LARPs is that there is no standard for a nobleman to 'carry'. The only way I can tell who is noble and who isn't is either to take their or someone else's word at it or ask to see the noble's papers of nobility (which can be quite embarassing to ask the King for).

In the SCA, they have such 'flags' as circlets, white and red belts, spurs and so on. The games on the West Coast seem to be adopting these as their flags of nobility but it would be nice if there was some sort of set rules on how to denote a noble from a commoner.
 
hmm.. HQ has it that nobles have white belts. there's other things too like red belts and sashes and things. perhaps it was meant to be up to the chapter because each chapter may run their governments differently...
 
In HQ
white belt = Noble (Knight or Lord)
white belt + Four pointed coronet = Baron
white belt + Six pointed coronet = Duke
white belt + Eight pointed coronet = King/Queen

Basically you take a knee when you see the belt, then count the points (if present) to figure out the correct honorific.
 
I guess maybe it would be cool if symbols like that were more prominently explained in relevant players guides or something.

I mean I'm sure they are there, but I didn't know those ones until now. Although it is true that I only play HQ about half of the season. (dam school)
 
Toddo said:
In HQ
white belt = Noble (Knight or Lord)
white belt + Four pointed coronet = Baron
white belt + Six pointed coronet = Duke
white belt + Eight pointed coronet = King/Queen

Basically you take a knee when you see the belt, then count the points (if present) to figure out the correct honorific.
I believe that the red belt denotes a squire.

Something as simple as this would work wonders to have things flow well in the game and this would have taken up very little space in the rulebook. Now, if some other chapter wanted a different style/levels of government, they could easily make up their own and let it be known in their chapter's player's guide/background handouts.
 
But, by and large, what is in the rulebook, is supposed to be consistant from chapter to chapter.

I'm not saying everything is, but why include something else that isn't?

Espescially in a circumstance where its clearly up to each chapter to set the atmosphere for their game world.
 
Because it could help out in the long run and takes up very little space. Add the 'In Ashbury...' at the beginning of it.

So far, in every chapter I have attended in either NERO or Alliance, I have met nobility that had no sort of denotation upon their brow - including in Ashbury. And of course when I ask the NPC for their papers of nobility, they don't have them.

Don't forget, in the rulebook it also says that Necromancy is legal in some parts of Fortannis...
 
The book already states that most fames will be some kind of medieval feudalistic society.

The majority of the time its fairly obvious what nobles are what.

And if you end up as a new player in a game where only the king wears any kind of circlet and his has four points on it, why confuse people by stating in the book that if you see a guy with a 4 pointed circlet it'll probably be a baron?
 
All Icenian nobles in the HQ chapter wear the appropriate belt and/or circlet.

The royal, ducal and baronial armies also have rank denotations via sashes and epaulettes that they wear.

Many other countries in HQ have their own denotations. My PC dark elf lord has papers he generally has in the vicinity (though not always on him).

I believe the Icenian ones are in the Ashbury's Players' Guide, though I'm not 100% certain. It's an IG document, so you can certainly find out IG. I would think other chapters might have their own as well in their player guides.

It wouldn't make sense, however, for every chapter to have the same sumptuary items for their nobles. It also wouldn't necessarily make sense for characters from another chapter to know what those symbols are either. Even a new character or a peasant or even a merchant might not know what the symbols were. It's something else to learn IG.

Different chapters also have different requirements for their nobles. And a noble that is recognized in one land might not be in another, depending on IG treaties and actions, etc.

Scott
 
Only time I've ever taken a knee in front of a noble I was adjusting my armor. She even looked at me funny for a sec before realizing what I was doing and that I had a slight smirk on my face. Ahh, to be a fancy free Rom....
 
This is really a plot decision, not a rules one, so should be decided chapter by chapter. I agree that the chapter itself should make these things known.

I can see, however, placing something in the Rule Book under the society chapter that says "Nobility are usually identified in some manner, through crowns or specially colored belts or sashes, and it would be wise for your character to learn what the local laws are concerning this before making what could be a grave error" or something like that!
 
You have nobles? I can reccommend a good fumigator to take care of that problem! :twisted:
 
Yeah. It doesn't really make sense for there to be a unified system since every chapter is a different continent and all grew up in a different way. But, as a chapter hopper I have seen: sashes, belts, crowns, tabards, and hoods. I think the hoods are my favorite.
 
I think the best one is what a certain Dark Elf I know uses. An aura of fear.


Works every time. ;)
 
You could go with the historically accurate method.

How to spot a noble in easy steps:

1. Look for someone who isn't starving to death

2. Look for well made clothes of richly colored and expensive fabrics

3. Is he armed and armored?

4. Does he have attendants and men at arms?

5. Does he display a callous disregard for human rights and life?

6. Is he only marginally less powerful than the king, and constantly jockeying for a greater degree of power, wealth, and independence relative to his fellows?

Congratulations! You've spotted a nobleman in six easy steps! Now fall to your knees and grovel, you filthy wretch, before he notices you and has you flogged for the impertinence of dirtying his sight with your presence.

By the by, if someone asked me for my patents of nobility and they were not of at least equal rank to me, or a person of great prestige, or an official of the court serving in his official capacity, I would have them detained and flogged for having the gall to question me.
 
FrankManic said:
You could go with the historically accurate method.

How to spot a noble in easy steps:

1. Look for someone who isn't starving to death

2. Look for well made clothes of richly colored and expensive fabrics

3. Is he armed and armored?

4. Does he have attendants and men at arms?

5. Does he display a callous disregard for human rights and life?

6. Is he only marginally less powerful than the king, and constantly jockeying for a greater degree of power, wealth, and independence relative to his fellows?

Congratulations! You've spotted a nobleman in six easy steps!
Yeah... that won't work for Alliance. That covers pretty much every adventurer.
 
lol, yea JP makes a good point. It does cover many adventures... We don't really have "common" people to compare nobility too.
 
Dreamingfurther said:
lol, yea JP makes a good point. It does cover many adventures... We don't really have "common" people to compare nobility too.

Nor any real "clothing laws" to prevent guys with a good costume budget from upstaging the nobles. :p

And you really don't want to. Folks looking good is good for the game. There's something in most chapters that's "nobles only" in any case, like Ashbury's belts.
 
We're not trying to recreate the actual middle ages, of course. In our game, there is only a slight difference between the nobility and the adventurers, and the nobility is usually chosen from the adventuring class after all.

But yeah, some symbol is still needed (like our belts and crowns and stuff).
 
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