UA:Character Background: Aristocratic Background

This material is published under the OGL

Aristocratic Background

The noble court formed an important center of medieval life, where knights, troubadours, and artisans experienced the scope of feudal life (minus the peasants). Aristocratic adventures center on intrigue and political maneuvering, but courts also feature ritualized combat such as duels and jousts.

Recognition for characters with aristocratic backgrounds varies widely, because noble courts have a highly stratified social structure. Actual nobles can attain progressively greater noble titles, but other characters who spend time in noble courts don't have that chance.

A character's familiarity with the ways of the noble court provides a bonus on recognition checks; each time the aristocratic background is selected for this character, the bonus increases by 1.

Example aristocratic titles

The noble titles below are examples drawn from medieval Europe (Britain in particular), so they're suitable for most sword-and-sorcery settings. Other historical feudal and quasi-feudal cultures (such as Japan and India) can also inspire noble titles for your game.

Titles (Lowest to Highest): Knight, Baronet, Baron or Baroness, Viscount or Viscountess, Count or Countess, Marquess or Marchioness, Duke or Duchess, Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, Prince or Princess, King or Queen, Emperor or Empress.

Sometimes counts are called earls, and marquesses are referred to as matquises or margraves. Germanic culture refers to dukes as grafs and baronets as ritters. Prince or Princess can either be a noble title or it can describe a familial relationship: son or daughter of the king or queen.

Aristocratic Background Activities

d%	Activity	Class	Feats	Skills	Gear	Contacts	Rep	Recognition
01-07	Noble warlord	Fighter or Paladin	Leadership, Weapon Focus	Intimidate, Diplomacy, Knowledge (nobility and royalty)	Armor	Influence	+1	Title, DC 22
8-14	Landed gentry	Bard	Leadership, Skill Focus (Diplomacy)	Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (history), Perform	Wondrous item that aids interaction	Influence	+1	Title, DC 22
15-21	Church potentate	Cleric	Leadership, Persuasive	Diplomacy, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Spellcraft	Rod or Staff	Influence	+1	Title, DC 22
22-28	Dragon-blooded	Sorcerer	Leadership, Spell Focus (Enchantment)	Diplomacy, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Concentration	Rod or Staff	Influence	+1	title, DC 24
29-39	Troubadour	Bard	Skill Focus (Perform), Spell Focus(Enchantment)	Perform (any), Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (local)	Wondrous item that charms or compels	Influence	+1/2	-
40-49	Court Jester	Rogue	Acrobatic, Agile	Perform (any), Tumble, Jump, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Balance	Wondrous item that aids movement	Influence	+1/2	-
50-59	Court Arcanist	Wizard of Loremaster ^1	Spell Focus (Enchantment), Spell Focus (Illusion)	Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (local), Spellcraft, Concentration	Extra spells in spellbook	Influence	+1/2	-
60-69	Religious advisor	Cleric	Negotiator, Spell Focus (Divination)	Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Spellcraft	Item with divination aura	Influence	+1/2	-
70-80	Chivalric knight	Paladin	Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack	Ride, Intimidate, Diplomacy	Armor	Influence	+1/2	Title, DC 24
81-80	Seneschal	Bard	Negotiator, Investigator	Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (local)	Item with divination aura	Influence	+1/2	-
91-100	Duelist	Fighter or Duelist ^1	Combat Expertise, Improved Feint	Bluff, Perform (any), Tumble, Sense Motive, Knowledge (nobility and royalty)	Weapon	Influence	+1/2	-
1 Indicates a prestige class. Only available if the class is allowed in the campaign.

---

Back to Main Page → Variant Rules → Building Characters