For [5] per level you can change your Status from the default of 0 and become a noble.
Huzzah!
There's a down side in that you've got to spend more to live appropriately or lose the status.
But say you wanted to make a character who's a baron.
Seems simple enough, shell out the 20 points for being a lesser noble and you're in!
But is that all of it?
Barons held land, so some wealth should be associated with it.
Barons could mete out justice, so legal enforcement powers should be purchased.
Barons, being nobility, weren't subject to the same laws as commoners. Some legal immunity might be appropriate (depending on how the immunity is exercised; for some crimes the sentence is the same for commoner and noble, it's just the method of execution that varies).
The higher up the social ladder you are in the peerage, the more wealth and power you wield.
Nobles have a duty to their liege. That liege may also be a patron.
Nobles also have a duty to their fief.
There are historical societies where one can be a noble, but penniless and powerless; and common, but rich and powerful.
For a fantasy game there may even me restrictions on nobility and being a wizard or cleric.
In many cases the focus of being a noble is managing the fief and being an officer and soldier come time of war, bringing your fief's levy of troops with you when called.
As time passes, historically, the powers fade even if the wealth doesn't.
Should buying the title be enough to get everything else, or should it be a la carte?
Huzzah!
There's a down side in that you've got to spend more to live appropriately or lose the status.
But say you wanted to make a character who's a baron.
Seems simple enough, shell out the 20 points for being a lesser noble and you're in!
But is that all of it?
Barons held land, so some wealth should be associated with it.
Barons could mete out justice, so legal enforcement powers should be purchased.
Barons, being nobility, weren't subject to the same laws as commoners. Some legal immunity might be appropriate (depending on how the immunity is exercised; for some crimes the sentence is the same for commoner and noble, it's just the method of execution that varies).
The higher up the social ladder you are in the peerage, the more wealth and power you wield.
Nobles have a duty to their liege. That liege may also be a patron.
Nobles also have a duty to their fief.
There are historical societies where one can be a noble, but penniless and powerless; and common, but rich and powerful.
For a fantasy game there may even me restrictions on nobility and being a wizard or cleric.
In many cases the focus of being a noble is managing the fief and being an officer and soldier come time of war, bringing your fief's levy of troops with you when called.
As time passes, historically, the powers fade even if the wealth doesn't.
Should buying the title be enough to get everything else, or should it be a la carte?