As Knights?
-They're likely to be obliged to answer the relevant monarch's Summons ASAP.
+They are given general impunity when it comes to abusing others or having the occasional "accident" with a common merchant or peasant.
+If they don't make the other nobles look bad in comparison they may earn favour with noble houses to pull strings later (think of real life : Hungary's black army validating the need to have actual taxes on nobility to fight the Ottomans)(also think of Berserk golden age if you know it)
+Trading license or diplomatic papers required? Want to get past a checkpoint quick? Call in to the royal office or a have a polite exchange of pleasantries with the closest noble to get it done in minutes rather than days.
Not even close. Hireling wages list unskilled labor as at least 2 sp per day, and skilled as at least 2 gp per day. Comparatively, a "poor" lifestyle costs 2 sp per day, and a "comfortable" lifestyle (directly described as middle class) costs 2 gp per day.
I mean economic theory isn’t my strong point, but that would be ≈$0.27 a day assuming 1gp = $100.
I feel like it could be done given subsistence farming.
The sheperd will most probably also have a stable, peaceful and modest life for generations. The adventurer earns a shit ton, but the adventurer's average lifespan is around two weeks.
It's period accurate. That kind of metalwork takes skill and represents a significant amount of mining. Metal isn't easy to come by, it requires a whole industry to procure. Plate also isn't one size fits all, this has to be custom fitted to the customer, or it's cumbersome and unwieldy.
Knights usually required to serve specific amounts of time each year. And not to monarch, but to their league Lord in general (it can be monarch. Or maybe local baton).
>+They are given general impunity when it comes to abusing others or having the occasional "accident" with a common merchant or peasant.
On the other hand, any genuine fuck ups are about to be way worse as a baseline!
Problem with being an active representative of a sovereign's reign is that when you screw up it reflects badly back on them...and they don't tend to like that much at all.
Not only will they have the consequences of their actions (or inaction) to deal with, they'll have pressure from the throne to do it right or face consequences.
There's also the teeny tiny matter of now being capable of actively causing a diplomatic incident if they kill the wrong person (even for the right reasons).
Responsibility is great!
This could actually be a good way to introduce a big bad. They go in, rub elbows with the bigwigs, a very well put together person comes up and introduces themselves and thanks them for getting rid of the competition right before they pass out from something in their drinks. they wake up later with their weapons gone and a calling card or something. the BB treats it like a game.
I kinda wouldnt do it immediately tho.. could be a breather.. habe the first one literally be just a party. Then they get annoyed for being invites for another because nothing happened.. then you hit them with small clues they find about a particular guest.
Sure. you could instead have links and ties back to them hidden throughout the parties and they have to pick up on it over time. Go to more and more and see connections between certain NPC's and them or a corrupt shadow organisation.
Make sure that, like chivalry, that nobility is a SYSTEM of both privilege and duty. Good plot hooks, and really, the fourth son of count so-and-so isn't THAT awesome.
* They now have honor, meaning reputations and social combat are now *literally* matters of life and death.
* They'll probably have obligations to whichever upper nobles brought them into the peerage--not just mercenary work but diplomacy, spying, and serving as champions in duels.
* They might have law enforcement responsibilities.
* The public is going to know them on sight as members of the nobility, even if they aren't well known individually. That can be good or bad (see above, re: reputation management).
* They might get a stipend from whichever upper noble they serve. A new home base isn't out of the question either (even if it's just a fortified house on someone else's land).
* They'll probably also have to pay taxes as part of their lifestyle costs (most likely drawn from the stuff they loot during adventures).
* They'll have increased access to hirelings, and can probably even employ some folks on credit if their reputation's good.
* They're gonna need to be fashionable, meaning their armor needs to be *really good looking* or they need to take it off every now and then in favor of fancier civilian clothing.
Depending on the power of nobility, they may have various duties/powers, like how a baron has less power than a count, who has less power than a marquess, who has less power than the prince and so on. A low ranking noble might just hold a bit of economic influence or power, while a duke or other medium level noble might have more power over a chunk of the city.
Based off this, if the party has a high enough rank, maybe they have a shop or two that falls under their domain, or their group is put in charge of a guild of some kind, taking a cut of any profits and/or crafts said guild produces. As for diplomacy with other cities, unless the party is elevated to the inner council (which may eventually happen, depending on actions in the campaign), they likely won't be the ones making the actual decisions, though perhaps their opinions would be trusted more than they previously were, or they could be sent as ambassadors to another city to represent their main city's goals.
Knighthood is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for doing illegal and sketchy shit, even outside your jurisdiction. It turns any reaction of 'weapons down or our archery squad makes pincushions out of you' into 'come on, really?... okay, our nobles are going to send an annoyed letter to your nobles later.'
Artisans are going to want to sponsor them, in a 'hey can you wear my armor so i can say you wear my armor' type of way. Maybe give them free stuff once in a while.
Some useful NPCs who work for the nobility are going to want to help them out because they're now fellow employees.
Anybody allied with their nobles will be obliged to offer them free rooms, food, and general courtesies whenever they show up, at least short-term.
Medieval Historian here. Lots of people have put up a lot of ideas but it feels like some folks are missing the point.
Knighthood is a title which does nothing for a person aside from provide prestige and is not hereditary. Some places will have it enshrined in law that Knights and other nobility are tried in different courts. That is functionally the benefit you give to your players, they have the status to do certain things which would be considered crimes if a peasant did them.
This is extremely helpful for a group of adventurers who are mobile, live by violence, and do work for a wealth-owning class. As knights they would be sought after for jobs of violence because they are now considered trustworthy.
If you give them a title of 'knight' the only thing that does is give them a title. It does \*not\*: confer to them land, obligate them to military service, pass on administration's debts, or make them obligated to do literally anything for the person who makes them a knight. That being said, these are separate things which can be negotiated in a feudal contract or title to land. The title of knight and that of landowner are two very different things, although they were often held by the same people. This is a further reward you can give to your players down the line if you like.
TL;DR: Knighthood makes snooty classist important people treat you like a person rather than a resource and may or may not help you out in a law court if you get in trouble. That's it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most western European cultures did not consider knighthood a title of nobility (this is why you see a lot of Sirs in the British House of Commons). Places where knighthood/ nobility are more conflated (like the kingdom of Poland) usually don't have hierarchical titles like count and duke.
Something to consider when world building a setting.
Yes and no, although I can't speak for anything east of Germany as it is outside my area of familiarity. England is where my focus is. Knighthood was a title of nobility but is also its own thing from nobility because it was not hereditary. What would later become the peerage system is defined by the hereditary status of the titles. Knighthood conferred special treatment and membership in the privileged classes like any other noble title. But like all exclusionary systems of social organization based on class you're far more likely to engage with your own social class or the ranks just above and below you.
The sirs stuff you have noticed in the British house of commons is more because of English development of the gentry system and the accompanying large expansion in 'knightly' titles for those small landowner classes. That and the house of commons does not require you to be a commoner to run for office in it. Many higher nobles served in the commons during its long history. This development in knighthood and gentry is a social dynamic unique to England and precipitated by the Norman Conquest. History is complicated like that. From what I understand of the mainland the knight died out because they were replaced by gendarmes or other half-knight figures in the renaissance but a specialist could answer that question better than I could.
Well I guess there's an ambiguity between aristocracy, gentry, and nobility depending on the time period.
I'm pretty sure you're incorrect of the British House of Commons though. What might be confusing you is that members of the House of Lords were chosen for Prime Minister and higher cabinet posts all the way up until about 1900. House of Lords lost political power way later than one might expect.
I did a quick Google just now to confirm and it seems like we're both right and wrong. Most peerage titles automatically put the inheritor into the House of Lords (though Scottish and Irish peers were not always the case). Any member of the House of Lords could not become part of the House of Commons. But any title of nobility which did not grant membership in the House of Lords was permitted to run for office and be elected to the House of Commons. Since knighthood was not hereditary and thus not within the peerage system, they were not part of the House of Lords but so too were many nobles of high status from non-English peerages of which Lord Palmerston is apparently the most notable. This is quite fascinating. I really should read more about post-renaissance British history.
Lol, how wacky and convoluted. I think this is what a lot of fantasy settings get wrong. There'snot enough disorganization. The real world is never clean, near, or orderly.
Well said and well put. Knighthood is the first step towards that potential greater place of being a landowner or having your own fief, but it remains the *first* step. If anything, the only thing Knighthood should give is some wargear and legally protected access to violence.
If anything, if OP is wanting to give their party any measure of land or earn any measure of land, being waldgraf (Wildcounts) or Raugraf is probably the best they can ask for from any real sitting monarchy, particularly from the party's lack of true peerage.
Not to mention when the party becomes significantly more powerful, the reigning monarch can keep the threat of their power near the edges of the nation, far from major city centers. Puts up plenty of buffers with the different barons, earls or marqui between them and the ruling monarch.
This is what I wanted to say. Knight =/= nobility. Nobility means owning land that has people living on it. These people have to listen to your commands and pay you taxes. In turn, you listen to the commands and pay taxes to the higher-ranked noble that also owns your land.
Knight just means you provided extraordinary service to a sufficiently high-ranking noble. It means nobles will recognize that you can provide extraordinary services and will treat you slightly better than the average peasant.
Get involved in political squabbles, access to royal libraries, having their own lands that they'll have to protect, higher quality prostitutes, knights only tournaments, given a mansion that happens to have a secret passage to someplace. yada yada
Sort of like Thane rights in Skyrim.
Can purchase property in the parts of town typically restricted to Nobles.
Guards look the other way for minor offenses.
Opens up employment opportunities due to your upstanding station and reputation. Protection detail for a high ranking Noble traveling to the capital, security at a Gala, and other such high class affairs.
Obligated to respond to the summons of the crown, whenever it may come.
Noblemen might offer one of their daughter's hands if their reputation is particularly stellar, seeking to build close ties with an up and coming knight who can serve their house and build their reputation.
So long as you are readily identifiable as a knight, such as wearing the crest of the crown, practically every shopkeep in the nation highly respects you, and will likely offer you good discounts, perhaps even bringing out special wares from the back that they normally wouldn't offer, or offering a custom job at lower than marker value if they don't have what you're looking for. A weapon or armor smith looking to improve his reputation might even offer to give you Non-Enchanted adamantine gear for free, so long as you tell everyone where you got it. The new knights repping his wares is effective advertising.
People who recognize you as a knight will inherently trust you, and come to you unprompted with requests for assistance. "I've just been robbed!" "These hooligans won't leave my shop alone." "I just can't get out like I used to, would you mind fetching some fresh herbs Dearie?" It could get annoying, but people trust you and believe you to be the kind of person who's willing to help anyone in need.
Depending on how properly medieval you're going, they should come with some land to look after. It might already be a place with an estate on it, and now they're responsible for the people who live and work on said land, especially their protection if there's monsters about. The good news is that they should get a cut of the profits from the harvest.
Knighthood is generally nothing special. It's all the perils of being a commoner plus the perils of being the lowest of nobility.
At best you can boss around most folks and guards, but more likely is that the folks you're angering have connections to higher ranked nobles, especially those in a competing faction. Nothing like telling the captain of the guard where to shove it, only for your sponsor to berate you for being berated by his equals for having undignified Knights.
If you're trying to get the PCs in trouble easily, this is the route.
The players get involved and used in noble and royal plots and schemes they might not even know are happening and might have been happening for longer than you can imagine, we always want more than we want that is the nature of humans, so those below your status will want to suck up to you to rise slightly above just as the rich and other nobles will, while Kings will try to keep that in check, while some will try to prevent that from happening... and the players just stepped in to that
Also
You get some free cash from your new land but it might turn out its a trap reward because economy/corruption or monsters or previous lord or it was forgotten without supervision (or did you think all the good land wasn't already claimed) your land is frontier or ass end of nowhere, ergo money sink
You have to answer summons
You have to pay noble taxes
You have to appease peasants
You become forced in to pollitics
And for all that you can occasionally push a peasant around though to much and that'll also be really bad. Also only your own peasants or peasants who's lord already makes their life miserable.
Since nobles who care for their people happen or they just might be treating them as walking income and protect them anyway (especially from a new, unconected, who does he think he is, no noble blood in him, his house will fall in a generation if left alone, upstart)
Nobles typically own land. That's where their money come from, you know, medieval societies have land-based economies. So give them some land. Typically a village with the surrounding farmland. Somewhere they can build a castle or a fortified house, or whatever they please.
They should also have duties. They should be placed under someone in the hierarchy, and their liege should have some right to call them for aid. Typicaly for battle.
I recommend something similar to what happened to a group I follow on Twitch: they are given a plot of land or a small town to govern or otherwise keep safe, by doing so they have a base and maybe I can even earn something from it , and maybe by inviting blacksmiths and spellcasters they can have someone make them equipment
They now have the duty to stay in that town and help them, do whatever “quest” the king/lord above them told them to, or pay extra tax if they don’t wanna do. Protect the town/kingdom when needed
Climb the social ladder to be a bigger noble, earn/own fief and play management sims
Mount and blade in dnd world
They can get pulled into local politics/invited to parties and events as people try and gain favour with the king’s current favourite people
Gaining a title also comes with lands/holding - maybe it’s a blank slate or rundown keep that the players can invest their income from exploring into which might become a growing economy in its own right which might bring in artisans/merchants with interesting wares
There’s likely also a degree of leeway with guards/city watch on smaller infractions
It is good to remember that being a knight is a double edged sword
You are a freeman (non-knights could be freemen too) so you don’t have to pay taxes for your lands if you have any and you are above some laws, especially when the crimes are against commoners.
The other side is that you will be expected to come when summoned. If a war starts you will have obligations, this might be sending your harvest to feed the army, turning up yourself with a specific minimum level of gear depending on your wealth. On top of that you might be rich enough to have to provide equipment and/or troops from your own lands.
This could range from a low noble being expected to arrive with a shield, chain shirt, along with 3 troops equipped with a shield, helmet, and spear each, all the way up to a rich noble expected to field 200 men, 40 of them longbow men, 60 short bows, 40 spear men, all with studded leather, 30 swordsmen with chain shirt, shields, short swords, and javelins, and finally 30 cavalry, 20 light troops, 10 with full plate as well as armour for their horses, and 20 spare horses. The noble themselves being expected to come or send a representative equipped to be a mounted knight too
This is a range of a few hundred gold to tens of thousands depending on the lands and income of the noble, a class your knights have just joined
Also you would be expected to pay no taxes for your own earnings, but any lands around you would have a few options for tax. One is that the monarch has had a surveyor sent out and they have assigned a number of GP that each plot should yield. Your lands might be the rich heartlands of the kingdom and be expected to raise 40gp in tax a month while the same area of land might only need to find 3gp if it is in the untamed borderlands. Alternatively you might have a more fluid tax based on the number of people with the king expecting 1sp a day for every adult in your lands (excluding your noble selves)
Your new knights might find themselves landed, and with a small castle even, but the monarchs aim is for some kind to be tamed and the castle is an old ruins to the east in lands full of goblins, orcs, giants, and dragons. You might be expected to have started work repairing it within 4 months and finish the repairs within 3 years, a good way to spend your parties adventuring gold and build a base but not a cheap option or even an option, they must do it now
Knights can take on squires, so basically give them some companions who can clean their armor, prepare their food on he road, and carry their stuff.
Just like a noble or knight starts with at level 1, with he only real limit being they won't take part in combat, and might leave intakes into dangerous situations too often
They will gain freedom of operation in return they will be on retainer. The local authority will expect them to drop what their doing for required services when necessary, This applies to any noble of higher standing. however this will be used lightly BUT a more arrogant or corrupt noble my over exert their power leading to a political conundrum.
They’re now permitted to have an armed retinue (household guard, maybe carrying their house emblem/crest) accompany them wherever they go. While ordinary folks may be allowed to be armed and go about their business, a noble granted the right to maintain their own retinue would definitely not be hassled for it.
This may not be what you’re looking for, but it’s a potential reward in Waterdeep Dragon Heist/Dungeon of the Mad Mage (can’t remember which one exactly but they’re both in the same setting and dragon heist leads directly into Mad Mage). Household retinues are a privilege reserved for the nobility.
Edit: spelling
You could also shower them with commitments, obligations, cost and expenses, which comes with the titles. Just to mess with them. Yeah congratulations on the title and status it provides, now here’s the land you have to maintain, number of troops to raise, arm, train, and provide for your liege. Do you have a castle? Even a small one well enjoy the cost of staff and maintenance.
You can have some real fun with having reality hitting them… if you want to 😋 and even better, let them figure it out and archive success. I will promise you that they will fight with tooth and nail to protect what they have created and make work. You can now use the treat to their holdings etc., as motivations for other adventures. This also makes it more personally for them.
Some random evil dude threatens to wipe out a village.. yeah should we care why? Now make it that other lord, you have rivalry with, who threatens the live hood and existence of your village, which you helped build and know everyone in. I will promise you that they will be ready to do whatever to protect it.
The "usefulness" of nobility can and should vary wildly from culture to culture. However, generally, a possible way to view the matter is to view it through the lens of rights, obligations and stipends.
A noble may have a right, a commoner does not have. Examples:
\* You may graze your animals on any land held in common by villagers.
\* You may bring your riding animal into Market Towns and Cities.
\* You have a right to hospitality from other nobles or at Royal Messenger Stations.
\* You can enter or leave towns and cities between the hours of dusk and dawn.
\* You have the right to bring cases to the Royal or Surperior courts
\* You have the right to subject serfs to summary justice
A noble may also be exempt from certain obligations:
\* You do not have to pay the Head Tax, for you, your spouse and your children.
\* You do not have to pay a fee to cross Royal Bridges or dock your vessel at Royal Ports.
\* You are not required to allow the guards at city gates to search your person.
\* You do not have to personally attend Shire or other Lesser Courts if sued. You may instead send a proxy.
\* You do not have to fast during the last month of winter.
Stipends
Some societies pay their lesser nobles a stipend. This is fairly straightforwar, you get a purse of silver each year, paid from the Royal Treasury, simply for being a noble.
Knights, generally speaking, were given fiefs, estates contractually bound to their sworn fealty to a lord (Not necessarily a King. Plenty of barons had knights). Knights were called to serve their respective barons, but unless they worked for the crown directly, they really only had fealty to whomever knighted them, which led to some *fun* political shenanigans (One baron might realize that a rival baron might knight someone they want, and beat them to the punch causing a whole chain of mischief).
Then, depending on how centralized the kingdom, a lord might create a group of knights to go out and take some territory, giving them lands in what they conquer, usually done if there wasn't upward mobility within the kingdom (Again, fun political shenanigans have come out of this).... *or* if the lord was trying to build a base of power to "create" an opening.
Let's see, then there's "Fun With Gavelkind". Gavelkind succession was the de facto state in medieval society until the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne. Basically, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne's father, but when he died, the succession laws dictated that while Charlemagne got the main title of the kingdom of Francia, West Francia went to his brother, dividing the previously united lands. Of course, all along the borders of these now two kingdoms, various nobles had claims across the border, so there's this whole secondary problem of minor wars cropping up all over the place as the various nobles tried to get their de jure lands back under their control.
On the smaller scale, Knights would often do the tournament circuit which had its own political baggage for knights, and their respective lords. So if a group of knights under a single lord starts mowing through tournaments, it's not just glory for the knights, but the lord they're attached to.
Be plotted against, used for political backstabbing, framed for assassination/and or have assassination attempts against them.raise levies in times of war from the peasants that live on their lands. Institute financial reform on their lands, and then quickly be squashed for rocking the socio-economic status quo .
I'd allow them to choose either Noble background feature, Position of Privilege or the Noble Knight feature, Retainers. They'd have to make the choice when they receive the title and then stick with it.
Here's what typically accompanies knighthood in traditional chivalric feudal society:
1. They receive land in exchange for military service. This could be a farmstead, a villa or manor, or maybe just a few hundred acres of wilderness. In exchange, the knight performs services as asked by the lord or whatever noble the knight is sworn to.
1. Duties include everything from military escort services to going to war on behalf of the noble who granted the fief, or someone higher up, such as a count or duke, up to and including the king.
1. The knight was only expected to perform these services roughly 40 days per year.
1. Expenses and services for maintaining the land, etc. were largely the responsibility of the knight.
It's a relatively minor title, but what the knight does with it is largely up to them. They could attempt to perform deeds of courage in order to gain more wealth and gather support to climb the ladder of nobility, for example. They could work the land, farming crops or raising livestock for sale. They could build a manor, a keep, or a castle on the land. But they are ultimately beholden to the lord or noble that granted them the fiefdom, until such services are no longer required or the knight rises in rank.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/knight-service
Keep in mind being raised to the level of nobility is also a huge responsibility historically you would be in charge of the well-being of a entire town and surrounding countryside they would pay you in goods and livestock and sometimes money but you also had to protect them and make sure that everything ran smoothly and they had what they needed.
Wrap them up in internal politics if that's something they're interested in. Could be as minor as currying favor to peddle influence to get a few coins and favors, could be as big as averting a coup. Or assisting in a coup!
so to my (very limited) knowledge of historical nobles.
to be a noble, you must be a land owner, then thats it, you just own a large area of land.
from that, you then have the authority to collect taxes from everyone in that area.
basically, they are a landlord, but for an entire town.
I'm not sure on specifics of knighthood though >!(if anyone with more historical knowledge then me see's this, feel free to add on additional context or corrections)!<
A lord would have a whole town, probably barron or earl if it was a market town(where surrounding villages came to trade) or port. A knight had an estate, think plantation except you cant sell the slaves. If pcs are pc you.might or might not want to get some politics out of this, but the best way to avoid it is that their serfs belong to the land, not the landlord.
Of course whether party is good or evil, they are the law on their own estates.
Debts. Lots of debt from the previous noble/administration:
- Unpaid taxes, bar tabs, etc.
- False claims, pretenders, outright frauds, etc.
They can become heroes from removing squatters of corrupt bureaucrats, fake nobles and bandits that have taken residence in their newly transferred castles.
TL;DR titles are a great way to introduce your players to the wonderful world of Crusader Kings but in D&D.
Oh you have 100k gold? Not anynore my lord.
They need to pay servants, soldiers, administrators, etc. thats on top to current projects they have in their territory. Roads, farmland, castle/keep, etc. Best way to burn their money.
Don't they also get a stipend if they're knights? Knights get paid. Presumably they're their own house, so they report directly to the king. Usually a noble title also means a little bit of land as you're the Lord/Lady of Some Place
As Knights? -They're likely to be obliged to answer the relevant monarch's Summons ASAP. +They are given general impunity when it comes to abusing others or having the occasional "accident" with a common merchant or peasant. +If they don't make the other nobles look bad in comparison they may earn favour with noble houses to pull strings later (think of real life : Hungary's black army validating the need to have actual taxes on nobility to fight the Ottomans)(also think of Berserk golden age if you know it) +Trading license or diplomatic papers required? Want to get past a checkpoint quick? Call in to the royal office or a have a polite exchange of pleasantries with the closest noble to get it done in minutes rather than days.
+ get to call peasants peasants.
You could do that before, especially if you own plate (costs more than a shepherd will earn in entire generations)
I feel like the buying power of copper = $1, silver = $10 and gold = $100 So a breastplate for 400 gold is an investment of $40,000
Isn't the default usually 1 year of commoner labour and side jobs ~~ 1 gp? Maybe I just heard wrong
Not even close. Hireling wages list unskilled labor as at least 2 sp per day, and skilled as at least 2 gp per day. Comparatively, a "poor" lifestyle costs 2 sp per day, and a "comfortable" lifestyle (directly described as middle class) costs 2 gp per day.
I mean economic theory isn’t my strong point, but that would be ≈$0.27 a day assuming 1gp = $100. I feel like it could be done given subsistence farming.
Doesn't sound fair tbh
The sheperd will most probably also have a stable, peaceful and modest life for generations. The adventurer earns a shit ton, but the adventurer's average lifespan is around two weeks.
It's period accurate. That kind of metalwork takes skill and represents a significant amount of mining. Metal isn't easy to come by, it requires a whole industry to procure. Plate also isn't one size fits all, this has to be custom fitted to the customer, or it's cumbersome and unwieldy.
Knights usually required to serve specific amounts of time each year. And not to monarch, but to their league Lord in general (it can be monarch. Or maybe local baton).
Liege, autocorrect got you
Actually it honest mistake (not native English).
>+They are given general impunity when it comes to abusing others or having the occasional "accident" with a common merchant or peasant. On the other hand, any genuine fuck ups are about to be way worse as a baseline! Problem with being an active representative of a sovereign's reign is that when you screw up it reflects badly back on them...and they don't tend to like that much at all. Not only will they have the consequences of their actions (or inaction) to deal with, they'll have pressure from the throne to do it right or face consequences. There's also the teeny tiny matter of now being capable of actively causing a diplomatic incident if they kill the wrong person (even for the right reasons). Responsibility is great!
Excellent point. It can easily go that way. I was thinking more of going to the corrupt side of nobility.
If it’s an actual title with a bit of land they may even sell mining rights lol
Get invited to the worst parties
This could actually be a good way to introduce a big bad. They go in, rub elbows with the bigwigs, a very well put together person comes up and introduces themselves and thanks them for getting rid of the competition right before they pass out from something in their drinks. they wake up later with their weapons gone and a calling card or something. the BB treats it like a game.
I kinda wouldnt do it immediately tho.. could be a breather.. habe the first one literally be just a party. Then they get annoyed for being invites for another because nothing happened.. then you hit them with small clues they find about a particular guest.
Yeah. Don't play your hand this quickly. Cat-and-mouse requires a slow burn.
Sure. you could instead have links and ties back to them hidden throughout the parties and they have to pick up on it over time. Go to more and more and see connections between certain NPC's and them or a corrupt shadow organisation.
Make sure that, like chivalry, that nobility is a SYSTEM of both privilege and duty. Good plot hooks, and really, the fourth son of count so-and-so isn't THAT awesome.
* They now have honor, meaning reputations and social combat are now *literally* matters of life and death. * They'll probably have obligations to whichever upper nobles brought them into the peerage--not just mercenary work but diplomacy, spying, and serving as champions in duels. * They might have law enforcement responsibilities. * The public is going to know them on sight as members of the nobility, even if they aren't well known individually. That can be good or bad (see above, re: reputation management). * They might get a stipend from whichever upper noble they serve. A new home base isn't out of the question either (even if it's just a fortified house on someone else's land). * They'll probably also have to pay taxes as part of their lifestyle costs (most likely drawn from the stuff they loot during adventures). * They'll have increased access to hirelings, and can probably even employ some folks on credit if their reputation's good. * They're gonna need to be fashionable, meaning their armor needs to be *really good looking* or they need to take it off every now and then in favor of fancier civilian clothing.
Depending on the power of nobility, they may have various duties/powers, like how a baron has less power than a count, who has less power than a marquess, who has less power than the prince and so on. A low ranking noble might just hold a bit of economic influence or power, while a duke or other medium level noble might have more power over a chunk of the city. Based off this, if the party has a high enough rank, maybe they have a shop or two that falls under their domain, or their group is put in charge of a guild of some kind, taking a cut of any profits and/or crafts said guild produces. As for diplomacy with other cities, unless the party is elevated to the inner council (which may eventually happen, depending on actions in the campaign), they likely won't be the ones making the actual decisions, though perhaps their opinions would be trusted more than they previously were, or they could be sent as ambassadors to another city to represent their main city's goals.
Knighthood is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for doing illegal and sketchy shit, even outside your jurisdiction. It turns any reaction of 'weapons down or our archery squad makes pincushions out of you' into 'come on, really?... okay, our nobles are going to send an annoyed letter to your nobles later.' Artisans are going to want to sponsor them, in a 'hey can you wear my armor so i can say you wear my armor' type of way. Maybe give them free stuff once in a while. Some useful NPCs who work for the nobility are going to want to help them out because they're now fellow employees. Anybody allied with their nobles will be obliged to offer them free rooms, food, and general courtesies whenever they show up, at least short-term.
Medieval Historian here. Lots of people have put up a lot of ideas but it feels like some folks are missing the point. Knighthood is a title which does nothing for a person aside from provide prestige and is not hereditary. Some places will have it enshrined in law that Knights and other nobility are tried in different courts. That is functionally the benefit you give to your players, they have the status to do certain things which would be considered crimes if a peasant did them. This is extremely helpful for a group of adventurers who are mobile, live by violence, and do work for a wealth-owning class. As knights they would be sought after for jobs of violence because they are now considered trustworthy. If you give them a title of 'knight' the only thing that does is give them a title. It does \*not\*: confer to them land, obligate them to military service, pass on administration's debts, or make them obligated to do literally anything for the person who makes them a knight. That being said, these are separate things which can be negotiated in a feudal contract or title to land. The title of knight and that of landowner are two very different things, although they were often held by the same people. This is a further reward you can give to your players down the line if you like. TL;DR: Knighthood makes snooty classist important people treat you like a person rather than a resource and may or may not help you out in a law court if you get in trouble. That's it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most western European cultures did not consider knighthood a title of nobility (this is why you see a lot of Sirs in the British House of Commons). Places where knighthood/ nobility are more conflated (like the kingdom of Poland) usually don't have hierarchical titles like count and duke. Something to consider when world building a setting.
Yes and no, although I can't speak for anything east of Germany as it is outside my area of familiarity. England is where my focus is. Knighthood was a title of nobility but is also its own thing from nobility because it was not hereditary. What would later become the peerage system is defined by the hereditary status of the titles. Knighthood conferred special treatment and membership in the privileged classes like any other noble title. But like all exclusionary systems of social organization based on class you're far more likely to engage with your own social class or the ranks just above and below you. The sirs stuff you have noticed in the British house of commons is more because of English development of the gentry system and the accompanying large expansion in 'knightly' titles for those small landowner classes. That and the house of commons does not require you to be a commoner to run for office in it. Many higher nobles served in the commons during its long history. This development in knighthood and gentry is a social dynamic unique to England and precipitated by the Norman Conquest. History is complicated like that. From what I understand of the mainland the knight died out because they were replaced by gendarmes or other half-knight figures in the renaissance but a specialist could answer that question better than I could.
Well I guess there's an ambiguity between aristocracy, gentry, and nobility depending on the time period. I'm pretty sure you're incorrect of the British House of Commons though. What might be confusing you is that members of the House of Lords were chosen for Prime Minister and higher cabinet posts all the way up until about 1900. House of Lords lost political power way later than one might expect.
I did a quick Google just now to confirm and it seems like we're both right and wrong. Most peerage titles automatically put the inheritor into the House of Lords (though Scottish and Irish peers were not always the case). Any member of the House of Lords could not become part of the House of Commons. But any title of nobility which did not grant membership in the House of Lords was permitted to run for office and be elected to the House of Commons. Since knighthood was not hereditary and thus not within the peerage system, they were not part of the House of Lords but so too were many nobles of high status from non-English peerages of which Lord Palmerston is apparently the most notable. This is quite fascinating. I really should read more about post-renaissance British history.
Lol, how wacky and convoluted. I think this is what a lot of fantasy settings get wrong. There'snot enough disorganization. The real world is never clean, near, or orderly.
Well said and well put. Knighthood is the first step towards that potential greater place of being a landowner or having your own fief, but it remains the *first* step. If anything, the only thing Knighthood should give is some wargear and legally protected access to violence. If anything, if OP is wanting to give their party any measure of land or earn any measure of land, being waldgraf (Wildcounts) or Raugraf is probably the best they can ask for from any real sitting monarchy, particularly from the party's lack of true peerage. Not to mention when the party becomes significantly more powerful, the reigning monarch can keep the threat of their power near the edges of the nation, far from major city centers. Puts up plenty of buffers with the different barons, earls or marqui between them and the ruling monarch.
This is what I wanted to say. Knight =/= nobility. Nobility means owning land that has people living on it. These people have to listen to your commands and pay you taxes. In turn, you listen to the commands and pay taxes to the higher-ranked noble that also owns your land. Knight just means you provided extraordinary service to a sufficiently high-ranking noble. It means nobles will recognize that you can provide extraordinary services and will treat you slightly better than the average peasant.
Have the players design their own heraldry for some nice immersion
This is such a cool idea - especially using one of those house crest makers
Get involved in political squabbles, access to royal libraries, having their own lands that they'll have to protect, higher quality prostitutes, knights only tournaments, given a mansion that happens to have a secret passage to someplace. yada yada
Sort of like Thane rights in Skyrim. Can purchase property in the parts of town typically restricted to Nobles. Guards look the other way for minor offenses. Opens up employment opportunities due to your upstanding station and reputation. Protection detail for a high ranking Noble traveling to the capital, security at a Gala, and other such high class affairs. Obligated to respond to the summons of the crown, whenever it may come. Noblemen might offer one of their daughter's hands if their reputation is particularly stellar, seeking to build close ties with an up and coming knight who can serve their house and build their reputation. So long as you are readily identifiable as a knight, such as wearing the crest of the crown, practically every shopkeep in the nation highly respects you, and will likely offer you good discounts, perhaps even bringing out special wares from the back that they normally wouldn't offer, or offering a custom job at lower than marker value if they don't have what you're looking for. A weapon or armor smith looking to improve his reputation might even offer to give you Non-Enchanted adamantine gear for free, so long as you tell everyone where you got it. The new knights repping his wares is effective advertising. People who recognize you as a knight will inherently trust you, and come to you unprompted with requests for assistance. "I've just been robbed!" "These hooligans won't leave my shop alone." "I just can't get out like I used to, would you mind fetching some fresh herbs Dearie?" It could get annoying, but people trust you and believe you to be the kind of person who's willing to help anyone in need.
Saved, lots of great responses here
Depending on how properly medieval you're going, they should come with some land to look after. It might already be a place with an estate on it, and now they're responsible for the people who live and work on said land, especially their protection if there's monsters about. The good news is that they should get a cut of the profits from the harvest.
Even "properly medieval" have things like households knights and other forms of landless knights. Freelance have interesting meaning in earlier times.
Knighthood is generally nothing special. It's all the perils of being a commoner plus the perils of being the lowest of nobility. At best you can boss around most folks and guards, but more likely is that the folks you're angering have connections to higher ranked nobles, especially those in a competing faction. Nothing like telling the captain of the guard where to shove it, only for your sponsor to berate you for being berated by his equals for having undignified Knights. If you're trying to get the PCs in trouble easily, this is the route.
Recruit Serfs.
The players get involved and used in noble and royal plots and schemes they might not even know are happening and might have been happening for longer than you can imagine, we always want more than we want that is the nature of humans, so those below your status will want to suck up to you to rise slightly above just as the rich and other nobles will, while Kings will try to keep that in check, while some will try to prevent that from happening... and the players just stepped in to that Also You get some free cash from your new land but it might turn out its a trap reward because economy/corruption or monsters or previous lord or it was forgotten without supervision (or did you think all the good land wasn't already claimed) your land is frontier or ass end of nowhere, ergo money sink You have to answer summons You have to pay noble taxes You have to appease peasants You become forced in to pollitics And for all that you can occasionally push a peasant around though to much and that'll also be really bad. Also only your own peasants or peasants who's lord already makes their life miserable. Since nobles who care for their people happen or they just might be treating them as walking income and protect them anyway (especially from a new, unconected, who does he think he is, no noble blood in him, his house will fall in a generation if left alone, upstart)
Nobles typically own land. That's where their money come from, you know, medieval societies have land-based economies. So give them some land. Typically a village with the surrounding farmland. Somewhere they can build a castle or a fortified house, or whatever they please. They should also have duties. They should be placed under someone in the hierarchy, and their liege should have some right to call them for aid. Typicaly for battle.
I recommend something similar to what happened to a group I follow on Twitch: they are given a plot of land or a small town to govern or otherwise keep safe, by doing so they have a base and maybe I can even earn something from it , and maybe by inviting blacksmiths and spellcasters they can have someone make them equipment
They now have the duty to stay in that town and help them, do whatever “quest” the king/lord above them told them to, or pay extra tax if they don’t wanna do. Protect the town/kingdom when needed Climb the social ladder to be a bigger noble, earn/own fief and play management sims Mount and blade in dnd world
They can get pulled into local politics/invited to parties and events as people try and gain favour with the king’s current favourite people Gaining a title also comes with lands/holding - maybe it’s a blank slate or rundown keep that the players can invest their income from exploring into which might become a growing economy in its own right which might bring in artisans/merchants with interesting wares There’s likely also a degree of leeway with guards/city watch on smaller infractions
It is good to remember that being a knight is a double edged sword You are a freeman (non-knights could be freemen too) so you don’t have to pay taxes for your lands if you have any and you are above some laws, especially when the crimes are against commoners. The other side is that you will be expected to come when summoned. If a war starts you will have obligations, this might be sending your harvest to feed the army, turning up yourself with a specific minimum level of gear depending on your wealth. On top of that you might be rich enough to have to provide equipment and/or troops from your own lands. This could range from a low noble being expected to arrive with a shield, chain shirt, along with 3 troops equipped with a shield, helmet, and spear each, all the way up to a rich noble expected to field 200 men, 40 of them longbow men, 60 short bows, 40 spear men, all with studded leather, 30 swordsmen with chain shirt, shields, short swords, and javelins, and finally 30 cavalry, 20 light troops, 10 with full plate as well as armour for their horses, and 20 spare horses. The noble themselves being expected to come or send a representative equipped to be a mounted knight too This is a range of a few hundred gold to tens of thousands depending on the lands and income of the noble, a class your knights have just joined Also you would be expected to pay no taxes for your own earnings, but any lands around you would have a few options for tax. One is that the monarch has had a surveyor sent out and they have assigned a number of GP that each plot should yield. Your lands might be the rich heartlands of the kingdom and be expected to raise 40gp in tax a month while the same area of land might only need to find 3gp if it is in the untamed borderlands. Alternatively you might have a more fluid tax based on the number of people with the king expecting 1sp a day for every adult in your lands (excluding your noble selves) Your new knights might find themselves landed, and with a small castle even, but the monarchs aim is for some kind to be tamed and the castle is an old ruins to the east in lands full of goblins, orcs, giants, and dragons. You might be expected to have started work repairing it within 4 months and finish the repairs within 3 years, a good way to spend your parties adventuring gold and build a base but not a cheap option or even an option, they must do it now
Knights can take on squires, so basically give them some companions who can clean their armor, prepare their food on he road, and carry their stuff. Just like a noble or knight starts with at level 1, with he only real limit being they won't take part in combat, and might leave intakes into dangerous situations too often
They will gain freedom of operation in return they will be on retainer. The local authority will expect them to drop what their doing for required services when necessary, This applies to any noble of higher standing. however this will be used lightly BUT a more arrogant or corrupt noble my over exert their power leading to a political conundrum.
They’re now permitted to have an armed retinue (household guard, maybe carrying their house emblem/crest) accompany them wherever they go. While ordinary folks may be allowed to be armed and go about their business, a noble granted the right to maintain their own retinue would definitely not be hassled for it. This may not be what you’re looking for, but it’s a potential reward in Waterdeep Dragon Heist/Dungeon of the Mad Mage (can’t remember which one exactly but they’re both in the same setting and dragon heist leads directly into Mad Mage). Household retinues are a privilege reserved for the nobility. Edit: spelling
You could also shower them with commitments, obligations, cost and expenses, which comes with the titles. Just to mess with them. Yeah congratulations on the title and status it provides, now here’s the land you have to maintain, number of troops to raise, arm, train, and provide for your liege. Do you have a castle? Even a small one well enjoy the cost of staff and maintenance. You can have some real fun with having reality hitting them… if you want to 😋 and even better, let them figure it out and archive success. I will promise you that they will fight with tooth and nail to protect what they have created and make work. You can now use the treat to their holdings etc., as motivations for other adventures. This also makes it more personally for them. Some random evil dude threatens to wipe out a village.. yeah should we care why? Now make it that other lord, you have rivalry with, who threatens the live hood and existence of your village, which you helped build and know everyone in. I will promise you that they will be ready to do whatever to protect it.
They can enjoy not being peasants
The "usefulness" of nobility can and should vary wildly from culture to culture. However, generally, a possible way to view the matter is to view it through the lens of rights, obligations and stipends. A noble may have a right, a commoner does not have. Examples: \* You may graze your animals on any land held in common by villagers. \* You may bring your riding animal into Market Towns and Cities. \* You have a right to hospitality from other nobles or at Royal Messenger Stations. \* You can enter or leave towns and cities between the hours of dusk and dawn. \* You have the right to bring cases to the Royal or Surperior courts \* You have the right to subject serfs to summary justice A noble may also be exempt from certain obligations: \* You do not have to pay the Head Tax, for you, your spouse and your children. \* You do not have to pay a fee to cross Royal Bridges or dock your vessel at Royal Ports. \* You are not required to allow the guards at city gates to search your person. \* You do not have to personally attend Shire or other Lesser Courts if sued. You may instead send a proxy. \* You do not have to fast during the last month of winter. Stipends Some societies pay their lesser nobles a stipend. This is fairly straightforwar, you get a purse of silver each year, paid from the Royal Treasury, simply for being a noble.
Knights, generally speaking, were given fiefs, estates contractually bound to their sworn fealty to a lord (Not necessarily a King. Plenty of barons had knights). Knights were called to serve their respective barons, but unless they worked for the crown directly, they really only had fealty to whomever knighted them, which led to some *fun* political shenanigans (One baron might realize that a rival baron might knight someone they want, and beat them to the punch causing a whole chain of mischief). Then, depending on how centralized the kingdom, a lord might create a group of knights to go out and take some territory, giving them lands in what they conquer, usually done if there wasn't upward mobility within the kingdom (Again, fun political shenanigans have come out of this).... *or* if the lord was trying to build a base of power to "create" an opening. Let's see, then there's "Fun With Gavelkind". Gavelkind succession was the de facto state in medieval society until the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne. Basically, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne's father, but when he died, the succession laws dictated that while Charlemagne got the main title of the kingdom of Francia, West Francia went to his brother, dividing the previously united lands. Of course, all along the borders of these now two kingdoms, various nobles had claims across the border, so there's this whole secondary problem of minor wars cropping up all over the place as the various nobles tried to get their de jure lands back under their control. On the smaller scale, Knights would often do the tournament circuit which had its own political baggage for knights, and their respective lords. So if a group of knights under a single lord starts mowing through tournaments, it's not just glory for the knights, but the lord they're attached to.
Be plotted against, used for political backstabbing, framed for assassination/and or have assassination attempts against them.raise levies in times of war from the peasants that live on their lands. Institute financial reform on their lands, and then quickly be squashed for rocking the socio-economic status quo .
I'd allow them to choose either Noble background feature, Position of Privilege or the Noble Knight feature, Retainers. They'd have to make the choice when they receive the title and then stick with it.
Here's what typically accompanies knighthood in traditional chivalric feudal society: 1. They receive land in exchange for military service. This could be a farmstead, a villa or manor, or maybe just a few hundred acres of wilderness. In exchange, the knight performs services as asked by the lord or whatever noble the knight is sworn to. 1. Duties include everything from military escort services to going to war on behalf of the noble who granted the fief, or someone higher up, such as a count or duke, up to and including the king. 1. The knight was only expected to perform these services roughly 40 days per year. 1. Expenses and services for maintaining the land, etc. were largely the responsibility of the knight. It's a relatively minor title, but what the knight does with it is largely up to them. They could attempt to perform deeds of courage in order to gain more wealth and gather support to climb the ladder of nobility, for example. They could work the land, farming crops or raising livestock for sale. They could build a manor, a keep, or a castle on the land. But they are ultimately beholden to the lord or noble that granted them the fiefdom, until such services are no longer required or the knight rises in rank. Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/knight-service
Keep in mind being raised to the level of nobility is also a huge responsibility historically you would be in charge of the well-being of a entire town and surrounding countryside they would pay you in goods and livestock and sometimes money but you also had to protect them and make sure that everything ran smoothly and they had what they needed.
Wrap them up in internal politics if that's something they're interested in. Could be as minor as currying favor to peddle influence to get a few coins and favors, could be as big as averting a coup. Or assisting in a coup!
so to my (very limited) knowledge of historical nobles. to be a noble, you must be a land owner, then thats it, you just own a large area of land. from that, you then have the authority to collect taxes from everyone in that area. basically, they are a landlord, but for an entire town. I'm not sure on specifics of knighthood though >!(if anyone with more historical knowledge then me see's this, feel free to add on additional context or corrections)!<
A lord would have a whole town, probably barron or earl if it was a market town(where surrounding villages came to trade) or port. A knight had an estate, think plantation except you cant sell the slaves. If pcs are pc you.might or might not want to get some politics out of this, but the best way to avoid it is that their serfs belong to the land, not the landlord. Of course whether party is good or evil, they are the law on their own estates.
ok so might've been a bit off on the specifics on land ownership then
Debts. Lots of debt from the previous noble/administration: - Unpaid taxes, bar tabs, etc. - False claims, pretenders, outright frauds, etc. They can become heroes from removing squatters of corrupt bureaucrats, fake nobles and bandits that have taken residence in their newly transferred castles. TL;DR titles are a great way to introduce your players to the wonderful world of Crusader Kings but in D&D.
Oh you have 100k gold? Not anynore my lord. They need to pay servants, soldiers, administrators, etc. thats on top to current projects they have in their territory. Roads, farmland, castle/keep, etc. Best way to burn their money.
Don't they also get a stipend if they're knights? Knights get paid. Presumably they're their own house, so they report directly to the king. Usually a noble title also means a little bit of land as you're the Lord/Lady of Some Place