It’s the dream of every peasant child: a mysterious stranger appears and tells him that he is really the son of a great king, and off he goes to find his heritage. Unfortunately, life is rarely so kind, and neither are we. Starting characters cannot be of the nobility, nor can they bear any sort of title. Such things must be earned through roleplaying. This is never easy to do, and as such the granting of a noble title is a rare reward.

There are exceptions, however. A character may have been born to a noble family, but for some reason he does not have a title or influence. He might have renounced his title, been born the illegitimate child of a noble, or perhaps he just ran away from home to seek adventure, causing his disapproving parents to disown him. Regardless of the cause, the character retains no influence, holds no wealth (unless he has the Wealth Advantage), and cannot expect any help from his noble relations. He is on the same level as the “common folk.”

Another exception is the character with the Nobility Advantage. Although the character is still no longer a noble, he did not fall as far and still retains some connection to his former life. Perhaps he has some friends who didn’t abandon him. Perhaps he holds some dirt on another noble. Whatever the reason, he can still move somewhat in noble circles, although his influence is greatly diminished.

In no case can a character be a member of a royal lineage. There just aren’t very many to choose from. Even higher nobility is mostly off-limits. A character with any sort of noble background is generally tied to a minor house.