A noble house is an extended family with a history of power and wealth. One house may be more martial, one may have ties to the underworld, and one may be focused on trade, but all noble houses are familiar with political intrigue and the responsibili- ties and dangers that accompany privilege. Most go to great lengths to secure their privilege against any challenge.
In low- and mid-level play, yours may the only organization with the power to perform certain actions. While other organizations are still scraping for every last coin, you have the king’s ear. Use this power wisely. Spend political favors where you can, and do not call too much attention to your allies. Lacking your con- nections, they also lack your security. An enemy who wouldn’t dare assault your house directly might be tempted instead to eradicate your friends.
Tradition is very important to an organization whose power derives largely from the weight of prec- edent. Noble houses often place special emphasis on bloodlines, symbols and history. Create these for your house. The most interesting noble houses are often the
ones with rich histories. You can play with or against type when crafting your house’s history. Perhaps your noble character is a lost prince – perhaps he did not even know he was a prince, the last of his line – and he has now been rediscovered and his house restored. Imagine all the built-in enemies he has: every noble sees him as an instant rival!
Scope and abilities. At each even scope increase, raise your any characteristic save efficiency by 1. At every level divisible by five (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.), increase ef- ficiency by 1. At each odd level scope increase, choose one of the following abilities.
• Salon. Your noble house can aid you once in a social scene one time per week (or round, in scene order play) as a free action.
• Philanthropy. You can give anyone an in crease of 1 or 2 (your choice) in a positive
reputation with any organization operating within your region. Feel free to charge what ever the market will bear for this favor. You cannot boost a reputation like this more than once per year.
• Condemn. Noble invective smears the target, tagging him with a 1 or 2 point increase in a negative reputation with any organization operating within your region. Your opponent can avoid the smear if he
makes
• Law. Within your domain, autocratic rule obtains. Write any law you wish, declare any
item contraband, proscribe any item. If you know the identity of a particular lawbreaker,
you can roll force or shadow against his defense (usually his organization’s shadow). Success means that you have caught the
criminal, and you can punish him as you see fit. You’re the noble. The GM and the other
players have veto power over any law or excess that you promulgate with this power. Remember to keep the good of the campaign as a whole as your top priority. Your noble
house must have at least scope 7 to write laws beyond the assumed laws of most kingdoms.
• Persecute. You torment an individual, harassing him with taxmen, threats of abduction, and hints at accusations of treason. He loses 1 point from a random inspiration per attack if he fails a reason roll against whatever die is appropriate for your attack (shadow for underhanded threats, force for overt intimidation, magic for bringing out oozing boils on his stomach).
• Fealty. Another organization swears fealty to you. You gain +1 wealth level. The other organization gains +1 efficiency and +1 to another score of its choice because it is able to transfer some bureaucratic tasks to your house and rely on your house for aid. The new organization subjects itself to your laws. This liege-vassal relationship lasts until the liege ends it or until a set time has
expired, as agreed upon at the time of the oath of fealty. You may cancel the action of
any vassal organization with an opposed shadow roll as a free action.
• Shadow house. Increase your shadow score by one die size when participating in a shadow war.
• Famine. Food shortages are a timeless tool of the aristocracy. Everyone in the region for longer than a week must roll strength against the doom or have his maximum body reduced by 1 for the duration of the famine. At the start of each season, you decide whether or not the peasants in the region are going to suffer a famine.
• Power of lords. Once per battle, one of your units can roll your force score as a bonus die to one attack or defense. You may choose this
power twice. It can only be used once per roll
no matter how many times you select it. • Spirit of lords. Once per battle, you can give
a bonus of 1 spirit to every allied unit on the field.
• Example. Choose one man and make an example of him. Designate one of his inspirations, his organization, or his
hometown. After you make an example of him (through whatever means the GM deems sufficiently intimidating or horrifying),
anyone who shares his designated quality must make a reason roll against the
doom. Failure causes loss of all positive mood, or two heart damage if the mood was already less than one.
• Settlers. You welcome a new wave of immigrants. They might be refugees from another kingdom, a sect of savages seeking to become civilized, or anything else you
deem appropriate. With the added population, every organization with headquarters in your kingdom increases its scope by 1. You can
only choose this ability once per year. • Holiday. You declare one day in the year a
holy day. When this day comes up, everyone in the region gains 2 Mood.
• Cultural force. You roll your arcana score as a bonus die when attempting to change the culture of a region. Here are some typical magical cultures you might install:
o Symbol. Your house’s symbol carries almost as much power as the house itself. Anyone bearing it has a Reputation 8 as the house’s ally. The penalty for using it without the house’s sanction is service, which
generally means being turned over to the king’s wizards.
o Culture of art. Anyone who has an inspiration in an art gains one
bonus point in that inspiration. The bonus point does not count toward the normal limit.
o Taxes. Increase by 1 your wealth level and decrease by 1 the wealth level of all other organizations
headquartered in your region. o Liberty. Whether through apathy, kindness, or shrewdness, some nobles learn to keep from meddling in
subjects’ affairs. Increase the wealth level of everyone headquartered in this region by 1. This is mutually exclusive with Taxes above.
• Royal blessing. Choose one organization. Members of that organization and the
organization itself treat the doom as
1, 2, or 3 lower, as determined by you at the time of the blessing. Your house must be
royal.
• Season of wrath. Choose one season for your land to suffer your wrath. Any organization who fails a doom check during that season suffers a natural or magical disaster before
the season ends.
• Lese majeste. If someone attacks you or your house, even in passing in a conversation, you roll your force score as a bonus die in any scene where you are attempting revenge. • Tyranny of kings. If you are the largest scope
noble house in your area, choose one
inspiration type per season. Anyone who has that inspiration type must roll each week against the doom or lose one point, to a minimum of zero. You may also increase or
decrease the doom one point per year if you are a royal noble house. The doom can never exceed your area.