Playing High Ranking Nobles in Traveller

[Supplement Four]

OK, here's one for you.

I finished rolling up another character with a player tonight for my game, and the sonofagun rolled up a freakin' Marquis. Yep, his initial SOC roll, on 2D, was 12, making him a Baron. THEN he actually rolled 11 (he had a +1DM due to his INT) on one of his three four terms in the noble career, which now makes him a Marquis.

We're tallking pretty dang high on the old noble scale last time I looked. Marquis are what, typically in charge of entire planets, right?

He also made his position roll at some point during his terms, so he's definitely got some noble position.

I had developed only five worlds for this campaign as homeworlds: Pysaidi, Vanejen, Patinir, Natoko, and Aramis. Yep, you guessed it. This guy rolled Aramis as his homeworld.

On top of this, I'm playing a heavily tweaked version of the Traveller Adventure.

So...

I've got a player character on my hands, who is a Marquis, who has a fief (we rolled for this too--he's got a fief), and is from the planet Aramis.

Aramis, officially in the Traveller adventure, already has a Marquis in charge there--Leonard Bolden-Tukera. Married to the Lady Arianne Tukera.


So, my mind is working. I'm trying to change my original story to account fo this guy. Right now, I'm thinking this (but I welcome input): Tukera is one of the richest, most powerful noble families in the entire Imperim. I figure Tukera's noble peerage probably rivals the Emperor's.

If you've read George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones", then I'm thinking the Tukeras are like the Lannisters.

And, since Tukera is often positioned as the "bad guys" in Traveller adventures (and is such in the Traveller Adventure), I'm guessing that being a member of the Tukera noble line is not all fun and roses. I'm thinking infighting and backstabbing galore--everybody stepping on their brothers and sisters trying to get there grubby little hands on some power.

In the Aramis subsector, Tukera owns, out-right, two of the planets: Natoko and Lewis. Natoko is a major station for their shipping line in the subsector, and Lewis is home to Tukera family estates.

I'm thinking of making this Marquis that was just rolled up in my game a Tukera. Aramis, the planet, is the fief of the Bolden family. Aramis is also the most powerful planet (politically) in the subsector. So, I'm thinking that Tukera is trying to edge its way into total control of Aramis.

And, they've done that, so far, by having Marquis Leonard Bolden marry Arianne Tukera. I figure Arianne is a Lady MacBeth type of character to the playboy fop that Leonard Bolden is.

I'm thinking that Arianne can be the PC's sister.

And, I'm thinking of having the PC part of the plan against House Bolden in Tukera's attempt to attain control of Aramis.


But, why would there be two Marquis on Aramis?

The PC was born a Baron (rolled initially on character generation), so he inherited that title. But, he gained the title of Marquis just a couple of years ago.

So what happened here?

What do you think?


I'm interested in hearing how you've played nobles in the past in your Traveller games. How did you get them into the fight?

I mean, if this PC is going to be such a high ranking noble, then what business is he going to have with the other PCs who are owner/operators of a tramp freighter?

I want to balance the access to resources that this Marquis would obviously have--to money, to troops, to support--with the adventure with out completely taking it away from the character.

I've got a few ideas on this, but I'd like to hear yours.

Thoughts?

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

I do not know what the actual tone of the game is, but I know from experience that playing a noble can be a real challenge.

Marquis, I believe, have a domain of one System. Since my Father's death, my older brother, a Naval Officer, is the new Reigning Marquis Sidur Haski, for example.

My holding is the Haskian Satellite called Saano. It is cold, small, and home to about 200 full-time residents. It has a pretty new spaceport, and a ship testing facility. I also enjoy it because it has an ecosphere.

Playing a Noble may seem like yachts and tea parties to many, but it is also an administrative nightmare. I tried running a campaign with an all noble PC party. It was a lot to handle!

I made it so the nobles have to directly supervise the individual holdings, or at least hire a good major domo. The game never took off, but for a while there it was Traveller with a multi-million credit game of monopoly going in the background. The initial setup was to hard to get through.

One Aslan Count Character had a total of 15 wives and 63 Children, and another had an NPC wife that he had never even seen before!

The Freedom of being a noble is a myth. Sure, ya got money, but what good's money when you can't really do what you want?

 

[parmasson]

There are two ways to play this.
1. The Count is the group’s patron supplying adventure through his influence and power.

You have title and money but you owe people for your position and being noble costs gobs of cash. Oh god the favors you owe people.

As the Ref I would come up with a laundry list of NPCs that are gonna be a thorn in his side because they were some how connected to his rise. Most of this stuff is going to have to be done quietly and quickly so here come the other characters.

Or . . .
2. After attaining the rank of Count you are marked for death. Another family had wanted their son put up for the fief and you have gotten in their way. Well they are gonna show you. One morning you are on the way to your office on the 501st floor of the Regency Center in your private elevator when the power goes out somewhere around the 221st floor. The car lurches, creeks and finally will fall all 221 floors to bottom of the shaft. Now assuming you escape you find that a massive plot has occurred. Your supporters, family and many of your friends have been wiped out in a “self-defense” action taken by the rival family. Now thanks to a corrupt SDF commander you have mercenary cruisers landing a crack commando squad on your front lawn.

You have to escape NOW! Suddenly you are the hunted and need to gain quick access to as much cash as you can and a ride off-world. Your supporters are loyal but now scattered to the wind and since the coup will be over before anyone know it even happed the hands off policy of the Imperium will give slap his hands and since you are either dead or powerless you will be a non-issue. The goal is to reclaim the fief and murder your political opponents one by one.

 

[parmasson]

But, why would there be two Marquis on Aramis?

That is up to you but splitting the world along an east/west axis to reward two loyal nobles. Could cause friction. . . . perhaps a war. If your side comes in 2nd you are gonna have to leave. Sounds like a plot to me.

Sounds like your set up could work with either of my two main options. The point is that the noble has to have a reason to get out of the manor house and into space.

 

[aramis]

He's the RETIRED Marquis, Bolden-Tukera's older and heirless sibling, who's vacated the seat to answer his wanderlust. His brother has the title and the duties, he's still got the friends, enemies and clout, but not the duties nor authority.

 

[Whipsnade]

WJP,

The other gents have made most of the suggestions I would have. I rarely had 'noble' PCs in my games and never one at the level of marquis. Those characters were patrons or important NPCs, definitely not player controlled characters. They were far too powerful for my liking.

Some ideas:

- Your marquis is a 'planetary' marquis and not an Imperial marquis. He has a title from a local system of peerage that the Imperium recognizes as part of reprocity. He's the Marquis of Whosis and Imperial nobles will make sure he recieves all due deference in public lest they encourage the commons to ignore their own titles. The actual social power, political pull, and hard cash associated with a local title are up to you.

- The suggestion that his is a courtesy title is a good one. Daddy has the family's real title and Elder Sibling has the family's 'title-in-waiting'. He is the marquis of Whosis because the third child of the Duke of Earl is always the Marquis of Whosis. Again like above, the 'goodies' the third child of the Duke of Earl can enjoy is up to you.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[JAFARR]

Another way I have seen it work is use social status as just that. If he wants to mantain that social status, he has to pay out the money to keep it. Often noble families have multiple children just like everyone else. All of them aren't going to inherit the position. Consider his noble service as time in training in case elder brother/sister dies during his lifetime without leaving an heir.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Something in GURPS Traveller was the idea of a Remittance Man. You've been paid by the family to stay away from home. You made a fool of yourself at court or your twin is the one chosen to be the heir. For some reason, your family wants you gone and out of their hair and they are paying you handsomely to do so. You're free to do what you want except to come within 1 parsec of home.

That's the quickest way to make the PC a Traveller, I think.

Dameon

 

[robject]

The first things I thought of were (1) King Arthur, and (2) Jason and the Argonauts. The next thing I thought of was Aragorn.

In both cases, the protagonist is the child foretold to replace (i.e. kill off) the current king. The king, of course, would rather prevent this. In the last case, the Marquisate is nearly a joke, and barely a title -- because his kingdom has been violently displaced in the distant past. His struggle will be long and painful.

How can there be two Marquisates on one world? Perhaps a power struggle. This guy was elevated. By whom? Not by the current ruling authority, for sure. Perhaps, as Wild Bill notes, by the vestiges of the remaining planetary rulers, who of course have been unseated and methodically hunted down by Tukera. Voila, the Marquis is a local criminal, impostor, and on the run. Or by a higher authority, such as the sector duke, who for some absurd reason decided to apply direct pressure to Tukera -- a foolish thing to do, and therefore I doubt it would happen.

The situation ends up being similar to the one Kurega draws for us: the current ruler, through a chain of intermediaries, is seeking to off the new Marquis.

The results also end up similar to Kurega's: the newly-minted Marquis has a laundry list of perilous quests to undertake, in order to protect himself from hired goons, mercenaries, bounty hunters, court assassins, what-have-you, and to someday reestablish his family's rightful place as the ruling authority on Aramis.

 

[Elliot]

Look at

http://www.travellerrpg.com/cgi-bin/Trav/CotI/Discuss/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000038

from 2001
where Aramis wrote some interesting ideas

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I think Marquis of a small world in the Aramis system (you might have to redo a default skill or two, if you choose some airless moon - heh

), as an out of the way spot to hide some embarassing (perhaps illegitimate?) son of a higher noble.

(The second son concept is how I manufactured a Knight into a Pirate - via Merchant....

)

BTW, WJP, you might want to check your dice! Or, you might want to test your players for Psi potential!

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Fritz88:
BTW, WJP, you might want to check your dice! Or, you might want to test your players for Psi potential!

No shi-it!

This is crazy, isn't it?

What a strange group that has been developed.

This player used difference dice, BTW.

Contrary to this, I had a player brick every roll. He ended up with decent stats, but joined the scouts, got the automtatic Pilot-1 and two skills, and no others (remember I'm using the MT Special Duty and 4+ rules).

So, he got Pilot-1, some other skill (I forgot) and improved a stat on Term one.

Term two, he failed survival, and got no skills.

Enlistment in other branches is 2+ over the regualr number. He got into Rouges, and did a single term, only getting the two skills for the first term in a new career. Then, he bricked the survival. No skills there.

Instead of going two years on a missed survival throw, I make them throw 1-4, to see where the survival was bricked.

He threw 4.

So, this dude has gone 12 years, and he's got four level-1 skills.

Weak character.

Then, he enlisted in the Army, went a term, and ended up making EVERYTHING. He made commission by 4+. He made promotion by 4+. He made Special Duty by 4+. And, none of his stats went down when we threw for that.

The guy eneded up with 8 skills in a single term!

He more than doubled what he had done the three terms before that.

This is probably the strangest group I've ever rolled up.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I would probably fudge that last guy's Army term just a bit - have him fail re-enlistment. This way the guy has a really strong "bad-luck" streak going. Make sure he has some callsign from his Scout days that follows him around related to his bad luck. (Somebody's sig here has a great bit about not being bad, just being bad to stand next to.... Edit: It's Burocrate! end edit)

Maybe he can develop some good-luck "charms" that seemed to work for his 1 term as Army, and went missing or something during re-enlistment. Especially since he started out as a Scout, it could have to do with some article of clothing that he can never wash........

 

[Supplement Four]

The player came up with a good idea.

He failed his survival, and his END was decreased (and then restored, using MWM's T5 rule for failed survival throws).

The player came up with the idea that the guy had to abandon ship. Then, he hung there in space, empty space, with his O2 evaporating and his heat leaving him because his suit was loosing power.

He hung out there for a long time, thinking he was going to die.

And, this really screwed with him.

Medical discharge from the Scouts.

He bacame a alchoholic, hitting the bars, wasting through life (his time as a Rogue).

And, a buddy saw him. Got him cleaned up, and got his life turned around at age 32.

He's finally made something out of himself in the Army. He made Captain in a single term.

And now...I've got other plans for him. I'm not so sure he mustered out...

I'm going to have him now be the body guard for the Marquis. But, I'm also going to take the player aside and tell him that Army Intelligence came to him during his time in the Army.

You see, Tukera is trying to grap political control of Aramis. Army intel knows this, and they found a great opportunity to get a man on the inside.

This washed-up-but-got-his-shit-together-ex-scout-now-Army-Captain is actually still working for Army intel.

They had to muster him out to make it look real so that Tukera would buy it.

And, just the player and me are going to know this at first. I'm not going to tell the player who is playing the Marquis. He'll think that th ex-Army Captain is perfect as a body guard.

I like this intrigue.

We'll see where it goes.

 

[Supplement Four]

BTW, as far as character tags, the player has already told me he's going to play this guy as a recovering alky. He said he's going to 'get the shakes" when the players get next to a bar.

And, he will simply refuse to go EVA--won't do it for anything shy of the ship exploding.

This is going to be a cool character.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Also a very good way to go, WJP.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by WJP:
You see, Tukera is trying to grap political control of Aramis.

WJP,

Errr... Tulera already has political control of Aramis.

TTA flatly states they married off one of the regional family to the current Marquis and now control him through her. Given the structure of the government on that world, Tukera controls Aramis because they control the Marquis. He does kick over the traces occassionally, there's mentions of him interceding in cases he's feels are 'unfair', but he's definitely in Tukera's pocket.

On another topic, after reading both this thread and the other one, I realized how many chargen 'tweaks' you employ. Because of that, I'm no longer 'amazed' at the 'odd' PCs you've generated. Weird chargens produce weird characters.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Errr... Tulera already has political control of Aramis.

TTA flatly states they married off one of the regional family to the current Marquis and now control him through her. Given the structure of the government on that world, Tukera controls Aramis because they control the Marquis.

It doesn't actually say that--it kind of implies that.

I read it (sorta) like you did, though.

Aramis is the fief of House Bolden.

Tukera is moving into the subsector with their Akerut shipping co. And, they already own the Natoko and Lewis systems.

And, Leonard Bolden is married to Dame Arianne Tukera.

So...

It is certainly inferred that Tukera has either taken over or is in the process of taking over Aramis.

Since Aramis is still the Imperial fief of Leonard Bolden, and not Lady Arianne, I'm going with the idea that Tukera is in the process of wresting control of Aramis.

Their biggest ace-in-the-hole is Lady Arianne, who is (in my game) acting like Lady MacBeth. And, Leonard Bolden isn't making it too hard for her to do so.

But, they still need someone "of blood" to take official control. Lady Arianne, being a "Dame", doesn't have the status.

Enter our new NPC. Who is now a Marquis. He's got the "blood" to take over.

That's the next step for Tukera.

But, what the player won't know, is that Lady Arianne wants it for herself. Aran Ashkashkur, the Vemene head, has his own asperations. And, the Bolden's (it's got to be a bigger family than just Leonard by himself) aren't about to loose the fief to the Tukeras if they can help it--I mean it's been under the control of House Bolden since Aramis was made a fief hundreds of years ago.

That kind of set-up will give me lots of political intrigue for this new noble character to content with.

Since Leonard Bolden is such a fop, our Marquis PC is basically (along with Lady Arianne) running the planet and subsector from behind the curtain just like the great and powerful OZ.

Besides all this fuedal-family conflict, our Marquis has some other troubles to worry about as well--the affairs of state.

1) Trade with the Vargr coreward. There is an initiative to install Vargr Trading stations along the Imperial frontier, and the Aramis subsector has established its share.

2) There's the xeno-phobia that some worlds in subsector have against the Vargr (from the previous Frontier Wars). This is something out Marquis will have to consider.

3) There is a large amount of saber-rattling going on now between the Zhodani Consulate and the Imperium. The Aramis subsector is right in the middle of it.

4) Sternmetal, a rival megacorp, is trying to take control of Aramanx. Our Marquis is concerned with this--he needs to stop it, not only from the persepective of the subsector, but from the perspective of House Tukera.

5) Two Type-J Meson guns are missing! From Aramis! This is like two nukes missing today. It's an issue. A big issue.


....so, I've got lots, now that I've put my head to it, to get the Marquis all wrapped up in political intrigue and danger.


I'm going to start the game with the Marquis chartering the uber-62-year-old's ship. It will be a month-and-a-half journey, Aramis-to-Aramanx.

And, during that journey, the Marquis' rivals will pick it as the most opportune time to attempt an assassination....

...is it the jealous half-cousin, the Lady Arianne Tukera who wants complete political control of Aramis (who won't get that if the Marquis comes to power?).

...is it Ash Ashkashur, the Vemene head, who is trying to ensure that his taking of the Meson Guns is not discovered? And, maybe he wants some more power himself?

...is it House Bolden? Trying to ensure that the Imperial fief remains in the custody of House Bolden?

There's a lot of intrigue here.

And the commoners...the other characters on the ship...will be caught in the middle.

I'm going to play this a lot like the way I would if the Marquis were an NPC, except this NPC is going to be a PC (one who does not yet know the characters on the tramp freighter).

It's the best idea I could come up with given the characters that have been generated.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
On another topic, after reading both this thread and the other one, I realized how many chargen 'tweaks' you employ. Because of that, I'm no longer 'amazed' at the 'odd' PCs you've generated. Weird chargens produce weird characters.

I don't really employ too many chargen tweaks. A few, but not many.

1) Stats are a straight 2D roll, just like official CT. No "arrange to taste", and no "3D take the best two". They are straight, single throw, 2D rolls.

2) I do allow the MT rule of Special Duty (for a skill) and getting an extra skill if 4+ over the target number is rolled on Special Duty, Commission, or Promotion. This rule does wonders for balancing CT basic chargen and CT advance chargen.

3) I just started using a rule for INT+EDU. I allow more skills than this total, but getting them (when a character has more skills than the total) is 2+ harder. (I wasn't using this rule with I rolled up the uber-62 year old).

4) If a survival throw is failed, I use the MWM table from T5 to see if a stat is injured and how much of recovered. Civilian careers require two failures to actually get injured.

5) And, I allow a character to move on with chargen in another career after a failed survival throw, but enlistment is 2+ harder for the second career, 3+ harder for the third, 4+ harder for the fourth, etc (another MWM rule taken from T5).

6) And, finally, I allow extra skills for characters when a throw on the aging table is required--simulating experience and wisdom of old age. The throw is the same as that for the stats on the aging table.


7) Since the creation of the uber-62 year old, I am now using a rule that makes re-enlistment harder starting at Term 8 (8+ renlistment; 9+ on Term 9, 10+ on Term 10, 11+ on Term 11, etc.).

And, these are cumulative for the character--not career.

===================================

Yes, I've engineered CT chargen so that more skills are possible. I've always felt that CT was a bit "skills lite".


But, you say you're not as impressed with the uber-62 year old.

Well, consider this (and forget about any skill levels).

(A) He made all those survival throws without any type of bonus or DM. He made them straight, as written in the game.

...and...

(B) More impressive still, he made all those aging table throws--24 FREAKIN' THROWS! And, he made those straight, without any type of bonus or DM. He threw them straight, and missed only a couple.

For example, the player who created the uber-62 year old threw 8 aging checks against his STR.

---> There were 4 checks at 8+, and 4 checks at 9+

---> And the player made EVERY ONE of these throws.


I'm not kidding. The guy made all 8 STR checks.

It was truly incredible.

Then, he did the same for DEX (I think he missed one or two of the DEX throws...I just remember his STR never went down).

Then, he did the same for END (and I think he missed only one of these throws.).


So, the guy threw 24 checks, the easiest being 7+, and he missed only three of the rolls.

No matter what the character ended up with in the skill department, THAT is pretty amazing in my book.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
On another topic, after reading both this thread and the other one, I realized how many chargen 'tweaks' you employ. Because of that, I'm no longer 'amazed' at the 'odd' PCs you've generated. Weird chargens produce weird characters.

BTW, there was nothing "odd" about the Marquis.

I always make my players throw SOC first, to understand the background their characters grew up in.

This player threw a single 2D throw and rolled boxcars.

Then, during his four terms as a noble, he one made the 11+ roll for promotion, which upped his rank to that of Marquis.

That part was all straight CT. Nothing "tweaked" on my end.

He got his "promotion" on his third term.