Social Stratification!

[L. Marcus]

Short question: How do you model different social levels in your fantasy campaign?

[Vondy]

Re: Social Stratification!

 

Originally posted by L. Marcus

Short question: How do you model different social levels in your fantasy campaign?

 

A combination of perks, money, and lands. Or, in some cases, feudal obligations as disadvatages.

 

My game is fairly realistic in terms of world organization, right down to the legal system, who can and can't bear chivalric arms, own maille or warhorses, and whatnot.

 

In the feudal world the distinction between common and gentle blood was critical. A noble could, for the most part, only be found guilty of crimes against the crown (rebellion, treason, and regicide). Other crimes wouldn't bear more than social consequences, or fines in most cases (though skimming tax money might count as treason...).

[Outsider]

I usually handle it through perks.

 

Perks related to Landholding Nobility :

 

1) High Justice - The right posessed by high level nobles to try and sentance for crimes that normally carry punishments involving death, maiming, or imprisonment/servitude potentially lasting longer than 1 month.

 

2) Low Justice - The right posessed by any noble landholder to try and sentance for crimes that normally carry punishments of a non-maiming corporal nature, or of imprisonment/servitude lasting 1 month or less.

 

3) Landholding nobles may (effectively) plead "no contest" and avoid trial (and possible punishment) by swearing to Holy Orders to one of the established & respected churches of the realm. Doing so, however, requires that said noble forfeit all lands and titles, and prohibits him for ever from recovering them, even should he honorably part from the church he has sworn to. If a noble enters church service under the cloud of an accusation, his service must last a length of time commensurate with the severity of the punishment that would have been given out had he been found guilty of the crime. Capital offenses require a lifetime's service. Maimings a length of time related to their seriousness, and imprisonment/servitude penalties an equal time of service to the church instead.

 

 

Perks related to Nobility in general :

 

4) Trial by Combat - Any noble, regardless of his relative rank or landholding status, may demand trial by combat. Normally, a previously designated retainer of the court acts on its behalf in such cases, and noble accused must fight for himself. Common exceptions to this pattern are that the court, if it is being presided over by the Landholder himself rather than a designee, may opt to appoint a different person to act on its behalf, and the accused is allowed to name a champion to fight in his stead when certain circumstances apply, such as any of the following :

___A) The accused is female.

___ The accused is of greater rank than his accuser.

___C) The accused is physically unfit for such a trial due to :

_______I) Advanced age.

_______II) Unfitness for combat (maimed, blind, etc)

_______III) Religious Prohibition (Pre-existing commitment only, must be reasonably proven)

 

 

5) Nobles may demand the right to pay a money penalty rather than suffer imprisonment or servitude. The money paid per month or year of service avoided is dictated by law. Commoners also have this option available, but cannot demand it. Rather, it must be offered by the judge.

 

6) (The big one) The full weight of the law only lies on Nobles if the crime they commit is against another Noble. If committed against a free commones, penalties are less severe, and if committed against a peasant, even less so. For example : A noble who kills another noble, with or without cause, -without following the proper forms- is guilty of murder. If he kills a free commoner without cause he is also guilty of murder, though if he does so with cause he need only pay a weregild. If he kills an unfree commoner (serf) without cause he only pays a small fine to the (former) commoner's master. If he kills one with cause, there is no penalty at all. Similar degradations in penalties manifest themselves in relation to many other crimes as well.

 

 

 

[austenandrews]

In my current game there's not a lot of stratification. Basically there's a small class of rich people and a large class of not-rich people. Money is the measure that divides them, but it's really a spectrum rather than discrete social classes. Some of the rich people have the title "lord," but the setting is a theocracy, so the perks of nobility are fairly few and the temple can strip a person's title at will.

 

When the PCs eventually get to other lands, they will encounter more feudal and clan-based societies. But they are starting out in a relatively idyllic, homogenous and isolated country.

 

-AA

[BNakagawa]

You can model it however you want. However, in practice it's a little difficult to get players to act accordingly.

 

(Unless there is a marked difference in character effectiveness) It's very easy to effect such stratification where the game mechanics mimic it. Toss a bunch of D&D characters of wildly varying level and see if you don't see a pecking order develop, regardless of what the social order might proscribe.

 

Good players will be better able to wrap their heads around unusual social structures. Players with experience operating within highly stratified social structures (like oh, say the military) will also be better able to play within such environs.

 

In general, the typical adventuring culture is one of black sheep and rule-breakers. Breaking societal rules in order to get things done is one of the staples of adventuring culture, so it makes imposing such limits on characters a bit of a challenge. Especially, I think, to americans. I think english, most europeans and many other cultures would have an easier time of functioning within an environment of highly defined social strata.

 

$0.02

[Outsider]

All the rules get looser on the marches. It tends to keep the characters out there and adventuring, instead of sitting in the civilized areas manipulating commodities markets, and such.

[L. Marcus]

I just had some loose thoughts about the influence of clothes.

 

Clothes and accessories are really important in relating the wealth and, hence, the political power of the wearer. Just some loose rules: Middle class clothes do nothing, but finer garb give bonuses to your PRE rolls and attacks (bought through an OIF, if you like). Say that a rich merchant or a low-ranking noble (say, a knight or a local lord) have clothes that gives him a +1/+1d6; a high-ranking noble (a duke or a count) would wear clothes worth +2/2d6, and kings and emperors would wear stuff worth +3/+3d6.

 

This way, a peasant who has never seen the Earl, wouldn't have to recognize him for who he is, just that this is a man for whom I'd better kneal . . .

[keithcurtis]

I agree that it is difficult to get players to play out social class differences. No one likes bigots or snobs in our society, and a lot of medieval attitudes towards class, sex and race are repulsive to modern people. I have found that players tend to have very modern ideas about slavery and the under-priveleged.

It works the opposite way too. How many people have seen the fighter in a D&D world say something like, "I kneel before no man," to a King. Then they get upset when said king orders them to be taken to the dungeon.

Or they try and argue with city guards. Policing forces in ancient times were to be feared. They weren't there to help you out: they were there to keep the king's order.

 

But this is digressing. I use perks, and a hefty amount of descriptive text regarding the position of folks in society.

 

Keith "Kneels before kings to avoid dungeons" Curtis

[Storn]

Good thread.

 

My players are aware of class, because I make sure that NPCs respond to class structures.

 

One PC was common born ( Gifted with Sight), but raised unexpectantly to Duke... but that was on the frontier and bold action by the Queen of the country was needed at the time. He slowly learned how to deal with being a leader and wearing the office.

 

But generally, the PCs ARE the elite, or if not that, the beginnings of a middle class. Or they are outside of most societies. Much of my campaign revolves around the elves, who are quite strong in this world... they are not fading away, ala Tolkien. The elves are quite class concious, but struggle with how to deal with the younger races. And right now, an elven PC is really campaigning for younger race inclusion in a new rebuilt Kingdom.

 

One NPC was born a slave, but pulled a sucessful bid for Emporer. HIs story drives much of the story in the Southern continent. Being an ex slave, he abolished slavery, ruining his considerable Empire's economy and societal structures. PCs were witness to a revolt that almost overthrew him... but he manage to hang on. Meeting the Emporer was done with great respect by the PCs, so I have no complaints. Is that a romantic view on how to deal with class? Yeah, perhaps... but it is my fantasy.

 

But this game is very much in the throes of a Reneissance/Age of Enlightment type social change. These questions of race and society are being discussed and challenged for perhaps the first time in this world. So if modern ideas of equality and democracy sneak in... to me, its the perfect time for that to happen.

[SleepyDrug]

D-Man....do you have a website we could check your system out at?

 

Outsider....nice