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Old 03-10-2009, 10:59 AM   #1
Orion Deckrect
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Default Family Ties

Ok. I have a few problems about be sure about how treat family ties on making some important NPCs here.

Things like: Should a wife or a son have the same wealth level as his parent if none of them have a separate income? Should the wife of a nobleman with no children buy the heir advantage? If this wife is just a court maid or the wife of a ruler, her husband is her patron or her ally? Sometimes i get confuse.

In a general way, i am treating any person who dont have a separate income to have a family member who supports them as having a Patron. If it involves titles and possessions, i also include heir.
When the family members are apart and the son or wife have a job and dont have constant contact with what would be a Patron, i do buy their separate wealth and buy the powerfull family member as an ally. In some cases, i just buy the entire family as an ally group.

How wrong could i be?
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Old 03-10-2009, 11:05 AM   #2
SuedodeuS
 
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Default Re: Family Ties

Sounds about right. Now, keep in mind that a lot of the time a noble woman will have things that are, for all purposes, hers - even if they were given to her by her husband. You might want to give them a Wealth level that represents this. They also frequently have spending money given to them by their husbands - this would probably be counted as Independent Income.
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Old 03-10-2009, 11:07 AM   #3
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Default Re: Family Ties

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orion Deckrect
Things like: Should a wife or a son have the same wealth level as his parent if none of them have a separate income?
If he has his own money, then it's Wealth. If it's his parent's money, and he has to go through them to get it, it's Patron.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orion Deckrect
Should the wife of a nobleman with no children buy the heir advantage?
The real question here is, do you want her to be the heir? If she is the heir to the fortune, then yes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orion Deckrect
If this wife is just a court maid or the wife of a ruler, her husband is her patron or her ally? Sometimes i get confuse.
Another question: What do you want the husband to do? If you want him to provide resources, he's a Patron. If you want him to show up in person and fight (or otherwise), then he's an ally. He might be both.
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Old 03-10-2009, 11:24 AM   #4
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Default Re: Family Ties

Quote:
Originally Posted by tanniynim
The real question here is, do you want her to be the heir? If she is the heir to the fortune, then yes.
And indeed, does your milieu allow her to inherit? Some societies (eg. medieval welsh) didn't allow women to hold land, others (eg. medieval Anglo-Norman) allowed her to retain her dower property in her own right and administer and transmit, but not hold, her husband's estate. I *think* the medieval Scandinavians allowed a woman to be a full heir to her husband, but I'm not sure.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tanniynim
Another question: What do you want the husband to do? If you want him to provide resources, he's a Patron. If you want him to show up in person and fight (or otherwise), then he's an ally. He might be both.
I forget ... is the provision of force a possible function of a patron or not? It would seem sensible if it were...
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Old 03-10-2009, 11:32 AM   #5
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Default Re: Family Ties

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Colonel
I forget ... is the provision of force a possible function of a patron or not? It would seem sensible if it were...
I think a Patron can send force to help you (such as the I-Cops landing a strike team to break you out of a Nazi jail) but an Ally can fight directly on your behalf, as if she were a PC herself.

This is assuming a combat-oriented Ally, of course.
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Old 03-10-2009, 12:05 PM   #6
Orion Deckrect
 
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Default Re: Family Ties

Ok, people...thank you. it seems i am going on the right direction, but is very very good may discuss it with someone not involved with the campaing in question. When i started to think about it, i was thinking about a fantasy noble woman, but if i may find a general way to deal with it, better.
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Old 03-10-2009, 12:18 PM   #7
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Default Re: Family Ties

I would usually treat a family member (or other person) who gives you money to live on as a 'job' with a wealth level dependent on the amount of resources you effectively control, regardless of whether you are legally able to hold property in your own name (which I would consider to be part of the appropriate social stigma). This person would probably also count as one or more of the following: Ally, Patron, Contact, Dependent or Duty.

For example, a medieval noblewoman with a bed-ridden husband could have control over all his estates and be Filthy Rich with a Dependent. The same woman with a healthy but miserly husband might have less control over the household finances (say, Wealthy) but her husband might count as an Ally. A slave might not legally be able to own property, but would probably have an effective wealth level of at least poor or struggling to represent the resources he controls, along with a Duty.
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Old 03-10-2009, 12:29 PM   #8
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Default Re: Family Ties

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orion Deckrect
Ok. I have a few problems about be sure about how treat family ties on making some important NPCs here.
This, to me, is the important line. They're NPCs. They don't have points, advantages, or disadvantages; they do what you like so long as it's consistent with the characterization.
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Old 03-10-2009, 01:33 PM   #9
Orion Deckrect
 
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Default Re: Family Ties

Well, Harald... i have been inclined to think this way these days, but while i dont decide it, i still treating many of my important NPCs just as a Player Character. In fact, i do have many and many complete character record sheets for them, specially because my fantasy campaing is not focused on magic, power or fights, but in day by day life.
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Old 03-10-2009, 02:10 PM   #10
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Default Re: Family Ties

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orion Deckrect
Well, Harald... i have been inclined to think this way these days, but while i dont decide it, i still treating many of my important NPCs just as a Player Character. In fact, i do have many and many complete character record sheets for them, specially because my fantasy campaing is not focused on magic, power or fights, but in day by day life.
The focus of the campaign isn't really the issue. I've done campaigns that focus almost entirely on roleplaying and social interaction; the NPCs still don't need complete record sheets or point values. I'd rather spend my time on campaign planning and story work than working up stats for NPCs that are best summed up by saying (for instance) 'He's the only son of a wealthy landowner, and his parents give him mostly free rein with the family fortune. He has a weakness for gambling, and is desperate to conceal his large debts from his parents, lest they tie the purse strings closed and leave him hanging out to dry.'

I *could* model that with Wealth or Patron, Debt, Compulsive Gambler, Secret, etc - but he's not a PC, and he doesn't need those traits.
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