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Originally Posted by ericthered
You've got something of a point, but you're also conflating the baron with his knights, and in some ways with his staff.
The Baron needs to fight with his knights, but he also needs to be a political leader. Of course, he has his wife and steward to help manage the estate at home, he has a herald for when he really needs heraldry, and he can get someone to write something for him. A really effective Baron will be more of a brainy character.
The unlanded knight can focus more on combat, and that Wealth really helps make him a more effective warrior.
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That's a good point but even the unlanded knight would require at least Status 2 and Comfortable Wealth, 20 points that a non-noble could have spent on ST, DX, HT, Combat Reflexes, Enhanced Defenses... Also a knight would need to be Very Wealthy (30 points) to afford the basic equipment to look like one (warhorse and armor) and its worth is questionable.
The warhorse and Lance skill becomes useless anywhere beside open flat lands, and the poorer yet more skilled fighter can easily get over the knight's defenses through deceptive attacks or feints. The armor would only delay the inevitable, even plate armor is often not enough to fully stop a swung axe or sword.
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Originally Posted by Crystalline_Entity
I'd say a knight needed to be leveraging their social status and wealth here.
For example, for status they may be the only person in the party allowed to wear a sword in town, or allowed to bring a weapon into the presence of the king - so when the adventurers are invited to a royal ball after slaying the dragon, only the knight will actually have a weapon when assassins strike.
Wealth could potentially enable the character to short-cut many problems by throwing money at it, but if it's costing points, the player should get some utility from it. Hire lots of people - wealthy people historically had lots of hangers on and servants. These might be Allies, but could just be hirelings paid with money.
Need a particular spell the party wizard doesn't know? Use your status to browbeat the Wizard's Guild into letting your hire their specialist to teach him. Sick of riding a horse and foraging for rations? Buy a carriage to travel in, a groom to drive it, and hire servants to cook the most sumptuous meals every night. Need somewhere to stay? Rather than stay in the flea-ridden bed at the inn, go and visit your third cousin once-removed who is lord of the local manor who will be more than happy to have you to stay for the night in luxury.
For that matter, the knight could bankroll the whole party, which should give them some power over the party's decisions.
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Regarding Status, would the GM even come up with assassin attacks if the knight PC didn't exist? Even if they did, the rogue-ish characters could pull a hidden dagger or pick a steak knife, similarly other fighters can improvise weapons and it's bound to have some guards (dead or alive) they could borrow a weapon from. Mage characters doesn't even need a weapon to begin with...
About Wealth, I see that as a problem, actually. If the character has enough money to throw at problems, they might as well be an NPC hiring the PCs as a solution for their problem. Edit: The cousin part sounds more like Claim to Hospitality than Wealth, no?