Nobility

A note about canon: The TV series Firefly introduced us to two members of the nobility on Persephone: Sir Warwick Harrow and Atherton Wing. Not much was explained about how nobility fit into society. The two characters both acted rich and entitled, and seemed to hold some power. Some games which built out the Firefly Verse have expanded the idea of nobility along lines that match history, and placed nobles at the top of the social and political hierarchy.

For our game, we have decided to separate the idea of "those who are rich and powerful" (which we call the Elite) from the idea of nobility.

Here is our original concept for nobility:

By the time humanity left Earth-That-Was, there were no nations with active nobility. It had become a thing of the past. Tales of the old nobility survived as part of cultural history.

At some point in the 24th century, someone made a "discovery" that the leaders of the Exodus had largely been descendants of old noble bloodlines on Earth. Certain prominent Core-worlders were linked back to the leading citizens of the days on the Arks, and through them to a fully romanticized notion of Earth's old nobility. Others followed suit, and a cottage industry for tracing family lines back to nobility boomed. The initial discovery was hotly contested - some arguing that it was complete revisionism while others doggedly asserted its truth. As more and more people established a link back to the leaders on board the Arks, it became apparent that even with proof of such a link, there was no immediate change to ones fortunes. It was a nice bragging point, but wouldn't give you any sort of power or position that you didn't already have.

The public discussion and sentiment evolved over decades, eventually settling on the idea that if someone cared enough to trace their lineage back to the Ark leaders, and thus to Earth's nobles, they could go ahead and claim that bloodline… if they acted the part. The new nobles have enacted a rigorous vetting process to ensure that the lineage is adequately proven. Social rules have been re-established including forms of address and decorum, family crests, a system of medals to indicate honors (both past and contemporary) connected to the noble line, and the practice of duelling. Those claiming noble ancestry are expected to adopt this lifestyle. They can pass the privilege along to both male and female descendants, provided the etiquette continues to be followed. Most families in this new wave of nobility have embraced the idea and kept it alive. Occasionally a noble line will end, if there are no heirs or if the heirs no longer care to act the part. Additional nobles are still discovered, as new links back to the Ark leaders are established.

Note: We are not using multiple noble ranks on the game… anyone wishing to play a Noble will be a Lord or Lady, addressed as Sir or Lady Whoever.

To establish a noble character you should:

  • Add the Quirk: Noble Blood
  • Add the Background Skill: Etiquette
  • Describe in your character's background, who among the Ark leadership they link to (you don't need to provide every step of the family tree, just the Ark leader)… and which line of Earth-That-Was nobles is further linked to. This can be nobility from any of our cultures or histories.
  • Also describe in your character's background, how this nobility affects and interrelates with the rest of their life. Do they gleefully embrace the entire notion of nobility, or reluctantly bear it out of a sense of family responsibility?
  • If your character has spurned the notion of being nobility, they could still have Noble Blood but not have to act the part, and thus not be seen by society as a Noble. This should still be described in their background.

Noble lines which have been established on our game include:

  • TBD
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License