D&D General If A Noble holds 1 title per country in 2 neighbouring countries what can he do if those countries go to war?, after all no matter what he lose's

[JMISBEST]

As I'm bored I've created 5th edition Dnd versions of my 2 favourite characters from my Code Lyoko Dreams that aren't in The Code Lyoko TV Show.. What do you think?

I'm using the version of character generation were you assign 1 each of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8 to their stats

I freely admit that these characters aren't decided to be much good in Dnd, rather their designed to be Dnd versions of Erin and Erina that are as similiar to their namesakes from my Code Lyoko Dreams as possible

The 2 are twins

Erin and he's The Brawn of their twosome

He's A Human Fighter with Str 15+1 or 16, Con 14+1 or 15, , Dex 13+1 or 14, Int 10+1 or 11, Wis 8+1 or 9 and Ch 12+1 or 13

His Alignment is Lawful Neutral

He starts with the maximum of 12Hp, His 2 Skills are Intimidation and Survival

The 2 Proficiencies he starts with are Platemail Armour and Heavy Crossbows

He starts with Chainmail Armour, Sword, Shield, Light Crossbow with 20 Bolts and Adventurers Pack

His Fighting Style is Protection

Being A Human he knows 3 languages and they are Goblins, Orcs and White Dragons

His Archtype is Folk Hero, in the original timeline Xanna enslaved humanity a few weeks before he and his sister were born and with him and his sister being the children of Jeremy and Aleita Belpois the 2 are seen as the last hopes of defeating Xanna, this gives him The Animal Handling and Survival Skill Proficiences, The Trade Tools -Weapon Repair and Vehicles Land -Proficiencies and has him start with A set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a shovel, an iron pot, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

His defining moment is I stood alone against a terrible monster, with Xanna being A Insane A:I it makes sense

His personality trait is If someone is in trouble, I’m always ready to lend help

With his dream of destroying The Insane A;I Xanna and freeing humanity from the slavery they suffer under Xanna's rule The Ideal Deatiny nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling makes sensee

Fitting in with his Ideal having The Bond I will protect those who cannot protect themselves makes sense

Given his life long dream of destroying Xanna and freeing humanity from the slavery the suffer under Xanna's rule The flaw The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed makes sense


Erina is The Brains of their twosome

She's A Human Cleric with Str 10+1 or 11, Con 12+1 or 13, Dex 8+1 or 9, Int 13+1 or 14, Wis 15+1 or 16 and Ch 14+1 or 15

Her Alignment is Lawful Neutral

Starts with the maximum of 9Hp. Her 2 Skills and Medicine and Persuasion

The 2 proficiencies she starts with are Medium Armour and Simple Weapons

The 3 Cantrips she starts with are Mending, Resistance and Spare The Dying

She starts with Mace, suit of Chainmail(counts as Medium Armour), Light Crossbow with 20 Bolts, Explorers Pack, Shield and Holy Symbol

Her background is Acolyte which gives her Skill proficiencies in Insight and Religion, gives her the languages of Copper Dragons and Orcs and gives her A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp

Her divine domain is life

Like all human Clerics she knows 3 languages and hers are Hill Giant, Lizardmen and Silver Dragons

Her personality trait is I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace

Her ideal is Charity. | always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good)

To represent the fact that in the dream in the original timeline Xanna enslaved humanity a few weeks before she and her brother were both and killed her and her brothers parents when they were only 40 days old her Bond is I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my parents died

In the original timeline a lot of people worked for Xanna and would have willing killed her and her brother simply for who their parents were her flaw is I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them.

 

[Lanefan]

I've had A unlikely but plausible Idea for Dungeons and Dragons that will never get used but I want to know what people think would happen

So A Noble holds 1 title per country in 2 neighbouring countries and those 2 countries go to war, what does he do?

If I'm playing that character? He leaves orders that his troops and levees are to do nothing other than defend his own holdings, and goes on a long journey elsewhere until the war is over. On returning, he renounces the title that came from the losing side.

The main reason I'm asking is because no matter what he does he will end up betraying at least 1 of the kings that he has sworn allegiance to

If he's seen to be "betraying" both equally, he's probably OK in the end.

 

[Starfox]

What if A Noble has titles in 3 countries and the 3 countries end up in a 3 way war

True 3-way wars are extremely rare. What does happen is that when two countries are at war, a third party starts raiding the rear territories of one of them, without being allied with the other. In many of Austria's wars, their nominal vassals in Transylvania would threaten raids and either start actual raids or be paid off diplomatically with gold or stronger rights. The continued doing this for centuries with only minor consequences. Austria and later Austria-Hungary was a complex mix of peoples and feudal interests, that may be why this was possible.

 

[greg kaye]

From OP:

... So A Noble holds 1 title per country in 2 neighbouring countries and those 2 countries go to war,...

RAW, that won't apply to a 5e character with the Noble background.

Noble​

You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. You might be a pampered aristocrat unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a former merchant just elevated to the nobility, or a disinherited scoundrel with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. Or you could be an honest, hard-working landowner who cares deeply about the people who live and work on your land, keenly aware of your responsibility to them. ...

RAW, only vuman/cust. lineage characters can start noble and, in any case, feats can't be taken more than once unless they explicitly say so.

 

[pukunui]

From OP:

RAW, that won't apply to a 5e character with the Noble background.

RAW, only vuman/cust. lineage characters can start noble and, in any case, feats can't be taken more than once unless they explicitly say so.

FYI: The OP doesn't play 5e.

 

[JMISBEST]

I think all 4 are very risky - sometimes there just is no safe choice. It is a bit like the prisoner's dilemma, actually.

1 is pretty safe. Whoever wins will punish you, but not severely. Guaranteed loss, but small loss. I would recommend playing dumb. Perhaps pretend to be ill or go on a pilgrimage. I actually think this is the safest option of all, but could cost some reputation.

2 is much like 1 but with a wider spread of risk: whoever wins this can lead to a variable outcome.

3 is the calculated risk. If your side wins, great. If it looses, bad. Just pick the right side. Also the most "manly" option, likely to be most common and seen as most honorable. I speculate that this was part of the reason royal power slowly increased over time - by absorbing the land of such "traitors".

4 Is much like 1, but appropriate to another style of noble. Costlier (peacemaking involves feasting and gifts) but perhaps even safer.

Kings in this period were more first among equals. This means that they may have no means of punishing a powerful baron, making 1 and 4 safe for a powerful noble.

You said pretend to be ill or go on a pilgrimage but then something occurred to me. What do you think of my idea?

My idea is that he could do both. Meaning pretend to be ill then say that he's going on a pilgrimage in the hope that whilst on the pilgrimage he will find a way to cut himself

 

[haakon1]

I've had A unlikely but plausible Idea for Dungeons and Dragons that will never get used but I want to know what people think would happen

So A Noble holds 1 title per country in 2 neighbouring countries and those 2 countries go to war, what does he do?

The main reason I'm asking is because no matter what he does he will end up betraying at least 1 of the kings that he has sworn allegiance to

I love your question. Gygax would have loved this topic, close to D&D’s wargaming roots.

My first thought is this happened historically in France. The Kings of England had territory in France - Normandy and Aquitaine. Also the Holy Roman Empire, the Low Countries, and Burgundy got complicated and intermixed, through acquiring fiefs by marriage and inheritance.

Though in a case like Norman lords in France, you could technically have territory in both England and France, but be truly loyal to just England.

 

[haakon1]

PS in the game The 4th country in the war is referred to as Dutch and if I'm right that's what it was called in the time period the games set in but in modern times its called Holland

Dutch is the main language and ethnicity of the Netherlands, and used as an adjective for “of the Netherlands“.

Holland is a province of the Netherlands.

It’s bit like how England is a country within the UK. (And English is the main language and ethnicity.)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

RAW, only vuman/cust. lineage characters can start noble and, in any case, feats can't be taken more than once unless they explicitly say so.

Eh? I don't see anything in 5e rules that prevents any character selecting the noble background.

 

[haakon1]

Eh? I don't see anything in 5e rules that prevents any character selecting the noble background.

Also, there’s more than one version of the game.

And Rule Zero is for every game, imho.