D&D General General or Lord?

[Crimson Longinus]

@Morrus haha, good catch! And there are 'Lord Admirals' too. But these are separate ranks and not merely the result of one person being both a lord and a general/admiral.

 

[jgsugden]

Well, my dwarven barbarian that hates royals and armies would likely address him as "500 XP".

If you're not sure, the players are unlikely to be sure. To that end, I'd go with Lord General because it sounds impressive and conveys the most information.

I'll also note that when I, as a DM, do not know how to properly do something, I ask myself if that is an opportunity. Here, if the guy is somewhat of a tool, I'd make sure someone called him "Lord Easley" and then have him correct them with a sneering "That is Lord GENERAL Easly, you dolt!" Him being rude to someone over something the players and their PCs do not know would be a good way to convey a lot of information about the NPC. You could even up the stakes a bit and have the 'dolt' be new to the service and ask one of the PCs "what is the proper way to address an Earl that is a general?", giving the PCs personal involvement in the affront.

 

[NotAYakk]

General Lord is, in the other hand, not right.

English is wierd.

 

[Laurefindel]

I am designing an NPC who is an army General and also an Earl. He is back home from the wars but it is still wartime.

How would one address this man in the real world? Which title do you think fits best?

Lord
General
Lord General
Other

Thoughts? Ta.

Depending on how feudal your setting is, he could be simply addressed as "my lord" pretty much by everyone except for his lieges or peers who would address him as "lord [name]".

His title would be General [name], Earl of [place].
He'd be introduced as "his lordship [name], Earl of [place], general of [army/legion or king/emperor/liege].
People would casually refer to him as Earl [name], or less casually as the Earl of [place].

 

[Shiroiken]

I think in it would really depend on the situation. When announced or introduced, he would probably be addressed as His Lord Courtesy <Name> of <Earldom>, General of the <unit> armies. When spoken to normally, I think Lord General would be acceptable, incorporating both positions. In a political environment, Lord would be the most common, while out in the field he would just be referred to as General by the troops (most high officers were nobles anyway).

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Well you could always make him the Earl Marshal, which is actually a different thing, but gets the idea across pretty succinctly and would not uncommonly be someone who was both an Earl and a General.

 

[aco175]

I think it depends on who is addressing him and the situation. I deal with the president of the college I work at and sometimes use President So and So, or Dr. So and So in meetings or gatherings, while in their office with just us it is their first name. I would say soldiers and other military would always use General while other nobles would use Lord. Commoners may go with both depending on the matter discussed.

 

[Charlaquin]

Probably depends on context.

 

[Enrico Poli1]

I am designing an NPC who is an army General and also an Earl. He is back home from the wars but it is still wartime.

How would one address this man in the real world? Which title do you think fits best?

Lord
General
Lord General
Other

Thoughts? Ta.

They're two different functions, one militar, the other political. (No "Lord General")
One can be a teacher and a father; his students call him teacher, his son call him dad