Honor and Social Status

[trilobite]

I am planning on running a campaign in which honor and social standing is very important part of everyday life. Has anyone else run a game using the honor rules from Unearthed Arcana? How did it work? I am torn between using a mechanical honor system (using a honor score and the like) and more free-form system (no game mechanics but more of a roleplay tool). Also I want to keep track of the player character's social status in the society. Any suggestions?

 

[frankthedm]

I am planning on running a campaign in which honor and social standing is very important part of everyday life. Has anyone else run a game using the honor rules from Unearthed Arcana? How did it work? I am torn between using a mechanical honor system (using a honor score and the like) and more free-form system (no game mechanics but more of a roleplay tool). Also I want to keep track of the player character's social status in the society. Any suggestions?

Player social status can be positivly and more often negative by the jobs thay take. Performing errands can be helpful if done for those OUTSIDE [but in favor of] the social circles they want to impress, Like characters going on a Crusade for a church, but just taking odd jobs [especially for those you want to impress] will drop thier standing like a rock in a lake. After all, if you work for someone, they will not likley consider you an equal. They may think of you as a valued employee[and one does not associate with the help] or more likely, a very dangerous, armed to the teeth & magic addicted attack dog pack that has to be fed gold by the pound.

 

[adwyn]

For my new OA/Al Qadim campaign I'm using a social standing system that works like a normal ability with the normal modifiers and is used in addition to the charisma modifier whenever both PC and NPC are from the same culture. It has worked well. It isn't original, and I no longer remember if this is the UA system or not.

 

[Silveras]

Social status is a fine tool if the PCs are generally about the same status. If one is of greater standing than another, however, there can be problems. High status people lose "points" for hanging around with lower-status people (in some societies).

You may want to look at Oriental Adventures and its discussion of castes. Castes are, in essence, rigid social status definitions.

Other considerations:

1) Make sure your players understand what their social status means. If the low-born are not supposed to look up in the presence of the nobility, that applies to the character no matter what his/her level is. A 10th level low-born Fighter is still "dirt" to a 1st level noble Aristocrat, and had best not speak until spoken to, etc. (Lawful societies & characters are more picky about this than Chaotic ones are.)

2) Design your adventures to keep in mind the social status of the characters. Some jobs will be ones they should refuse because they are tasks for those "beneath them". Other tasks might actually help their social standing.

Perhaps, instead of social class, you should consider the Reputation variant from Unearthed Arcana. That still allow the characters to "grow" in the esteem of others without the sometimes-awkward interactions that social classes can bring.