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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ChrisM" data-source="post: 73496" data-attributes="member: 3168">I think one thing needs to happen for D&D PCs to be "properly" deferential to their superiors: the DM needs to inform them that this strict caste system exists. The problem here is that standard three-book D&D is so far removed from actual medieval society that you can't assume anything is going to map directly. It seems to me, for instance, that women are going to be treated much better, spellcasting is going to be more acceptable rather than being a tool of the Devil, and quality health care (in the form of magic) is going to be more available, at least to those with money. It's hard for me to look at the picture of Nebbin or Krusk in the PHB and say "These two guys are going to react exactly the same to the presence of a baron as a medieval serf would."Which is NOT to say that it's WRONG to have a strict caste system, only that it's unreasonable to assume that five people sitting around a table after reading the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual will have the exact same view of what the society depicted will be like, especially since not all of them will have a clear idea of what a real feudal system is like. If the DM wants the characters to bow and scrape when a noble wanders by, the DM needs to TELL them so.At the same time, however, I think I'd be a bit miffed if a DM told me that my character had to have a certain attitude towards nobility. Perhaps it's true that 99% of medieval serfs wouldn't think of talking back to a minor lord, but that same 99% would never consider learning to use sorcery (or should I say witchcraft), or running off to the woods and talking to trees, or God forbid fighting a dragon. To say that my character is a bold and noble adventurer but that he has to tow the line when it comes to societal attitudes would chap my hide, to use an Americanism.The solution, I think, is for the DM to make the consequences clear. If not bowing to the Baron is going to get you beset upon by a dozen guards and clapped in the stocks, say so. And then make it stick. That way I can play my character who resents nobility, and decide in-character whether getting clapped in chains is worth not bowing.So, to sum up. Not all DMs have the same attitude towards nobility, and not all campaigns have the same social landscape. As always, it's up to the DM to let people know what the game world is like.</blockquote>

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