Rules for Rulers? (fantasy)

[Serienna]

Our very long campaign has shifted gears and we are going to give rulership roleplaying a try. Party members have been granted title and lands which we're going to assume control of rather than the usual face this elder horror in that forsaken plane adventuring.

My character for example has been raised to the title of marquess and the newly minted marchioness must now assume control over her fief (which is penniless I'm sure). Since this phase of the campaign is in the design stage I'm coming here to ask the scholars of this board what generally are the rights, privileges, and duties of nobility?
In addition, are there any established rules systems for handling a fief?
I am only familiar with Birthright (2e) which we are considering importing but it seems a tad restrictive.

I "know" nobility is granted a fief and some of its incomes (how is that income really generated, is it all from taxes?) in exchange for an oath of service to their sovereign. They are to provide military support and counsel upon request. They may be exempt from taxes because of their military maintenance.
However, what legal benefits are created by the status? I'm trying to understand the actual legal mechanics of a title of nobility. Did the manner in which nobles dispense justice over their lands mirror the way the sovereign did so from his court?

 

[Yabanjin]

The legal rights of nobility depends upon the feudal system in use. Each region of Europe had its own system; the English system is distinct from the French system, which differs from the German system, which is wholly unlike the Russian system. Feudal rights were pretty complex, so I'll paint in broad strokes here.

At a basic level the Feudal system was a means of rewarding those who performed services for a monarch. The monarch was sovereign, meaning that he had absolute ownership over his lands. It was difficult at the time for a monarch to administer such a large area of land, so he rewarded loyal subjects with control over some aspect of the kingdom's administration. Those subjects would swear an oath of fealty, to "love all that [he] loves and to hate all that [he] hates". The control bestowed was called a "fief", and although the most commonly recorded fief was a parcel of land, other fiefs were possible, such as the right to collect taxes, or to operate a mill. These subjects could thereafter subdivide their own fiefs to their subjects, in a process called subinfeudation. In exchange, the subject swore to aid the monarch militarily, and was usually required to keep a certain number of knights on retainer.

The English system required all subjects to remain loyal to the English monarchy, no matter their level along the feudal hierarchy, but this was by no means universal. French feudalism required only fealty to one's direct lord, so a Marquis may not have any particular duties to the king. This resulted in a fair bit of instability, and is a large reason why the current French state is so centrally controlled. Put another way, the English king remained sovereign over the entirety of England, whereas the French king was sovereign over the rulers of that territory. These differences directly caused the Hundred Years' War, so it's not just a fiddly little point of history, and I recommend you discuss the system with your DM.

As a marquess, I imagine you'll be using the British peerage system, and that you'll be inferior to a duke, who in turn will be inferior to the king. Therefore you should ask your DM what oath you swore to the duke, and what obligations you have. These would be very specific, and you and your duke would both have those obligations in writing. It's likely that you also have a number of earls inferior to you, who in turn have a number of viscounts, who in turn have a number of barons. Determine with your DM what obligations your earls have to you, how many there are, and so forth. At the least, you would be obliged to keep a sizeable militia and retinue of knights trained and at the ready to come to your duke's service, and your earls would be obliged to serve you in the event of war.

Probably you collect taxes from your fief--after all, that's how you pay your knights. Tax collectors were a for-profit service, and incidentally, many historians believe the entire system sprung up from the Roman system of dividing parts of the empire into taxable regions. It's likely that you collect your taxes from your earls, rather than sending out your own tax collectors. Tax collectors were notoriously brutal and corrupt, often taking up to 30% extra from the peasantry to enrich themselves. Generally a lord would have a set amount that he'd ask his tax collectors to collect, and leave the methods to their discretion.

As a marquess, I doubt you'd hear many legal disputes from common folk. Most likely you would be responsible for settling disputes between your earls, and they might ask your advice on legal disputes regarding their subjects.

Doubtless other posters familiar with feudal systems will find large holes in the above, because it's painted in very, very broad strokes, but I hope that gives you enough to consider. My expertise is deeper in the early modern period, when feudalism was giving way to a powerful merchant class, but if you have other questions on the subject, I love to geek out about historical economic systems.

 

[Serienna]

Thanks for the helpful information. This with my further research was very helpful. Are there any good rule sets or sources out there for rulership campaigns out there?

 

[Michael Silverbane]

You could check out Birthright to see if their take on rulers and rulership in rpgs is what you're looking for.

 

[Kaltos]

You may want to check out Green Ronins A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying which is based upon George RR Martins world of Westeros and his books.

They have a system for running a noble house which can be quite a small house or a very large house which would be similar to a high end nobles estate.

I have it and find it pretty interesting although i have never actually used it for a game yet.

Goodluck in your hunt.

 

[Thanael]

Paizo's new Kingmaker AP might feature such rules...

 

[Treebore]

Paizo's new Kingmaker AP might feature such rules...

Yes.

Plus if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of figuring out exactly how much the lands generate in an economy with D&D assumptions get Magical Medievel Society: Western Europe and Silk Road, they also contain info that should lead to tons of adventure ideas.

 

[Sigurd]

Before you can do anything of course you have to determine what rights you're given as a noble.

It is unlikely that you 'own' your land as you are still the loyal supporter of a monarch. You may however own or control some of it outright that is a rare but expedient occurrence.

You may be responsible for managing a percentage of the lands in your control for the Crown. This may create a variable or fixed obligation on your part to surrender monies to the crown. One figure that is talked about is a third - one third is managed and all benefits go to the crown, one third is allowed to those beneath you to survive and draw their own wealth, and the final third is your own to enrich yourself and manage your own affairs.

Of course in reality these lines are blurred. You may find that your predecessors sold or borrowed against your third, depleting its wealth potential. You may find that you're title has debts tithes and obligations that hurt, even imperil your profitability. Note that it is very possible under these sorts of systems that the crown is much more wealthy than you, even within your own lands.

There are a few good supplements to read and the next Pathfinder Kingmaker looks good too. (They have posted the Players guide for the series but there isn't much in it.)


As wells as the new Paizo product and the previously mentioned, I can recommend several mostly under appreciated titles:

AEG - Empire
Atlas Games - Dynasties and Demagogues, Crime & Punishment, Love & War
Eden Studios - Fields of Blood Book of War - good kingdom management rules and war rules - its very cheap as a PDF
Mongoose - Strongholds & Dynasties
TSR\WOTC - Birthright - a fiefdom ruling game
Kelestia - Harn Manor - very feudal gritty non D20 game