Running royal courts?

[haakon1]

At the risk of getting a bit political, I can see an advantage in the system of inheritance - people who got their post more or less by chance might be less tied down in the system, more open-minded and perhaps even wiser. They might be willing to accept the advice and help of a bunch of outsiders like our typical heroes where a modern CEO would not.

I disagree, but I think we do risk getting into politics, so we should drop it soon.

I'll only say that many (by no means all) American leaders actually come from very well-do-families who are essentially nobility in all but name.
-- The Bush family -- old money and political power for at least 3 generations.
-- The Kennedy family
-- The Roosevelt family
-- Mitt Romney (dad was a millionaire and governor)
-- John McCain (son and grandson of admirals)
-- The old Congressman (Hamilton Fish) for my district in NY was part of a political dynasty that lasted from 1808 to 1996!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Fish_(disambiguation)

 

[Loincloth of Armour]

Lawful Neutral king and court. Very old-fashioned fantasy kingdom, a bit similar to late Portuguese or Spanish kingdoms (no colonialization periods).

The city has 12,100 inhabitants. Mostly in total chaos due to a powerful curse that has torn it apart for years.

The PCs are adventurers, nothing grandeur about them except they have saved the city of total destruction. Being an adventurer is a low position, even though very well paid.

The fact that the king agrees to see the PCs is unusual, but it pleases him to see the heroes, so it is done. They have the opportunity to have a word with the king and make some reasonable request.

If you have the time, it might be interesting to have the players introduced to the king for their great deeds, the king nods to them, then instructs Baron X to "Speak for the throne to those who have given us a great service." Then the king moves on to other matters.

Thus the king acknowledges the strengths and prowess of the characters, but is still insulated from the 'low position adventures' by a layer of nobility and the weight of protocol. This is a way to introduce other members of the court as either allies or enemies... if you have time to set up a 'playing the long game' kind of thing.

As the players do more things --get more famous, more recognized-- they move up the noble ranks --first a baron, then a marquis, then an earl, then a duke-- till they are allowed to interact with the king himself. If they make powerful enemies, they might be required to interact with a lower ranked noble again, until they 'defeat' their enemy in court. It could be an easy way to track their social advancement.



Something to remember about whether or not nobles are skilled/wastes of space: you may have gotten in on the power of your name, but politics is a cut-throat business. A noble at the Royal Court has been dealing with dirty tricks, backhanded insults, plots from family members, and outright power grabs for most of their lives.

Nepotism may have got them a job they're unsuited for, but it's also possible they're in that job because they're the survivor of all those who wanted the job... and failed. Fops have their place, but "When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die."

 

[Hand of Evil]

A king that wishes to speak to adventures is doing it for the following (most of the time all of them):

• A Mission - somehting the King wants done and wants the Kingdom to know about it. Otherwise, he would have sent someone to the adventures and not brought them to the court.
• To Support the Adventures - To reward them, meaning they work for him now but could be to get them out of town. I give you that keep on the border lands.
• To use them as Red Herrings - Adventures make great tools, by just bringing them to court the King is sending a message. Powers that be, will take note and start looking into what the adventures have been up to. The king just sits back and lets his spys tell him who has started to flock to the adventures, every now and then sending a letter asking how goes there adventures.

 

[haakon1]

3 more reasons:

-- To learn what sort of people he's dealing with, if they are growing in power, or have done something important.

-- To show them off to show his own importance as their sponsor. Thus Presidents loved to be photographed with people like Lindberg and Armstrong, or war heroes.

-- To hear about something important from the horse's mouth. The King & Queen want to hear about this New World Christopher Columbus claims to have discovered, from the man himself, so they can ask questions.