They contacted me, but I hadn't checked my email in weeks. Saw this thread first.
Latest posts made by FlattedFifth
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RE: Patreon Hacked
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RE: Chivalric Titles, IRL vs CoA
Wooo! Nice link, thanks!
Downloaded and saved, I'll give that a read this weekend. Leave it to WotC to make things more complicated than necessary. :P
An official DM ruling on etiquette of addressing nobles on this particular server would be helpful. Is it Sir and Dame or just Sir? Lord and Lady or just Lord? Sir Immanuel or Sir Rathcore? Lord Hardcastle or Lord… forgot his first name?
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Chivalric Titles, IRL vs CoA
Alright, so for quite a while I've been noticing some differences between how titles of nobility in CoA differ from real life. Do the rules of etiquette in real life pertain to CoA and characters get it "wrong" because those characters IC don't know better? Or are there different rules? Or no rules?
Below are the real life etiquette rules, as I understand them. I may be wrong, this is from observation in written works, I don't have a degree in medieval studies or anything.
Knights:
A male knight is "Sir" and a female knight is "Dame". A knight's honorific is applied to the first name only, not the family name, because it is not a hereditary title; i.e. The oldest child of a knight does not become a knight upon the death of the parent holding the title and a knight who marries does not make their spouse a knight automatically by doing so. For example, a knight who's birth name is "Edward Lastname" is addressed as either "Sir Edward" or "Sir Edward Lastname" but never "Sir Lastname". Likewise a knight who's given name is "Laura Lastname" is addressed as "Dame Laura" or "Dame Laura Lastname" but never "Dame Lastname" and never "Sir" anything. Calling knights "Sir Edward" or "Dame Laura" is not being overly familiar. That is their title, even though it involves their first name it's still formal. It's not the same as just calling them by their first names alone. If they're close friends or family, you are allowed to drop the "sir" or "dame" part, but it isn't usually dropped in public.Lords:
A male Lord is called a Lord, a female Lord is called a Lady. There is no such thing as a "Lord Lady", that's like calling someone a "Policeman Woman", (though if commoners took to calling Lady Lhal that and it sort of stuck unofficially I can understand that). If a male is a Lord, either by birth or by being "elevated" to that status by the crown, then his wife automatically becomes a Lady, however, if a female is a Lady then her husband does not automatically become a Lord, he has to earn that for himself. An unmarried woman can, of course, be a Lady in her own right with no husband. She can either be the only child (or oldest with no brothers) of a Lord and Lady who have both died, or she can be "elevated" to that status by the crown. The title is hereditary so it applies to either the family name or the name of the area of land the Lord and/or Lady has in their keeping. So, for example, if a man is named "John Surname" and is responsible for the area of land called "Boogerkeep", then that man may be addressed as either "Lord Surname" or "Lord Boogerkeep" or "Lord Surname of Boogerkeep", but never "Lord John". His wife, Gwen, would be called "Lady Surname" or "Lady Boogerkeep" or "Lady Surname of Boogerkeep", but never "Lady Gwen". Of course, close friends and family drop all the Lord and Lady stuff in private, they don't sit around playing poker over whiskey and cigars and keep on calling each other by their full titles.The title is hereditary. If a Lord and Lady have children, upon the death of the Lord then the oldest male child becomes Lord, even if he has an older sister. A female child attains the title of Lady only upon the death of both parents and only if she has no brothers and is the oldest child (unless, of course, the crown gives her the title for some great deed or something).
So, those are the rules as I understand them from reading a lot of books by English authors where characters have titles. I may have got parts of it wrong. If so, please forgive me, I'm just an American. We don't have a caste system here, just a very few extremely wealthy people running the lives of millions of very poor ones. Um…wait.....
Anyway, what are the rules of etiquette on CoA? Are there any? I now have a character who ought to know them.
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RE: A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
Contacted Puffy on IRC, she said it's approved. Thanks
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RE: A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
I submitted my application 7 days ago. Is it normal to not hear anything by now?
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RE: A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
These people hold their duty to the crown above all else and keep a white tabbard in their closet in case they're called to fight in a war.
I don't believe that nobody who served in the Dragons left it feeling disillusioned and put upon. That they all keep their tabbards clean and close by eagerly awaiting the call to action. Those people would likely not have left after only 2 years.
There HAS to be some, even if they're a minority, who left the Dragons feeling that joining was a huge mistake. That was my character concept.
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RE: A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
Application submitted.
Regardless, my original point is that it should be common knowledge that military service is not necessarily a lifetime commitment with no escape.
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RE: A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
Then shall I delete my character?
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A note on Purple Dragons who've retired
My main's character concept is that he, in his youth (he's 31 now) served in the Purple Dragons like his father but retired because it wasn't to his liking. Whenever I mention this to anyone IC, the common IC reaction is "You can never quit the Dragons, you must be a deserter!".
Allow me to quote from the Forgotten Realms Wiki:
"After the two-year service came to an end, the Purple Dragon may choose to continue his or her role, or return to his or her former life. In times of conflict the individual could be called back into service."
This is something that, I believe, most people ought to know IC. It should be generally known that military service is not automatically a life-long commitment escapable only by death or dishonour. I've also given up on having my character refer to himself as a former "Telsword" because no one seems to know what that is. I've been saying "Sergeant" instead.
I didn't see any reference to non-active military in the rules, (the character gets no special treatment, equipment, or favours, nor does he have any authority over anyone), nor did I see any reference to a server specific ruling on how long service in the Dragons lasts. If I have done anything wrong, please let me know. If there is a server specific ruling on length of service in the dragons that is different from the Canon (6 months training + minimum 2 years active), again, please let me know.
Thanks!