Noble Rules

Expectations for Noble Characters

-Roleplay:
Members of the NOH guild must be online and available for RP a minimum of two hours per week, per ranking of noble level. (ie: 2 hours for a Lord/Lady, 4 hours for a Baron/Baroness, etc.) At least one of those two hour chunks per week must be on the public grid, available to those outside of their regular org(s).

-TP/Large Scenes/RP Events:
Members of NOH will be responsible for the coordination and running of one grid-wide plot or scene once per month.
Members of NOH will be responsible for the coordination and planning of a NOH related plot or scene once every three months.

-Alliance:
Members of NOH are expected to maintain clean criminal records. This can be accomplished either through not being criminals, or through bribery. They must have at least the believable appearance of being supporters of the Alliance.
If a member of nobility needs to resort to bribery of the Alliance or Parliament to expunge a record or obtain a favorable verdict for self/spouse/child, staff will inform the noble member of the cost to do so, to be paid into the account of either the Alliance org or the Gov org, as directed.

-Companions:
Members of NOH are expected to be clients in good standing with the Companion's guild. The do not have to actively hire or work with Companions, but they must be known to the guild and possess a good name with them.

-Businesses/orgs/ships/etc.
Members of NOH are expected to own/operate at least one on-grid business, charity, household, or factory that contributes to RP, equipment, ship maintenance/upgrades, or cargo-running on the grid.
In addition, they will maintain an org for employment of PC's to run said organization. Nobles can run more than one business should the choose, and be able to afford them. The maximum number of coded businesses a noble can own on the grid is three, and of the three, only one can be a factory or a shipyard.

Grace Periods

Members of NOH will be given a grace period of three months per year if they need time away from the game OOC'ly. These months can be consecutive or staggered. Any further absence from noble duties will result in the lowering of noble rank by one degree per month missed. To reclimb the rank, all goals will need to be met for three consecutive months during which the grid-wide RP expectation will be doubled. Anyone at the rank of Lord/Lady whose rank is lowered will wind up stripped of their noble title and holdings.
If you play a member of nobility and know you will be absent from the game, unless it is an unexpected emergency, please speak with the noble staffer prior to your absence to ensure your character is flagged for vacation and plans can be made for the functioning of your org and household during your time away.

Noble Benefits

There are a lot of resposibilities that come to playing a member of nobility. The reason for the high expectations is to help provide balance to the high rewards.

The "perks" that associate the creation of a new PC who is a member of nobility include:
-Home:
A noble estate consisting of 5 rooms plus a yard. If they are inheriting a former noble's title they will inherit the old noble estate, but are free to do minor remodels to the descriptions at no charge. If they are the first PC noble to the planet, they may design their estate how they wish.

-Business:
One on-grid factory, shipyard, business, or charitable organization upon the planet to which their nobility is tied.
A new org with which to employ their business with 10,000 credits in the org account to begin the banking of their business and employment empire.

-Ship:
A new noble is entitled to one ship to be chosen from the following: ASERV, Bumblebee, C314 Skyhook, Harpoon, Hornet. Hummingbird, Osprey, Scarab, Wren, or Yellowjacket
The ship will be chosen by staff to fit the theme and background of the noble, and of their intended business.
One landing pad will be installed on either the estate or the business, to be chosen by the noble. Additional pads can be bought/built at normal price.

-Equipment:
The noble can work with staff to select up to 10,000 credits worth of personal armor, weapons, and items.
The noble can work with staff to select up to 25,000 credits worth of armor, weapons, and items to be used as starting pieces for their org or household.
The noble will receive one of the following, picked by staff, depending on background: 3 small hover mules, 1 large and 1 small hover mule, 1 small hover mule and 1 short range shuttle, or 1 long range shuttle.

-Channels:
A new noble will be set up with two channels for communication on the game. One will be an org channel for their business, the other will be a personal channel for their family/estate.

-Paycheck:
Noble paychecks will be provided via the NOH org. Two factors will influence a noble's pay - their rank, and the planet they represent. The higher the noble ranking, the more income. Core earns more than border, which earns more than rim.

Appointed Titles

In addition to applying for a new character to play as nobility, existing characters may petition Parliament to have nobility bestowed upon them. This can happen in one of two ways. A commoner may petition for nobility to be granted solely on their own status, or a commoner spouse or child of nobility may petition title through the status of their patron.

Commonor Petitioning Noble Rank

Expectations:
A commoner positioning for nobility must meet all of the RP, TP, Alliance, Companion, Business, and Org standards of a new PC that apps for a noble.
They will not be given most of the starting perks of a CG'ed noble, part of earning their petition is in acquiring those expectations themselves.
Parliament must be paid a 100,000 credit fee (bribe) for the costs associated with considering and debating the proposal. This will be paid into the GOV org.
The applicant must have an IC letter of reference from another noble, a ranking member of the Companion's guild, and an officer of the Alliance. These must be provided to a Parliamentary representative (NPC'ed by noble staff or an RPA) in the form of scrolls with unbroken seals.
After Parliamentary bribes have been paid and references have been provided, a +areq should be submitted for OOC staff consideration of the application. The decision will be made regarding acquisition of noble title based on past RP contributions to the grid as well as on considered plans made and proposed for future RP contributions to the game.

Benefits:
Minor remodels to an existing home/estate via descs to reflect any additions of noble crests/heraldry and other changes.
If there is not one in existance, an org will be attached to their main business, but no start-up credits are provided.
If there are not already channels in place, two channels will be provided, one for their org and one for their noble house.
If there is no ownership of a ship yet, access will be made to purchase a small ship, chosen by staff from: ASERV, Bumblebee, C314 Skyhook, Hummingbird, Wren, or Yellowjacket. The ship will need to be purchased for fair market value, but one will be aquired for buying if they wish.
A noble paychecks will be provided via the NOH org. The only thing which will affect their pay is the planet they represent. Core earns more than border, which earns more than rim. Rank is not a factor because all applied nobility is granted at the initial rank of Lord or Lady only.

Noble Spouses and Children

If a commoner marries a member of nobility, or parents children with a commoner (including a non-noble spouse) he and she will be known only as a consort or bastard, unless Parliament is petitioned for noble title and chooses to grant it.
For a spouse or child to be considered for noble title, they require the sponsorship of their noble spouse and one other member of nobility. A 100,000 credit court fee (bribe to Parliament) will be required, paid to GOV org.
IC'ly to be approved, the spouse or child will need to have a clean (or expungable with more bribes) criminal record and good standing with the Companion's guild.
OOC'ly to be approved, the RP contributions of the noble spouse or child will be considered, as well as the RP plans of the noble-to-be spouse or child.
If granted, the highest and only rank of nobility granted will be that of Lord or Lady, regardless of the title/rank of the noble spouse or child.
The couple or family may annually petition Parliament at the cost of 100,000 credits per year for a bump in noble ranking until the spouses or offspring are of equal rank. Each annual consideration will require the same criteria as the initial granting of noble rank.
The only 'perk' of nobility granted beyond the title is the paycheck from NOH. All other noble 'perks' will simply be shared from the spouse or parent.
The only noble requirements the spouse or child must meet are the TP requirements to contribute to grid-wide RP. All other duties will be considered to be shared with their spouse.

Access to Noble Titles by Planet

The following noble positions can be available on grid:
Londinium: Up to one noble member of each rank
Other Core planets - Each can have a max of three, Lord/Lady will be PC as often as possible. A second Lord/Lady and one higher ranked noble can also be made available on application.
Border Planets - One to two nobles per planet. Not all will be PC's, most will be NPC. Either two Lords/Ladies, or one higher ranked noble per planet.
Rim Planets - One Lord or Lady per planet, PC or NPC

Common Sense

No player may have more than one noble character, no matter what their CG, petitioned, or marital status might otherwise lead to.