While http://www.armageddon.org/general/ranktable.html doesn't back me up, I've always thought there were two kinds of aides, those working for the House and those working for the individual. This would be reflected in their formal title:
Junior Aide of House Fancypants
Aide of House Fancypants
Senior Aide of House Fancypants
Personal Aide to Lord Bertrand Fancypants
In the case of the House Aides your first loyalty should be to the House itself, in the second case your first loyalty should be to your Lord or Lady. (In Theory there should never be a conflict between the House's interests and the Lord's interests, but stuff happens). Well, lets just make a list.
House aides:
* Loyal to the House, may report to someone else as well as the particular noble to which they are currently assigned.
* Paid by the House
* Can be re-assigned (or fired) at the whim of a superior.
* Has the general protection of the House, and derives status from their position within the House.
* Very good job security. No matter what happens to particular nobles, the House owns, ah,
employs you for life. [/list]
Personal aides:
* Loyal to their employer. Usually reports to no one else.
* Paid out of the employer's personal funds.
* Theoretically can not be re-assigned or fired by anyone but the noble. (Of course the House hierarchy could put pressure on the noble if they really want a change).
* Has the personal protection of their noble, and derives status from the position of that noble.
* Akward job security. If your noble dies you are unemployeed, but the house does have a vested interest in making sure you don't go to work for a rival because you Know Too Much. May find yourself unceremoniously recruited as a Junior House Aide, with or without your consent . . . or not. Being told to clear out your locker by the end of the day ought to be an unsettling experience.
In either case, it is a good idea to personally clairfy what that aides responsibilities to other nobles within the house are. Ordering around someone elses personal aide might be considered as much of an insult to the noble as ordering around the House aides of another House. Theoretically a first tier noble would have enough status to order around almost any commoner, including a House Jal Aide, but it would be a deadly insult to do so. So talk it out. The servant should have a response ready before another noble within the house, another noble outside the house, or a templar ever asks them to do anything. This will have as much to do with the personality of your employer or assigned noble as anything. Some nobles are (deceptively) casual and would be happy to have their servants doing little tasks for others in their "free" time, all the better to keep an eye on what those others are doing. Some think commoners are all lazy bastards, and should be working every minute, so you better damn well do what you are told if you know what's good for you. Some nobles are extremly possessive and they don't want anyone else laying a finger on their personal property, or even thinking about it, so they may even give you a pat excuse for why you can't help out if another noble asks for your assistance.
It is up to the noble to find out what her House's policy is, and then inform her servants of her wishes in regard to that policy. Since there can be some drift between the official documents and the current situation, it is best to get this information from your clan imm, either OOCly through email or ICly by talking to an animated superior NPC.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Angela Christine
Very nicely put, AC. :)
Thank you :)