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What's the most difficult thing about running a noble? The easiest?
Difficult: Many things. I haven't played a noble, but I encountered what I imagine are similar difficulties as a high-ranking PC.
Primarily, they are:
1. Recruiting - not many people will come to Trader's looking for jobs, and nobles/high ranking servants shouldn't go in Gaj. Ideally, they'd have underlings to do that work, but in most situations, they didn't. For those people who aren't ready for noble characters, playing a mediumish-ranking guard or servant might be ideal - then nobles have someone somewhat trustworthy to do the recruiting (among other activities).
2. Finding things to do for the underlings. Sometimes, you're just in a situation where the noble and their underlings have to remain in city for a long period of time. It gets tiresome just sparring and/or sitting in Gaj.
The same applies to the nobles themselves. Although most are involved on the political level, it does not require that 100% of their total concentration. I've seen a number of nobles sitting around doing nothing for hours at time.
3. Also, I've found that some nobles are wary of reacting to subordinate PCs. There have been instances where commoners should have been punished, but weren't. I highly suspect that half of the time, it was because the noble char was OOCly uncomfortable/afraid of causing harm to another character (The other half being, s/he had ulterior motives for not doing anything).
Easy:
There's nothing easy about playing a noble, I don't think. It requires a large amound of patience, thought, cunning, and again, patience, mainly on OOC level.
What sort of actions on the part of a noble make you go, "woah, okay, that guy doesn't know what he's doing, why'd they give him that role?"
Typically, I think that when I see characters who aren't playing the role of a noble well. I want to reiterate a good example, but it's probably too IC. Mainly those who do not participate on the political level, or wander into the rinth alone, out of the city, befriend commoners on a regular basis (as opposed to doing that just to use them), etc.
What do you think the responsiblities of a noble are?
On IC level - the responsiblities should fit with the goals of the house. More money, undermining their opponents (be it other prominent houses, north/south, or certan organizations), using people to attain the goals, etc.
On OOC level - they should be to try make things interesting for themselves and for other players, both within and outside of the house. Nobles should be actively recruiting PCs to further their goals (but not so many that the other houses don't get the chance to hire PCs). That said, I think having strife and tension between a house or two is fun. Having everyone play as if things are hunky-dory just gets boring.
If you ran a noble, what questions didn't get answered for you beforehand that you would have liked to have seen answered? Would you run a noble again? Why or why not?
For a certain house I was a part of (I hope the IMMs will know which I'm referring to - if not, PM me), a problem we had for over a year was we didn't have access to the clan page at all. I had to learn about a large amount of information about inner-workings of the house by badgering other members as well as the clan imm for information. I imagine that didn't make me a favorite. =P
Along the same lines, what would you have liked to have seen included in the noble documentation? Was there anything in there that shouldn't have been?
Last I saw of the clan page, it didn't include very much background information on the NPCs within the house. Nothing on who the head(s) of the house was, their personalities/quirks, etc. Also, some documents on the basic "public" businesses of the house would have been useful, and the current state of relationships with other houses.
Which noble house or houses would you prefer to run a noble in - and why?
I just loved playing in Oash. I've had a few grunt characters in Oash already, and am hooked on it. When I get a chance, I'm hoping to play an Oash noble later.
Comments for some of the previous posters: Oash is not wholly a military house, and I do believe it is necessary to keep them open as a part of Allanak. And if whoever suggested that has a problem with that, please feel free to PM me. *grins* I agree with most of Impska's sentiments, so I won't repeat them here. That said, let me add - for those of you who think Oash and Tors are just military houses who just march their pc soldiers and servants around... You are sadly mistaken. Far more goes on 'behind the scene' than what you see publicly.
Now I think about it, that could probably be why people are somewhat disillusioned with being part of the houses lately. They don't see the behind-the-scene part, and playing grunts that are stuck in a city can get tiresome. So I'll advocate my previous point - tension, strife, hatred, bitching between houses would probably stir things up and make it more interesting.
Also. I would like to see the Fale house brought back, at least temporarily - on an experimental basis. From what I've read of the Fales, the original premise behind that house was they were to be the patrons of the arts. Their nobles aren't/shouldn't be buffoons. I know it's difficult to find people who are interested in RP'ing bardic/jester/actor types - as well as find people who are willing to listen and watch them. I suggest that it start slowly - one noble, one or two underlings (the said bards), and re-integrate them back into Allanak.
The reason I think they should be brought back: As of late, the focus seems to be on military and political activities. Entertainment should play a huge role in both nobles and commoners' lives. This could be done on a temporary basis, to see how well people receive it.
