MEMBER GROUPS

[♔NYMERIA]

MEMBER GROUPS

On V3 we have three main member groups: NOBILITY, KNIGHTS, and COMMONERS. We have four regions your character can be from (the north, south, east, and west) so your character's member color will differ by region. If your character was born and raised in King's Clutch, they are considered from the West.

NOBLES

HEIRARCHY OF NOBILITY:

KING & QUEEN
LORD KEEPER (one for each the north, south, east, and west)
LORD & LADY

Nobility are the highest ranking group on the board. They are the "upper class" so to speak and aside from the King and Queen, are addressed as Lord or Lady (even their children, when being spoken to by non-family are addressed as such). The King and Queen are referred to as "Your Grace" as a sign of respect.

Lords and Ladies live in the castles in the four kingdoms and have claim to ownership of the castles either through inheritance (the castle and the title of Lord has been in their family for generations), through battle (the last time ownership of castles exchanged hands in battle was during the Mad King's War), or by decree of the King. Yes, that means a Lord could potentially lose his home and title if the King decides to give it to someone else.

Nobles have the easiest life in many ways. They are literate, well educated, and better fed and clothed than the commoners they preside over. Nobles tend not to mingle with commoners unless they absolutely have to and most political intrigue on the board involves this group. We are accepting both canon and original nobles.

KNIGHTS

HIERARCHY OF KNIGHTS:

CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD
KNIGHT
HEDGE KNIGHT
SQUIRE

Knights tend to come from noble stock as children of lords who then become squires for other knights before moving up in rank or as a commoner who shows great promise and swears their loyalty to their lord. Knights are guards and the "policing squad" of the kingdom and act as the eyes and ears of their lord. In times of war, knights are the dominate fighting group. They're typically thought of as being honorable, chivalrous heroes who swoop in on horseback to rescue damsels and protect the common people though that's not always the case. Knights take pride in their honor though there are a few who may be considered "crooked" and do things to benefit themselves rather than their lord.

For a knight, there is no worse punishment than being stripped of your honor and title. A person can only be knighted by a Lord Keeper (a lord of one of the four capitals in the kingdom) or the King. Knights may someday become Lords if the King grants them land and the title. Male knights are addressed as "Sir" and females as "Sirai" (pronounced "sere-aye").

A dishonored knight who roams without a master is called a hedge knight. They are looked down upon by other knights, offer their services to whoever can pay them, and attend jousts and tournaments in hopes of making money.

At V3 both men and women can serve as knights but the group is still very sexist and misogynistic so female knights tend to be harassed and hazed more than their male counterparts. We are accepting both canon and original knights.

COMMONERS

This will be the biggest group on V3. Commoners are the regular people who live and work in the North American Kingdom. They live throughout the kingdom. They tend to think of the lord of their area as their "governor" or ruler and the King as some faraway entity whose actions have little effect on their actual day to day lives. So long as they're fed, clothed, and sheltered commoners tend to be quite happy and will gladly be loyal to whoever can provide for them. It's only when their needs aren't provided for that commoners can become quite dangerous as a group and mount uprisings.

Commoners tend to be illiterate and very superstitious, believing in demons and spirits, ghosts and witches. They pass on history and stories of the past through storytelling and song rather than written word.

Under special circumstances, a commoner who proves to be an excellent rider, swordsman, or fighter may be made a knight. Otherwise there are few chances for commoners to move up the social ladder. They also have the option of becoming a Raven, being recruited and trained as a Silent Sister, or being used by nobles to spy on one another.


EXAMPLES OF JOBS COMMONERS CAN HAVE:

FARMER
INNKEEPER
FISHERMAN
CRAFTSMEN (BUTCHER/SMITH/TANNER/BAKER)
TRADER
TROUBADOUR
PROSTITUTE
WORKERS FOR CASTLES (NANNY, MAID, COOKS, ETC)
MORE SUGGESTIONS HERE

[♔NYMERIA]

MEMBER GROUPS

SUB-GROUPS

Here is some information on groups within the main member groups that your character can be a part of.

BASTARDS
A bastard-born child is born out of wedlock, meaning the child's parents were not (or currently are not) married. This usually occurs when nobles sleep with and impregnate commoners, prostitutes, and others outside of their marriage. When this occurs, a bastard is given a common surname depending on their region as a mark of their base standing in society.

In the North, bastards are given the surname SLATE so a bastard-born child may be named MIA SLATE or ARCTUR SLATE.

In the South, bastards are given the surname PORT.
In the East, bastards are given the surname THORNE.
In the West, bastards are given the surname ROSE.

RAVENS
NOBLES, KNIGHTS, and COMMONERS can all be a part of this group. The Ravens are the men and women who guard the Great Barrier in the north. In order to join, they are trained for a few months and then swear an oath in which they relinquish all their worldly possessions and titles and swear an oath of celibacy. A Raven serves for life meaning if they should ever leave or abandon their post, they're considered deserters. (The punishment for desertion is death.) A Raven can never marry, have a family, or own property.

THE CELESTIAL GUARD
The personal knights of hte king, the Celestial Guard consists of ten men and women (all must be KNIGHTS) who serve as the body guards of the royal family and are considered the highest ranking knights of the realm. All members of the Celestial Guard are given swords made of celestial steel when they swear their oath. Like Ravens, the Celestial Guard serve for life (or until they are granted retirement) and during their tenure in the guard, they cannot marry or have children or a family. Knights are usually inducted or sworn into the guard at age 18-25.

THE SILENT SISTERS
A clandestine group of trained assassins for hire whose secret guild is located in the Singing Caverns of High Valley, these are men and women trained from a young age (as young as 8-10 years old) to become skilled with swords. Each assassin then chooses a path to master, be it hand to hand combat, archery, or knife combat. Only women are allowed to learn the art of herbology and mixing various poisons to achieve different results. Silent Sisters never marry. NOBLES, former KNIGHTS who may have been dishonored and removed from service, and COMMONERS can all be part of this group.

PIRATES
Pirates would live and work in the Southern Region where shipping trade and fishing is a large part of the economy. Pirates are considered criminals who smuggle goods rather than pay the necessary taxes to the kingdom and tend to pillage and plunder the ships of other merchants and traders. COMMONERS can be pirates and on occasion a lesser NOBLE may join up with a pirate group but KNIGHTS see them as common criminals and thieves.

NON-PLAYABLE GROUPS

Here are some currently non playable characters who may be referred to in IC threads or NPC'd.

RELIGION FIGURES
In this setting, religious figures are referred to as "priests" and "priestesses" with a High Priest or High Priestess serving as the lead religious figure of the Kingdom. This person would live in the Quadra at King's Clutch. All other castles have their own quadras with their own priest or priestess serving as the religious facilitator for that region. Religious figures who have not yet attained the status of priest or priestess are referred to as "brothers" or "sisters."

NOMADS:
In the Lost South, nomadic tribes live in groups of anywhere from 20 to 50 people. Each tribe is led by one individual (either male or female) called the Rin. The Rin is chosen based on battle skills and horseriding abilities. Nomads consider themselves independent of the North American Kingdom and at times, may war among each other, taking captives and prisoners from other tribes as "war prizes." The nomads are known for breeding extremely swift horses excellent for riding into battle and occasionally trade these horses to merchants from the Kingdom.

WILDLINGS:
The name given to the mysterious group of invaders who attacked the planet over 85 years ago, Wildlings these days are more commonly thought of as malevolent monsters or demons with pale white skin and either coal black or piercing blue eyes who live in the north.