I think the Imperial Nobility can reasonably be described as a huge
can of worms.
Here is the situation as I understand it. I don't have my books in
front of me, so don't take this as Gospel...
In terms of game rules, noble titles are directly reflected by a
character's Social Standing attribute. Anyone with Soc 11+ is by
definition a noble. (I know it says 10+ in some places, but personally
I don't consider all those Soc 10 peasants to be *real* nobles.)
The hierarchy runs something like this, although I may have got a
few of them mixed up:
Soc Title
11 (B) Knight
12 (C) Baron
13 (D) Marquis
14 (E) Count
15 (F) Duke (maximum for a player character)
16 (G) Archduke
17 (H) Emperor
There is (or should be) only one Emperor. There are seven Archdukes,
one for each Domain:
Deneb: Norris
Vland: Ishuggi
Antares: Brzk
Ilelish: Dulinor
Sylea: The Emperor (whoever that might be)
Gateway: ?
Sol: ?
Once you get down to the Dukes, things start to get really complicated.
As far as I can make out, there doesn't seem to be a specific allocation
of land (or space) that a Duke gets by virtue of his title. Some Dukes
are in charge of a whole sector, while others might have to make do with
one measly planet. The lower ranking nobles are not necessarily
entitled to any land at all.
I hope I haven't confused the issue even more with all this.
............................................................................
: Alan Huscroft : Janet: [email removed] :
: Reading, England : Internet: [email removed] :
: 6-G takeoffs AND landings! : X-boat: [email removed].solomani_rim :
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