Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 romanzseer Apr 05, 2012 11:11:27	Greetings! So I am running an Eberron Game with four players; each of the players has a fairly elaborate background. The most recent addition is a Half Elf Paladin of Dol Arrah who is from the Dragonmarked House of Medani. She is also an illegitimate daughter of King Baronel, and after some consideration I allowed this as part of the background. This seems like a really interesting background with some great opportunities for a good story line....but I have some questions: None of the Eberron Sourcebooks talk in great detail about King Baronel, or the Royal Family; and not surprisingly, I have found almost nothing referencing the topic of illegitimate royal offspring. What would the laws and regulations be regarding bastard children of Royal Blood? Would the bastard(ess) be treated as an equal but with no royal tithe or title? Would they be shunned by the Royal Court? Would they be seen as a possible usurper and exiled, imprisoned, or killed? Would they be viewed as a "second citizen" of the Royal Court? Possibly having to show supreme effort to prove their legitimacy with the Royals?  I know that these questions are up to the GM (me), but I am considering these with two things in mind:  Fairness to the other players, and how to enhance the game without dominating it. The group that I am playing with likes the Roleplaying aspect part of the game; and the "Royal" background provided to me has the potential to create an great storyline involving the player if done correctly.  Any suggestions, comments or advice would be welcome.  Thanks!
#2 EnderXenocide0 Apr 05, 2012 17:17:13	Ah, a Half-Elf illigitimate child could fit really well with Boranel! He was trained in his youth by a Valenar elf name Eliri and had fallen in love with her, but nothing came of it due to the age difference and his knowledge that his status did not allow him to act freely. If you want to alter this a bit, you could make Eliri a bit younger and have them keep their child a secret. Or, if you want to adhere closely to canon, perhaps say that Boranel turned his eyes to Eliri's own daughter and the same, secretive situation resulted. Though, I suppose that would make the PC fairly old at this point. You could stretch the timeline a bit and say that they kept in touch during his pre-crowning years. He was an avid adventurer... and a womanizer... so really, he could have had short relationships and one night stands for years before he met his first wife. Really, he could have had affairs too, but something about Boranel strikes me as him being the kind of person to be utterly committed to his wife (especially considering his reaction to her assassination). He met her early in his life, though, during his schooling and had married her shortly after his first campaign. So anything is an option. As for illegitimate royal offspring, you could go with the way it has been historically handled on Earth. Usually the child is recognized as being a blood relative of the royal family, but is outside the line of succession (exceptions may arise if they are the last blood relative remaining). They're not shunned by the court, per se, but they're not treated with the same noble respect. They aren't outright cast aside, because the parents are royalty and you don't want them to be angry for how you've treated their children. I suspect Boranel would be the type to treat his illegitimate children with care and kindness, but to still adhere to whatever Brelish laws were in place about this. If you're trying to balance fairness, here are my suggestions: 1) Keep the PC unaware of her lineage until sometime during the game. Perhaps Boranel passes away and leaves a note indicating the blood relation of the PC and the rest of the royal family seek her out to investiagate the claim. 2) She's known all along, but was told by Boranel and her mother to keep it a secret. Thus, she doesn't have access to any contacts in the royal family. 3) She doesn't know, but has been a part of the royal court since she was a child. Maybe she grew up as Boranel's ward and became a paladin of Dol Arrah when Three, Boranel's warforged companion joined the cause. Thus, she has some contacts in the court, but nothing unfair. She might learn of her lineage later and have to struggle with the secret that had been kept from her all those years. 4) She knows and the court knows. This can pose problems if the PC is allowed to have such vast resources in the royal court. One way of mitigating this is to say that Boranel has passed away and that powere has fallen, not to one of his scions, but instead to the Brelish Parliament. With a fully democratic Breland, the PC may retain some connections to the former royalty allowing some aid or advice from time to time, but doesn't have the full power of a nation behind them. If you're looking for more information on royalty (of any of the nations), Five Nations is the book to check. Boranel is covered starting on page 56.
#3 Ogiwan Apr 06, 2012 7:02:59	Well said, E_X. I'd like to point out #4, though, as special. Giving the PCs exhorbitant amounts of resources may not be the best idea. As a twist on it, though, Borenal may be passed, but the Crown may have been passed to a decendant of the Old Bear....who doesn't like your paladin specifically, or bastards in general. Alternately, there may be a piece of legislation that forbids bastards from inheriting whatsoever; that would cut down on the political power she has.