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List of Neverwinter Noble Family names?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 05, 2011 1:22:20 Hello Everyone,

Does anyone have a list (or a link to a list online) of Noble Family names for Neverwinter?

Heck, even if you know *a* name, please mention it.

Doesn't matter if the family is alive or extinct, just hoping for names to use.

Thank you in advance!
#2
sfdragon
Sep 05, 2011 12:31:51 Alagondar
#3
Calamity916
Sep 05, 2011 22:06:00
I'm not sure how you feel about using video games as sources but how about Jerro? It's from the second Neverwinter Nights game. You can read about their last member HERE.
#4
sfdragon
Sep 05, 2011 23:55:23 well if they can be found

the older editions of the FR books might have a few names.
#5
Keith53
Sep 06, 2011 18:52:28 You can find a list of House names at:
community.wizards.com/lfr/wiki/Families_...

I need to annotate who is still there versus no longer present, but it is a starting point for you.

Keith
#6
sfdragon
Sep 06, 2011 19:37:29 the names of the noble houses of Neverwinter along with the majority of the city of the past, was never written up much for beans.

I got an old download off the wizzie site from days long past... that might list a few notable npcs, I can look.

the only person that would know about a complete list of noble families that called the city of skilled hands home, or nobles that had branches there would be Ed Greenwood himself.
#7
sfdragon
Sep 06, 2011 19:58:30 the names from the north

Cheldarstorn
Alagondar
Paleme

Uskar

#8
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 08, 2011 10:18:18 Dude thank you very much! Even just a few names makes things a lot easier.
#9
Stigger
Sep 09, 2011 4:15:20 I used the Uthmere family for my Neverwinter campaign a while back, descended from the Uthtower line, an old family of the North, that from what I recall was related to a couple of Waterdhavian families. Nothing official whatsoever about the Uthmeres, but it made sense enough to me that at least one of the family's of the city could trace their lineage back to the Uthtowers. My own take on Neverwintan nobility was that most had at least some elf blood in them, and that a lot of them were half-elves, which I sort of extrapolated from it being a former elven settlement, and the continuation of gardening and living in harmony with nature helped point things in that direction for me. I'm well aware that what little official lore that exists never states that, but there isn't much to go on, so some extrapolation seems in order. Not sure that makes much sense in the context of 4e, but it worked well enough in 3e and earlier.
#10
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 12, 2011 11:08:23
My own take on Neverwintan nobility was that most had at least some elf blood in them, and that a lot of them were half-elves, which I sort of extrapolated from it being a former elven settlement, and the continuation of gardening and living in harmony with nature helped point things in that direction for me.

That's pretty cool. Some of the best Realmslore started out as custom work/extrapolations of existing lore, so to me this is official because it makes good sense.

I also like it because it puts an interesting twist on the notion of rulership. It's one thing for humans who can trace their ancestry back maybe a hundred years or so to lay claim to Neverwinter, another for elves or half-elves who can claim a millenia(?) to do so.

Thanks also to Keith53 and Calamity916!

#11
Stigger
Sep 12, 2011 11:59:24 Actually, I had their presence in the region spanning five thousand years, and their being 'nobles' for the last 3,500 years, and I had established they weren't the oldest family in the city, though I never really actually ennumerated who those other families were. It added some interesting tension with the Waterdhavian nobility, who had more coin and a better location, but not nearly as much legitimacy or stability. Toss in viewpoints like those of the nobles who sneered at the idea of the non-human temple in 'their' ward, and the attitudes start to look more like feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, rather than outright kneejerk racism, per se. Which I prefer myself, though obviously that might not suit everyone's tastes. I think it goes along with Volo's description of the city as having been much more cosmopolitan and civilized than almost anywhere else in Faerun. How that translates in the developments of 4e... not sure it does actually, but its a major reason why I'm not that fond of the 4e Realms. Sounds strange perhaps, but Neverwinter was my absolute favorite place in Faerun.
#12
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 13, 2011 16:02:40 Sounds to me like I'm overdue for a reading of Volo's Guide to the North!

Stigger, thank you again. If you feel like sharing any more from your campaign, please do so. I think the idea of jealousy expressed by humans towards elves who've simply been around longer is an awesome one.
#13
Stigger
Sep 14, 2011 7:56:47 Well, one thing I found useful for the family was the library, filled with journals of past family members that could always be used to generate a plot hook, though the presence of two of my players characters (one an "arcanoarchaeologist" wizard character, and the other's elven (Hawksong) noble, who was a divine seeker of Labelas who went after elven antiquities that were long lost to time) made that fairly easy. The area's history and mystery did the rest. One thing of note though, I did interpret the Neverwinter Woods lore as being a literal Fae stronghold that was the real reason the area had never suffered that much depredation from hordes and such, with the notion that Oberon occassionally walked the lands, as Titania was rumored to do with the King's Forest in Cormyr, which also let me reinforce that the city was being subtly influenced by Fae, which I thought helped explain the Sunite presence a bit better. The Church of Lliira was something else I made pretty prominent in the city, with the matron of the Uthmere's being the local high priestess as well, and her encouraging active adventuring against the slave trade, and essentially promoting a much more militant branch of the Church, complete with Holy Liberators (PrC from the Complete series), though that's militant in the context of Lliira, not Helm. Not sure that'd work with other people's campaigns, but it certainly let me get away with a lot that I don't think I could have explained otherwise.
#14
eriksdb
Sep 15, 2011 11:54:59 @Keith: Awesome link. I was pleased to see Hawkwinter on that list, as I'm using a young Hawkwinter noble in SHADOWBANE.

@Stigger: Some cool stuff here! I'll take a stab at fitting it into 4e Neverwinter from my perspective:

Actually, I had their presence in the region spanning five thousand years, and their being 'nobles' for the last 3,500 years, and I had established they weren't the oldest family in the city, though I never really actually ennumerated who those other families were. It added some interesting tension with the Waterdhavian nobility, who had more coin and a better location, but not nearly as much legitimacy or stability. Toss in viewpoints like those of the nobles who sneered at the idea of the non-human temple in 'their' ward, and the attitudes start to look more like feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, rather than outright kneejerk racism, per se. Which I prefer myself, though obviously that might not suit everyone's tastes. I think it goes along with Volo's description of the city as having been much more cosmopolitan and civilized than almost anywhere else in Faerun. How that translates in the developments of 4e... not sure it does actually, but its a major reason why I'm not that fond of the 4e Realms. Sounds strange perhaps, but Neverwinter was my absolute favorite place in Faerun.

That fits great into Waterdeep, particularly everything that's going on with Field Ward, and it's an attitude I can see translating very well over to Neverwinter in the context of nobles/merchants from Waterdeep heading there. The rules are a lot looser these days in Neverwinter as to who-rules-what--much more about "might makes right," unless you want power in the Protector's Enclave, in which it's more about "coin makes right," being the coin you pay to Lord Neverember.

I think a lot of the continuity of noble families has also been lost over the century and the cataclysm, leading many legit (and not so legit) nobles to prove themselves in one way or another. One can't just fall back on one's past as a noble, which some learn to their sorrow. Neverwinter is a place where you can buy nobility from the Lord Protector, or earn it by proving your mettle against one of the city's many threats. A PC with the Noble theme might be able to carve out his family's holdings by getting in financial bed with Neverember, only to realize that he's basically just helping his rival, or by heading to somewhere Neverember doesn't control as tightly, like Blacklake, where he can set himself up as a crime boss on his way to legitimacy.

(Something similar holds true for Waterdeep: the city is much more civilized at the moment and under the control of Neverember, but at least there you can work through the other Masked Lords who at least ostensibly check the Open Lord's power.)

I really like the Liira tie-in, and I plan to borrow that for my own Neverwinter campaign, if/when I get that started. I have a few other games to get through first.

Cheers
#15
crzyhawk
Sep 15, 2011 15:35:41 You might be able to poach some of the elven housenames. With Illefarn and its successor Iliyanbruen located in the general area, it's likely (if human history is a guide) that there may be some of the elven names mixed in too.

What might be interesting, is a situation much like the Norman conquest of England, with Neverember playing the role of William the Conqueror. It's likely as he tries to consolidate his base of power in Neverwinter, he could use younger noble sons and daughters of the Waterdhavian nobility who would not be inheriting. Of course, the families in Waterdeep would benefit from getting rid of extra heirs, and would likely be granting money and favors to Neverember which increases his power in waterdeep.

The younger nobles themselves become useful in Neverwinter, and are absolutely loyal to the Lord Protector to whom they owe their position and privilege. Neverember is essentially double dipping here, and growing his power in both Neverwinter AND Waterdeep, much like William as Duke of Normandy AND King of England.

The old Neverwinter nobility, pushed aside much like the Saxons of England are less then pleased with losing the lands and estates to "wastrels" from Waterdeep who have no tie or claim to the land. Tensions would obviously run high, and the returning fey from Iliyanbruen would likely support the elven-decended houses of old...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mr_Miscellany Sep 05, 2011 1:22:20	Hello Everyone, Does anyone have a list (or a link to a list online) of Noble Family names for Neverwinter? Heck, even if you know a name, please mention it. Doesn't matter if the family is alive or extinct, just hoping for names to use. Thank you in advance!
#2 sfdragon Sep 05, 2011 12:31:51	Alagondar
#3 Calamity916 Sep 05, 2011 22:06:00	I'm not sure how you feel about using video games as sources but how about Jerro? It's from the second Neverwinter Nights game. You can read about their last member HERE.
#4 sfdragon Sep 05, 2011 23:55:23	well if they can be found the older editions of the FR books might have a few names.
#5 Keith53 Sep 06, 2011 18:52:28	You can find a list of House names at: community.wizards.com/lfr/wiki/Families_... I need to annotate who is still there versus no longer present, but it is a starting point for you. Keith
#6 sfdragon Sep 06, 2011 19:37:29	the names of the noble houses of Neverwinter along with the majority of the city of the past, was never written up much for beans. I got an old download off the wizzie site from days long past... that might list a few notable npcs, I can look. the only person that would know about a complete list of noble families that called the city of skilled hands home, or nobles that had branches there would be Ed Greenwood himself.
#7 sfdragon Sep 06, 2011 19:58:30	the names from the north Cheldarstorn Alagondar Paleme Uskar
#8 Mr_Miscellany Sep 08, 2011 10:18:18	Dude thank you very much! Even just a few names makes things a lot easier.
#9 Stigger Sep 09, 2011 4:15:20	I used the Uthmere family for my Neverwinter campaign a while back, descended from the Uthtower line, an old family of the North, that from what I recall was related to a couple of Waterdhavian families. Nothing official whatsoever about the Uthmeres, but it made sense enough to me that at least one of the family's of the city could trace their lineage back to the Uthtowers. My own take on Neverwintan nobility was that most had at least some elf blood in them, and that a lot of them were half-elves, which I sort of extrapolated from it being a former elven settlement, and the continuation of gardening and living in harmony with nature helped point things in that direction for me. I'm well aware that what little official lore that exists never states that, but there isn't much to go on, so some extrapolation seems in order. Not sure that makes much sense in the context of 4e, but it worked well enough in 3e and earlier.
#10 Mr_Miscellany Sep 12, 2011 11:08:23	My own take on Neverwintan nobility was that most had at least some elf blood in them, and that a lot of them were half-elves, which I sort of extrapolated from it being a former elven settlement, and the continuation of gardening and living in harmony with nature helped point things in that direction for me. That's pretty cool. Some of the best Realmslore started out as custom work/extrapolations of existing lore, so to me this is official because it makes good sense. I also like it because it puts an interesting twist on the notion of rulership. It's one thing for humans who can trace their ancestry back maybe a hundred years or so to lay claim to Neverwinter, another for elves or half-elves who can claim a millenia(?) to do so. Thanks also to Keith53 and Calamity916!
#11 Stigger Sep 12, 2011 11:59:24	Actually, I had their presence in the region spanning five thousand years, and their being 'nobles' for the last 3,500 years, and I had established they weren't the oldest family in the city, though I never really actually ennumerated who those other families were. It added some interesting tension with the Waterdhavian nobility, who had more coin and a better location, but not nearly as much legitimacy or stability. Toss in viewpoints like those of the nobles who sneered at the idea of the non-human temple in 'their' ward, and the attitudes start to look more like feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, rather than outright kneejerk racism, per se. Which I prefer myself, though obviously that might not suit everyone's tastes. I think it goes along with Volo's description of the city as having been much more cosmopolitan and civilized than almost anywhere else in Faerun. How that translates in the developments of 4e... not sure it does actually, but its a major reason why I'm not that fond of the 4e Realms. Sounds strange perhaps, but Neverwinter was my absolute favorite place in Faerun.
#12 Mr_Miscellany Sep 13, 2011 16:02:40	Sounds to me like I'm overdue for a reading of Volo's Guide to the North! Stigger, thank you again. If you feel like sharing any more from your campaign, please do so. I think the idea of jealousy expressed by humans towards elves who've simply been around longer is an awesome one.
#13 Stigger Sep 14, 2011 7:56:47	Well, one thing I found useful for the family was the library, filled with journals of past family members that could always be used to generate a plot hook, though the presence of two of my players characters (one an "arcanoarchaeologist" wizard character, and the other's elven (Hawksong) noble, who was a divine seeker of Labelas who went after elven antiquities that were long lost to time) made that fairly easy. The area's history and mystery did the rest. One thing of note though, I did interpret the Neverwinter Woods lore as being a literal Fae stronghold that was the real reason the area had never suffered that much depredation from hordes and such, with the notion that Oberon occassionally walked the lands, as Titania was rumored to do with the King's Forest in Cormyr, which also let me reinforce that the city was being subtly influenced by Fae, which I thought helped explain the Sunite presence a bit better. The Church of Lliira was something else I made pretty prominent in the city, with the matron of the Uthmere's being the local high priestess as well, and her encouraging active adventuring against the slave trade, and essentially promoting a much more militant branch of the Church, complete with Holy Liberators (PrC from the Complete series), though that's militant in the context of Lliira, not Helm. Not sure that'd work with other people's campaigns, but it certainly let me get away with a lot that I don't think I could have explained otherwise.
#14 eriksdb Sep 15, 2011 11:54:59	@Keith: Awesome link. I was pleased to see Hawkwinter on that list, as I'm using a young Hawkwinter noble in SHADOWBANE. @Stigger: Some cool stuff here! I'll take a stab at fitting it into 4e Neverwinter from my perspective: Actually, I had their presence in the region spanning five thousand years, and their being 'nobles' for the last 3,500 years, and I had established they weren't the oldest family in the city, though I never really actually ennumerated who those other families were. It added some interesting tension with the Waterdhavian nobility, who had more coin and a better location, but not nearly as much legitimacy or stability. Toss in viewpoints like those of the nobles who sneered at the idea of the non-human temple in 'their' ward, and the attitudes start to look more like feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, rather than outright kneejerk racism, per se. Which I prefer myself, though obviously that might not suit everyone's tastes. I think it goes along with Volo's description of the city as having been much more cosmopolitan and civilized than almost anywhere else in Faerun. How that translates in the developments of 4e... not sure it does actually, but its a major reason why I'm not that fond of the 4e Realms. Sounds strange perhaps, but Neverwinter was my absolute favorite place in Faerun. That fits great into Waterdeep, particularly everything that's going on with Field Ward, and it's an attitude I can see translating very well over to Neverwinter in the context of nobles/merchants from Waterdeep heading there. The rules are a lot looser these days in Neverwinter as to who-rules-what--much more about "might makes right," unless you want power in the Protector's Enclave, in which it's more about "coin makes right," being the coin you pay to Lord Neverember. I think a lot of the continuity of noble families has also been lost over the century and the cataclysm, leading many legit (and not so legit) nobles to prove themselves in one way or another. One can't just fall back on one's past as a noble, which some learn to their sorrow. Neverwinter is a place where you can buy nobility from the Lord Protector, or earn it by proving your mettle against one of the city's many threats. A PC with the Noble theme might be able to carve out his family's holdings by getting in financial bed with Neverember, only to realize that he's basically just helping his rival, or by heading to somewhere Neverember doesn't control as tightly, like Blacklake, where he can set himself up as a crime boss on his way to legitimacy. (Something similar holds true for Waterdeep: the city is much more civilized at the moment and under the control of Neverember, but at least there you can work through the other Masked Lords who at least ostensibly check the Open Lord's power.) I really like the Liira tie-in, and I plan to borrow that for my own Neverwinter campaign, if/when I get that started. I have a few other games to get through first. Cheers
#15 crzyhawk Sep 15, 2011 15:35:41	You might be able to poach some of the elven housenames. With Illefarn and its successor Iliyanbruen located in the general area, it's likely (if human history is a guide) that there may be some of the elven names mixed in too. What might be interesting, is a situation much like the Norman conquest of England, with Neverember playing the role of William the Conqueror. It's likely as he tries to consolidate his base of power in Neverwinter, he could use younger noble sons and daughters of the Waterdhavian nobility who would not be inheriting. Of course, the families in Waterdeep would benefit from getting rid of extra heirs, and would likely be granting money and favors to Neverember which increases his power in waterdeep. The younger nobles themselves become useful in Neverwinter, and are absolutely loyal to the Lord Protector to whom they owe their position and privilege. Neverember is essentially double dipping here, and growing his power in both Neverwinter AND Waterdeep, much like William as Duke of Normandy AND King of England. The old Neverwinter nobility, pushed aside much like the Saxons of England are less then pleased with losing the lands and estates to "wastrels" from Waterdeep who have no tie or claim to the land. Tensions would obviously run high, and the returning fey from Iliyanbruen would likely support the elven-decended houses of old...