Being a noble is an occupation and sub-occupation available to the People of the Earth in Elder Tale. It is also a subclass for Adventurers. A detailed article was written about it in the 29th volume of the Theldesia Gazette.[1]
As an occupation[]
Noble mainly refers to the ruling class of Theldesia, as most countries and regions there chose to adopt a feudal system. Nobles are often heads of nations and kingdoms, assuming complete control on its territory and population. However the range of this title is wide so its representative can play various roles, encompassing those who fill the role of our modern bureaucracy. In that sense, some Knights and Civil Servants can be included in the nobility but since they are independent and separate subclasses, they won’t bear the Noble subclass.
With the underdeveloped education system of their world, intellectuals and intellectual workers are few and knowledge of politics and governance is an advanced and rare power. Therefore, one of the important roles of Nobles is to pass down their education and nurture the next generation. Typically, a noble family has 10 legitimate members and some 5 to 20 blood relatives (servants and soldiers not included in the count).
In Yamato, the Nobles of the east and the west function differently. On one side, the Eastal League of Free Cities is composed of aristocrats who govern over their cities and territories in a manner similar to the samurais of medieval Japan. On the other side, the Nobles of the Holy Empire Westelande are members of a Senate and hold public office in the capital of Kyou, a little like modern parliamentarians or ministers.[2]
While they hold the political power, Earthling Nobles pale in comparison to Adventurers in terms of overall individual power.
As a subclass[]
It is one of the countless role-playing subclasses the game has to offer. It originally was a Lander-only subclass but it was made available after popular demand. It is different from the High Noble, which is a Special Title.
It acts as an honorary title for contributing in quests and gives the player the position of an honorary aristocrat and visiting noble, but it holds little to no real power: just because an Adventurer gained this subclass doesn’t mean they suddenly have the ability to do anything remotely aristocratic like acquiring a territory, collecting taxes or appointing knights (Elder Tale is a MMO, not a territorial management SLG). A Noble Adventurer stays an Adventurer in first place and will have to play their “rightful” part.
The quests players need to complete to become and level Noble do not require any fighting, and players can get the subclass whenever they want and even at a low level if they wish so. However, leveling it is not that easy. In order to be recognized by the nobility, the Adventurer needs to forge bonds with high-ranking Nobles and make great contributions represented by a certain amount of exclusive quests involving the nobility (such as the “Honorable Conduct” and “Noble-like Behaviour” quests.). The initial title recieved is Sir and will progress to Baronet, Baron, Viscount, Earl, and Marquis (Adventurers reaching a title higher than Duke or Grand Duke have never been heard of).
This laborious process made very few people want to take this path as the subclass itself does not give a lot of bonuses in combat or production despite the considerable amount of effort needed to put into leveling, making it unpopular and scarce by strategic players. However, many of the dedicated quests are well-designed and have a strong storyline, perfect to immerse oneself into the fictitious fantasy world of a medieval MMO, especially from an aristocratic point of view. For the lore-seeking fanbase, Noble is a legitimate role-playing subclass with popularity and demand.
Known Nobles[]
Related Subclasses[]
References[]
- ↑ Log Horizon Database, https://lhrpg.com/lhz/i?id=1616
- ↑ Log Horizon Light Novel and Anime