Prerequisites: Spellcaster keyword, 9th level character. Benefit: The term “Archmage” is herein used to describe a person who has earned a noble title through arcane prowess. This might be a mage who is afforded a noble title for their service to the crown, an arcane scholar given a hereditary title for their work, or a heroic spellslinger who is recognized for their prowess. Archmages are respected, generally as lesser nobles, but are shown extreme deference in arcane circles where they are held as exemplars of magical conduct and excellence. Archmages are typically referred to by the honorific “Archmage” or “Lord/Lady Magister”. Note: While this title is usually given to arcane spellcasters, it can be applied to those who use other types of magic as well.

Prerequisites: A title, 9th level. Benefit: You gain the ownership of a keep, castle, or similar fortified settlement as well as some surrounding lands. A castle generally requires upkeep, though if managed well it can be sustained by the bounty of the lands around it. Owning a castle typically comes with a requirement for you to manage its affairs, protect those on the surrounding land, and offer military aid or service to whatever nation that castle is part of.

The staff of the castle is generally loyal to you, though they are functionally employees of the nation who have been placed at your service. Most have a majordomo (“major do-mo”) who manages the affairs of the castle as well as a captain who will marshal and lead forces for you. Soldiers are stationed in castles, though they may not always be your soldiers. Such NPCs are not under your command directly but you can order them to take certain actions as befits their duty.

The management and use of a castle varies widely however so please discuss with your GM how they’d like to approach it. Day to day management is generally delegated to your majordomo or some other advisor/functionary but large decisions should be left up to you. Castles may reward those who manage it well with allies, wealth, and prestige but can just as easily become burdensome if not ruled justly.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: As time goes on, the interesting bits of your heritage and culture sometimes make themselves known. You gain a cultural trait of your choice from any lineage or general culture. You must have a plausible reason for gaining its use such as a close association with a member of that culture, the deep and respectful study of that culture, a genuine immersion in that culture for a prolonged period of time, a previously unknown connection to the lineage, or even a formal adoption into that culture.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You have dove deep into your own culture. You gain a second cultural trait from your own culture. Sidebar: Culture Related Feats If you take both Cultured and Cultural Influence you can have: 1 cultural trait from character creation, a 2nd cultural trait from your own culture (Cultured), and 1 cultural trait from any culture (Cultural Influence).

Prerequisites: Professional in Academia. Benefit: You are a renown and celebrated scholar and teacher with a history of published work. Your exact title may be different depending on your field of study and region but terms like “Doctor”, “Scholar”, “Sensei”, “Reb”, and the like are common ones. This honor normally comes with benefits at educational institutes, particularly at ones you teach at or have spoken at. These commonly include things like access to the grounds, libraries, supplies for research, respect from students and other academics, etc as well as wide-ranging respect in the academic world and the ability to correspond with other great minds of your era.

Prerequisites: Skilled in Intimidate. Benefit: You are feared by everyone who hears your name. You have a reputation of violence, ferocity, and terror that you’ve cultivated. When you walk into a bar people clear out, when you step on the battlefield enemy soldiers think twice about stepping up to fight you, and even nobility tries to appease you lest they suffer your wrath.

Prerequisites: Skilled in Politique. Benefit: Your reputation is unimpeachable and people will be very skeptical of reported wrongdoings and will defend your honorable reputation. This doesn’t mean with enough evidence people won’t see the truth but you’ve cultivated a persona (real or otherwise) that is beyond reproach in the mind of the public.

Prerequisites: Martial keyword, 9th level character. Benefit: The term “Knight” is herein used to describe a person who has earned a noble title through strength of arms. This might be a champion who is afforded a noble title for their service to the crown, a general given a hereditary title for a successful campaign, or a heroic swordsman who is recognized for their prowess. Knights are respected, generally as lesser nobles, but are shown extreme deference in martial circles where they are held as exemplars of martial conduct and excellence. Knights are typically referred to by the honorific “Sir”, “Ser”, or “Don/Donna”.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You are granted ownership over a large tract of private land. It does not contain others on it (who might otherwise be obliged to pay you taxes or require your governance), though you may allow others to settle there with your permission. This may or may not come with facilities already existing on the land. This may or may not come with a lesser title (such as “landowner”, “yeoman”, “freeholder”, “laird”, etc) that recognizes your place in a local community. The exact size and nature of this land grant is a discussion between you and the GM.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You gain the service of several loyal retainers. These retainers are commoners and you gain the service of 1 such retainer per character level. Should you lose your retainers (to death, desertion, or other unfortunate circumstances) you may take 24 hours in a suitable settlement to recruit up more retainers. You are expected to provide for the basic necessities of your retainers as well as any notable equipment you wish them to use. If you develop an unsavory reputation you may find it difficult to recruit more retainers.

A GM may allow you to gain special retainers though the total character levels of all your minors may not exceed your own and no retainer may have a level greater than 1/2 your own. This means that if you were level 10 you might have a level 5 bodyguard and 5 level 1 laborers following you around.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You have a distant, tenuous connection to a royal bloodline. You may be many times removed from the recognized chain of inheritance, but there is enough to link you to the family. This may afford you privileges in certain circles, or it may make you a target.

Prerequisites: Talented keyword, 9th level character. Benefit: The term “Master” is herein used to describe a person who has earned a noble title through their mastery of an art, skill, profession, or trade. They may have risen through the ranks of a guild and become a guildmaster, have made such astounding works of art that their kingdom cannot help but recognize them for it (Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel), or have added so much to a field of study that their name has become synonymous with the field itself (Louis Pasteur and “Pasteurization”). Masters are respected, generally as lesser nobles, but are shown extreme deference in their field where they are sought after as teachers. Masters are typically referred to by the honorific “Master/Mistress”, “Sensei”, or “Provost”.

Prerequisites: Martial keyword OR Profession in Military Lore. Benefit: You have a military commission or have been granted a rank in the military. This is typically outside the normal entry level ranks, this honor refers to those of officer status or equivalent. This generally comes with duties as well as privileges and soldiers from your armed force will show both respect to you and follow your legitimate orders. You likey will be assigned a task or station (for narrative sake often in line with your adventure) and can benefit from your rank while in service to those goals. This normally involves requisitioning weapons, getting an armed escort, or issuing orders to allied troops.

Prerequisites: Professional in Politique. Benefit: You are granted a noble title. This must fall within the power structure of your culture or the culture of the one who bestows it upon you. You will likely have obligations, often civil or administrative ones, but also privileges. In many lands even foreign nobles are afforded greater deference, trust, and authority. Local laws may vary but nobles effectively act as an extension of their governing body and as such are often above the law (or at least receive special considerations, even if informally). The honorific used for a noble varies wildly based on what the title is but it is generally safe to use “Lord/Lady”.

Feel free to use any honorific for any gender identity.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: When an outside effect would force you to act against one or more of your oaths, you add your highest mental ability score to the save. If it is the same ability score as the check normally uses, add it twice. Additionally, once per long rest when you take an action that exemplifies an oath you get 1 Free Hero Dice on that roll. Example: If a mental effect would cause you to violate an oath and Wisdom is your highest mental ability score, you’d add your Wisdom twice to the save.

Prerequisites: Professional in Religion, active member of a religious order/organization. Benefit: You achieve a position of moderate authority within your religious order/organization. This provides you with the ability to rule on certain matters, preside over ceremonies, and initiate new members of the faith. You are expected to either serve a particular area or help spread your religion. This generally comes with a title and responsibilities as well as accommodations like a salary, gifts/tithes, a place to live, etc.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: Your accomplishments are spoken about far and wide. People recognize you and know who you are, even in places you haven’t been before. You may be asked to talk about past exploits, current plans and adventures, or to help solve local issues. You are generally given favorable status and respect, unless you give reason to act otherwise. Some foes (especially mooks) may decide they are unwilling to confront you, or offer alternatives to conflict. If you have a title, you are generally referred to by your title.

Prerequisites: Professional in Aquatic. Benefit: You gain ownership and command of a large sea-going vessel. While you don’t always need to man it, it is at your disposal. You can assign your crew to manage it in your absence and may be able to derive some income or prestige based on its use while you are away.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You have achieved fame with a specific created persona that people associate you with. For example: if you commit a lot of daring robberies while wearing a fox mask to hide your identity you might become “The Ghost Fox”. People regard you and your persona differently and don’t associate the two together. Your persona is famous and instantly recognizable as a master of their craft and their reputation will precede you.

When you take this honor, select 1 additional honor. This honor is exclusive to your persona. You may have your other honors specifically apply to either you, your persona, or both.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You have some symbol of office, writ, badge or icon that establishes you as being largely above the law or otherwise answerable only to a particularly high authority. Flashing your symbol of office will let you into many places as if you had express permission from the authority you represent. Misuse of this is punished harshly. Those of an equal status to you (typically senior officials) and those who are ignorant of the authority granted by your symbol of office are largely immune to this.

Prerequisites: Known association with a crime organization, 9th level character. Benefit: You are a recognized, respected, and honored player in the underworld. You have been named as an “untouchable” person and if you are injured by any major player in the underworld there will be blood to pay. This doesn’t grant you immunity from reprisal but there will be steep, likely fatal, consequences for whoever harms or offends you (often to the point where their associates may be harmed/shunned as well). You are treated like royalty when in the underworld and many people want to curry favor with you.

Special: This is an honor that grants a title. However, this title may be hard to wield in polite company. Even if you technically should be addressed as “Don Draven of Illmarch, Head of the Illmarch Crime Family” you probably shouldn’t say it too loud. Can you get the Castle honor with this title? Technically, but it would require some special circumstances and maybe a puppet who rules in name only.

Prerequisites: Title OR Professional in Merchant Lore. Benefit: You are granted a stable income. This could be due to a tithe or tax that must be paid to you, a large investment or trust fund, or simply a stipend granted by an authority. Such a stream of income generally needs some kind of investment, upkeep, or oversight.

You receive 100 gold per month. If you are at least 10th level this increases to 250 GP per month. At 20th level this becomes 500 GP per month. You must be in a position to collect this money, though several months of money can be held for you if you are unavailable. You must designate the method and means of delivery. Note: While this is a good way to fill your pockets it is also a great way to fund projects or things like a castle’s upkeep. Special: Depending on the timescale of your games you may need to adjust the amount or frequency of payment. A game that deals in days or weeks might benefit from a daily tithe being paid to you while one that takes place over years might need to payout a little less and have it delivered to you yearly.

Prerequisites: None. Benefit: You are given express permission to loot and plunder within a certain region so long as you follow certain guidelines and pay a percentage of all goods taken to a higher authority, referred to as your patron. Typically you are expected to harass the merchants and trade of rival nations/states while giving safe passage to the merchants of your patron. In return, you are given safe haven in lands controlled by your patron and have political immunity from the repercussions of attacking those specified in the writ. Note: Though this is traditionally something done on the high seas, such a writ (or equivalent) can be granted in any region. Such writs are generally only granted in contested areas, borderlands, or areas where no one can claim uncontested authority (attacking in a contested area is called “war”).