Random Aristocratic/Plutocratic House Tables

[taalismn]

Random Aristocratic/Plutocratic House Tables
(Or: “Why Does Your Family Coat of Arms Feature a Dead Skunk and Crossed Chainsaws?”)

“So our Viscount insulted their Archduke by acquiring the rights to the Paran Islands, which the Archduke quietly coveted for himself? And he’s miffed the Viscount didn’t offer him a majority partnership on the side, in spite of the King giving us clear and complete title?”
“Yes, but the Earls of Trinsex and Udorom, who are our in-laws, are backing us on the issue of the Grand Canal! And the Archduke dare not threaten that! It’s a Royal Project after all! Can’t have infighting over that, not at all!”
“...thank heavens for large families with many daughters to marry off...”
“Yes, indeed! Most fortunate to have made so many good matches! To have blocked the Berkens and the Suffors so effectively was our good luck!”
“Are we the Capulets or the Montagues in this?”
“Oh, don’t worry. Nobody’s going to get stabbed! The tiff’s all economic! No violence involved...usually.”

“You’re not marrying that woman, boy! There’s no way in hell I’m going to let an avowed communist anywhere near the fortunes of the largest auto company in the Southern Hemisphere!”
“She’s a SOCIALIST, father, not a communist!”
“Whatever. Marry her, and I’ll cut you out of the family! No more Amazonia for you! You’ll have to be content with the Rio apartment!”
“But...but...that’s only ten rooms! Surely you can’t! You fiend!”

‘I made my money the true old-fashioned way, son! I rode down my enemies and pillaged cities and extracted tribute! And you want to go into MANUFACTURING?! What’s wrong with you, boy, your nurses dropped you on your head?! What’s wrong with the good old ways?!”
“Dad, the steppes are all looted out. We’re starting to lose money and we’ll lose even more if we try to take on the kingdoms beyond, because they’ve started forting up! On the other hand, we got a ready-made market for manufactured goods close at hand because the peasants are looking to replace all the stuff we destroyed! We can sell them new stuff and they’ll trade with the outside cities and bring in more money. Later we can sell direct to the cities after they’ve calmed down-”
“Then when their guard is down, THEN we loot them! Clever boy!”
“...Dad, it’s a bit more complicated than that...”

“Word to the wise, at a fete like this, don’t **** off the House of Kong. NOBODY pisses off the House of Kong more than once.”

“It doesn’t matter that all we own is swamp! It’s OUR swamp! Granted by the hand of the Great King Alfor to our esteemed ancestor Brongold the Nearsighted! We are the custodians of the swamp! Have been for eight generations! And you want to give it all up to live in the city?! Where’s your sense of tradition, girl?! Our pride and honor are in that swamp!!!”
“Next, I imagine you’re going to tell me of the wonders of arranged marriages?”
“It worked for your mother and I!”

“Ah, Steffan my good friend, my good man! I knew you had to be around! I am not only here to open relations with your people, I come bearing gifts as well! Our Dear Queen Trisalas was so disappointed that you did not linger to receive your rewards for all you did for our kingdom! Slaying a Dark God is no small thing, after all! Do not worry, she understands you had to get back to your people and your duties, but accord you your just due, we must! So this scroll declares to all you are a Great Champion of Her Realm, and this scroll declares you, for services to Her Imperial Highness, Her Much Beloved Servant, Baron Amadale Steffan Skaren of FarReach, of the new House Skaren, which her Majesty is pleased to endow. Oh, and knowing that you don’t have a proper household, she sent along, with your new trappings of office, a dozen of the pick of her servitor stables to start you out.”
(x12)“...Master!”
“Oh dear god...the queen didn’t....my commanding officer’s going to kill me when he sees this! She made me a SLAVE OWNER?!”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you what ArchDuke Garos or the Red Viscount are also sending you.”

Be it the Palladium Fantasy World or the Paradise Federation, these charts are for describing the aristocracy/wealthy of established society. Be it playing the equivalents of the House of Winsor, the Crawleys, the Rockefellers, the Borgias or the Atreides, these general charts are meant to lay out the holdings of dynastic families who have acquired their high station by blood inheritance, bloodshed, or generous application of money. Whether you’re a landgravess or a captain of industry, an Usher or a Genghis, a Steerpike or a Pip, these charts should give you a rough idea of what you’re working with.

The following are set up for Random Roll(as you may be able to pick your friends, but not your family). Or pick and choose as you will.

A. Size: ---How large is the House, in terms of its core family members?
“Unless something drastic is done NOW, this bloodline and all it represents will die out in a generation! Anybody got any bastards to declare?”

1)(01-10%) Miniscule---There are 1d8 members of the House
2) (11-25%) Small---4d6 members
3)(26-50%) Extended--- There’s 2-4 generations at any one time, with 1d4x10 family members.
4) (51-70%) Large---2d4x10 family members comprise the core of the House
5) (71-90%) Extensive---3d6x10 members; there’s enough for some serious factionalism, or a possible budding cadet branch.
6) (91-00%) Giant---There’s 1d4x100 family members in the House; enough to go around the House’s various interests, start a couple cadet branches, or maybe start a civil war.

B. Origin: --- How did the House arise to its prominence?
“What matters that they are of uncouth origin? Give them two or three generations, or even one, and they’ll be indistinguishable from the rest of the old-line chinless, soft-boned and feckless so-called nobles around here!”

1)(01-20%) Old Family/Old Money---Since time immemorial, the family name has been associated with nobility or high business, its origins lost in the mists of time. The House name thus carries a great deal of gravitas, but has also been around long enough to have acquired spots of tarnish as well.
2)(21-40%) Awarded---The House founders were minor nobility granted name and status of their own for some great deed or favor(or maybe very good blackmail). Thus it’s been considered ‘noble’ for several generations, but may still be regarded as ‘young’ and their position still precarious.
3)(41-60%) Cadet Branch---The House split from an older House, and still retains tenuous connections to the original clan. They’re likely not as powerful or known as their older cousins, but may suffer the same problems by association, even though they may be separated by several generations from the older House. If they outshine their ancestral clan, they may be subject to their jealousy.
4)(61-70%) Raised Up---The House started with a commoner elevated to the peerage by royal decree or action of other Houses, and gifted with the seeds(such as a ransom or land grant) of their wealth, usually as a reward for some great deed or service. The House likely hasn’t been ennobled for more than two or three generations, and older Houses still look down on it.
5) (71-80%) Usurped---The House members stole or forcibly acquired the heritage of another previous House, and assumed its place, sometimes even taking the very name of the displaced House. For whatever reasons, other Houses have not done anything about them(possibly because, in the case of a larger conquest or revolution, they’ve done the same).
6)( 81-00%) Bought---The founders of the House bought and bribed their way to status, by their own efforts. They may be looked down upon by older established Houses for their audacity and mundane path to nobility, or they may be admired for their resourcefulness and chutzpah.

C. General Alignment:---This is the general alignment and principles by which the House has lived. This isn’t always the face the House publicly shows, but it is the underlying ethics by which its members live.
“Never leave an unblinded enemy behind you, whether in war or peace. That’s what’s kept this family strong.”

1)(01-10%) Diabolical---Family members believe in satisfying their every whim, base appetite, ambition and desire, regardless of the consequence. The ends justify ANY means to these people.
2) (11-25%) Aberrant---House members of this alignment tend to be sociopaths; they possess a code of conduct and honor, but a twisted and self-serving one. They tend to take their honor very seriously, and will react poorly to having it questioned.
3) (26-40%) Miscreant--’Robber baron’ is an apt description of this House’s members, and they plunder their neighbors and their serfs/employees with equal enthusiasm.
4) (41-51%) Anarchist---This House alignment will grasp every opportunity to get ahead, but draw the line at lethal means(except in the most extreme cases). May exploit their own people, but not dangerously so.
5) (52-75%) Unprincipled--- The House serves its own best interests above all else, but there are lines it will not cross, such as hitting on their own people.
6) (76-90%) Scrupulous---Adheres to the spirit of the law, but aren’t afraid to take action, even if it breaks the letter of the law. Tend towards a two-fisted interpretation of nobility.
7) (91-00%) Principled---Adheres to the letter of the law, and stick by their principles, even if it hurts them. Their word is sacred, their honor impeccable, and their sense of duty paramount.

D. Leadership---Who makes the decisions in the House?
“Talk to your mother. She tells me what to do. She tells us ALL what to do.”

1)(01-25%) Patriarchal---The males of the House organization make the decisions, with a grand patriarch presiding over all.
2)(26-50%) Matriarchal---Power in the House rests in the hands of the women, with a grand matriarch making final decisions.
3)(51-70%) Council of Elders---The oldest members of the House control the pursestrings and titles.
4)(71-80%) Board of Achievers---The most accomplished/titled members of the House are invested with the decision-making for the House.
5)(81-94%) Grand Vote---ALL members of the House core bloodline vote on major actions and decisions.
6)(95-00%) Other---The House is run by some unconventional means---casting of I-Ching sticks, dream interpretations, astrological readings, etc.---or the House may be in the charge of an outside organization, such as a corporate board of directors, or a probation officer.

E. Income: --- How does the House support itself? This is what the House generally makes its wealth off of. The exact way it does so may be influenced by other factors, such as Alignment(an evil House may use slave labor in its factories and plantations, a selfish House may use spies or reprint caustic gossip in its newspapers, a good House may build hospitals alongside its farms), Wealth, and Holdings.
“Dealing in planets is a long and proud family tradition, my dearest daughter, and one you will learn to love.”

1)(01-10%) Land Taxes/Dues---The House makes its money from leases, land tithes, or landlord steadings. Downside: Fluctuations in real estate prices and land reform can make for unreliable profits. (+15% to Holdings)
2) (11-25%) Agriculture---The House’s lands are cultivated commercially. Traditionally regarded as a sound investment, agriculture can also include winemaking and distilling. Downside: Bad harvest seasons can cut into profits, or wipe them out entirely. If an Evil-aligned House, this may cover growing and processing narcotic crops. (+20% to Holdings)
3) (26-30%) Ranching---Raising live animals is the stock and trade of the House. This can be the equivalent of livestock for meat or fur, or quality riding animals. Downside: Animal diseases can wipe out entire herds, and poor showings at the race tracks can kill the prospect of breeders’ fees. (+20% to Holdings)
4) (31-40%) Trading---The House is one of merchants. In more modern settings, they may be involved in transportation. Be it shipping, railroads, maybe even airships, spacefreighters, or starships, the House is in the business of moving goods from market to market. (+25% to Connections)
5) (41-46%) Manufacturing--The House is an investor in industrial craftsmanship. They may be swordsmiths and blacksmiths, or own vast automated textile factories, but they are in the business of making things. Downside: Resource- and labor-intensive, and vulnerable to a number of factors, including market demand and technological change. (+5% to Security, +5% to Holdings)
6) (47-50%) Invention/Innovation---The House is one of research and development. They may not grow commercial quantities of a strain of wheat, or mass-manufacture a widget, but they were the first to grow/develop it, and license it. They operate as a sort of brain-trust or idea factory. Downside: Development Hell and competition in innovation. (+10% to Security)
7) (51-60%) Mining---The House’s properties are rich in mineral wealth or other geological resources, such as fresh water or oil. The downside is that the source of this wealth is finite. (+10% to Holdings)
8 ) (61-65 %) War---The House is known for its knights, soldiers for hire, or else collects tribute from military ventures. The downside is that in times of peace, the House’s sources of revenue are going to dry up. (+20% to Security)
9) (66-69%) Art---The House are known patrons and producers of the arts...for sale. Be it backing expert craftsmen, or staging great concerts, or cutting gemstones, the House produces works of great beauty, much in demand by others with money to spend. Downside: in times of economic depression or changing aesthetic tastes, people may not buy what the House is producing. (+10% to Wealth)
10) (70-79%) Human Services---The House is known for producing service personnel...administrators, healers, servants, slaves...in demand by others. In magic or psychic settings, they may provide mage-workers for hire, or psychic employees. Downside is that changing social mores or economics may cause the demand for the sort of employees the House produces to dry up. (+20% to Staff)
11) (80-85%) Administration---The House is known for its public service, producing prominent government and societal officials. The House history is full of ministers, high priests, judges, administrators, and corporate executives. Downside: Regime change can ruin a good thing for the House, or charges of corruption can taint its reputation. (+15% to Connections, +5% to Security)
12) (86-90%) Media and Communications---The House is known for its investment in media...printing houses, newspapers, radio and television networks, cable services. In more primitive settings, they may have the concession for semaphore, heliograph or telegraph services. Downside: Rationalization of the media, government censorship, and collapse of journalistic integrity can break the House’s profits. (+20% to Connections)
13)(91-00%) Banking---The House is a moneylender, manager, and venture capitalist center. They may also provide insurance policies, and handle real estate transactions. Downside: Bankers are traditionally looked at with suspicion, especially in times of economic turmoil. (+20% to Wealth)


F. Holdings: --- How much land property does the House own? Note, however, that size of properties doesn’t always equal great wealth; the House may own a mountain range, but that land may not be arable, or it may take too much to extract any value from it.
Also note that this category can be scaled accordingly depending on setting. A PFRPG Noble House may regard ‘Massive’ as ‘half the total land area of Luxembourg’ , while a Phase World setting Altess House may regard ‘small’ as ‘a red dwarf star system with five small planets’.
“How many castles do we own? Are you counting ruins or complete habitable ones? I rather lost count after the first dozen.”

1)(01-05%) Miniscule---Everything the House owns is crammed onto one small parcel of land, barely large enough to support the House domicile/headquarters, and a bare minimum of farms, mines, or factories. There is no room to expand/develop without tearing up existing properties.
2) (06-16%) Small---The House has land enough for its basic needs, and fallow ground enough to rent/develop, but not a great deal more.
3)(17-24%) Sizable--- The House’s holdings are rather large, but are still consolidated in one parcel.
4)(25-50%) Modest---The House has enough land for its basic interests and a little extra, and may have an extra property(such as a townhouse, summer cottage or office building) off the main grounds.
5) (51-70%) Large---There are large towns that are smaller than this House’s properties. The House may own several secondary halls and residences at a remove from its main one.
6)(71-89%) Extensive--- The House owns several large regions of land that it can develop for its use. The House members have several residences to choose from((summer palace, townhouse, winter lodge, hunting preserve, etc.).
7) (90-97%) Massive----The House’s holdings can be considered county- or march-sized, and the House has many smaller households and residences throughout its territory.
8 ) (98-00%) Sprawling----The House’s properties are vast, taking up a significant portion of their country, and possibly multiple overseas properties/enclaves as well. In sci-fi settings, the House may own a planet, or several asteroids/moons.

G. Wealth: --- How well off is the House in terms of its finances? And how much can they afford to throw around on a monthly basis? It’s entirely possible for a House to have large amounts of property holdings but be unable to benefit from them, due to ongoing expenses, or an inability to exploit or unload their properties. Or maybe the wealth is tied up in trusts and legacies that the current generation can’t touch. Inversely, a small House may have access to vast fortunes accumulated by their ancestors, or a more recent windfall in their businesses.
“Back in the day we could buy thrones! Now we have to collect cans to afford tea-times!”

1)(01-02%) Impoverished---The House is barely making ends meet, and is living day to day. It is a constant decision whether or not to sell off any property or assets to make enough to get by on. The House can make loans of -0-(zip, zilch, nil) on a monthly basis.
2) (05-08%) Penny Pinchers/Coupon-Clippers----The House is managing to hold just above the poverty line, and watches its expenses like a hawk. It would take one bad harvest or a deep dip in stock market prices and the House would have to start contemplating cuts or sales to keep above water. In an emergency, or for special purposes, the House could maybe scare up a paltry 1d4x100 credits for loan.
3) (09-15%) Depressed---The House’s finances could be better, but could be a lot worse. The employees are paid about minimum wage, with small incremental raises, and the House has enough banked away to see them through a lean year or two. They can get up enough for 3d6x100 credits on a loan or two.
4) (16-30%) Reasonably Well-Off--- The House pays its bills, can pay off all its employees with small cost of living adjustments/raises, has enough reserve equity to survive 2-4 bad years, and can make loans of 2d4x1,000 credits.
5) (31-60%) Prosperous--- The House has enough to offer employees substantial raises (50-75% over base pay) and can weather 4-6 bad years without radical changes in lifestyle. They can make available 2d10x1,000 credits in loans or gifts.
6) (61-80%) Wealthy--- These people are in the upper tax brackets, and can pay employees bigger raises and bonuses(100-200% over base pay) and have enough socked away for a decade of comfortable, if not extravagant, living). Average available funds are in the 1d6x10,000 credit range.
7) (81-90%) Rich--- These people can afford to hire/bribe the better employees with 3-4 times base salary, and can toss around 1d10x10,000 credits in spending money.
8 ) (91-95%) Super-Rich--These people can light their barbecue grills with hundred-credit notes. They can part with 2d4x100,000 credits for gifts or loans.
9) (96-99%) Filthy Rich---The House is wallowing in wealth. Krossos has nothing on them. They can throw 1d6 million credits at problems and projects.
10)(-00%) Obscenely Wealthy---These people are drowning in money. If they liquidated all of their assets, they’d probably destabilize the national economy. They think nothing of throwing out loans or gifts of 2d10 million credits.

H. Staff: --- How many employees are part of the immediate staff attending House members? Beyond company employees/serfs that is. Large staffs of retainers may be a sign of status and provide the House with a luxurious existence, but they can also represent immediate security risks (disgruntled servants make good moles in an organization) or a drain on the House’s finances(and cutting back on servants is a good sign that a House’s financial situation is changing).
“Will Master be wanting a back-rub?”

1) (01-05%) None--House members must do everything for themselves.
2) (06-16%) Threadbare---There is perhaps 1 servant/attendant for every two House members, and the employees must fill several different roles to get by.
3) (17-50%) Basic---One attendant for every 1 House member. This may mean a batman and a cook/housekeeper for a small House.
4)(51-79%) Busy--- There’s generally two servants to wait on each of the House members, a small cooking staff, and a grounds or gamekeeper handling outdoor tasks.
5)(80-94%) Full Staff---There is a full complement of personal servants, kitchen and laundry staff, and groundskeepers to wait on the House members. There’s enough staff on hand for shifts to work around the clock. Smaller complements of staff can be expected to be on station at any of the other properties/residences of the House.
6)(95-00%) Swimming---There are ten or more servants and assistants to every House member. This includes specialized attendants such as scutlers, bath attendants, armskeepers, heralds, drivers, entertainers, shoeshiners, mentats, and the like to wait on the House family effectively hand and foot.


I. Security: ---How well protected is the House?
“Count the silverware before everybody leaves tonight. If you come up short, you have my permission to start floggings.”

1) (01-05%) None; aside from physical locks on doors and the House members’ personal vigilance, there is no security to speak of.
2)(06-20%) Lax---The equivalent of a night watchman or two, fences, a basic security system, and better locks, maybe a watch animal or two.
3) (21-45%) Tight---Doors are multiple-locked, and a regular patrol of the facilities of the House is made. The family/core members of the House will have saferooms for themselves to retreat to in an emergency.
4)(46-65%) Secure---A more elaborate set up with automated monitoring, reinforced walls and structures, a professional force of a dozen or more security men (of at least 4th level of experience) with weaponry, and maybe a security robot and/or automated sentry towers. Saferoom and business areas are insulated against
5)(66-80%) Ironclad---The House maintains a professional team of security experts to watch their properties and monitor their integrity. They also possess the means to sweep for electronic surveillance.
6)(81-92%) Paranoid---Same as Ironclad, only turned up a notch; communications are encrypted and logged, the properties are regularly swept for surveillance, and visitors and staff are routinely scanned/frisked for contraband. House members will have several escape plans already set up in case of an emergency.
7)(93-97%) Impregnable---The House is a fortress; automated(or magical) defenses, lethally-armed guards, and multiple barriers making getting through the House’s grounds difficult, if not impossible, for any unsupervised visitor.
8 )(98-00%) Small Army---The House maintains a small army, armed and equipped at House expense, that can act defensively, or as a strike force for any special actions. Depending on the setting, this may be in violation of local laws, or may be perfectly in keeping with them.

J. Connections---What outside interactions does the House maintain?
“Wow, we’re in the middle of deepest, darkest, Asia, and all you did was show that random guy your family sigil ring and we’re now being treated like royalty!?”

1)(01-05%) None; the House keeps to itself and has little, if any, truck with anybody outside its properties.
2) (06-15%) Local---The House interacts with the local townships around its properties, and is present in the local councils of government, but rarely ventures beyond that.
3)(16-40%) Regional---The House has its representatives and business interests throughout a state or province.
4)(41-65%) Capital---The House has a significant presence at their nation’s capital, maintaining agents, representatives, or lobbyists in the halls of power.
5) (66-80%) National---Besides the capital and its home turf, the House has contacts throughout the country it exists in, with business contacts in all the major communities, and agents wherever the House’s business interests happen.
6)(81-90%) International---The House has contacts outside its kingdom, with agents operating in other countries/kingdoms, typically at major capitals and trade hubs.
7)(91-00%) Organized Crime---Even if the House is not directly involved in criminal activity, they have contacts with the organized crime element in their kingdom. This may be relationship by blood, common interest, or a matter of favors owed, but the House knows how to get in touch with the other side of the law. If an evil-aligned House, then the House IS THE organized crime organization in the land and knows about every scam and criminal activity taking place in or near their holdings.

K.(Optional) Perks: ---Perks are extra advantages that the House has that help it along.
“Your family has the sole license to harvest and distribute peacock weed? That would be impressive...if I only knew what peacock weed -is-.”

1)(01-10%) Royal/Governmental Favor----The House enjoys the favor of the highest ruling party in the land. This may be the good graces of the emperor or king, or special dispensation of the government. The House may appeal to this authority for special concessions or favors, and the authority will bend the laws for House members. In evil-aligned Houses, this may represent a case of excellent hiding of their true agendas, or having some choice leverage on the ruling party(blackmail, or disposed of the bodies for the Prime Minister).
2) (11-15%) Monopoly---The House enjoys exclusive control of a particular resource---control of the local water supply, regional trade charter, important patents, cultivation of a particular species of plant or animal, etc.
3) (16-20%) Famous Reputation---The House has a known and popular reputation for being true to its word, glamorous, brave, beneficent, clever, or other positive attribute. People react to the name of the House as if struck by an Awe Factor of 8+1d6.
4) (21-30%) Loyal Ally---The House counts another powerful House/family as steadfast friends and allies who will back them in a crisis, or at least hide and protect the survivors.
5) (31-35%) Bloodgift---The family line carries some physical attribute that gives them an edge...longevity, sex pheromones, psychic abilities, superpowers, or the like. Besides giving individual members an advantage, Bloodgifts may also encourage other families to seek alliances to marry into the House, if the Bloodgift is publicly known.
6) (36-40%) Lucky---The House seems to always luck into good deals, arranged marriages always seem to result in love matches, and they always seem to be in the right place at the right time. Game mechanics-wise, this might be represented by giving the House members a do-over skill roll in especially critical situations, or them just happening to find the choicer loot.
7) (41-50%) Sacred Duty---The House is charged with a special duty(such as demon-hunting, crimefighting, or maintaining the lists of royal bloodlines), or given guardianship of a sacred place or artifact(holy temple, relic, monument site). This may be a secret duty, of which the House members are sworn not to talk about, but for which they receive some special compensation or dispensation, or it may be well-known, and the House can bank on that(such as hiring out as demon-hunters or offering tours of a sacred site).
8 ) (51-55%) Legal Immunity---The House enjoys at least partial immunity from the law in and around its holdings. The local authorities always give them the benefit of the doubt in any incident that they’re involved in, and the courts are more likely to throw out an case against the House.
9)(56-60%) Friendly Press---The media is good to the House, publishing only salutary stories about them, and dismissing the more licentious and scurrilous rumors about them.
10) (61-65%) Cult of Personality---The House has at least one member who has become a charismatic public icon---a captain of industry, an explorer, a military leader, a poet, a prophet, or other hero-celebrity---that commands the public’s respect and adoration. In evil-aligned Houses, this may be an actual cult.
11)(66-70%) Power Behind the Throne---The House either commands the highest position in its nation, or is pretty darn close to it. The House may be either the bloodline of kings and emperors, presidents or popes, or may be indispensable to the running of the government that those same worthies consult the House members on matters of state.
12)(71-79%) House Spirit---The House is blessed with having a staff possessed of an exceptionally strong team spirit. Even if the House is impoverished and broken, the servants and employees pull together to make the most of what they have, and support the House leadership, even if it means shouldering more hardship themselves. In the more extreme cases, this may be manifest by staff members giving their own freedom or lives to protect House members. These people would be laughing and joking even if the Harkonens were lining them up against the wall.
13) (80-85%) Majordomo---The House has in its employ one or more atypically competent sub-managers/majordomos(8th level or higher) who are very proficient troubleshooters, and very loyal to the House. This could be an expert and worldly butler, a public relations expert who knows her spin, or a ninja aide-de-camp who’s not adverse to slitting throats.
14) (86-95%) Popular Support---The House is ADORED by the greater public outside their holdings. They may be moral and ethical bastards and scoundrels, but they somehow have the public’s support(either through ignorance or the House’s social generosity), and are afforded the benefit of the doubt, even if the wolves start circling.
15) (96-00%) Object of Power---This is an artifact or relic that gives the House some great advantage, like a magic scrying globe, a machine gun(with a generous supply of ammunition), a motherlode meteor of pure gold, a supercomputer that can predict economic trends, a suit of powered armor, or a starship. It can be a family secret or publicly known(with the House being the only ones able or allowed to use it).

L.(Optional) Quirks: ---Quirks are the dark side of a House that draw it back from unmitigated success.
“Tough break there, old chap, having to marry your own cousin just to keep the inheritance in the family. But I’m sure things will turn out for the better.”

1)(01-05%) Family Curse---Maybe the properties are haunted, or anybody associated with them gets attacked by werewolves, but the House seems to have some sort of supernatural taint that defies mundane explanation.
2) (06-15%) Family Malady---The mainstream family’s bloodline has a very real physical problem, typically a hereditary disease such a hemophilia, infertility, degeneration due to inbreeding, or a predisposition towards behaviors like alcoholism, depression, or psychopathy.
3)(16-25%) Family Enemy---This can be a foreign faction or another House/family with a grudge(damn them Hatfields!) who look to bring down the House at any opportunity. It could be a disagreement over politics, a dispute over assets, or a blood feud over honor, but the Enemy will be always on the lookout for opportunities to trip up the House.
4)(26-30%) (In)Famous Reputation---Be it a reputation for crooked dealings, or remembrance of a great act of incompetence or cowardice, or a perception of them as uncultured hicks or baboons in ruffles, the House has a problem with negative public relations. People react to the name of the House as if struck by a Contempt Factor of 8+1d6.
5)(31-39%) Internal Factionalism---Several members of the extended family are at odds with each other over the direction of the House and its assets. This can be mere arguments that hinder rapid decision making or full-blown civil war with assassinations.
6)(41-50%) Government Attention---The larger government is paying inordinate attention to the House, maybe out of fear that it’s becoming too powerful, or because it has something the government really REALLY wants. The House may already be discriminated against by laws specifically targeting their activities, or closing doors of opportunity for them.
7)(51-60%) Unlucky---The House has inexplicably bad luck...accidents befall family members, investments fall sour, divorces and illicit affairs run rampant, and other annoyances and spontaneous tragedies threaten to sap the House of morale.
8 )(61-69%) Onerous Duty/Tradition---The House is tied to some old responsibility or tradition that seems to have lost its meaning or relevance, but ties up the House in a form of stasis. Whatever else the House is doing, this task or ritual requires the periodic attention of the House members and prevents radical change in the House(may require the House to maintain a pure bloodline, maintain a certain property, or humiliate themselves in public on a regular basis). This may be some ancient charge continued as a memorial, or it may have a real and continuing significance that will result in dire consequences if not performed. If you’re a Groan, you’d well understand this.
9)(70-80%) Paparazzi---The local media LOVES the House members almost to death, watching them at all times, following them around, intruding on their privacy, digging through their garbage, and publishing every tidbit of gossip they can get hold of about the House. The House is considered ‘big game’ by the press, and the slightest indiscretion caught by witnesses makes instant headlines.
10)(81-90%) Family Secret---The House is hiding a secret that cannot be made public. Perhaps one of its founders was of illegitimate birth, or a pretender to the nobility, or the House made its early fortune engaging in slavery, war profiteering, narcotics, or from murder. Or perhaps they were involved in a plot to overthrow the government, or some other scandal. Whatever it is, it could potentially destroy the good name of the House, and the members may go to great lengths to keep the secret from getting out
11)(91-96%) Royal Connections---The House is the bloodline or maker of kings and emperors, presidents or popes, or is pretty darn close to them. That makes them ready targets for opponents of the government, and even a deposed royal line may be hunted down to prevent any attempts to reclaim power. If powerbrokers and kingmakers, their assets may be coveted or seized by a change of regime, or they may be hounded by those who want their support for powerplays. Even if they were only close friends with people of power, the House may be tarred by association.
12)(97-98%) Run By the Help---The House core members are either so incompetent or negligent that the day to day business of the House is run almost entirely by the servants, with little input from the family. This can be a liability if the House core has neglected its duties, leaving the lower ranks to muddle and improvise, or a blessing, if the staff is more competent than the heads of the House. In either case, however, it amounts to the nominal leaders of the House not really being in charge.
13) (99-00%) Object of Power---This is an artifact or relic that gives the House some great advantage, such as a magic ring, a computer virus that unlocks all computer security, a giant robot, or a teleportation device. The problem is, the object, though powerful, carries some adverse angle ; the magic artifact is a conduit for an alien intelligence seeking to manipulate its pawns in the House, the computer worm is just as efficient at exposing the House’s records as it is anybody else’s, the powered armor may slowly poison its wearer with radiation, and the teleportation gate is causing nearby suns to die more quickly.

M. Status: ---How well is the House doing, past the superficial appearances?
“Revenues are in, profits are up, we got two of our own into Parliament, the court dismissed that beastly woman’s absurd case, and we’re still poised to gain the Territorial Governorship. What can possibly go wrong?”

1) (01-10%)Imperiled--- The House is reaching the end of a long declining fade or is on the cusp of a great disaster that could destroy it.
2) (11-30%)Faltering--- There are signs that the House is in decline or at least hitting a bad spot; its expenses are outstripping its income, almost all the favors have been called in, enemies are massing, and the winds are blowing in the wrong direction.
3) (31-70%)Enduring---Things could be better, but they could be worse. The House has thus far managed to deal with all problems thrown its way, but progress is slow in coming. Still, the House has a comfortable equilibrium.
4)(71-90%) Rising--- The House’s fortunes are definitely improving, its members rising in status, and the future looks sunny for the foreseeable future.
5)(91-00%) Glorious---Whether the result of long hard work or a sudden windfall, the House has achieved, or is about to achieve, stratospheric levels of success.


House Template:
A. Size:
B. Origin:
C. General Alignment:
D. Leadership
E. Income:
F. Holdings:
G. Wealth:
H. Staff:
I. Security:
J. Connections
K. Perks:
L. Quirks:
M. Status:

[taalismn]

Fall of Great Houses(Storytelling Chart)
“I’d rather my daughter be a slave, than bear our name in scandalous association with that alien heretic who murdered a god!”
“I’d rather be a slave than a daughter bearing the name of a House that would sell innocent lives to a false god and call it right. I’d rather wear only chains than the raiments of this clan, which is damned anyway for its actions. Take me away, centurion.”

When a Great House falls from stature, what happens? How does it happen? Disenfranchised nobles and the fallen once-mighty make for dramatic character backgrounds, so here’s a random roll table for how a PC with a background of fallen nobility or high stature might have gotten where they are now:

01-15% Dispirited---
He took one last look at the summer cottage that had once been theirs, thought of the many happy childhood memories it held and the bright futures dreamed of on its porches. Now it would belong to others’ days and dreams; he and his no longer had any place here. Then, silently blaming the hot summer dust for the tears in his eyes, he turned away to return to the boat that would carry him back to the mainland, and the increasingly smaller ancestral homestead that called the last of his family back.
The House has just coasted into decline; through engineered failure or bad luck family members have grown apathetic and failed to produce heirs, and bit by bit, the once extent House has, under the excuse of consolidation, retreated back to its core holdings to live off its savings and its memories. The House may be survived by relatives, but the main line is petering out. As PCs, characters from this background may be trying some last desperate strategem to salvage the fortunes of their House, fulfilling a bucketlist, or doing a last tour of old properties and acquaintances.

16-25-% Disbanded---
“This wouldn’t have happened if your brother hadn’t turned states’ evidence against us!”
Whether it’s due to a government crackdown or inhouse feuding, the House members have been forcibly divided and the infrastructure that held them together split apart. It’s possible the House may reform from its scattered parts, but not without a lot of fence mending, ways reforming, and legal wrangling. As PCs, characters from this background may be struggling to rebuild their family fortunes, or keep away from other House members.

26-45% Dishonored---
“If only Grandpapa had called that man out for his insult! We’d have been done with this! But, no, it just had to fester, and became rumor, and rumor was mistaken for fact, and now we have to put up with this smear on our good name!”
The good name of the House has been besmirched. The House may linger, but after one or two generations, if the memory of the dishonor hasn’t faded, or some action not taken to counter the dishonor, the House will likely fracture into lesser branches that try to distance themselves from the original dishonor. As PCs, characters from this background will be trying to overcome the taint of the dishonor, either through hiding or by dispelling the dishonor with action.

46-60% Disgraced---
“The charge of treason is a serious one; we just can’t apologize for what Mad Addis did and hope people forgive and forget.”
The House’s reputation has taken a more serious blow and at least one member of the House has been jailed, exiled, or executed. The House name may last for another one or two generations, before they change their name or seek to be assimilated into other Houses. As PCs, characters from this background are under even greater pressure to fight the disgrace, or distance themselves from it.

61-75% Decimated---
“Money? Where’s the money? The old man never confided in us! Only he and his brother knew anything about what they were doing! The rest of us were clean! But now one’s dead, the other’s in jail, and everybody’s accusing us of hiding the loot, and using every petty charge from jaywalking to suspected shoplifting to try to pry information we DON’T have out of us! Pure harassment, that’s all it is, but they’ll destroy our family...and they still won’t get that money back, because we don’t have it!”
Several prominent members of the House have been either killed or in gaol, and as a result, the House has unravelled. The survivors aren’t going down without a fight, though, either scrambling to save the House’s remaining assets or seek some form of vindication or retribution, in the slim hope that their House may be restored. As PCs, characters from this background may be trying to hide the wealth and relics of the House, or may be seeking justice/revenge.

76-90% Destroyed---
“The fires of what were once the many estates of the Zegala Clan burn from end to end of the kingdom, caravans groan on every major road carrying the confiscated goods of the once-mighty Family, and chains rattle on the limbs of the many slaves that once wore the colours of Zegala nobility. Let the lesson be made that stature does not confer permanence, and wealth does not buy immortality.”
Most of the core family of the House are either dead or in gaol, and the survivors are on the run, either from hunters with arrest warrants, or from the taint of association. The more aggressive may seek some form of revenge(like killing their enemies, destroying House property rather than let it be taken by others, or launching lawsuits). As PCs, characters from this background may be fugitives or the last stalwarts holding out against the destruction of their House.

91-00% Damned---
“Never tell others your true name...never forget it, but never reveal it. Magic may work malice with a true name, but that is a rare thing. In your case, however, your true name doesn’t need magic for others to do you harm. All it takes is greedy men willing to sell you out, and jealous envious men to hunt you down. Your true family name is both your secret blessing and your curse.”
The very name of the House has been publically condemned, and anybody claiming association, including even servants and employees, with it is killed or arrested immediately. Any survivors are going to be hiding for a long time. As PCs, characters from this background are just trying to survive, and likely hiding their origins even from other PCs.

[The Oh So Amazing Nate]

Taal, I need a book of your tables like seriously. Throw in Gallahan's Handy Dandy Random Adventure Generator (the BTS on is my fav. The PF one has waaay to many sub tables) and a random loot generator for completeness sake and we'd have a heck of a supplement on our hands.

On the subject of random tables do you (or anyone else) have a copy of the Random Farm Table? I can find snippets of it on the forum, but it looks like the OP took most of it down. It was pretty cool. It had things like the size of the farm, what it produced (crops or livestock), what the use for the product was, the tech level of it all..etc. etc.

You could wind up with a moderately sized farm ran by magic using Dbee's that raised dinosaurs for heavy industrial use with only simple iron age tech.

As always, I appreciate time and effort you put into creating these wonderful things for us. Maybe someday I can commission a table or at least sweet talk/cajole/annoy you into designing one for me.

[taalismn]

Farm Table wasn't one of mine, but it sure sounds interesting! I've started off and on working on a Random Factory table("Really, your main industry and biggest high tech facility is a PENCIL FACTORY?!"), but somehow farms eluded me(I have Rifts Eateries and Random Plants, though).
I'd love to have a complete copy of that too, if anybody has it to PM.

And yeah, I'm compiling a file of all my creation point/roll charts, with the intent of posting them as one thread on these forums. I keep putting it off until I'm sure I got all of them thus far posted however. Maybe it's time.

[eliakon]

I would just like to let you know that not only is the table epic.
But that it is being used by me, right now, for games I am running/planning!
Oh, and that I have bookmarked it into my permanent file of "GM tools"

[taalismn]

Thanks. I know the subject was a little odd, so I figured I'd class it as a story-telling resource.
Inspirations for it were numerous; Downton Abbey(of course), Edgar Allen Poe, Dune, Public Television(just about 50% of anything the BBC makes), just about any setting with aristocratic elves, dwarves, or humans, Asian cinema(full of children of court nobles or bureaucrats seeking revenge on rival clans), my own life( ), and any treatment of the American robber barons and industrial magnates.

And the thought that a lot of PC nobility (or fallen nobility) claim to be exiled royalty/betrayed by treachery most of the time, but who wants to admit that they're REALLY from a family that's just gone apathetic and just doesn't care anymore about where the money's coming from, where it's going, or how it's being spent?

"Yeah, we once crushed enemies from Anatolia to Hong Kong, but these days just crossing the old mansion and finding a restroom is about as epic as my family gets. Yeah, that and we're competing with our traditional family enemies on how many chins we can grow..."

[DhAkael]

I'll get around to cut & pasting these tables into my rather massive library (at least 3 DVDr's @ 4.1 gigs... and getting set on to start the next disc) of gaming media & hause-roolz notes. However, I will also need to have a better filing system than:
~Crap
~More Crap
~Crap that is Important
~PICTURES & Crap
~ETC Crap

[taalismn]

I'll get around to cut & pasting these tables into my rather massive library (at least 3 DVDr's @ 4.1 gigs... and getting set on to start the next disc) of gaming media & hause-roolz notes. However, I will also need to have a better filing system than:
~Crap
~More Crap
~Crap that is Important
~PICTURES & Crap
~ETC Crap

Better than the way my family home book collection is organized...I'm a librarian and the best we can is to organize our books by STRATA...

[gaby]

What Title go with What size of land?

[taalismn]

What Title go with What size of land?

Any title you want to assign, according to the society/organization you create and the scale and economics of it. For some cultures, a plot of 1 acre might be considered a duchy or a guild-holding, in another culture that same duchy might be a solar system cluster. Or maybe titles aren't dependent on land at all, but on money, or bloodline. I deliberate chose NOT to assign definite title ranks to land acreage.
Besides; European feudal organizations are not the only ones who have 'Houses' as such.

[taalismn]

Taal, I need a book of your tables like seriously. Throw in Gallahan's Handy Dandy Random Adventure Generator (the BTS on is my fav. The PF one has waaay to many sub tables) and a random loot generator for completeness sake and we'd have a heck of a supplement on our hands.

On the subject of random tables do you (or anyone else) have a copy of the Random Farm Table? I can find snippets of it on the forum, but it looks like the OP took most of it down. It was pretty cool. It had things like the size of the farm, what it produced (crops or livestock), what the use for the product was, the tech level of it all..etc. etc.

You could wind up with a moderately sized farm ran by magic using Dbee's that raised dinosaurs for heavy industrial use with only simple iron age tech.

As always, I appreciate time and effort you put into creating these wonderful things for us. Maybe someday I can commission a table or at least sweet talk/cajole/annoy you into designing one for me.

Dunno if you got all of this, but here's what I could find of Drakenred's Random Farm Tables:

..How successful is the farm
001 Rediculously successfull
002 Successfull,(can send the kids to Colledge without strain and retire at 55)
003 Successfull (Can send the kids to colledge and retire at 65)
004 Successfull (Can retire at 65 and give the kids the farm)
005 Successfull but more or less cant retire without sufering a major loss of income
006 Poor farm family, can keep up the farm and everything, (Waltons level)..
007 Poor farm family, Equipment is worn out and seemingly one bad crop from loosing it all
008 Shockingly poor farm family
009 Farm is not the primary source of income, Roll 1D8
010 Farm is subsided by other jobs, roll 1D8 (you wonder why he does not just throw in the towl and keep the job)
011 Farm is subsided by a "personal fund" that is more or less safe (roll on following table)
012 Farm is subsided if not outright owned and actualy controled by another source that can be cut off

000 001 Inheritance
000 002 Pension
000 003 Black market"
000 004 Freindly goverment
000 005 Hostile goverment"
000 006 Neutral Goverment
000 007 Corperation
000 008 Buisness
000 009 congloerate, Coop, Trust or cartell
000 010 Game winning
000 011 landlord
000 012 Stolen money.

How old is the farm?

001 1D4 months
002 1D4 Seasons
003 1D4 years
004 1D4 Decades
005 1D4 Generations
006 1D4 centuries

Type of farm(roll 1D10 times below, duplicates just mean they have proportionaly more of the land as indicated by duplicate rolls

001 Food crops
000 001 Mix Garden crops
000 002 Vegitable
000 003 Fruit
000 004 bulk starch/grain
000 005 Bulk Starch, roots
000 006 Greenhouse
000 007 Coolhouse(see notes)
000 008 underground (usualy mushroom)
000 009 Alien" foodtypes
000 010 Roll twice on this table
002 Trees/bushes/shubs(1D8)

000 001 Hardwood
000 002 Softwood
000 003 Fruit
000 004 Sugar
000 005 Rubber or simular compounds or resins
000 006 Oil
000 007 Bark products sutch as cork
000 008 Core wood Products (roll 1D4)

000 000 001 Used as Alternate fuel type
000 000 002 Food oil Extract
000 000 003 Wood treatment or simular
000 000 004 food source

003 Livestock, used for

000 001 Cattle, note that this is a primary product and the others are "benifits" from producing the primary proudcts (1D6)

000 000 001 Dairy
000 000 002 meat
000 000 003 Eggs/Veil
000 000 004 Leather
000 000 005 Other animal products(Bone, Ivory, Blood, Glands)
000 000 006 Fertilizer"

000 001 Mount
000 002 Draft animal
000 003 Pets
000 004 Trained work animal(Assistance, farm or industrial work animal, hunting)
000 005 Attack
000 006 Breeding

000 Size of animal:(species reference is for aproximate size) 1D10
000 001 Tiny (Squirel) size
000 002 Dog sized (1D4 to see it Small, medium large, or Mastiff sized)
000 003 poney sized
000 004 Normal horse sized,
000 005 Giant" horse sized,
000 006 Small to large Eliphant sized
000 007 Medium Dinasaut size
000 008 Large Dino size(Movie scale TRex)
000 009 Giant Dino Size (Apatosaurus)
000 010 Extremly Giant sized Dino (Argentinosaurus) or Larger

000 Type (1D10)
000 001 Rodent(or GM choice if you dont want a Squirel or rabit thats larger than a Argentinoraurus)
000 002 Feline
000 003 Canine
000 004 Bovien
000 005 Horse
000 006 Rhino-Eliphant
000 007 Reptile
000 008 Snake
000 009 Dino
000 010 Mythological

004 fish" or "seafood"
005 Herbs
006 Medicianal herbs (1D6)(note may be benificial or poisonous, GM call if NPC, GMs agreement if a players farm)

000 001 Not usefull if taken as directed
000 002 Symtom releif only
000 003 plants used by Biomancers or druids or (real)(alechemists)
000 004 Exotic usefull plants
000 005 Drugs and herbs from Paladium
000 006 Drugs and herbs from Rifts earth or other sources

007 Alien plants (Roll 1D6)
000 001 Source of proteen
000 002 source of starches
000 003 Source of Vitamins
000 004 Dietary source of minerals
000 005 1D4 of the above
000 006 Medicinal pants,

008 Decorative plants

Roll to see what farm food/herb/drug product(s) are (note you can roll more than once on this table to get interesting results

001 fit in with the pre rifts region (Kansas Wheat feilds for example or Texas Cattle)
002 fits in with a nearby region, but most will not even notice the diference
003 Mutant earth species(again most non farmers will probably not even notice...then again ...
004 From another time but from earth (Dino cattle, or other extinct species)
005 Evolved earth lifeforms from the future.
006 Alternate foods (Dandilions, Rosehips, and so on)
007 Dont seem to fit the local enviroment that your in but are from the same planet (Coffee in Missouri for example)
008 your sure this is from this planet?(but yes it is)
009 Human compatable but more or less normal seeming
010 Looks more or less normal/is human compatable but is not
011 Alien but human compatable(for example a tree that has fruit that when deep fried tasts and has the food value of deep fried steak)
012 Earth type plants/animals that are not normaly used by humans but by some non human species(for example Poision Ivy Salad, Deadly nightshade berry pie and so)
013 Alien, non human compatable
014 Plastic... looks and tastes and probably is almost entirely plastic. and with just as mutch food value as well.
015 Edible plastic, dont ask how or why but its perfectly healthy for you
016 Crystal, yum! Glass!
017 Crystal, yes you can eat it. Blame it on the Rifts. or Some demented Sufficently Advanced species who found out that we eat Rocks(salt and Calcium cloride)
018 Metal. well mother always said you needed more Iron in your diet....
019 Metal, yum, just like Billygoat used to eat....
020 just have them roll Vs Horror factor (3D6) then coin flip to see if its "food"

Coolhouses are a variation on greenhouses, in that they tend to mimic cooler climates or shorter/day-night cycles.

the farms current crops/Livestock may not be the historical heard/livestock, the time rolled up is more or less for the farm has existed not how old the current ownership is or how long hes been raising whatever., after all I suspect that a 400 year old Draft and Rideing Dino breeding farm is going to be too unbelivable if the guy running it has suposedy had it in the family since a century before the RIFTs, however finding out that "Gramps" tamed his First Alosaurus way back around oh 12 or 13 PA but the farms been in the family since some guy named Garfeild was president....is ok....

_________________