[A] The House of Nobles

Applying to the House of Nobles

If you wish to create a noble House we ask that you first submit some information regarding it. The template below is just a suggestion and you may expand on it as you see fit. The idea behind submitting it is to make the community aware of your House and what kind it is. Kind of like when you post a recruitment post for a guild.

House History

How did your House come to be?
Noble Houses are founded for different reasons. Some might start as simple knights or be raised to nobility after performing a great deed for the kingdom or simply being on the King’s good side. There are myriad of reasons. Don’t be afraid to explore.

What is it known for?
Most Houses stand out in some way, having invested interest in this or that or being afflicted by a particular weakness or having scions that always receive the best education. From an OOC point of view this makes sense for the same reason we try to make guilds stand out from one another. We don’t want generic guilds and we don’t want generic Houses. Be creative!

If it helps you can think in terms of themes and moods for your House when outlining it.
E.g.:
Mood – What kind of feeling/atmosphere will that particular House surround themselves with? Solemnity? Mysticism?
Themes – What concepts are central to that particular House? Is it honour? Pride? Decadence? Service to the King?

Genealogy

Write a genealogy, or family tree, where you list the most prominent and/or active members of the House. Write a line about each one. Examples of what you may write are age, gender, occupation, marital status, alive/deceased and gossip. Always note which are NPCs and which are players.

I'll go first then and give an example of how it can be done.

Note: I'm including House Aethelwine's secret here but for the sake of avoiding metagaming, it should not be posted and kept secret.

House Aethelwine

How it came to be

House Aethelwine stems from the day of the great empire of Arathor. They were farmers and minor nobility at the time who never shirked from stepping up to serve the emperor. When the empire fractured, they along with others moved south to the verdant lands of Azeroth. There they helped build the nation that’d become Stormwind. Through loyal service to the crown they prospered and became a House to be reckoned with in the political arena.

Known for
Knowledge, patrons of the arts and loyal service to the kingdom. House Aethelwine signifies all the things that are the essence of nobility. Through tradition these qualities have been passed on through the generations from the very beginning of the House. Loyalty, generosity and wisdom are the things that the scions of House Aethelwine are taught when growing up, with varying success.

Relation to other Houses
Other Houses view House Aethelwine with a good deal of suspicion due to their altruistic image. House Aethelwine has a tendency to always support the current ruler of the kingdom.

Heraldry
A golden shield on a field of blue with an oak in the middle, a harp and some books laid at its roots.

Genealogy
(NPC) Lord Edric Aethelwine, elder brother of Lord Nilas, former High Seat, deceased
(NPC) Lord Nilas Aethelwine, High Seat, member of the House of Nobles
(NPC) Lady Joanna Aethelwine, prominent member of the Traders’ Guild
(NPC) Sir Kenthic Aethelwine, eldest son, heir, knighted, lieutenant of the Royal Guard
(NPC) Arcanist Lucius Aethelwine, second oldest son, mage of the Kirin Tor, deceased
(NPC) Lady Theresia Aethelwine, eldest daughter, married to Lord Hoster de’Besche
(PC) Lady Elicia Aethelwine, second oldest daughter, priestess of the Light, deceased
(NPC) Lady Olivia Aethelwine, youngest daughter, betrothed to Lord Diedric Hosht, apprentice mage
(NPC) Sir Thomas Vangelo, master-at-arms, friend of the family
(NPC) Lady Isadora Aethelwine, cousin and confidante of Lady Joanna, married to Sir Renic Aethelwine
(NPC) Sir Renic Aethelwine, son of Lord Edric, Lord Nilas’ nephew, married to Lady Isadora, captain of the guard
(NPC) Dame Lavena Orthur, elder sister of Lady Joanna, “the Crone of the Aethelwine estate”, widow
(NPC) Lady Louisa, Dame Lavena’s maid
(NPC) Nina Varath, current Keeper

Dark Secret
While House Aethelwine remain close to immaculate on the outside, they have their share of skeletons. From time to time, dark characters come to power within the House but they are often suppressed and covered up by the rest of the House. It’s happened that these people have met unfortunate, premature deaths. It’s a worrying knowledge for any ruler of the House that the other nobles of the House are constantly watching them for any indication of behaviour that might damage the House’s good reputation.

As a sort of emphasis to these dark characters, every now and then, an individual of potential for the Dark Arts is born into the House. The latent powers are so strong that inadvertently, they’ll begin to manifest in one form of another. Sometimes these individuals have managed to come of age but most often, they’ve been taken care of and stricken from the House’s history.

House Aethelwine is a House of strong tradition. But loyalty, generosity and wisdom are not the only things passed down through time. So are the secrets. Equally important to the noble lineage are the stewards of the House. They’ve been the keepers of the House’s secrets ever since they came to Stormwind and it is up to them that the secrets are kept and that the nobles of Aethelwine know these. The current Keeper or steward is a woman known as Nina Varath. Although they may hold great power over the House, their lineage have served the House and its lords and ladies faithfully over the generations.

House Mistmantle (Stormwind)

Themes

Science, power, magic, mystery, shady buisness, dirty tactics (Victory by any means necessairy).

History

The noble house of Mistmantle has its origins in the Gilnean kingdom but part of the line lead by Antol Mistmantle was also given noble status in the kingdom of Stormwind due to large scale assistance in forms of troops and funds during the first war against the orcish horde. During the second war the household head Baron Antol Mistmantle led the Mistmantle regiment into battle with the orcs but perished alongside his regiment in an orcish ambush leaving the then very young Braiden Mistmantle the head of the house. The house was based in what is now known as the Duskwood at the Manor Mistmantle for a long time but due to infestation from malevolent forces of several kinds have been forced to have its remaining members stay in Stormwind city.


Known for
The house has prievously been known for its sucess in times of war as the Mistmantle regiment met alot of sucess before it perished in an orcish ambush in the wetlands. The modern house is known for its scientific progress, especially in the field of alchemy and the house employs scientists of various fields. As of late the house has been accused of funding unetical research but there was never proof for these accusations.

Relation to other Houses
With history in both the Gilnean Kingdom and the Stormwindian Kingdom the Mistmantles of Stormwind has been looked upon with suspicion by their peers and still are as the line has not had noble priviliges in Stormwind for more then two generations.

Heraldry
A Twin headed snake to symbolise the houses' separation from the Gilnean House Mistmantle and it's ties to both kingdoms. The snake is generally portrayed in violet on a field of dusky black.

Genealogy
(NPC) Baron Antol Mistmantle - former High Seat, deceased
(NPC) Baroness Anne Mistmantle - wife of Baron Antol, deceased
(PC) Baron Braiden Mistmantle - current High Seat, member of the House of Nobles
(NPC) Ninny Mistmantle - younger sister of Baron Braiden, missing, presumed deceased


OOC

This house is still under construction but this is a bit of what I tought so far, it's open for other players to contact me in case they want to be servants, house members, ex members of the Mistmantle regiment, friends of the family, enemies of the family etc. This post will be updated as the house evolves further but this is as far as I got so far.

House History

How did your House come to be?
The House of Trollbane was one of the first human houses ever founded, the legendary Ignaeus Trollbane whom was the first 'trollbane' took the throne after Thoradin, Founder of the Arathi Empire. For nearly three milenia the Trollbanes have ruled the Arathi Highlands with compassion and might, even after the fall of Strom the people remains loyal to the crown and believe that one day they will return to every human's ancestral homeland.

What is it known for?
The House is Best Known for being the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Arathor formerly Stromgarde, as such it's members and members recieve all due education in politics, war, languages and culture. Their members make their marks on the world, heirs or not.

If it helps you can think in terms of themes and moods for your House when outlining it.

Themes – Honour, Justice, Pride and Victory.

Genealogy

Spoiler:

House Aislinghall

How it came to be

House Aislinghall is not a new house, but neither its ancestry lost in the mists of time. Some time past, when Lordaeron was a younger kingdom, a magister by the name of Rystan Aislinghall was raised to a nobleman by the then-ruler of the city of Andorhal for his aid in defending the city with his arts. The family grew in influence within that city over the following decades, though they never reached any great prominence.

Known for

Though the Aislinghall house is little known in Stormwind due to their reduced state of wealth and influence as Lordaeron exiles, they have a strong tradition of the arcane in their lineage. Many of the house's members have become prominent mages through the generations, and those who have not have often been skilled politicians, orators, and advisors. Few Aislinghalls have been military men.

Relations with other houses

While the family is loathe to admit it, the Aislinghalls traditionally had strong ties to several noble houses of Alterac due to their geographical proximity, often marrying amongst them. When Alterac betrayed the Alliance, House Aislinghall eschewed all such ties; however they still remain bound by blood to some Alteracian families, most notably House Andural, whose head (Amirah Andural Dawnweaver), is first cousin to Lord Gerard and his sisters.

Apart from those distasteful ties, House Aislinghall retains a cordial if not warm relationship with the noble houses of Stormwind, receiving the sort of courteous but obligatory welcome that one would expect to be given to nobles forced to flee from Lordaeron. During the past ten years, the Aislinghalls have managed to gain a footing among the community of Stormwind's arcane practitioners, but otherwise, they are often accepted but forgotten among the grander and more established houses of the Stormwind nobility.

Heraldry

A white swan on a blue field. The motto of the house is simply Wisdom.

Genealogy

(NPC) Sir Cedric Aislinghall, older brother of Verdain, paladin of the Silver Hand, forsook leadership of the House for a vow to serve the Light, deceased
(NPC) Lady Helena Aislinghall, married Lord Medryn Andural of Alterac, deceased
(NPC) Lord Verdain Aislinghall, last lord of the House in Lordaeron, deceased
(NPC) Lord Gerard Aislinghall, son of Verdain and current head of the house, member of the Kirin Tor
(PC) Lady Aestra Aislinghall, older daughter of Verdain, mage
(PC) Lady Sylvera Aislinghall, younger daughter of Verdain, apprentice mage

Was just thinking it might be nice to sticky this, if the mods would deem it appropriate, since as the House of Nobles is an ongoing project it would be handy for people to always be able to find this info!

Also, Arador's shiny Registry of Noble Families might be of interest linked here for people's reference, even though it, of course, includes all sorts of noble families and not only those Stormwind-related.