Whee! This is right up my alley! As most know, my characters are part of a (complex) noble family. So I've had to become pretty familiar with this topic in a short amount of time. It should also be noted that most of the smaller villages/hamlets in the wilds are technically under jurisdiction of their respective city-state. So their cultures, while they differ slightly, are still usually in line with their region's city-state.
Ul'dah is indeed the center of noble-related matters in Eorzea for the most part. The thing one has to remember here though is that the Syndicate (6 individuals) are THE richest of the city-state. Nobody is on par with them, and those who RP a noble need to understand that and find the proper balance. That said, there are numerous other nobles within the city, many of which are vying for a seat on the Syndicate themselves. Others just try to mind their own business. Of course, the nobility is still far outnumbered by the lower class. There are a lot of people who go to Ul'dah for the opportunity to get rich, but don't necessarily get rich. I guess that's really no different than in the real world when someone leaves their country for another one in hopes of better opportunities.
Gridania does have the potential to have nobles now, with a slight twist. *minor spoiler alert, though nothing major* Gridania is in massive debt to Ul'dah. MAAAASSSIVE. Ul'dahn nobles took advantage of the Calamity to cash in and loaned a crap ton of gil to Gridania to rebuild (structures and aetheryte network especially). So it wouldn't be unrealistic to see an Ul'dahn noble here or there move into Gridania to further exploit the city-state's current predicament. Or even opposite of that, perhaps there could be a noble or two who moved there out of genuine concern for the city's plight and could be sympathetic to the citizens being practically owned by Ul'dah.
Limsa Lominsa...I'm not really aware of any real "nobility" here. As stated earlier in another post, nobles here would just be pirates made rich from plundering or treasure finds. Or there's once again the possibility of nobles from another location moving here to gain some advantage of some sort I suppose. That being said, there's also evidence of nobility beyond Limsa's gates. Costa del Sol is a prime example. If you want to speak to the npcs in the area, you can get a feel for that. The guards there are all employed by a noble.
Ishgard is still much a mystery even after all this time. They've closed off their gates to outsiders by order of their archbishop (their supreme leader and church head) due to a holy war with the dragons. However, there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that there are indeed nobles within the city. There's also talk of the "High Houses" such as House Dzemael. What the overall role of nobles in Ishgardian society is remains somewhat hazy at this time. We do know that chocobo breeding/training originated there though.
Radz-at-Han is another city-state that has a large focal point on nobles. This city-state is foreign to Eorzea (and inaccessible at this time and probably for at least a couple expansions I would assume). It's on an island nation called Thavnair (on a continent called Meracydia). There is lore, however, that mentions the fact that this city-state is run by "houses," indicating that's it not /too/ dissimilar to Ul'dah in that respect.
Long story short, it's possible to have nobles anywhere technically. All that's required is an IC reason for being there that won't contradict the lore. I don't think it's unreasonable to make your own IC manor/estate somewhere in the "country."
Ul'dah is indeed the center of noble-related matters in Eorzea for the most part. The thing one has to remember here though is that the Syndicate (6 individuals) are THE richest of the city-state. Nobody is on par with them, and those who RP a noble need to understand that and find the proper balance. That said, there are numerous other nobles within the city, many of which are vying for a seat on the Syndicate themselves. Others just try to mind their own business. Of course, the nobility is still far outnumbered by the lower class. There are a lot of people who go to Ul'dah for the opportunity to get rich, but don't necessarily get rich. I guess that's really no different than in the real world when someone leaves their country for another one in hopes of better opportunities.
Gridania does have the potential to have nobles now, with a slight twist. *minor spoiler alert, though nothing major* Gridania is in massive debt to Ul'dah. MAAAASSSIVE. Ul'dahn nobles took advantage of the Calamity to cash in and loaned a crap ton of gil to Gridania to rebuild (structures and aetheryte network especially). So it wouldn't be unrealistic to see an Ul'dahn noble here or there move into Gridania to further exploit the city-state's current predicament. Or even opposite of that, perhaps there could be a noble or two who moved there out of genuine concern for the city's plight and could be sympathetic to the citizens being practically owned by Ul'dah.
Limsa Lominsa...I'm not really aware of any real "nobility" here. As stated earlier in another post, nobles here would just be pirates made rich from plundering or treasure finds. Or there's once again the possibility of nobles from another location moving here to gain some advantage of some sort I suppose. That being said, there's also evidence of nobility beyond Limsa's gates. Costa del Sol is a prime example. If you want to speak to the npcs in the area, you can get a feel for that. The guards there are all employed by a noble.
Ishgard is still much a mystery even after all this time. They've closed off their gates to outsiders by order of their archbishop (their supreme leader and church head) due to a holy war with the dragons. However, there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that there are indeed nobles within the city. There's also talk of the "High Houses" such as House Dzemael. What the overall role of nobles in Ishgardian society is remains somewhat hazy at this time. We do know that chocobo breeding/training originated there though.
Radz-at-Han is another city-state that has a large focal point on nobles. This city-state is foreign to Eorzea (and inaccessible at this time and probably for at least a couple expansions I would assume). It's on an island nation called Thavnair (on a continent called Meracydia). There is lore, however, that mentions the fact that this city-state is run by "houses," indicating that's it not /too/ dissimilar to Ul'dah in that respect.
Long story short, it's possible to have nobles anywhere technically. All that's required is an IC reason for being there that won't contradict the lore. I don't think it's unreasonable to make your own IC manor/estate somewhere in the "country."
