in the Shadow of Greatness

IMC :: royals: texas millionaires, paris hilton and the new york yankees

...texas millionaires, paris hilton and the new york yankees

Yes, that's the punch line to the question.

The question being: how do the noble families of the Eternal City relate to the royal family? Why don't they try to marry or influence the royals?

The answer In My Campaign is a flavor issue that is hard to explain as it is an emotional, political and cultural assumption from the GM.

But it is a bit like asking you, dear reader, how you relate to texas millionaires, 'paris hilton' and the 'new york yankees' all tangled together^*.

The noble families of Amber have strengthened and prospered for centuries. Their fortunes wax and wane largely on their own hard work and meticulous management of resources and the multiple generations that overlap in their prime.

In America, the nobles would be the corporations: creating from resources and managing to their own profit. Noble families are noted for various skills and reputations. And sometimes a disaster of fortunes will wipe out a noble line.

Simply, the nobles have very little in common with the royal family on a personal level. And when associations have happened in the past, they have not usually turned out well.

As such, the nobles preach to their young "keep your distance from the royals."

Why?

Well, the royal family has common interests with the nobles, but a personal life and style that is very different. In a sense, only very young people would think to cross such a divide.

To the nobles, the royals are:

• as interesting to watch as a professional sports team you root for rain or shine
  
• as strange as a paparazzi darling, seeming to come and go with no respect for real practical ideals or how your mother wishes she would dress
  
• as charismatic, stubborn, gutsy and larger than life as one of those wild texas millionaires the film industry was always sticking into movies of the 50s and 60s

In short, they ain't like you and me, kid.

Go to a public event with royals? Sure
Go drinking with one? Yes

Hang out with? Ah, for a lark, or to get some business done
Dress like one? oh, honestly
Date one?
Marry one?

Great Scott, no.
Those people are mad. Have been for years.
Never a queen that enjoyed the throne for a century.
They're all likable in small doses
But really!
They never die (well, unless a horrible monster eats one) and they have no clue about boundaries or real culture (except that lovely Florimel, but really as pretty as she is, it just isn't natural. The poor woman must have a terrible time living with the rest of them, though Gerard is very generous and approachable if not terribly clever.)

The list of personal disasters is long in every noble line.
No, mind you... not like us.
Respect them, but don't get too involved.

^* Yes, I deliberately did not capitalize these because they are emotional markers here and not real people.

Filed under : Amber, IMC at 26.10.2007