You know what else would be really cool? matbe if you want you could make it so that you advance in rank as you play the game and as you advance higher in rank, higher ranked ranked men/women will want to marry you and when they do marry you and you would get their estates and money as well. The Noblility ranks could look something like this:
*The commoner
He is not even considere nobility of any type. In fact he owns no official lands or titles ,but that is not to say he cannot; kings throughout the ages have been known to give commoners whom are deemed worthy of it, the chance to make something of themselves in the royal court by awarding them the position of squire.
*The Squire
He is the lowest form of nobility on the noble food chain. In fact he skirts the boundary of noble and commoner. He is one whose actions and bloodline deem him acceptable into knighthood. However, he is young and inexperienced, thusly he needs the mentorship of a full noble for an undetermined time period (I suggest about a year in game time) until he is mature in both skill and mental ability. He is given respect due to his station to be, but lacks true authority; at times he might oversee a task that his knight or lord gives him. Any noble can have a squire; however, those above Lord due not normally take squires due to vast quantity of other dealings and tasks they have on a daily basis. His title reads “Squire (First Name)”
*The Knight
He is the foundation of nobility. He is the most numerous and least appreciated. He wages war on behalf of his lord; he protects the land on behalf of his lord, as well as a mired of other tasks his lord needs him to due. He his given all the custom and courtesies, as well as rights and privileges of nobility. His title also warrants him military authority, as he and the Lord are the primary fighting arm of the kingdom; this is because most nobles higher then lords plan wars whereas the Knight and Lord fight them. He differs from a lord in that he is not given land to govern over and thus is not “landed” as Lords and above are. His title reads Sir (or Dame) (First Name) (Last Name).
*The Knight Protector
The knight protector is a knight who has been given, sometimes temporary, authority of a landed noble; in general this consists of holding court over that area; justice, proctorship, taxes, etc. He does not own the land as do lords and above do, but he has authority over it. There are two common instances when this happens. One is that the knight is warranted as knight protectorate over a small area of land that has problems or just needs attention; i.e. an area of woodland that contains several villages. Or the knight as given knight protectorate over his lord’s lands in the absence of the lord. His title reads Sir (or Dame) (First Name) (Last Name) Knight Protector of (the area of land)
*A Lord
A lord is the pillar of stability that runs from the knight to the baron. He is “landed” in other words he is given lands by the authority of a Baron or above. He is the lowest of landed nobles he commands knights, squires, and vassals in times of war and peace. In addition to the customs and courtesies as well as rights and privileges of a knight he can and must hold court for the people in his domain. Court includes, but is not limited too, dispensing justice, taxing, managing the property and welfare of his people, and raising armies in the time of war. His landsize can vary but is usually big enough to support a keep and town as well as three to ten villages (this is not a hard and fast rule just an average). A Lord rates to have up to 5 knights. His title reads Lord or Lady (last name) of (the name of the lands).
*The Baron
The baron is where the beginning of military nobility and political nobility grow apart. This is not to say he is not a military figure its just that military matters are generally left to lords and knight to deal with. He is also landed and holds court. What is different about a Baron and above is that they own their land, whereas a Lord is given land to rule over. In effect the lord’s land is still the Barons, but the Barons land is not still the Kings. In other words when a baron is made lands are relinquished to that barren forever. Thus this gives the Baron the right to choose his successor from his immediate family. But the Baron is not let of the hook completely, for a King may attempt to win back his lands from an insubordinate Baron buy means of war. And if the Baron lacks a successor from his immediate family the King automatically regains control of his lands, however a good king will acknowledge a good barons wishes and give the Barony over to a named successor that is not a relative. A Barony generally consists of small castle, one to three cities, many towns, and countless villages; he may have up to 5 lords and 10 personal knights. A Barons title is that of a lord, but he may opt to be referred to as Baron (or Baroness) vises lord.
*The Count
He is in all ways similar to the Baron except that he owns a larger portion of land. A County generally consists a large walled city/castle, three to five cities, countless towns and villages, he may have up to 10 lords and 20 personal knights. A Counts title is that of a lord, but he may opt to be referred to as Count (or Countess) vises lord.
*The Duke
He is in all ways similar to the Count except that he owns a larger portion of land. A Duchy generally consists of five to ten cities, countless towns and villages; he may have up to 15 lords and 40 personal knights. A Dukes title is that of a lord, but he may opt to be referred to as Duke (or Duchess) vises lord.
*The Heir
Is the man who the king decides will succeed him to the throne. He has no true authority in the ranks of nobility, other than that aquired by his other titles (which usually number many). If he is to die before being crowned king then the blood relatives are left to compete for the throne. Although men of this position are usually close relatives to the king/ queen their have been several if not very many occasions throughout history in which the king has named someone that he has no obvious blood ties too to take up this position
*The King or Queen
He is the head of state. He creates and destroys other nobles at a whim. He raises armies, and decides on affairs of state. He holds court for his Barons, Counts and Dukes. His domain has no limits and no restrictions. His title reads King or Queen (first name).
I was thinking that you could start out at whatever rank you wanted to at the beggining of the game... Maybe the position in life you're born in to and which country could be decided in the character background phase of the game... It was also thinking that if you captured and estate on your own you could just skip straight to being a lord instead of doing all that work to advance in rank... I also feel it would make the game much better if you always got the estates you captured instead of having to ask the king who for some reason never gives it to you. These are just ideas and I really hope you consider them because I feel it would give the mod that little something that makes it amazing...