Depends... I know, I know... it ALWAYS depends...
Martial focus/non-spellcaster? Probably a Flying Blade Swashbuckler with Noble Scion of War, and Desna's Shooting Star, and Steadfast Personality.
Spellcaster? Probably an Oracle/Sorcerer with Noble Scion of War, and Desna's Shooting Star, and Steadfast Personality.
Vizier or king's advisor or politician? Probably a Mesmerist (Cult Master?) with Noble Scion of War, and Desna's Shooting Star, and Steadfast Personality.
Someone that can actually benefit a party in teamwork settings? Probably an Arcane Duelist Bard with Combat Reflexes, Bodyguard, Arcane Strike (and the Gloves of Arcane Striking), Extra Performance, Master Performer, Grand Master Performer, Flagbearer (and the Banner of Ancient Kings), Discordant Voice, a Dervish Sikke, and a +1 Impervious Whipwood Longspear.
Or... the Aristocrat NPC class. Lol.
I know Swashbucklers are associated with pirates, which is likely as far from what you seem to be looking for as one can possibly get... but the Panache and flair and pizzazz of the class are the very qualitities you seem to be seeking.
I don't associate piety with nobility or royalty, so I have tried to avoid most divine casting classes. Sorcerer is most fitting for nobility/royalty because it's literally in your blood. Lol. I threw Oracle into the mix, because, like nobility/royalty, sometimes it is not a choice one makes on their own.
For a savvy politician, noble working their way towards royalty, a Mesmerist just fits. Or can, in my opinion. Something about the class screams manipulation on a grand scale. Sure, a Majordomo Investigator could actually be beneficial to a kingdom in an advisory role, but a Mesmerist will have their own agenda behind the scenes (and that is WAY more fun).
Depend on the setteing and the court. I mean some of them would be straight barbarians and some cavalier or maybe samurai which had to come from the noble cast.
In an elven court a driud or ranger and such would be right as well.
Dwarves might be fighters or even experts etc.
Im pretty sure Baron Harkunan from Dune was a bloated mage.(or just bloated. Mybe he dumped int)
I'd want to go with the noble scion prestige class for this. Maybe the big question would be what class to pair with it. The bard or the swashbuckler offers some interesting possibilities.
Noble Scion [the prestige class] was my first instinct, as well... thus, I included the prerequisite feat in most of my suggestions. My faith in the Bard class to do without is also probably obvious.
But yes... if I had to pick ONE class/archetype that best represents nobility and royalty, it would be the Noble Scion PRESTIGE class.
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Whatever class I wanted to play anyway. Literally every single class in the game can fit that backstory.
To quote myself, "Backstory is not done via classes. PC classes aren't about mundane activities, they're about adventuring (with a big focus on fighting), everything not relevant to adventuring should not be represented by class levels."
Diplomacy, bluff and sense motive; this are the 3 skill that a noble use since they battle field is the courts and the aristocrats, classes whit high carisma and have this skill are the best for the role of nobles (bard or rogues), feat that improve this skill and the leadership are mandatory since your focus are leading and doing the talk game and leaving the fight to your minions.
Swashbuckler, cavalier/samurai, enchanter wizard, bard/rogue are the best classes to perform the role of nobles and the first 3 are icon in this point
Noble scion is good for this aspect buts it not mandatory it's depends if the player need to go in an adventure I say no don't use but if the game is a court/aristocrats game where prestige and cunning are mandatory I say yes go for the prestige class
@Malik Gyan Daumantas: Is this about a PC in a royal court, or about a PC with a nobility background?
Diplomacy, bluff and sense motive; this are the 3 skill that a noble use since they battle field is the courts and the aristocrats
Interestinly enough, you interpret the title fundamentally different from what I did. You apparently assume that the campaign is about court stuff, or at the least that the PC comes from such a background. I assumed a normal PC with a reyalty backstory. I guess that happens when the OP can't be bothered to write more than a single word...
I'm tempted to pick wizard. They might not be the best at social skills, but they get many skill points because of a high int. They should be able to cover the basic social skills (bluff, diplomacy, and sense motive), the basics skills of their class (knowledge arcana, and spellcraft), and a few other knowledge skills. Knowledge skills in the fields of history, geography, local, and nobility can be useful for a noble/royalty character.
Also, talk to your GM about using the forge ring feat for making magic rings. A few rings with a +5 to +10 bonuses to some of the basic social skills can make up for not having a high charisma or having the basic social skills as class skills.
Specializing in enchantment is a no brainier. Though I think you should use such spells sparingly. Its not good for your rep if you keep using charm spells on the court. Illusion might be a better pick. The things people say when they think they're alone or with trusted allies might be different then if they were talking to you.
Like Razmir? Razmir kind of counts as a noble/royalty, right?
A noble could be any class, especially when bringing in noble traditions of other lands. But I believe the assignment was for a more "traditional" fantasy style noble. Someone versed in "culture" and diplomacy.
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There are many more than just one. See a similar thread from 2016 for some options.
There are even trait and feat options independent of class: Child of Kintargo (Hell's Rebels) or Chelish Noble (Hell's Vengeance) and Noble Scion.
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The classes I most associate to nobility are Bard, Swashbuckler, Cavalier, and petless Rangers…
Bard makes sense for your aloof young nobles who are quick to abandon their duties in favor of frivolous activities.
Swashbuckler fits for nobles who fancy themselves as skilled swordsmen, even if they are the type to hide behind their body guard when real danger arises.
Cavaliers are for the battle hardened nobles who served their kingdoms as knights, these nobles while still carrying themselves with an air of superiority are quick to defend those in need as they truly know how rough life is.
Petless Rangers… these are your Nobles who love the thrill of a hunt but know little about actual combat.
Of course a noble could be of any class, it’s just that these ones fit for your various different stereotypical nobles.
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Phantom Thief Rogue, perhaps? A young rich noble, bored of doing nothing all day, decides to pep up his life by becoming a thief. But not some petty thug that smash and grabs or mugs people for spare change. No, only the highest of art and priceless jewels are worthy of their time. The more impossible the theft, the better.
Picking only one? There's plenty of great options, but I'll go with Skald. There's plenty of other ways to go, but this one hits all my needs.
I'd like a royal player character to have a higher level of education than most, without relying on high personal stats, to have a broad range of abilities, to be healthy and know how to influence people. I also think the spell kenning ability is the sort of power that shows off what would be expensive and prized magical education, particularly when paired with the druid/witch spell list feat.
For the most generic noble, namely a conversion of the Aristocrat NPC class to PC classes, if I was doing it quick-and-dirty with no rules updating, I would pick the Noble Scion prestige class for as many levels as possible, and Phantom Thief Rogue for the remainder. If I got the chance to tweak the rules some more (Pathfinder 1.5), I would use Phantom Thief Rogue as a base, but make Noble Scion abilities be integrated with it by way of feats and/or Talents.
Of course, not all nobles are generic, so see see what other people posted above (most recently including Skald, for the noble that is into Heavy Metal).
Kobald Rouge.
Bards are a CHA based caster with lots of skills and all of the social skills. Bardic Knowledge would mean the character is pretty well versed on any subject. Lore master would make that even more useful. Counter song can be very useful for preventing your followers from being manipulated. Many enchantments are language based especially lower level one. Well Versed and a good Will save will make it hard to manipulate. A lot of the bardic performances would be very helpful for a ruler. Inspire Courage anyone who can perceive the bard. That means it can be used on armies especially if the bard also has the first level bard spell Clarion Call. Suggestion will be really useful for convincing people to do things your way.
The Bards spell list is almost tailored to a ruler. It has lots of enchantment, illusion and divination spells on it. It also has a lot of boosts including Heroism as a second level spell. Scrying is also another incredibly useful spell which the bard gets as a third level spell. Misdirection will help prevent divinations from being successful on the character.
Kobald Rouge.
I think this must be referring to the those who use their garish makeup to steal the show, and who are bald, but nevertheless real knockouts.
Bards are a CHA based caster with lots of skills and all of the social skills. Bardic Knowledge would mean the character is pretty well versed on any subject. {. . .}
Seems to me that many nobles are not all that well-versed.
It's a tricky question because there is a big difference between the typical royal and the fantasy stereotype of the typical royal.
It would have been nice if the original poster could have given more specific direction.
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Vampire template...
Vigilante (whatever archetype you wish)
Literally go "Bruce Wayne": aristocrat by day, crimefighter by night
Royalty almost always go through some type of fencing or finesse-y melee combat during their upbringing, but they don't necessarily train for taking a beating (except for Bruce Wayne and some other rare cases), and they're highly trained in social skills and etiquette/knowledge. I'd say Rogue (or Magus if they're magically inclined) or another high skill/lvl d8 class with a Rapier (or w/e finesse-y weapon) who focuses on Cha-based skills and Knowledge skills would fit well. Royalty are typically posh, so I'd say d10 classes are out, unless your particular person did receive some Bruce Wayne-esque beatdowns in their upbringing/training.
Vigilante (whatever archetype you wish)
Literally go "Bruce Wayne": aristocrat by day, crimefighter by night
And of course, Bruce Wayne is just a ripoff of Don Diego Zorro who is even close to the right setting.
And of course, Bruce Wayne is just a ripoff of Don Diego Zorro who is even close to the right setting.Vigilante (whatever archetype you wish)
Literally go "Bruce Wayne": aristocrat by day, crimefighter by night
True, but point is that the Vigilante is the "perfect" class for an aristocratic character, especially with the social talents.
You can also escape your royal duties by doing whatever you want with your alter ego, regardless of what it is (archetype or specialization).
Vigilante really is a very fitting class for an aristocrat and a Noble Scion. Even better if you can get your cohort to be a vigilante too and work as your side kick. Then we're really cooking with Batman, since Zorro never had a meaningful sidekick.
Vigilante really is a very fitting class for an aristocrat and a Noble Scion. Even better if you can get your cohort to be a vigilante too and work as your side kick. Then we're really cooking with Batman, since Zorro never had a meaningful sidekick.
That's what I love about the class ^_^
The aristocrat is a NPC class, so it cannot be taken by PCs. The thing is there is no replacement for it as an actual PC class. I don't see a King outside of a Fighter or Cavalier, or a Princess outside of a Cleric or Wizard. All PC classes feel pretty much "out of place" to represent nobility/royalty. I get that there are archetypes to make it so, but that's still a bit hard to believe.
The Vigilante however, already has a social identity, and even if there are talents to become an average everyman, everything else points to being a noble or renowned person with diplomatic interactions and relationships, if not immunities O_o. The fact that its Viligante identity is completely opposite of that well-mannered social identity makes it perfect for diplomatic characters, since most of the time, nobody will expect them.
Ok, fine, some archetypes are really poorly made (looking at you, Brute), BUT the Avenger, Stalker (specialization), Warlock and Zealot are pretty good, and it's essentially your typical 4-player party of Fighter, Rogue, Wizard and Cleric, respectively. Still, some archetypes have EXACTLY other classes:
- Agathiel, Wildsoul (Shifter)
- Avenging Beast (Hunter)
- Cabalist (Witch)
- Experimenter (Alchemist)
- Gunmaster (Gunslinger)
- Magical Child (Summoner)
- Mounted Fury (Cavalier)
- Psychometrist (Occultist)
- Teisatsu (Ninja)
It’s been mentioned here twice, but I never really looked into it before. The phantom thief is indeed an interesting choice. Fine on its own, but combine it with noble scion and a healers hands build and you have a very unique character that can cover a lot of roles.
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My single Sovereign Court character in PFS is a nagaji serpentine sorcerer, because that's I felt like building at the time. He has no notable non-Charisma skills except Knowledge (nobility) and Spellcraft, but that's what other PCs are for. He has two jobs: schmoozing and battle magic. (The former is also his day job, now that he's a landed noble.)
The current king my party is dealing with is a blackblade magus.