Nobilitease

Overview

The Nobilitease is a narrative device in which the player's character or game protagonist is a member of the nobility or some higher social status before being stripped of it at the game's outset. It is similar to the Abilitease, but usually has no direct impact on gameplay mechanics. It is used as a setup for the plot, placing the player or protagonist atop a high place to fall from (usually by betrayal), and only upon landing does the story really begin.

A choice example of the Nobilitease is the Human Noble origin story in Dragon Age: Origins, wherein the player is the gender-selectable child of Teryn Bryce Cousland, a noble figure second only to the King of Ferelden until all the other Couslands are slaughtered in a nighttime betrayal.

Another figure who gets Nobilitease'd is Ramza Beoulve of Final Fantasy Tactics, who becomes a sellsword following yet another betrayal. The protagonist of Suikoden V is the prince of Falenas, who is forced to found a loyalist army after a coup d'etat is launched to topple the monarchy. Surrounded by traitors, the Nobilitease'd are.

Given that the Nobilitease is almost always used as part of the prologue and narrative, it rarely if ever affects gameplay, be it through granting the player special abilities or taking them away. Though, as with the Human Noble origin story, the player's standing in the nobility can determine the player's initial equipment and affect some dialog options. Nobilitease periods are also frequently used as unskippable tutorial sequences.

The most common tangible effect a Nobilitease may have on a game is usually cosmetic, wherein the player character might change his or her royal outfit before settling into whatever costume he or she will use through the rest of the game (or until the next major plot point). Ramza cuts his ponytail and dons black armor, for example. The prince of Falenas removes his court garb and dresses in custom-tailored clothes following the founding of his army.