"An Man must be pampered or crushed for vengence can be gained for a slight wound, but not a grevious one" - Niccolo Machiavelli

"You may build a throne out of bayonets, but you cannot sit on it for long" - Boris Yeltsin

Civil war is a dirty business but thankfully rare in the time line of any kingdom. This is because each and every kingdom has its laws regarding sucession. The Family name in AD&D is assumed to be carried by the male heir as it is loosley based upon the European medievil model. This however does not deminish the importance of female of spring. Their duty to their country is equally important although they will rarely get to make the choices themselves.

Firstly let us discuss the females ( Prinesses ). Okey, people who rule kingdoms have a serious job and hence are serious people. A daughter of a monarch fulfills a role in unifieing and protecting the kingdom by being strategically married. If for instance a king wished to cemente an important alliance then he may offer a daughter in marraige to his potential ally, hence joining the royal families with a bond of blood. Both monarchs will share the same linage to some extent. In the case of war this may also happen. If a rebel was attempting to over through the king and was close to succeeding he may demand a princess to marry. A peoples love for their monarch is important and any claim the userper may have to the throne must be legitimised. This is because he buys into a powerful network of established allies and trade agreements aswell as being suddenly of royal blood. Which brings us to the last circumstance which is trade. A royal marrraige is a huge event in any kingdom, it will not only involve a huge dowery ( which may be given to the kingdoms citizens to popularise the union ) but also enormous and binding trade agreements. If Deals and contracts are packaged with the marraige then they are binding. To break them would be to dishonour a royal union.

What may spring to mind immidiatly is the potential for political leverage. If for instance a king only has two off spring, a prince and princess, then he must be careful. If the Crown Prince dies and his Daughter is married to a forign Prince his blood lines rule is effectivly and legally over. The forign prince may well sit in his throne. What has to be remembered is that inter-kingdom marraiges have been going on as long as kingdoms have existed so you can imagine the cross border ties that may well exist.

In order for a PC Adventurer to enter an elite circle of nobility he or she would have to marry the son or daughter of nobility. Otherwise the ranks would close against them and they would have no allies. Nobility will violently resist the introduction of forign blood if its not blue, their position on top has to be activley maintained after all.

The eldest male heir is of course the most important because he by birth he is rightful heir to the throne. In the politics of kingdoms this is an important and dangerous role. Abdicating would mean almost certain death, the next prince in line will not sit easy on the throne when enemies may use his older brother to press a claim for his place. A royal bastard with only one parent of nobel rank or blood may also press a claim but this would be unpopular with subjects and he would only be used as a puppet by someone else.

Younger princes are not executed, far from it. They are married to forign princesses where politicaly expedient to do so. Their heirs may in time be asked to fill the throne if it is vacant. All the princes and princesses of a kingdom are busy characters. They must be seen to be of the people and be the kings presence throughout the kingdom ( of course they may opt to lounge about drinking wine and shooting tied up deer with balista ).

The rules for Lords and other nobility are the same but for one small differance. It is their leige who decides whom their siblings may wed. Often this is the duty of the Queen ( not just a pritty face ) in consultation with the King. A Lord must seek the blessing of the king for any wedding he may wish to arrange, if a wedding takes place without the kings express agreement the married couple may forfit all titles, deeds, honour and eventually their lives. If a Lords siblings are wed by royal instruction and benifits through this union come to the kingdom the Lord will profit greatly as a reward. (not bad for a nights work ).

As you can see its not and should not be a case of adventurer has money, builds castle becomes Lord. Its alot more comlpicated. However the advantages that come from becoming nobility through marraige are vast. The role of marraige in politics is potent as continuity of line is all important. The Hapsbergs were a family of European monachs who came to rule a massive empire, all without blood shed. They simply married with an eye to the future. Eventually thay all went nuts ( this is true! ) because in a foolish attampt to cling onto all their power they inter-married over generations and became inbreeds. This can been seen from later portraits where an overly prominent chin is more visible over generations. In the end their gene pool was so inbred that insanity aand sterility were common and they virtually disappeared. How powerful did they get through playing the rules of sucession? Well shall we just say that one of their decendents was and is one of the architects of the European Union and one of the most powerful civil servents on the planet ( 500 years after it all began).