Your parents can be celebrities or villains. Step-parents have their uses as well. The family name is something that needs to be remembered. As table 4J shows your family could be well respected or not. This is a chance for a character to save the name of his family or to try to rise above the fame of those who have come before. Especially if the parent is a celebrity the desire to prove themselves will be very strong. This might cause the PC to act recklessly or to be overly cautious and careful. There are many options.

We then get to table 4K, siblings. This is actually one of the sections where there is a great deal of opportunity for role-playing. As long as they are not an only child, this can give the PC a pool of not only protégés but also to have sources of aid. There is also the possibility of a sibling rivalry that could become a factor. The PHB states that for the PC, “Sometimes the worst enemy a character can have is his own brother or sister” (79). This is a tremendous opportunity for a GM. That sibling would have also ventured out as an adventurer and has skill and power commiserate to the PC or maybe even greater, in the case of older siblings. There are huge collections of stories where the siblings are at each other throats. Exploit this a great deal. A long running villain who is a sibling can be very fun for both the players and the GM.

Also the player should ask about their extended family. For GMs the information is on page 44 of the GMG. This can allow for the uncle who is the High Priest of Luvia (with GM permission of course). This page also leads into the section on family and clan. The players do not exist in a vacuum. If they have an extended family, especially if they are of any Middle class rank or higher, it becomes both an aid and a hindrance. The family, especially if they have some power, will call upon the services of the PC. Families often have enemies and those enemies will also see the PC as such an enemy. On only needs to recall the bitter feud between the Montague and Capulet families from Romeo and Juliet to guess as to how powerful this can be.

Both the GM and PC need to keep track of this information, especially as changes occur during the course of game play. If the PC’s interact with their family and clan you can adjust what the clan thinks of the PC. This could be good or bad for the PC. After all family rarely cuts you slack if you treat them badly. This is good to remember. Also the PC’s actions will alter the Honor of the Clan. That reason itself will make the Clan interested in the PC. You also need to know where their individual family sits in the network of families. That is more hierarchy to play with.

Families are also responsible for inheritance. There are starting debts that might be fun to role-play and there is the free loot. You also have the potential, as GM, to have that crazy uncle Festaran give the PC a map to a dungeon or something when they die or simply before. The family can certainly hire the PC to go treasure hunting for the income and honor of the clan. There are countless options around this area as well.

Inheritance also brings us to another area, the rule of primogeniture. Any character can be influenced by this, especially first or second born. For the first born you have to put up with family wanting you to stay close and inherit the family business. That is a major hassle. And if they have a sibling who hates them who is next in line they become targets. And being second born is not much more help. That affects you as well. As GM feel free to off the older sibling and drag them back to the old homestead. Family politics can be really ugly.