Guide to the Title Template

Use the Title template to write about ranks, distinctions, and other honorifics people in your world hold.

What should I use this template for?

A title is the name of a position a person can hold, such as "Protector of the North" or "Avatar". Titles also have a presence beyond the person that's currently holding it: once the Protector of the North dies or abdicates, their child will become the new holder of the title.

This template has a lot of overlap with the Profession template, as both are related to what people do. However, while Profession is about the occupation itself, Title is about a specific position a person can hold. For example, "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is a title in the government of the UK, but their profession is basically "accountant". When the Chancellor loses their job, they may continue being an accountant, but someone else will get the same title.

Template walkthrough

Remember that all prompts are optional! In fact, because there are so many types of title, some prompts might not be relevant to you. As always, there's a free-writing section at the top (which we call vignette) and the prompts are under the "+ Prompts" button in the bottom toolbar. In the Title template, the prompts are organized into two sections:

• Generic: Here's where you can write about general information regarding the title: how to get it, what responsibilities and duties are associated with it, etc.
• Historical details: While people holding a title come and go, the title itself can last centuries. You can write about the history of this position in this tab.

Feature recommendations for titles

Here are some ideas on how to use other features with titles:

• Content trees: If this title exists within a hierarchy (such as a government or an army), you can use a content tree to show the title's position within the hierarchy. Check the guide to Content Trees.

Step-by-step guide to writing a title

Here are some quick steps you can follow to create a title:

1. What kind of title is it? And why is it needed? Not all titles are related to royalty or nobility. Religions (both organized and unorganized), mage orders, and armies are among other organizations that also use them frequently. Consider how someone can get it too; generally, titles are either hereditary (like most monarchs), elected (like the Pope), or appointed (like the Chancellor of the Exchequer mentioned above). Don't be afraid to mix things up too; for example, the country of Andorra is a dual monarchy with two princes: one is always whoever has the title of President of France (and therefore elected by French citizens) and the other is whoever holds the title of Bishop of Urgell in Spain (appointed by the Pope).
2. What are the duties of the title? Some titles come with a ton of responsibility (such as monarchs in absolute monarchies), while others are honorary and therefore carry little to no responsibility. This is often tied to the reason the title exists too. Titles with associated tasks will exist for practical purposes: for example, people need someone to take charge of the country. Meanwhile, honorary titles often exist to recognize someone's actions or status and therefore express what's seen as important in that culture. Titles can also change purpose throughout history! For example, many modern-day monarchs have significantly fewer duties and responsibilities than the monarchs of a couple of centuries ago, even though the title they hold is the same.
3. How do people see it? Is the title controversial in any way? Why... or why not? People in charge are often surrounded by controversy because they inevitably take decisions that some people don't like. In many cases, though, the controversy is with the person holding the title, not with the title itself. For example, someone disliking the current president will often still agree with the idea of having a president. That's not always the case though; in many democratic countries that also have a monarch, such as the UK or Spain, the existence of the title itself can be controversial.

Community examples for inspiration

Need some inspiration? Here are some title articles written by our amazing community!

• Butter Knight, by E. Christopher Clark
• Warmaster of the Prince, by Graylion
• Queen of the Fae, by Tillerz