Since the time when Petrana expanded to its present boundaries, the city's aristocratic families have made their homes atop this rambling, fertile greensward overlooking the north banks of the Dorian. Many of the stately residences were adorned with elaborately landscaped gardens, pools, and private stables, or set off from public view by high stone walls or hedges. In these surroundings, the nobility entertained themselves lavishly; feasts, and hunts in the nearby countryside, and bacchanalian revels that were the stuff of legend in the commoner parts of town.

In more recent times, as the nobility lost their control over the city's political affairs, several of the great families exhausted their hereditary wealth, and their urban estates fell into disrepair or passed into the hands of the newly rich guild families. The transition of ownership has transformed the Greens into a battleground, where the guilds and the "gilded" live side-by-side as unwilling neighbors.

The noble families who remain in the Greens have attempted to maintain as many of the trappings of past glory as possible. They continue to dominate traditional outdoor pursuits -- tournament jousting, the hunt, falconry, and chariot and horse racing. Those who retain the financial resources to do so (like the Duke) still own both urban estates and large parcels of farmland in the countryside under Petrana's jurisdiction; these farms are used to provide for their basic needs, and for some of the luxuries of noble status. The nobles conduct their entertainment on a grand scale, festive and not uncommonly bawdy (though such events are now held much less frequently than they once were). And most importantly, they maintain the ceremonies and social conventions (graces) associated with their titles, recognizing that these symbols still arouse feelings of awe, respect, and loyalty in the hearts of many of the city's inhabitants.

In the last few years, a number of the younger nobles have grown increasingly discontent with the underprivileged lives they lead under the hegemony of the Guild Masters, and now aggressively seek to re-awaken the city's fealty to the former leaders, the aristocracy. This group is openly contemptuous of the competence of Guild rule. They roam the streets and byways of Petrana, keeping a high public profile, sowing seeds of discontent. They prefer to physically intimidate their opponents when possible. They will frequently corner a fellow noble whom rumor identifies as a seller of family lands or an associate of "tradesmen", and threaten him with various dire punishments unless he desists. On occasion, incidents of vandalism against the newly purchased and recently occupied estates of Guildsmen on the Greens itself have been traced to them as well. The Guild leaders use the officers and men of the City Guard to keep these activities somewhat in check, but at the present time they consider it a risk to the public calm, and altogether too divisive to crack down forcibly on this group.

In many ways, the successful Guildsmen have attempted to imitate the social mores of the nobility. They have adopted similar modes of dress, and attempted to adorn their persons and homes with the most sumptuous and luxurious trappings available - jewels, perfumes, furs, tapestries, and great masterpieces of stone, metal, and artwork. Their decision to move into the Greens bespeaks their desire to be recognized also as an elite group, chosen by virtue of their business acumen rather than their bloodlines. Yet, in other respects, the guilders are very different from their predecessors. Because of their general inability to compete with the aristocrats in outdoor activities, they compensate by financially supporting, and elevating the importance of, the fine arts (music, painting, sculpture, and philosophy). The nobility tended to support sects with strong mystical connotations (not here, but in the next world they shall have their reward). On the other side of the coin, the Guildsmen have actively supported the development of a church based on a premise somewhat akin to modern social Darwinism, suggesting that the rise of powerful merchant "princes" is part of the inevitable evolution. Most importantly, the Great Guilders have usually been able to rise above the petty divisiveness that often characterized relations between the noble families. As they maintain a consensus about the course that the city should follow, unity has given them the strength to produce a sound overall record of accomplishment, which is the cement holding together their political power.

The Guard contingent in the Greens is referred to as the Ducal Guard (they are under the command of the Council of Boroughs, not the nobles); they are primarily trained cavalrymen, and patrol on blood-bay mares supplied by the Warrusche family. They patrol in irregular, but near hourly, intervals during daylight hours, and on regular (with sufficient variances in pattern to stay slightly unpredictable) half-hourly during the evenings and nights. There are 60 men in the contingent, based in a fine brick two-story building at the Shield gate; the captain a renowned campaigner and the recognized commander of the entire City Guard in times of general trouble or danger).

• Sir Borrinstorr is a portly, extravagantly outfitted nobleman in his late forties, with a receding hairline and bushy muttonchop sideburns. He is usually dressed in a tunic of crimson or royal blue velvet, adorned with ruffles, gold piping, and an abundance of medals and insignia (most of which have been purchased for the sake of appearances). He is a prodigious liar who constantly tells fanciful tales of his fighting exploits - unfortunately, his facts are so garbled that anyone with even a smattering of knowledge of military history will see right through these tales. If caught in a lie, he will first try to bluster his way out of difficulty, then meekly admit his mistake, playing on the sympathy of the crowd by confessing he "is an old warrior, whose memory is not what it once was". Within five minutes, he will be back at it again, undaunted by his experience. Indeed, Falstaff's family did sire many heroic warriors, and Falstaff for his part did serve long (albeit not particularly well) in the Petrana military. Though married twice for brief periods, he never was able to sire an heir, a fact that causes him great regret.
• Sir Rodney of Shaftsbury has a moderate build, silvering hair, and watery blue eyes; his face is clean-, and he has a long, very unflattering nose. Rodney's family has rapidly lost its wealth over the last ten years (primarily as a result of Rodney’s own abysmal choice of investments), and has been forced to sell all of their property holdings. His four children are now scattered across the countryside, and none would take him into their home. Despite Falstaff's kindness, Rodney has become sullen and uncommunicative; he mistrusts all young people, and will try to sabotage any relationship that might be developing between Borrinstorr and a potential "foster" son. Both Borrinstorr and Rodney are avid gamblers (at cards, dice, or billiards), and are likely to propose a game to liven up a quiet evening at a dinner party or tavern.

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