You do not automatically lose your title on death. However, you do need to make sure you have someone to pass it onto and have been an active player.

If you have died and you have an heir in your family available to you (not necessarily a child, just any other member of your family that is currently an available NPC) you will be able to choose them as your next character and keep your title. This does require you have enough Story Points though. These are earnt by actively playing the game, through gaining skills and completing achievements. The developers have suggested that typically 3 months of active play would have earnt you enough to carry on with the same title.

If you do not have an available heir, or you have not been playing actively or not long enough to earn the right amount of Story Points. Then no.

You can also lose your title in other ways with other players seeking to take it from you in the game. Though there are tight mechanics governing how they can take it which are explained in the Developer Journal.

So in summary, you do not automatically lose the title you just need to take steps while playing to protect it and continue your bloodline.

So I can, indeed, keep the title, as long as I heir it to myself, basically? Also, I read about coups. If I am a Magistrate and I have pledged my allegiance to a Duke, can one of my subjects try to start a coup with me? If so, can I ask the Duke for assistance? I am sure that any Duke would provide some sort of material or military assistance to ensure his lands are not being messed with.

Posted By HeartOfIron at 12:27 PM - Sun Aug 13 2017

So I can, indeed, keep the title, as long as I heir it to myself, basically? Also, I read about coups. If I am a Magistrate and I have pledged my allegiance to a Duke, can one of my subjects try to start a coup with me? If so, can I ask the Duke for assistance? I am sure that any Duke would provide some sort of material or military assistance to ensure his lands are not being messed with.

Your Duke decides for himself what he wants. You can call on him for assistance, and he might come or he might not. It'll depend on his interests and what he wants to do. He might assist you if the usurper wishes to instigate policies that go against with you, or he might help the usurper himself if you don't follow his whim while the usurper does.

Great! Well, as long as I can keep my title in my bloodline, I'm fine. Plus, I have no ambitions for myself, and will pledge money and troops to my Duke, obey and enforce his laws, and join him on campaign if needed. Where may I find a duke who would accept my loyalty?

There are occasional requests for people who want to join a kingdom or duchy in the guild recruitment page. (Ignore the fact it says "Guild Recruitment," because I've seen plenty of pages asking for new citizens of towns instead of guilds.)

This commonly extends to adventurers and gentry, although plenty are willing to accept new mayors or even dukes.

The packages in the store, to purchase an aristocratic title, do they carry on when the game officially launches, or are those titles only for the betas?

Posted By HeartOfIron at 3:24 PM - Sun Aug 13 2017

The packages in the store, to purchase an aristocratic title, do they carry on when the game officially launches, or are those titles only for the betas?

They carry on as long as you don't lose them because the characters from the alpha/beta will transfer.

Example Scenario (Just ONE scenario....):
You choose an heir to a duke that meets most of your desires (you can only replace NPCs that already exist, I believe, at this point). You actively play each week (I think Caspian defined it as about 3.5 hours a week) and grow your settlement during alpha/beta. You will age as time goes by so your character will grow up and take over if your duke parent wishes for you to take over (Caspian talked about about doing something akin to "favor" quests to increase relationships). You have now taken over (either with smooth transition or a rocky one or something in between) and proceed to fulfill your role as Duke.

Now let's say the beta ends there; you have just become Duke and would be around 20-30?

At launch you would take over for that character once again right where you left off, but the difference would be now the common folk are included (PCs) and you will have to guide them based on your trial and error.

You will eventually die and need a successor. Hopefully, for you, you have met the requisites and create a smooth transition for YOUR heir and it will continue as such until you get ousted or wish to retire.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS BASED ON THINGS I HAVE HEARD/READ OVER THE TIME THAT I HAVE FOLLOWED THIS GAME AND THIS COULD ALL BE OBSOLETE OR INCORRECT

That is for launch. You can potentially lose some of your land during exposition I think.....

If you have a title it should be with you at launch, I do believe. You could lose it after launch though.

Posted By LukeSpyro at 2:30 PM - Sun Aug 13 2017

They carry on as long as you don't lose them because the characters from the alpha/beta will transfer.

Alpha and Beta progress get wiped, no? Elyria MUD, exposition, and Kingdoms of Elyria are the only things that transfer.

Yeah, I just dont want to get the package only to find out that it is lost during the launch. I will be able to play 10+ hours a week, so keeping the title and lands in my bloodline should not be an issue. As long as it transfers to full launch.

Yeah, I just don't want to get the package only to find out that it is lost during the launch. I will be able to play 10+ hours a week, so keeping the title and lands in my bloodline should not be an issue. As long as it transfers to full launch. I know that the package includes an 'exposition access' not sure what that means.

Yeah it absolutely could be during KoE as well but I know Exposition has something to do with it as well. There are three months of expo and during the third, you can lose things.

As I am not going Nobility, I will admit that I don't pay as much attention to those announcements.

The packages will be kept. You can only lose them when the game fully releases. As for "exposition", it's a prelaunch part of the game available to backers with more than 1200 Influence points and 100 Exposition points. (Since you plan to buy a mayor title, you'll get these things as soon as you buy the title.)

Exposition will allow you to set up the finer details of the world. Stuff like setting up conflicts, forging alliances, and the like are available before the game releases to the general public.