ive actually played a successful political merchant noble in Barovia, and started a fun noble group a few years back. it was allot of fun, but allot of work as well.
first you need to ask yourself if the location makes a difference, because most people will tell you it makes more sense to play the politics game in dementilieu. for me, that domain is not interesting. Barovia is my true love, and is why i mostly play Barovian characters. i would agree however that the port is a better place IF you want to RP a noble there.
if you dont, then you can try applying a barovian merchant noble in the barovian factions. my new noble Zavier was a assistant archivist at the citadel, and later was the merchant clerk working the Red Vardo shop. both were attempts to get into the politics of the faction. however im torn between many characters so i didnt focus on him.
but the truth is with my original noble, i started out sitting at the blue water with another player. and the conversation was fun, but it didnt last. eventually we ran out of topics to talk about because all we did was sit around all day. i found out early that if you want to start or try to get into politics, its best to do so with a business venture. i started the Stravokov pen and postal service, and had multiple players taking part in running that business. eventually i was overwhelmed with players asking to play my characters butler, bodyguard, other nobles, my characters cousin, my characters love interest lol it was pretty crazy but it worked because i always planned something for us to do.
each day we would run the business, and on special occasions we would throw balls or parties at the broken bell, using the theater room below. for engagements, welcoming parties for newly arrived nobles etc etc. i was always thinking of ways to apply an event that would involve everyone interested. then later DMs took interest and lifted it further into true Politics with our Noble group. getting involved with the Burgomaster, Vincent von Zeklos, and the war that took place between them.
but like any faction or group, you have to have a daily function that involves everyone. the Garda for instance is so successful because the players have a function to perform on a daily bases, and that function leads them into interacting with characters they would not normally interact with. thats exactly what you need to do. i do it with Business ventures with my noble. the in Game writing system is a untapped gold mine of possibilities. my first noble used it to write letters and and send them with messengers. my second noble has a publishing firm, and writes books/teaches a few languages. all done using the writing system as a tool.
also keep in mind that making money is EXTREMELY a challenge as a barovian noble. but in truth there are no "real" nobles left, Barovians are considered "merchant" nobles who are basically elevated citizens, rich business owners etc. this is also why i went the business route, because it seemed more fitting to the role. you cant go out and slay dragons for a mountain of cash. you have to earn it through acquiring investors, and starting a business. (finding investors usually isnt to hard to find since most players have a mountain of gold in their bank accounts
) so it all works out usually.
anyway thats how ive experienced it from my perspective. ii would be interested in playing my noble more regularly if you make a barovian one