Prophesy of Pendor : Aftermath
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An RPG detailing the aftermath of the events of PoP3 and the events before PoP4
 
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 The Power of the King

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Saeros
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Mordred
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Mordred
Dragon of the North
Mordred


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PostSubject: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 1:22 am

I feel that I need to make some things clear about how I have been playing the King, and whether this remains the most positive means of portraying him in the Aftermath Roleplay, as I am aware of growing disquiet on the Crown's authority within Pendor. I have already expressed this to a couple of individuals whom questioned how things were run, but I feel this needs to be aired in public so that all are equally aware.

RP Powers

Below are the self imposed constraints which dictate the powers he has (note, these are primarily for OOC reasons rather than IC, for reasons I hope will be made clear);

1. This RPG is about the actions of the Player, first and foremost, and anything that detracts from this should be absolutely avoided.
- Therefore, I have been extremely careful about deploying Royal actions, because they have the potential to make Player actions entirely meaningless.
- For instance, if one Order went to war with another, a real life King would not hesitate to deploy the Royal Army and slam both parties into the ground for creating instability in his realm. To do this in Aftermath however would entirely prevent conflict.

2. Events in Aftermath should be Player and Order centric.
- Therefore, while the Crown might have the resources and ability to intercede in an event, but actually doing this would essentially guarantee success. What then is the point of the Order's own actions?
- For instance, there are currently two wars going on, neither of which has direct Crown support. If the event suddenly found 5,000 men descending on them, they would be over in minutes. Less if the banners were called.

3. To create as little work as possible for the GM's
- Therefore, individually playing all the Nobles and their reactions to each and every slight, event, insult, promise is impossible. Our hosts get pretty burnt out running the events, and to ask them to do more would doom Aftermath.
- Hence I am so reluctant to allow Orders / Players to make individual deals with Lords, and why Lords have effectively turned a blind eye to events going on in their provinces.
- I do have plans to reform this system, based along the lines of the Local Nobles / Zealots / Loyalists / Peasants relationships being introduced, whereby each Duke will have a relation with each Order that will increase / decrease depending on the actions of each Order. To achieve this, each Lord has been given their own set of (hidden) goals and ambitions.

This is how I have been playing the Crown at the moment, if you feel anything should change then this is open to discussion. Also note, that I include myself in category 3!

The Kingdom of Pendor

The Kingdom of Pendor is formed in a rather unconventional manner, namely that the King does not himself hold any direct lands at the moment, but rather relies on a levy of taxes and manpower from the kingdom at large. Currently taxes are set to roughly 20% of the income of all the Dukes (both in terms of crops, money and military service) who in turn raise their own taxes to cover this bill, and for their own expenses.

That said, the King is officially the overlord of all lands in Pendor, and legally they remain his to give and take as he pleases, as such the Lords of the Realm act more like renters or administrators in the name of the Crown, and should one or more act against the royal prerogative, he has the authority to usurp their lands without just cause, though this will of course upset the lords in question, and make the other members of the nobility fear for their own positions.

This means the Crown relies on the goodwill of the majority of the landholders within Pendor, but he has the ability to act quickly and decisively against those who question his authority. Mordred currently enjoys the loyalty of most lords of the realm, particularly in the Empire which joined Pendor in what was seen as the legitimate transfer of power, and in the Fierdsvain which is joined to the Adalhard dynasty through marriage.


Last edited by Mordred on Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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Isabel Tenorio
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Isabel Tenorio


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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 1:30 am

As most nobles don't have much in the way of standing troops, I think it makes sense for the Crown to let the Orders handle problems on their own, with general guidelines.

The powers of the Royal Army and such are sufficient to deal with any existential threats that may come up, so it makes sense for the King to take a 'controlled chaos' approach to the more minor difficulties that arise. Even if that does lead to discontent in some cases.
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Marcus the Shadow Fighter
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 1:34 am

I had the fleeting thought...

If enough Orders allied, they could be able to actually defeat the Royal Army.

Just speculating on plotting and intrigues(it will never ever come to that, come to think of it) but it's certainly a possibility, if a very very very very unlikely one.
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Isabel Tenorio
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 1:35 am

The same could be said of the nobility. Every leader must hold onto their bases of support, otherwise they go the way of Louis and Charles.
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Iskar
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 1:53 am

How strong are the combined levies and retinues of the lords compared to the royal army? Could an England-1215-like situation actually occur in Pendor? (If we have the chance to get a Magna Charta, I could hardly keep myself from making the Silvermist join the Barons... Wink)
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Saeros
Voice of the Nobility
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:08 am

Yes, if the three wealthiest orders allied, they would have a good chance of defeating the royal army and the other orders as well. Given this situation, if I were the king, I would give the grandmasters the appearance that they actually have some power over the kingdom, so that they don't try to grab something by themselves. I would probably establish a council to redraw provincial borders and reassign fiefs, for example.

Oh...wait.


Last edited by Saeros on Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:12 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : grammar)
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Tubby McChubbles
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:12 am

Magna Carta situation?

Oh great, so I'm allied in a losing war with the king against the evil noldor/silvermist barons who want to beat down the peasants.
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:13 am

Hey, who said he loses? This is Pendor, not England Razz
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Tubby McChubbles
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:19 am

Who said it's Mordred?
Your son gets bored of pendor, goes off to try and conquer new lands, gets killed (because we all suck at PoP really) and his brother screws up as a king, then we all die horribly.
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Mordred
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Mordred


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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:22 am

Iskar wrote:
How strong are the combined levies and retinues of the lords compared to the royal army? Could an England-1215-like situation actually occur in Pendor? (If we have the chance to get a Magna Charta, I could hardly keep myself from making the Silvermist join the Barons... Wink)

Honestly, I have not decided. Far more than are currently serving however, plus Mordred has significant economic assets to call in mercenaries, plus foreign alliances with Mettenheim and Veccavia.
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Marcus the Shadow Fighter
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyThu Sep 27, 2012 2:35 am

The Orders would have to dispose of the King in a stealthy manner or suddenly shake the foundations of his power by either

A) Grabbing the reins of his military/economical assets

B) Assassinate him

Just speculation, however Very Happy

Also, since the Royal Army is the standing army of Pendor, shouldn't it be a considerably larger force than mere five thousand? A large, professional force like this could only be created right after a situation where elite troops were a common sight on the battlefield due to the constant wars between the nations - if Mordred were to establish this heavyweight military, couldn't Pendor just steamroll everyone else? Not to speak of quenching any rebellions Wink
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyMon Oct 01, 2012 9:25 am

A little more on the Kingdom of Pendor (first post updated);

Quote :
The Kingdom of Pendor

The Kingdom of Pendor is formed in a rather unconventional manner, namely that the King does not himself hold any direct lands at the moment, but rather relies on a levy of taxes and manpower from the kingdom at large. Currently taxes are set to roughly 20% of the income of all the Dukes (both in terms of crops, money and military service) who in turn raise their own taxes to cover this bill, and for their own expenses.

That said, the King is officially the overlord of all lands in Pendor, and legally they remain his to give and take as he pleases, as such the Lords of the Realm act more like renters or administrators in the name of the Crown, and should one or more act against the royal prerogative, he has the authority to usurp their lands without just cause, though this will of course upset the lords in question, and make the other members of the nobility fear for their own positions.

This means the Crown relies on the goodwill of the majority of the landholders within Pendor, but he has the ability to act quickly and decisively against those who question his authority. Mordred currently enjoys the loyalty of most lords of the realm, particularly in the Empire which joined Pendor in what was seen as the legitimate transfer of power, and in the Fierdsvain which is joined to the Adalhard dynasty through marriage.

Note, it is done this way not because it is the most authoritarian means of maintaining power (because it most certainly is not), but rather because I wanted to leave as much of Pendor open to the Orders as possible, as to declare war on Crown holdings would basically be declaring on the whole of Pendor, and this could seriously disadvantage some Orders.
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Saeros
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyMon Oct 01, 2012 11:16 am

It might be relevant for the defense to know if the kingdom has a fixed set of laws that not even the king has the right of altering. In clear terms: is Pendor an absolute monarchy?
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyMon Oct 01, 2012 11:21 am

Not as yet, no. They are quite arbitrary, not because the King is absolute (though in practice he pretty much is), but because they have never been properly codified. Think of an archaic version of the English system, whereby law is determined by precedent.
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Isabel Tenorio
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyMon Oct 01, 2012 1:20 pm

Has Mordred personally decided who holds county-level titles as well, or is he taking a more pyramid-style approach to them?

Also, the King reminds me of Henry VII. The events of his rise to power utterly crushed the nobility, now he just has to make a lot of money and raise people of mean blood to hold positions of power. (Sorry to the King's Greatx4 Grand Bastard, Darlion of Pendor!)
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyMon Oct 01, 2012 10:33 pm

No, just the Dukes. IC he would know who they are, OOC there are just too many.
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Isabel Tenorio
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 1:15 am

Did Mordred appoint each Duke to their current duchy himself, or did some hold them before?
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 1:32 am

Many were there before.
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Iskar
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 1:36 am

But I guess they who were there before and pertained their duchies throughout the war were those supporting the king ar at least agreed to terms of his liking and were officially confirmed in their positions afterwards?
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Mordred
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 2:02 am

Precisely.
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Isabel Tenorio
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 4:57 am

Is it illegal to imagine the death of the King? In the way of the historical law, not dealing with succession in a legal manner.


Edit: Also, would you please clarify, for all our benefits, what the King considers treason? We seem to have some OOC disagreements on that touchy IC subject.
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Psychozoa
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 5:12 am

I would say as a King he can consider treason everything he wants. If he has a good day he would go drinking with Aranor and then talk about it. But if, let's say, some GM of some Order annoyed him he would have to go to court(even though there is no law telling him to) he can as well just draw his sword and go on a killing spree, he's the King afterall. =)
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Marcus the Shadow Fighter
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 5:20 am

Well, considering that he can kill the Grandmasters without dying in the process.

Unless he orders them to be slaughtered by his guards.
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Sir Haegon
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 6:01 am

Psychozoa wrote:
I would say as a King he can consider treason everything he wants. If he has a good day he would go drinking with Aranor and then talk about it. But if, let's say, some GM of some Order annoyed him he would have to go to court(even though there is no law telling him to) he can as well just draw his sword and go on a killing spree, he's the King afterall. =)

They called him the 'Mad' King and threw him from his throne.
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Psychozoa
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PostSubject: Re: The Power of the King   The Power of the King EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 7:13 am

That wouldn't be too easy. He has the Pendorian Army, Mettenheim and Veccavia. If thats not enough there will be for sure some order which says:

"Yeah we help the King and afterwards we are the only Order in Pendor." There are way too many dangers in a rebellion if the King has so much power. The only which would have some effect would have to begin at the lowest level with the peasants.
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