The New World Order

[Jei]

After actually being involved in this for a while longer, I'd like to switch my vote from maybe to no. I think, unfortunately, that while the RP is somewhat exciting, it is inherently cliqueish and sort of makes it necessary and even beneficial for nobles to keep having noble RP. I feel this is detrimental to the RP of non-nobles.

Further, it takes forever to get anything done, which is getting to be a problem in a few cases.

So, for me, I'd like to have Enakai's wife die or have a miscarriage and stick Gemara on the throne. But that's just me.

[Estelle]

I think the largest problem with having a new monarch is that we actually need a player to play it.

Now, I cannot think of one single player who has both the time and the near-universal acceptance that Charmaine had (probably partly because she used to play the monarch on old TI, so people already knew her). And I think there will be a lot of OOC drama about the new person who is selected, since it is a position of HUGE power, and chosen via application. No matter whom the imms choose, there will be at least a portion of people who disgaree and think so and so would be better, and who will think imms are being favouritist (is there such a word?).

[Kinaed]

I'll flat out admit to being favoritist of Charmaine as the monarch. *grin* I'm not sure who I would be comfortable filling her shoes, honestly. And of the ones I would be comfortable with doing it, I'll bet lots that they just flat out don't want it or have the time for it.

It's one of the few roles in the game I'm not sure I'm comfortable just handing to whomever to decide if they want to cut him/her down if they're not doing a good job because that sort of thing has an IC impact on the viability of checks and balances, and the focus of the game has never really been macro-politics (eg, kingdom-wide), but more micro-politics (amongst individuals within Lithmore City). This can change, but we ready for it? I'm not sure. The transition could be either interesting or a debacle. Certainly, we do not have any mechanism in play at the moment to measure the "unseen" power of individual nobles, and I fear it'd introduce a lot of "Must have RPA" situations than I'd like to see for TI in general. Overall, RPA is not meant to massive reconstruct the kingdom, but to provide a little bit of assistance here and there. I'm not sure it's balanced enough for the latter or that reworking the game at that level on a regular basis wouldn't require a great deal of work and thought as to how to keep it an interesting game as conflicts resolve and new ones need to be introduced.

So, all of this said, I think one answer is for the monarch to become an NPC. Does that horrify people?

[Zeita]

Honestly, I haven't yet seen enough of the regency council in play to be able to give a definitive answer whether or not it is working. I do think we could see the procedures of how it should operate worked out a bit, but I think it is too soon to make any judgements about it until it is given ample opportunity to work, and for the members themselves to determine how best to operate as a group.

I'm not sure why Charm was accepted as well as she was- I'm pretty sure that it wasn't widely obvious that I played Richael until late in the game, in any case. Possibly because I was the first character created on this TI, so already established as part of the in-game fabric from the get go. Another may be that I didn't play the clique game and strive to play it straight edge theme-wise (when it comes to being monarch at least, I feel that that is essential.)

I know that right now, I wouldn't be interested in playing the monarch again. Too much work, too much OOC stress and not enough time on my part. I would be quite in favor of it and the rest of the royal family being restricted to NPCs. That said, I'd still like to give the regency council longer yet.

[Estelle]

I think a NPC Queen would be safer than a PC Queen, for certain, if people hate the regency council so much. But by golly, it'll be -boring-. A huge part of politics and noble RP is to curry favour with the monarch, or in this case, sway the votes of the council through legal/illegal means. Take that away and put it in the hands of the imms (ie not really played, but simply a power that exists and reacts as necessary), and I'm frankly not very sure what nobles would do. Also, I think NPC Queen would put more stress on the imms than necessary in order to be as fair as possible.. and even then I figure some people will be displeased.

I agree that things take too long with the Regency Council though. I would strongly, strongly exhort people to utilize mail more when face-to-face RP cannot be achieved for OOC reasons. And perhaps we should rethink the part of the helpfile that requires at least 3 people to be online and available at the same time in order for the Council to sit and call a vote - because I think that is the principle reason of delays. Maybe someone can propose a motion via mail, someone can second it, and everyone can vote via mail within a given timeframe?

[Lei]

I like the council. I think it's the best one of our current options. It probably needs tweaks and adjustments to make it run better, but the major complaints I see in this thread don't seem like enough to justify another shift of power so quickly after the last one, especially without giving it a better chance to run its course. What has it been, three weeks now?

Sure, it's cliquish; these are nobles, after all. And this is RP mostly restricted to nobles-- but any player can have a noble. And yes, everything coming out of council is painfully slow, but it's a government operation. Government isn't fast by default.

[Amdair]

I'm in favor of seeing where RP takes us, personally, and not because I'm involved; it's my general opinion on such things, to let them play out.



Also, this has produced a lot of amazing RP from people (though I don't claim it all is excellent, haters! :P )

[Jei]

I'd rather have an NPC monarch than what is currently happening, unfortunately. I think the easiest way would be for Enakai's wife to die/miscarry and have NPC Gemara ascend, but that's just me.

The theme of the game is Order vs. Mages, the theme isn't really supposed to be like A Game of Thrones, and that's what it feels like lately. Anyway, just my two cents on it.

[Olither]

I think some people will feel cheated if we switch Monarch to NPC again. One PC got a chance and did it beautifully, and now, from the looks of it, no one will ever get that chance again. Further, if the next PC monarch does a terrible job, who cares? There's been terrible kings? It'll feel mechanical and unreal if the PCs have no sway over the monarchy, or no say in the manner.