Man of the Hour Emergency Senate Session

[TinCow]

Anyone on the family tree should have a say. THEY are royalty.

We generals shouldnt have a say. We're just the hired help.

My initial reaction is to be concerned about how much time it would take to poll the 'royal family' to get consent for a MoH. However, I'm also very intrigued by the notion of a 'tier' of nobility that people could obtain by joining the family tree. I'm not sure what purpose it would serve, but it could be something to expand upon in the future. I'd like to see more discussion of this.

[Privateerkev]

My initial reaction is to be concerned about how much time it would take to poll the 'royal family' to get consent for a MoH. However, I'm also very intrigued by the notion of a 'tier' of nobility that people could obtain by joining the family tree. I'm not sure what purpose it would serve, but it could be something to expand upon in the future. I'd like to see more discussion of this.

If we are going to consider polling the family tree, then what about weighting the votes? As TF pointed out, not all family tree members are created equal.

Emperor - 4 votes
Caesar - 3 votes
natural born sons - 2 votes
every one else - 1 vote

Also what this does, is allow the potential for votes going quick. Once there is a majority of the possible votes, the decision is made. So, if the Emperor and/or Caesar are active players, then they can make a decision almost by themselves. Since they would most likely be a high percentage of the votes, until later in the game when the tree is bigger, they would have a huge say in the decision, as well as make sure the voting is over fairly quickly.

This also makes the family tree more nuanced, which some wished for back in the rules discussion phase.

[TinCow]

If this kind of a system is to be adopted (emphasis on if, I am still far from convinced it will serve any useful purpose) I would prefer an equal, unweighted vote for everyone, but with the Basileus wielding a veto. A weighted system would make sense, but that's a pretty large level of complexity for an organization that so far has no purpose other than to determine its own membership.

[Privateerkev]

If this kind of a system is to be adopted (emphasis on if, I am still far from convinced it will serve any useful purpose) I would prefer an equal, unweighted vote for everyone, but with the Basileus wielding a veto. A weighted system would make sense, but that's a pretty large level of complexity for an organization that so far has no purpose other than to determine its own membership.

Yeah, I can't say I'm very keen on it either. But some people did want the family tree to mean more. And they did want it more nuanced. So, this is one way of doing that.

[Askthepizzaguy]

You could simply have members of "The Royal Family" end quote draw up a list of people they would vote to welcome/deny into the royal family, and have them all forward it to TinCow.

That way you don't have to STOP the game and VOTE but everyone's secret ballots are already in.

You don't seriously want Monomachos in the family tree do you? So everyone votes no.

Some may not want their rivals on the tree, so only they vote no.

Some may see how great Methodios Tagaris is, and so everyone votes yes.

And so on.

That way, it's already decided. And people can amend their choices later. I seriously believe the royal family should be able to say no, and that MoH should MEAN something special, so not everyone can join, but that the elite warriors should join.

I believe being an heir to the royal family or an adopted member is a priviliged status reserved for those above the common soldiery.

[Ramses II CP]

IMHO this should be a power of, and decision for, the Emperor. What does 'Man of the Hour' really mean, after all, except someone whose victory has been so great as to draw the highest attention in the land? Logically I like the idea of the adopter getting a chance to say no, especially if they have no natural children, but if the Emperor asks you to take someone in and you say no, there should be in character consequences to that even if you're doing it for OOC reasons.

Let me see if I can clarify my thoughts:

1. MotH is an in character event. Whether it is accepted or not should be an IC decision.

2. Being a MotH means your victory was so great as to draw the eyes of your Emperor, who is the only man with the ultimate authority to adopt a potential heir into his family. If the Emperor rejects you he may face a public backlash, especially among the more warriorly senators, etc. If he accepts you, you're royalty, period.

3. If you're on the family tree you are subject to the Emperor's authority. If he instructs you to join a MotH recruit to your family, obey or suffer the consequences. If you decline for OOC reasons (Such as a desire for natural children) this should still have IC consequences. We all have to live with the flaws in the engine.

My 2 cents.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I would be content with Ramses' ideas as well.

I just want it to be both an honour, and the process to make sense. If it gets complicated with extensive rules and so on which create more work and less fun, and it's also not realistic either, then people will grumble about it.

Much like the good-intentioned "no adopting family members" in some hotseats... what a pain in the royal arse that idea was in practice...

[OverKnight]

Aghh, the dreaded family tree AI strikes again.

I second both proposals, if needed, so we have a choice of option.

Look at the family tree at the end of KotR. It wasn't really just the royal family, it included all the noble families of the realm.

If a RGB I didn't like IC got in, Al would view them as a troublesome noble who now had enough influence to get a shot at the Throne eventually, but not a family member.

TC's revised amendment seems the closest to my thinking, it has the benefit of being simple and quick to implement. Simply save at the MoH screen, check who gets the adoption, and then go from there.