The Tiberion Council Background and Explanation

Miragel

Newbie
Less than a quarter of the game are nobles or on a noble track today, and that is okay. It shows organic growth in the community and the game world! It’s time that the game reflected that in a way that isn’t negatively impactful to the setting and its established social norms.

The vast majority of the player base has expressed a desire to be more involved, and to see their actions impact their in-game world.

With the death of several significant NPCs in the game, we’re in a place where change is not only possible, I believe it is appropriate and inevitable. Alliance Denver has been relatively static in its structure for the last 6 years, but in the spirit of inclusivity and opportunity I (and others) felt it was time for a change!

Enter the Tiberion Council aka - the Commoner’s Council!

You can read the in-character announcement and structure here - https://alliancelarp.com/forum/thre...ing-all-new-acarthia-commoner-citizens.41088/, but below is the background and giving credit where credit is due to a not so small project.

Background:

This is not a new idea. It’s actually 3 years old.

Credit needs to be given to Vincent, who as a member of a previous plot team began down this path three years ago. Some of the ideas contained in the IC document are based on his designs and I felt it important to give him due credit for being the first to float this concept to the game.

Also, this was a concept that many people had a hand in. Special thanks to Mike P., Cassie, Mike M., Ray B, and Mac F for helping spec this out.


Questions I assume people will ask:

Why the restrictions?
The council is intended to give other characters an opportunity at being influential and center stage as relatively impartial entities. Leaders, nobles, Guildmasters, and representatives of an entire people already have a cool thing that is defining for that character. The Councilors (empowered by the Ducal Office) should be focused on New Acarthia and its well-being.

This is also intended to spread the wealth of RP and make things more accessible to a wider variety of characters.

Has plot okayed this?
Yes this Council has been shared with as many of plot as I could get my hands on in the break. It’s also been reviewed by some of the commoner players and some of the nobles. Hopefully this has been socialized enough to get moving from the get-go.

But why?
It’s my genuine hope that this council gives more players access to other parts of the game that interest them. This is also to help push more plot and RP out to more characters.

What are these structures and investments you mention?
These are NPC-less mod opportunities that we hope will create good RP, better immersion, and more opportunities to invest and impact the world we play in. This is a concept plot has okayed, but we are still working out the mechanics on.

Do we have to do this?
Of course not! We want to provide more opportunities for interested players, but if this isn’t interesting to our player base, or if it becomes too burdensome and counter to our players’ fun, then the council doesn’t have to remain. It’s an experiment!
 
Hi Jules!

Thanks for putting this out there, and for posting both the IG and OOG parts.

I'm going to as some questions here, OOG, just so I don't have to decide which is which. ;-)

Some quesitons I have seen from folks that could use clarification:
Must not be a leader of a Guild or recognized group in order to eliminate bias
Must not be a Guild Master
I think these are hitting the same idea, but I'm not totally sure. The second one seems clear, since I assume you mean a "Guild Master" as a title officially reongized by the nobility? Outside of that The first one is fuzzier. What does it mean to be a leader of a recognized group? Are the Wayfarers recognized? The Scions? What if leadership of such a group is shared? Are all of the co-leaders ineligible?

Must be a citizen of New Acarthia
From the new laws written and posted by Darius last year, we have this: "Acarthian citizens (defined as those who are sworn to the kingdom in some fashion or who hold primary domicile within the monarch’s domain)"
Is that the criteria being applied here? If we had a biata who came from Phoenix last year, but now lives in New Acarthia, they would count. But if that person thinks of themselves as representing Phoenix, they would be ineligible. Is that the intent?

The lands of the Estate of New Acarthia that are not held by Nobles, Royally recognized Guilds.
Non-nobles and non-official Baronial court members
I suspect many (most?) folk don't know what parts of the estate are "held by Nobles." Isn't all of it heldy by nobles? Maybe give the most relevant examples (like, the entire town of New Acarthia, outside the actual Guild buildings?).
"Non-nobles" means no belt, so that is easier. "Non-official Baronial court members" is, again, hard to know. I know Anders is the court mage of Rivervale. Sounds pretty official... but?
Maybe more importantly, I don't think I know what it means to "have jurisdiction" over these people. Can the council order them to pay for a new watchtower? Can a council member order them to defend the town? Can a council member punish them for bad, but not illegal, behavior?

Lastly... the name? I can't say "Commoner Council" is what I would pick, if I had my choice, but I definitely don't understand "Tiberion Council." A non-noble council named after one of the Old Families?

I hope those four questions make sense. I bet there are others, but I am trying not to "wall of text" you.
 
Thanks for the questions Jeff, I know you and others have proposed several, and I'll try to get to them all in this thread.

I think it's worth mentioning that this council is intended to be something that evolves over time, I suspect the initial document I put together will be changed by the council itself. This concept was created to give the players something new to engage with - and to help forge a new path.

Ultimately I hope in the long run, the Council will vote on its own structure and eligibility.

Some questions I have seen from folks that could use clarification:

I think these are hitting the same idea, but I'm not totally sure. The second one seems clear, since I assume you mean a "Guild Master" as a title officially recognized by the nobility? Outside of that The first one is fuzzier. What does it mean to be a leader of a recognized group? Are the Wayfarers recognized? The Scions? What if leadership of such a group is shared? Are all of the co-leaders ineligible?

Guild Master as in Royally or Ducally recognized Guilds - In short, I'm referring to the Healers, Merchant, Mage, and Loremaster.

As for the individuals who lead a team, I'm talking about official declared leaders. The intention here is to eliminate conflicts of interest, placing the priority on New Acarthia as opposed to a team. Honestly this is worth debating, but perhaps should be one of the things the Council chooses.

From the new laws written and posted by Darius last year, we have this: "Acarthian citizens (defined as those who are sworn to the kingdom in some fashion or who hold primary domicile within the monarch’s domain)"
Is that the criteria being applied here? If we had a biata who came from Phoenix last year, but now lives in New Acarthia, they would count. But if that person thinks of themselves as representing Phoenix, they would be ineligible. Is that the intent?

You have the right of it.

New Acarthian citizen as defined under the law are those that hold residence in New Acarthia.

If said Biata was a resident, wonderful they would be eligible, but the council is again there in the interest of New Acarthia, not of matters of the Kingdom or other domains.


I suspect many (most?) folk don't know what parts of the estate are "held by Nobles." Isn't all of it heldy by nobles? Maybe give the most relevant examples (like, the entire town of New Acarthia, outside the actual Guild buildings?).

This is mostly intended as IC flavor text, and to accommodate for the Guild lands and "Ducal Estate" Land (NPC Camp). The area where game occurs is predominantly the Guild Houses, Tavern and Estate of New Acarthia. The intent is to give the players control over the play space, but not the Guilds which are controlled by the King.

"Non-nobles" means no belt, so that is easier. "Non-official Baronial court members" is, again, hard to know. I know Anders is the court mage of Rivervale. Sounds pretty official... but?

The confusion here is reasonable. This goes back to a ruling from several years ago where Baronies had to declare who was officially a court member and who was not. Each Barony has largely declared those things already as far as I'm aware. Those who hold titles are usually a good guess (as in Ander's case). There are published lists in the forums, but I think it's worth it to publish it again so folks are all on the same page.


Maybe more importantly, I don't think I know what it means to "have jurisdiction" over these people. Can the council order them to pay for a new watchtower? Can a council member order them to defend the town? Can a council member punish them for bad, but not illegal, behavior?

It has been my strong suggestion that the council never ever force the players to expend the time as an NPC, they are paying customers and should never ever be forced into an activity they didn't opt in for. That said, IC actions dictate IC consequences, so some sort of RP experience is important if a character is brought up on charges by the council. Fines that are laid out clearly in the laws seem appropriate.

The intent is to allow the citizenry of New Acarthia to put in people they believe are right for the position, people who won't abuse the opportunity. This is indeed a grand experiment ICly and OCly, and will hopefully result in RP one way or the other.

It should be stated though, that I do not feel that an individual Council Member should be able to order people around.

Lastly... the name? I can't say "Commoner Council" is what I would pick, if I had my choice, but I definitely don't understand "Tiberion Council." A non-noble council named after one of the Old Families?

The irony here isn't lost on me, but it's still a feudal game setting wise. Honestly it's intended to honor the Duchess who in character pioneered inclusion and equality in the setting.

I appreciate the questions, hopefully this clears some things up.
 
New Acarthian citizen as defined under the law are those that hold residence in New Acarthia.

Just to be clear here, you're saying that only characters proclaiming residence in (or are willing to move to) the estate of New Acarthia are eligible? That is, other Acarthian citizens, including anyone living anywhere else in the ducal fiefs, the four baronies within the duchy, the other duchies, or any freehold is not eligible?
 
Just to be clear here, you're saying that only characters proclaiming residence in (or are willing to move to) the estate of New Acarthia are eligible? That is, other Acarthian citizens, including anyone living anywhere else in the ducal fiefs, the four baronies within the duchy, the other duchies, or any freehold is not eligible?

Now accepting reasonably-priced applications to declare Lagarde's brothel as primary residence. :D
 
Just to be clear here, you're saying that only characters proclaiming residence in (or are willing to move to) the estate of New Acarthia are eligible? That is, other Acarthian citizens, including anyone living anywhere else in the ducal fiefs, the four baronies within the duchy, the other duchies, or any freehold is not eligible?

It is what I'm implying yes.

Those of the courts of the baronies live in said baronies. As this initiative is directed at the commoner players, the intent is to empower a focus on the location we play in, as opposed to those offstage locales.

Now, that said, this council is a tool for the characters to play with, so frankly this will largely be a thing the council can debate or change.
 
Additional Clarification:

It was my assumption that most commoner PCs live inside of New Acarthia, or at least have major holdings there. If this is simply an uninformed assumption on my part, we could instead simply state within the Duchy of "Acarthia." The intent here is to make it open to our players, not to NPCs outside of our little community. It appears that I may have been mistaken about your characters locations, my apologies for that.

This council was in response to what I perceived the community might enjoy and a way to try and give the game back to the players as opposed to having it continue as a noble focused one. It is in no way my intent to hand down something no one will be interested or invested in - and no one wants a council with no eligible councilors. Also, to be clear, though I'm the only one posting this information, it was vetted by a team. The true test is always in play though!

It should be largely in the players hands to determine what the course of this could or should be. If there's suggestions that we as a community feel are inclusive or more "realistic" in game to appeal to more commoner folks, I'm all for that.
 
Hey everyone!

We appreciate the feedback that people have been giving thus far on this draft of the Council. I recognize that our execution has not been perfect, but I hope people can see that we are listening to your input, willing to make changes, and have already done so, so that this can be something fun and helpful for the game. Furthermore, all of this is subject to change. Once we get a chance to hear from interested parties (both online and at game), we really hope to empower that new Council to change its identity (name, sigil, who is eligible, etc.) in a way that best serves its intended purpose and the game.

I look forward to talking about this during the event this weekend!
 
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