<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kafka47:
I would be interested to hear how other people view the nobility.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
IMTU, the nobility, at least the landed nobility, generally are pretty much just working stiffs, doing their job, and enjoying the (Pretty good) perks. Democratic reform IMTU gets squished once it leaves a member world. The nobles in office have real power, and some do abuse it, others ignore it, and a few simply can't handle it, but most do a decent job of providing stability, interstellar commerce, and rule of law to the 3I.
That all being said, the average "Planetary Noble" has the primary starport for a feif. So he's motivated to provide for trade... he gets a share of the handling fees. They on-world power varies immensely outside their feif, but inside it, they aare the sole law besides the imperium.
Promotion by assassination: IMTU, it occassionally happens. But it must be a "One on One" thing, in the official court of the soon-to-be-deceased, with a weapon that was openly worn, and the challenge accepted (think in a manner akin to the end of DUNE), usually under threat of black civil war if not accepted. Most nobles will see the reality, and most of the time, the emperor is armed. But if he accepts, the guards will shoot ANYONE interfering; psionic/hypno conditioning to protect the imperium over it's emperor.
Court functions tend to be big affairs. Seneschales tend to be really powerful, and many dukes have a baron or count as their seneschale. Some knighthoods are sub-infeudations; no baronial or higher imperial title is, but some local sub-infudations carry rank equivalent to an imperial baron.
Nobles constantly make decisions which will affect many lives.It doesn't leave them unaffected; most seem callous towards any single man's plight, but when 20 have the same problem, he's interested.
Also, IMTU, most feifs have affixed to them shares of major corporations. You want an Imperial Baron's licence to operate as a limited corporation indepenant of world laws (say a system wide in a multi-polity system), he gets a 1% share. Cluster wise, the count gets a 1% share. Subsector: the Duke gets 1%. Note this is non-saleable ownership-shares, not a tax. They get a say and a cut. Some of the older feifs have official assets measuring in the GCr range, but the physical feif is a single building. In other cases, some lesser feifs are commercial properties with a limited extrality zone: in one case, i gave a PC noble a feif which consisted of a 25 story apartment building in downtown Regni on Regina. He was a Baron. He had a dueling salon, and local-tax-free rental units; extrality ended at the walls of the building.
Also, IMTU, most worlds will grant permits for 1-3 LL lower weapons to nobles. Not to their entourages, but to imperial nobles only. If he/she/it is enfeofed, their huscarles may be armed on their feif. In the above baron's case, his huscarles were the building security, but they were allowed to act up to one block away from the building.
Now, my PC's went and assassinated both Lucan and the "Real Strephon", and put dulinor on the throne, as he was the best of a bad lot... at least he was honest. So the ZS stayed independant, and the Party once again held earth.... And, by 1150, Brzrk was beggin dulinor for his life. Oh, and Norris came out and fessed up to having taken Branj as a lover.
------------------
-aramis
=============================================
Smith & Wesson: The Original Point and Click interface!
I would be interested to hear how other people view the nobility.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
IMTU, the nobility, at least the landed nobility, generally are pretty much just working stiffs, doing their job, and enjoying the (Pretty good) perks. Democratic reform IMTU gets squished once it leaves a member world. The nobles in office have real power, and some do abuse it, others ignore it, and a few simply can't handle it, but most do a decent job of providing stability, interstellar commerce, and rule of law to the 3I.
That all being said, the average "Planetary Noble" has the primary starport for a feif. So he's motivated to provide for trade... he gets a share of the handling fees. They on-world power varies immensely outside their feif, but inside it, they aare the sole law besides the imperium.
Promotion by assassination: IMTU, it occassionally happens. But it must be a "One on One" thing, in the official court of the soon-to-be-deceased, with a weapon that was openly worn, and the challenge accepted (think in a manner akin to the end of DUNE), usually under threat of black civil war if not accepted. Most nobles will see the reality, and most of the time, the emperor is armed. But if he accepts, the guards will shoot ANYONE interfering; psionic/hypno conditioning to protect the imperium over it's emperor.
Court functions tend to be big affairs. Seneschales tend to be really powerful, and many dukes have a baron or count as their seneschale. Some knighthoods are sub-infeudations; no baronial or higher imperial title is, but some local sub-infudations carry rank equivalent to an imperial baron.
Nobles constantly make decisions which will affect many lives.It doesn't leave them unaffected; most seem callous towards any single man's plight, but when 20 have the same problem, he's interested.
Also, IMTU, most feifs have affixed to them shares of major corporations. You want an Imperial Baron's licence to operate as a limited corporation indepenant of world laws (say a system wide in a multi-polity system), he gets a 1% share. Cluster wise, the count gets a 1% share. Subsector: the Duke gets 1%. Note this is non-saleable ownership-shares, not a tax. They get a say and a cut. Some of the older feifs have official assets measuring in the GCr range, but the physical feif is a single building. In other cases, some lesser feifs are commercial properties with a limited extrality zone: in one case, i gave a PC noble a feif which consisted of a 25 story apartment building in downtown Regni on Regina. He was a Baron. He had a dueling salon, and local-tax-free rental units; extrality ended at the walls of the building.
Also, IMTU, most worlds will grant permits for 1-3 LL lower weapons to nobles. Not to their entourages, but to imperial nobles only. If he/she/it is enfeofed, their huscarles may be armed on their feif. In the above baron's case, his huscarles were the building security, but they were allowed to act up to one block away from the building.
Now, my PC's went and assassinated both Lucan and the "Real Strephon", and put dulinor on the throne, as he was the best of a bad lot... at least he was honest. So the ZS stayed independant, and the Party once again held earth.... And, by 1150, Brzrk was beggin dulinor for his life. Oh, and Norris came out and fessed up to having taken Branj as a lover.
------------------
-aramis
=============================================
Smith & Wesson: The Original Point and Click interface!
