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Author Topic: Politics in Ravenloft  (Read 12693 times)

Burrowfield

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Politics in Ravenloft
« on: July 01, 2012, 09:13:03 PM »
This is not only a question but also a suggestion.

How is politics dynamically represented in character? I know the lore on who rules what and how it is ruled. Yet I see little to no effect or influence from politics. Would the dm"s and players be willing to stick their heads together and really define politics? I for one am very interested on this roleplay as my main character is a political animal anot not much else.

An example would be to make the influence of wealthy npc"s and players more apperant in day to day politics. Along with that in gothic settings citizents often ran to their lord and beg for his protection against creatures of the night, or even plot against him. It"s (imo) very important especially in a setting like borovia you have an actuall dynamic political leader. Perhaps show some actual tyrany against younger races, rather than the common garda pestering I believe we"re all used t now ( i mean honestly don"t both parties find garda rp rather dull and monotone? ) not the players but the rp the garda itself got sucked into.

I"m digressing, point is I would love to see some organised executions, of opposition, criminals varja users and younger races alike. Maybe some actual resistance added. Any opinions on this?

If this is already in place or if i"m out of line let me know please, I"m still getting settled in ( i come from a very different rp scene )

RigorMortis

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2012, 09:23:51 PM »
If you like the political savoir faire then perhaps playing a rebel or a Barovian noble is right for you. I find that you need to be the change you want to see in the server, and I garuntee people will follow suite. Search Gundrakite rebel, their faction is quiete the catch I hear.

dutchy

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2012, 09:24:08 PM »
problem with the executions and punishments go far and wide.

first you need to catch the criminal, now we can neglect this by a dm spawn npc sentenced to death but that means the guards get lazy (players that is)

second  a execution or punishment isnt easy as the usual guards are lower the the avarage playerbase due to no dungeon crawling and rp xp only and at night they have to go indoors thus they dont have the large amount of ppl to talk to at night.    (if you are with the same group day in day out at some point you run out of material to talk)
additional what i tried to say was also that due the fact they are lower lvls the risk of them getting killed harmed maimed kidnapped during such an event is high, its more risk then that it is worth.

third  we say noble but real barovian nobles are families that the count hasnt killed since he took over the lands but we refer to the wealthy as nobles aswell while infact they arnt  (i might be wrong on this one)

so yes you can play a wealthy char if you indeed have the funds to back it up    bribe here  buy yourself into that  etc etc  problem is you will need npc's as most wealthy/nobles influential  parts are npc's and thats basicly done to make sure the server concept stays that way.
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Space Cowboy

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2012, 09:39:46 PM »
Politics is mostly faction/faction, if you want to be involved with politics the best bet is to join a faction. Preferably an active one. Vallaki garda, Church of Ezra, or Gundarakite Rebels are good choices. Maybe even the Red Vardo Traders as well.

Dread

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2012, 09:46:13 PM »
Hopefully, Deeloo will have some intrigue soon as well

herkles

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2012, 10:29:05 PM »
This is not only a question but also a suggestion.

How is politics dynamically represented in character? I know the lore on who rules what and how it is ruled. Yet I see little to no effect or influence from politics. Would the dm"s and players be willing to stick their heads together and really define politics? I for one am very interested on this roleplay as my main character is a political animal anot not much else.

An example would be to make the influence of wealthy npc"s and players more apperant in day to day politics. Along with that in gothic settings citizents often ran to their lord and beg for his protection against creatures of the night, or even plot against him. It"s (imo) very important especially in a setting like borovia you have an actuall dynamic political leader. Perhaps show some actual tyrany against younger races, rather than the common garda pestering I believe we"re all used t now ( i mean honestly don"t both parties find garda rp rather dull and monotone? ) not the players but the rp the garda itself got sucked into.

I"m digressing, point is I would love to see some organised executions, of opposition, criminals varja users and younger races alike. Maybe some actual resistance added. Any opinions on this?

If this is already in place or if i"m out of line let me know please, I"m still getting settled in ( i come from a very different rp scene )

This does exist but as others have said it is between factions, such as the Church of Ezra, the garda, vardo and what not. Though if there was an area for politics, I recommend Dementleiu. Dementlieu is an intrigue and political domain.  Of course in Dementlieu is also a land where people generally do not believe in vampires, werewolves and other monsters. Dementlieu has a lot of potential for poltiics: the gendarme, nobles, the university, gangs, les ordes, the ezrites(even if they are generally laid back and bookish)) and numerous other groups in Dementlieu.

Would be interesting to see a shooting squad executing a criminal in dementlieu, they already use the guillotine. Also locking people in an insane asylum would be neat as an alternative  :twisted: Port-a-Lucine, canonically has an asylum, even if there is not one IG, and there is the asylum near vallaki.

Also strahd is not really a dynamic political lead, sure he leads his realm but he has an effective hands off approach to ruling. People fear him so much that if he were to slumber for a few years no one would notice a thing change.

If you like the political savoir faire then perhaps playing a rebel or a Barovian noble is right for you. I find that you need to be the change you want to see in the server, and I garuntee people will follow suite. Search Gundrakite rebel, their faction is quiete the catch I hear.

Keep in mind though that with the exception of the Zarovich and Watcher Families there are no noble families left in Barovia, they either fled barovia ages ago, ie Dilisyna or they were wiped out.


Vaku

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2012, 11:21:45 PM »
Well I can tell you this, Noble groups have sprouted up and had a bough of success before. After playing a noble vampire for NCW I'm ready to say I'd like to rekindle that sort of RP.

Recently I've made a Dementlieuse lawyer. :P I plan to be setting up a law firm of just myself after the event ends (Or perhaps just being a private lawyer to a particular noble). If you're looking for a lawyer to defend you from any scandals that'd be me, and should you wish to see someone prosecuted to the fullest extent, that'd be me too. >:) Hopefully this guy can be appointed as one of Pronocers by Dominic d'Honaire :3

Though currently I have my guy out at the borders of the Wachter province in Barovia looking for alternate business opportunities to keep up his wealthy lifestyle. Maybe you might run into him. :P

Anyways, what I hope has come across is that the potential is there, we just need to be active in it, throwing events when we can, making business ventures and doing all sorts of hoo-hah to keep it interesting, and I know that if we build it, they will come.

If you want to bounce off some ideas my username is TVaku, and I'd love to continue speaking of more of this.

Feronius

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2012, 05:15:41 AM »
Very much doubt Barovia makes use of lawyers? Dementlieu might, I guess that's the place to be for political intrigues.

Personally I am a much bigger fan of the Barovian kind of nobility, rich merchants and land owners who bribe garda, send around tax collectors and so on.
I don't think it'd be impossible to find a player to RP as a tax collector or muscle, enforcing the locals to pay up. Maybe even introduce somekind of ridicilous outlander's fee or tax.
These things may or may not require DM approval, but they would sure as hell lead to interesting scenarios. Possibly a lot of attempts on your life though, but interesting nontheless.

Burrowfield

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2012, 05:33:44 AM »
I"m fairly sure barovia would make us of lawyers. Perhaps make a council of three loyal to the count who handle day to day business. Make sure the count remains in absolute power. A dm could roleplay the count himself from time to time to push through interesting roleplay events. Cool thing is this council can ic"ly send out tax collectors. Etcetc, to avoid spoiling somebody"s experience you could organise npc executions (i"d actually enjoy that rp)

HellsPanda

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2012, 05:55:07 AM »
The Count has agents everywhere. But Law in Barovia is not complicated enough to need lawyers

Strigoi

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2012, 06:28:47 AM »
ive actually played a successful political merchant noble in Barovia, and started a fun noble group a few years back. it was allot of fun, but allot of work as well.

first you need to ask yourself if the location makes a difference, because most people will tell you it makes more sense to play the politics game in dementilieu. for me, that domain is not interesting. Barovia is my true love, and is why i mostly play Barovian characters. i would agree however that the port is a better place IF you want to RP a noble there.

if you dont, then you can try applying a barovian merchant noble in the barovian factions. my new noble Zavier was a assistant archivist at the citadel, and later was the merchant clerk working the Red Vardo shop. both were attempts to get into the politics of the faction. however im torn between many characters so i didnt focus on him.

but the truth is with my original noble, i started out sitting at the blue water with another player. and the conversation was fun, but it didnt last. eventually we ran out of topics to talk about because all we did was sit around all day. i found out early that if you want to start or try to get into politics, its best to do so with a business venture. i started the Stravokov pen and postal service, and had multiple players taking part in running that business. eventually i was overwhelmed with players asking to play my characters butler, bodyguard, other nobles, my characters cousin, my characters love interest lol it was pretty crazy but it worked because i always planned something for us to do.

each day we would run the business, and on special occasions we would throw balls or parties at the broken bell, using the theater room below. for engagements, welcoming parties for newly arrived nobles etc etc. i was always thinking of ways to apply an event that would involve everyone interested. then later DMs took interest and lifted it further into true Politics with our Noble group. getting involved with the Burgomaster, Vincent von Zeklos, and the war that took place between them.

but like any faction or group, you have to have a daily function that involves everyone. the Garda for instance is so successful because the players have a function to perform on a daily bases, and that function leads them into interacting with characters they would not normally interact with. thats exactly what you need to do. i do it with Business ventures with my noble. the in Game writing system is a untapped gold mine of possibilities. my first noble used it to write letters and and send them with messengers. my second noble has a publishing firm, and writes books/teaches a few languages. all done using the writing system as a tool.

also keep in mind that making money is EXTREMELY a challenge as a barovian noble. but in truth there are no "real" nobles left, Barovians are considered "merchant" nobles who are basically elevated citizens, rich business owners etc. this is also why i went the business route, because it seemed more fitting to the role. you cant go out and slay dragons for a mountain of cash. you have to earn it through acquiring investors, and starting a business. (finding investors usually isnt to hard to find since most players have a mountain of gold in their bank accounts :P) so it all works out usually.

anyway thats how ive experienced it from my perspective. ii would be interested in playing my noble more regularly if you make a barovian one  :D
« Last Edit: July 02, 2012, 06:32:35 AM by President Petrus »

Winter83

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2012, 06:46:13 AM »
I"m fairly sure barovia would make us of lawyers. Perhaps make a council of three loyal to the count who handle day to day business. Make sure the count remains in absolute power. A dm could roleplay the count himself from time to time to push through interesting roleplay events. Cool thing is this council can ic"ly send out tax collectors. Etcetc, to avoid spoiling somebody"s experience you could organise npc executions (i"d actually enjoy that rp)

Oh, people actually have rights in Barovia?  :shock:

It is a medieval totalitarian country, where the LAW is the Count, and through him the burgomeister and through him the garda. You cant really get a lawyer to protect your right, he'd be jailed or hung along with your criminal.
Mediators between business parties are a different thing though. Business contracts might need a different cast of lawyers.

Actually would not mind to have a tax collector role to be fulfilled. Another role for natives, taxing outlanders for entering the city :P GATE TOLLS! 

But actually there are a lot of politics going on in the background. It's just not on the stage like in Dementlieu. Join factions and you cant avoid barovian politics. Garda  -  Rebels are indeed good for this. Vardo also or the local churches. Most of the stinky stuff goes behind the scenes, one have to dig in deep, and work hard to get involved, but possible.



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Feronius

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2012, 06:56:14 AM »
Actually would not mind to have a tax collector role to be fulfilled. Another role for natives, taxing outlanders for entering the city :P GATE TOLLS! 

That would be absolutely brilliant. Even if it's just a toll collector who's around only part of the time and the cost is only a single fang, the whole thing would add to the immersion and vibe of Vallaki so much, haha

Burrowfield

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #13 on: July 02, 2012, 10:05:27 AM »
Problem is if you join the Garda you have to be a fighter. My character is a spider, he lies and recruits and has others do his filthy work for him. All he does is with his mouth (the Spider from game of Thrones is a inspiration, lord Varys).

How would you fit that in? I would love to fit him into some council or court or some other diplomatic function where he can really shine.

Feronius

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #14 on: July 02, 2012, 10:30:39 AM »
Sounds more like the Ba'al Verzi is your cup of tea, although they aren't more than a whisper. Not sure if they even (still) exist.
You don't -need- a faction to get things done though. And you could always offer up a player faction.

herkles

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2012, 10:33:10 AM »
Problem is if you join the Garda you have to be a fighter. My character is a spider, he lies and recruits and has others do his filthy work for him. All he does is with his mouth (the Spider from game of Thrones is a inspiration, lord Varys).

How would you fit that in? I would love to fit him into some council or court or some other diplomatic function where he can really shine.

This sounds far more like you would enjoy dementlieu and the style there over Barovia :)


Burrowfield

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2012, 10:34:14 AM »
Already have one ;)

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2012, 11:16:34 AM »
I believe the garda faction would be open not only regulard guards, but other roles also, like archivist, herald, various professions, etc. Correct me if I am wrong.


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dutchy

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2012, 02:29:32 PM »
yeah the guards allow archivist aswell  word of caution  they had bad ic experiences with them so trust is not easely given in that department.

as far the whole scheming thing,   you seem to know a bit but not an awfull lot about barovia   right?????

what ive seen and learned is have a char for a few months and dick around  see whats up where and how   after that you have done the tour got fammiliar with allot of things and then you can begin the serious things such as bigger plots.

as for the count, dm blue uses him from time to time on special locations,  and yes barovia is more like guard thinks your bad that was your trial.   
agents and representatives of the castle arnt seen allot ingame, (wich is a pitty the castle should be represented more but thats a persenal opinion).
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Feronius

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2012, 03:58:11 PM »
yeah the guards allow archivist aswell  word of caution  they had bad ic experiences with them so trust is not easely given in that department.

as far the whole scheming thing,   you seem to know a bit but not an awfull lot about barovia   right?????

what ive seen and learned is have a char for a few months and dick around  see whats up where and how   after that you have done the tour got fammiliar with allot of things and then you can begin the serious things such as bigger plots.

as for the count, dm blue uses him from time to time on special locations,  and yes barovia is more like guard thinks your bad that was your trial.   
agents and representatives of the castle arnt seen allot ingame, (wich is a pitty the castle should be represented more but thats a persenal opinion).

No offense, you've already covered that department, but using a lot more punctuation, capital letters and perhaps generally being less of a dick in your attitude might make your points come across more clearly.

I would love to see more garda kind of figures though that aren't neccesarily forfilling the same normal roles, like I said the toll guy at the gates sounds like a blast. Perhaps garda collecting taxes..
It might even be an archivist garda noting down the prices of a farmer's lifestock or the donations the Morninglord church makes. That kind of roles could suit an upper class citizen, while still giving you a chance to visit the commoner parts of town?

Burrowfield

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2012, 04:23:10 PM »
yeah the guards allow archivist aswell  word of caution  they had bad ic experiences with them so trust is not easely given in that department.

as far the whole scheming thing,   you seem to know a bit but not an awfull lot about barovia   right?????

what ive seen and learned is have a char for a few months and dick around  see whats up where and how   after that you have done the tour got fammiliar with allot of things and then you can begin the serious things such as bigger plots.

as for the count, dm blue uses him from time to time on special locations,  and yes barovia is more like guard thinks your bad that was your trial.   
agents and representatives of the castle arnt seen allot ingame, (wich is a pitty the castle should be represented more but thats a persenal opinion).

Exactly what I mean, the castle should be represented more.

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2012, 05:03:42 PM »
an yet i hit the nail right on the head.

no idea how long you been playing burrowfield but i doubt you seen the time there where actual player agents of the count.

they are no longer around for some problematic reasons.
they needed a dm mainly blue to now and them guide them and to report to him.  (blue is the only dm that play's the count)
the ones that where in it where accused of favorism  this led to bad blood ooc wise    it was the type of drama that made the staff decide to not allow that anymore.

i asked blue not to long ago if it could be brought back but as a faction with its rules  as there are many other secret orginasations around.

so yes i agree fully with you there that the land barovia itself could use more representation  from the  hmm leadership?   political parties?   not sure how to name it.
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Burrowfield

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #22 on: July 02, 2012, 05:27:03 PM »
So Dutch, hit the nail on the head (I snap it completely :P)

All Dutch jokes aside. Political representation is a word that could work yes. So perhaps the council of three would be an interesting addition? A faction with rules, which operates IC'ly with only one DM controlling them (the rest are just three high-standing high-quality roleplayers or just people with experience or you know you can trust to roleplay things like this properly.) Their main duty would be to obviously serve the count and to assure his absolute power. (Many Kings had these sort of councils, often a few knights, what do you think the circular table of Arthur was for, tea parties?)

So they could instate the tax collectors, send out the agents to investigate a claim or instill (or remove) new laws which can be lobbied by wealthy merchants. It being a gothic and medival setting there will obviously be lots of corruption and greed which makes it all the more fun!
« Last Edit: July 02, 2012, 05:28:37 PM by Burrowfield »

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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #23 on: July 02, 2012, 05:29:56 PM »
The past agents of the count, those that I saw over the years, tended to rely heavily on ic clout to make up for efforts ic.  Flashing a paper or a seal when you are supposed to be a secret agent and relying upon that ic clout of being backed by the ruler of a domain pretty much showed me that it isn't a very well suited role for pcs, but one which would be better enacted by DMs via npcs. 


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Re: Politics in Ravenloft
« Reply #24 on: July 02, 2012, 06:16:46 PM »
i've been suggesting tax collectors for a while :)

or an 'agent of the count' (noble) would be cool to see walking around
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