What little things that people commonly do, do you consider non-SMA? And why?

[egamma]

I would like to see a continent-wide "Order of Cavaliers", guild which only accepts Cavaliers as members, and sets a code of conduct on them, and kicks them out if they violate it.

[Bedwyr]

In regards to the literacy thing, a pretty big amount of people I've played with all seem to at some insinuate that their letters are written and transcribed by scribes anyways, so that makes the issue of literacy a bit of a moot point. I mean, hasn't everyone at some point blamed a typo or mistake on their "idiot" scribe? If not everyone, I feel it is a fairly common thing. So, nothing implies our nobles are literate, merely that they can have a scribe transcribe for them and read other's letters to them.

Aye.  I'm sure I haven't been terribly consistent about this, but generally...Jenred is literate, as he handles enough correspondence that is too secret to entrust to scribes that he has to be by now.  Arlian is literate.  Malcolm is literate.  Damian, Darkwind, Rhennthyl, Lucator, and Colin probably had very basic literacy skills, but have scribes handle most everything for them.

[vonGenf]

Accepting the presence of characters in my realm that my own character could never realistically endure, for the sake of playing with them because, OOCly, they are fun to play with. I'm guilty of this.

Also, accepting foreigners and pardoning traitors because "we need more nobles and can't afford to drive them away". I'm guilty of this too....

[Indirik]

Accepting the presence of characters in my realm that my own character could never realistically endure, for the sake of playing with them because, OOCly, they are fun to play with. I'm guilty of this.

Although it's FEI and not Dwilight, I could never understand how Adgharhinists and Sartanians could be in the same realm together. And to have a king who follows one of the two faiths, and tries to be "fair" about allowing the other to exist in his kingdom. I mean, come on... the faiths are mortal enemies, and both consider the other to be the root of all evil. How does that even work?

[egamma]

Although it's FEI and not Dwilight, I could never understand how Adgharhinists and Sartanians could be in the same realm together. And to have a king who follows one of the two faiths, and tries to be "fair" about allowing the other to exist in his kingdom. I mean, come on... the faiths are mortal enemies, and both consider the other to be the root of all evil. How does that even work?

At the very least they should insist on being in separate armies.

[vonGenf]

Although it's FEI and not Dwilight, I could never understand how Adgharhinists and Sartanians could be in the same realm together. And to have a king who follows one of the two faiths, and tries to be "fair" about allowing the other to exist in his kingdom. I mean, come on... the faiths are mortal enemies, and both consider the other to be the root of all evil. How does that even work?

They are also very close and may be considered a variant of each other. We claim it's the same Gods, just that the other side mixed up their order in the hierarchy. Aenilians, on the other hands, are pagans who pray to ghosts (how ridiculous!).

I think there is a sense that "absorb and assimilate" may be a more viable strategy than "destroy and conquer" (not that it ever worked, mind you). Others may have different justifications.

[Bedwyr]

Although it's FEI and not Dwilight, I could never understand how Adgharhinists and Sartanians could be in the same realm together. And to have a king who follows one of the two faiths, and tries to be "fair" about allowing the other to exist in his kingdom. I mean, come on... the faiths are mortal enemies, and both consider the other to be the root of all evil. How does that even work?

Because that's not true.  There is a group of Adgharists who identified Sartan as their evil god, but not all Adgharists believe that, and not all of them think the Sartanians are evil so much as deluded into following the wrong deity.  The Sartanian perspective is even less monolithic.

And yes, I've talked to half a dozen Adgharists and probably a dozen Sartanians about it with Jenred.

[Indirik]

Well, from what I've seen in the almost three years I've been on FEI, that's completely /not/ the impression I've gotten from them.

[Vellos]

Well, from what I've seen in the almost three years I've been on FEI, that's completely /not/ the impression I've gotten from them.

Probably the most vocal people are the most radical ones.

[Velax]

Northern Ireland, anyone?

[Bedwyr]

Well, from what I've seen in the almost three years I've been on FEI, that's completely /not/ the impression I've gotten from them.

If you listen to the radical types, indeed not.  If you spend time trying to negotiate with the more reasonable types (and killing off, forcing into exile, and destroying the powerbase of all the non-reasonable types), a different picture emerges.

[Jens Namtrah]

SMA Pet Peeve:

Orders and the general idea among many (usually generals & marshals, obviously) that all nobles in the realm or army are some sort of conscripts who are expected to do nothing unless told, and must explain their every action and seek permission to move about or do things on their own.

haven't run into it excessively on Dwilight - it used to be a game-wide problem that still pops up from time to time.

[Perth]

SMA Pet Peeve:

Orders and the general idea among many (usually generals & marshals, obviously) that all nobles in the realm or army are some sort of conscripts who are expected to do nothing unless told, and must explain their every action and seek permission to move about or do things on their own.

haven't run into it excessively on Dwilight - it used to be a game-wide problem that still pops up from time to time.

On Dwilight, my Marshal character generally only gives extremely general directives. "Let's try to keep our duchy free of monsters" or "looks like we all need a refit." And mostly I let the members act on their own and they are expected to individually respond to threats like monsters without much prodding, especially if it is within their region.

From time to time, more formal orders are given for instance we need to rally to a border altogether to respond to a foreign threat or something. But mostly, I try to have him treat everyone as what they are: Nobles leading their own units of soldiers who should be capable of doing what needs to be with very little prompting.

[Solari]

On Dwilight, my Marshal character generally only gives extremely general directives. "Let's try to keep our duchy free of monsters" or "looks like we all need a refit." And mostly I let the members act on their own and they are expected to individually respond to threats like monsters without much prodding, especially if it is within their region.

From time to time, more formal orders are given for instance we need to rally to a border altogether to respond to a foreign threat or something. But mostly, I try to have him treat everyone as what they are: Nobles leading their own units of soldiers who should be capable of doing what needs to be with very little prompting.

This is admirable (and I try to do the same) but seems like more of a philosophy of playing than an SMA bullet point.

[Gustav Kuriga]

Yeah, I agree with Solari. Some might have commanded like that back in the day, but others used an iron fist as well.