They're still players, and their interaction is still meaningful. Not only rulers are allowed to play the game.
Sorry I missed this earlier.
That's entirely true, and I didn't mean to imply that only powerful players should be able/allowed to determine the plot.
However, if Terrence had sent a comparable message to, say, any human or non-GM ruler, the reaction might have been strong, but would have been categorically different. And would have been manageable in multiple means: we could have fought that human realm or negotiated. As it was, fighting the Zuma was not a realistic option for the Moot (and anyone who disagrees with that... take your knowledge to Beluaterra, because you've apparently solved the Invasion there), and the massive response caught us so off guard that any kind of creatively RPed politics wasn't manageable (especially since Haktoo doesn't go in for nuance anyways).
Poll