Scores are shorthand for what is objectively knowable, i.e. official powers. It tells you that the office of the ruler of Darka is objectively more powerful than the office of the ruler of Lyonesse, that the Margrave of Echiur is more powerful than the Earl of Tofino. Power that is based on subjective criteria remains (by definition) subjective. In mathematical terms, it’s what’s known as a variable.
But neither of those things are necessarily the case.
What if the ruler of Lyonesse happens to know that the duke of Darka's largest duchy is in his back pocket? Or has the most powerful realm on the continent as his ally, willing to back him up no matter what he says?
What if the Earl of Tofino is also the Regent of Sanguis Astroism (pre-schisms-and-collapses)? Or the margrave of Echiur is broke because his region's been starving for weeks, and he's alienated most of the lords of food-producing regions in his realm?
These are all things that any purely game-mechanical system can never measure—and they are not merely ancillary things that contribute to power; they are what is at the
heart of power. Relationships. Reputations. Interactions with real people.
There is no one way to
objectively measure power in BattleMaster—and certainly no way that can be programmed.
