Summary: The more vassals a noble has, the more power he holds. There should be a way to recognize and measure that power.
Details: A char gets his first point of political power by becoming a lord. It increases cumulatively with each knight he has under him, so for each additional knight, the increase in power in greater.
- Lordship + 1 knight = 3 points of political power.
- Lordship + 2 knights = 6 points of political power.
- Lordship + 3 knights = 10 points of political power.
The duke’s political power would be the sum total of all of his lords’ political power, and a ruler’s political power would be the sum total of all of his dukes’ and all of his lords’ political power. There would also be a bonus for holding government positions. The size of the bonus would depend on the size of the realm. A marshal bonus would depend on the size of his army. Those who sponsor armies and found religions/guilds should also receive an appropriate bonus.
Benefits: Easy to code and easy to understand. It recognizes the inherent strength of the team, thereby promoting teamwork. It gives value to vassals and encourages dukes and lords to attract knights to their regions. By making the increments cumulative, it recognizes that a team is more powerful than the sum of its parts, which in turn promotes increased density.
Possible Downside: Once you get a taste of power, it changes you.
Here is a diagram to illustrate the concept. If you can't see it, click this link: http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/File:Political_power_tree.png
What about a lord with no knights, or a lord with 5 knights? If this score is made to mean anything, and the scale is exponential, it'll just incite the realm to micro-manage knights to dump as many of them in as few regions as possible. On the other hand, if it's not exponential, then it'd be nothing more than a noble count meter.
