Messages

Ehndras,

You did a very good thing. I am glad that someone looked into it. It is an immense tragedy when cries for help like this aren't acted upon because someone thinks it's a joke. Taking it seriously is the only thing that should be done. I commend you and thank you, for your efforts.

Starving the realm is sinister really, the best way to do it is to be a Banker and a Duke. Make sure your duchy is fed then pool food to your city/duchy and force the other duchies to align with you or risk being starved. Once that is in motion distract the judge or if the judge is active ignore the threats and the hearsay for as long as you can. If a ban comes quickly change your duchy to a more favorable realm and let the games of strife begin as they suffer and burn. Prefer to switch to a realm that your realm is at war with or on the verge of war with. More impactful also to have high food regions in your duchy who are willing to stay with you.

Once that takes place the realm will starve while you are fed and the outcome will be well starvation and well anger. Hopefully they give you a high bounty and the other realm enjoys the outcome once you join them.

It beats getting a lot of support. All you need is cunning skills and the depth to do so. Plus a good communication with certain lords and other realms.

This. People don't take advantage of all of the opportunities available to them to mix things up if they want. There is always something to do, regardless of the situation.

While you have the game mechanics to starve a realm, no realm would let you get away with it. As soon as you started to do it, c you would get kicked out. Or the lord would feed the region himself. It's real easy to say you'd do it. It's a lot harder to actually do it, and get the support for it.

It's most useful just before a predicated rebellion or banning of a lord to prevent secession.

Remove all food from their regions, drop a ban from the judge, and remove all militia from the general. You're set up for an easy civil war.

Banker is a really underestimated position. It's a position all about influence. You're one of the most valuable people in the realm if you do the job well. You'll quickly rise in power if you choose to become banker when no one else does, and perform the role like it should be done.

It's like a plumber, everyone disregards or disrespects them until they are literally the most important thing the realm needs. It's by far my favorite council position.

There are families that have become "familia non grata" on entire continents in the past, such that they would be hunted and banned by (nearly) every realm if they set foot there again.

I wish I had gotten to that point. There should be tiers of "familia non grata." I would have gotten into the tier for hunted only if reaching positions of power.

I feel like I need to write an argument for why Luria is worth joining. There has only been a lot of people from other realms making comments on why you shouldn't join so far. So here is an argument FOR joining Luria:

Luria has a very in-depth culture with a focus on making SMA built into the system. Luria has only one law: Feudalism Reigns. You can do anything you want in Luria as long as your liege approves of it and will protect you. If someone has a problem with an action a knight takes, they must first take it up with that knight's lord and NOT the judge. The judge won't hand out punishments unless they are authorized by a noble's liege. (An example: A knight tries to assassinate a Duke of another duchy. That Duke would seek punishment with that knight's lord. If that Lord supports the action, the Duke would have to seek punishment through the Lord's Duke, and if that Duke supports it, then the Duke would have to seek redress only from the Ruler of the realm.) It's all designed to allow maximum interaction between nobles, while fitting perfectly within SMA.

Luria's internal dynamic is one of the most interesting I have ever been apart of. The realm operates as an empire. The ruler of the realm is an "Emperor" and each of the Dukes are "Kings." The Emperor is elected from amongst the Kings, and each King has final power and the ability to make laws within their own kingdom. The realm generally operates through distributed power. While the Emperor has final say on many things, most decisions take place on a more local level. The Kingdoms are allowed to operate as they wish, and the single "Luria" realm is more of a method to allow improved interaction, shared diplomacy, and a unified culture and nationalism.

Some perks of Luria:
Strongest Military
Best infrastructure (You have some of the best recruitment centers on the island and the game, including some very advanced special forces)
Many available lordships. The realm is large, and has a bunch of opportunity for those interested in advancing.
A lot of RP if that interests you. I tend to read multiple RP's on a daily basis within the realm.
Largest realm - This provides the benefit of a very active group of nobles who you can discuss things with and interact with. You don't have to worry about long periods of silence or non-communication.
Engaged in war constantly - Luria by being Dwilight's strongest realm also has many enemies. Luria has been in constant war for a long time and will continue to have engaging battles for anyone who enjoys the warfare aspect of the game.
Guild spread - Luria's guilds have the widest reach out of any on Dwilight. This is in part due to the fact that Luria requires the spread of it's guildhouses as a necessary condition for peace. This allows all nobles of Luria to be able to engage with others around the continent for more communication.

TL&DR: Luria is a vibrant realm with a lot of activity. It boasts the strongest military, with the best infrastructure, and is nearly always at war. You can find RP if that's what you're looking for and there are plenty of opportunities for advancement.

Yes, we've some interesting plans for Luria ahead, if we can just finish oppressing the rest of known Dwilight before Doom hits us. ;)

Just don't have CE and Tara emigrate to Luria, because then the doom will truly be upon Dwilight

I find its effects interesting on Dwilight, because this could actually strengthen Luria rather than weaken it depending upon how the players choose to play it. Luria is already structured as an empire. It wouldn't take any effort at all to revert to city state members of an empire rather than a single realm empire.

Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you Vita

Vita, You end your statement suggesting big realms such as Luria not existing so large in the future. Does that mean that you think these realms (Luria for instance) will very quickly collapse to a smaller size or just that it will be harder to establish that size in the future?

Tim, You mention cutting tax rates in half for lords in the largest realms. Previously, the game states that a "standard" (in my terms normal/acceptable tax rate) is 10%. Does that mean that in larger realms 10% will no longer be a reasonable tax rate to run?

My original reading of that statement was that it was mainly intended for the lords, who I assume are a large majority, that actually run tax rates well above 10%. Could you provide some clarity in this area?

I mainly want to know whether this will change the base acceptable tax rate, or if it will severely punish trying to run higher than normal tax rates or both.

I think you have cause and effect mixed up with Luria.

Luria is not the most fun because it is rich and powerful.

Luria is the most powerful because it has been the most fun and engaging realm to be in for a long sustained period of time. The internal politics and culture created a realm that people enjoyed playing in. That retained nobles and helped ensure that if the military wasn't the strongest, it was at least always competitive. Also, Luria never worried about fighting realms outside its small area. It only ever stuck to its own business so travel times (until recently) have never been an issue.

The concept of Dwilight is that you should stick to your immediate area of influence.

Only now has Luria completely conquered its own sphere, and is now dealing with the pains of being a large realm with limited battles. It also finally has a stable government which promotes a much more unified realm. While this has strengthened the realm it has also started to see noble loss now. we'll see what the end result is eventually.

Family name matters if only for familiarity reasons. If you're considering two candidates, and you only recognize one name, the familiar one will tend to win. Also, there are connections you can draw upon for support. I did this plenty of times when I was playing as the Silverfires. I highly doubt an RP'ed marriage into the Kabrinski family would have ever occurred otherwise as just one example. Or my quick recognition to regain influence with a new character in Luria. Although, that's much more regional family ties.

Completely outside the situation here, but wouldn't the best answer be to win ruler so you can't be banned, and then stop running for office, until no one else is eligible?

Just look for the people who chant "Moto! Moto!" while they ride giant white rabbits.

Dumps a sack of white rabbits on Wind ... I mean Blue Star.

*Looks through all of the continents with fine detail*

*Finds zero instances of this phenomenon*

*Continues with his day*