Many players (and characters alike) are fond of tournaments, I believe. They can be real fun events, and an excellent way to stimulate interaction or meet new people.
However, they are largely restricted to the Warrior caste. Traders or Priests seem to have little to do (except for getting their butts kicked in the first round - can they even participate? I'm not sure), and that is something that could benefit from change.
Basically, I would like to see the idea of international gatherings (with high RP value) expanded into the Trader and Priest classes. Now, I don't have any character in either class, so it's hard for me to judge, but I think both classes could really benefit from this.
For Traders, as in real-life Medieval times, regular, or irregular markets could be organised, in certain key regions. Think the annual Champagne markets. Here, large or small scale business deals could be made, Traders from different realms can share their experience or compete over assets, and simply roleplay. A Duke hosting such event could of course exclude certain factions to benefit his own, offer cheap trade offers and what not. These markets would become major events for Traders/trading nations, with economical and political influence. Perhaps even auctions could be held, where realms can get the best price for their goods? This system would also fit in great with the rumoured New Economy System, where certain regions produce certain resources.
For Priests, "Conclaves" could be held. I'm unsure on how to do this, but I think we can come up with something that is nicely analogue to Tournaments and said "Annual Markets". Then again, it is fairly easy to bring a few members of your religion together, and Priests usually have a better RP'ing base (and as such less need for game mechanics as a back-up(?))
------------------------
Now, you could of course say that any of what I have proposed will not add value, because 'you could simply roleplay those events'. I could agree for the Conclave thing, but I do think that a mechanical backgound (even if it's just some kind of invitation/announcement, nothing more) would be beneficial for the Markets. Look at tournaments: we could 'easily' send letters to all the people on our contact list, devise a duelling roster and hand out a cash prize. Nonetheless, Tournaments are a great addition. I believe Annuel Markets could bring the same joy to our hearts, be it in another form.
