Dukes, Power, and Families

[Bedwyr]

You can give your own family lordship positions, but not council positions. It is recorded in family history as "Appointed as Duke of City by a family member." See Adaria's appointment as Duchess of Idpur in this family: http://battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=13066&HistoryLevel=3

You sure about that?  You can have two characters as Council members if they're in the same realm.

[Chenier]

It depends on the government system, this was stated already. Theocracies and Tyrannies allow more flexibility than the 3 other systems.

And if you get elected for it, then you earned it.

[Geronus]

If your realm votes you in, it's hard for them to complain I suppose. Still, I  hardly think it's good for Coria... That both cities are controlled by one family definitely sends a message to new or ambitious (and therefore active) nobles that opportunities may be limited to established families, with minimal room for them to advance. In some older realms it can be nearly impossible to advance because all the power is held and shared among a small number of families. A realm like this (as it came off to me at the time) nearly turned me off of the game entirely when I was first getting started with BM.

In short, while I don't believe that you've in any way done anything wrong, I do believe that by limiting the opportunities of other players you may be doing your realm some harm over the long term.

[Chenier]

If your realm votes you in, it's hard for them to complain I suppose. Still, I  hardly think it's good for Coria... That both cities are controlled by one family definitely sends a message to new or ambitious (and therefore active) nobles that opportunities may be limited to established families, with minimal room for them to advance. In some older realms it can be nearly impossible to advance because all the power is held and shared among a small number of families. A realm like this (as it came off to me at the time) nearly turned me off of the game entirely when I was first getting started with BM.

In short, while I don't believe that you've in any way done anything wrong, I do believe that by limiting the opportunities of other players you may be doing your realm some harm over the long term.

It's easier to dislodge a single family than a clique of many. Since dukeships are more often freed for OOC reasons, now all you need if for that 1 player to go on a vacation for 2 weeks somewhere and you can have 2 cities up for grabs! Or that he leaves the game, or gets hospitalized. It may sound a bit cynical, but almost all of the city losses I've seen were due to one of these 3 reasons. Every now and then cities get conquered, though, but outside of BT, where noble count is so low it doesn't matter anyways, I don't see this much.

I've always petitioned for a way more advanced realm selection tool for newbies. Some people seemed overeager to state that since indicators don't mean facts in 100% of the cases, it wasn't a perfect system and (therefore?) not worth the time.

[Valast]

Honestly, I know exactly how you feel...  Having power IC because you followed the RP actions your character would make.  The largest bottleneck of politics in the Colonies was caused by this sort of situation...Likewise made a powerful Guild (now destroyed) in the FEI that gave a character of mine a very powerful role in the southern politics.

I have a couple tid bits of advice:

1. Get true with your self.  Make sure you are honest about the RP your characters are doing so that you know there is not a regrettable moment for you OOC

2. Do not let it bother you when people start to call you names.  Oh I have been attacked many times by many people over the years... It always hurt my feelings because I knew I was doing really well at following what my characters would independently do.  Do not bite the hook and argue back.  It is not worth the trouble.

3. Enjoy your down fall   It will come, and it will be exciting (if done right)