That's the problem. A lot of rulers are like you.
Mrh? Have you ever played in a realm where I was ruler? I think that most of the time that my characters were rulers, we were pretty much always at war with someone or other, whether I started the war or not. Hell, my realm right now is fighting for its life in a war that we pretty much expected to lose, because we refused to knuckle under to the big dog and join a 5-v-2 gang bang on the winning side.
Rulers that are afraid of making it 'fun'. You forgot to think on the players that are non-rulers. As a ruler, you can feed them what you want, making the game more interesting. Unfortunately, your suggestion just doesn't work because everyone just wants to act self righteous. That makes a very boring game.
Every ruler acts self-righteous.
Every ruler filters the information their realm gets.
Every ruler claims to act with nobility and justice.
Every ruler claims to be on the side of good, puppies, and yummy cookies.
All rulers *have* to act self-righteous. They have to pretend that they believe that what they are doing is the right thing. You know what happens when you do the wrong thing, and admit that you're doing the wrong thing? You get the snot beaten out of you, because everyone else realizes that they can't trust you. And no one wants a neighbor, or a ruler, they can't trust.
You don't want rulers like what you have now? Vote new ones. The fact that people aren't voting in different rulers tells me that they don't *want* new ones, despite the few people on the forum that complain about it.
The impetus is entirely on the rulers to create fun for their players, since the average player has very little influence on the political climate of the continent as a whole.
That's patently untrue. Think your realm is boring? Demand that the realm spice it up some. They don't do it?
Then you leave. You're stuck in a boring realm?
Then it's your fault. You have the power to leave and go somewhere else more exciting. Or pause your character and play a different one. You think AA and Thalmarkin are fun realms with good leaders? Then go play in AA and Thalmarkin.
If enough people vote with their feet, then the boring realms will collapse, and be replaced by something else. Put on your big-boy pants, stand up, and say "We're not going to put up with being bored. Either give us some excitement, or we're leaving."
