Allanak Politics and how to do it.

[Adhira]

I know that Malifaxis kindly posted this a while back but since a lot of people don't check the OOC forum I'm going to repost the link and recommend people read it, especially if they are interested in Allanak politics and noble RP.   

Cat Rambo also known as Sanvean has published the following story.  Very entertaining and a nice look behind the scenes.

http://giganotosaurus.org/2011/02/01/karaluvian-fale/

[Bebop]

This was really good.  Really enjoyed it.

[boog]

Delightful!

[Malifaxis]

Thanks for doing this, Adhira!  I wasn't sure what forum to drop it in, and didn't want to do any toe stepping.

[Titania]

Are there really half-mantis?

[Malifaxis]

Are there really half-mantis?

Yes, but they're only born after grueling hours of netsex.

[Semper]

That was an interesting read. Thanks for the post.

[Fredd]

I notice things that are wrong... right away...


Example:

Ionna touched her fingertips to the back of Kara's hand with an affectionate look. "Never, Kara. Who plucked me from the streets and taught me to read and write – not to mention how to eat a honeyed cochra! Who created the official position of a Whatsit for me?"


Yeah.... Umm... Reading and writing are CLOSELY guarded secrets of the nobles. Commoners could be killed for such knowledge.....

So why is she talking about it in a busy tavern right after everyone shut up to listen to the two nobles public insults, meaning people are going to be eavedropping...

[Armaddict]

There are commoners who read and write, though it is rare.  I do believe nobles can have their servants be allowed if they are in administrative roles for their House or noble where reading allows them to perform their job better.  I could be wrong, however.

[Semper]

I notice things that are wrong... right away...


Example:

Ionna touched her fingertips to the back of Kara's hand with an affectionate look. "Never, Kara. Who plucked me from the streets and taught me to read and write – not to mention how to eat a honeyed cochra! Who created the official position of a Whatsit for me?"


Yeah.... Umm... Reading and writing are CLOSELY guarded secrets of the nobles. Commoners could be killed for such knowledge.....

So why is she talking about it in a busy tavern right after everyone shut up to listen to the two nobles public insults, meaning people are going to be eavedropping...

I don't think it was based exactly from Zalanthas. The mention of half-man, half-mantis for one. As well, it's probably impossible one single Noble (a lesser noble at that) could save the entire House Fale from going under, and that's if it's possible a second tier House could go so bankrupt in the first place without having dropped in favor.

There's other discrepancies here and there that provide more evidence of it... still, it was an enjoyable story.

[Fredd]

There are commoners who read and write, though it is rare.  I do believe nobles can have their servants be allowed if they are in administrative roles for their House or noble where reading allows them to perform their job better.  I could be wrong, however.

Please note that literacy is illegal or unknown for most people on the face of Zalanthas. While nobles and templars are trained in the arts of reading and writing and the Merchant Houses pass along a knowledge of how to write the trade-ciphers associated with Cavilish to their agents and merchants, it is considered treason for common citizens to possess such knowledge within the city-states of Zalanthas.

No.... It's not allowed

[Armaddict]

*shrug* I'm pretty sure I've seen it a couple times, though none of them are in recent memory.

[maxid]

Commoners have learned to read, legally.  I've seen it before IG.

[racurtne]

Scribes, I would imagine, are not exclusively nobility. I'm sure very close personal slaves would perhaps be taught from time to time, to write down private things and the like.

[wizturbo]

Reading and writing sirihish is illegal for commoners in the city-states.  There are other languages that are legal however.

[FantasyWriter]

Slaves are neither "citizens" nor "commoners."  They do not have rights.
They are the property of their Owner.  A pen can not get in trouble for writing, neither can a slave.

Most "scribes" would most likely fall into this category.

[brytta.leofa]

Also, "illegal and a capital crime" doesn't really mean "impossible."  Nobles can do all kinds of crazy stuff, but sometimes their pets get hurt.

[HavokBlue]

If you want to nitpick, the only weird bit I noticed was the noble sparring with the guard captain, who I assume was a commoner.

That doesn't change the fact that it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. I'd kill to be able to write like that.

[Case]

Law is for the commoners, not nobles with commoners 

[jstorrie]

If you want to nitpick, the only weird bit I noticed was the noble sparring with the guard captain, who I assume was a commoner.

That doesn't change the fact that it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. I'd kill to be able to write like that.

Well, Captain is very high-ranked in most Zalanthan guard structures. Lieutenants, even Sergeants sometimes get to spar with the high-bloods.

[HavokBlue]

I remember reading somewhere that if a commoner were to be found sparring with a noble, the noble would lose some extreme credibility and the commoner would be executed by the Family, just to cover it up or something along those lines. 

[Fredd]

If you want to nitpick, the only weird bit I noticed was the noble sparring with the guard captain, who I assume was a commoner.

That doesn't change the fact that it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. I'd kill to be able to write like that.

I have sparred with a noble as a commoner. Quite a few times, actually. There were some... precautions.. But it's happened, alot.


Edit: it should be noted though, that it was in Tuluk, and things are ALOT differant there when it comes to Commoner-Noble interactions.

[brytta.leofa]

I have sparred with a noble as a commoner. Quite a few times, actually. There were some... precautions.. But it's happened, alot.

Edit: it should be noted though, that it was in Tuluk, and things are ALOT differant there when it comes to Commoner-Noble interactions.

I've sparred with a blue robe, as a soldier (maybe I was corporal by then?).  But templars aren't normal nobles.

[jstorrie]

I remember reading somewhere that if a commoner were to be found sparring with a noble, the noble would lose some extreme credibility and the commoner would be executed by the Family, just to cover it up or something along those lines. 

It really depends on a lot of things, not the least of which are who the noble is and who the commoner is.

If you're Elder Lord Importantdude of House Bestest House Around, and you want to take in some combat training in private with your world-famous Lieutenant Amos "The Metal-Sword-Having" Dragonslayer, no one's going to be in much of a position to question you.

If you're Baby Lord Sewercleaner of House Jal and people find out you spar that elven northern Bynner who sometimes smuggles your spice, it's not going to be pretty.

The greater majority of commoner-noble pairings are going to be in Don't Sparsville. Some cases won't be, though they're the exception, not the rule.

Spice in Allanak is a good example of this sort of thing. Technically speaking, even nobles and templars aren't supposed to be smoking spice. Some do and get away with it; some do and it comes around to bite them in the ass. It's all context-dependent. Sometimes you have to play by the rules and sometimes you don't.

[Marshmellow]

I once played a noble that sparred with commoners in Tuluk.  I was in full chitin armor... and my sparring partner was wearing pants and shirt only.  I had sparring weapons... and my sparring partner was empty-handed.  I think the players disliked it because of having to strip their characters down naked to spar. 

[smcdonald]

Ionna was not a slave, she was an employee.  There were several references to the possibility of her seeking a job elsewhere.  It is quite possible that, among her other duties, she acted as a scribe.

[Akaramu]

Sanvean writes like a goddess. I envy her for the richness of her vocabulary, and sure wish english was my first language, at times.

One thing puzzled me a bit... The relationship between the noble and the servant seemed to be based on true, honest friendship and fondness - moreso than just being appreciative of a dear, and useful pet. I wonder if this kind of relationship with a commoner used to be more normal than it is now, or if it was exceptional then as well.

[Semper]

I think people are missing the point. There's good reason to believe the story was based on zalanthas, not taken directly. There's a lot of interesting aspects in the story which could help understand 'nakki politics a bit better, but it's just that, not a direct accounting to be taken literally...

[Akaramu]

If I'm not mistaken, Sanvean had announced a book containing collections of player character stories years ago. This is why I assumed they are based on actual ingame history. But I could be remembering it wrong.

[Malifaxis]

Sanvean writes like a goddess. I envy her for the richness of her vocabulary, and sure wish english was my first language, at times.

One thing puzzled me a bit... The relationship between the noble and the servant seemed to be based on true, honest friendship and fondness - moreso than just being appreciative of a dear, and useful pet. I wonder if this kind of relationship with a commoner used to be more normal than it is now, or if it was exceptional then as well.

Did you ever play IN Fale?  Fale's very different from inside than from outside.  Fale's also incredibly different from all other Noble Houses.

[Akaramu]

Did you ever play IN Fale?  Fale's very different from inside than from outside.  Fale's also incredibly different from all other Noble Houses.

I did - in fact, as your underling.  I still had the impression that the 'favourite pet' approach was the norm, though I've seen one exception in there. That was with three different Fale ladies being quite fond of my male bard. You stored too soon to give me an impression. 

[Mooney]

Reading the story actually improved my RP for about an hour, no joke, all those lovely descriptions floating around. Wonderful story.

[Malifaxis]

Did you ever play IN Fale?  Fale's very different from inside than from outside.  Fale's also incredibly different from all other Noble Houses.

I did - in fact, as your underling.  I still had the impression that the 'favourite pet' approach was the norm, though I've seen one exception in there. That was with three different Fale ladies being quite fond of my male bard. You stored too soon to give me an impression. 

That's right, I recall now.  But this sort of thing isn't too uncommon, at least that's what I was told when I jumped into it.

And it wasn't my fault.  Senaj Ozzixilloxis Zarquon Inufrian Fale wasn't stored because I was bored.  He was stored because he was simply too awesome for the rest of the world to comfortably cope with.

He single handedly won the Copper War.

[Adhira]

Sanveans story is based in the world of Zalanthas. It is not as prevously mentioned an actual literal translation of in game happenings.  Zalanthas is the setting.  Overall it's a good example of politics due to the interactions between houses, the use of Templars to try and lever position over others.  The byplay between family members (they aren't all the greatest friends).  But not every single sentence should be taken as gospel to apply to the game.

[KankWhisperer]

I am a horrible write and have no right to criticize anyone. Here I go anyway.

Typically what distinguishes a great writer from a good writer for my personal enjoyment is the ability to make both male and female characters seem real. I find that male writers tend to make good male characters and females female characters. In this case the males are dull to dim witted tools who are more caricature than character. Also, I think the author just wanted to throw in that Tuluki culture with the bards which was totally unbelievable (if you actually play the game).

Not a bad story overall, but just hard to distance yourself from a story you are sort of living.

<real ending> Lady Fale receives a report that all Tuluki bards have been stabbed in the face. Later in the week she is found stabbed in the face to death.

[boog]

Did you ever play IN Fale?  Fale's very different from inside than from outside.  Fale's also incredibly different from all other Noble Houses.

I did - in fact, as your underling.  I still had the impression that the 'favourite pet' approach was the norm, though I've seen one exception in there. That was with three different Fale ladies being quite fond of my male bard. You stored too soon to give me an impression. 

All the Fale's I've ever met have been complete pansies! I mean, err, never. Malifaxis could never play a pansy.

Anyway, I loved the story. I could see much of it happening in game. If someone has given you invaluable service and been a hard worker for you, your cause, your family, why shouldn't you reward them with reading or writing, even if it was to be required as something paid 'under the table'? Why wouldn't you dye their hair or speak to them with (relative for Allank(i)) kindness? It only seems a tad logical not to scorn your help but to treat them with (again, relative for Allanak) kindness, or with as much as your House might be able to afford.