Estranged Veterans' Perspective

[Veselka]

As far as updating, this is me, several days ago:

I can update the Chronology.  We've typically had a level of importance to what we post there, as well as waiting on posting most events, with exceptions for HRPT world events.

Outside of the GMH moving into Luirs and the formation of the Garrison, what do folks rises up to the traditional level of importance in your minds?

As for how, it is fairly easy to update.  It is more a matter of remembering, often after waiting an amount of time before we post, so that having information IG about what happened has value.

It got lost amidst the groans!

1. It'd be great if the chronology were visible as a 'Recent Events' page or portion of the website.

2. Perhaps listing the Most Recent to the Least Recent for the chronology (Flipping the order around).

3. Or, perhaps having the Chronology remain the same, with a separate 'Recent Events' portion of the chronology, listing it as 'Within the last 8 IC years / Last 1 RL year'.

As to what might be on there:

-The last three entries in the Chronology are Tablelands Related Events. These events are not only far more detailed than they likely should be, but it is information that most city dwellers would likely not know (or care to know).

-The Battle of the Black Robes, riots that happened within that time, commoner rebellion groups that unsuccessfully formed, and the relative stability that ensued.

-What's going on in Morin's Village? Even if it is nothing, or relatively nothing, having a soft update on what place Tuluk and Morin's Village are taking in the Northlands would be cool. Is it under heavier Garrison supervision? Is Kadius taking on a stronger role than previously as just 'tenant landlords'? Is much the same?

-The opening of Luirs' Outpost's Inner Yard. Seems like a noteworthy event to include, along with the formation of the Garrison and all the hubbub surrounding that (perhaps not the nitty gritty of why, but that it happened).

-Perhaps include some of the political intrigue that has been occurring in Allanak -- I recall a few assassinations and parties gone awry. Even little tidbits like this can help form the idea that players have a lasting (if brief and small) effect on the goings on.

-The most recent events (earthquakes) seems like it would make at the very least a historical plug as 'Allanak has been rocked by a series of earthquakes', leaving it vague and laconic. For would-be people wanting to check out the game, knowing something is happening in Allanak would be good to know for their PCs and backgrounds.

Just some thoughts, take them with a handful of salt. Thanks for your consideration.

[mansa]

As far as updating, this is me, several days ago:

...

As for how, it is fairly easy to update.  It is more a matter of remembering, often after waiting an amount of time before we post, so that having information IG about what happened has value.

I have a suggestion for the staff in regards to this:
On the IDB, create a post thread called, "Chronological history in the making", and have staff members write stories about plot events that just finished, from knowledge that it would eventually be published on that page.  Include the date and time of the event.  Keep it going and add more to it.   When the time comes, you can publish these writings a year later.   This should help eliminate the 'what did we do a year ago, can someone write it?'.

It's easier to edit text after it's on the page.

[Brokkr]

It is a challenge, to get the date right.  *long sigh*

[Veselka]

As far as updating, this is me, several days ago:

...

As for how, it is fairly easy to update.  It is more a matter of remembering, often after waiting an amount of time before we post, so that having information IG about what happened has value.

I have a suggestion for the staff in regards to this:
On the IDB, create a post thread called, "Chronological history in the making", and have staff members write stories about plot events that just finished, from knowledge that it would eventually be published on that page.  Include the date and time of the event.  Keep it going and add more to it.   When the time comes, you can publish these writings a year later.   This should help eliminate the 'what did we do a year ago, can someone write it?'.

It's easier to edit text after it's on the page.

Better yet, it would be cool to have these link to a longer story or longform text if it is written/available. So instead of just one to five lines about an event, it's a hyperlink to another page with a story or a few paragraphs. Might dovetail the 'Coming Soon' type narrative threads and what was written for the tablelands RPTs/Role Call so they aren't lost forever on the GDB.

[Veselka]

It is a challenge, to get the date right.  *long sigh*

Oh we aren't picky. A good guess is good enough for most of us! Besides, the plebes can't read.

[Lizzie]

Code Select Expand

It is dusk on Detal, the 66th day of the Low Sun,
In the Year of Suk-Krath's Defiance, year 54 of the 22nd Age.

A game year is approximately 7 weeks long.

A RL year is around 8.5 game years.

There are 77 game years in a "King's Age."

So if something happened 3 RL years ago, it'd be around 25-26 game years ago.  You could say "late in the 21st King's Age, this thing happened."

If it was last year it'd be "early in the 22nd Age, that thing happened."

Approximate! As long as the timeline is accurate, with the correct things happening in the right sequence, I don't think anyone's going to quibble about the exact dates of events!

And thank you Brokkr et al for working on it <3

[JohnMichaelHenry]

*long sigh* was, in my mind, "What? I gotta put MORE work into this game? I'm not getting paid you know...."

[evilcabbage]

or maybe "we want to be as accurate with the date as possible, and that's really hard."

you don't sigh after saying "man, x is gonna be hard"?

[RogueGunslinger]

As someone who has seen past the veil for a lot of things. I just don't agree that everyone having that knowledge would make the game worse due to people ICly knowing stuff.

As for the extra-super-secret IC info of world events and lore, thigns I also have a fairly good idea of because other players have talked about it... That stuff is so detached from the game-world to me that the idea of ever referencing it in-game would be stupid and make absolutely no sense. My character would be called a crazy person.

As it is I'm lucky to find someone in-game who knows shit about things on the chronology page, or who reference big events that have happened that everyone already knows about. Hardly anyone ever talks about that shit in-game and it never really affects anyone because, frankly, there's a huge disconnect from the history of the world and what players experience in their day to day lives. And it never has once felt like I could be a part of those big things that are referenced in the chronology page, despite the fact that I actually have participated in multiple things that have happened. Because even when it's happened there's so little reference to anything or anyone substantial involved.

When I log in I never think "Man I could be part of this cool new big shit going on." It's always "Man I'm going to spend the next hour sitting at a tavern debating whether or not I want to go outside and level some skills or sit around and find some interaction."

I remember after the Gith War RPT' and far later the Tuluki/Alanaki war HRPT, it was common for me to make new characters that had been involved in that war. I could reference events that I knew happened, even though my character wasn't actually there, simply ICly there as one of the thousands upon thousands of people involved. I had a much easier time injecting myself into the story by knowing things that happened. There should be more things like that for players to draw on for their characters. These sort of things should be happening twice a year, not once every three to five years.

[JohnMichaelHenry]

or maybe "we want to be as accurate with the date as possible, and that's really hard."

you don't sigh after saying "man, x is gonna be hard"?

Yea I do.  But if x is gonna be hard AND I'm not getting paid, it's a long sigh. Hehhe.

[Gaare]

My two sids;

- I missed our listing on http://www.topmudsites.com/  .. I kinda have feeling, there was some flaw of players from there. I hope we can get it back in the future.

- I almost never read Random Arm Thoughts thread. It was one of threads that some of you my fellow gaming buddies put to much emotion on.

- Recent code changes are simply amazing.

- I kinda missed magickers. With new karma-system, they'd work a lot better.

- I want some powerful staff PCs/Avatars whatever they are called in these days. I think around 2004s there was a big discussion on staff playing very powerful characters constantly and harming the game itself for players. I gave many breaks to ARM, but I remember probably around 2011s there was another outrage against some staff for playing powerful PCs. It's a bit selfish to ask staff to face so much flame from players, but I really would like to see some sorcerers, real magickers, raiders with metal blades, conquerers with NPC units and camps, scary red robed bastards, etc.  Even if they would be played by staff, time to time I think ARM needs those code base privileged characters as PCs. Better to be in hands of staff then special application, so after a whiel staff can be asked to store it, or let other staff to play it. (Of course they may be already doing it  and I am unaware)

[ShaLeah]

MOVED to ask the staff.

[Samira]

I've been back playing for a couple of weeks now, and I have to say Staff have done an excellent job with the game code. I really like the new classes so far, and there have been innumerable other tweaks (like built in color schemes!) that I feel have made a marked improvement in play.

[Brokkr]

1641 (Year 24 Age 22)
Two measures come before the Allanaki Senate. The first, to return the Borsail family to its place in the nobles' quarter. The second, to give the City Ministry control and oversight of city defense The first measure passes and the second measure fails.

1642 (Year 25 Age 22)
The city reels from a battle of epic and terrifying proportions. Tarith Kasix, Black Robe of the War Ministry and Parduashin Rennik, Black Robe of the City Ministry, waged war with one another in the skies over Allanak. The outpouring of magickal energy rocked the city, killing thousands of citizens. Flaming boulders, lightning storms, strange creatures, and other sights yet more horrible devastated the city. Worst still, and to the horror of all involved, the battle ended with not one but both contenders falling from the sky

1643 (Year 26 Age 22)
A political war rages among several of the Red Robes in the War and City Ministries, each vying to be named Black Robe. Militia loyal to different Legions are openly hostile in the streets. The politics come to a head when the Red Robe Lady Placidia Oash kills the Red Robe Lady Mica Borsail in a magickal duel just outside the Red's Retreat. Shortly thereafter, Lady Placidia Oash is named to lead the War Ministry and Lady Izel Sath is named to lead the City Ministry.


Working on Luirs updates.  Updates will likely be in the same vein...major things that have happened, with more current/recent stuff in the regional IG boards.

[Veselka]

1641 (Year 24 Age 22)
Two measures come before the Allanaki Senate. The first, to return the Borsail family to its place in the nobles' quarter. The second, to give the City Ministry control and oversight of city defense The first measure passes and the second measure fails.

1642 (Year 25 Age 22)
The city reels from a battle of epic and terrifying proportions. Tarith Kasix, Black Robe of the War Ministry and Parduashin Rennik, Black Robe of the City Ministry, waged war with one another in the skies over Allanak. The outpouring of magickal energy rocked the city, killing thousands of citizens. Flaming boulders, lightning storms, strange creatures, and other sights yet more horrible devastated the city. Worst still, and to the horror of all involved, the battle ended with not one but both contenders falling from the sky

1643 (Year 26 Age 22)
A political war rages among several of the Red Robes in the War and City Ministries, each vying to be named Black Robe. Militia loyal to different Legions are openly hostile in the streets. The politics come to a head when the Red Robe Lady Placidia Oash kills the Red Robe Lady Mica Borsail in a magickal duel just outside the Red's Retreat. Shortly thereafter, Lady Placidia Oash is named to lead the War Ministry and Lady Izel Sath is named to lead the City Ministry.


Working on Luirs updates.  Updates will likely be in the same vein...major things that have happened, with more current/recent stuff in the regional IG boards.

Big Thumbs Up. Very helpful for people coming back to know about those events, and the Luirs events similarly will be helpful, as most Vets/Returning players may be confused by the Garrison and what's gone on in Luirs recently-ish.

[Intrepid]

Yep, I will admit to being a bit confused.

[Boogerbear]

Why I left:

Hated feeling as though I was being permanently punished for something other players were not punished for and was, ICly, arguable.

Why I came back:

I noticed there were less horror stories about interacting with certain persons being posted and the guild change seemed like a good time to get back on a somewhat equal playing field.


Since my work right now is client-based, I have a lot of free time and have played a lot for months.

What do I think?

I've mostly had a really good time with the game, and that has only increased since I've started playing the new guilds and thinking about potential concepts/pairings with them.  For me, it entirely changes the dynamic.

Personally, I'm glad that the pure mage classes are gone.  Fuck em.  Except Nilaz.  It would be cool to see full Nilaz special applications like you see for "psionicist."  That, or Nilazi subclasses.  Or both.  I'd rather see chars with a Nilazi subclass than someone Rukkian warrior who's just out there trying to kill a mekillot, not that that's not cool.  It's just a more story-oriented class to me.


I think Tuluk being closed is good for a ton of reasons and that it needs to remain closed.  Maybe put apartments into Morin's or add additional apartments to Luir's.  Maybe add more shops to make up for the in game economical aspect that was lost when Tuluk was closed, especially with the creation of a system of classes that seems to encourage more crafting.  For merchant PCs, having two city states was very important because of the trade aspect, and losing almost half of the game's shops is perhaps the most lamentable thing, for me, about Tuluk closing. Also, I think people still need a place to be away from Nak for a while if they've recently had a character who was there for a long time.

There was a thread where a lot of longtime players were voting to remove/reduce karma walls for extended subguilds.  I know they're supposed to be "special," but there are more of them now than regular subguilds, or it's pretty close.  But there's also a new sacrific:  if you're a primary-class merchant, you previously didn't lose your ability to custom craft if you went with an extended subclass.  Now, that's the case.  I'm on the side that thinks the extended subguilds should be way more accessible.

One reason for this is that the new guilds often have skills that rely on a wide spectrum of stats.  With legacy guilds, the skillsets demanded that you prioritize one or two stats.  Now, with the hybrid classes, it can be hard to think what stats your char will need to prioritize to be successful with skillsets that include crafting, killing, sneaking, all of it. I've messed up with it already, but fortunately not on an extended subguild, which would've been a waste of, for me, a special application.

At the end of the day, I think the game has come a long way, and I don't think the imms should be afraid to add even more new things because what I've been seeing has been good.  The new guilds and extended subguilds (non magick ones) are just really refreshing.  I don't think imms should be afraid of buffing or debuffing certain aspects of certain classes as time goes on and trends or negatives begin to become evident.

[Riev]

Why I left:
The game isn't what -I- want the game to be. Whether that's a factor of the game changing, or my personal preferences, I'm not certain of. I have always wanted the game to be a kind of Dungeons and Dragons experience, with interpersonal relationships played out without the need of a DM as a filler, of sorts. I like being able to go on intermittent quests, and feeling like the decisions I, or my character, makes will matter. For some, this is the case. For me, this has not been, so this isn't the game for me anymore, and perhaps it never really was.

What do I think?
I think if the game works for the other 200+ people playing the game, keep on going and doing your thing. The lack of veterans isn't SOLELY a game-thing, but it has an effect on the game when you lose the people who understand the game, its limitations, and its freedoms. I have had "leadership" who have outright said things in character like "just go backstab it and then disengage, so you can backstab again". And its not 100% their fault, they don't have role models, and staff aren't often paying attention enough to do something about it. If you want to keep veteran players, meet them halfway. If you want better players, or players that "get it", they need positive AND negative role models.

I also think that when you volunteer to become staff, you volunteer to be in a higher position. You are in a position over players, by virtue of your ability to spawn a death demon in the room, which kills them, and then they can't get a rez because it wasn't a coded bug. Your words have weight, and how you act is a reflection of the game and yourself as a person. People know the staff I disagree with. I don't hate them. I think that some do not have interpersonal skills when it comes to talking to players, considering their role, and in turn make themselves and the game they represent seem abrasive or less than some of us know it to be.

I also think that the handful of people that become staff, volunteering their time to NOT play other games, is incredible. I've known a few staff that throw everything into the game, and some staff that are Poor PC Leaders (Check in once a month, "I'm still active!"). But I believe very much that the system in Staff Land really needs someone to lay out some policies and procedures, some consequences, and to make those public for the players. I don't want to request not to have Brokkr handle my requests because I think he's a fart, because his answer should be the same as Seidhr's, which should be the same as Rath's. While all three may say "No":

One says: "Sorry, we can't do that for you at this time."
Two says: "This will not happen and you will not have any staff support if you continue."
Four says: "I think this is an interesting path to explore, but we don't have plans to support any outcomes. Here's an idea for what I, personally, can do. Are you interested?"

Just something to chew on. Neither of those three is 'wrong', but they are in fact three different answers, each with a different effect on me as a player, and my willingness to continue trying to work with you.

[Bebop]

Why I left:
The game isn't what -I- want the game to be. Whether that's a factor of the game changing, or my personal preferences, I'm not certain of. I have always wanted the game to be a kind of Dungeons and Dragons experience, with interpersonal relationships played out without the need of a DM as a filler, of sorts. I like being able to go on intermittent quests, and feeling like the decisions I, or my character, makes will matter. For some, this is the case. For me, this has not been, so this isn't the game for me anymore, and perhaps it never really was.

To me, this is the biggest problem I have with the game right now.  Characters are ham strung and have no real manner of ascension available to them.  The staff are holding all of the power cards/roles and everything seems highly micromanaged.  I had posed some questions earlier in this thread that I feel are valid and they never got a response. 

The staff are saying they took the ability to climb rank away to "fix it" but no one is saying what was wrong with it to begin with - there have been several successful characters that climbed rank to Lieutenant, Red Robe etc.  And no one is giving a timeline on when this "fix" will occur.  It's very unsatisfying to play a leadership role (which can already be pretty thankless) and have no support for obtaining more power in game and to only constantly be reminded you are a peon within your role.  Where does the reward of putting time into a game come in?  Then on top of that no one is enforcing lore or social norms so the RP suffers.

To responsd more to your latter point, I absolutely think there should be someone in charge of staff/player relations and I agree about interpersonal skills.  I do think staff have made a greater effort to be more available and kind than staff I have seen in the past but I agree with a lot of what you're saying.  There is micromanaging both in and outside of the game.  I would also like to see a more balanced male to female staff ratio, personally.

I'm enjoying the game but it's not as immersive as it once was and part of that is because seems like you kind of play to no end because you can't climb rank and it causes the story to be very surface level then stagnate regularly.  There is really nothing "hooking me."  And at this rate I see myself staying for some months, or a year at a time but, not engrossed for years as I once was - which hey, is probably a good thing.

I also think we absolutely need good Veteran players as examples.  Right now, what disappoints me the most is that the lore seems a bit optional and I still maintain there's a big focus on good and PK as opposed to story ATM.

[Krath]

To me, this is the biggest problem I have with the game right now.  Characters are ham strung and have no real manner of ascension available to them.  The staff are holding all of the power cards/roles and everything seems highly micromanaged.  I had posed some questions earlier in this thread that I feel are valid and they never got a response. 

The staff are saying they took the ability to climb rank away to "fix it" but no one is saying what was wrong with it to begin with - there have been several successful characters that climbed rank to Lieutenant, Red Robe etc.  And no one is giving a timeline on when this "fix" will occur.  It's very unsatisfying to play a leadership role (which can already be pretty thankless) and have no support for obtaining more power in game and to only constantly be reminded you are a peon within your role.  Where does the reward of putting time into a game come in?  Then on top of that no one is enforcing lore or social norms so the RP suffers.

To responsd more to your latter point, I absolutely think there should be someone in charge of staff/player relations and I agree about interpersonal skills.  I do think staff have made a greater effort to be more available and kind than staff I have seen in the past but I agree with a lot of what you're saying.  There is micromanaging both in and outside of the game.  I would also like to see a more balanced male to female staff ratio, personally.

I'm enjoying the game but it's not as immersive as it once was and part of that is because seems like you kind of play to no end because you can't climb rank and it causes the story to be very surface level then stagnate regularly.  There is really nothing "hooking me."  And at this rate I see myself staying for some months, or a year at a time but, not engrossed for years as I once was - which hey, is probably a good thing.

I agree with Bebop's points written here. The Glass Ceiling is a pain in the butt for leadership roles, with the exception of the Merchant Houses it seems. We can have Senior Agents and merchants, but not Senior Nobles?

I think it would be helpful if a Producer wrote on here what the plan is regarding the glass ceiling, and if there is no chance of this being changed, be direct about it and why . It would also be helpful if there was something the -playerbase- could do to drive the change, that staff would let us know. I can promise, if staff said We need to see more of X Y or Z, you would get a ton of helpers willing to assist.

[Bebop]

To me, this is the biggest problem I have with the game right now.  Characters are ham strung and have no real manner of ascension available to them.  The staff are holding all of the power cards/roles and everything seems highly micromanaged.  I had posed some questions earlier in this thread that I feel are valid and they never got a response. 

The staff are saying they took the ability to climb rank away to "fix it" but no one is saying what was wrong with it to begin with - there have been several successful characters that climbed rank to Lieutenant, Red Robe etc.  And no one is giving a timeline on when this "fix" will occur.  It's very unsatisfying to play a leadership role (which can already be pretty thankless) and have no support for obtaining more power in game and to only constantly be reminded you are a peon within your role.  Where does the reward of putting time into a game come in?  Then on top of that no one is enforcing lore or social norms so the RP suffers.

To responsd more to your latter point, I absolutely think there should be someone in charge of staff/player relations and I agree about interpersonal skills.  I do think staff have made a greater effort to be more available and kind than staff I have seen in the past but I agree with a lot of what you're saying.  There is micromanaging both in and outside of the game.  I would also like to see a more balanced male to female staff ratio, personally.

I'm enjoying the game but it's not as immersive as it once was and part of that is because seems like you kind of play to no end because you can't climb rank and it causes the story to be very surface level then stagnate regularly.  There is really nothing "hooking me."  And at this rate I see myself staying for some months, or a year at a time but, not engrossed for years as I once was - which hey, is probably a good thing.

I agree with Bebop's points written here. The Glass Ceiling is a pain in the butt for leadership roles, with the exception of the Merchant Houses it seems. We can have Senior Agents and merchants, but not Senior Nobles?

This is another issue.  Certain clans can climb... others can't.  So you have a noble that's been alive forever stay in the same rank while a Merchant might climb to Apprentice Agent, Agent and Senior Agent.  You have a Byn Sarge stay a Byn Sarge and you have a sneaky climbing rank in the Guild.  You can be a Blue Robe but not a Red Robe, and now some Templars can't even control their soldiers?  There's way too much micromanaging going on and even more so it's not evenly shared across the board.

[lairos]

Regarding advancement, I have always thought it was strange about Merchants and their ability to distinguish and have their own set of ranks. I know Brokkr said they put in a system, but also said no one has been able to reach what was implemented yet and are looking at way to have one with nobility. There have been a lot of changes and this is one I am still trying to see what happens with and what changes are made to the systems that have been put in place regarding their difficulty and time.

The glass ceiling is something I for one had a hard time with previously and it can make roles feel stagnant. The same can be said for things that are too difficult to achieve as well. We all play the game to have fun and if there is nothing to achieve or things that are too high up to reach to achieve it becomes harder to have the desire to continue.

There have been things that have happened that players have been able to control to a degree and those take a lot of work on staffs end, but they also leave a meaningful impact on the player and makes them feel more apart of the lasting story of the game than just character #102 or whatever.

At the end of the day, I see a lot of changes happening for the better, but some of them still need tweaking to be something that jives for the game and the players. I do think staff are trying to get them there and hopefully we see more of this to come. I do feel like the responses I have received from staff and the interaction I have been getting is better than ever.

[JohnMichaelHenry]

My characters are rarely the leader type, and I have no real wish to be. Mostly because my play times tend to go from every night to once a month at at moments notice. I have, however, taken part as a peon in most clans, and I'd like to point something out from my perspective. Some players that are great players make awful leaders. The "organizer" for example, is one type that I just have no patience for. (No offense if you think this means you) I'm fairly certain that this is not necessarily an IC thing either. "Please spend the entire three hours you have online tonight reorganizing the warehouse." F'n snoozeville man. One time, my PC's unwillingness to do this incredibly boring and meaningless task was met with outright hostility. IC but with that OOC meanness bleeding through. Another time, I was absent for a couple of weeks for RL reasons, and when I signed back in for a short time, my IC "boss" happened to enter the room just as I was logging out. Next time I came on, I was ejected from the clan for "avoiding" them. All I'm saying is, if you are permitted to advance to a leader role, please remember the peons want to have fun playing, and not everyone likes menial, repetitive tasks all the time. Come up with interesting things to do that your minions can enjoy.

[Vex]

Another time, I was absent for a couple of weeks for RL reasons, and when I signed back in for a short time, my IC "boss" happened to enter the room just as I was logging out. Next time I came on, I was ejected from the clan for "avoiding" them.

I'd be really interested, to know how that ended up. Did you go to the staff over it?

That kind of player is, tbh, exactly the reason, why I avoid joining clans, and avoid much the social sphere of the game. Not enough free time, to waste it on uppity pencil pushers. They always seem to end up, with sponsor roles, too.

[Medena]

Regarding lack of upward mobility in roles:

I guess I'm one of those people who are more process-oriented than goal-oriented.  It's all about the journey rather than the destination.  Sure, I'd love to have a fancy title and wield some power, who wouldn't,  but I'd find both meaningless if to get there, I had to do a lot of what I think of as "make believe" for lack of a better term.  By that I mean such things as RP'ing with vnpc's, manipulating things and people in the virtual world, RP'ing with NPCs who may or may not respond.  Don't get me wrong, I do interact with the virtual world, we all should and sometimes we -must- because we cannot actually do such things as build a house or burn down a tree or create a new cooking recipe on the spot.  But personally, I much prefer the plots and stories that really happen and unfold in real time.  Those on their own are probably not going to take me to a promotion and that's fine with me.

If I were ever to attain a senior position, say a senior noble, I'd fear that I'd again have to do "make believe" in order to keep playing out the life of my PC.  What other senior nobles would I have to roleplay with?  Who could I scheme against within my House?  Who would I plot against or ally with in other Houses?  If my aide were to die or get stored, how would I replace them?  A senior noble doesn't hire neophytes to be their aide and there seems to be a real shortage of aides in Allanak as it is.

So, getting to the point of all my rambling, I don't think there is or ever can be a structure which will support senior echelon roles.  There needs to be enough other PC's in such roles and, in addition, enough suitable minions.