is this a thing that was once relevant to the game? was it once PC ran, and can it be again? seems like a good way to get highborn to squabble.
The people on the actual Senate are WAY over PC heads. However, when the Senate meets to vote, it's a big deal and it sends the noble houses all a flutter and even the merchant houses can get involved in some way to forward their own agendas to influence the outcome if the vote matters to them in some way. When it happens, it's usually a THING, but it doesn't happen a lot, I guess.
I can think of MAYBE two times it's happened since I started playing. The one time I KNOW of was pretty huge.
While I don't think there were ever any PC senators, the Senate used to be at least somewhat accessible to PCs. I once played an aide to a senator and, in theory at least, could have had influences on his vote. (I think I was actually asked something like "I forget, what was I supposed to vote on this one?") When the Senate met back then, there were plenty of PCs in attendance. It made for very cool moments.
However, these days the "glass ceiling" on PCs has been deliberately lowered and PCs are much further removed from top level politics like that.
There was a Senate plot back in 2015 or 2016 that was really fun (for me, as a player of a then noble). Staff made it so that the vote buying and finagling had an effect on junior nobles regarding the major deals, and I managed to seriously screw over noble players in another House in ways that had far-reaching affects on my character.
Quote from: valeria on June 22, 2018, 09:56:15 PM
There was a Senate plot back in 2015 or 2016 that was really fun (for me, as a player of a then noble). Staff made it so that the vote buying and finagling had an effect on junior nobles regarding the major deals, and I managed to seriously screw over noble players in another House in ways that had far-reaching affects on my character.
that sounds awesome!
Different Houses hold more or less influence in different areas. Tax law with regards to Merchant Houses, security, war, maintenance, and the like. PC nobles have helped to influence the way votes go in the past based on their own reputation both in their Houses and how they can spin deals with other Houses.
For example, Valika is one of the two Houses that hold heavy sway for Merchant-relations so Mr. Kadius might say "hey Lord Joe Valika, work to get a yes vote on lowering Kadius taxes and we will give you a deal on silks for five years!" or maybe the Guild has some interest so they might say, "Lord Joe Valika, vote against Salarr getting a break on X tax and we will assassinate Frank Fale's concubine for you!".
Then you have how the nobles related in the Houses. Maybe the Jal Senator's daughter hates House Rauch for whatever reason and they are proposing some sort of maintenance that makes brewing easier so she asks the Senator to vote against them. Or maybe the Senator will vote opposite to what his daughter wants to teach her a lesson.
Anyway, I'm rambling. In short I think bringing the Senate back and in a way more easily accessible by the nobles would be awesome.
It was semi-relevant (I can only remember a couple meetings that PCs could actually influence) and it has potential to be really neat if brought back.
The last senate plot I know of was very well thought out and executed. I enjoyed being peripherally involved at first by just providing people's gifts (bribes) and subtly helping or hindering the nobles. I'm not sure what may have happened within Salarr, but the folks in Kadius at that time would probably just have this to say about how the story evolved and eventually ended because I THINK it was all connected: :o
I'm glad the Senate is out of reach, as our PCs have a glass ceiling that easily bumps against the lowest level of Senate Interaction. I'd rather plots be visceral and tangible to PCs than out of reach and tantalized over our noses.
If the Senate were to be more accessible, than I would vote to have it more active and present with Nobles/Templars. But as it stands, it seems like it's best kept in the background.
I feel like there's still room for Senate plots, even with the glass ceiling. In real life every legislator has an army of aides, gophers and flunkies. It sounds like the Junior Nobles were employed in such roles during the last Senate vote. If votes happened more frequently, they could serve as a recurring stimulus to plotting and activity as our PCs work to support the actual voters' agenda.
I think it would be cool if there was a tribune of the commons with a single vote in the senate, perhaps even an elected position. Lots of opportunity for coercion, bribery, assassination, politicking...
Only two characters that I remember have been on the Senate, and they were both played by the same person iirc (but I'm not going to speculate or entertain anything along those lines). Mostly it's strictly NPC stuff as has been said already. Because the Senate are the big leagues.