QUICK & DIRTY PART 2: The Royal Treatment

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Minibit

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Royalty! We CAN make worlds with governments and senates and congresses and lobbyists but most often that's a bit too close to boring reality and a bit too far from the exciting days of yore we want to revisit

Every society has classes, and the royal family is a class all their own; some things you should consider when talking about the movements or actions of Royalty, or when playing the parts of Royalty!

THREE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE WRITING ROYALTY!

  • How much power does the Royal Family have? Is the country subject to whatever the King thinks would be good, and happens to be paying attention to? Can his decisions be vetoed by a vote of the populace, or by a senate or congress of advisors?
  • What traditions/standards are they held to? Even though Royal families, just like regular ones, are composed of individuals with their own goals and ideas, people like to generalize that "The Royal Family loves to hunt" or "their line has always been bloodthirsty" etc. Consider if there are any expectations of royalty because of their family history. Expectations and the people they were raised with WILL affect these leaders' actions.
  • Where are they, where do they go, and how are they protected?Do they have estates across the country, or do they mostly stay in a main castle? Do they often travel, or do people have to come to them? Is there a strong military force around them, are they also trained in magic and combat themselves? Are assassinations common?
SOME ACTIVITIES THAT CAN HELP YOU WRITE BETTER ROYALTY!

Do some reasearch into various government systems in the real world and the basics of how they work; look at democracies, communist states, and monarchies too. How is the leader's power restricted? How are they empowered? What provisions are there for if the leader starts driving the country into the dirt?

I can't reccomend this procedure for any writing enough:
MAKE A LIST OF THE STEREOTYPES AND DONE-TO-DEATHS OF THIS ELEMENT, AND PIN IT UP BY YOUR WORKPLACE. The runaway princess on the streets, the evil royal uncle, the lone survivor prince, the frail queen, the mad king, all of these have been done so much that some people will stop reading as soon as they see it coming. If you DO use these tropes, make sure you add something new to them, but in general it's better to avoid them completely.

YOUR GO!

Consider the above, and then fill out this short form about the royal family of your world!
The King's role:
The Queen's Role:
Their daughter's role(s):
Their son's role(s):
How do they determine an heir?
If no heir is produced, what happens?
What power do their staff/counsils/advisors have?
Do they have smaller lordships within the realm?
If yes, how do they keep these lordships from becoming a threat?
The basic process of passing a new law would be:
 
The Line of Antlered Kings, House D'Sylva of Viridan

The King's role: Protector of the Realm. He is responsible for keeping the kingdom safe from all threats internal and external, for making and enforcing the laws, and for keeping the fey creatures and ancient artifacts safe, among other minor duties.
The Queen's Role: The wife of the King does not rule in her own right, but is widely considered the diplomatic head of the nation. She is often responsible for organizing foreign envoys and welcoming any visitors. Those within the kingdom also fall under her realm of influence for it is traditional that the queen organize events and invite other noble families to visit, thereby maintaining peace and keeping the gears of feudalism well-oiled.
Their daughter's role(s): The daughters serve with their mother, learning of hospitality and courtly manners and diplomacy. Their primary duty is to marry well.
Their son's role(s): One son, often but not necessarily the eldest, will become the heir apparent. Due to the dangerous nature of magic other sons are not made aware of most of the enchantments and artifacts. They often choose other walks of life, such as Knights or Rangers, Priests or Landed Lords.
How do they determine an heir? The heir, in olden times, had the greatest magical talent, but later on became simply the most suitable for ruling. Heirs must always be male since only men carry the genetics responsible for the magical abilities.
If no heir is produced, what happens? So far no kings have been infertile. In two cases queens have proved unable to bear sons, in which case the king fathers a bastard and rears him to rule.
What power do their staff/counsils/advisors have? The power of advice only. The king's word is law; though there is a strong tradition that the king does not act against a majority opinion.
Do they have smaller lordships within the realm? Yes. In a true feudal system the King does not directly rule any one region, but instead rules indirectly through nine different Provinces (each ruled by a Great Lord) that are divided into numerous smaller areas ruled by everyone from Lesser Lords to Knights.
If yes, how do they keep these lordships from becoming a threat? The strong magical tradition and ties to the legendary Prince of the Forest keep the nobility in line for the most part; failing that the Kings of old were known to execute entire families if he felt their loyalty was in question. Later on such behavior became discouraged, and the King started to keep around a large company of loyal knights to act as a personal army.
The basic process of passing a new law would be: The King either has an idea or is given an idea from someone else. The idea is put before a council formed of relevant ranking men (lawyers, legal advisers, Great Lords who would be much affected, etc.) and after deliberation and much re-writing, the King puts his signature on it and from there it is his to enforce.
 
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The King's/Queen's role: Both the king and queen rule the lands as protectors and peace keeper. Though both can hold the same job doesn't mean they do botb. In one example the Queen is strong and fights along with the armies while the king keeps the peace and deals with events and such. The role veries based on the king and/or queen.
Their word is law and often times both are brilliant fighters in both melee and magic.


Their daughter's/Son's role(s): Just like the King and Queen the Prince and Princess share rolls. While they are still young they will study. Maybe not book study but they do. Once they are older they might not have the authority to rule but they stay by the side of the parent they are more like and help them.


How do they determine an heir?: Determining an heir is rather simple. They will put the children threw a sort of test to test their skills. This test will tell you which is more fit to rule in both wisdom, power, and courage. Either Prince or Princess can take the throne. Now if she takes the throne her husband will take on her royal name and he might play the role as your normal queen would.

If no heir is produced, what happens?
Seeing as both male or female can take the throne its not likely for an heir not to be produced. If its the case the blood queen can't have a child she will ask her siblings to have a child for her. If the blood king's wife couldn't have a child he would ask his siblings for one.
If the blood king couldn't have a child he would ask his siblings as would the blood queen if her husband could have child. So in other words the king/Queen who is born into the family not married would ask their siblings for a child so the blood line would stay.

Now if they didn't have siblings they would ask their partners siblings for a child. If worst come to worst they will take in a child but that is not likely.


What power do their staff/counsils/advisors have? Staff is staff they clean cook and other hubs around castle. Advisors help the king and queen by keeping them on task and writing documents that the king or queen might need to sign later. Councils are their for the case the king and queen don't agree on a law or a solution to a problem within the kingdom. They will take a vote or modify what the two have said to fix the situation.

Do they have smaller lordships within the realm?
The smaller lordships make up the council. But only the head of each household is aloud to attended as a councilmen. They don't have much authority over the country as a whole but rather their district or section. Even though they rule a certain part of the country the do have to follow by the rules made by the Royal family and must go through them. In other words they have no authority and are to protect the district given.

The basic process of passing a new law would be: For starters they will consult the council before they finalize the law. Even though their word is law they want to have others opinions and ideas. Though they don't have to go through the council they do how ever have to go to their spouse and see if he/she agrees to do so.
 
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The King's role: The king leads the armies and is the face of the whole kingdom, he does the fighting, discussions with other groups and so forth.

The Queen's Role:
She is the one behind it all, she controls the law making, magic control, taxes, she makes sure everything is in order.

Their daughter's role(s):
There are three daughters and all three learn from their mother. They will eventually take over for her when she dies. The triplets will work together to keep the balance.

Their son's role(s):
The only son goes with his father on trips, he is second in command in public but like his father listens to the women. He guides all building construction and he teaches warriors to fight.

How do they determine an heir?
An heir must be born to earn their power or they can be a slave that the Prince or princesses think of as family.

If no heir is produced, what happens?
The next in kin will take the throne in their place such as brother or step-sister then they shall take a partner to rule with them.

What power do their staff/counsils/advisors have?
The only council is the Celestial Elders Council who decide all, what they say is the law.

Do they have smaller lordships within the realm?
Yes their families usually have smaller kingdoms along the realm.

If yes, how do they keep these lordships from becoming a threat?
They prove their power by battling them in an annual tournament that is held, the family that wins is the main royal family. These fights can get very bloody and can sometimes lead to death.

The basic process of passing a new law would be:
Get the CEC to say it is what they want.
 
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Based off a roleplay I ran in the past. Could probably use some fine-tuning.


The King's role: to make final decisions on matters after debating them in a court of Ambassadors / high-ranking nobility. His concerns are mainly with ensuring peace, and he works closely with the military and scientific community of Skyworld (both of which being extremely important entities).

The Queen's Role: she handles financing and economics behind the scenes. Anything to do with big business is within her jurisdiction to meddle with. She also plays a large role in foreign relations, the court, and commanding the global exploration teams. In many respects, her and the King stand on equal footing. Gender roles apply very loosely to Skyworld society- you more or less do what you're most adept at doing.

If the Queen dies, the King is forced to shoulder both of their burdens, which is why royal children are groomed from a young age to accept responsibilities at any time. They don't get to be children for long.

Daughter/son roles: rigorous training to inherit the empire. When not receiving private tutoring in both politics and combat, they accompany their parents to events such as the Erion Court or travel around to various cities, learning of their unique heritages. Making friends in high places. Getting their faces out there.

How do they determine an heir?

The eldest prince/princess will become the next King or Queen.

If no heir is produced, what happens?:

A blood relative of the former ruler will step in.

Note: I think my answers to this question and the one above it are too...bleh. But no use overcomplicating things, I guess.

What power do their staff/counsels/advisers have?

A fair amount. Certain advisers are tasked with being learned in a particular area.

Do they have smaller lordships within the realm?

Yes- although the Erion family lives in the highest-floating city, there are others in the airspace below them. A city or town's ranking is determined by the altitude at which they float and is heavily influenced by economics. In fact, you can literally buy your way into high society. Everyone in the upper cities either comes from money or has made their own source of money...of course, these sources aren't always legal.

Representatives/Ambassadors/Lords and Ladies are elected democratically by the people of each city. Their task is to attend to affairs on a local level and bring greater concerns to the Erion Court where the most drastic action can be taken.

If a city becomes noticeably more wealthy or powerful than another, its place in the sky shifts.

If yes, how do they keep these lordships from becoming a threat?

Loyalty, mostly. The monarchy treats their people with fairness and tries to place the wellbeing of the people over all else. As such, Skypeople tend to adore their royalty figures. It's a world of much opportunity. Not many find themselves stagnating, and so civil unrest is kept to a minimum.

Of course, if the monarchy were to be threatened, they do have a military of genetically altered soldiers to keep them safe...soldiers that are raised understanding "protect the nobles" as one of their primary directives in life.

The basic process of passing a new law would be: discussing it in the Erion Court and then voting towards the end. However, if the King or Queen objects strongly to it and cannot be swayed, they can strike the law down or alter it. Whether the King or Queen has more power here depends on the jurisdiction the law is in. The people are expected to respect this decision as what's best for their kingdom.

Note: I feel like this doesn't make sense >.>
 
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The King's role:
The King is the overpowerer. His word is law no matter what; If he desires it, it happens, even if his people don't like it. However, he can be overthrown by someone in a formal deul to the death, however the winner is only decided after the body is cold.
The Queen's Role:
There are many Queens, usually five or more. They all act as the King's advisors, and the ones to give him heirs. If they grow infertile they are killed, for they are believed to have an 'evil eye' of sorts that taints the wombs of the others.
Their daughter's role(s):
The young females grow up to become "progenators" of sorts. When they come of age, they can be sent to other domains to give birth to a new generation of her Father's line.
Their son's role(s):
They are potential heirs. Most of them are chosen as possible.heirs; However, the runts of each litter are sent with a group of males and females to start their own Colony when they come of age.
How do they determine an heir?: The males chosen as heirs are put in a Coliseum of sorts and told to fight to the death. The final male standing is chosen as the new successor to the Throne.
If no heir is produced, what happens?: The citizens put forward their sons and send them to fight in the Coliseum. The last one standing, again, is the new King.
What power do their staff/counsils/advisors have?: None. The Queens can suggest, but more often than not their word has no matter.
Do they have smaller lordships within the realm?: Not within the realm; However, most often, kingdoms nearby tend to be related somehow.
The process of creating a new law would be: King says it, his Queens spread the word.
 
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