Hi everyone!
Since the topic came up in the last OOC chat, I have come up with some ideas which could be implemented for the prestige system. This would have two purposes: 1) realistically portraying what being Court Favourite means and its IC implications and 2) doing so in a balanced way that respects the game and promotes political roleplay.
To determine the first point, we have to understand what it means to be Court Favourite in Lithmore. First off, Lithmore is not just any court, it is the Queen's. It is the center of politics within the game world and far beyond it, serving as the main nexus of power, wealth, and influence within the kingdom. So what does that entail for being the most favoured noble in the royal household? Having the ear of the highest ranking nobility, up to and including royalty. That is not to say all nobles and courtiers agree intrinsically with a PC, but the value here is access. To have favor at all is to be in contact, direct or otherwise, with the powers that be.
Keeping in mind these suggestions and ideas are already factoring in the second point, I want to highlight that maintaining CF in any long term situation is
very resource intensive and costly. Instead of a title held for bragging rights, the goal of these changes would be to incentivize player engagement, vying for power through the prestige system and contributions through noble projects.
I propose a few different avenues to have this represented on-grid and have taken comments from the chat:
Radiune says, "Yeah, being able to only improve one allows people to 'choose their battles' - though I think it'd be neat if you could majorly promote one and have a secondary lesser promote for metrics if you had a certain prestige level."
While I like the idea of having a second support/subvert slot for city metrics, adding weight to any support/subvert for the cycle would be appropriate. It also takes into account the power of nobility in a roleplay sense, that if guild leaders find themselves in or out of favor with the CF there will be a tangible impact. It also promotes the need to engage with nobility, and by proxy the members of council to achieve goals.
Kuzco states, "I could use with Prestige having more impact than IP and money. Very few people take it into account at all."
More money or silver generated as a bonus for weekly IP conversion would remedy some of this. I also would like to see that noble projects have a CF force multiplier applied to them for influencing city metrics upon success. Currently, only gentry are able to have 5 support slots where nobles may only have 4. Becoming CF should grant the 5th support slot for nobles, as their position is far more influential than most gentiles and would be capable of actually directing high-powered support towards other PCs.
HELP PRECEDENCE
First Tier
1 Ruling Monarch, Patriarch/Matriarch, Regent
2 Keeper of the Seal, Heir Apparent, Retired Monarch, Duke/Duchess
3 Prince/Princess, Royal Consort, Cardinal, High Steward, Court Favourite
With all of this in mind, the Court Favourite would reasonably have First Tier precedence with that of third rank, sitting after High Steward. While it is not an official title or honoric per se, neither is being an indentured servant. This would reflect the virtual implications of treating with the powers on high, and actualize the importance of Court as a dynamic entity within Lithmore(either through RPA in this Tier or intrinsic courtesy).
I look forward to hearing all your thoughts!