COMMUNITY - FORUMS - FAMILIES & NOBLE HOUSES
A Question of Independence?

Here I am, paging through the forums, checking up on various thoughts... And somehow, I have yet to find a post that describes something that is prevalent in almost every fantasy work...

Independent settlements. Say, for example, that there was a very efficient trader that became rich and powerful. And decided one day: "Fuck it, I'm gonna make my own place!". And so, he founded himself a town somewhere. Even if said town was within the borders of another kingdom... If this trader-turned-mayor would ignore the laws set in place by the original king of the land, and refuse to pay any kind of taxes, with a mercenary army big enough to stave off invasion...

Would he then be considered independent by the game? Would he be able to make his own laws, collect his own taxes, and do pretty much everything a king could, but on a smaller scale?

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This applies to higher ranks as well! If there was a war, and a county was cut off from its parent nation, could it then just declare itself no longer part of the parent kingdom? Could it turn itself into an independent minor kingdom, beholden to no one else?


2/12/2017 1:34:15 PM #1

Nah, I don't believe this will possible. The biggest problem is that a kingdom is huge and if you slaughter the kings men, more men will come. So yes you could call 'independence' but it would be a short one, especially if you work with mercenaries of doubtable loyality.


2/12/2017 1:36:00 PM #2

According to the wiki yes if you are least a count. If you can defend yourself for 28 days. Of course then you have neighbors to consider ;)

Independence

You can also declare independence from your next tier above you, towns from counties, counties from dukes etc. Which might be more frequent, internal maneuvering as settlements rise and fall, or players come and go. Staying in the same kingdom.

Even as a town, reading the wiki as it is (which might need rewording). You could as a town, declare independence twice if say a kingdom had begun to go inactive. Once from the county, to become a county yourself then once again from the kingdom.

Though the wiki might mean, anyone mayor or above, could declare full independence in one step, it is somewhat ambiguous.


Friend Code: 699036

2/12/2017 1:41:03 PM #3

If you can afford to house, feed and pay enough mercenaries to fend off a kingdom of 10,000 players then I'd say yes, you're independent. :)

Whether that's possible or not...I hope you're quite the entrepreneur.


2/12/2017 3:45:32 PM #4

The big ticket item here is the word "if."

If the merchant can afford an entire army,

If the merchant is a Count,

If the merchant actually wins the battles,

and if it's worth being independent,

then sure, it is possible they may be able to accomplish independence.

But "If" is a very powerful word. You can do anything with If. You could conquer the world if you had massive armies, trained dragons, an overwhelming support base, and the world's best economy.

You could destroy the world if you built the Death Star.

If doesn't meant much. Actually accomplishing these things in game will be a massive undertaking. This merchant will need to be richer than the king and all the dukes above him, as well as richer than all the other counts he is breaking away from combined. Because mercenaries can be bought. Loyalty cannot.


NA-W "Angelica"

2/14/2017 7:58:11 PM #5

I'm curious what sources you are citing for the prevalence of independent cities. In all cases I can think of the independence is part of a multinational agreement, a coalition of independent but allied city states, or on par with the other power players in the region.

In any case, all of those arrangements should be possible in Elyria, provided conditions are right. Let's look at each:

Multinational Agreement:

Though highly unlikely to develop before launch (and certainly impossible before land selection), it could come to pass that several political bodies decide to accept the neutrality and independence of an importantly positioned city and may chose to recognize its independence, exempting it from local laws. This would require an incredible amount of trust, or a fantastical amount of leverage to establish.

Coalition of City States:

This sort of thing is already happening at the county level with groups like the Order of IX. On the small scale, if a group of settlements were able to challenge the authority of their count they would be able to win free of county laws, but would still be subject to the duchy and kingdom. Essentially, any such alliance will only have weight to subvert the authority of the tier above them--and really only by installing a figurehead in the executive position who agrees to let all parties stay independent. Any further than that would require the same immense leverage or trust as in the previous example.

Independence Among Peers:

To become truly independent from all forms of greater authority, one must be able to match all challengers to that independence. That is in essence what a Kingdom is, and imperfectly so--as we know not all Kingdoms will be equivalent in power. If a mayor were to gain enough power to win independence from her county she would become a count of her own small county. She would then need to expand her borders enough such that three counties worth of land were hers in order to secede and make her own duchy. But let's say she wants to continue to keep her county-sized city, and simply plans to cut herself off from duchy and kingdom taxes and law. Again, this independence will require trust, leverage or might to preserve. Our mayor-count will need to fend off siege after siege from the thousands of troops at the command of the local duke and king until both grow weary of trying. Even then, she will likely starve or become bankrupt unless she can convince the surrounding authorities to trade with her. The chances of this being sustainable are miniscule unless you happen to house all of the most talented PvP players and most effective smugglers in the game.