So to preface this post I’d like to state that this critique is done in the interest of making each candidate expand upon their prior posts, to state what their policy will be, both foreign and state, and to force them to be specific. I, as a community outsider, generally feel that I am in the best position to do so, as I have not associated directly with any of the communities that have popped up around kingdoms, or personalities. This critique is meant to be constructive but pragmatic, I will not sugarcoat any statements. I will update this post as time goes on.

Maulvorn

• Hyperfocused on Religion, wants to give the Vittori church actual power, a mistake that was made by the HRE, and led to the corruption of the Emperor elections Edit: Plans direct oversight of the church elements within the kingdom if I'm understanding what he's said correctly.

• No real plan of action; he's stated his actions all depend upon his competitors when he sits them down and counsels them in a post victory scenario, what would he do in a loss scenario? Edit: Plans to integrate the church into the Hierarchy of the kingdom, as well as centralize all the religious population into a single area, the first part sounds reasonable and feasible however I've asked him to expand upon the second and explain how he plans to account for a mass migration to that scale.

• No plans for foreign kingdoms; to expand upon this, it's the same issue as not having a plan of action, he's TOO willing to work with others, this is an overall negative on a political stage, Diplomats are meant to make deals and work with other kingdoms, a king is meant to focus on his own people Edit: Since this he has taken the stance that he'd rather them come to him for diplomatic matters, and that he will focus on state affairs, in response I've said that that's one pole to another, and he needs a happy medium for Diplomatic matters.
• Willing to give too much freedom to Dukes; Maulvorn is a different kind of candidate with different ideas on how he should rule compared to the other competitors, while this should be to his benefit, he hasn't mentioned how he will reign in the Dukes of his potential nation, especially when a quarter of those who are in the running for king plan on a entirely different socio-economic structure Edit: He addressed this in saying he only cares for the Dukes to follow 3 main policies and they're fine in his book, 1: To uphold the values of the faith, to build churches and convert the non-believer, 2: Follow all established Common law(This is a given in my opinion and a redundant statement), and finally 3: To pay the taxes that he levies. He further included that he plans to encourage tithing. Concept but no substance, no policy listed or talked about beyond vague mentions of counseling the dukes and foreign kings.

Mickdude

• "Anything mandatory violates a player's ability to pick for himself"
• Advocates for An-Cap in an era of Gods and Kings.
• "My throne is just a figurehead"

These three points sum it up quite well, he would be a King without Kingdom.

Chesire

• "I will delegate anything I am not good at down to another" In other words what every noble does
• "I'd rather focus on building a strong infrastructure to support and protect those who choose to live in 'the misfit lands'" It doesn't matter if one is the aggressor or not in war, it matters if one wins or not
• "I like to put individuals where they excel most" This won't attract anyone, especially in a kingdom where their work won't be recognized as more important than the man who shovels horse droppings off the street
• Wants to function on a different Socio-economic system compared to the rest of the world, this would negatively affect trade and the value of our currency

Were it not to function a separate socio-economic system it wouldn't be so....far fetched, however as they have stated it, it would be a negative to the kingdom and its wellbeing

The "Deviant Kingdom Campaign"

• "We want to allow all forms of deviancy" Literally creating a crusade target for all Vittori Edit: While I still think this a major point to avoid, they've stated they care not for a Casus Belli
• "Contract enforcement is our first priority" A kingdom's first priority should be defense of its citizens and ensuring their well being Edit: They believe that under contractual law the rights of each Citizen will be protected, I personally disagree and think that under contractual law, abuse will be a common happening, still waiting upon further comment.
• "Random murder in the streets isn't particularly wanted or generally useful" But it's still allowed????? Edit: This has since been expanded upon about and clarified to be illegal unless contracted. Random ganking is not legal.
• "...allow us to curb the worst aspects of deviant behavior and channel what's left into productive directions." Originally called this a contradictory statement to prior policy mentions. Edit: Clarified to have meant random ganking and forgery, while those do account for some of the worst aspects of deviant behavior, contracted murder is still legal, as well as every other form of Deviancy to my knowledge.

NiHZ

• Hyperfocused on Religion like Maulvorn, same critique is applicable, just sub out Vittori for Qindred
• Main law of freedom, this, while in theory works, also contradicts the nature of a Ecclesiocracy or church rule, which is to spread the religion upon which it was founded; in a Theocracy the kingdom is meant to function on the divine law of god, while this kingdom is not a Theocracy but rather an Ecclesiocracy it works on a principle that is near exactly the same, however instead of ruling by divine law, it is ruled by the authority of the church. Taking this into consideration it is impossible for this Kingdom to promise true religious freedom to all citizens within it.
• Only specific plans lay in having "A healing arm to provide food and supplies, and a sword arm..."

I would like to hear more specifics from this one, as I think it's a solid concept, however it's lacking in substance on the things that matter the most(Foreign Policy, State Governing policy)

Phyllain

• A mouthpiece of Kairos; were they not centered in Kairos I'd think differently perhaps, though as an outsider with no information on Kairos and its politics, this point can be ignored
• Stated no real views in their bid for king
• Wants to "Avenge the defeat of the Mad King"
• Refers to the kingdom as "Free for the taking"
• Worth noting that Kab is of Xeilias' fold, while advocating a kingdom built upon the principle of Warmongering

Edit: Retagged as Phyllain, Kab will be moved to a separate bid as his views are expanded upon.

Concept is there, no substance, wants to avenge a king overthrown and called "The mad king" really gets the ole' noggin joggin.

Eadward

• Elective Monarchy; has the potential to be good, though it largely depends upon everyone being upright and incorruptible, regardless I like the idea +1
• "The kingdom will be viewed as a target" filled with confidence with this one
• "....I will be loyal to the cause of independence from foreign powers" Isn't this a given?
• This was followed by appeals to the community of "1/2 of my kids every generation will be open to players", this, in theory, gives two players every generation the chance to contest the heir to the throne upon the death of the current Monarch, this is a horrible idea

The concept is there, the substance is lacking, the lack of substance is attempted to be made up for by an appeal to players through them having a "chance" at being in his family and having a claim to the throne.

AndrewMav

• Wants a community rather than a Kingdom, a King should focus on his Kingdom rather than creating a community in which his subjects may reside
• Wants anyone to be able to join in at any time, possible negative due to foreign agents or other malicious elements
• Mentions no specifics about policy
• Once again just brimming with confidence "....my hope is the kingdom can become something real not just a 'free' show."

Mentions no specific policy for anything, the concept is there, however the substance is lacking.

CommodoreIsDef

• Views Centralization as impossible(this is applicable to all candidates prior, however only this one mentions it as more than a passing comment)
• "....stories are bred in conflict and diversity." This is spot on and I applaud you for this point +1
• Kingdom will be a confederation of Dukes with large amounts of autonomy; works great in theory but it would require policing of the Dukes to keep them in line
• "King's role will be two fold.....", this can be summed up as "The king will be a king"
• Wants to gear towards exploration and trade, while maintaining neutrality to other nations; solid work in having a plan stated in the forum post, now add detailing to your other plans
• States that he won't allow military matters to be neglected, expanding upon this by stating each Duke would have to maintain a set amount of soldiers, this should be expanded upon with specifics.

Overall of the announced Candidates, this one has made his plans the most clear, has a solid foreign policy hammered out, and a standard to hold each duke to, though needs more specifics to further improve

SirApetus

• "Will focus on Science....Military will be a major aspect as well" Promises this with no clear specifics
• Mentions that he will maintain basic law as is expected of a King
• "We are a society based upon rational thinking and will try our best to avoid conflict when it is deemed unnecessary" +1 for having an established foreign policy, now expand upon and it make it specific.
• "We will lend out our technologies to assist others" In a happy-go-lucky world this is perfect, however in reality this is a plan that can go very very wrong
• "We will make sure our allies and other kingdoms....are not without justice." Wants to play world police is what I'm interpreting this as

Desdark

• Wants a republic/City state, in an age of Feudalism and Kingdoms this in itself is a casus belli for them to declare, so as to prevent revolutionary thinking.
• "Give me freedom or death", should be a more inspirational quote rather than one of martyrdom, but that's an opinion
• Radical ideas that wouldn't be accepted by other kingdoms, meaning making an enemy out of all other nations for existing

Overall a Republic could work, though his revolutionary style attitude is going to create a problem with other nations, and within the kingdom itself, if he himself is not the king, there is after all a reason republican revolutionaries were historically put down

VioletWinterBorne

• Begins with appeal to the community at large, mostly vague promises of everyone being "able to belong"
• The small amount of policy listed is vague at best ex: "I want to make sure that we have the best defense that can merge into the best offense"
• "The Kingdom will be drama free" this is an impossibility, as drama arises from clashing opinions, and in any kingdom you are certain to have people with differing opinions in high up positions, unless of course you just want yes men.
• "I don't want any discrimination" is this not a given? I assumed it goes unsaid that nobody wants any discrimination?
• (State focus listed in Q&A instead of announcement post...) Would be more medical focused, with secondary focuses of Trade and 'Research', needs more detail.
• "Each duchy should fill a particular role" Encourages dependency on each other rather than self sufficiency

Mentioned no specific state policy beyond a state focus while attempting appeals at the community by mentioning things that normally go unsaid, such as wanting to be inclusive of all races/sexualitys/etc, while most others lacked substance and had a concept, this bid felt almost like it lacked a mix of both, the concept of this kingdom that was posted, can be summed up as ‘No drama, we’re focusing on medicine trade and ‘research’, also everyone is welcome!”, there’s just no meat to it.

LunaGore

• "Drama, Conflict, and headbutting is inevitable...." How do you intend to solve this though?
• "I openly welcome deviants of all arts.....we will not enable you but our Queen will reward you for your deeds" How will you manage this? In the case of a murder how would you be able to differentiate between the act of a deviant that you've welcomed, and a random killer?
• "We focus largely on uncovering, refining, and perfecting each blueprint that develops the infrastructure and backbone of our everlasting kingdom" But how? Lacks specifics.

Needs meat, not quite bare bones though, Concept is there but substance is lacking.

Discontinued until work slows down as of 11/15/17.