County of Blackstone
A Kingdom derives its power not only from the lands it oversees but from its people and a Kingdom’s greatness should be measured not only by its strength of arms but by the quality of life of its citizens.
As many focus on the contest for Kingship, sight is lost on where the true power of the kingdom comes from, its numerous counties, attendant baronies, and numerous towns. These provide the literal blood of the Kingdom as well as its treasure. I urge you to take a look around support County bids that you think would become the building blocks of a great kingdom.
Blackstone will be an active part of the future Kingdom. Active politically, economically, and militarily to support our nation. A strong social community will be built to enshrine open communication between leadership and citizens and to coordinate economic and military matters.
Governance
“It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
If I have the honor to serve as Count of Blackstone it will be because of the belief that my fellow countrymen have determined me up to the task and I will constantly strive to be worthy of that honor. While many facets of how laws and Royal governance are unknown it will be my duty to promote the interests of my County and its people and mitigate as much Royal interference in their daily affairs as possible. Ideally this will be accomplished by proving to them the competence and strength of character of our County in that we do not require the same level of management as some others may.
My goal is to have two local governing bodies, A Council of Lords made up of those of Baronial rank and a General Council comprised to Mayors, Guild Leaders, significant land holders, and other personages of import. The exact structure of these depends on various game mechanics that are yet unknown but their focus will be for the Lords to largely focus externally with relations of neighbors, and the Kingdom, and the General Council to have primary focus on internal matters, while together addressing issues of land-use, military decisions, and the balance of power and justice between Nobles and citizens alike, all will be equal before the law.
I would expect that mayors would be elected by the land holders in their towns, and I would make aggressive use of surveys and polling along with open door access to myself to make sure that leadership is responsive to public opinion.
All of the above being said, Kingdoms are feudal, they are not a democracy. Many day to day powers will be vested in the hands of Barons and Mayors and other appointees but if they are misusing or abusing their power it will be swiftly dealt with. I do however believe a leader who repeatedly goes against the will of his people usually ends up dead or replaced.
Which Duchy?
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. —Theodore Roosevelt
Should I win your support, we will certainly be looking for which Duchy gives the most advantage to our citizens. My supporters will absolutely be consulted before any decision of this magnitude is made. This of course is subject to game mechanics.
Local Focus
“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”
― Winston S. Churchill
My first duty as Count is to my citizens. To that end to work to ensure that and royal taxation is fair and to lobby in that interest. I also want to make sure that a fair portion of those royal taxes is returned to the county to invest in its infrastructure and common defense. If mechanics allow for county levies the purpose of those will be to provide for the things that government does well or are beyond the willingness or ability of local citizens to provide such as transportation infrastructure, defensive and offensive war supplies, and large-scale land development.
Military
“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
Military matters are not the exclusive domain of Kings and Dukes. Blackstone will have to develop its own military capability not only to serve as levies for the Kingdom but to deal with matters of internal protection and in matters of local interest. To that end importance will be placed on developing a armaments industry, including heavy siege equipment, as well as training our soldiers in the 'hard' and 'soft' skills of warfare through regular drills, and sorties.
Diplomacy
“The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
I feel it is important for a territory as large as a county to develop its own diplomatic corps, along with its attendant arms of intelligence gathering, and counter intelligence. There may be times our lands are on the front line of foreign agression, or plot and we cannot be totally reliant on our Kingdom in these matters. That said we will work with our Kingdom's efforts in these areas whenever practical.
The World
“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Our world is a unique one, where our governance is feudal but populations are allowed freedom of movement and association. If people do not like how you rule, or how your lands are managed they may freely move to any number of other lands within or without our Kingdom. This means that the Count, his Barons, mayors, and other leaders need to constantly strive to make Blackstone a beautiful, thriving county people want to call home, and want to do business with. These are foremost on my mind when I contemplate becoming a future Count. How can I, together with my people make Blackstone a strong, proud, vibrant county? The answer is only with your support.
Who is Revanom?
“Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
I am a man in his 40s, living in New England, happily married with kids. I work professionally in Information Technology. I have been playing Fantasy RPGs since my brother showed me a blue box D&D set when I was 12 or 13. I spent much of the last 25 years playing or running Live Action RPGs including many years writing and running my own games. I also have been an EVE Online (another wonderful sandbox MMO) for the last 15 years spending several years running alliances of 300-1100 players and corporations of 50-100 people. These experiences have given me a wide view of how to build and maintain community, and how to worth with people. In a world of free association there is no “one” magical management style, you must meet people where they are and use different styles of interaction with different people all while keeping your end-goal consistent. Flexibility is key. I can write 100 pages of how I think Blackstone should be, but if only 2 people agree with it, that is a waste of everyone’s time.
I want to help you build the home in COE that you want to see. I am willing to manage all the backend heavy lifting so you can spend your time in-game, not bogged down in forums and chatrooms. Ninety percent of what Barons, Counts, Dukes, and Kings do will be when they are NOT logged into game. It’s the social organizing, and coordination that happens in a sandbox game. I am very familiar with this and I will shoulder that burden if you lend me your support.
I know this campaign is not as super detailed as some, but my goal is to provide a framework for us to build together a new County in a re-established Kingdom. We don't know all the game systems, we don't know the various laws and duties that will be put upon us by those systems, we also don't know if we will be in desert or snow, rich lands, or mediocre, a central hub for trade, or not. But what we can do is build a framework to adapt to our situation as it become more clear, and for that i need your support.
Thank you,
Please donate a Kingdom Token to Revanom for Blackstone!
