Thrones and Councils
Every rank wears a different name in every government, but the ladder is one: Landless → Landed Knight → Lord → Baron → Viscount → Count → Duke → King → Emperor (Earl/Archduke rungs included where held). Monarchies inherit by blood and rites; republics elect (Citizen → Voice → Consul); theocracies appoint upward to Keeper of the Sacred Flame; others reskin the same rungs.
Councils turn rank into power. Each seated council grants stipend, vote, and demand:
| Council | Stipend/season | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Coin (bankers) | +500 gp × rank tier | repay debts first |
| Chapters (clergy) | +1 realm Stability (with Faith and Oaths, +5 Favor instead) | keep Temple towns Calm |
| Covens (elders) | +1 Stability | no levies two seasons running |
| War (officers) | +1 Authority | keep supply funded |
| Commons | −5 unrest in the capital per season | keep food Strained or better |
Rising: deals lift one rank. Close a marriage, tribute pact, or great victory with a higher rank's sponsor: meet the new rank's holdings and Legitimacy (The Dominion System), spend 2 Authority, pay 1,000 gp × the new rank tier, and pass a DC 14 Chancellor or Envoy check at the Domain step. Failure wastes the gold; natural 1 insults the sponsor (−2 relationship). New rank +2 Stability; denied −1.
Vassalage: vassals pay 10% of Collect upward and answer musters; lieges owe one Act-step intervention per year and a judge who outranks the accused. Broken oath: −3 relationship, −5 Legitimacy, Happening.
Example: a Baron on the Coin seat (+1,000 gp per season at rank tier 2) sponsors a marriage with a Duke: 2,000 gp (Viscount is rank tier 2), and the Chancellor rolls 14+. At the Domain step he rises Viscount — and the Coin council expects its loans repaid before the feast.