Prefects and Prefectures

[Tala]

Hello!

We wanted to address something that have been discussed a lot on IRC for the last few weeks. Maybe it's not as fleshed out as we'd hoped, maybe some players are still in the old viewpoint of how Prefects should be. This post is in order to clarify a few things.

There are so many things that can be Prefect material, that I'll start as how I viewed the old system. The old system had PCs promoting their Director's Agendas + Judging in trials. Of course, there were a few Prefects who caused conflicts whenever they could, some less. Both approaches were fine and neat in their own ways.

This new system have a lot of opportunities, that we feel are somewhat missed. I promise you, I've read every single letter of PCs who wished to become Prefects for Directors. While some felt appropriate (and others not so much), it felt like you write what the NPCs want to see, rather than all the more interesting stuff you guys are truly capable of. Aside from that, while writing a letter to express your interest is fine, what should follow next isn't waiting and refreshing the forum, but to go IG and do EXACTLY what you said you would, even if you aren't a Prefect yet. Become what you write (or try to be) and the NPCs will take notice for sure. Use the forum to keep track of it, let us know "Hey, I'm going for Prefect and I did A, B, C. Going to do D now, but will appreciate some help with E".

Now, not all concepts are things that a single Director stands for, but maybe are a fun inclusion in the government? Here are three examples for three different approaches on Prefectures. These are just three out of a multitude of possibilities.

Territory Prefecture - Jon the Prefect is the Prefect of the House of Trade. He followed GOULD's way, so the reds have elevated him to the rank of a Prefect. Now, Jon decided that being in charge of only a building is boring, so now he is in charge of commerce and trade in general (for the simple reason he decided that). Now, how is he going to accomplish this? Every merchant, brewer and crafter are going to pay him taxes, and all will have to follow his whims in prices. Cure Serious Wounds is popular? Increase the price for those by 100 gp! Are merchants selling in the Grotto and not using the rentables stands? Outrageous and hurts the House of Trade, so he'll tax them more! There are merchants and not all of the vaults are rented? Increase the taxes on those merchants until they realize the gold he charges for the vaults is cheaper so they should do just that. Well, the plans are easy, but how is he going to enforce them? Watchers don't actually work for him, and you can never know which Watcher is going to arrive. So he bribes Watchers and Warders to be his enforces, he hires men who do his bidding and act under the Prefect's commands if anyone asks. Doesn't work yet? Have the merchant trialed or even better, announce than any who buy from him are barred from the House of Trade's services.

Non-Territory Prefecture - Jane the Prefect doesn't care about being in charge of a territory and is more than satisfied with having her own office in the House of Governance, as her views lie elsewhere. She was elevated for he excellent military and tactical might, and believes that military leaders don't lie in the secretive Spellguards or guard duties of the Watchers, and has become the Minister of Warfare and Defense. She believes that those who represent the leaders of the city, the government, should and need lead the soldiers in the battles to come. Maybe Greer has took a liking to her and placed her as his Prefect and representative, as he has his hands full already with the Watchers. Of course the Watchers and Warders don't accept her straight away, so she makes WaW business HER business. She summons Watchers and Warders to fill her in on everything, and those who get along with her might find a fast promotion? She IS the Prefect of the Sheriff after all. Soon she has an army of Watchers and Warders doing her bidding, including free men who value her principles and want to follow her, but don't want to enlist.

The "Feudal Lord" - Some territories are larger than others and are actually entire areas. I don't have to think of an example here, because a Player has done excellent work in his time as a Prefect. Gracken's Geldgier Schicksal has done a lot of fun stuff and from what we've seen, has managed his Prefecture very well. He had a successful PC group following him where he gave them stuff to do and titles, and of course, he taxed PCs who crossed his territory. Some PCs payed, others didn't and were beaten, and others stood against him, where some were successful, others were not, which is great! In all of Gracken's PC's career as a Prefect we only had 2 NPC possessions for him, with nothing else that needed to be added by toolset or more possessions.

This is a very endless subject as many things can be said and done: Alliance between Prefects in order to take out another? Solid. Getting Prefecture then trying to use your new powers to twist stuff the way you want it and sabotage how current things are for Sanctuary, subtly or in a more direct way? Golden! Taking it to the more outsider groups, the Spellguards want a puppet Prefect so they'll have an easier life? When have the Spellguard haven't had their way. A covert Watcher/Warder has this clever scheme to first become a Prefect to get some sort of target or outcome that will gain him Inspector/Agent? Sounds super interesting and a fun way for promotion.


We feel that this should have been said, and if anyone has something that they want to do but not sure, please contact me on IRC and I'll try to help. If you're pursuing the role of a Prefect and not sure how you're doing, I'm all ears. This is quite possible that what you're doing or pursuing is just not in Sanctuary's best interests so maybe another way to get Prefecture and subtly insert your original plan is better, but if you won't ask, you'll never know. I'm sure other DMs will love to help and listen as well.

Have fun!

[Tala]

We've noticed a recurring theme of PCs who aspire to become Prefects, so they join the WaW or EC for various reasons, such as getting closer to Greer/Markem, and a bunch of other reasons. If it's IC for you, go for it, however, I'd like to point out:

• We won't allow a Prefect who's in a faction, unless the concept is really strong.
• Due to the EC's nature, to pick a Prefect from them necessitates a stellar performance.
• Joining the Watchers for the sake of becoming a Prefect right away will not reflect on the PC in a favorable light with the rest of the Watchers and NPCs.
• Many more things I'm missing here.

To all, exceptions may be possible, but if you aim to become a Prefect, your faction allegiances may get in the way.