I'm not sure who these private armies would be; the occassional Bandit King hiding out in the sticks, I can certainly see; maybe the odd minor exarch goes off the deep end (or if you prefer, has to take Strong Corrective Measures against the circumstances he finds himself in, that sort of thing). Doubtless ogre kings and such like are to be blamed _entirely_ on the FDR -- or the huan to, or Ignorance, or someone else -- but that doesn't help make 'em go away.
> >Lack of nasty neighbours I definitely plead not guilty to
>
> Indeed. The KOI to the north, and quite a few other troublemakers -
> the Zabdamar and pirates to the east, nomads to the west, and various
> (elves, hsunchen, amazons) to the south and elsewhere. Its only Ignorance
> and the Pentans who have actually run succesful invasions, though.
True, I think the popular picture of the neighbours is not so much as Looming Threats, as Object Moral Lessons.
> Trouble with Ignorance looks likely to be a HW theme.
One might well think that; I couldn't possibly comment. ;-)
> What we really need is an
> explanation why, if there is an Emperor who has been able to hold on to
> power for centuries, a strong central army, plenty of magical resources,
> and so on, there is still potential for serious trouble (warlords,
> rebellion, etc), at least until some real trouble starts later in the HW
> timeline.
The purpose of the Kralori 'state' isn't necessarily so much to make everything run on model of Central Planning Efficiency, as of making sure it just doesn't cease running entirely, and that the cosmic purpose it serves is maintained. (That's not to say they _don't_ want the populace to have paddies bursting full of life and the rickshaws running on time, but that's not their primary purpose.) So from 10,000 feet, it's broadly fair to say that one can sketch out any empire that _is_ still ticking along, somehow or other, and not totally offend against credulity. One might take a cynical view that maybe Godunya hasn't been ousted partly as he's marvelously ineffectual where he is, from the PoV whose motives are more Base than Cosmic.
My own current guess is that Kralorela is a _relatively_ 'quiet' place, at least in so far that conducts its indiscretions with a fair bit of discretion. (Add seedy underbelly to taste.) It's attitude to the upcoming Hero Wars is not so much seething anticipation, as a frenzy of apathy, I'd estimate. (Perhaps one might be tempted to say 'complacency'.)
> Yes, I agree. I suspect that while the Emperor is constant, the
> Exarchs do have some fairly serious succession issues
What, you're implying that some of them might possibly be cheating on their exams? ;-)
> and quite different policies from province to province.
I think so, yes.
Cheers,
Alex.
Powered by hypermail