Voices
Entries
Answer: There's a misconception about voices and I've tried to make it clear, but I should mention this. A voice is not a trusted advisor or a respected, senior member of a house or organization alone. They are a plenipotentiary. What that means is they are entrusted with the full power of the leader of an organization to make decisions on their behalf, and while it's expected they'd know their mind and know what they want, this means that they are quite typically ruling in their name. This is a thematic necessity and a bedrock part of theme, as that is also a strong reason why all the leaders tend to be in Arx, and still have control over their domains, it can be assumed they have a trusted voice acting in their stead, who is fully capable of making decisions, up to and including making peace or war, negotiating vital long term deals, executing treasonous flunkies, working out marriage alliances, and so on. In other words, someone who says, 'NO I CANNOT TALK TO A VOICE, IT MUST BE THE HIGHLORD' is basically always wrong unless the subject is, 'Your voice is a traitor and is trying to stage a coup'. This is an extremely important part of theme, but more than that, it is an ooc necessity- I cannot and will not put all the responsibility on a single player character, since that is a quick way to overwhelm a player and burn them out on one hand, or on the other hand, put someone that is too controlling in a position to squelch all RP in a faction. So yeah, leaders make sure your voices have extremely wide latitude, and pretty much never do the, 'YOU MADE A DECISION WITHOUT ME, HORROR' reaction because that is wrong until and unless that decision directly damages a leader's position, and anyone else you should see approaching a voice as identical to approaching the leader of a faction.
Answer: The term for a second/proxy in an org is "Voice". A Voice is a plenipotentiary, speaking with the full authority of whoever they represent. It's like a vice president, or a deputy governer, but in an era where it's expected that geographic distances and lack of instant communication will prevent consultation, so they are empowered to act with great independence. The Voice has authority, but ultimately they only have the authority from who they represent- they speak with the voice of the head of their organization. Though it is excpected a Voice would first be named from a Rank 1's own family, it's ok to appoint one that isn't necessarily in the family if there aren't other likely candidates: because if they are doing something counter to the High Lord's will, they will be removed. Unlike a vice president or a deputy governer, they have no authority of their own or implicit separate duties of their own, but it is expected for them to be leading up projects without much need for consultation and to show initiative. Because of this relative independence, sometimes people appoint those best suited for the job (Thanks Alarice!) as opposed to whoever is up next to get a thing in the family. You can be awesome without being administrative, and conversely you can be very good at administration but not necessarily in a family by birth.
The general egalitarian bent of Arx in the past centuries has contributed to this, and there are certain examples of non-family Voices being appointed in recent history. A Voice, after all, is simply an extension of the will of the High Lord, and speaks with their 'Voice' so long as they do so to serve that will.
Question: Q: Is there any perceived favoritism if someone from a vassal house is named Voice of the lead house? I.E. if person from Duchal House A is named Voice to a Great House, do Duchal House B & C (or a member of the Great House family) have reasonable rights to be offended? Is there any reasonable perception that this Duchal House is then "favored" more so than the others?
A: Not offended, they wouldn't have grounds for that really. Being made Voice is such a high honor that it would be presumptuous for anyone to take offense for not receiving it, unless for example if a leader told them they were going to name them a voice and then changed their mind with predictable resentment to follow. Voices tend to be named to individuals based on their individual merits and recognition of complete trust, and are most commonly heirs and spouses, or deep friendships... which is the most common reason for voices from other houses. It is considered poor form to gripe about a liege's choice of voices since that puts someone in the position of typically attacking their heir, spouse or most trusted friends. It's seldom wise. Resentment over the implicit influence of someone from a rival house might wield as a result is, of course, very common.
Q: Can a person be a Voice of their house, as well as the House above them? So, can someone be a Voice to their Barony, and a Voice to the Duchal House above them as well?
A: Sure, if they can balance any potential conflicts or competiting obligations, they can. An honorable person that is ever put in a position of mutually exclusive vows would resign, but vassals tend to not be put in positions where speaking for their own house and their liege would be a conflict that often, as they generally have similar regional goals.
Q: We are well aware that a Voice acts with the full authority of the leader, and can make decisions without consultation. What occurs when a Voice makes a decision, or commits an action, that is perceived to be against the wishes of the leader?
A: Lose the position due to loss of confidence, apologize and do better, denobled due to undermining their authority, executed for treason, etc. All varies basde on circumstances. It could be anything from a gentle chiding and a private apologize to a civil war. There's a pretty wide scope in between those.
Question: In a follow up.. because I've been wondering. Can a Voice be the Voice of a House while in another fealty? To me it seems like it is a thing that divides loyalties.
Answer: Yes and very obviously yes.