House Association Overhaul

[Secutor]

Hello everyone.

A lot has changed in the political landscape of the Peerage since much of the v5 content guidelines were published, and things have been added or removed piecemeal, and the Ward has become the main hub for the entire setting. It's time to tidy things up a bit!

Updated House association and NPC profiles (based on content within the association private forums) for each association are now updated and posted in public forums for everyone to consider and review when thinking about concepts or comparing notes about the trajectory and unique tone of each House.

Furthermore, the regional profiles are now tidied up to match, and provide a useful at-a-glance for new and seasoned players for the hub areas and environs (including newly introduced areas). Hopefully this is helpful, and any questions regarding clarity are welcome, and we can expand those posts if necessary.

House Moonspear has undergone a reorganization in tone, aim, and leadership to more properly suit the Peerage Ward setting, and to encourage creative exploration of aspects of the Peerage's history.

House Orza and House Moonspear now have the option for players to engage in low-consequence PvP in their faction HQs without DM oversight, despite the presence of blue NPCs. This is intended to accentuate their bellicose natures, and encourage more player duels. Note that this is not for sparring and not for serious PvP. Full damage, yank pack, blackout, and other high-consequence PvP behavior still requires DM oversight in these areas. Please respect the intent behind this exception to our rules, and make the most of it!


Prestige Stores

All four Great Houses are receiving sweeping updates to their equipment stores. This is a comprehensive update intended to diversify build options, suppress undesirable imbalances, create equivalence across all four stores in terms of cost and power, articulate each house's flavor better, and properly evaluate Prestige points.

1) I'm excited to announce the return of Prestige Wager items. They are now House-specific. These items are meant to be tools for RP related to duels, gifts for exceptional aid, or donatives for serious favors. Selling, looting, or gifting without strong IC reasons is discouraged OOC and IC. Please use this system respectfully so we can keep it around! Note that prestige point redemption value is 90% of the cost for these items, to reflect IC depreciation and to prevent exploitation.

2) The stores now offer a cloak item that can be gifted to any PC not affiliated with the House, other Houses, or other DM factions or associations. They are intended to be tokens of favor to allies and federals of that House who are not retainers, and wish to fly the colors.

3) Full plate is no longer an introductory uniform option, and must be purchased at the store. Breastplate (medium, 5/2) is now the heaviest introductory uniform.

4) All armor types have a MW upgrade, and cloth has a separate option for spell slots. MW Plate is now significantly more expensive. MW cloaks have been discontinued. DI items and other elite equipments are now limited and are only available as DM handouts. Each store has several unique items, consumables, and flavor options. More may be in the pipe!

5) Not all faction gear is in the store! Some of the best equipment is available as rewards from DMs for exemplary or interesting roleplaying as a retainer. These are on display in trophy cases.

We will not officially be offering refunds or exchanges for current prestige equipment. Some items have been improved, others have been nerfed. If you think you have a special case, please contact DM Secutor, I'd be happy to discuss. The exception will be current House Moonspear PCs, which I will contact via their discord channel. If you notice any issues with the new store items, please contact DM Secutor.

You will also note that several items are no longer in the store. Some of these have made their way to an Elite equipment case in each HQ, and can be considered earnable DM loot, a la the Royal Huntsman or the Arenas. I haven't finished populating these inventories as of this post, so please keep an eye on them for new and returning gear!

Please use your best judgement regarding the IC vs OOC-retroactive natures of these changes. House Moonspear, for instance, is undergoing massive tonal changes in accordance with IC shifts in leadership, so their new armory would be completely IC. Other Houses, seeing an influx in new retainers from the increasing population of the Ward, may have decided, IC, against offering Full Plate right away to fresh recruits. E.g. Velstra is reserving its supply for winter; Glitt is rolling out new equipment, replacing the equipment tattered from years of neglect; Lord Anders and Kristoff implementing more rigorous standards... Etc.

Other things like less DI on armor should be considered OOC, and an act of game balance. We won't nitpick these points, and trust players to do their best to maintain immersion and setting coherence.


Some final qualitative notes regarding Houses and expected conduct for PCs:

1) Houses aren't enemies, they are rivals. Peerage politics are complex, but in the current state of the plot, only House Sunpurse/Senuspur is an enemy to all. The other Houses function in high-friction, non-cooperative, dysfunctional rivalry and one-up-manship. House members will be rewarded for amplifying this conflict, but will likely be squelched by the betters for implying notions of inter-House war until IC events dictate otherwise. Going full bore over Dispensaries, IC-justified FDs, and waging pitched fights upon outposts outside of the Ward are also encouraged under the umbrella of dysfunctional rivalry.

2) Each House isn't a bloc. Intra-House conflict is welcome and encouraged.

3) Don't hesitate to notify the DM team if you feel your PC has conducted Prestige-worthy deeds. PC notes and screenshots assist in this. We are happy to reward House PCs with these points in lieu of XP.

4) If NPC leaders discover that PCs are doing things like hanging out in the ponds or the moil, or questing with changelings Prestige will be deducted or they will expel that PC from their House.