[APPROVED] The Council of Lords

[Okmin]

The Council of Lords: An ETW Prussian Community RPG

These past years the atmosphere in the northern Germanies has been tumultuous to say the least. Almost constant peasant uprisings and revolts of minor lords have forced the King of Brandenburg-Prussia, as a last resort to retain his throne, to unite his few still loyal German Lords and concede to them a Constitution. The final blow destroying the King's credibility was the capture of West Prussia by the Poles during this chaotic time. As a result, and much to the King's chagrin, these Lords have pushed this constitutional reform much further than he expected, but he is forced to sign nonetheless.

The Constitution was created from compromise and concessions on both sides to regain control of their land and populace. The King asked that the Lords govern as a unit, thereby giving up all claims, except nominal, over their previous domains. The Lords responded by creating the Council of Lords as a legislative body, controlling all major actions of the King, and, most despairingly for the King, the Lords reduced the King to simply another Lord and retained the power to elect a King from among themselves. Stability has been restored in East Prussia and Brandenburg and now this new government faces the difficulties of governing. You are these Lords, and this is your Constitution:

To Summarize

The basic idea is a democracy type game but with checks and balances and enlightenment ideas of government keyed more toward the ETW period. All this is mixed with and ran by an aristocratic sort of intelligentsia. The Constitution seems long and complex, but to break it down, the Council of Lords may pass any Rules or issue any Orders, and the King (in Europe) and Viceroys (in their respective theaters) will control the campaign map following any orders of the Council. Lords may be appointed Generals and Admirals and will play the battles.

The Council of Lords can be vetoed by the King and 3/4 of his cabinet combined, but the Council can always override this with 2/3 vote. There are some impeachment and Courts Martial procedures to add political intrigue, and a small panel of Justices can solve disputes if any ever arise. The Constitution just gives a more detailed explanation of this, and provides for any contingencies we could think of.

All Players will be "Lords" and will post a biography. You can come up with their own coat of arms, a name, and a title, if they want. We will probably limit titles somehow and will specify whether they should be English or German at some point.

The Constitution

The Constitution Article I: The King The King is elected by a majority of the Council for a term of 20 in-game turns, with no term limit. Section I: Appointment Powers The King shall have the power to appoint Ministers and the Masters of Theater with the approval of the Council. The King shall appoint Ministers or Masters of Theater to any open position within one turn of the opening. The King may remove Ministers and Masters of Theater only for nonfeasance, malfeasance, or neglect of duty. Upon the election of a new King, that new King may remove any or all of the current Ministers or Masters of Theater without any cause for the first turn following his election. Section II: Powers The King may recruit armies, instruct generals, build buildings, and research technology with the advice of the applicable Minister. The King may delegate any of these powers to the applicable Minister, e.g., the power to recruit and direct armies may be delegated to the Secretary of War. It is recommended that the King put to a vote of the Council which buildings are to be built, but this is not necessary. The King shall ensure the faithful execution of all Rules, Orders, and this Constitution. The King has all other Executive powers not delegated under this Constitution so long as he acts within the bounds of this Constitution and the Rules or Orders passed by the Council of Lords. Section III: Diplomatic Powers The King will adhere to alliances and join any allies upon their going to war. If the King thinks the Nation should break an alliance or not join an ally that is going to war, or if two allies go to war against each other, the King will present this to the Council for a vote. The King may declare war and make alliances only with the approval of the Council of Lords. Section IV: Limitations on the King’s Power The King must present to the Council of Lords for approval any action that will affect the diplomatic reputation of the Nation by more than 20 reputation points with respect to any other country, will affect more than $10,000 in the Treasury, or involves the acquisition or disposition of land or territory. Section VI: State of the Nation The King will report to the Council on the state of the Nation every four turns, two in-game years, beginning in the summer of 1700. This report will include any plans or decisions the King expects to make, and the King’s plans regarding any future contingencies that he foresees in the following two years. Section VII: Emergency Powers Emergency Powers may be voted to the King only in times of War or Rebellion. Emergency Powers are voted onto the King by a 2/3 vote of the Council of Lords. A Rule endowing the King with Emergency Powers must specify the number of turns for which the King shall have Emergency Powers. Under no circumstances may the King hold emergency powers for more than five turns, and upon the expiration of a term of Emergency Powers, the King must go at least one turn before renewing such Emergency Powers. Emergency Powers confer upon the King the power to bypass the voting system and veto any Rule passed by the Council, except an Impeachment or Court Martial. Section VIII: Overruling the King Any decision of the King can be overruled by a 2/3 vote of the Council of Lords. Any Lord may motion for a vote to overrule an action or proposed action of the King. After such motion is seconded the King cannot act on that matter until the vote is complete. Article II: The Cabinet The Cabinet contains the Ministers: Prime Minister, Treasury Minister, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Navy. The Ministers shall be appointed by the King and approved by the Council of Lords. Section I: The Prime Minister The Prime Minister will supervise all other members to ensure that their duties are being performed correctly. The King may delegate all his powers to the Prime Minister, such that the Prime Minister acts as the King, at any time during the King’s term. The King may also seek the advice of the Prime Minister on any matters for which no other Minister is responsible. Section II: The Treasury Minister The Treasury Minister has the power to make treaties affecting commerce, including buying and selling technology and making trade agreements. The Treasury minister must obtain the approval of the Council for any treaty or transaction involving more than $10,000 or the acquisition or disposition of any land or territory, and it is recommended that the Treasury Minister put any major trade agreements or purchase or sales of technology to a vote of the Council. The Treasury Minister may work with the Secretary of the Navy to construct Trade Fleets, and will direct what trade nodes these fleets will occupy in order to conduct a coherent trade plan. The Navy is responsible for the protection of these fleets. Section III: The Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy shall issue Orders to the King for the building of shipyards and recruiting of ships to meet his needs. The Secretary of the Navy shall work closely with the Treasury Minister to recruit, dispatch, and protect trade fleets in trade theaters. The Secretary of the Navy shall appoint all Admirals, Captains, and Commodores. Section IV: The Secretary of War The Secretary of War shall issue Orders to the King for the recruitment of army units and equipment, and the construction of recruiting and training stations to meet his needs. The Secretary of War shall appoint all Generals, Captains, and Field Marshalls. Article III: The Masters of Theater The Masters of theater consist of the Viceroy of America and the Viceroy of India. The Masters of Theater shall be appointed by the King and approved by the Council. Section I: Duties and Role Masters of Theater have the powers of the King in their theaters, subject to a Veto by the King with a 3/4 vote of the Cabinet. The decisions of the Masters of Theater will be given great deference and the advice of the Masters of Theater will be given great weight in the decisions of all Ministers, the King, and Generals or Admirals within the theater of the Master’s control. Section II: Special Powers in the Council Any Master of Theater may move, without a second, in the Council to override a decision of the King or Minister, within that Minister’s theater, by majority vote. The Masters of Theater may also make any proposal for action in the Council directly affecting their theater without a second. This proposal will have the same stopping effect on other actor’s actions as the Council’s override vote. Article IV: The Council of Lords Section I: Membership The Council of Lords shall be composed of all Lords. Any person may become a Lord by making a post requesting to join, and no person may be denied entry into the game except if they have, in the last month, violated the TWC Terms of Service. A Lord may resign from his Council seat and become a non-voting Lord at any time. No vote is necessary for that person return to office on the Council; a post announcing his return is sufficient. Status as a Lord may be revoked by a 3/4 vote of the Council and a determination by a majority of the Judiciary that the Lord violated the Rules, multiple Orders, or this Constitution. Section II: Powers The Council of Lords may make any Rule or issue any Order, so long as it does not violate this Constitution, and any such Rule or Order shall be binding upon any and all the actors in the Government, including the King. The Council will also make all the Roleplaying Rules. All Rules, Orders, or votes of approval before the Council need only be passed by a simple majority of the Council, unless stated otherwise. The Ministers, Masters of Theater, and Judiciary may all participate in all votes of the Council of Lords, but the King may not. Only Lords, including the King, may be appointed to or elected to any of the Offices in this Constitution. Section III: Procedures Any Lord may motion to initiate a proposed Rule or Order on the Floor. That motion must be seconded by another Lord to be brought to a vote, and placed in the Proposals to be passed by a majority of the Council. Section IV: Vetoing of Council Actions Actions of the Council of Lords may be overruled, or vetoed, only by a combined 3/4 vote of the Cabinet, the Masters of Theater, and the King. Such a veto may be overruled by a 2/3 vote of the Council of Lords. Section V: Overruling the King, Ministers, or Masters of Theater Any Lord may motion to initiate a vote on the Floor to overrule a decision or Order of any Minister, Master of Theater, or the King. Such a motion must be seconded to be posted in the Proposals and then passed by 2/3 of the Council. When a motion of this type is seconded, the King or Minister whose actions are affected must not act until the Proposal has passed or failed. Section VI: Sanctions Any Lord may move to pass sanctions against any other Lord or the King. That Motion for Sanctions must be seconded to be placed in the Proposals, and then passed by 2/3 of the Council. Alternatively, if a breach of this Constitution, any Rule, or multiple Orders is alleged, the Lord may be sanctioned by a simple majority of the Council if a majority of the Judiciary determines that such a breach has actually occurred. The punishments given in sanctions may range from mere formal warnings to a loss of voting privileges for a number of turns, not to exceed ten turns. If such loss of voting privileges occurs, the Lord against whom the sanction is voted may maintain any other role in Government and must be Impeached from that role using the Impeachment Procedures. Section VII: Impeachment The King, Ministers, and Masters of Theater may be Impeached. Any Lord may motion for impeachment, and the person may be impeached by a vote of 2/3 of the Council without cause. A person may also be Impeached for a violation of the Constitution, any Rules, or multiple Orders by majority vote of the Council and a determination by a majority of the Judiciary that such a violation has actually occurred. Article V: Officers Section I: Land Commanders The Secretary of War shall appoint all Generals, Captains, and Field Marshalls. Land Commanders will have tactical control of units on the battlefield and at the end of every turn must be given one chance to move their army on the campaign map within the bounds of the Rules and their Orders. Section II: Sea Commanders The Secretary of the Navy shall appoint all Admirals, Captains, and Commodores. Sea Commanders will have tactical control of units on the sea battlemap and at the end of every turn must be given one chance to move their fleet on the campaign map within the bounds of the Rules and their Orders. Section III: Court Martial All Officers under this Article may be Court Martialed. The King orders the Court Martial of an Officer. The Officer shall be relieved of duty upon either a 2/3 vote of the Cabinet and Master of Theater for the theater in which the Officer is located, or a 2/3 vote of the Council. Any Lord may order the Court Martial of an Officer for a violation of this Constitution, any Rules, or multiple Orders, and the Officer may be relieved of duty by a 2/3 vote of the Council and a determination by a majority of the Judiciary that such a violation has actually occurred. This Section of this Article is exempt from the general Overrule power of the Council and Veto Power of the King. Article VI: The Judiciary Three Justices shall be appointed for a term of fifty turns by the King and approved by the Council. The Justices may be removed only for cause, meaning nonfeasance, malfeasance, or neglect of duty. Any Lord holding any other office or position within this government may be a Justice except the King. A Justice who is a party to a dispute must abstain as a Justice from deciding that dispute. Section I: Jurisdiction The Judiciary shall solve any disputes regarding this Constitution and any Rules adopted or Orders issued by the Council of Lords. These Justices shall also solve any disputes regarding the Roleplaying Rules. These Justices shall address any complaints about any Lord or Officer in this government who is not in compliance with these laws. If the Justices determine independently, even absent a complaint, that a violation of these laws has occurred, they may submit that determination to the Council of Lords, which may then impose Sanctions with a simple majority vote. Section II: Statute of Limitations No action of the King or other Officers may be challenged after three turns. The Council may move to condemn any acts they disapprove of or think are illegal under these rules, but the Council may only announce this as a nonbinding declaration. The only recourse after three turns is impeachment or removal of the offender. Article VII: Amending this Constitution Any Amendment may be made to this Constitution. An Amendment must first be proposed by a Lord on the Floor and seconded by two other Lords. An Amendment is ratified by a 2/3 vote of the Council. Amendments may not be vetoed, and Amendments may only be repealed by another Amendment. Article VIII: Ratification of this Constitution This Constitution shall become the Supreme Law, second only to the TWC Terms of Service, upon ratification by a 2/3 vote of the Council of Lords. Amendment I: Royal Succesion If the King should die, the Prime Minister shall become King and complete the term in office of the original King. Official Comments The Official Comments are non-binding, interpretive tools to help players understand the Constitution. The Judiciary may add to these comments without a Constitutional Amendment if a dispute arises and is resolved by the Judiciary about the meaning or function of a particular provision of the Constitution. All references to Government in this Constitution refer to the in-forum government. All references to Nation in this Constitution refer to the in-game Nation that we are controlling. All References to Council refer to the Council of Lords. Rules refer to any generally applicable Rule passed by the Council of Lords in the Proposals forum and shall be posted in the Stickied Rules thread if it passes. An Example: “No General may recruit extra units or replenish units without explicit authorization from the Secretary of War.” Orders refer to any specific rules of limited duration or applicability passed by the Council of Lords or Issued by the Ministers to the King that must be followed by any actor specified in the Orders. Orders will be posted in the specified thread for the turns in which they apply. An Example: “General Knox will attack and take Berlin before 1704. General Knox is authorized to recruit one Unit of Line Infantry before commencing his attack.” Only General Knox can violate this order. Explanation of “for-cause” removal: The King may remove Ministers, Masters of Theater, and Justices only for-cause, consisting of nonfeasance, malfeasance, and neglect of duty. This allows the King to remove those Officials only if they are absent from the game for some period of time such that they are blocking up the game, or have completely neglected their duty by continually missing votes, etc. Revolution: If a group of Lords or Ministers starts a Revolution, each Lord must decide which side they will join. While a Revolution is in Progress, the Lords who support the rebelling side will not participate in this Government and will not be counted when determining a quorum. If a Revolution succeeds, the entire Government is removed and the new Government is created by election of a new King who will appoint the new Government with approval of the Council of Lords (which will nominally become the Senate in the case of a revolution resulting in a republic with all Lords becoming Senators) using the Procedures described in this Constitution. The old King cannot be re-elected in the first five turns after a successful Revolution. If a Lord expects to be unavailable for an extended period or does not want to participate in the game for a while, he should resign his Council seat, although he may remain a non-voting Lord. On his return he may rejoin the Council whenever he requests. Art. IV, Sec. V: The Council’s overrule power would be best used after the King reports on the state of the Nation. The overrule power does not act retroactively, and therefore a motion to overrule must somehow precede the King’s actions. Art IV, Sec. VII & Art. V, Sec. III: A Lord may still vote in a proposal for his Impeachment as Minister or Master of Theater. An Officer may still vote in the Council in a proposal for his Court Martial.

Proposed Local Mods (min. 2)
Okmin
Litoralis
Olligarchy
Bluice

Active, committed members (min. 5)
Bluice
Wojek_Siren
Okmin
Litoralis
Olligarchy
Helvetti94
The Lizard King
J.Philp
redhammer
zxcvmnb
UNCMan

Game Proposal
ETW
Mod: DMUC 6.9
Unit Size: Large
DMUC Settings
Ultimate Campaign
Game Play
DMUC Core (6 Ranks)
Artillery 25% Faster Reload
Grenades On (6 Ranks)
W.Forts & Stockades Mod
Normal Research Rate
Large + Dist Deploy Zones
Warpath Indian Models Off
Language: English
Graphics
Lite Enhanced Smoke
Enhanced Smoke Trails Off
Transparent HUD On
Green Movement Arrows
Battlefield Borders Off
Campaign Markers Off
Land Battle Weather On
Fonts Size: Normal

Name & subtitle of the forum
The Council of Lords (An ETW Prussian Community RPG)

Subfora Structure

The Capital City (New players may post to join, and the Lords may develop their characters here.) The Law (The Constitution and any Rules or Orders are posted here for reference.) The Officers' Lounge (Where Generals and Admirals discuss tactics, and may post battle results, screenshots, or battle replays.) The Council of Lords (Where Rules and Orders are proposed and passed.) Archives (Expired Orders and Repealed Rules along with their accompanying debates.) The Palace (Where the King, Ministers, and Viceroys report and request advice.) The Prime Minister's Office and Treasury (A place for Lords to bring issues to the attention of the Prime Minister and Treasurer.) The War Room (A place for Lords to bring strategies, tactics, and other such things to the War and Naval Secretary's attention.) Chambers of the Viceroys (Where the Viceroys announce their moves and the Ministers consult with and give their directions to the Viceroys. The Viceroys can post polls seeking advice here.) The Court (Where Complaints or Disputes are brought before the Justices) Note: We can use [TAGS] instead of subfora. Ex: [PROPOSAL] [VOTE] [IMPEACH] [Prime Minister] [Vr of India]

[Pontifex Maximus]

Looks brilliant except for one catch. You are requesting the creation of 17 fora and subfora- an extremely large number. I would feel much more comfortable about implementing this plan (and not raising the ire of the technical admins) if you could try to condense it to around 7-9.

[Okmin]

Condensed In hindsight, the main reason for all the subfora was differences between vBulletin and SMF.

The Capital City (New players may post to join, and the Lords may develop their characters here.)

• The Law (The Constitution and any Rules or Orders are posted here for reference.)
• The Officers' Lounge (Where Generals and Admirals discuss tactics, and may post battle results, screenshots, or battle replays.)

The Council of Lords (Where Rules and Orders are proposed and passed.)

• Archives (Expired Orders and Repealed Rules along with their accompanying debates.)

The Palace (Where the King, Ministers, and Viceroys report and request advice.)

• The Prime Minister's Office and Treasury (A place for Lords to bring issues to the attention of the Prime Minister and Treasurer.)
• The War Room (A place for Lords to bring strategies, tactics, and other such things to the War and Naval Secretary's attention.)
• Chambers of the Viceroys (Where the Viceroys announce their moves and the Ministers consult with and give their directions to the Viceroys. The Viceroys can post polls seeking advice here.)

The Court (Where Complaints or Disputes are brought before the Justices)

Note to anyone reading this: We can use [TAGS] instead of subfora. Ex: [PROPOSAL] [VOTE] [IMPEACH] [Prime Minister] [Vr of India]

[Litoralis]

Awesome! We'll transfer over as soon as this gets up.

I bet this is going to be a pretty epic war against Poland.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Perfect. You will have a forum within the week.

[M D]

How active is the game right now on your own forum?

[Okmin]

Everyone registered on that site, but we only have about four people being active. Probably just because the game's not on TWC

[Pontifex Maximus]

That does tend to kill things.

And after everything is sorted I plan on putting somehting on the front page advertising all of TWC's RPGs. We used to do that regularly but, like everything else, that has kind of been forgotten about.

[Pontifex Maximus]

This has been implemented here.

[Okmin]

Thanks