[SUBMITTED] Legions of Levies

[Knessniet]

It may have been a little early, but I submitted it. I like it in it's current form, and I dealt with the apparent flaws of the first version.

Legion of Levies
Perquisites: Must have feudalism.

Description:
After an incident where the lords of your border counties launched small-scale invasions of neighboring nations for sport, the lords and peasants of @@NATION@@ have petitioned you about the rights of lords to raise the feudal levies of their holdings. In other words, can lords order mass conscription of peasants into militias headed by the lord?

Option 1:
"My liege, as the rightful lord of my land, I have the right to raise the levy as I please!", the bellicose lord of the border counties demands. "After all, your highness, Maxtopia has a lot of land right next to me that would be much better in our hands!"
Result: The border counties seem to be in the center of the nation now.

Option 2:
"Can't you consider us, the poor commoners?", asks a particularly persistent peasant, "Truly, my lord. The burden levies have on the community is too much! Make the lords hire soldiers instead of forcing us peasants to fight their wars!"
Result: Lords go bankrupt from paying salaries to mercenaries.

Option 3: (Requires Theocracy)
"Well now, my most pious leige, perhaps a compromise can be reached.", states the zealous Bishop of @@CAPITAL@@, "If the levies were under church control, we wouldn't have to worry about lords abusing them! Besides, they would then be ready for the next holy war!"
Result: @@DENONYM@@ peasants have been spotted claiming holy sites for the true faith.

Option 4:
"Why do they even need levies? Isn't that what the national army is for?", asks prominent peasant's rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@, "You know what? Just get rid of the whole feudal system! It's highly outdated, and I'm sure that the people would appreciate it!"
Result: Formerly conscripted peasants have been reported to use their combat training on their former lords in anger.

All input would be kindly appreciated. This is my first attempt at writing an issue, so I hope it goes well!

DRAFT #2 Changelog:
- Added a situation that causes the use of levies to be questioned.
- Changed the tone of the lords to be more respectful to their liege (The player/leader).

Legin of Levies
Perquisites: Must have feudalism.

Description:
The lords and peasants of @@NATION@@ have petitioned you about the rights of lords to raise the feudal levies of their holdings. In other words, can lords order mass conscription of peasants into militias headed by the lord?

Option 1:
"As the rightful lord of my land, I have the right to raise the levy as I please!", the bellicose lord of the border counties demands. "After all, Maxtopia has a lot of land right next to me that would be much better in our hands!"
Result: The border counties seem to be in the center of the nation now.

Option 2:
"Can't you consider us, the poor commoners?", asks a particularly persistent peasant, "Truly, my lord. The burden levies have on the community is too much! Make the lords hire soldiers instead of forcing us peasants to fight their wars!"
Result: Lords go bankrupt from paying salaries to mercenaries.

Option 3: (Requires Theocracy)
"Well now, perhaps a compromise can be reached.", states the zealous Bishop of @@CAPITAL@@, "If the levies were under church control, we wouldn't have to worry about lords abusing them! Besides, they would then be ready for the next holy war!"
Result: @@DENONYM@@ peasants have been spotted claiming holy sites for the true faith.

Option 4:
"Why do they even need levies? Isn't that what the national army is for?", asks prominent peasant's rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@, "You know what? Just get rid of the whole feudal system! It's highly outdated, and I'm sure that the people would appreciate it!"
Result: Formerly conscripted peasants have been reported to use their combat training on their former lords in anger.

[Trotterdam]

You might want to be a little clearer about what a levy is. I know, but as it's an outdated concept not relevant to modern politics (conscription is similar, but rarely gets called levies), it might not be immediately obvious to everyone.

Options 1 and 2 seem redundant. The main point is whether feudal lords have the right to autonomously raise armies from their fiefs, not about which type of army you need more. If lords have the right to raise levies, then presumably different lords would prioritize different military compositions, but that's their business.

[Knessniet]

You might want to be a little clearer about what a levy is. I know, but as it's an outdated concept not relevant to modern politics (conscription is similar, but rarely gets called levies), it might not be immediately obvious to everyone.

Options 1 and 2 seem redundant. The main point is whether feudal lords have the right to autonomously raise armies from their fiefs, not about which type of army you need more. If lords have the right to raise levies, then presumably different lords would prioritize different military compositions, but that's their business.

I suppose you're right about options 1 and 2. I'll consolidate them. I'll also see how I could work a definition of levy into it. Check back soon.

Edited.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

My feeling is that the premise lacks immediacy: we need some narrative framing to explain why this has become an issue now. Why has the petition emerged at this time?

[Palos Heights]

You really do need an impetus for why levies are being raised. Also, if feudalism is indeed active, the player is still the leader of the nation. So your feudal lords should be speaking as such to their overlord instead as if they are speaking to a contemporary.

Basically, the Duke of Normandy is speaking to the King of France as if the King of France was the Duke of Brittany. Just a thought.

[Knessniet]

I took into account your suggestions. Kindly reread the new draft, and tell me what you think.

[Trotterdam]

After an incident where the lords of your border counties launched small-scale invasions of neighboring nations for sport,

How did they do this if they don't already have the ability to raise levies?

[Knessniet]

After an incident where the lords of your border counties launched small-scale invasions of neighboring nations for sport,

How did they do this if they don't already have the ability to raise levies?

I would expect them to have the right, this just causes it to become controversial. Perhaps I should add conscription as a requirement?

[Australian rePublic]

Why can't they just conscript their slaves?

[Knessniet]

Why can't they just conscript their slaves?

Serf is the proper term. This issue is deciding whether they can or not.