Overlord Benefits poll

[G]

This is simply gauging interest. Mainly, I'm curious to the response.

It's one of the things that has come up in rules discussions. It had come up in the past that some people were thinking the OL should get Squires. So since I caught onto that a little late, I'm curious as to think of the player base responses.

The choices would be a one or the other, and not a combination of them. So the choices are..

Overlord Grant, which allows a lower rank to issue challenge to any Baron.
Overlord gets two squires, which gives them an additional fancy over their normal rank.

ONE VOTE PER PLAYER, PLEASE.

[Teagan]

I voted for the grant, but only because I didn't want to lose it to squires.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Squires have absolutely no more ability to affect a title or challenge than any other duelist does. Letting the OL have a squire or two doesn't make the title more powerful at all, so why can't they have their challenge grant for strategic use and a squire just because they're the OL?

Personally I don't even think that would be enough. The OL is the OL for a reason and they should have the best squire. The OL's squire should be able to duel with four fancies like a warlord. The student of the supreme duelist should have a step up on everyone else, after all.

[Hope]

The OL's squire should be able to duel with four fancies like a warlord.

Yo I know a nurse if you want an MRI for cheap.

[Teagan]

Glad to know we're still capable of not taking personal shots at each other.

[Jaycy Ashleana]

The OL's squire should be able to duel with four fancies like a warlord.

[insert something arguing against the idea].

While 4 fancies may be a little much, the general idea behind an OL squire getting a little something extra has merit. As Teagan said, the student of the supreme duelist should have a little bit of an advantage over other squires.

This is especially true if the OL loses the grant, especially since the OL has no benefit (other than stepping in/ToW stuff) otherwise. He/she can't even generally vote in council matters, unless there's a tie.

[Teagan]

Modifiers and Fancies depict the skill level of a character. However, low ranks who gain an Opal are allowed to duel at the Opal rank for some reason. Suddenly gaining magical Matrix downloaded skill. Same goes for low ranks who win a Baron ring. Nothing's explained by their sudden jump in skill or how losing the title makes them immediately lose all of that gained skill.

At least this way there's some explanation behind it. Squires learning from Barons get one extra fancy. But Barons aren't the Overlord. The Overlord is above them. The Overlord's squire should also be above the other squires.

[XanthVanBokkelen]

I voted for the Grant, because I don't want to see the Overlord lose that either. I also like the idea
of an Overlord having a squire, though. I think the Overlord should have one squire, who gets an
automatic fancy, and two fancies if the Overlord is present. I think that is a good compromise.

[Delahada]

The Overlord's personal padawan should be called something else, if we're going to do it. Something significantly singular and special. Like... Knight.

[G]

It would be one or the other, not both.

[Hope]

As Teagan said, the student of the supreme duelist should have a little bit of an advantage over other squires.

I don't really see why one squire should be given extra bonuses for the same rank. Especially if they're handed it from an OL. I'm not going to take away from something gained through any bout, I just don't really see why one person should reap so many benefits for knowing someone.

[Jaycy Ashleana]

As Teagan said, the student of the supreme duelist should have a little bit of an advantage over other squires.

I don't really see why one squire should be given extra bonuses for the same rank. Especially if they're handed it from an OL. I'm not going to take away from something gained through any bout, I just don't really see why one person should reap so many benefits for knowing someone.

Part of the allure of DoS has been (but maybe not so much now) the politics of knowing someone; of aligning with people.

Even now I suppose you could say that's how the grant works; it's by knowing someone and not necessarily by individual merit. Why is "knowing someone" in this case bad but not in others? It adds to the political RP possibilities.

[Hope]

Part of the allure of DoS has been (but maybe not so much now) the politics of knowing someone; of aligning with people.

Even now I suppose you could say that's how the grant works; it's by knowing someone and not necessarily by individual merit. Why is "knowing someone" in this case bad but not in others? It adds to the political RP possibilities.

It's a unique part of Swords that has been very integral to a lot of key challenges since I've been here (a lot less than anyone else in the thread). I don't particularly agree with grants because it bypasses just about every facet of progression, but that's another topic for another time. I don't think removing the aspect of the game that's been there since it's origination is an answer, I just don't think giving something *more* is really appropriate. The way the topic looked to me was option a) grant, option b) squire. It didn't feel as though the squire option was further or lesser than the grant but more sideways.

I'd say let the Overlord have two squires, both with a mod, and it'd be a suitable replacement for a grant. You'd inspire some more play, some more activity and you'd have a unique privilege to being Overlord that wasn't a one-and-done challenge.

I respect the political side of swords but for me when I hear "politics" I expect more than seeing someone on one night for a challenge then they disappear for the rest of the cycle. It's really in the eye of the beholder, but I've been a bit disappointed with the outcome of a lot of recent "politics", considering there could have been a plethora of play that could have spawned in simple things like forum posts.

[Teagan]

I don't understand how one person would be reaping so many benefits, anyway. One person could be the squire. Another person could get the grant. Logically there is no reason to give the grant TO the squire, so that already includes two people. The Overlord can test a challenger, but why test with someone of low rank? Yes, it happens, but it's not optimal. So there's a third person involved now.

One person gets an extra fancy or two, one person gets a free challenge, and one person gets to directly defend the Overlord. Who has so much power? You can't even say it is the Overlord because they have no direct influence on the outcome of any of it. The squire could still fail at gaining rank, the grant challenger could fail at their challenge, and the Tester could get shut out in five, and the OL can't do anything about it.

[Hope]

There would not be both a squire and a challenge. The way I took your initial post was that the Overlord's squire should receive more, additional, benefits to being a squire than every other squire who is intrinsically the same. My question was more akin to the angle of why does the Overlord (the singularly most powerful duelist IC) 's squire get a leg up on the rest?

That leads into my previous post of one person reaping additional benefits for having given nothing more other than knowing the right person. Instead give the OL two squires and don't have either one being a leg up than the rest.

[Teagan]

I'm ignoring the "one or the other" declaration with this discussion. It's already been proven that people are going to do what they want to regardless of how much logic is behind the other ideas. I'm debating this all for my own entertainment.

I do think the Overlord's squire should get more benefits. That's the entire concept of a student and a teacher. Are you going to learn how to play Quarterback better from Peyton Manning or Joey Harrington? Are you going to get a better education from a high profile school with proven credentials or from a McDonald's orientation?

Or are we missing the part where the Overlord is the TOP title of the sport and not just ANOTHER title of the sport? Is that why we can't grasp the idea of the Overlord having more benefits than someone else?