Law of the Land:Government

A town is a small claim with a single Lord, any number of Nobles, and Citizens. A kingdom is a group of towns under a common government. Players outside any town are Vagrants.

Roles

Citizen, the default for new members.
Noble, promoted by the Lord. Nobles can invite members and kick lower ranks.
Lord, runs the town. There is exactly one Lord per town.
King, runs the kingdom. There is one King per kingdom (or none, in an oligarchy).

Murder, meaning a player killing another player, removes a leader from their seat. Mob and natural deaths do not.

Named successors

Any Lord, Noble, or King can name a private successor. The named heir is only visible to the namer. When the namer is murdered, the named heir takes their seat. If the heir is no longer a member, the seat falls back to the longest serving member of the rank below.

Government styles

Three styles exist, picked when the kingdom is founded.

Monarchy

The King rules absolutely. He can name a successor with /kingdom successor. Without a named heir, the longest serving Lord across the kingdom takes the throne when the King is killed. The new King's previous town promotes its longest serving Noble to Lord.

Republic

The President is elected. Every kingdom town member can stand for office and vote. Terms last for the number of seconds set when the kingdom was founded. When the term ends, an election proposal opens automatically. The candidate with the most yes votes wins. Ties are broken by seniority.

Oligarchy

All major actions require a vote among oligarchs. Adding new oligarchs, removing oligarchs, kingdom title changes, expelling member towns, all of it. There is no chair. Any oligarch can call any vote.

Revolutions

Any member of any kingdom town can call a revolution with /kingdom revolt. The proposal lists a new style and a new leader. Every kingdom member votes. A strict majority of all eligible voters (more than half) succeeds. The kingdom is reconstituted in place, so wars and town links carry over.