[i]At 06:24 AM 11/21/2009, you wrote:
>I meant less for their OWN province levels, etc. than for NPC realms. For example, should they KNOW the rankings of Ghoere? Should it be a secret?[/i]
Ah, OK.
Maybe this is from the POV of a BR old-timer, but given the age of the materials, I dont know how easily it might be kept from the players.... At least, Ive had a problem keeping this kind of thing out of the hands of players.
But in general, I dont think this information was meant to be kept from the players. At least, I dont see any indication that the things you list were meant to be hard to identify or recognize. If you take a look at the Espionage domain action, we get a hint of the kinds of things that the game designers had definitely intended should be kept from players–until they perform the proper action. The size of province/holding levels doesnt appear on the list of things that domain action performs, so that would indicate that the information either A> isnt particularly difficult to ascertain or B> is totally unknowable. I don`t think the latter was the intent of the system.
There are a few realms in the published materials that do actually have their holding levels unlisted… so that information is secret from even the DM. I always found this convention annoying. DMs should feel free to change whatever they like for their campaigns, so game designers shouldnt feel obliged to set a mood by keeping that info out of the DMs hands. The existence of those domains that have levels that arent actually listed in the published materials would also indicate that the levels of the other realms are actually listed isnt secret information for the DM only.
As for how players might know that information, it might be interpreted as a basic function of the nature of regency. The connection of the regent to the land itself might give him/er some sort of mystical information gathering ability. Just as s/he instinctively understands the nature, size and influence of his own domain, he might be able to sense the power of nearby domains.
If a mystical explanation isnt satisfactory, the provinces and holdings might be fairly easily recognizable through their physical manifestations. That is, something like population level is meant to represent an actual number of people. People sometimes take issue with how well that works as a game mechanic, but its clearly what the game designers meant. They did, after all, list actual population numbers and associated them with the various levels. Taking a loose head-count could give nearby regents a pretty good idea of population level. Similarly, holdings are physically present in the province. They have manifestations–small, medium and large temples, for example–that could be rated fairly easily. As uch, the levels of various holdings might be more or less easily recognized. Of course, a regent wouldn`t think of his holdings as levels in the way gamers use the term, but s/he might be able to rate them in a way that is comparable.
That said, the openness of this kind of information does sometimes strain credibility, and lots of folks have found fault with this basic premise. At least, there have been a good number of house rules to create things like “secret” or “covert” holdings that are not normally detectable by other regents. Those house rules would seem to indicate that many folks view the various levels at the domain levels are more or less knowable… But it also pretty clearly indicates that most people think there should be a way around the ease of attaining that information.
I would find it completely reasonable for a DM to rule that information about another realm might require a free action with some sort of GB cost, or something like a court action from the BRCS update. It just doesn`t seem right that a player whose character ruled a realm in Anuire might have information about the holding levels of some domain in the Rjurik Highlands. Guilders seem particularly apt at gathering up this kind of information, so if one were to put a restriction on the information gathering of players then one who controls guild holdings might have a slight advantage.
Gary