On Thu, 6 Nov 1997 BillSeurer@aol.com wrote:
> Some questions about investiture came up during our game last night that
> aren’t covered in the rules (Hey Ed, add these to the “needs clarification”
> list):
>
> 1) If a regent invests a province that is not currently held by any other
> regent is a roll needed, and, if so, is the target the usual 10?
Yes, the roll is needed. If it is a “new” province, such that no one else
holds any holdings there, if you spend 9 RP on the attempt, your chances
are almost guaranteed. If it is a province that has been “abandoned,” as I
take it your case is, I would say that other holders may spend Regency on
the attempt: in your favor, or against.
> 2) Does an investiture of an unheld province count as a domain action (i.e.,
> take a month’s time)?
Yes, it takes time to familiarize yourself with the province and its
people. I rule that you have to develop some sense of “simpatico” with the
land and its inhabitants before you can draw the reigns of Regency to
yourself in the Ceremony of Investiture. Of course, whether this means
growing to know and love the place or developing a keen idea of the area’s
strengths and weaknesses will depend fully on the regent. 
> 3) What happens if two regents both try to invest a currently unheld province
> at the same time?
I would rule that the one with the bigger army in the province drives the
other one out. You can do some war moves if necessary. It is a process
that requires a certain amount of time, which can be impossible to
accomplish when your life is in constant danger from the roving bands of
enemy troops searching for you.
An alternative to this is to attempt to roleplay this as an
adventure. Assume that the “regency” of the land fell to a certain number
of lesser nobles who rule small domains in the province (but not big
enough to actually produce regency). The two competing parties have to
convince these nobles to side with one or the other. Plus they have to
worry about any of these lesser nobles getting big ideas and wanting to
take over themselves, especially if they are blooded as well. The idea
then is that the one who obtains the majority of the loyalty of the
landrulers in the province wins the province. If the sides are deadlocked
at the end of the month, the domain turn is lost to the adventure, and the
ceremony must wait until the next month.
> 4) If there are currently unheld holdings in the province being invested can
> they be picked up at the same time? In my case it is the law holdings that
> are of interest.
This is a very good question, and one that is unclear in the Rulebook.
It’s never been clear whether you have to have a ceremony done whenever
you even go up one level in a holding, or whether once you own a holding,
any increase in it is automatically invested. The former rule would
probably make temples a little too powerful, so I’ve been ruling that once
a new holding is invested, further rule actions automatically increase
your RP “draw.” The question of province and law holdings is related, but
intriguingly different. My feeling is that if you hold them at the time of
investiture, and the “people” that those holdings represent (judges,
nobles, etc.) can physically be present at the ceremony, then they can be
included in the process. I DON’T think that by investing a province, you
automatically gain the law holdings. But whether, once you own the
province, and later decide to acquire law holdings, that requires you to
do the ceremony over again, is an interesting question. My call is this:
if you are a figher class character (not a ranger, and not a paladin),
then you automatically gain the loyalty of your vassals if you
subsequently gain law holdings. Otherwise you have to have another
ceremony. Does this at all help?
> 5) Can you invest just a small part of your bloodline to someone or can you
> only do it all?
I would say that it is possible, but it is a new spell/Ceremony, and must
be researched first.
> In case anyone is interested, the Hag managed to pull off an intrigue and
> poisoned most of the regents and local nobles in Drachenward in my campaign
> and made it look like the PCs were in on the plot. The Soldat and his heir
> were both slain leaving all the provinces and the law holding unheld (as per
> our earlier discussion here).
>
> Thanks!
Sounds like an interesting campaign. I hope some of this helps you work it
out.
Mark VanderMeulen
vander+@pitt.edu