Rules update 2024
Overview
Every year we carry out a review of some part of the game looking to see what we improve. This page summarizes and explains the changes so that players can identify and understand the changes easily. We try to include a section after each update to explain the reasoning behind the change, as well as providing a in-character rationale for what has changed where appropriate.
Tally of the Votes
We've changed Tally of the Votes so that all players who are eligible to vote will receive a single voting slip in their pack at the start of the event. The bond will give the character's name, the in-character date of the summit and list all titles that are elected by Tally of the Votes that season. Bonds are only valid at the summit they are issued on. Elections will take place in the nation camps on Saturday afternoon; the winner is whoever presents the most votes to support their claim to the position.
Each bond can be used by a single successful candidate. The votes of the winner will be destroyed; anyone who has not won the election is entitled to keep their votes. Voting will then proceed to any remaining titles. This means that if more than one title is being elected, then any citizen who is unsuccessful can use the votes they hold for a subsequent election, if they wish to do so.
A small number of Imperial titles have had their election season shifted to provide the best balance of limiting election administration and maximising interaction between players. Where a title has been shifted, there will be a short election in 2024 at the old date to bring the election cycle into line, and then the next election will be at the new date.
Reasoning
The new rules will enable more electioneering because candidates will be able to seek out potential supporters and ask for their votes directly. Rather than ask them to go to the hub to vote, a process that can be bureaucratic and burdensome for some players, a candidate can ask an eligible voter to show their support by giving them their bond. By putting the bonds in the packs of every player, we make it easier for players, especially new players, to be more aware that they have votes and what they can vote on.
In situations where more than one title is being voted on, it will be much harder for a single powerful voting block to ensure they win all the elections - the new system will support rival groups vying for power to get something even if they can't get the title they wanted. The new process should also make it simpler for our civil service who will no longer need to record each individual vote, just identify the winners.
IC Explanation
With the number of Bourse elections continuing to increase, the Imperial Civil Service have been forced to make some changes to the election protocols to ensure that they can continue to fairly assess the will of the nations in these matters.
New Election Schedule
The schedule below shows the titles elected by Tally of the Votes and the order and season they will now be elected. Titles will be elected in the order listed below. Titles shown in italics have had their election season shifted.
Moved Titles
- Vizier of the Incarnadine Satchel will be elected for three seasons at Spring
- Marracossa Sendito will be elected for three seasons at Spring
- Reeve of Boar's Market will be elected for three seasons at Winter
- Steward of the Mines of Gulhule will be elected for three seasons at Spring
- Preceptor of the Skarsind College of Warcasting will be elected for two seasons at Spring
- Master of Rings will be elected for two seasons at Summer
- Master of the Root and Stem will be elected for one season at Summer
- Quaymaster of the Elosian Docks will be elected for one season at Spring
- Boyar of the Iron Roads will be elected for the first time for two seasons at Winter
- Kalpaheim Tradeholder will be elected for one season at Summer
Artificial Intelligence
- Content generated using Artificial Intelligence cannot be used at Empire events
Content that is made using generative-AI tools (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_artificial_intelligence) cannot be used in the field at Empire. It is fine for digital artists to use procedural tools to create art for the game, but images manufactured by AI art engines must not be used in-character. Likewise, writers can use modern tools to proof their writing, but any substantial block of prose that is generated using a large-language model or any equivalent AI tool must not be used in-character. We also ask people not to post images, video or text created using generative-AI to our forums or Facebook groups.
Reasoning
Empire is a game of hard skills by design - we want success in Empire to derive primarily from your abilities as a player to a large extent. This is why we have always asked people not to play recorded music at events: we want to highlight the role of the many skilled IC musicians in Anvil.
To be consistent with that approach we've decided to ban the use of all AI generated content in-character. Human creativity is at the heart of Empire - we want our game to showcase the abilities of the artists and writers who create art for the game - we're not interested in creating events for machines to attend.
We've also chosen to prohibit the posting of generative-AI content on our forum and in our Facebook groups. These groups are very busy already and generative content adds little value. It is also ethically contentious and invariably leads to unproductive arguments about the use of AI, rather than positive discussions about Empire. This is not a conduct issue; players are welcome to post Empire content that is generated using AI to their own walls. This rule only limits what is used at events and what is posted in our social media spaces.