Sinecure
Overview
A sinecure is any Imperial title that provides the office holder with a fixed income. The return can take the form of money, herbs, materials for crafting items, mana crystals or even liao.
Sinecures are traditionally appointed for life.
Senate Commissions
The Imperial Senate may pass a motion for the construction of an establishment capable of producing wealth - money, herbs, resources or similar. This motion automatically results in the creation of a sinecure once the construction is complete.
It is also possible for the Senate to pass a motion to upgrade a sinecure, increasing the benefits that it provides.
Costs
- Materials: Variable (minimum 10 wains)
- Time: 3 months to construct per 50 wains of materials used
- Labour: 2 crowns per wain
- Upkeep: None
The more resources are devoted to constructing a sinecure, the greater the return. Under normal circumstances, the material required will be the one associated with upgrading an equivalent personal resource. For example, at least 10 wains of mithril is required to create a sinecure that produces mana crystals.
In addition to the wains required, it costs 2 crowns per wain to pay for labour and skills to complete the construction.
| Wains | Money | Ingots | Herbs | Mana Crystals | Liao | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 216 rings | 12 | 18 | 9 | 18 | 12 |
| 12 | 252 rings | 14 | 21 | 10 | 21 | 14 |
| 16 | 288 rings | 16 | 24 | 12 | 24 | 16 |
| 20 | 324 rings | 18 | 27 | 13 | 27 | 18 |
| 30 | 396 rings | 20 | 30 | 15 | 30 | 20 |
| 60 | 540 rings | 30 | 45 | 22 | 45 | 30 |
| 80 | 612 rings | 34 | 51 | 25 | 51 | 34 |
| 116 | 720 rings | 40 | 60 | 30 | 60 | 40 |
The table shows some standard costs and benefits for a range of sinecures. For example a sinecure created by the Senate using 20 wains of mithril could produce 13 mana crystals each season. There is no upper limit on how many wains can be used to construct a sinecure; provided at least 10 wains are used, then any amount can be spent to build it.
Limitations
It is not possible to create a sinecure which mimics the effects of a fleet or military unit, nor is it possible to create a sinecure which creates mithril, ilium, weirwood, or white granite.
A sinecure is very similar to a personal resource such as a farm or mine in that it provides a set amount of resources to the character who holds the position at the start of each event. Unlike a personal resource, however, the sinecure cannot be upgraded or diversified by its holder and there are no decisions to be made about what the position provides or how it does so. A sinecure that produces liao will not come with an option to sell that liao in downtime, a sinecure that produces green iron cannot be paid to produce more in the way a green iron mine could.
Sinecures are not affected by rituals that target a personal resource. A ritual that increases the production of a green iron mine will not affect a sinecure that produces green iron.
Votes
It is possible to create a sinecure that provides votes in the Imperial Synod. It is also possible to create a sinecure that provides votes in a Bourse or Senate election where voting is determined by the size of a citizen's personal resource. This may be appropriate if the description of the sinecure includes the idea that the title-holder represents a number of citizens who would not normally attend the gatherings at Anvil but who still hold appropriate resources.
A sinecure can only provide votes if it also produces the appropriate output. If a sinecure is created to provide votes in the Synod then it produces one third of the normal output. If a sinecure is created to provide votes in Bourse or Senate elections then it provides two thirds of the normal output. For example, the Senate could spend 12 wains of weirwood to create an Imperial Sinecure for the Abbot of Longmarsh in Bregasland, a monastery that provides leadership and protection to many small farms in the surrounding valley. The character appointed to the sinecure would receive 84 rings each season and 14 votes in the Bregasland senatorial election.
A sinecure that provides votes may have significant constitutional implications if the appointment of the sinecure does not follow standard procedures. For example, the Guardian of Britta's Shrine is unconstitutional since it is appointed by the Senate but the title carries votes in the Synod. The magistrates would not have allowed this motion to pass in this form if they had noticed the situation at the time. If the sinecure were appointed by the Synod, then it would be constitutional. A sinecure which carried votes in a Marcher Senate election would be unconstitutional if it was not appointed by Marchers.
A sinecure that provides votes in the Imperial Synod grants the holder of that title the legal powers and responsibilities of membership of the Synod.
Responsibility
Any citizen who is granted a sinecure is expected to be responsible for any problems that might beset the resources represented by the sinecure. For example, if Thule reavers are raiding the mines overseen by the Lady of the Upper Halls, then the Empire will expect that citizen to deal with the problem.
Recent Sinecures
The list includes all sinecures which have been created or appointed in recent times.
- Custodian of the Academy Religious Studies (exact title to be TBA)
- Custodian of The Starlight Drift of Shimmering Snow (exact title TBA)
- Custodian of The Memorial Gardens of Treji (exact title TBA)
- Custodian of Sylvihrafyn
- Guardian of Britta's Shrine
- Keeper of the Spice Gardens
- Spider's Tollkeep
- The Dredgemaster of Feverwater