JulesMrshn@aol.com wrote:

> Unfortuantly the rulebook states:
> Even wizards gain power from the respect of the masses. No masses, no power.

The rulebook states that in the context of what "some scholars believe it is",
so it may need to be taken with a grain of salt. =)

Do the masses need to be in the same province as the regent? If the wizard has a
source in another province (empty of people or not), and forges a ley line to
the province he inhabits (say, Ilien), won't he gain the respect of the
inhabitants of this province? He will surely be able to spend RP there. If his
magical power comes from undeveloped land, why should it be any different?

But there is another argument to be made about the fame-regency connection. If
an Anuirean regent tries to create a holding in Vosgaard, where noone has ever
heard of him, won't he get the benefit of his Regency? The respect he garners in
Anuire won't help him much here, but I'd say his personal aura and connection
with the land would let him.

If fame and respect is the real power of regency, then I'd question why
bloodlines and holdings are the only sources of RP. A wizard (or even a
magician) who builds himself a reputation with his spells, or a rogue who
becomes a feared assassin, should logically gain much more fame, much more
mystique, and hence much more RP than a wizard who remains secluded and never
leaves his tower. I'm also not sure that such respect could be used to power
wizard spells. There is another line that says "his unseen aura of power helps
him do things that lesser mortals couldn't even dream about". I like this
explanation of regency better, since it explains both why bloodlines are
important to Regency, why anonymous regents can gain RP, and why the RPs from
different holdings are lumped together.

I personally think Regency Points are a very abstract thing. A construct of the
rules to represent a combination of personal power, influence, magical power,
mystical connection between land and regent, and effort that can be applied
towards the success of a particular that can be applied to the success of a
task. Some characters will use more of one element than another; some tasks may
require more magical power, some more influence, and so on.

To keep it simple, Birthright has a very abstract empire-building system, and
the Regency Points (like the Gold Bars) are part of that abstraction. That is
why there is quite a bit of hand-waving involved with so many of the rules (Rule
actions, holding levels, military units, and so on).



Mathieu