One of the many things that makes Dartmud unique among the hundreds of MUDs in existence is our implementaion of feudalism. Castles, households and titled nobles add a good deal of atmosphere to our environment.
Feudalism is about vows and loyalty, oaths of fealty and bonds of honor. It is about the duty of a vassal to his or her liege and of a liege to his or her vassals. It is primarily about (going back to one of Dartmud's basic tenets) *people* acting in cooperation. A noble's power comes both from his or her ability to lead and the willingness of people to follow him or her.
The feudal system is based on the oath of fealty. A noble's power and influence are directly in proportion to the number and power of his or her vassals.
When a player is sitting on the throne of the castle, other players may swear fealty to him or her. The liege gains a number of 'fealty points' based on the vassal's skills and prowess.
The act of sitting alone does not do anything; the fealty points of a player depend entirely on vassals swearing fealty. The total number of fealty points a noble has will affect his or her title.
Players who want to challenge the current noble for the title must sit on the throne and have other players swear fealty to him or her.
If a challenger accrues more fealty points than the current noble, the title passes to the challenger. A throne may have any number of challengers to it, but only the one with the most fealty points will gain the title.
When the title changes hands, any points accumulated by other challengers are erased, and they must start from scratch.
If the former noble of the castle wants to take the castle back, he or she must marshal his or her vassals and challenge in the same manner.
A vassal may only do homage to a single liege for a single throne. If the vassal does not renew his or her oath of fealty at least once per common year, the noble will lose those points.
A noble may appoint a Castellan (m) or Chatelaine (f) to act as a lieutenant, who may add or remove residents, pay bills, etc.
The office of Castellan/Chatelaine does not confer any title in and of itself, nor does it remove points from the noble conferring it. However, the noble can make the Castellan his or her Consort or bestow knighthood on him or her (see below).
A noble may choose a Consort, confering upon them a title equivalent in rank to the noble. In the absence of the noble, the Consort may accept oaths of fealty from vassals on the lord's behalf.
A noble may also appoint a distinguished warrior or wizard as Knight or House Mage for his or her castle. These offices carry the titles Sir or Dame for the Knight and Master or Mistress for the House Mage. These offices confer no special powers with regards to the castle, but may carry other benefits or disadvantages.
A noble may in turn swear fealty to another noble. Not only does the noble being sworn to gain the fealty points of his or her vassal, he or she goes up a full rank in title (for example from Baron to Count), and he or she becomes the 'overlord' of the vassal's castle.
Each noble may hold only one castle. If the noble wishes to add a castle to their "house", they may delegate someone to be an underlord.
Mantainance fees or taxes will be based on the total number of fealty points that a noble has. They will be charged by the common year. Nobles may find it necessary or desirable to collect taxes from their subjects. If the house is not held by a noble, or if the castle upkeep goes unpaid, castles may begin to degrade, as there will be no staff to maintain the grounds, raise the portcullis, oil the locks, tend the gardens...
Second characters - You may use your second characters as you wish - the code precludes you from gaining any benefit by abusing the spirit of the law.
Thrones have an imbedded "help throne" function which will list the relevant commands.