On Sun, Jun 12, 2016 at 6:01 PM, Douglas Berry <dberry49xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

<snip of lots of interesting stuff>

But most of the nobles seem to have no real power over these independent worlds. So what gives?

When this question arose for me, I answered it by making the Imperial title an appendage of a local potentate or sometimes the *office* of a local potentate. The Imperium gets a powerful local addition without having to conquer anyone, while the local potentate gets a much bigger stick with which to whack his opponents (within certain limits). If the "Imperial noble" gets out of line too far, the Emperor just gives one of those local rivals that bigger stick instead.

I rather like the idea of "Counts-Elector" but this inspired me to read up on the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. The history of *that* body are fiendishly complex, but the history the Imperial Moot is likely to be at least as complex as an "assembly of the estates of the realm" for what was only a small part of one world, with a much shorter applicable history. The formal powers of the Imperial Diet certainly seem to match those of the Imperial Moot . . . but most of the actual powers come from the fact that the various members of the Diet were the monarchs of their own small states.

On the face of it, such "actual power" doesn't seem to apply to the members of the Imperial Moot . . . unless you take my above course of assuming that Imperial noble titles are for the most part appendages of the more practically-important local titles of each noble.

As members of the Moot, Counts-Elector are required to “maintain a presence” at Capital. As this is impossible for most Counts, a relative is usually sent as a proxy. The Moot is mostly a debating society, where the assembled member study issues and provide guidance to His Majesty. A year on Capital is a standard stop for a young noble’s Grand Tour. 

IMTU, most proxies are given to leaders of parties (or at least of acknowledged philosophies). E.g. the fact that the current leader of the Arch Conservatives speaks for 14 other "Count-Electors" is what gives him power in the body's debates. Young relatives can still travel to capital to carry annual restatements of those proxies, particularly after a new heir assumes a title. Of course, if the proxy is being shifted to another holder, that young relative might need some competent bodyguards to make sure that he (and the new proxy) do not go astray . . .  

Sectors are the province of Ducal families, and only rarely would a duke be an Elector. (One example is Grosherzog Norris of Deneb, who used the power of an Imperial Warrant to retain his title as Markgraf Regina.) Archdukes oversee Domains, and like the Emperor, are limited to mostly long range planning.


Controlling this is the office of the Governor-General.

I would probably call them "Consular-General," since (as noted above) IMTU the actual Imperial noble in question is also a local power. The Consular-General is there to make sure that said noble doesn't become overly focused on local matters and forget the imperial portion of his duties.