Grahariel

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... An educated member of the clergy will be dispatched to any village or town of importance to both preach the religion as well as establish an educational system to teach the children and youth of said village or town how to read and write and basic science and mathematics, after all, an ignorant society is a poor one. Also, a small squad of no more than twelve soldiers shall be stationed in each village or town to provide protection as well as train said villagers in combat techniques one hour a day so they have a better chance of surviving a raid from an enemy horde. If this is done well, the soldiers can then return to the larger cities confident in the establishment of a strong and capable militia formed from the people. Also, all towns and villages will have a surrounding wall of wood or brick, which is available and economically feasible.

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... if after I have successfully invaded a slice of territory and sacked it's capitol city, I shall not do as so many and burn the capitol's churches and institute my own religion. Instead, I shall allow the churches to stand and pay a sizable tax to be allowed to preach, as well as protection. I shall give it's highest ranked clergy a seat in my own royal court. In exchange for such things, this new church and religion would act as a second machine of state propaganda when asked should I eventually need to amass an army of religious fanatics for some crusade to retrieve the Holy Land, or a holy land.

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... Should any one of my daughters fall under a sleep spell by some malcontent sorceress or begrudging witch that can only be broken by the tender kiss of a loving prince, I shall not lock her away in some godforsaken tower for twenty years hoping that this mythical prince charming arrives to wake her from her eternal slumber. Instead, I shall secure her in a room within my castle with no windows or fire place, and post guards outside 24/7, as well as have my court and well trusted magician place a ward on her so that the caster of the sleep spell cannot touch her. After this has been done, I shall then send envoys or ravens to the various corners of my realm to the lords and dukes and counts under my fiefdom with news of the curse and demand they send their unmarried, and most honest and good sons to act as possible suitors. Upon arrival, each potential suitor shall be examined, questioned, and tested by my queen and I as well as a small group of my most trusted advisers to determine their worth. The one who receives my blessing shall then be allowed to enter my daughter's chamber to bestow the kiss that should wake her. This should take at least a month or two if the weather fares well.

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... After squashing a rebellion quickly and with economical efficiency and as little collateral damage as possible, and after trying and publicly executing the rebel leaders and letting the followers return to their homes and families with flogging marks, I shall not teach the populace a lesson by forcing them, their children, or their children's children to fight one another to the death in some arena once a year. Instead, I shall consult my advisers and have a thorough investigation into the grievances that gave rise to the rebellion in the first place and then amend my policies so that said grievances cannot arise to anger the people a second time.

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... If a prophecy states that a villain will be born to challenge me, I will not have my soldiers kill every child in the realm in hopes of finding the right one. I shall instead hire a group of expert theologians and scholars from the local university and church to examine the prophecy and deduce a place and time. Then I shall send my most skilled diplomat to bring the family and newborn villain to become part of my courtier, his parents receiving wealth and title and land. The would-be villain shall be educated and trained to act as an adviser to me and later my heir when he eventually takes the throne to ensure he becomes a greater ruler than I.