Converting Nobles to a New Faction

Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (Oct 4 2000)

### 3.2.1: Converting Nobles to a New Faction

Several commands (such as bribe) and skills are available which can be used to convert a noble from one faction to another faction.

Nobles serving through contract or fear are susceptible to bribes, which may induce them to renounce loyalty to their lord, and pledge their service to the bribing faction. For details on bribing nobles, see bribe.

Oath-1 nobles ignore all bribes. There is a persuasion skill which may cause an oath-1 noble to defect, although its use is difficult and rarely succeeds. Oath-1 nobles may reveal their factional affiliation if tortured.

Oath-2 nobles will not renounce loyalty to their lord under any circumstances, nor can they be forced to reveal any information about themselves.

When a noble is converted from one faction to another through the use of a bribe, persuasion, or any other means, the faction that receives the noble may have to pay the NP cost of the noble. The NP cost of the noble is simply the number of NPs that have been invested in the noble by the other faction (e.g., 1 to form the noble, 1 to change his loyalty to oath-1, 1 to learn a magic skill for a total of 3 NPs). If the receiving faction does not have sufficient NPs to pay the NP cost, then the attempt to convert the noble will fail. There will be no indication that the failure occurred from a lack of NPs.

There are several cases where the converting faction does not have to pay the NP cost.

The first case is when the noble comes from another, non-neutral nation. For example, if a Mandorian player converts an Imperial noble, he does not have to pay the NP cost of that noble. Capturing nobles is one of the greatest prizes of war. You cannot capture NPs from a neutral nation (e.g., the Pen), and players of neutral nations cannot capture NPs from anyone.

The second case is when the noble is a refugee. A refugee is a noble whose original player has quit the game. When a player quits the game, all his nobles die, except those that are being held prisoner by another nation. Those nobles become "refugees" and can be converted at no NP cost by anyone.

The third case is when you are reclaiming a deserted noble from your own faction. If a noble deserts, and some time later you re-capture him and convert him back to your faction, there is no NP cost (even though he comes from your nation).