Updated January 22, 2001

Not all the 306 player positions will be played in a game, although most of them may be. Those fiefs owned by player positions that are not being played are considered "inactive."

Inactive fiefs may be taken by force of arms once they have become disputed. But they cannot be taxed by the Provincial Overlord, raided or pillaged. Otherwise, they function like any active fief does.

Any player who is in an inactive fief, without an army, cannot be attacked, seized or otherwise harmed. This gives a player a chance to hide out, something that nobles could do in a time before telegraph and other forms of rapid and mass communication. It is up to the players, Heralds and sysop to enforce this. The sysop will determine punishments for those who violate this rule. 

Inactive fiefs are considered to be sitting out the war, as many nobles actually did. One thing to keep in mind about inactive fiefs is that if a player is forced out of the game by having his entire family killed, or by being purged for inactivity, that player position and all its fiefs become inactive. If an inactive position is stripped of all of its fiefs, then that position will not activate. If you are forced or purged out of the game, you can immediately rejoin the game and get a new character.

When the current head of an inactive family dies without an heir, their fiefs become "disputed" and anyone can capture it. This represents the frequent disputes over property when a minor noble died. More powerful nobles would dispute who should own the property of the deceased. These disputed fiefs are fair game for anyone who can take and hold them.

The Purge and How To Deal With It